"How was last night, dear?"
Draco looked up at his mother as he set the now empty tea cup onto the table. "As expected, Mother. I haven't been in the country for quite some time; I have no other Ministry function to compare it to."
"You seemed a bit perplexed when you came home. Did something happen?" Narcissa said, eying her son.
He sighed. He knew his mother could see through whatever facade he put up. "I met someone interesting. I didn't catch her name, but she knew who I was and didn't plan on shunning me when I spoke to her. She wore such odd clothes and had a magical tattoo that didn't seem to be secluded to one place like most are." Draco finished, remembering the way those paw prints slid across her collarbone and jaw.
Narcissa hid a smile behind her tea cup when her son mentioned the young lady. She had a feeling she knew who it was that conversed so amicably with Draco last night. She would need to send an owl right away.
"I'll be late if I tell you all about that night. Goodbye, Mother, Father." Draco said, nodding his head to his Father when he walked into the dining room. He made his way over to the floo and stated his destination.
Narcissa greeted her husband and poured him a cup of tea, placing a cube of sugar on the saucer. "You'll never guess who our little dragon ran into last night at the Ministry."
Lucius gave her a questioning look as he stirred the tea lightly.
"Harry Potter. Oh, this is wonderful. Perhaps they'll have another chance at friendship."
"My dear, a friendship between our son and Harry Potter will not happen this way. After all, that boy isn't Harry Potter when Draco sees him. He is, what's the name he's using now?" Lucius paused, taking a sip of his tea. "Ah, yes. Lily Black. Taking the name of his mother and godfather. Does that boy have no imagination," the man drawled.
Narcissa frowned lightly. This would be a problem, especially when Draco found out the true identity of his new acquaintance. No one takes lying to very well, especially a Malfoy. If he found out, that is. Narcissa was sure Harry had enough training of the past five years in disguise so as not to slip up just for Draco Malfoy. She straightened out her casual yet elegant robes. "I must owl our dear Harry right away. It would do no good to slip up around Draco just because they had a past together."
Lucius nodded. "Yes, but perhaps this is what the boy needed. He can't keep living in a disguise for the rest of his life. What of that boy of his?"
Narcissa agreed, nodding absently and called a house elf for some parchment and a quill. She called for the family eagle-owl as well and settled into her seat. The tawny bird landed on the window sill behind the Malfoy matriarch as she wrote.
Harry looked into the full length mirror and cast the familiar spell over his body. He watched at his hair lengthened and lightly curled into loose springs. His face soften and shoulders shrunk. He looked down at his hands and saw how much more feminine they appeared; nails grew just a bit and his large knuckles shrunk to delicate nubs. He sighed, and picked up the brush floating beside him. Harry brushed out any knots and clipped the top half loosely behind his head, keeping most of his hair from his face. His fringe swished gently on his forehead covering his famous scar, but that wasn't enough. There are some things magic cannot cover. When it came to this, the Muggle way was the way to go. He plucked the bottle of concealer from the air and dabbed a bit on his finger. Smearing the flesh colored liquid over the lighting shape, he smiled, satisfied that the darker patch of flesh was covered up.
He quickly dressed in a pair of dark loose jeans and a sleeveless shirt that clung softly to his new curves. Harry left his room with one more check in the mirror, and pocketed his wand. He moved down the stairs and met his godson at the table. "Morning, Teddy." The wizard poured himself a cup of coffee and grabbed a piece of toast from the platter.
Teddy finished chewing and smiled at his godfather. "Morning, Harry." It didn't bother him that Harry looked like a woman most of the time. When Harry explained it to him, he understood that there were some things that Harry needed to do to keep their privacy and ensure their safety. He was only seven, but without Harry he would be living in an orphanage.
"Are you ready?" Harry voiced, putting his cup in the sink.
Teddy looked up and quickly finished his glass of milk, shoving the last piece of toast between his teeth. He nodded, handing Harry his dishes.
Harry spelled the dishes to wash themselves and handed Teddy his school uniform jacket. He shoved his feet into a pair of trainers near the door and pulled on the jacket he had grabbed from the nearby closet.
By the time Harry closed the door to their house, Teddy was standing on the last step, holding his small hand out for Harry to take as he was walked to school. Teddy's school was on the way to Harry's bookstore so the wizard would walk him to school everyday. A parent of one of Teddy's friends would drive him home so Harry had no need to worry about picking him up.
Teddy walked along side Harry, occasionally swinging their linked hands. He attended a Muggle school, but sometimes the new teachers would question who the lady was. They knew his parents had died and that he was living with his godfather, but they never met him before. Any conferences with the teachers, the lady would come. Harry told Teddy to make something up, but not too outrageous. Teddy settled on telling the adults that the lady was his half-sister. They accepted that excuse and when Teddy told Harry about it, Harry simply said, "At least they believed it."
Teddy let go of Harry's hand as they reached the school gates. He bent down and gave Teddy a kiss goodbye on the head and ruffled his sandy blonde hair. He watched the boy enter the school before moving on. Over the years, Harry helped Teddy control his Metamorphmagus ability so they he would look the same while he was in school. Occasionally he would slip up when he was in extreme emotional states. Harry would come to the rescue and Obliviate the witnesses or weave some elaborate story to explain the change of hair or eye color. It was difficult the first couple of months but Harry helped the Metamorphmagus control his emotions a bit so those outbursts wouldn't happen. In return for just diligence during the day, Harry allowed the boy to change as much as he wanted when they were in the Wizarding world or when they were home.
Walking a few more blocks and turning the corner, Harry pulled out a key from his jacket pocket and opened the glass door of the shop. He spelled the all the workings of the shop on and opened the windows that bordered the high ceilings.
Not a minute after Harry settled against the counter with a book did a fierce looking eagle-owl land in front of him, holding out a leg for Harry to untie the rolled up parchment. He reached out and took the missive before leaning down to grab a handful of owl treats below the counter. Harry placed the treats on the hard surface as he unrolled the parchment and scanned the familiar elegant script.
Harry,
Hello, my dear. I trust that you are well. I have recently come across some interesting news regarding my son and you. I hope that you would be willing to speak with me soon. Let me know; Viper will wait for your response.
Narcissa
Harry looked up at the bird and noticed it was hopping along the counter top. He reached over to the side and grabbed a pen and some blank paper. He wrote in his neatest script, explaining he was meant to owl the female Malfoy the night before but had been caught up in tending to his godson. He ended the missive with simply stating he would be coming by for mid-morning tea on Sunday as per his usual visits to Malfoy Manor. Harry tied the paper to the owl before ruffling his feathers lightly, signaling he could leave. He leaned over the counter to continue reading and waiting for customers to enter his shop.
Narcissa smiled in approval as she read Harry's response. Harry's handwriting had come a long way from his messy scratches when they first met. She remembered forcing Harry to write letters over and over until his script was neat and clean. "As a young lady's should be," she remembered saying.
The tall woman walked to her husband's study and told him the news before heading out to the library. Perhaps she would drop by and surprise the young man. It'd be young woman if I did come into his shop, she snickered uncharacteristically. Making up her mind, Narcissa made her way just outside the wards and apparated to the alley half a block from the bright little shop.
Harry blew softly up at his fringe and looked up at the sound of tinkling bells filled his ears, signifying the presence of another customer. His eyebrows drew up in surprise when he spotted the woman before him. He rounded the side of the counter, embracing the tall blonde woman. "I thought we were meeting on Sunday."
Narcissa smiled gently, hugging back the slim, soft body. It was so much more different than Harry's natural form. She had only seen him as a woman a handful of times. Each time, his looks would change. He always had the same green eyes of his mother but hair length, color, style of dress, they were different each time. She must say, this version was the best, even though the first form of Harry as a young Narcissa Malfoy was amusing. She was highly amused when she found out Harry had used that appearance for the first seven months after receiving the potion.
"I just wanted to see how my future daughter-in-law was doing," she laughed.
Harry blanched and said quietly. "No matter how pretty I look at the moment, I doubt your son would want to marry me when he finds out I have the same bits he does," he straightened and brushed imaginary dust from Narcissa's sleeves. "But you did give birth to this," he giggled, twirled delicately and bowed, giving off a soft laughter as Narcissa smiled.
"Nonsense, my dear. I have only given you the materials to create something of your own. After all," Narcissa brushed the dark hair that fell in front of Harry's eyes. "this appearance resembles you the most." She pulled a shrunken box of chocolate and a book from her pocket and handed them to the gently smiling wizard after she restored them to their original size. "I've only come for a brief visit and to remind you to be cautious. Don't let your mask slip unless you're willing to pay the price, Harry. I hope you enjoy my gifts. I must be on my way." She smiled, kissing Harry on the cheek. She moved to leave the store but a hand on her arm stopped her.
"Thank you. For everything, Narcissa. You don't know how much you do for me means. I don't know what I'd do without you." Harry said, smiling brightly at the woman. "And Lucius, I suppose," he added after a moment of thought.
Narcissa laughed lightly. "You, my dear, would be holed up in your house all alone, making your own life miserable. You're welcome," she waved over her shoulder, giving Harry a look that meant she knew. She knew how much she meant to Harry and the feeling was mutual.
Narcissa apparated back to the Manor once she was out of sight. Moving to the gardens, she wondered how nice it would be if Harry would truly become a Malfoy, part of her family. But perhaps she was getting ahead of herself.