Chapter I

The first rays of sunlight spilled their way into the vast master bedroom of Malfoy Manor. Draco, still half asleep, deeply regretted that he had forgotten to close the dark, heavy curtains. He groaned and faced away from the large French windows overlooking the gardens behind the manor. After a few moments he became aware of someone watching him intently and groaned again, this time a slight smile gracing his features.

"Still doing that, woman?"

Ginny giggled, and despite his eyes being closed, Draco had no difficulty imagining her beautiful, smiling face, and her bright eyes staring down at him.

A moment later he felt his wife's light fingers tracing patterns on his cheek, and opened his eyes to meet her brown golden stare.

"You did it on purpose, didn't you?" he accused, pointing to the windows.

Ginny just batted her eyelashes innocently and traced his lips with her finger.

"I don't know what you're talking about, love," she replied.

Draco narrowed his eyes, but soon forgot his preoccupation with the curtains, when Ginny's other hand made its way under his pajamas blouse. She bowed seductively to whisper in his ear:

"I just wanted a moment alone with you before…"

Draco met her lips half way.

"MUM!"

The large doors burst open and a little girl about five years old ran into the bedroom crying.

Ginny jumped back from Draco's embrace and almost hit her head against the headboard.

"MUM, Scorpius took Ben again! Mum, please tell him to give it back! Mum, PLEASE."

Draco hid his head in the pillow, shaking with laughter.

Flora, his little girl, the light of his eyes, jumped on the bed and climbed towards Ginny, pointing her hand towards the doorway.

"Flora, perhaps Scorpius is just feeding him," Ginny said patiently and got up from the bed taking the girl in her arms. Ben was their Birmanehese cat and for some reason Flora believed she was the only one whom the cat should prefer at all times.

"Let's go downstairs and see if he's there," Ginny offered and threw Draco a glance over her shoulder.

"Don't go anywhere," she said.

The Minister for Magic sat up and pushed silky gold platinum locks away from his face.

"Actually…" he looked miserable for a moment. "Actually, I'll come down as well. I have to take care of a work related issue."

"Draco Malfoy, it's SUNDAY. You promised!" Ginny frowned at him.

"I know, but…" Voldemort is out there. "There is something that I need to take care of urgently."

Ginny sighed and went downstairs, holding Flora.

Half an hour later Draco entered the dining room. His appearance was groomed as always, platinum hair slicked back, face freshly shaved, dark blue formal suit and tie spotless. The only thing that betrayed the stressful life he led were the dark circles under his eyes.

His eyes swept the room, looking for Ginny. His parents, who still lived in France, were visiting. Lucius Malfoy was reading his newspaper, while Narcissa sipped her tea, her eyes trained on Flora, who instead of eating, was still playing with the cat. Draco's parents had first self-exiled themselves to Brittany more than 14 years ago when Voldemort had been close to acquiring power for the second time. Allies of the Dark Lord in the beginning, when Voldemort had threatened to take everything away from them including their only son, they had decided to turn against him. When Voldemort had been defeated by Liliana Slytherin they could have come back home, but instead they had preferred to remain away from the madding crowd. They visited Draco and his family, as well as their former house a couple of times a year.

"Scorpius dear, please make sure she washes her hands before eating," Narcissa said to her elder grandson, Scorpius, who had finished his breakfast and was reading through his homework. Scorpius, whose ambition was to be the best student in school, mumbled something and got up.

Ginny was behind the kitchen counter, preparing orange juice for Flora and keeping an eye on the house elves. Despite Draco insisting over the years that she had no business doing housework alongside domestics, Ginny still insisted in being involved in everything related to housework. Even Draco teasing her over her humble Weasely condition back home did not get the reaction he was hoping for.

It had been a pain for Draco to convince his parents to accept Ginny as their daughter in law. Ginny was a Weasley, and Lucius despised their family deeply; however the Malfoys could not deny that even if the Weasleys were a humble family, they were still a very old Pureblood family.

Both Narcissa and Lucius had hoped for a long time that Draco would one day marry Liliana Slytherin. They had seen them growing up together. Only when Liliana had gotten engaged to another pureblood man – who was also Draco's worst rival – had they truly given up the idea.

As the grandchildren arrived, the Malfoys had finally started to slowly warm up to their daughter in law enough to start visiting more often.

"Sit down son and get something to eat. Even ministers need to feed themselves to survive," Lucius drawled giving Draco a stark stare. Draco sighed and took a sit at the table. Narcissa poured him some tea while Ginny finished preparing the eggs and sat a full plate in front of him with a wink.

"I thought I told you not to go anywhere…" she whispered, her lips grazing his cheek.

"I'll be back early love," he replied.

As Ginny walked away, Lucius discreetly pushed a page of the Daily prophet towards him, and indicated one short column.

It read with small letters "Commotion in Hogsmeade".

"Who was it? It's suggesting that Harry Potter was spotted there."

Draco paled a bit, but managed a snort. "Father, Potter would not dare show himself in the civilized world. It was a minor burglary." He attacked his eggs with renewed eagerness.

Lucius pursed his lips.

"I wish you'd stop taking his back. I am worried this could ruin your career. Parkinson is just waiting for an excuse. He wants to sit behind your desk at the ministry."

"That's where you are wrong father," Draco said quietly. "He just wants me gone. He's happy in the shadows as Liliana's henchman. He merely wants a puppet in my place."

He finished his tea and stood.

"I'll see you this afternoon," he said loudly.

"Bye daddy!" Flora cried still refusing to let go of the cat.

"I'll walk you out," Ginny said.

She walked with him to the old gates to the property. She grabbed his hand as he prepared to Disapparate.

"Please promise you will not do anything like last night, ok?"

"Last night was an exception. I promise," he said solemnly, bowing for a kiss. Ginny wrapped her arms around him.

"Oh, such a romantic scene, Minister," a shrill voice interrupted their growing closeness. The flash of a camera made the pair turn around, shock written all over their faces.

Rita Skeeter stood there accompanied by an odd little man, camera in hand, and a satisfied smirk in place.

Draco narrowed his eyes at them.

"Publish that and you'll never work for any newspaper again," he warned.

"Why, minister, such a thing would only contribute to your popularity," Rita Skeeter meowed.

Ginny was not as clement. She waved her hand and the camera disappeared altogether.

"Hey that's my camera!" the little man interjected, but Rita Skeeter shushed him.

"I told you not to," she scowled down at him.

She retrieved her smile and turned to Draco.

"Minister, what a pleasure. Can I get a few moments of your time?"

"Congrats if you manage, lady," Ginny interjected in a bitter tone, and stepped away from her husband, returning to the house.

Draco sighed, trying to stifle his irritation with the reporters.

"What do you want? Why are you harassing me on my property on a Sunday morning?"

Rita Skeeter looked around before coming closer to Draco.

"I heard from a reliable source that someone who looked like Harry Potter was spotted yesterday in Hogsmeade," she whispered.

Draco frowned. Damn you, Potter. Why can't you just lay down for a while when you are the number one wanted fugitive.

"And he was not alone," she added.

"I would check my sources well, if I were you, madam," Draco said coldly. "Harry Potter is dead. If he were alive, trust me, I would know."

With that the Minister gave them a nod and Disapparated.

It looked like long day ahead.

The Slytherin residence had been rebuilt after the original plans of the old citadel. Rumors said that the original castle had been destroyed by fire towards the end of the 20th century. Rumors also said that a certain dark lord had been involved; that the castle was cursed, and many other things that did not make much sense.

The citadel hung at the edge of a stony cliff and overlooked a small wizard village. The front entrance was surrounded by lush gardens whose purpose was probably just to ensure intimacy for the castle's inhabitants, since nobody apart from the caretakers were ever spotted in those gardens.

That morning, the castle was completely quiet. In the large dining room on the ground floor, a handful of servants and house elves were busy setting up breakfast. A lady dressed in a black gown supervised the activities with an attentive eye. She turned her head briefly to watch a young woman with long, disheveled dark hair slipping quietly down the stairs to the main door. She did not bid her goodbyes, nor did the maid pay more than a moment's attention to her. She was just one of the many different young women Ralph Parkinson brought home from time to time, had his fun with and, in many cases, never saw again.

A few minutes later Ralph Parkinson himself made his way down the sumptuous staircase. He was immaculately dressed in a dark coloured suit and crisp white shirt as always. His wavy dark hair hung loose around his chiseled face, still slightly damp from his shower.

The maid in chief smiled politely as he took his seat, reaching for the damask napkin.

"Tea, Sir?" she asked.

Ralph looked up at the silver pot in her hand and nodded. Nothing betrayed the previous evenings' activities except for his tired eyes, the maid thought. She was sure he'd had a lot of firewhiskey before coming back home with that girl. On cue, as if he'd read her thoughts, he extracted a vial from his pocket and downed it as the maid poured his tea.

"The Daily Prophet," he demanded, but a valet had already set it on the table next to his cup.

The personnel settled in a line in parallel to the table, waiting for his command, while Ralph ate breakfast and skipped through the newspaper.

"Send Williams in," he requested.

A young man entered a moment later, as if he had been just behind the massive doors, waiting for the command. He was large, red haired and appeared excessively nervous as he fiddled with his green hat when Parkinson's intense blue stare settled on him. He was part of Parkinson's group of enforcers, which counted about a hundred pureblood talented wizards whose abilities he trusted enough to train them personally. They were a small elite, surpassing the Ministry's Auror department employees by far.

"Report," Ralph said, lifting the cup to his lips.

"Sir. We identified the three Aurors who were in Hogsmeade yesterday. We have them in custody at Nurmengard."

Ralph looked satisfied.

"Well done Williams. Have they already said something of interest?"

"No Sir. However…"

Ralph raised his eyes from the newspaper.

"They are Aurors, Sir. Is it fine to retain them like that, Sir?"

"It is fine if I say so, Williams," he replied, hiding his annoyance. Just because those men were in Malfoy's jurisdiction it did not mean they were out of Ralph's Parkinson's grasp. For some reason, many people still believed in the appearance of democracy in the wizarding world. It had been Liliana's wish to keep this appearance, and he had no choice but to abide by her will. She'd also given Malfoy equivalent power to his, and while Ralph did not wish to be the Minister for Magic it still irked him that he had to face his old rival in that position instead of a random puppet Minister.

"You may go and prepare the interrogation. I'll be there soon."

The other wizard bowed deeply and disappeared as quickly as he had entered.

Ralph put his napkin on the table and stood.

"I'll be late tonight. Do not wait with dinner," he said to the maid in chief.

A valet hurried with his cloak and Ralph walked out through the gardens and up to the gates where he Disapparated.

It gave Ralph no pleasure to be in Nurmengard. The place had only become more sinister than ever after Malfoy and himself had imprisoned there most of Voldemort's followers, as well as any fool that had stood between them and their common thirst for absolute power. Anyone except Dumbledore and Potter that is. Somehow, Dumbledore had managed to persuade Liliana to let him continue his rule as Hogwarts Headmaster. Of course the reputation of the school had plummeted since Hogwarts, unlike Beauxbattons and Durmstrang, was the only wizarding school in Europe still admitting half-blood students. Dumbledore had thus continued to do whatever he wanted on his small fief. Liliana had once explained to Ralph that Dumbledore himself had entertained some of her political philosophy in his youth and that in any case he would be less dangerous if left with his illusory liberty. The implicit price of that liberty was that Dumbledore never intervened in politics anymore or set foot outside the school grounds.

Potter's existence, on the other hand annoyed Ralph much more than Dumbledore's. Potter was the number one fugitive, and if Ralph ever found him, he would not give him the chance of imprisonment. Potter had to die, he had been a constant pain over the years. Every now and then the former chief of the Aurors' department would create some sort of chaos that Ralph had to stifle. People would always die and there would be a mess. The last time he had made an appearance Ralph had almost got him. He'd managed to severely wound him. It had been more than two years since Potter had last resurfaced and Ralph had hoped that he was dead.

Ralph sighed, and pushed open the door to a large torture cell where three men kneeled, their heads covered and a few other enforcers, Williams among them, standing behind them, wands at the ready.

"Thanks Jurgen," Ralph nodded to a tall, blonde man standing by the small window, his hands in his pockets.

The vampire nodded, and Williams took off the black hoods, allowing the men on the floor to see. Ralph walked in front of them, and stared at them coldly.

"Do you know who I am?" he asked.

The three men just stared at him, their eyes large as saucers, but it was a clear answer to Ralph's question.

"Do you know why I brought you here?"

"Sir," one of the Aurors spoke. "If it's in relation to the incident yesterday, we do not know anything more that we have already told your men here. You have no power to retain us. We are under the authority of the Minister and we have done nothing wrong."

Ralph's lips curved up in a skeptical smile.

"Whether you've done something wrong or not remains to be determined."

He paced a few times in front of them, thinking.

"I want to hear what you saw yesterday in Hogsmeade. Every detail. If you omit something I shall know." The Aurors knew it to be true. Ralph Parkinson had the reputation of being the most accomplished Legilimens alive.

The Auror recounted what had happened. They had had a lead on Harry Potter. They had cornered him in Hogsmeade. A man had been caught in between the curses. The man had helped Potter escape.

"He was able to fly without a broom. I have never witnessed something like that before," the Auror finished.

Ralph's hand curled into a fist at his side. This was the one skill no one except Liliana and Voldemort had mastered, not even him and Malfoy, who still used Apparition, which remained traceable. There was no doubt Voldemort was back.

"Did he carry a wand?" Ralph inquired.

"Yes, Sir. It looked strikingly like…" the Auror swallowed. "The one that the Saviour's statue in Hogsmeade holds. The Elder Wand."

Ralph sighed and faced the small window, then Jurgen. The vampire raised an eyebrow.

Ralph gave a short nod. He left the room without another word, not wasting time with watching the execution of the three Aurors. They knew far too much to be left alive. Rumors about Voldemort's return had to be stifled even before birth.

Draco Malfoy sat behind his desk, going through his usual paperwork. At his side, his assistant Nathalie and an undersecretary waited for his instructions on the various matters at hand.

"The letter to the French Minister, Sir?" the assistant inquired.

"I signed it, it's in the file. How about the Swedish ambassador? Is the dinner confirmed?"

"It is, Minister," the undersecretary confirmed. He looked a little uncomfortable as he asked: "The order to liberate Bellatrix Lestrange. Have you decided Sir? She is severely ill. Her husband has requested her liberation to…"

"I know, Scott!" Draco interrupted him, scowling. "But I have not decided yet."

"There is a petition to…"

"Enough!" Draco yelled. "I will hear no more on Bellatrix Lestrange."

The undersecretary took a step back. Sometimes the Minister's cold façade cracked to show a much more disturbing side that lay underneath.

"Yes, Sir."

There was a knock on the door and man dressed in a long leather coat entered.

"O'Reiley," Draco looked up from the paper he was signing to the chief of the department for magical enforcement.

"Sir, may I see you for a moment?" he looked pointedly in the direction of the undersecretary then back to Draco.

"Do you have anything else for me, Scott?" Draco inquired.

"No, Minister." The undersecretary took his leave.

"Sir, Robinson, Gilly and Kim did not report for work this morning. Our investigation showed that they were taken into custody by Ralph Parkinson's enforcers," O'Reiley said.

Draco's silver eyes flashed with fury. Ralph was directly interfering in his investigation. This time he had gone too far.

"Prepare your best ten men. Meet me in Uppsala this evening," he said.

O'Reiley bowed and exited. Draco's assistant followed him out.

Alone, Draco stood and paced around the room in an effort to calm down. So Parkinson was now openly challenging his authority. He had to put a stop to that immediately, before damage to his reputation occurred.

However, he could not just arrest or kill Parkinson without discussing his behavior with Liliana first. It was beyond Draco how Liliana accepted this kind of behavior his part in the first place. Or had she requested this of Parkinson?

Draco had met her so rarely in the last few years that it was hard to say what her views were, or whether she cared about these things at all. In fact, Draco had not spoken to Liliana since Christmas two years back, when she'd made her last speech at the Ministry.

In the first years after Voldemort's defeat, Draco and Liliana had met many times. Draco had followed through his studies at Hogwarts, then pursued studies in journalism and political science and finally joined the Ministry. A smile played on Draco's lips when he remembered the two years he'd spent in the Aurors' department together with Potter. While Potter was meant to be an Auror, obsessed with his idea of justice, Draco's aim was higher. He wanted the whole ministry to himself.

At the time, Liliana had been busy traveling and gaining support for her pureblood supremacy policy. She'd rebuilt Durmstrang and her parents' home. She'd continued working on her magical skills. And the man who never left her side was Ralph Parkinson. His own skills had been growing exponentially.

And then during the Christmas dinner two years before, Liliana had told Draco she would marry Parkinson. While it did not come completely as a surprise, with Parkinson being a pureblood and a very handsome bastard, the prospect of such a marriage still made Draco nauseous.

She'd always been his friend and he had no choice but to rejoice for her choices, may they be good or bad. He still remembered that fateful evening when she'd found him drowning in his own tears on the seventh floor of Hogwarts under the unsurmountable burden of finding a way for the Death Eaters into Hogwarts. She'd saved him from his fears that evening and helped him realize his full potential.

Did the Liliana he knew approve of Parkinson's mad quest to end Potter's life? How many times had Draco had to warn Potter, to save him since that unsuccessful rebellion Potter had the unfortunate idea to lead five years ago?

What would she think about Parkinson's actions today? Would she overlook them?

Draco had to see her. He had tell her about the rumors concerning Voldemort. He had to know if she still trusted him more than she trusted Parkinson.

Harry Potter. Voldemort. Harry Potter. Voldemort.

Ralph's thoughts gravitated around the unlikely duo the whole day, while the reports he received while in his office came without any concrete clue as to either Voldemort's or Potter's whereabouts.

As the valet took his cloak late that evening, the maid in chief bowed and brought him unpleasant news.

"Sir, the Minister is here to see you. He is waiting for you in the library."

Ralph's hand tightened on the wand in the pocket of his coat. So, Malfoy had already found out about the execution of the Aurors, or had some urgent news about Voldemort and needed his help. He had never come to visit before.

He nodded to the maid and went in the direction of the library. The maid followed him quickly in with a tray with tea.

"Malfoy," Ralph greeted.

The Minister for Magic sat in an armchair, his forehead resting against the heel of his hand, his face partially hidden by his silver blonde hair.

He looked up at his rival and straightened his pose.

"I did not come to find you, Parkinson. I'm here to see Liliana," he said, an unreadable expression on his face.

"She is not here at the moment," Ralph said calmly.

Malfoy chucked quietly, darkly.

"That much is obvious. Imagine my surprise when I was told that this 'moment' you just mentioned is actually years..."

Malfoy pushed with his foot at the unmoving form of a servant passed out from torture on the floor. The maid gave a faint cry and dropped the tray.

"Get out," Ralph ordered the maid.

"Where is she?" Malfoy's tone had gone from neutral to dangerously calm. "Where is Liliana?"

Ralph's countenance changed too. He went white with fury.

"How dare you question me?"

Malfoy stood slowly, scowling, and drew his wand.

"How dare I question you? I know what you did this morning, Parkinson. You killed three men under my command. You killed the witnesses of Voldemort's return. You are out of control and Liliana needs to know it. I asked you a question."

Ralph pointed his wand at Malfoy in turn.

"If I don't kill you now, I will have you arrested. My men are waiting outside," Malfoy smirked without humour.

Ralph shook his head mockingly. "So are mine."

"Sir!Sir! The Dark Mark has been spotted in the sky above London!" Williams came running into the library, and froze when he saw the two wizards ready to duel.

"The dark lord is more foolish than I thought," Ralph muttered.

Malfoy ignored Williams, his gaze trained on Parkinson.

"She needs to know he's back," he said. "You have to tell me where she is."

Ralph lowered his wand. He looked at Williams, who hurried to leave the room.

Ralph bit his lip and stared at the ground for a moment, pondering. Then he faced Malfoy once more, and his expression hardened.

"I do not know where she is," he said quietly. "You and I have to contain Voldemort on our own. Now let's go. We'll discuss about Liliana once we've dealt with him."

If Malfoy was shocked, he did not show it. He put his wand away.

"Don't think for a second this is the end of it, Parkinson."

They both went outside to find their respective subordinates ready to receive their orders.

"Leave no suspected Death Eater alive," Ralph ordered.

He turned around to see Malfoy nod to the Aurors and Dissaparating. As his enforcers departed, Ralph accioed his new Firebolt 2016.

"Yes, let's see who gets him first, Malfoy. The race is on."

A/N: So we're back! I hope you are enjoying the story so far. Don't forget to follow the story and leave a review if you enjoy the story. Reviews always make my day, and guess what, I tend to write more and update quicker :)

Once again many thanks to BlackRoseRaven for editing this story. Harry Potter obviously does not belong to me and this story is only for entertainment purposes.