Chapter 11: I Never Should Have Let Them Dance
Okay, shameless begging. You guys haven't really been reviewing lately and I'm kind of sad. And those of you who have are kind of just leaving a "cool". I want to know what you guys really think, any advice, ideas for scenes, characters you want brought in somehow. I also wanted to know what you thought of either Sirius/Lupin or Lupin/Tonks. I'm kind of wishy-washy, because both are adorable pairings. Gove me some feedback! Felix out~
Remus tried to slowly process everything he'd been told, working to make sense of it all. This boy who looked so much like James, so much like his childhood friend...
He'd seen some terrible imposters out for the money, some who had obviously gotten a bad dye job and contacts. But this boy seemed so genuine, it was hard for Remus not to believe him.
The sun had long since come up over the horizon, and everyone had abandoned going back to sleep. Thankfully Arthur was off today, or Harry would have felt terrible about making him lose sleep over all of this. He still felt bad.
Percy, who'd surprisingly remained silent through most of this, finally spoke up.
"Well, I remember the Potter boy when he was a child. We all do, even Ginny. I think he seems to be exactly the same."
Bill nodded. "Yeah, he was always a good kid, and I see the same thing from this Harry. He's legit, Remus."
Everyone made noises of agreement, and Harry looked uncomfortable. It was like he wasn't in the room.
"Yes, that's all swell but... I meant to tell you earlier Molly, Arthur... Sirius told me he isn't going to look any more. He's done, and these past few have gotten worse and worse, and he says his heart can't take it any more."
Draco was shocked. "But he must! This is obviously him, truly! He's a spitting image of James Potter, with Lily's eyes!"
"How do we know it's not a glamour?"
Harry looked down and pulled out his necklace, the coin with the Phoenix.
"Well, I have this" he whispered, showing it to Remus.
Remus's eyes widened. "Harry, can I see that?" He asked. He passed it over and Remus took it in his hands.
"My heart is in Godric's Hollow" he whispered.
"Sirius gave this to Harry the day..." he suddenly hugged the boy, pulling him close.
"You are Harry!" He pulled back and grinned, which looked wonderful on his face. He should really smile more often.
"Well, we've got to get Sirius to look at you!"
Molly beamed. "Well, how do we do that?"
Remus thought a bit. "He doesn't leave the house much, but we're in luck. There's a party at the ministry in a couple of days. You come as Molly and Arthur's guest, and we will make sure he talks to you."
Harry groaned. "A party?"
Everyone laughed.
"Yes, that's definitely Harry alright" Remus said.
Molly stood. "Well, I say it's high time I get breakfast made" she said, moving to the kitchen to begin cooking.
Draco pulled Horace aside. Horace grinned at him.
"You hear this, my boy? We will be rich!"
Draco looked away. "Look, Horace, this isn't a scam anymore. Harry is the real deal."
Slughorn just chuckled. "Ah, yes, stay positive! They'll believe it more."
Draco glared at him. "Horace, I'm serious! He really is Harry Potter. Remember when he said a boy opened up a wall? That was ME."
Horace was still for a moment. Then, "well, this changes things" he whispered.
"No, it doesn't. If we act different, it'll look suspicious. Just... remember, we aren't scamming the man anymore."
Harry was outside with the younger Weasley children, the twins, Ron and Ginny. Luna was there as well, and two others, a boy and a girl who had been introduced as Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottom. The two were friends with Ginny and had been brought over by Neville's Grandmother. Neville seemed nice enough, but he was quiet, and Hermione was a bit of a know-it-all but he could tell she was a very kind person. And he could see Ron looking at her when no one else was looking.
Hermione's parents were muggles, Harry had been told. He still wondered how that worked, how some people were just born with magic.
"Let's play quidditch!" The twins said.
Hermione grimaced. "That sport will get you boys- and Ginny, sorry- killed one day."
Ron scoffed. "Better than reading books all day."
"I'll have you know that I graduated from Beauxbatons with the highest marks available."
Neville sighed. Ron and Hermione always fought like this. He sat closer to Harry.
"They're at it again, it looks like" he said to the green-eyed boy. Harry chuckled, listening to them banter.
"I'm just wondering when the wedding is" he said.
Ginny was suddenly on his other side. "Talking about Ron and Hermione? Yeah, they've been heading for each other for years. Last year Ron got into a relationship with some girl named Lavender Brown from Beauxbatons, Hermione found out and went ballistic, saying she was just some bimbo. She wasn't wrong, but still."
Harry chuckled at that. "They'd be good together" he said. The twins suddenly appeared behind them.
"Are we gossiping now?" They asked. Luna sat down in the group as well, and they all watched the squabbling. Suddenly the two turned to look at the group.
"Tell him-"
"Tell her-"
"That I'm right!" They said together. Everyone burst into peels of laughter.
The door to the burrow opened. Molly Weasley stuck her head out. "Dinner time, kids. Neville, Hermione, Luna, are you all staying?"
Luna stood. "Father wanted to go hunting for nargles, there's a whole nest of them somewhere." She headed off, and everyone said goodbye.
"Gran wanted us back so she could get Hermione home" Neville said.
"Well come on inside and floo on over." They all trudged inside, hanging coats and scarves and wiping shoes off on the doormat. They said goodbye to Neville and Hermione and sat at the kitchen table.
Remus was already there. "Harry, I've gotten you a pair of dress robes for the party, and Arthur has informed the ministry of his three tag-alongs."
Harry sighed. A party? It sounded fun, but he'd always hated the idea. He'd been forced to attend a few held as a charity for the kids in the orphanage. He'd be dressed up in second hand robes that fit wrong, forced to smile and shake hands with do-gooders who only cut a check for public image and wanted to smile for the pictures. Something odd would always happen and he'd be in trouble when they were out of sight.
"Alright then, everyone eat up" Mrs. Weasley said, setting dinner on the table.
Voldemort glared at the fire in the fireplace. They were in the riddle manor, he and Lucius.
"I want him dead, Lucius" he growled.
Lucius nodded. "I understand. I have a plan to lure him away from the ministry party tomorrow."
Voldemort grinned. "Excellent. I was very displeased with your last attempt."
Lucius gulped. He still had a muscle spasm every now and then from the long periods of time spent under his lord's wand. Sometimes, he regretted following this man.
"He will be dead, and we will find a way to keep me alive. I will rule as I was always meant to, Lucius, mark my words. I will be a king, no, a God to these people." He grinned maliciously. The shadows casted on his face by the harsh light of the fire made it look even more grotesque.
Horace started the music. "Now, Harry, Draco and I figured you should know how to dance, should someone ask you. You don't want to embarrass yourself."
Harry groaned. He was sitting in the living room with Slughorn, Draco, Remus and Mrs. Weasley. Everyone else was doing household chores, and Arthur was in his shed.
"But no one wants to dance with me."
"Au contraire, Harry. You're a handsome lad, I'm sure the girls would love to dance with you."
"Well, who's going to teach me?"
"I am" Draco said, standing. "My mother taught me when I was young. It's hard to teach someone to lead, but I'll give it a go. At least you won't step on some poor girl's feet."
He pulled Harry up, who turned bright red.
"But-"
"Put your hand on my waist."
"Your WHAT?"
"My /waist/, Harry" Draco said, rolling his eyes. He took Harry's hand and put it there himself, taking his other hand in his.
"Now, come on."
Draco moved them, telling them where to move.
"Ouch!" Harry said. "You stepped on my toes!"
"I wouldn't have stepped on your toes if they had been where they should have been."
Harry glared at him.
Then Harry was stepping on Draco, and they bickered for a bit before they fell into an easy rhythm.
"See, not bad." Draco smiled, and Harry beamed. He wasn't the most graceful, so this was great.
They continued on, and Horace watched knowingly. The light in Draco's eyes was one he hadn't seen in years, not since his heart had been broken by the Greengrass girl, Astoria.
He was in love with Harry, and Harry didn't even know. He could see why, Harry was a ray of light. His smile was for anyone who deserved it, and some who didn't.
But Harry and Draco weren't exactly meant to be. What happened after Harry was with his family?
He sincerely hoped things worked out for them, they both deserved a bit of happiness.
Harry and Draco sat in front of the fire. Everyone else had headed up to bed.
"Ready to meet your godfather, Harry?" Draco asked.
Harry shrugged. "I don't know, honestly. This is all so... I mean, a few days ago I was still an orphan, just going on with his life. And now I'm supposedly this important person? Heir to some form of monarchy, treasured by a whole society of people I never knew existed. I never wanted all of that, you know? I just wanted a family, and I guess I'm getting that, so I'm happy. But I'm worried about everything that entails. Will I have to conform to some image?"
Draco thought a moment. "I'm sure Sirius will teach you some form of class. I mean, your eating habits are terrible." He grinned and Harry smacked him playfully. They fell into a fit of laughter before Draco continued.
"I wouldn't worry about it. I mean, he'll teach you how not to fall on your ass in public, but he's not the type to be stuffy all of the time. He was always a character."
Harry smiled. "That sounds nice. The way Remus spoke about him... I hope he's everything he's made out to be. I've been waiting for so long, I don't know what I'd do if my family disappointed me."
Draco smiled softly. "I think you'll be happy."
Harry beamed and hugged him before standing.
"I'm going to turn in. Goodnight, Draco." He headed up the stairs, Draco watching him disappear from view. He heaved a sigh. What was that boy doing to him?
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