A/N: I hope everyone enjoyed Draco's career as a rock star. As far as this chapter is concerned, I need to ask a question. (Truthfully I don't need to ask anything.) Have you ever heard the phrase, 'getting more than you bargained for'. In this chapter, Draco learns the meaning of that phrase without really learning anything from it.

My apologies for not responding to recent reviews. I had the pleasure of getting the flu and spending most of my time in bed or sitting and staring at the computer. I did try to respond to one review, but gave up after twenty minutes because I could not think of what to say. I thank you, Nanchih, Toraus and Steve2, for your comments.

One last thing, I was reviewing a story today and the Author had asked people to point out any spelling errors. I found one. He called the Head of Beaubaton, Madame Maxine. When I corrected him I realized that if you capitalize both letters in her name you get "Maxi Me".

If any of you are thinking of doing an Austin Powers crossover, there's a plot bunny for you.

Chapter 21: Around The House

Draco came down late to breakfast, but at least he finally had some rest. A couple of hours in an old armchair did not make for a full night's sleep. And yesterday was a busy day. He sat down next to Justin when he waved him over. Hermione was there, along with Susan Bones and most of the Weasleys. Luna Lovegood was also part of the group, sitting next to Ginny Weasley. They were at the end of the group or perhaps the beginning of the next group.

Since it was the holiday, no one bothered about the rules for sitting with one's house.

"Yesterday?" Justin asked.

"It was fun," Draco admitted. "Weren't the fanciest Christmas, mind. You know things are slow for Mick."

It was almost funny. Draco knew that Justin was aware of what was going on, and a flicker on her features showed that Hermione knew. An understanding nod let him know that the twins were aware as well. A small surprise was when Susan Bones lowered her eyes. It was something to ask Justin about when he had a chance.

"You were a tad chummy with Sirius Black," Fred noted with a laugh. "Someone hit you with a Confundus Charm?"

"Naw," Draco said casually. "'e did a favour is all. Took me 'ome for Christmas, for no other reason than to be nice. Din't do it for me, though. An' I know 'e tol' all of you."

Ron Weasley snorted. "Yeah, no one told me. They only stole some of my presents."


"Mummy!" an excited voice said as a young girl came clomping down the stairs. "Father Christmas came! Look! A dolly!"

Draco, barely asleep in the chair by the fireplace, heard every exclamation point. The steps came nearer and the voice became louder.

"DRAGON!"

The moppet flung herself onto his lap before he had his eyes open.

"Who's he?"

Draco looked over at Sirius Black who seemed too wide awake. "Cheryl, this is Mister Black. He's from my school. He gave me a ride."

Cheryl whispered, quite loudly, "Is he a frien'?"

Draco whispered, just as loud, "Frien' of Mum."

Sirius Black arched an eyebrow, but smiled as the girl looked at him with delight. Someone else to play with. Maybe.

"Call me Sirius."

Janice walked down the stairs a few minutes later. Andy was in her arms. At once he looked over at the strangers. She walked up to Sirius Black. "Hold 'im while I make breakfast?"

Draco almost laughed as Sirius took the baby, holding it in front of him as though he had no idea what to do. The baby started to whimper.

"Put 'im in your lap. An' talk to 'im."

Sirius moved the boy onto his lap. Andy scrunched around so he could look up, and started to pout.

"Talk to 'im," Draco repeated.

"About what?" The man was incredulous. "He won't understand anything I say."

"Don't matter. 'e jus' wants attention. An' start quick or 'e'll start bawlin'."

Draco sat back as he and Cheryl listened to Sirius Black ramble on about who he was and how he lived in London. When Sirius saw how Andy reacted to his voice, he started making exaggerated noises and moving his free arm as he began to describe his house. When he mentioned the staircase, he moved his hand upward. Andy cooed with delight. He smiled as Sirius snuggled him closer for more support. And reached up to grab his beard as the man began describing the room with his family tree.

Cheryl interrupted and pointed to her family tree, sitting in the corner with packages underneath. Sirius told her that his tree was painted on the walls. Cheryl sat up and pointed. A new packaged had appeared under the tree.

Sirius Black smiled. "Father Christmas must have forgotten one. Too bad we were so busy talking. We missed our best chance to see him."

Cheryl pouted, but Draco gave her a hug. "Good thing, too. If he knew we'd see 'im, we'd 'ave to wait a whole 'nuther year to get that present."


"How were things, really?" Hermione asked. "I know money is tight."

"Well," Draco drawled, "Mick got to be an elf for the holiday. Made a few Quid. Not that they have to worry. House was stocked with food. They could probably last until the summer on what they have."

"Seriously?" Justin asked in surprise.

"We had three great meals," Draco assured them. "Sirius was there. You can ask him."

"Sirius? You're calling him by his first name."


Janice came out of the kitchen with a small jar, a spoon and a bib. "Draco?" Cheryl removed herself from his lap as Draco went into the kitchen to finish with breakfast. He noticed five plates. That meant that Mick should be home soon. That was good news. Eggs and bacon were almost ready. Toast was on the oven staying warm. He looked at the butter and opened the icebox to grab another stick.

It was almost empty. A bottle of milk. A loaf of bread. Half a jar of jam.

He returned to the stove and checked on the eggs, made sure they were scrambled well and took them off the heat. He pulled the bacon out of the frying pan and set them on the paper towel so it would soak up the grease. Then he searched the kitchen. The bread box had half a loaf. And a cup filled with used tea bags, to be used again. And a piece of a newspaper, hidden away as though in a hurry. An article. About Mick the Thief. It ended with the note that his help was no longer requested by certain parties. Knowing what to expect, he opened the cupboard. A few cans. Some baby food. Enough to easily last a full day.

Janice had said things were bad. This was worse than he thought. And they didn't have Miss Carmichael anymore to help. His first thought was to extend the food, to make it seem more than it was. He crumpled the bacon and mixed it in with the eggs. It would go further that way. As for the butter, it would have to be scrape toast. He smiled as he did his best to make the breakfast look as good as possible. Inside, he was angry. If he had his way, he'd stock the entire kitchen from Hogwarts. He knew the house elves would be happy to give him anything he asked for. He grinned as he remembered visiting the kitchens at Hogwarts. The house elves were begging him to have some food. To take some with him. And as soon as he returned to school, he knew what he would do. He'd call Kreacher . . .

Draco paused. Cheryl said that a package suddenly appeared. It couldn't have been the floo network. He took a chance that he understood who delivered that packaged. His voice was low but urgent.

"Kreacher?"

A popping noise was heard. Draco hoped he was the only one who heard. He turned around to see the house elf standing there.

"Kreacher stayed in case Master needed him."

Draco smiled. "Is there plenty of extra food at Hogwarts?" He continued to smile as he explained his plan. It was going to be a long winter. Things weren't going well. There was no cheese to go with the eggs. There was hardly any butter for the toast. And Mick working the holiday just for some bread.

Kreacher was reluctant until Draco told him he also had to keep track of how much everything cost so that Hogwarts could be payed back. And gave him a doubtful look when he lied and said it was Sirius Black's idea to begin with. "And it is Christmas."

After Draco said "please", Kreacher promised he would take care of everything. He snapped his fingers so that the food was hot again, then disappeared with a loud pooping noise. Draco cheerfully started filling the plates as he thought about what a wonderful surprise it would be.

Janice walked into the kitchen holding Andy, asking what the noise was. Draco held up a plate to hand to her as he said it was nothing. Kreacher appeared again holding a plate of his own that had five small wedges of cheese. His other hand held a tub of butter. Janice gasped as she saw the small creature with what looked like a towel wrapped around his waist Andy laughed in delight. Kreacher smiled. "To help with breakfast."

Draco stood there. All eyes were not on him. "Um, Janice, this is Kreacher. He's me 'ouse elf. Kreacher, this is me sister, Janice." He pointed at the baby. "That's Andy."

He pointed behind Janice at the new face that appeared. "That's Cheryl."

And now the fireworks, Draco thought as Sirius Black walked up. They were all curious about the popping noises. "And you know Sirius Black."

Kreacher bowed to everyone, saying how pleased he was to meet master's family. Then he looked up at Sirius Black. And told him it was good that he thought of other people. He did not smile but he did not scowl. As for Sirius Black, the last thing he expected was a kind word from his former servant.

Kreacher disappeared. Everyone's eyes bulged. Except Sirius Black.

"Where did . . . Kreacher go? And why didn't he snarl at me?"

"Don't you know?" Draco said in surprise. "It was your idea."

"Fancy voice," Janice said, "'e mus' be lying."

"Of course he's lying," Sirius retorted. "His lips are moving."

"Crisp it, Janice, were 'im. 'e brought me cat and all for the tin . . . You know what I mean."

"Cat for the tin?" Sirius asked, but Janice laughed at him. Andy laughed at his mother's smile.

"Made Draco t'ink," Janice said carefully. "'e couldn't decide to tell the truth or lie." She tried to frown at Draco. "An' no cursin' 'roun' the lil'uns."

"Right," Draco said, then muttered, "at least the breakfast's cold. Again."

The sound of a door opening was all that was needed to change the subject. And the mood. Cheryl was already running while shouting 'DADDY'. Even Andy was making noises as he recognized the new adult in the house. And in the doorway, Draco was laughing as Mick stood there in a hallmark moment: Hugging his wife who was holding their son, while their daughter hugged his knee. Even the green elf hat with the bell seemed to fit in.

Sirius Black glared at Draco while the family greeted the returning husband. He saw how Draco eyed the cabinets and the ice box. "Empty?" he asked and the boy nodded. "And what was my idea?" He actually smiled at Draco as they stepped out of the kitchen.

Mick looked up after the hug ended. He wished Sirius a Happy Christmas, then shouted, "DRAGON, you made it."

As Mick walked forward, family in tow, a half dozen popping noises were heard coming from behind Draco. From the kitchen. There were bangs and rattles but no crashes. Draco looked back to see a chaos of magic then turned back to everyone else. He smiled at Mick and said that it was a final Christmas gift. Did he mind the use of magic?

The lights went out. Not that it was a problem during the day. "It was Sirius' idea."

Sirius Black looked back toward the kitchen. "You're not blaming me for that."

"DRACO?" Janice was worried.

Cheryl ran up to the kitchen doorway and looked in. She turned to Draco with a smile filled with wonder. When she looked back at her mother, Janice had to step forward. Mick came with her.

"What?" Mick said. Draco looked over his shoulder to see what what was . A house elf, not Kreacher, was hovering over the five breakfast plates. The cheese shredded itself and mixed in with the scrambled eggs and bacon. Toast, which was buttering itself, flew onto each plate. A pitcher was pouring five glasses of orange juice. And steam was coming off the eggs, which were hot again. All this time, things in the kitchen were rearranging themselves.

Once everything fell quiet, one of the elves closed the door on them. A clunk was heard. Mick said it was the main power switch. There were several popping noises (hopefully, house elves returning to Hogwarts). There was an audible sound of someone snapping his fingers, followed by the clunking noise of the main switch. The lights came back on and Kreacher opened the door. He was smiling.

Draco walked into the kitchen. Because it was closest, he opened the breadbox. The bread and the tea bags were still there. Mick who was on the other side of the table, pulled open the cupboard to look at the shelves. That was all this cupboard was, a set of shelves stuck in the wall with a door to cover them. And that is what it was, as in the past tense. It was now a walk-in storage room.

Sirius Black glanced at Draco and shook his head with a laugh. He knew what happened, and he knew why. He said to Mick and Janice, who were staring into the cupboard, "Since it was my idea, then I get to say Happy Christmas. And it's bad form to give back presents."

Mick nodded, almost laughing. It was a storage room and it was filled with food. And it was at least as big as the kitchen (which wasn't all that big, to be honest).

"Kreacher? Did you do this?" Draco asked.

"You mean the spell?" Sirius asked. "Probably left over from the cleaning. I would guess the preservation spells is still there, too, but I'll have to check."

"Kreacher checked," the house elf said with a sarcastic undertone.

There was a pause. Then Sirius Black said something completely unexpected. "Thank you, Kreacher."

"Draco?" Janice, staring at the sudden extra space, asked nervously, "what is all this about?"

"Moody was a wizard, remember?" Janice nodded. "Made sure that cupboard was as big as it needed to be and that nuffin innit went bad." He smiled at Mick. "Welcome to the world of magic."

"That is a barrel of potatoes," Janice said. Cheryl was on the floor looking at the glass jugs under the bottom shelf. She said, proudly pointing at the label, "It's a pumpkin!"

"Pumpkin juice," Draco said with a cringe. This was a lot of food. Someone was going to notice. "It's good, too."

Janice and Mick checked everything out. Besides the potatoes, there were plenty of other vegetables. There were also fruit, fresh and dried. And one corner held a more complete assortment of spices than either of them had ever seen.

Kreacher smiled when they looked at him. He ran to the cold box and opened it up so they could see. Draco glanced and saw what had to be two cases of butterbeer on the bottom shelf of the door. "I think he did the fridge, too."

Janice was staring inside at the freezer part. She was assured that she would find whatever she wanted within easy reach. Mick couldn't help himself. He stared at the door, then looked on the inside. He knelt down and watched the outside of the door while he reached inside as far back as he could and pulled out a bottle. He nodded to himself and said he could get used to magic like this. He looked at Draco, then Sirius, then Kreacher. He couldn't decide, so he said thanks to all of them. After he thanked Kreacher, the elf whispered to Mick, "There's more." He snapped his fingers and the doors to the two overhead storage cabinets on either side of the window both opened up.

One thing was obvious. The cabinets did not have the expansion spells on them. Which Draco thought was a good thing. This was where the sweets and snacks were stored. No fancy name candies, but all the bulk kinds that were at the feasts. And there were boxes. Kreacher said they contained cakes and pies and, yes, putting the preservation spell on the cabinets was what burned out all the fuses.

"MUM, can I have one of those?"

Janice was herself, again. "No, we're having breakfast first." She looked at the empty table.

"Kreacher already sat the table for Master's family."

As everyone walked back into the living area, the dining table was already set. Cheryl was already in her elevated chair by the time Draco walked out. Five plates had toast and equally proportioned servings of eggs, bacon and cheese. The five glasses of orange juice were set out. As well as five extra glasses and a pitcher or pumpkin juice. And a bowl of fruit. And a bowl of oatmeal. And smaller bowls of raisins and nuts. In the centre was one of those elevated trays with tarts and pastries.

"Draco?" Mick said in unbelief, "all this food? How?"

"Yes, Draco," Sirius Black said as he sat down. "What exactly did you say to Kreacher?" He reached for a cherry tart, his smile growing as Draco gave his answer.

"I told Kreacher to try to fill the cupboard and all as much as possible. Din't know 'bout the expansion spells. Honest."

"He's telling the truth," Sirius assured Mick and Janice. "He pronounced the aich."


Draco smiled as he remembered what happened. And how he explained to Sirius afterwards that he asked Kreacher to fill the shelves. He didn't know about the expansion spells. They were all supposed to be removed.

That remark made Sirius Black give an honest laugh. Only the personal protection spells were removed. They left the standard wards and such. It was still, on paper, a wizard's house. He promised to stop by and check to see what other spells might still be active.

"Is Janice a good cook?" Ron asked. Draco had mentioned they had three meals.

"Great," Draco said with enthusiasm. "She made a blackberry pie that smelled so good that we had it with breakfast instead of waiting."


Breakfast was over. By this time the surprise over magic began to fade. An hour later, Mick was commenting on how tasty the butterbeer was. Sirius pointed out that there was no alcohol in it, making it safe for children. He then endeared himself to Cheryl, after getting a nod from Mick, by producing a glass and pouring some for her to taste. Draco noticed Kreacher who was watching Black. The house elf nodded his head in approval.

And presents! Draco felt bad. He knew what had happened. All of his gifts were forwarded to the house. And Mick insisted that he open them. Draco went to the tree and picked up the first gift. It had Hermione's handwriting on it. Draco risked looking at Sirius Black. The man was sitting there with the three-year-old girl on his lap. He lifted his glass in a toast. And a fourteen-year-old boy understood. The self-centered bastard who was his legal guardian had made plans of his own to help Mick and Janice enjoy their holiday. He told others of what he planned.

"Well," Mick asked, "What is it?"

"It's for Cheryl."

As Cheryl ran up to Draco to get her present, Sirius smiled. "You know, Mick, Draco made it a point to tell all of his friends where he was going. The sneak knew they'd want to give everyone something."

Mick smiled and gave his thanks to Draco. Draco handed him a gift. It was from Justin.

Janice laughed as Mick showed her what it was. A muggle book on the structure of British Government. She couldn't help but smile at Draco, at Sirius, even at Kreacher who was standing ready to fetch something if someone wanted. "Thank you for everything. How can we ever repay you, Sirius, for all that food?"

"Don't even think of it." Sirius was smiling. "Draco told me he'd take care of it."


"And Sirius Black did all of this, just to be nice?" Fred was convinced there was a joke in there, somewhere.

"Told you. He didn't do it for me." Draco then did something remarkable. He had everyone thinking he was trying not to be embarrassed as he said, "He likes Janice. That makes him a'right, in my book."

"He did it for Janice?" Justin asked.

"Yeah." Draco gave a snort. "Even invited his girlfriend to come over. She was there when I came back from pulling Andy and Cheryl around on the sled."

Draco grinned as everyone shared his smirk about Sirius having a girlfriend.


It was almost noon. Andy was taking his nap. Cheryl was in the kitchen with Janice, trying to help decide what was for lunch. She had already complained that there wasn't enough snow so that Draco could pull her on the sled. As Mummy looked at her, she added, "and Andy, I guess." For three, she was a smart little girl.

Draco sat with Mick and Sirius as everyone's smile faded.

"According to the party, you're being attacked because you're the easiest target. And you have no way of fighting back." Sirius was handing Mick a letter from Justin's dad. "I was told that the timing is tricky, but those contain the papers you need to file. And a check to pay for the fees."

Mick was laughing. "An' they want me? Won't win. You know that."

Sirius laughed as well. "Everyone knows that. I even asked." The laugh became an evil grin. "He told me it gives you a place to stand. They may not listen but they can't shut you up."

Draco had to ask. "Win whot?"

Sirius smiled at the chance to tell Draco something that he would have to listen to. "There's a by-election in two weeks. I was told that Mick has until tomorrow noon to put his name in."

If Draco were slightly less surprised, he would have been gobsmacked. "Mick? Sittin' for Parliament?"

"Won't win it," Mick assured him again. "Man ran uncontested last twenty years."

"Then why the by?"

"Even the experts make mistakes," Sirius told him. "The papers were not filed correctly, or so I'm told. Some kind of clerical error. And everyone agrees. The man is guaranteed to win."

"Then why run?"

Mick laughed the loudest. "I'm standin' for a seat. I can say anythin' I want."

Draco pulled the article out of his pocket. Mick nodded. " It's easy to shout a man down when 'e can't talk back. Now I'll 'ave a right to talk."

There was a knock at the door. Sirius Black's eyes lit up. Draco knew why. Black's partner was supposed to be coming by. And strong rumours had it that they were becoming more than working partners.

Evelyn Brown also brought gifts with her. Draco's gift was a book called. 'The Elements of Psychology'.

It had gone four when everyone said their goodbyes. Cheryl insisted on hugging Kreacher and managed to make the elf blush by asking him to please stay. He apparated back to Hogwarts after promising to visit. He promised only after Draco said he could only visit if he wanted to.

"Got a favour to ask," Draco said as he left with Sirius Black and Evelyn Brown. He reminded the man of what Janice had said the previous night (early that morning) about the reporter. He also reminded him of what Rita Skeeter did to that young upstart. He had done so many good things for his family, he wanted to try for one more.

"And you want to feed him a false story?"

"Naw. I wanna ask an expert what I should do."

What Janice had told him had been gnawing at him all day. And Sirius Black was acting so decent, Draco was convinced the man must have felt the same way. Now Black was giving him a look that he didn't understand. But Evelyn apparently did.

"I have my car. Should I drive or just meet you there?"

"Let's take the car to London," Sirius suggested. "We can discuss the matter on the way."

"You're going to help?" Draco was honestly surprised.

"You make it sound like you were the only one who was offended."

Evelyn was smiling as she opened the boot for Draco to put in his guitar and his presents. "This should be fun. I get to be in at the start of another Marauder adventure, instead of just hearing about it."


Rita Skeeter smiled as Draco appeared with his guardian at the offices of the Daily Prophet. She made an idle comment that a reporter never gets any time off. Her teeth gleamed when Draco asked to speak to her in private. With his guardian, of course. Rita led him to her office, pausing to tell another reporter as they passed each other, "Phineas, you should always try to interview the people you talk to."

The door closed of its own accord. Rita told them that there was a permanent silence spell on the room. And she wanted an exclusive interview on demand for her help. What did they want? Draco explained it was a matter of revenge. He told her about the television interview. The one where the man almost accused Janice of being a whore.

"Bottom feeder. That's what he is. You can't hurt him because he'll use it as a story. It's always win-win for people like that."

Draco frowned. "Can't do nuffin, then?"

"Talk to someone else. Tell them your version of the truth. Maybe they'll use it. Unless you've got a real story." Rita noticed Draco's head perk up. Her grin was ear to ear, "If it's any good, give it to someone else, and let them know it's because of what he did. It's a small slight, but that's the best you're going to do."

Sirius nudged Draco. "You do have a story. Until tomorrow."

Rita couldn't help giving one more piece of advice. "If you can, give the story to someone he already hates."

"Damn, she's good," Sirius said as they were walking out.


Draco had to admire how well Sirius and his partner worked together. Her specialty was obviously interacting with muggles. Evelyn Brown made three calls and had all the answers she needed. She knew where the mark was, and that there would be others there as well. Someone had been arrested as a terrorist when he tried to pay for his meal at a restaurant. Apparently, he had the same name as someone from the Balkans. She said she was told it was a feeding frenzy. Trying to dis him there wouldn't work. Then she told them that she contacted someone who would help.

"Good," Sirius said, "Let's get this over with."

Draco couldn't help himself when Sirius smiled at him. He had to smile back. For a second there, the man looked just like Mick when his friend was asking if he was ready to do the job.

They walked into the building. It housed the competition. Evelyn told the security guard at the desk that they had an appointment. She nodded toward Draco. "The name is Danny Malloy. And no, none of us have any identification." As he pressed a call button, the guard said they were expected.

A young lady came out and vouched for them. She was the emergency backup reporter in case more than two major events occurred during the holiday. She was also the reporter who did the entertainment fluff. Draco remembered seeing her on the news over the summer. She was interviewing the Teletubbies.

"Ev!" the lady said as she hugged Miss Brown. She looked at Sirius. "And is he the one you keep talking about?"

She introduced herself as Kate as she led them to the elevators and up to the floor where the interview room was. All the time, she kept making small talk. Including such bad puns as "I know he's Sirius but how serious is he?"

"We're friends. I keep getting involved in his work, so today he's been showing me how he has fun."

"And which one is this?" Kate asked.

"Both," Sirius answered.

They walked into the interview room and Kate became business. She casually introduced the camera man and the sound man, both names Draco never bothered to catch. She smiled at him as she had him sit down in a studio chair. She sat down in the other one.

"You've grown, Danny," the lady said. "And no more glasses?"

"An alias and a disguise, for my own protection," Draco drawled. "I've even practiced speaking with an accent, you know."

"I know why you're here, Danny. And the bad news is that no one cares. We'll do the interview. No need for makeup because we'll obscure your image. Shouldn't have to worry about your voice."

The sound man said they were ready as he stepped into the small booth. Sirius and Evelyn stood behind the cameraman. And Draco sat in a chair with a dark curtain behind him. He was surprised at how small an area it was.

Then Kate asked the first question. "What prompted you to contact us?"

"Yeah, I saw this Christmas piece about me frien'. Bloke din't call 'er a whore. Jus' made people t'ink it."

Kate was asking the right questions. How did he know the girl in the 'interview'? How did he know her husband, Mick? How did she know the girl, Cherry? It took fifteen minutes. Draco gave her the facts that she could check out. Including doctors who could verify that Janice was her nurse and not her partner in crime.

"That's it," Kate called out. She thanked Draco and promised she would polish the story and run it by her boss. It might get some air play.

That was when, according to Rita, he should dangle his hook. Sirius Black had the honour. He was the one who gave Kate a piece of paper. He said the address on it was where candidates registered for ta certain by-election. The office opened at ten. Mick planned to hand in the proper forms by twelve.

The lady took the bait. She called out, "Guys, we need a van, completely packed. I'm talking to the first suit I find, right now."

Draco wished Kate a good night. Evelyn told her to call if she needed help in verifying anything. As he left, Sirius asked her to say something uncomplimentary about the other reporter. Kate walked them to the elevator and sent them on their way. She had work to do.

As they walked back to the car, Sirius was beaming. "I haven't done anything like that in years. You know, Draco, I was your age when James and I . . . Better not tell you about that. Might give you ideas."

"So you and Potter were the Fred and George of your day?"

Sirius clapped Draco on the shoulder and said it was a good day. He then asked if they should spend the night at his house in London or head back to Hogwarts.

Draco was honest. He had more than a full day. He was tired. But he did not want to go to Grimauld Place. He would put up with the extra walking. And for all of lunch and breakfast, he missed dinner.

"I know this area," Evelyn said, "Anyone for Pizza?"

Draco did have one more question. How did Evelyn know Kate? She said that Kate was in her class. And when Draco expressed her surprise that she still went to school, she told him that the only reason to stop learning is because you're dead. She added that she wasn't even sure if that was true.

As it was, Draco finally collapsed in his own bed at Hogwarts shortly after midnight.


"It was great," Draco told everyone, once again. "And Cheryl finally admitted, although only to me, that she loved her baby brother." He grinned as he explained, "she found out she can blame him for things."


Two days later, at breakfast, the owls came to deliver the morning mail. Fifteen minutes later, Justin Finch-Fletchly stopped reading the newspaper and the note that came with it. He was holding a morning copy of the London Times to show Draco and Hermione. He was pointing at the picture. Two men, one distinguished looking, the other was Mick. The headline talked about the by-election. Did Draco know? Who else did Sirius tell? Just him and Mick?

"Din't even tell me," Draco lied. "An I was wit' Sirius the entire time. Cept when I was out wit' the kids. Why?"

Justin tried to explain. Word had leaked out, somehow. And it turns out that the people who found out just happened to be looking into a rival reporter's story about Janice. By the evening news, the story was headlining on BBC.

Draco replied in his usual manner.

"Whot?"

"It's like this," Justin tried to explain. "A lot of people were making noise about Mick's past because he became so popular after the thing with Saint Brutus. Just before Christmas, a reporter did a story about your sister and her close association with a known prostitute. Yesterday morning, outside the building where Mick had to go to register, a rival station is doing a live broadcast where they're lambasting the first reporter for blatant lies and tells everyone that Janice is a regular Florence Nightingale. Do you follow?"

"That's good, right?"

"It gets better," Justin said with sarcasm. "They show Mick walking into the building and announce that he's entering his name. Then, while he's inside, they cut to studio film of Mick and" Justin deliberately tapped the picture of the distinguished looking man, "and him. Including clips of him referring to lowlifes."

Justin tried to emphasis his next statement.

"Mick is being interviewed on CNN tonight."

"Yeah," Draco tried to smile, then frown. "What's the point?"

"It's a by-election, Draco. It doesn't matter who wins as far as party standing, all it does is give each side an idea of how well they're doing. But . . . BUT this one is making international news."

"Isn't that good?" Hermione asked. She seemed as unsure as Draco about what was going on. "It means that a lot of people are paying attention."

"Unless it becomes an embarrassment," Justin cautioned. "Mick has made plenty of small speeches." He laughed at a thought. "Father said they planned on giving Mick a soapbox. It turns out they gave him the Royal Albert Hall."

"Does Mick have a chance?" Draco asked. "To win?" To be honest, he didn't follow too much of what Justin was saying except that someone revealed something and it was going to cause a lot of problems. The only thing that Draco understood was that it would be best if he never let anyone know that he was that someone.

Justin shook his head. He knew Draco was smart but finally understood that there were things his mate wouldn't understand, if only because he didn't want to. He decided to try to explain polls.

Winning was doubtful. In the extreme. But the first polls where promising for the party as a whole. 56% for the Incumbent. 24% undecided. 20% for Mick. "That tells us that one in five people want someone new, and they don't care who that someone is. If the bloke retires, we could have a chance to take the seat."

Draco finished the sentence, "Unless Mick screws up."

"He won't," Hermione assured them. "He may not know the right words, but he knows what words not to say."

Draco liked Hermione for saying that, but his mind was elsewhere. He was thinking about what Justin had said. All those people supported Mick just because he wasn't the other guy.

"Do you know how those news people found out?" Hermione asked.

Justin shrugged his shoulders. That part was a mystery.

"Master Draco?" Kreacher was standing next to him with a large parchment. "Here is the list of all the food and how much it cost. And Professor Dumbledore told Kreacher that if Master loses the contest, he will not have to pay."

"Food?" Hermione asked.

"It wasn't my idea," Draco lied.