Three days later, Harry awakened early. Today was the day he was to start work at the orphanage. Narcissa Malfoy had asked him to drop by Malfoy Manor first thing in the morning, so she could go over a few things with him before he began.
Moving carefully, so as not to awaken Ginny, he slipped out of the room to shower. As he headed down the hall to the bathroom, he met Kreacher, who was dusting the portraits.
"Kreacher," Harry said in a low voice. "If you're not too busy, I need to have a word with you."
"What is it, Master Harry?" the old elf replied. "Has Kreacher done something to displease Master?"
"No, no, not at all," Harry said as he led the elf into an unused bedroom so they could talk privately. He cast a silencing charm at the door, so no one would hear them.
"There are a few things happening that I need to make clear with you," Harry began as the elf paid close attention to him. "First of all, I want to remind you that your primary loyalty is to me. Normally, I wish for you to obey Mrs Weasley's and Mrs Potter's wishes as well, but you must never do what they say if it contradicts something I've already told you to do."
"Of course, Master," Kreacher agreed.
"I want you to come tell me every time they order you to do something against my wishes," Harry reiterated. "And if it's something you're not sure of, come to me and ask before doing what they tell you."
"Kreacher understands perfectly, Master Harry," the old elf told him. Kreacher was well aware of the problems in the Potter marriage. "Kreacher hears things."
"Like what?" Harry asked. He wanted to know what Molly and Ginny talked about when he wasn't home.
"Well, Kreacher has heard you arguing with the two witches," the elf began. "But I hear them talking about Master Harry when you're not here."
"What do they say?" Harry prodded.
"The old mistress tells the young mistress how to do things to make you do what she wants," Kreacher said. "And she tells her that she needs to keep things from you that she doesn't want you to know; that's it's for your own good. She tells young mistress that this is something that all married witches must do to be happy."
"I see," Harry responded slowly, turning away in thought. He was unsurprised by Kreacher's report, yet he couldn't help but feel betrayed. However, it served to strengthen his resolve to begin the process of ending his ill-conceived marriage to Ginny Weasley.
Turning back to the elf, Harry told him, "I want you to continue monitoring their conversations. I want you especially to listen for them talking about our marriage, the baby, and Ginny's plans to play professional quidditch."
"Kreacher can do that," the elf replied eagerly.
Changing the subject, Harry told the elf, "I'm going to be spending a good bit of time away from home from now on. I'll be taking James with me a good bit of the time. But on the times I must leave James at home, your primary job is to watch over him and make sure he comes to no harm. Mrs Weasley is not to be left alone with him, nor is she to take him away from Grimmauld Place on her own, unless I've given my permission. Is that clear?"
"Perfectly, Master Harry," Kreacher said. In the elf's opinion, it was about time that the young master wised up. "Kreacher will be happy to do Master's bidding."
"Good," Harry said briefly. "I'm going to be out for several hours today. I want you to get James ready to go with me while I'm getting a shower. Pack up everything he'll need for the day in the bottomless diaper bag."
"Yes, Master Harry," Kreacher said. "Kreacher will give Young Master a bottle, too."
"Fine," Harry said, as he released the wards around the door. "I'll meet you in the kitchen in a little while then."
A short time later, Harry managed to slip out of the house with James without meeting Molly or Ginny. Ginny was normally a late sleeper and Molly had still been in the shower when he apparated away from Grimmauld Place. He'd left a note for them in the kitchen, plus had briefed Kreacher on what to say when they asked him about it.
He apparated directly to Malfoy Manor, as Narcissa had asked him to do. She'd promised a light breakfast over tea.
Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy were waiting for Harry, as the house elf who had answered the door led him into the breakfast room. Harry knew that Lucius divided his time between his two women, yet he was surprised to see the haughty wizard here. He was curious about what Hermioen was doing, but thought it better not to ask in front of Narcissa Malfoy.
"Mr Potter," Narcissa greeted him, smiling. "Do have a seat." Turning to the house elf waiting by her side, she said, "Bring Mr Potter a cup of tea and a plate, if you please."
After the elf had scurried away, the blond witch returned her attention to her guest and the baby he held. "James is a beautiful baby," Narcissa said, sighing at the thought that she'd be holding her own baby in a few month's time. "May I hold him?"
"Of course," Harry said, as he walked over to the pregnant witch to hand James to her.
Lucius looked indulgently over at Narcissa as she fussed over the new Potter heir, imagining her with the new child they were soon to have, while also remembering when Draco was first born.
"He's adorable!" Narcissa told Harry. "I know you must be so proud of him."
"He's pretty special," Harry said quietly. "He's probably the best thing that's happened in my life so far."
Changing the subject, Narcissa said, "So, Harry. Tell me more about your interest in working at the orphanage." Lucius had told her about Harry's marital woes and of his suggestion that the younger wizard volunteer at the orphanage, but she wanted to hear Harry's motivations for herself.
"Well, I'm embarrassed that I didn't think of it myself earlier," Harry began hesitantly. "But when Mr Malfoy suggested it to me as a strategy for me to gain custody of James after I'm divorced, I realized that it was an excellent idea on its own. I'm an orphan myself, so I'll be able to understand how those kids will be feeling. Plus, it will give me a chance to be with James more and help me to be a better father to him."
Narcissa gave Harry a genuine smile, satisfied with his answers. She knew he was sincere; Gryffindors were incapable of the obfuscations that came second nature to Slytherins.
"Wonderful," she said. "I'm sure you'll do well with the children and I'll also be happy to answer any questions you might have in the future about raising little boys. I think I have a little experience with that."
"Just a little," Lucius agreed, leaning over to kiss his wife on the cheek. Turning to the younger wizard, he continued, "The reason we asked you to come here first was so I could give you a briefing."
"Briefing?" Harry was confused.
"I took the liberty of inviting a reporter from the Daily Prophet to cover your first day as a volunteer," Lucius explained smoothly. "It's important to start laying the groundwork for the public image you wish to cultivate. This is so that when it comes time to pursue your divorce, the public will be used to seeing you in the caring father role and one who is concerned for the welfare of all children."
"Won't it just make Molly and Ginny suspicious in addition to making them angry?" Harry asked. "And I'm really rather tired of having no privacy."
"They're going to be angry at anything you do beyong saying, 'Yes, ma'am,'" the older wizard said dryly. "But it's perfectly natural that the wizarding world would be interested in what 'The-Boy-Who-Lived' is doing with his life, especially in relation to his son. I know you would prefer to be out of the spotlight and live in privacy, but now is not the time for that. For the sake of your son, you'll have to bear the limelight awhile longer."
"I understand," Harry conceded. "I'll just be glad to get all this behind me, so James and I can live our lives in peace."
"The media can be a rather useful tool for presenting one's public image," Lucius told the younger wizard. "Properly managed, that is. You'll find it's much easier to control what they say about you and, more importantly, how they say it, when you initiate contact with them and alert them to possible stories of interest that you wanted them to cover, anyway. You'll find that when you supply the press with stories on a regular basis, that they are more inclined to respect your privacy in other matters." With a rueful laugh, he concluded, "Of course, this isn't foolproof, especially when it comes to barracudas like Rita Skeeter."
Before Harry could comment, Narcissa said, "Shall we go? I've told the children you're coming and they're looking foward to meeting you. I won't expect you to do much today, but simply follow me around to get a feel of how we do things and to get acquainted with the children."
"Yeah," Harry said, taking James back from her. "Let's go."
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A/N Thanks again to my loyal readers and reviewers
A/N Next chapter as yet unnamed.