"M'Lords, my client is not satisfied with the ruling. He feels that the welfare of his child is compromised while in the company of Solicitor Malfoy..." Warner, Harry's high power solicitor argued from the opposite side of the room where Harry sat stone like and staring solely at the members of the Wizengamot hearing the custody case, never allowing his eyes to wonder to the table where Draco and his team were arguing their own case for custodial rights. Draco couldn't help stealing glances of Harry's rigid form wishing he would glance his way even if just for a second. The whole scene had a sense of deja vu, as if they where back in Hogwarts and Draco was vying for Harry's attention.
"I'm sorry that Auror Potter-Malfoy is not satisfied with the ruling but until the investigations on Solicitor Malfoy has concluded we do not see any real danger to the child by allowing Solicitor Malfoy supervised visitation." Lord Plukket, the hearings speaker replied rather cooly. They had been hearing arguments back and forth from both parties and had finally come to a decision which left both parents unsatisfied but Draco was at least relieved to know that he would be allow to see his daughter for the time being until the investigation against him concluded and that very same Wizengamot decided on his fate. Harry's lawyer leaned down and whispered something to him. Harry nodded stiffly and pinched the bridge of his nose, something Draco knew he did when highly agitated.
"In that case M'Lords, Auror Potter requests that the supervision be done by someone of his choosing."
There was a low murmur between the few members of the Wizengamot gathered to review the hearing. "Does Solicitor Malfoy object to Auror Potter-Malfoy choosing a supervisor for his visitation, if so he will have a court appointed supervisor as it is his right." Plukket asked this time directing his cold blue gaze at Draco who quietly shook his head no. He knew that the Wizengamot was showing him consideration due to the fact that officially he was still an employee of the ministry and in a sense their colleague. "In that case it is decided that Solicitor Malfoy has supervised visitations twice a week with the minor Aurora Bryony Malfoy. Next case." Plukket said after banging his gabble twice with finality. It was only a temporary victory but Draco couldn't help the first smile to grace his lips in nearly two months, he stood and hugged Blaise tightly as his friend congratulated him. It was more than they had hoped for.
Draco caught Harry's death glare as he and his solicitor quickly left the courtroom. Draco allowed himself to be dragged out of the opposite exit. How he wanted to chase after Harry and make him listen, but he knew it would be useless. Harry Potter was the most stubborn person he had ever met and until he was ready to talk Draco knew there was no getting through to his soon to be ex husband. The pathetic truth was that Draco was willing to wait for Harry for as long as it took. He would do anything to get Harry back, his pride be damned.
"Come on mate, lets celebrate." Blaise said tugging at Draco's sleeve to get his attention. "Don't try anything stupid like chasing after him you can very easily lose visitations with your daughter." Blaise whispered close enough that no one else could hear him.
"I wasn't." Draco lied
"Good, in that case I demand that you take me to an obnoxiously expensive dinner to celebrate this monumental win." Blaise smiled and Draco couldn't help but smile back and follow his friend out of the ministry. Once the investigation in to the curse was concluded and exonerated him Harry would have to listen to him, let him explain his side of the story.
"I take it things didn't go your way?" Ron asked as Harry slammed a couple of files on his desk with enough force to send a few loose papers tumbling down to the floor.
"Whatever gave you that idea?" Harry snapped, sitting down behind his desk and trying to reel in his anger. Nothing seemed to be going his way. First his lawyer informed him that it would be impossible to have a quick divorce without having to cross paths with his soon to be ex husband and now Draco got supervised visitations with Aurora when all Harry wanted was to break free from the man and start his life fresh. "The Wizengamot allowed Draco supervised visitations twice a week."
"Look Harry, you know that I'm a hundred percent on your side. But I don't agree with you denying Malfoy access to his daughter." Ron said tentatively knowing he could have Harry in one of his notorious moods at any moment but he had to say his peace. Harry's face looked thunderous as he tried to speak but Ron interrupted him and continued on hastily. "I could never bare it if I had to live the rest of my life without seeing Rose, knowing that she was out there but unable to be with her. Harry how would you feel if someone kept you from Aurora?"
"It's not the same thing Ron and you know it!"
"Isn't it though, mate?" Harry took a deep breath to calm down and hold back the tears that threaten to spill at any moment. How he wished his life was different, boring, uneventful and uncomplicated. However he knew that wishing and what if's were nothing but a waste of time. He knew that keeping Aurora from Draco wasn't fair to either his daughter or the man he had loved so passionately for five years but he was in no mood to be fair. He was hurt and confused and the bottom line was that he did not trust Draco. How could he after everything that had happened. Draco had lied to him, manipulated his feelings, he had cursed him for Merlin's sake and yet everyone expected Harry to be reasonable, how?
"No Ron it's not. If you and Hermione separated she would not have to fear that you would violate her trust and take Rose away during visitations. Can you guarantee that Malfoy with all his wealth and properties all over the globe won't take my daughter and run?" Harry demanded nearly vibrating with anger, why couldn't anyone else see what Malfoy was capable of! Is not like the man had not shown his true colors over and over again. "If he is capable of cursing for his own sick will than what makes all of you think that Aurora is safe with a person like that?"
"I..." Ron started a deep flush on his face, but Harry put his hand up and silenced his best friend, what was the point of continuing on that conversation. Everyone seemed so willing to give Draco the benefit of the doubt, even Ron but the only reason they were so opened minded was because they had not been the one lied to, manipulated and cursed! They had not been the one who loved the man with a desperate passion that wouldn't go away, and that was the crux of the matter, Harry couldn't stop loving Malfoy.
"Let's just drop it, we have a new case." Harry said pointing at the files he had unceremoniously dropped on their joined desks. "There was a break in at Spinner's End. Robards wants us to go check it out."
"How is that even possible?" Ron asked forgetting Harry's problem for a moment. The fact that someone could break in to Spinner's End which had been sealed off and reinforced by the ministry until the estate could be settled in private. Whoever broke into Spinner's End had to have been an uncommonly powerful witch or wizard.
"That's what we have to find out."
Harry looked around the library at Spinner's End where most of the dark artifacts in the home were located. He and Ron had performed a diagnostic spell to match the list of dangerous artifacts and nothing came up missing yet the place had been ransacked, chairs and tables turned over, most of the books were thrown across the library floor along with parchments and other nicknacks that had once belonged to Professor Snape. Obviously the intruder had been searching for something specific and had trashed the entire house in the pursuit. Nothing seemed to have been taken but Harry knew it would take weeks to sort everything out.
"We should get a few trainees to run inventory." Ron said walking back into the dark library.
"Too many dangerous artifacts and potions, they would just blow the place to high heaven." Harry told him picking through a pile of parchment in front of the over turned desk. They were mostly notes on teaching plans, seeing his old professors handwriting and lesson plans brought back so many bittersweet memories. "It's going to be you and me mate, this is going to take an eternity."
"Ugh. I hate my life. At least we only have to account for the dark artifacts, then we turn this mess over to the solicitors involved in the estate."
"Yes well now I have another reason to cross paths with Malfoy." The universe was conspiring against him. Draco Malfoy was Snape's only living heir.
Draco walked through the dark halls of Malfoy Manor and a chill ran up his spine as he got an eerie sense of deja vu. He hated the damn place and had begged his mother a dozen times since he graduated from law school to sell the mansion, it bore more bad memories than it was worth. Bust she had refused, always stating that it was their ancestral home and while Draco was not interested in living there his children might feel differently. He walked down the back stairs to the kitchen too used to the domestic life he shared with Harry, Aurora and Teddy to actually use the services of the house elves. If he was honest Hermione's constant badgering through the years actually made him feel guilt whenever he crossed paths with one of the many Malfoy Elves.
"Draco..." Draco was surprised to find his mother sitting at the large kitchen table with a dainty teacup in front of her. The scene was completely out of character for Narcissa who insisted on having all meals in the formal dinning room even if she was dinning alone.
"Good morning mother." He said wincing slightly as the slight headache he had woken up with only got worse.
"It seems like you had a very good time last night," She said lips pursed, her disapproval quite clear. "Although this is not the behavior of a parent trying to regain custody of his children."
"What are you talking about?" Draco said not really paying much attention as he poured himself a steaming mug of tea, he knew he shouldn't have listen to Blaise. Now he was suffering from a hangover and feeling completely ridiculous for having imbibed so much the night before, even if it was a celebratory dinner.
"I'm referring to this!" Narcissa exclaimed as she slammed a news paper he had not noticed she had been holding on the plain oak table, her blue eyes accusing. He walked towards her and pick up the paper, right on the front page was a photo of him draped indecently over Blaise and leaning in as if to kiss the dark wizard as they were leaving the restaurant.
Recently single Draco Malfoy back to his wild ways?
"This is not what it looks like." Draco mumbled as he read the article horrified, leave it to the Daily Prophet to distort the truth in an effort to sell the rag they called a newspaper. "You know the Prophet doesn't know the definition of the word truth."
"Maybe so, but can you explain this photograph? Draco what if Harry sees this?" Narcissa said her tone concerned as she slipped her slim hand into her son's, the stricken look on his face was all the truth she needed to know.
"I tripped on the way out of the restaurant Blaise was just helping me up, there was no kiss. No inappropriate behavior whatsoever." Draco reassured her as his heart sank, the last thing he needed at the moment was the Prophet's brand of garbage circulating in the Wizarding world, his reputation already in tatters Rita Seeker's slander would only make things more difficult for him. "Besides Harry made it rather clear to me that he no longer wants anything to do with me. He won't care if I'm off shagging every warm body in London."
"Honestly Draco must you be so vulgar?"
"My apologies mother, I have to go floo Blaise about this, see if we can get the Prophet off my back and then I'm off to the ministry for my interview with the Aurors." Draco sighed as he kissed the back of his mother's hand and left the kitchen holding his tea in one hand and the paper in the other. The day promised to be a miserable one and he wanted to make sure he was prepared for all possible outcomes. All Draco could hope for was that this new development did not make things with Harry worse than they already were.
"Alright Mr. Malfoy just have a seat and relax." Auror Wheeler a tall man with tousled black hair and kind blue eyes motioned Draco towards the plain table in the corner of the interrogation room. Draco did as he was asked anxious to finally get his side of the story out, even if at this point it didn't fix his problems with Harry it would help clear the cloud of suspicion that followed him wherever he went. "We apologize that it has taken so long to have this interview but as you know Auror Potter's magic, until recently was too unstable for these proceedings."
"Yes, however, I just want this whole ugly business dealt with." Draco said crisply as he tried to get comfortable on the plastic chair provided. A hopeless cause. The brightness of the room made him feel uncomfortable in his own skin, his chair was slightly crooked making it impossible for him to get comfortable and the heat in the room unnatural, all designed to keep him on edge during the interview. If his life had not been so miserable Draco would have laughed at his role reversal. As a prosecutor for the ministry he would usually be on the other side of the glass watching the Aurors and or magic law enforcement officers interrogated suspects.
"And that is why we are here today," Wheeler stated as he sat across form Draco, all business even though they had work together several times in the past. Draco felt completely alienated from the people he called colleagues. "As you know a healer will administer the strong dose of veritaserum and after a brief interview where we establish that you are fully under the influence of the potion, we will proceed to remove the necessary memories for review with your previous written statement." Once Draco acknowledged that he understood the process, Wheeler nodded towards the two way mirror and within seconds a middle aged woman whom Draco knew to be a ministry appointed healer walked in to the small room. Draco drank the potion and went through the motions as he was asked mundane questions such as his middle name, where he was born and so on until the auror and healer were satisfied that the potion had taken hold.
Draco couldn't help the unnatural need to speak, to spill all his deep dark secrets to the people in the room and his inner Slytherin rebelled against it. He could feel a few beads of sweat tickling down his forehead and his heart beating erratically, it was the first time he had been hit with such a strong dose of veritaserum. The healer checked his vitals and declared him ready to be interviewed.
"Alright Mr. Malfoy, lets just get down to business so we can all moved on with our day." Wheeler summoned parchment and a self writing quill ready to jot down their every word. "Can you please state your full name and occupation for the record."
"Draco Lucius Malfoy, Ministry of Magic Prosecutor." The quill scribbled furiously making small scratching noises against the parchment.
"Good, good. Lets skip the useless questions and get to the point, did you create the curse Auror Potter was under until recently?" Draco thought about the question he was just asked carefully has he bit down on the urge to answer truthfully right away. After Harry had been taken to St. Mungo's and Draco had been informed of what had happened he knew right away what the red stone had been, he had cursed the object nearly ten years earlier during his torturous sixth year at Hogwarts. Begrudgingly his lips opened and the answer was ripped from him against his will.
"Yes,"
"When did you create said curse?"
"A little over ten years ago, I was sixteen and a student at Hogwarts." Draco said answering more than he had been asked, and all he wanted was to ripped his own tongue out.
"What was the purpose of said curse?" Draco nearly rolled his eyes at the question, everyone knew the purpose of the curse it had been in the papers within seconds of the Unspeakables testing the stone.
"To make Harry James Potter fall in love with me against his Will."
"When was the curse enacted?" As he asked the question Auror Wheeler's demeanor changed slightly, he became more serious, showing the tough, smart Auror he truly was. Draco paused for a second and looked at the man closely, finding it remarkable how closely the man resembled Harry. The eyes were wrong of course and he was missing the glasses, but at that moment it seemed to Draco that it was Harry sitting across from him. That alone compelled him to answer truthfully and in ernest, he wanted Harry to know the truth.
"I do not know." Wheeler knitted his brows and the corners of his full lips turned down slightly in a confused frown.
"Mr. Malfoy you have just admitted on the record that you created the curse that was cast on Auror Potter."
"Yes, I created the curse, however, I never cast it on Harry or anyone else. I put the cursed stone in the small personal vault I kept in my dorm at the time." Draco said willing Harry to believe him with his eyes, he shook his head clearing it slightly. Something was wrong his mind felt wrong, it kept confusing Wheeler with Harry.
"I never saw the stone again after I cursed it, not until it was send to Harry nearly two months ago."
"So what you are saying is that you are responsible for creating the cursed object but not for casting the actual curse?" The Auror asked somewhat skeptically, Draco didn't blame the man for doubting his story. After all Love Curses could only be cast with strong passion.
"That is correct, I searched for months until I found what I believed to be the right curse. I needed help procuring some of the ingredients but once it was all done I couldn't go through with it." Draco confessed, he knew he sounded as pathetic then as he had that night all those years ago, he couldn't help it the Veritaserum wouldn't let him lie. Wheeler flicked his wrist and the parchment and quill lay in form of Draco on the table.
"I think we have enough of what we need for the investigation, please sign and date your written statement." He then turned to the meek looking Healer and signaled her. "Thank very much for your cooperation Mr. Malfoy, Healer Lovell will be removing the memories that pertain to this case only." It all sounded great in the surface but Draco's legal Slytherin mind demanded to know more.
"What exactly does that entail?"
"All memories from creation of the cursed stone to the morning of the break from the curse." Wheeler informed Draco calmly, as polite as he had been from the moment Draco entered the interrogation room. "Be assured that the only memories we will be reviewing will be the ones directed to Auror Potter and your relationship with him, anything relating to your work will be blocked for obvious reasons." The man was clever and good at what he did, he also seemed fair and Draco was glad that he was the one handling the case he knew enough of Wheeler to know the Auror would remain unbiased during his investigation. Draco nodded and shook the Auror's outstretched hand. "As always it was a pleasure and I will be seeing you real soon. Take care Mr. Malfoy."
"Same to you sir." Draco said as the Auror left the small room and the Healer began the slow painstakingly delicate process of removing so many memories at once. Ten years of his life, and five years of extremely private memories of times spend with his husband in the most intimate of situation. Once she was done the Healer looked at him sympathetically as he drank the antidote for the veritaserum and refused the pain potion for the pounding headache that was left behind by her probing. After he was assured that only the Aurors in the case would be reviewing his life, Draco made his way to his cramped office on the second level located in the Winzengamot Administrative Services. He was surprised to see his young assistant behind her desk hard at work.
"Oh Solicitor Malfoy! It's great to see you, how are you?" Madge Ridgebit his young and bubbly blonde assistant said bouncing off her chair and following him excitedly to his office, Madge was in a constant state of excitement. "I didn't think I would see you in this week."
"How are you Madge," He said sitting behind his desk and rubbing his temple trying to alleviate some of the throbbing.
"I'm fine, a bit overwhelm trying to divide your cases up between Solicitor Gibbon and Roshan." Draco rolled his eyes at the news, Roshan was an eager and competent Solicitor while Gibbon was barely worth the title. "Indeed, you can only imagine all the clean up work we will be doing once you're back to work. That old coot Gibbon can't even make it to court on time."
"Madge I already told you I'm..."
"Don't say it, everything will sort itself out and we will be back in business. They can't afford to lose you Roshan is great but she can't run the prosecution on her own." She interrupted in her ever optimistic and frankly overly idealistic views. Draco remember the first time Harry laid eyes on the young girl with her perky attitude and even perkier body, he had been annoyed and jealous stating that Madge with her good looks and pure blood status would make him a better partner, Draco had gone on to show him on that very desk who made him the perfect partner. He sighed deeply, it was impossible to go anywhere without remembering Harry.
"Any messages? Non case related of course." Draco asked avoiding the elephant in the room, even if he was reinstated he wasn't sure he wanted to continue working at the ministry. It would be too hard as a prosecutor he would be in constant contact with the Auror department and being so close to Harry and loving him from afar was a torture he was not keen to repeat.
"Just a few personal letters that I was going to forward today." She said leaving the office. She came back shortly with a strong cup of coffee and a stack of letters, he gave her a grateful smile and took a much needed sip of the rich hot liquid. Once he was alone Draco looked through his pile, nothing too interesting. A few invitations to dinner, an angry letter from Pansy and a blank envelope. He put Pansy's letter aside for later not really in the mood for her hysterics and opened the envelope inside there was a short note written in block letters, just one sentence yet it made Draco shiver with foreboding.
THIS IS ONLY THE BEGGING, YOU WILL NEVER BE HAPPY AGAIN.