A/N : It's not mine I tell you, just a bit of whimsical fun

Thanks to all who are still following, favouring and reviewing, thanks to mercersburgrachel, having unintentionally, but successfully, applying for and getting the job of muse.

I felt the need to kick things up a gear this chapter, I like it, hope you do too.

This chapter has undergone a few subtle changes, but has been updated nonetheless

Chapter Fourteen

Harry awoke and with tired eyes he looked down at the woman sleeping on his chest, she looked so incredibly peaceful in this sleepy state, angelic even, he couldn't fathom how she could be comfortable, he smoothed her hair with his hand, her eyes fluttered behind closed lids, he admired her form pressed tightly against him and longed for this to be an everyday occurrence, he wanted to wake up to her every morning.

He willingly stepped onto that train of thought, his marriage to Ginny had been relatively straightforward, in many ways it was just like a muggle ceremony, he had a feeling that it would be as far from that as possible should he declare his intentions for Narcissa's hand. Would she even entertain the idea of marriage? After all, they had been perfectly happy just being together.

It seemed that his train of thought also had a catering trolley but instead of food it was packed full of tiny details, the proposal, well, it would have to be something pretty momentous, he couldn't actually recall proposing to Ginny, the rings had been heirlooms, given to him in front of everyone during a Weasley family dinner, they had just smiled at each other and slipped them on.

Rings! Maybe he could get Hermione to help him with that, as his mind drifted he remembered a selection of jewellery in his vault, it wasn't that he didn't want to spend money, but they may be magical and perfectly suited for the task, it couldn't hurt to have them appraised.

He felt warm, his skin was definitely heating up and his heart was racing, it was nerves, it had to be, Narcissa stirred and her pale arm slid around his torso, she sighed and settled. He was nervous, but he didn't mind, this was right, a grin crept across his face, he craned his neck forward, it was just enough to allow him to kiss the top of her head. Harry was eager to get on with his day, but he didn't want to wake his sleeping witch and if he was honest with himself, he didn't want to move from her either. He thought about how best to organise his day, top of his list of priorities was Andromeda, if he could just win her round, she would be invaluable to him, he knew their father was dead and that was a blessed relief, by all accounts the man was a vicious and cruel bastard, he had never asked about her mother, he wondered whether he'd have to ask her for Narcissa's hand, he also worried about all the other possible hurdles and pitfalls that could be in store for him, today he hoped to find out, providing Andromeda didn't hex him right out of her house.

Regardless of how things went with Andromeda, he would head to Gringotts from there, despite it being a Sunday the goblins treated it like any other day, if by some miracle he managed to find something in his family vault, all that remained was a place to take her so he could propose properly, he had no ideas, he briefly considered going back to where it all started, but the thought of going back to Aragog's hollow, deep within the forbidden forest, didn't appeal one bit.

The Quidditch world cup was due to start soon, there was every chance that he could obtain tickets, there was no way he would ever want to turn his declaration of intent into a media sensation, he had never enjoyed being the centre of attention, besides, he didn't want to wait, the world cup was a few months away, he was so deep in thought, he didn't notice that Narcissa had woken up, blue eyes looked up at him lovingly.

"It's far too early to be so deep in thought, what are you thinking about?"

"Morning, I was just trying to organise my day"

She moved herself back up the bed and laid her head on Harry's pillow, she ran her fingers through his tousled bed hair.

"You are only going to see Andromeda and Ted, how much organising does that task require?"

"It's the things I want to do after I visit them, that's what needs organising"

"I thought you were going for a quick visit and then you'd come back to me, will you be gone all day?"

Narcissa had a pout that would make a petulant child green with envy, Harry found it amusing and proceeded to break her resolve with affection, she was stubborn to a fault and her attempts to hold him away were almost successful, they tussled, she was surprisingly strong and he lay pinned, not that he minded, the view was superb, she whispered seductively in his ear, his body betrayed his desire to leave.

With an effort he reversed the situation, the blonde tried ineffectually to regain her former dominance, it was Harry's turn to whisper in her ear, he told her that if he wasn't able to go she would inadvertently ruin her surprise, he felt bad for using a cheap trick against her but it worked and she relented, he laughed as she bombarded him with questions, she made a few hollow threats, and vowed to question Hermione after he had left, despite his insistence that the poor girl knew nothing. He kissed her and she responded in kind, they kissed each other fiercely, she broke away from him much to his chagrin, she slid from the bed and padded to the bathroom, she stood in the doorway.

"Hurry back"

With that, the door closed, he shut his eyes and tried to imprint her image onto his brain, shaking himself out of his reverie, he proceeded to dress, then he headed to the kitchen.

Hermione was already awake, she sat eating toast and drinking tea, she offered him a cup and some toast, he ate quickly, between mouthfuls he warned her about the impending interrogation, this turned out to be a terrible idea, if possible, Hermione was even more curious than Narcissa, he assured her that he would let her in on the big secret when the time was right, and that he may need her before the day was over, this added more fuel to the fire, in the end he practically ran for the front door, shouted a farewell at a shocked Walburga and once outside he apparated to Andromeda and Ted's house.

The door was opened before he could even raise his hand to knock, apparently he had been seen walking down the path from the upstairs window, Teddy was positively bouncing up and down at Harry's arrival, he barely managed to wave to Andromeda as he was pulled upstairs and into the young boy's bedroom, he had a thing for muggle toy cars and LEGO, he sat down cross legged and the boy copied him, they built fantastic structures and smashed them down with the cars.

Eventually Andromeda appeared and rescued him, they went down to the kitchen and she busied herself preparing drinks, they chatted about what they'd been up to since the last visit, he told her about his weekend with Hermione, Ron was mentioned but he kept quiet about Narcissa.

With drinks in hand and a sizeable chunk of cake they went into the living room and sat down, Andromeda filled Harry in on all Teddy's exploits at school, it wouldn't be long before he received his letter from Hogwarts, he also wanted to ask Harry if he could teach him to fly because he really wanted to play for whichever house he was sorted into. The witch seemed to be in good spirits and now seemed like a good time to change the subject.

"Andromeda, Could we talk about your sister?"

Her whole posture stiffened, she set her cup and plate on the table, Harry was once again reminded of her resemblance to Bellatrix, he wished that he had phrased the question better, all he could do now was wait for the woman to speak and then try to smooth things over. She got up unexpectedly and crossed over to an impressive looking Welsh Dresser, she opened one of it's cupboards and removed what looked like a picture frame, she returned to her seat and handed it to Harry.

"That was the last picture taken of us all together"

Harry looked at the smiling girls in the picture, Bella and Andi, so like twins, Narcissa, so similar to her sisters in some ways but also their polar opposite, her blonde hair shone next to the darker shades of her older sisters.

"I assume you know a little of my family" he nodded but said nothing "my father is dead, I would say he probably died while you were in your second year, I know mother is still thriving, no idea what her views of me are, Bella wasn't always twisted, father turned her into a monster, she took almost everything from me, I heard she left quite an impression on Hermione" Harry moved to open his mouth but was cut off "I don't know what else I can tell you, don't think I don't remember how you reacted the first time we met, I can't even begin to tell you her reasons for killing Sirius, they got along just fine when they were children, I don't need to be reminded of my sister's work, I live with that loss every single day, I assumed you knew me well enough to not even entertain the idea of chatting about that evil bitch"

With her rant over, she looked around just to make sure Ted hadn't walked in, satisfied that they were still alone she turned back to Harry, he had lost the colour from his face, she was breathing heavily, she relaxed slightly in her seat but the set of her jaw was still firm.

"I actually wanted to talk about Narcissa, I'm sorry, I should have made that clear" he kept his voice low and even.

"Oh"

That was all she said, the anger in her face was replaced with confusion but her curiosity was piqued, she wondered where this conversation was headed.

"I wasn't expecting that, I just assumed you meant Bella, so many still live under her shadow despite her being gone, sorry, I should have known you wouldn't have been so thoughtless, I'm interested to know why you want to talk about Narcissa, I know you were very vocal about how she should be treated at the end of the war, I read about it, I always thought it was odd, perhaps now is the time I find out"

Harry had no reservations about telling Andromeda all about the events in the forbidden forest, she was impressed that her sister defied the Dark Lord and essentially helped bring about his downfall, she told Harry that she almost wished Bella had survived the war to learn of her sister's transgression, at the same time she was devastated by how badly Bella had been used, her whole life spent being manipulated, first by her father, then Voldemort and in the end everything she believed was all a lie.

"I was staying at your Aunt's house, well I suppose it's my house now and Narcissa came to visit, she was unaware that I was there, and we became friends" he paused to consider how best to proceed

"I am shocked that the ice maiden is capable of friendship, not as shocked as I am that you entertained the idea"

"As I said, her motives were selfish at first, but she's changed now, she misses you"

Andromeda was wholly unconvinced, she shook her head in disbelief

"She is obviously using her friendship with you to try and get back into my good graces"

"It's not like that, she managed to erase Hermione's scar, she did it off her own back"

"I still don't understand why you defend her to the hilt, one good deed doesn't undo all the bad ones"

"You make her sound as bad as Bellatrix"

"She may not have killed or destroyed, but she stood by and let it happen, that kind of apathy can be just as damaging"

The conversation was rapidly becoming a heated argument, Harry knew that it was going to be an uphill struggle.

"Yes, she turned a blind eye, but if Bella had come to you, would you have turned her over to the Dementors? Not to mention that Voldemort was living under her roof, she did what she had to do to survive"

"OK, I concede your point, but it still doesn't explain why you care"

Harry shifted under her intense gaze, there was no way to avoid the truth, so he sucked in a deep breath and blurted it out.

"I love her and I want to marry her, we've been together since before I split with Ginny" He had made peace with his infidelity but still felt the burn of shame.

"You and Narcissa are romantically involved?"

The witch looked at him incredulously, she laughed but it quickly died down when she saw the sincerity on the young man's face

"You're serious?"

"Absolutely, it wasn't planned, it happened slowly, we were both lonely, I can't explain it but she completes me"

"This is a lot to take in Harry, I know it's a big thing to ask, but could you show me your memories?"

"Legillimancy? I'm awful at Occlumency, and there are things you probably don't want to see" he couldn't stop himself blushing.

Despite being reassured many times he still felt nervous, this wouldn't be anything like his lessons with Snape, that was an attack on his mind, this time he was a willing participant. She wasn't lying about her skill, it was a very strange sensation.

Andromeda carefully browsed Harry's memories, she saw their first meeting, the dinner dates, the card games, as the relationship grew she could feel the strength of his feelings and saw those feelings returned, she saw the sister she remembered from her childhood, happy and carefree, a few tears ran down her cheeks, and then the connection was broken.

"That wasn't so bad"

"I promised I'd be careful, I can scarcely believe it, she behaves like a love sick teenager, I assume you would have rather Draco found out differently?"

"You saw that? It could have gone better, but it worked out in the end"

"You are sure that this is what you want?"

"Positive, when Ginny went away to play Quidditch I rarely missed her, I thought it was because I accepted her choice of profession, but after a few weeks of having Narcissa visiting I counted the days until the next visit, I missed her when she was gone, if that was how I felt before we became an item, I really don't want to be without her now"

"What about the age gap?"

Harry couldn't help but grin despite himself

"I don't think it's a problem, we have plenty in common, our differences help, she can relax around me, she challenges me, it's like finding my missing piece, she just wants to be happy and I make her happy, she hopes that she can put some of her skills to use at St Mungo's, she is determined to erase everyone's perception of her, her determination is one of many things I adore about her"

Satisfied with his answer she stood up and left the room, telling him that she would be right back, her footsteps got fainter as she walked down the hallway, Harry heard the front door open and close, Teddy came in for a drink and Harry went into the kitchen and made him a glass of juice, Andi had cleverly laid out some cake for the boy and he hopped up on to the stool at the counter to eat, the closing front door announced the return of his Grandmother.

"Teddy, I need to go out with Harry, I won't be long, Martha is going to look after you while I'm gone"

He mumbled an OK through a mouthful of cake, a short, thin woman with mousey hair and a friendly face just smiled at them, Harry gave her a polite nod and he readied himself to leave, they didn't speak until they were out of the house and some way down the road.

"Who was that woman and where are we going?"

"She's my neighbour, she helps me out, she's a muggle, which makes things entertaining as for where we are going, I think it will be more fun to leave it as a surprise"

An uneasy feeling seeped into his stomach, a quick check of the surroundings to ensure no one would see them apparate, she offered her arm and hesitantly he took it, they appeared in a clearing, the tall and twisted trees blocked out most of the light. Andromeda was already a fair distance ahead and he had to jog to catch her up, in no time they left the dirt path for a gravel road of sorts.

The gates came into view before the house and Harry knew instinctively where she had brought him, this could only be Black Manor, an involuntary shiver ran down his spine as they passed the gate into the vast grounds.

With a less than satisfactory warning that they may not be welcome, they found themselves in front of the vast doors, the witch placed her hand on the wood and they silently swung open, she crooked her finger at him to follow and they headed inside.

"Well Harry, are you ready to meet your future mother in law?"

"Not even a little bit"

"She will probably already know we are here, she usually holds court in a room up the stairs"

To Harry the climb to the top seemed mountainous, his stomach was doing back flips, mentally he felt fine, Narcissa was worth it and this would get him one step closer to his goal, before they alighted the stairs, Andromeda took it upon herself to make the young man look a little more presentable, for which he was most grateful.

They reached the top and they walked towards a door on the left, Andi entered without knocking and he followed without question. The room was small and cosy, a fire blazed in a vast hearth, standing in front of the fire with her back to them was a tall woman, her incredibly long hair stopped just off the floor, she slowly turned to face her guests, Harry saw where the Black sisters got their looks from, despite her age, and he would never even dare to guess it, she was a very beautiful woman, her eyes looked over at her daughter and lingered long on Harry, he got the impression she was trying to make him squirm.

"Hello Mother, it's been a long time"

"Andromeda, what an unexpected surprise, and who is this young gentleman?"

"You know very well who it is"

"Then please introduce us, or have you forgotten the manners you were raised with"

"Had beaten into us you mean"

Both women stared daggers at each other, the room was stifling, Harry surreptitiously loosened his collar, Andromeda ended the stand off, shooting her mother a final glare.

"Harry Potter, this is my mother, Druella Black, Mother, this is Harry Potter, as well you know"

A smirk played across the old witch's face, she motioned towards the chairs and took her seat.

"It's very nice to meet you Ms Black"

"Likewise Mr. Potter, I have been hoping to meet you ever since Narcissa visited"

"Narcissa visited and that made you want to meet me?"

"Oh yes, my daughter is very much in love with you Mr. Potter, I thought she would bring you herself, but it seems you've sought me out, which means only one thing"

Harry didn't care for the smile on Druella's face, the light from the fire cast shadows making her eyes look like black pits, he glanced sideways at Andromeda, her face was unreadable but her eyes told him to continue. He cleared his throat, the sound was loud in the quiet of the room, his nerves were jangling

"I would like your permission to marry Narcissa and your blessing"

"I'm impressed, adhering to tradition, well mannered, and not one but two requests of me, how I have missed the boldness of youth"

Druella rose elegantly and stood before Harry, she commanded him to stand and with legs like jelly he did as he was told, he couldn't have been more complicit under the imperious curse, cold fingers gripped his lower jaw, vice like, before he was able to utter a sound a familiar sensation hit him, she was in his head. For what felt like an eternity she searched his mind, he attempted to push her out but it was futile, she wasn't gentle and he had no control over what she saw.

When she finally released him Andromeda was on her feet with her wand drawn, Druella just laughed and sat back down.

"How dare you treat Harry in such a disrespectful manner, you have no idea how much he's done for Narcissa and myself"

"I know now, I saw what I needed, and I will consider your request Mr. Potter"

"Mother, stop playing games"

"It seems Andromeda aims to suck the fun out of everything, very well, I shall see you at the wedding Mr. Potter, best you get on, I couldn't help seeing that you have wedding rings to procure"

Just like that they were dismissed, Harry was practically dragged from the room, Andi was furious he could almost feel the anger radiating off her, they returned to the clearing in the woods.

"I can't apologise enough, she had no right, she is lucky that the Ministry aren't storming the place, they must know she's alive and well"

"I might have had something to do with that, I requested that your family were to be left alone, the only reason Malfoy manor was raided was because of Lucius, I couldn't stop that, it was one of the conditions for Narcissa's house arrest, all questionable items pertaining to the dark arts had to be removed"

"I doubt my sister minded that too much but it's more than my mother deserves, she has the nerve to tell me about manners and then barges into your mind, I was just about to hex her when she let you go"

Harry and Andromeda went their separate ways but not before he gave her a friendly hug and asked her to pass it on to Teddy, promising to visit again soon. Diagon Alley was eerily quiet and the short walk to the entrance of Gringotts was uneventful, he was shown to his vault with polite indifference, he stepped inside and lit his wand, he walked over to where he had seen the jewellery on his previous visit, after many minutes he had made no progress, the sum of all of his knowledge when it came to rings was that he knew which items were rings, so he took all of them and after one more gut churning cart ride later, he was back in the main hall.

Unsure of who to approach he merely glanced around at the goblins working the counters, from the door he watched a goblin examining jewels, the next one was weighing gold, the one next to him was examining a necklace through an eyepiece, Harry approached the counter, he coughed to gain the attention of the creature.

"Can't you see I'm very busy Mr. Potter, so hurry up and say whatever you have to say so I can return to my work" Harry did his best to ignore the rudeness and keep the annoyance from his voice

"Sorry to disturb you but I wanted some rings appraised"

Harry held out one of the items to the scrutiny of coal black eyes, after a pause he said

"Very well, follow me please"

He was led into a brightly lit side room, the goblin sat at the table and gestured for him to sit opposite, Harry laid all of the rings out on the table top, the goblin examined each one in turn, turning each one over between long, thin fingers, eventually he had handled each one and after setting the last ring down he looked up.

"They are all goblin made, the craftsmanship is exquisite, passed down through several generations of your family, I'd wager"

The goblin didn't even try to hide his distaste over what he perceived to be nothing short of theft.

"What is it that you are after Mr. Potter? Perhaps then I will be better equipped to help you"

"I'm looking for his and hers wedding rings"

The goblin pushed two very similar rings towards Harry and away from the rest, the pattern running around the band seemed to be alive, it was hard to determine what the design was like.

"These should suit your needs, they are very old and crafted specifically for marriage, the couple who last used these rings were separated only by death, their love endured"

"How do you know?"

"The metal speaks to those who understand it Mr. Potter"

"Thank you, I insist that you keep the rest, consider it payment for these"

The goblin looked at Harry as if for the first time.

"You are a very strange wizard Mr. Potter, despite the break in, you are still respected among most of my race, I will ensure this most generous act reaches the ears of my people"

He stood and bowed, with the meeting over he left the bank. Before returning to Grimmauld Place he visited Magical Miscellany, he was fortunate to find two ebony boxes, with a small modification they held the rings perfectly, satisfied he headed home.

He walked through the front door whistling a jaunty tune, he took the stairs two at a time and walked into the living room like a conquering hero, the women didn't even turn in his direction, slightly deflated he went and sat next to Narcissa, she moved her legs for him, he tucked himself in under them and kissed her on the cheek, a smile flickered at the corners of her mouth. The game of scrabble was close to the end, a war was being waged and the English language was the weapon, he glanced over, half of the words looked made up.

"Would anyone like a drink?"

Taking the resounding silence as a 'No' he gently moved Narcissa's legs and got up to fix a drink, the sound of pouring liquid drowned out the clicking of the tiles. He picked up his glass and took up his favourite spot by the window, he heard the unmistakeable groan of defeat, it would do his witch good to lose sometimes.

Pale arms snaked around his waist and held him tight, he sighed at the feel of her body against him, and the warmth of her against his back, with some difficulty he managed to turn to face her, a whispered 'I missed you' just before he captured her lips.

"Missed you too" she whispered back, slightly out of breath

"Shall we sit down?"

Narcissa headed back to her seat, Harry passed the drinks cabinet and placed his glass down, he quickly caught her arm before she could reach the chair, she turned and looked at him, her brow was creased with a look of puzzlement..

"What are you doing kneeling on the floor?"

With a flourish he produced a small black box from the depths of his robes.

"Narcissa Black, will you marry me? I want to spend the rest of my life with you"

He carefully opened the lid, the silver band glinted in the darkness of it's setting, Narcissa's mind was reeling, she reached for the back of the chair to steady herself, there was only one answer to that question.

"Yes"

He carefully slipped the ring onto her finger with shaking hands, she dropped to her knees, overcome with emotion. She was glad when Harry held her close, he rested his chin on the top of her head and smiled at Hermione who looked both furious for being kept in the dark and on the verge of tears.