When I finally got around to confronting Draco and asking if I was his mate, he denied it. He had the nerve to be indignant that I would even think that and asked if I fancied myself in love with him. Flabbergasted that he would accuse me of such a thing, I walked out, leaving only Ron to babysit the Malfoys. Well our shift for the day was almost over, so Ron wasn't stuck watching them on his own for very long before Harper and Culver showed up to take over, but head Auror Robards was still mad at me for leaving my post.

Consequently Ron and I had been reassigned and I hadn't seen the Malfoys since. That however, was going to change today. Today was the start of Lucius' trial and Draco and Narcissa were being brought in to testify. Ron and I were testifying too, so I put on my best crimson Auror robes and had a go at my hair with a comb, which didn't go well.

"Looks like you've got a dead beaver on your head; can we go already?" Ron asked petulantly, tired of waiting on me.

"A beaver!?" I asked horrified, combing faster.

"That's not helping; best stop before it comes to life and a real beaver tries to mate"—I groaned at the word mate—"with your hair. Why you so concerned about your appearance anyway? It's just court."

"Just court? It's an open trial; the papers will be there."

"And since when have you cared two farts about the papers?" Ron asked and I didn't reply. "Wait, I know what this is about; it's Malfoy, isn't it? He said you aren't his mate but you've got your obsession with him and want to look good. Shite! Hermione was right; you do have a crush!"

"Do not," I defended myself, putting down the comb to prove it.

"Sure you don't."

"I don't."

"Fine, then let's go."

"Fine."

And so we left, flooing into the atrium of the Ministry before making our way to the courtroom, with my hair looking like a furry rodent had crawled onto my head and died. Harper and Culver were already there with Draco and Narcissa. Draco looked up and we made eye contact when I walked in, but he quickly averted his eyes, looking down at his shoes. Well two could play at that game; if he was going to ignore me, then I was going to ignore him right back. I turned my attention to MacDougall, the photographer that was trying to get me to pose. I hate press, but I was trying to get back at Draco for ignoring me, so I actually agreed to a photo and a few comments for his partner Baudoin, the journalist. Baudoin wasn't nearly as awful as Skeeter and printed mostly fact, so I didn't mind helping him out with his story.

Baudoin got to talking my ear off and I was glad when the three Warlocks that were overseeing the trial rose to their feet and called everyone to attention. I was already standing, but I looked now for Ron, who had saved me a seat in the fourth isle back. Then because I couldn't help it, my eyes drifted to Draco and I was shocked. He was fat again. How in Merlin's name was he fat again and no one bothered to tell me? If he was fat then he was ovulating. If he ovulated again and the egg didn't get fertilized, his inner veela would consider it a rejection and he'd eventually die.

The head Warlock told us to take our seats. I rushed towards my seat next to Ron, getting there only minutes after the Warlock had started on the rules of court. I'd been to enough of these things in the months since the war that I didn't need to listen now. Instead my focus was on Draco. Was I Draco's mate or was it someone else? How long had it been since I'd seen him? Had it already been so long that it wasn't possible for my presence to have caused this? That would mean I wasn't his mate…wait no, it'd only been a month since our fight and my reassignment. It was definitely possible that it was me and he just hadn't said anything.

Next I thought about whether or not it was too late to save him. If it really was me and he was ovulating for the second time without mating, then was there still time to consummate the mate bond, fertilize the egg, and save his life? Or would this lead to another dead egg and his death? Was he really so dense as to not say anything, when he knew this would mean his life? Surely not, which would mean that I'm not his mate. There was probably someone else and he'd already said something; he had to be pregnant by someone else.

But wait, this was Draco Malfoy and the Draco Malfoy I knew was certainly capable of taking the secret of who his veela mate was to the grave. This was the wizard who had given birth to an egg in his bathroom without letting on what was happening. Even after the other Aurors and I knew the truth that he was a veela, he still refused to talk about it. He'd probably waste away without telling anyone; not even his mother could get him to tell her who his mate was.

Lucius' trial got underway and I tried to tear my eyes away from Draco and concentrate on the task at hand, I really did. I wanted Lucius to pay for all of the horrible things he'd done over the years. This man was loyal to Voldemort, had let evil incarnate live in his house, had financed the Death Eater movement, almost gotten his only son killed in the process, and that wasn't even mentioning what he did to Ginny when he gave her that diary. She could've died and he would've been pleased.

Lucius Malfoy was the type of man who deserved to pay for his crimes. He had no redeeming value what-so-ever…at least that's what I thought until Draco got on the stand. Draco painted a completely different picture of Lucius; he was a good father and a good husband who had protected his wife and son through the war. He gave charity to single mothers and orphans. He hadn't known half of what Voldemort was planning and had tried to stop it towards the end, but it was already too late.

I wasn't so sure I believed Draco's testimony completely, but it did get me thinking. Maybe, just maybe Lucius Malfoy wasn't all bad. Maybe the proper thing to do was to argue for leniency. If I wanted to be Draco's mate and the father of his eggs—and I did want that, which my subconscious regularly made blatantly clear with erotic dreams staring Draco—then Lucius would be the only living grandfather those eggs have. The last time I had confronted Draco, it hadn't gone too well. But maybe if I made an effort first and put in a good word for his father, then Draco might be willing to admit that I was his mate. And maybe those eggs would be better off if their grandfather wasn't in Azkaban for life; maybe house arrest would be a better punishment.

That was what was going through my mind when I was called to the stand to testify. I didn't lie and the first couple of hours were filled with recounting the facts of the situation. Lucius had been present in the cemetery the night Voldemort regained a body. Lucius had the dark mark and had sworn that he was loyal to Voldemort. Lucius had been there at the Ministry of Magic the night Sirius died. Lucius had attacked me and my friends. But Lucius had not fought in the final battle, instead he was interested only in finding his son. And Lucius had not fought when they brought him into custody.

Then at the end, when the prosecutor asked me what I thought should happen to Lucius Malfoy, I answered, "I think he should be given house arrest for his crimes. I have every confidence that Draco and Narcissa Malfoy will be cleared of all charges soon and they are top on my list to watch him."

Gasps filled the courtroom and a flashbulb went off, commemorating the moment, despite the rules of the court stating that photography wasn't permitted during the trial.

"Order! Order in the court! Bailiff, get that photographer out of my court," one of the Warlocks cried over the din.

Order was restored and the prosecutor asked again, "Are you certain, Auror Potter, that after everything Lucius Malfoy did that you think it would be best to let him go?"

"Yes, I am. He has learned from his mistake and seen the errors in his ways; he changed sides before the end. Besides, I'm not saying to let him off free and clear, only that he should be bound to Malfoy Manor where his wife and son will see to it that he doesn't get into trouble," I replied, looking only at Draco.

Draco's mouth was hanging open in surprise. I hoped that it was a good surprise.

Lucius' attorney was up next on the cross examination, trying to make Lucius' crimes seem less severe or completely rationalize it all.

"What do you, Auror Potter, think Voldemort would have done to Lord Malfoy had he not insisted that he was loyal to the Dark Lord Voldemort in that grave yard?" he asked.

"Probably Avada Kedavra," I answered.

The other questions went similarly, with Lucius' attorney asking what would have happened if Lucius hadn't gone along with Voldemort and I answered truthfully, that Lucius, Narcissa, and or Draco would've been killed a thousand times over; tortured too. Then it was the prosecutor's turn again and he argued that Lucius didn't have to rejoin Voldemort and that he and the Malfoy family could've run.

To that I replied, "Regulus Black ran and look where that got him. No one stops being a Death Eater without Him killing them. Lucius was already in Voldemort's inner circle from the first war, so after Voldemort came back, he had no choice but to show up to protect his family."

The prosecutor gave me a very dirty look then, but I only looked at him for a second before I locked eyes with Draco. Draco had a gigantic smile plastered across his face and it was so beautiful that I missed the prosecutor dismissing me the first time.

"You can get down now Auror Potter," he repeated.

"Er, yes," I agreed and retook my seat next to Ron as Narcissa Malfoy was called to the stand.

"What did you say all that for? You'll probably get him off scot-free!" Ron hissed quietly.

"It was worth it," I replied, recalling the look on Draco's face. And just then, Draco turned around and looked at me. I acknowledged his glance with a nod and he turned back around.

"Malfoy! You did that all to get in a veela's pants? I thought he didn't have any allure!?"

"Silence in the court," the Warlock said, meaning Ron.

"Come on, you're not likely to be up today," I whispered, getting up and inching towards the door.

Once we were out in the hall with the door closed behind us, Ron grabbed my shoulders and pushed me against the wall. "Are you daft? You just practically said that yeah, Lucius Malfoy killed and tortured people in Voldemort's name, but hey that's fine, because his son is hot."

I couldn't help it; I laughed.

"I'm serious!"

"I know Ron. Come on; it's already four and Narcissa just barely took the stand, so you won't be called today; let's go home and discuss this."

"Only if you'll promise to explain when we get there."

"Yes, fine, I promise," I said, raising my hands in submission.

And so we made our way back through the Ministry and flooed to the Burrow, where I'd been staying since the war. I had no desire to move in to Grimmauld Place, the Weasleys had offered me a place to stay, and I'd been living here ever since.

Molly came bustling out of the kitchen and asked, "How was court boys?"

"Fine, if you think Harry getting Malfoy Senior off a good thing," Ron answered.

"Harry?" Molly asked concerned.

"Yes Harry, do explain," Ron added.

"He's ovulating again!"

"Lucius?" Ron asked, still a bit slow on the uptake at times.

"No, Draco. I'm sure it's me. I'm sure I'm his mate, but he won't admit it. He'd rather die than be mated to Harry Potter," I explained.

"You couldn't let him die dear," Molly said understandably.

"Yeah, because if he did then you'd never get in his veela pants," Ron said and my face went red.

"Ron!" Molly exclaimed.

"Well it's true, Mum!" Ron replied.

"And so was everything I said. I just got to thinking that maybe the reason Draco can't stand the thought of being mated to me is that I've no compassion for his family and what they went through during the war. After listening to his testimony, I started thinking that Lucius really didn't have much of a choice this time around. Last time he did, but he got in before he realized what it was like. This time he had a family to protect and no choice," I said.

"And Malfoy will die without being properly mated and you had to save him, I know. Come on, let's go back to the Ministry," Ron replied.

"Why?" I asked. "We just came from there."

"Because you need to talk to Head Auror Robards and explain your romantic intentions towards an inmate. If you're going through with this, then we might as well do it in a way that doesn't get you fired, mate," Ron answered.

"And you best do it soon, if that boy's ovulating again. Your window for action won't last long and there's no telling how much time has already past," Molly added.

And so Ron and I stepped back through the floo and I caught my boss before the end of the day. There was a lot of paperwork involved, but since it was a veela mating and not something either party has conscious control over, there wasn't any way this could be either of our fault. Besides, I'd been off of the case for a month now, so there was no appearance of impropriety. After a signed affidavit insisting that Draco and I were not in any way intimate while I was guarding him, I was free and clear to pursue a relationship as far as the Ministry was concerned. Convincing Draco would be an entirely different matter.

Author's Note: It's snowing again. My school hasn't canceled, tyrannical overlords that they are, but I ditched out of my morning classes. I do have to show up to teach this evening, but I'm hoping the snow stops by then. Thus this chapter for you. Next chapter Harry will make his first attempt at courting Draco.

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