Unfinished Business

DISCLAIMER: Same as first chapter.

WARNING: Same as first chapter.

SUMMARY: Same as first chapter.

Misconceptions

Harry's Pensieve Memories

"So what's with this big surprise, and why did you ask for the car instead of just Apparating over to your place?" Ginny asked as she sat in the passenger seat of Harry's car.

"I can't tell you yet Gin," Harry said with a secretive smile on his face. "I want to tell Draco first before I tell anyone else."

"Well, from the smile on your face, I can tell that it's good news. Not life-threatening at all."

"Not one bit, if my luck decides to hold true," Harry said, his smile widening mysteriously.

"Does it have anything to do with why you're late coming back home?"

"Oh it has everything to do with why I'm late coming back home. But I shouldn't tell you any more than that. Don't worry, you'll find out sooner or later."

"After you tell Malfoy," Ginny reaffirmed sourly, unable to hide her contempt for the blonde.

"Ginny, would you lay off for one day please," Harry reprimanded, though the smile was still on his face. "Draco and I have been together for over three years now, and within that time, I think he's proven himself to everyone."

"How can you say that after all the things he's done to you in the past, to you, Ron and Hermione?"

"Like you said, it was the past. We were kids, Gin. All of us did things we regretted when we were at Hogwarts. My father and Sirius did some pretty nasty thing to Severus Snape when they were younger. Are you saying that I shouldn't forgive them?"

"Harry, they're family."

"And so is Draco," Harry laughed as if it were obvious. "Look, I love Draco and he's just as much a part of my life, my family as you, Hermione and the rest of the Weasley clan are."

"But he's a Slytherin," she tried to reason.

"So was Severus Snape, and he was saving my life the moment I stepped foot into Hogwarts."

"Only for your mother, who he had an unhealthy obsession with. The man was unhinged and never did a kind thing without making you feel like crap the whole way through. The fact that he was Malfoy's godfather should tell you something."

"It does. It tells me that I can trust Draco with my life, as well as my heart. Now let's stop talking about this. I'm on a happy high and I don't want to be pulled down."

"Just mark my words, Harry. Malfoy will break your heart."

Without replying, Harry shook his head and continued driving, unawares of the three passengers in the back seat.

"I'm starting to get the impression that your sister doesn't like me," Draco said sarcastically as he sat across from Harry in the passenger seat.

"There's a reason the memory starts here," Ron said from the other side of the car. "Ginny was right about you after all, wasn't she. You did end up breaking his heart. This very day in fact."

"He was going to tell me that he was pregnant, wasn't he. That's why he looks so happy," Draco said as he looked at his love's peaceful smile.

"Yes," Hermione said as she sat between them. "We didn't find out about that piece of information until about a month later. It was one of the memories we extracted."

"A month?"

"Yes, even though he moved in with us, he wouldn't talk. He just kept crying and locked himself in his room."

Speechless, Draco merely sat there and watched as the car finally stopped in front of their old apartment.

"Thanks for bringing the car, Gin," Harry said as he stepped out of the car. "I'll call you, Hermione and everyone else tomorrow so I can tell you guys the good news with Draco."

"Are you sure?" Ginny asked as she stepped out of the other side. "I can wait here for you if you want."

"No. That's okay. I'll be with Draco for the rest of the day," he said with a bright smile as he closed the door. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Suddenly, the three other occupants of the car were pulled outside as well, guided by the surroundings of Harry's memories.

"I hate looking at Pensieves," Ron complained as he held his head. "They always make me feel so disoriented."

Though he wouldn't admit it out loud, since it would mean agreeing with Ron, Draco felt the same way. He also thought that looking into someone else's Pensieve without their knowledge was a bit intrusive. But Draco figured everyone assumed that he already
/knew what was going to happen.

If only they knew…

As Harry walked up to the stairs of their shared apartment, his three companions saw the look of confusion on his face when he spotted the suitcases sitting outside one of the doors. Walking up to the luggage, Harry frowned at their familiarity.

"What are my bags doing out here?"

As soon as the words left his lips, the door to his apartment opened to reveal a very sure-of-himself looking Draco.

"Draco, is this another surprise trip you've planned. I told you not to make those kinds of trips without telling me first."

"First of all," memory Draco said patronizingly as he stepped out of the apartment. "It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you about it first. And secondly, this isn't a trip we're going to be taking. At least, not one I'll be taking, that is. I have some great news. My family's name is finally worth something again. Not only was he asked to come back to work as one of Hogwarts Governors, but the Ministry has also asked him to come back to work for them again as well."

"That's great. Does this mean that he's going to close down the apothecary shop?"

"Oh heavens no. My father has his pride, after all. He's very content with Malfoy Apothecary now that it's making money, lots of money actually, after the press heard about the offers."

"That's fantastic news. I have great news as well," Harry smiled as he went to hug Draco.

"I don't really care about whatever news you have to tell me," Draco said as he grabbed Harry's arms to halt his advances. "Your services are no longer required. Now that my family's name has been put to right again, I don't need you anymore."

"Excuse me?" Harry said shocked. He couldn't possibly be hearing what he thought he was hearing.

"I always knew that you were slow on the uptake, Harry, but I'm sure I was pretty clear. Let me make it clearer since you seem to be going at a slower pace than normal. Even though you were good in bed, though I've had better over the years we were together, you are no longer welcomed in my life. I would kindly like for you to leave. I've packed your things already. I used a spell to put everything you own in your bags so you won't have to come back here again. Have a nice life, though I don't really care whether you do or don't."

"But ... you said that you loved me...," Harry said softly, his eyes glistening suspiciously.

"I would have told you anything ... done anythingto get you to help my family," Draco said, rolling his eyes at the wizard.

"Is there a problem here," a new voice said as Harry stood there, speechless as his eyes started shining suspiciously.

"Ah, if it isn't Ginevra Weasley. Why am I not surprised you brought her here? Is she the reason why you came back so late? Were you with her the entire time? Well don't let me keep you from each other. You two can finally run off into the sunset with each other like you always planned, have those weasel babies you always dreamed of having. I have a life of my own to continue with. Good day," memory Draco said before disappearing back into his apartment and closing the door with a resounding click.

"Harry, what happened?" Ginny asked as she spotted tears trailing down her friend's cheeks. "What are your bags doing out here?"

"He's… He's…" Harry started saying before he was racked with sobs.

"It's okay Harry," Ginny said as she comforted her friend. "Everything will be okay."

The last thing the three interlopers saw as they exited the memory was Harry collapsing to his knees as Ginny held onto him.

Present Time

"That is not how it happened," Draco insisted, his blood boiling at the memory.

"Sure it wasn't," Ron said unconvincingly.

"I'm telling you the truth!" Draco raged. "In fact, I'm sure I wasn't even in the country when that happened!"

"You expect us to believe that after what we just saw?" Ron shouted, just as inflamed as the blonde was.

"Yes, because it's the truth! I don't know who that was in that memory, but I love Harry.I would never say those thingsto him," he said, getting calmer by the end. He turned to Hermione, knowing that if anyone were willing to believe him,
it would be her. "Please, you have to believe me."

"I can't believe you," Hermione said calmly. "Not with the evidence staring us in the face."

"Then let me show you my own evidence," Draco said as he held his wand to his temple. "Let me show you how I remember things."

As Draco spoke, he pulled out the memory of what he believed to be the memory of his break-up.

"This takes place on the day that Harry was supposed to have come back from his assignment," Draco said as he placed the memory into the Pensieve. "Shall we," he said as he gestured to the bowl.

After gettinag a nod from his fiancée, Ron and Hermione pulled out their wands again before entering the blonde's memories.

Draco's Pensieve Memories

"I can't believe you're finally going to do this," Blaise said as he followed Draco down Diagon Alley.

"I can't believe my mother finally gave me her ring," Draco smiled as he held up the jeweled object between his fingers. "I had just made up my mind to buy a new one when she just handed it to me."

"I guess she wanted to keep it in the family more than she didn't want you to marry Harry. It's not a surprise, though. Your mother knows that if you marry Harry, it will be the end of the Malfoy bloodline."

"There are ways around that Blaise, you and I both know that," Draco countered. "There's surrogacy-"

"Your mother would never approve of having a bastard child."

"Potions-"

"Which are never a guarantee. And considering your family's luck, you'll probably end up with a two-headed ferret baby with beady eyes."

"Hey, my luck is turning around. My father just got asked to come back to work at the ministry and as one of the board of governors of Hogwarts. He turned them down of course. He didn't want our family to be in the spotlight anymore."

"I heard about that in the papers. They mentioned your father's apothecary store. I don't think he can stay under the radar for long. The papers love a good from-the-ashes-story."

"It doesn't matter. Nothing else matters as long as Harry says yes to becoming my husband. We'll figure out about the baby details later."

"Just tell me one thing," Blaise said as he stopped Draco outside The Leaky Cauldron. "Please tell me that if you do decide to go the potions route, you won't be the carrier. I don't think I'll be able to look at you the same way again, if you do."

"Goodbye Blaise," the blonde laughed as he turned away.

"One more thing. I saw Astoria at Malfoy Manor with your mother again today. I think she's planning on dropping by your apartment. Make sure you get her to leave before Harry gets back. It wouldn't do for the mood if she walked into one of your infamous scenes."

"Thanks for the warning," Draco smiled. "I'll make sure to kick her out before she can ruin this day. See you tomorrow with the good news."

"You were going to propose to Harry?" Hermione asked as she turned to the saddened Draco of the present.

"Yeah," Draco said as he closed his eyes against the sensation of apparating to their apartment. "I had been planning it weeks before Harry's trip. I wanted to give him my mother's ring. It's a family heirloom and I wanted him to have it, but my mother
/had been reluctant to let it go. When I told her that I wouldn't let a ring keep me from marrying Harry, she finally gave it to me."

"This doesn't make any sense," Ron frowned. "Why would you buy a ring if you were planning on kicking Harry out of your apartment in a few days?"

"That's the thing. I didn't kick him out," Draco insisted. "Watch. You'll see."

As Draco of the present gestured his guests to watch his past-self walking up to his apartment door, it was to see the same bags from the previous memory sitting outside.

"What the-"

"Oh, you're here already. I wanted to get my stuff out before you came back," Harry of the past said as he came out of the apartment. "I guess it can't be helped now."

"Harry, what are you doing with all of your things? Don't tell me they're sending you off on another mission? Aren't those senior Aurors running you a little thin?"

"Senior Aurors," Harry scoffed. "I could shoot circles around those wizards. You and I both know that ever since the good Aurors left or died, they've been dying for someone to hold their hands. And to tell you the truth, I'm sick of it."

"Sick of what, being an Auror? You have no idea how much hearing you say that makes me feel. The thought of you out there-"

"No, you arse," Harry interrupted. "I'm not giving up being an Auror. How many times do I have to tell you that I love working there? No. What I'm tired of doing is holding everyone's hands. Besides my friends and family, everyone keeps coming to me to fix their problems. At least the Aurors have real problems, dark wizard problems that need fixing. Unlike you."

"Me? I've never-"

"Of course you have. You think I don't know that you're just using me to pull your family's name out of the mud. And I did just that. I heard about your father's job offers. He should take at least one of them before they catch wind of our split," he said as he used his wand to levitate his bags.

"Our split? Wait a minute," Draco said as he grabbed his arm. "You can't just spring this on me out of nowhere and expect me to just take it. We need to talk about this," he said almost desperately.

"We … don't need to do anything. Not anymore. I, on the other hand, need to move on with my life, find a girl to settle down with, have the family that I've always wanted."

"But you could have that with me."

"Yeah? How?" Harry laughed. "Even if that were true. Do you think I would actually want a child with the same DNA as yours?" Harry scoffed, looking disgusted. "Sorry, but I have someone else in mind for that."

"You mean the Weaslette?" Draco scowled.

"Don't you dare call her that, and don't pretend that you don't already have someone lined up to take my place."

"Like who?" Draco asked, beyond confused now.

"Let's take a wild guess shall we," Harry said mockingly as he looked over Draco's shoulder. When the blonde turned around to see what Harry was looking at, it was to find Astoria walking towards them. "I'm sure you two will have lots of lovely little ferret babies together. You deserve each other," he said as he shrunk his bags and placed them into his pocket.

"Harry, you can't mean that," Draco said as he stepped closer to the bespectacled man.

He reached out for Harry but before the blonde could do anything, he was blown away by a spell and fell backwards, his body locked in a binding curse.

"No, don't get up. I'll see myself out," Harry sighed as he walked past the bound blonde.

"Draco, what just happened?" Astoria asked, rushing to the blonde's side once Harry had left.

"My whole world just got turned upside-down," Draco said, a lost look on his devastated face.

End of Chapter: Misconceptions