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Thanks to: Liria Nai and TheBoltShapedScar for taking a couple of minutes of their time to review my story.

Chapter 4

The Gift of Wisdom

"You must all be wondering why I called this meeting without an advance notice." Dumbledore Great High Elder of the Land of Hogwarts stood at the head of a long table talking to a group consisting of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, Arthur and Molly Weasley, the members of the elders high council Severus Snape, Minerva McGonagall, Filius Flitwick and Pomona Sprout, Poppy Pomfrey and Horace Slughorn and the closest friends of Roi and Reine James and Lily, Remus Lupin and Sirius Black.

"Yes actually Dumbledore we're quite curious as to the reason behind this meeting." Lucius drawled out. "Well you see we are caught in the middle of a crisis. The responsibility has placed upon the elders to choose the temporary ruler of Gryffindor. The reason for this meeting is because we want to inform the sovereigns of whom the Elders High Council has chosen to govern the kingdom until Harry turns of age." "Who did you choose?" Narcissa asked curiously. "Sirius Black of course." Dumbledore replied with a flourish.

"Good afternoon, your highness." A manservant dressed in pure black robes greeted Prince Malfoy politely. The blonde gave a small nod. The youngest Malfoy looked extremely handsome in his pristine midnight blue robes and his shoulder-length blonde hair tied at the base of his neck.

He had been searching for hours for his parents but he couldn't seem to find them. As he was walking down a corridor with baby pink wallpaper he heard soft music being played from what seemed to be a piano. He followed where the sound was coming from and it led him to two huge double doors with the typical Gryffindor emblem carved into the thick and shiny wood. Quietly as not to disturb the pianist, he pushed one of the doors. The doors lead to a beautifully decorated room. The walls were in emerald green wallpaper with stitching of silver vines. The floors were covered with a fluffy beige rug. And at the center of the room was a pure black grand piano with the purest white ivory keys. On the piano bench a young man wearing long black robes sat straight back with messy raven hair. The man's hands moved gracefully across the keyboard. Upon closer inspection Draco realized that the young man has his eyes close and it seemed as the music he plays are a part of him.

He suddenly towards the shadows when he noticed Princesse Hermione standing by the window listening intently to the young prince's piano playing. Hermione smiled as Harry played the last few notes of the piece. "You're an amazing pianist Prince Harry." "Thank you, Princesse Hermione; you may call me Harry if you like." Prince Harry stated as he turned to face the young princesse. "Then you must call me Hermione." Harry just gave a small nod of his head. "Will you play for me sometime?" "If I'm not busy it will be my pleasure princesse." "I like to listen to you more but I really must go. I promised I'd meet Elder Sprout." "Okay. It's nice meeting you Hermione." "Its nice meeting you too, Harry." Hermione turned to leave and Draco moved a little more to the shadows afraid to get caught. "And oh Harry, I'm worried about you, everyone is worried about you. You can grieve you know, no one will think of you as weak when you cry, they're special in your life it's normal to cry for you loss. And if you need someone to talk to I'm willing to listen." Hermione smiled encouragingly while Harry just stared at the departing princesse.

"Do you think it's wise to elect Sirius as the new King?" "Dumbledore, why did you choose me to become king?!" Lucius and Sirius asked at the same time. "Yes the elders have voted on it and we all think that Sirius is appropriate to ascend the throne. As to your question you know the kingdom well enough. You are James and Lily's most trusted advisor plus you are their friend. James told every business dealings he has both in the past and the present and his possible plans in the future that's why we think you should take the position." "What did young Harry say about this? Does he already know?" Arthur Weasley asked. "Yes in fact young Harry seemed to think that you are the best candidate to take his father's crown. I then quote his words "There's nobody else I could trust with my father's kingdom than with Sirius. I know he will take good care of it." Now you see Sirius he trusts you completely."

"Don't you think this is all too sudden? Harry hasn't even grieved his loss yet and here you are already planning for the future of his kingdom, his throne and his people." Molly Weasley stated. "She's right, we should take consideration of how he feels. Ha may not show it but he is probably hurting inside." Narcissa declared. "I know and I understand your intentions but we must not take any chances." Dumbledore stated calmly. "Don't you see?! If we delay in announcing who will take James' place, the more the people panic. The kingdom is in crisis at least when Duke Black is in position we would be able to concentrate more on finding out who plotted the attack and trying to catch them. People will have peace of mind, their lives will go back to normal and the kingdom's economy will not suffer." Elder McGonagall said. "But what about Harry?" Remus asked. "We could only offer him strength and support but it is all up to him." Elder Pomfrey replied.

Dumbledore then continued, "We, the elders are planning to take the young princes and princesses out to the country, far west of Ravenclaw near the base of Azkaban Mountains. We think that it will do well for them if we take them to have a peacefully vacation plus we have reached a decision that we would like them to continue their studies and training together. Some of our reliable sources have told us that they have a reason to believe that after Gryffindor whoever planned the attack have also a plan to attack the three other kingdoms in Hogwarts but what got us worried was the plan on assaulting the Ivory tower of the elders. No one has ever tried to invade the realm of the elders the reason for this is because…" "Because everyone knows that the elders are the most powerful in the land." Lucius finished. "Yes you're right Lucius. The elders have never been attack nor have they been ever threatened by anyone. We are worried of our mystery enemy and we are all trying to use our resources to gain knowledge of who is the mastermind of all of this before the time comes that the Ivory towers is taken under siege."

A couple of minutes pass Harry turned his attention back to the piano sitting in front of him. He started to play the saddest music he knows and unconsciously tears started to flow from his eyes. The tears caused him to sob and choked but he never missed a note or stopped playing. All his grief he put in the song. Draco who still hasn't left his spot was moved by the notes he instinctively moved towards the pianist and gently placed a hand on the prince's shoulder. Unbeknownst to Draco through his hand he offered Harry strength and at the same time some sort of comfort. As Harry brought the piece to an end he released a deep sigh and turned to the person holding him on the shoulder. "Thank you." He whispered. He still look handsome even though his face where full of tear stains and his emerald green eyes filled with sadness and grief.

Draco didn't know what to do. He didn't mean to do anything actually he wasn't even sure what he did for the other man to receive a word of thanks. "I didn't do anything." Harry smiled slightly. He carefully placed the cover over the ivory keys of the grand piano and turned to Draco. "Thank you for giving me strength and comfort." "I did?" Draco asked. Harry nodded his head. "Would you like to have a seat?" He offered the seat beside him on the piano bench. The blonde graciously took the offered seat and adjusted his pristine robes so it wouldn't wrinkle. The two settled to an uncomfortable silence until Draco decided he couldn't take it anymore and asked the question he had been dying to hear the answer. "Where did you learn to play? I mean who taught you?" Harry who was busy staring out the window from his seat smiled slightly at the memory. "My mom taught me how to play the piano. This particular piano was gift from her when I turned thirteen. Father on the other hand taught me how to play the violin. They both loved music and they both loved to hear me play. Nobody has heard me play aside for them and a couple of close friends." A couple more tears fell down from the sad emerald eyes. Draco's silver eyes caught sight of the tears and he sincerely offered his white silk handkerchief.

Harry took it gratefully, wiped his tears away with it. "I'm sorry I'm a bit emotional right now." "No it's alright. I've been hearing things about you not being able to grieve properly. Nobody has ever seen you cry since that accident." "I just think I should keep a façade in front of my people. I have to be strong for them. The kingdom is in a vulnerable state right now until the elders announce whom they have chosen to ascend the throne temporarily the kingdom can be attacked and invaded anytime." The raven-haired prince whispered softly. "No one will think different of you if you let them show how hurt and sad you are for what happened. You lost two of the most important people in your life. Surely they don't expect you to have a heart of stone and not be affected of the events. I heard what Princesse Granger told you earlier and she's right. Crying is not a weakness it just shows that you are capable of loving and caring for others. My mother told me that knowing how to love and care makes one a good leader because he understands the needs of his people and does something to uplift their situation." Harry couldn't stop the smile from appearing on his face. "Are you usually this friendly? Giving encouraging words to someone whom you met a week ago?" "Actually I have to ask you not to talk about this little session we had with anyone else. Malfoys have a reputation to keep up and it will not do well for people finding out that I gave encouraging words to someone." "Thank you though. I really find your words inspiring. It's almost dinner we should go and get ready. Sirius will have a fit if I'm late for a meal again he seems to think that I don't eat properly." "But you don't." Draco stated in a matter of fact tone. "I don't?" Harry said questioningly. "Yes you don't eat properly. I've watched and seen you during meals you barely touch your food and you just play around with it to make an impression that you actually ate some." "I never noticed you watching me." "Malfoys don't watch Potter, we observe." Draco drawled out while simultaneously standing up. "Well I never noticed you observing me then." "Of course you don't I do discretely or just in passing when the conversation turns a bit boring to listen to." "Well as I've said we should really get going dinner's probably going start in a few minutes. Shall we go together then?" Draco shook his head. "No I remembered my mother telling me that I should meet her, a couple of minutes before dinner. I'll just see you there Prince Harry." "Call me Harry." But Draco was already walking pass the doors and out of Harry's sight. It was just then that Harry noticed the silk handkerchief he was holding in his small hand. Harry stood up and exited the room hoping to catch up with Draco but he was unable to do so seeing as he doesn't know where the other prince's quarters where so he decided to put it of later. He assumed he will see Draco later and gave the handkerchief back.

Since he was coming from the east wing of the palace and dinner was usually served at the west wing Harry arrived a couple of minutes late, everyone was already seated at the table Dumbledore at the head at his left the elders, at his right Sirius and Remus and all the other guest were seated accordingly around the long table. They were all waiting for him. Remus motioned for him to take the empty seat at his right. Gently plopping down on the chintz chair Dumbledore signaled the servants to bring in the food.

All throughout dinner Draco was discretely observing Harry who was sitting the right end of the table while he was sitting at the left end of the table between his mother and father who both were busy having a conversation with Elder Sprout and Elder Snape. The young prince seemed to be taking his words seriously for he saw the emerald-eyed man taking small bites of his food. "Well at least he's eating now." He muttered to himself. "I'm sorry Draco, where you saying something?" Narcissa asked. "No mother I was just complimenting the food. It's quite good." Draco said dodging the topic. Lucius nodded his affirmation. "Yes, Draco's right the food tastes wonderful." "Well I asked the cook to make the food more festive for I will formally announce who the elders have elected to temporarily fill the position as king of Gryffindor Kingdom." Dumbledore said. Harry immediately stopped eating. The announcement didn't come as a surprise to him since Dumbledore has already consulted him about it. "I am proud to present Duke Sirius Black as the new King of Gryffindor!" Dumbledore's voiced boomed through the dining hall. The servants who were there started to applaud their hands and the children of the sovereigns started to chatter amongst themselves. Remus and Sirius looked at Harry with uncertainty. "Harry are you alright with this?" Sirius asked cautiously leaning forward in order to see his godson better. Harry nodded his head with a smile. "Of course Siri. I want you to rule my father's kingdom. I'm absolutely sure that you will do a good job in keeping the peace and prosperity of it. And there's no one I will trust the most than you and Remus." And that brought a smile to the new ruler's face. "Thank you Harry that means a lot to me."

After dinner the elders called the sovereigns again to the council room leaving their children behind. Draco stood up from his seat and made his way to his room until he heard footsteps following him from behind. He slightly turned around was startled to see Prince Harry running towards him as fast as he could. "What are you doing here Prince Harry?" Draco asked. "I came after you as fast as I could to give this back." The raven-haired prince held out his hand clutching a white silk handkerchief. "Thank you for lending it to me." Draco held out his own hand and Harry dropped the silk cloth on his palm. "Your welcome, you shouldn't have run just to give me this. You could have given it back tomorrow or some other time." Draco reasoned out. "But I thought you might need it that's all." Harry replied sheepishly. "By the way Draco, thank you again for listening to me and giving me some words of advice." "No problem. Now go back to your rooms and get some rest." The blonde turned to leave when he turned back again and said. "I noticed you took my advice seriously. I noticed you've eaten more tonight than you did the past week." And with that he left the young prince looking stunned at his words.

The next day Draco was walking around at the courtyard enjoying the warmth of the sun against his skin and the smell of fresh air filled with the scents of the flowers rush around him. He couldn't stop the smile that graced his lips but he was startled out of his reverie when he heard whispers coming from the entrance of the palace where two soldiers stood guard talking. He decided to move closer to listen better on the topic of conversation. "Have you seen him?" "Yeah, I think he's back to his normal self." "I wonder what caused the sudden change." "I don't know what happened, not even his godfather and neither uncles nor the elders know what happened."

"I wonder who they are talking about." Draco muttered mostly to himself as he decided to go on with his walk. "They're talking about Prince Harry." It was just then that Draco noticed Prince Ronald Weasley standing close by also listening to the guards. "What about him?" "So you haven't seen him yet?" Ronald asked. "Nope not yet, why?" Draco asked giving the other prince his full attention. "Well you should see for yourself what they're talking about…" "What? How?" Draco asked bewildered. "Turn around…"

PLEASE REVIEW! I'D REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR SUGGESTIONS AND OPINIONS. Finished December 29, 2006 7:42pm.