Chapter 12

Harry had been expecting to be summoned the day he had sent in his resignation. He had expected a raging Robards demanding to see him immediately. When that hadn't come he had contemplated storming into Robards' office and simply demanding acknowledgement. When the letter finally arrived a week later and just before he was due to leave for work that morning he practically pounced on the Ministry owl that delivered it.

Before he could so much as feed the bird the treats he usually kept around it took off. That was odd, Harry decided but he didn't pay it much mind. So Robards wasn't expecting a reply. He probably just assumed Harry would show up at whatever time he had arranged in the letter. Either way, Harry had already planned out his speech many times over in the shower and he was pretty sure by the end of it even Robards would not be able to argue.

He was expecting a fight. What he was not expecting was the cordial letter he received from the Head Auror that simply stated:

I have read and carefully considered the propositions in your letter. However, I regret to inform you Auror Potter that I have no other choice but to reject your letter of resignation. Kind Regards, G. Robards.

What in the name of Merlin was wrong with this man? Was it even legal to turn down a letter of resignation? Harry was absolutely livid. He paced up and down in the living room, kicking the coffee table every now and then for good measure.

All he wanted to do was march straight to Robards' office and demand to know what the hell was going through the bastard's mind. Another more sane part told him storming in like this especially to face someone like Robards was the worst thing he could do. It was obviously a trap. He wanted to get Harry mad so he would come in fuelled entirely on rage and then Robards would simply say something like the slippery git that he was to spin this all around and-and then Harry would never be able to leave. No, dealing with someone as sly as Robards would take tact and cunning.

His first instinct was to call Ron so he could yell through the floo at him. Harry knew his best friend would get just as riled up as he was and he sort of wanted that. The kids would probably be up at this time though and Hermione would not appreciate him scaring them.

He ended up calling Draco instead because, well when it came to scheming his best bet would probably reside with the former-Slytherin. Draco would know what to do. He'd come up with a way to deal with Robards once and for all and Harry would finally be rid of the stupid Auror force for good.

"Hello?" came Draco's voice before his face appeared. "Oh, Harry, testing my new floo connection are we? Good to see it-" He paused, apparently noticing the fury that was probably written into every inch of Harry's face. "Harry, what's wrong? What happened?" he asked, face growing hard.

"He bloody rejected it is what's wrong," Harry barked into the fire. It hissed and sparked like his rage was fueling it. "He rejected my resignation. That pompous, devious arsehole thinks he has the right to reject my resignation. After everything I've done for him, for the force all I asked was to walk away with both our dignities intact and he won't let me go!"

Harry felt his breath coming out in ragged bouts. "Harry, you need to slow down," Draco told him and his calm voice was somehow even more frustrating. One look at him however and Harry could see the concern etched into him. "Start from the beginning, tell me what happened."

"Robards!" Harry practically spat out the name. "He hasn't said a word to me all week about the resignation letter so I assumed he was putting together some kind of argument to try and convince me to stay. I was ready for that but now, he just sent me this- he pretty much just told me that I'm not allowed to leave. No reason, nothing. Like he has any say in that."

"He doesn't have a say in it, Harry," said Draco slowly. "It's up to you if you want to continue serving the force."

"He knew I wanted to walk away years ago but every time he'd pull me back in. Here's an assignment Harry look how useful you are! We can't lose you, Potter, you're the best Auror we have! Well fuck, if I was the best Auror you have, why do I spend most of my time locked up in my office? I shouldn't need protection if I'm as good as he makes me out to be! I should be the one doing the protecting." Harry paused to draw breath. "You know, last time it was, you owe it to the world you created, Harry. This is your calling. Well I am sick of his manipulative bullshit."

"You know exactly what to do, Harry," said Draco flatly.

"Do I?"

"Everything you just said to me, have you told him?"

"Well not in so many words…" said Harry trying to think back to the times he had tried to bring up conversations about an early retirement from the auror force. He had never actually sent in a letter of resignation but he figured those were just a formality.

"You need to see him in person," Draco said slowly. "Stand up to him now or he is never going to leave you be, Harry. Even when you're at Hogwarts, he will be after you, you know he will."

That was exactly what Harry had been worried about. The reason he wanted a clean break from Robards so badly was to stop the man dragging him back in at every opportunity. "I don't want to go into work today," Harry said finally. "I'll do something stupid, I just know it."

Draco nodded. "That is a good idea. But you can't keep putting this off either. It will only get worse."

"I'll go see him first thing on Monday," Harry told him, injecting as much confidence as he could. He would have to tweak his speech a little bit but that shouldn't be a problem. By then he could use his anger as fuel rather than something that could derail his argument altogether.

Draco nodded. "I really am proud of you, Harry," he said just as the floo connection cut him off. For that Harry was glad because he didn't really have an answer. It was past time he told Robards exactly where he could stick it.

Harry spent the rest of the day trying to blow off as much steam as he possibly could. He was supposed to be going to Ginny and Neville's new house for their house warming and to find out if they were to be expecting a baby boy or a baby girl. The last thing he needed was to lose his temper there as well. Not that babies and new homes elicited rage but at the moment he was teetering on the edge of losing his temper at the smallest thing.

He'd already broken three pieces of cutlery and had to clean it all up himself because it was Kreacher's day off. That last glass he had shattered had also left a small gash on his finger as he had tidied up the shards.

After running for twice as long as he usually did he even paid a visit to the local muggle gym that he usually avoided. It had always been more convenient training at the Ministry's center and he could practice wand work and reflexes there as well. This time he went straight for the boxing area and asked to join a class. The instructor worked them till Harry could think of nothing more than the punching bag in front of him and the voice yelling at them to not slow down. He made them skip till Harry could barely stand and then sit ups till he was sure he would throw up before setting them back on the punching bags.

By the time he was showered and all set to leave home he felt the adrenaline from before slowly begin to fade and the weariness from well-worked muscles start to set in. He absent-mindedly pulled on the green cashmere sweater Draco had given him because most of his others had holes in their sleeves. At least that's what he told himself. It was also just incredibly comfortable.

"Harry!" Ginny yelled as soon as she opened the door. She pulled him into a slightly awkward hug because, well she really was starting to show now. When she released him she smacked him across the back of the head.

"Hey! What was that for?" Harry scowled, rubbing at it.

"You're late."

"Well that hurt."

"I'm sure you'll get over it," laughed Ginny, grabbing his arm and all but dragging him to the living room. "What do you think of our house?"

"'Lo Harry," smiled Neville, "I see Ginny's going to take you on the grand tour."

Harry just had time to say a quick affirmative and wave at the rest of the gang before Ginny was pulling him towards a corridor on the other end of the room. "The kitchen's back there but we can see that later, c'mon."

There were three bedrooms and it was easy to spot the one that had been converted into a nursery. It was painted sky blue with fluffy white clouds that looked so real Harry had to run his hand over one of them to be sure. "We're going to paint in a broom stick later," Ginny told him, grinning when she saw that Harry's admiration. "And there are stars on the ceiling, kind of like the great hall when it's dark."

"It's amazing, Gin," Harry smiled. "He's going to love it."

"He?" she asked, smirking at him.

"Or a she," Harry said quickly. He knew Dean and Seamus had already placed bets and he was firmly on Seamus's side. He could already see a little fiery haired Neville, sitting a broom as well as his mother could.

"You'll have to wait and find out," Ginny told him. She showed him the rest of the place as well as the small fenced off back yard, which already had a tire swing hanging from a tree on the far end. "It came with the house," Ginny explained.

"It's a lovely place, Gin," said Harry, smiling. "I'm really happy for you."

"Thanks, Harry that- means a lot," she ducked her head. "Alright, c'mon before you make me go all sappy on you."

Harry laughed and followed after her. She led him back to the living room where he was finally able to greet the rest of their friends who had gathered there. He took a seat by Hermione and gratefully accepted the beer Seamus passed him.

"Oh Harry," said Hermione, looking slightly abashed. "You're actually sitting in-"

"My seat," finished a voice that Harry didn't have to look up to recognize.

"Draco?" he said, trying and very clearly failing not to sound surprised. "Sorry, I can-" he made to get up but Draco shook his head, pulling up a chair from the dining table instead, he took a seat.

"How are you feeling?" Draco asked quietly.

Harry looked around to make sure the others were engrossed in conversation. "Better," he said truthfully. "I've been trying to clear my head all day and this helps too," he gestured around at their little gathering. "I didn't think you were coming."

"I know," said Draco, shrugging. "For some reason Ginny and Neville invited me. I was as surprised as you are right now. I promised Neville I wouldn't drink myself into the state I did last time, of course."

Somehow Harry had the feeling Neville probably had a bigger hand in this than Ginny. He looked over at the man who smiled at them from across the room, raising his glass slightly and winking.

"So Ginny," said Dean, "are you ever going to tell us if we're to expect a little Miss Longbottom-"

"Yeah or a Mr.," Seamus added from beside him.

"Yes, I heard you had a little bet going," Ginny glared at them. There was no real menace there though it did get some mumbled apologies. "Very well then," said Ginny. "I've already told Mom and Dad, so without further ado…"

"Drum roll?" suggested Hermione. Harry half turned to the wall behind them to do just that while Dean starting stomping the floor. It was a tradition of theirs that the others still found strangely fascinating.

"Neville and I will be expecting a daughter!" Ginny cried, smiling proudly up at Neville, who had moved to stand with his arm around her.

"We've agreed on a name as well," he told them.

"Alice," said Ginny.

There was a squeal from beside him before Hermione practically flew over to envelope Ginny and then Neville in a hug. "That's perfect," she cried. "She is going to be equal parts as fierce and kind-hearted as the two of you. I'm sure of it!"

Harry looked pointedly to Ron who seemed to be turning redder by the second. His friend would later blame it on the alcohol but Harry was sure that as he wrapped his sister in a hug he saw Ron wipe at his eyes.

Amidst it all Seamus was glowering at Dean who was holding out his hand expectantly. "She said no bets!"

"I won, fair and square," said Dean. "Pay up."

Seamus scowled but obliged.

"I had better tell George," said Ron, stepping back.

"Let him wait," Ginny told him before he could head for the fire. "He deserves it. Bloody Moldova. I can't believe he's still contagious."

Ron nodded. "Fair enough." He still looked doubtfully at the fire though.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Fine, tell him."

Harry took the opportunity to clap Neville across the back and congratulated him one more time.

He stopped when he realised that Neville had his eyes trained on something behind him. The guy had barely been able to tear his eyes away from his wife all night which was fair enough but this time he seemed to stiffen a little. Harry followed his gaze to see that Draco had approached Ginny just then,

They couldn't hear what was being said amidst the chatter around them and that just seemed to make it worse. Perhaps he should suggest a mandatory lip-reading course for the Auror department, Harry found himself thinking before he remembered that he didn't actually work there anymore.

Ginny had the polite mask she had taken to wearing when the press tried to interview her after a game. Draco leaned in and said something, scrunching up his face like he was imitating someone. It wasn't until Ginny threw her head back and laughed that Harry felt Neville relax beside him.

"'nother drink, Harry?" he asked. All Harry could do was nod and ignore the knowing look Neville gave him.

He wasn't quite sure why he felt so satisfied. It was easy to let the warm feeling wash over him though. When Hermione tugged on his arm he allowed himself to be pushed into a couch and she plopped down beside him. He took the time to look around contently at their ragtag band of friends and let his head rest on Hermione's shoulder.

She hummed agreeably like she knew exactly what he had been thinking.

"By the way, Gin, while we are on the subject of godparents..." Dean called out interrupting his thoughts.

"Dean we were never on the subject of godparents," said Ginny, crossing her arms and turning on him.

"Yes... well no we weren't but it is still a very serious matter that we must discuss," said Dean, looking like he was fighting to keep his voice steady.

Seamus nodded solemnly beside him. "He's right. It's very important. A very important issue."

"Please tell me that you two are not taking bets on this as well," groaned Parvati.

Dean and Seamus just grinned sheepishly.

"I'm in if you are. It can be like a rematch for that chess game," said Ron, ignoring the dirty look Hermione was giving him. It would have been a sharp kick to the ankle had he been in range.

"Sit down, Ronald," she huffed instead. "You will not pressure them into anything."

"Yeah, Ronald," said Seamus. "Sit down. We're not doing bets with you anymore."

"Why not?" Ron threw back. "Scared you're going to lose?"

"You're the one that lost last time, Ron or have you forgotten?"

"Maybe I have, maybe you should play me again to remind me."

Neville took a seat on Harry's other side. "Wait was this that time you, Dean and Hermione were trying to beat Ron at chess?" he said with a chuckle. "I swear your entire building would have heard your cheering, Seamus."

"What did you just say?" demanded Ron, leaping from the couch.

"Uh I said the entire building would have heard," said Neville, looking around like he was hoping to find everyone else as confused as he was.

"You arseholes!" Ron growled, pointing an accusing finger at Dean and Seamus who looked like they were trying to shrink back into the couch. "You never told me Hermione helped you! You missed three Chudley Canon games this season! Three!"

"Oops," muttered Neville under his breath.

To be fair it was a wonder the Canons had actually played three games this season. They had suffered more injuries than all the other teams in the league combined. Not to mention every single game was more painful than the last when it came to scoring as well.

"Hey Ron," said Parvati brightly. "Isn't there a game on next weekend?" Seamus scowled at her and Dean mouthed something that looked a lot like 'traitor', but she just smirked back.

"Yes there is and I expect both of you bastards to be there, wearing orange!" Ron snapped.

"Hermione helped!" Seamus complained. "Why doesn't she have to be there?"

"Because she is my wife and she's absolutely brilliant and she has better things to do!"

Seamus looked like he was going to argue but thought better of it. "I'm painting my face so no one will recognise me," he huffed instead. This set off a round of laughter and soon even Ron couldn't pretend to be grumpy anymore.

Harry tuned out the chatter after a while, just reveling in the feel of being surrounded by the warmth of it all and the contentment that was spreading through every inch of him. Beside him he could feel Hermione shaking with laughter and the tickle of her hair as it had done for so many years. It brought back memories of cozy nights in the Griffindor common room or visits to Hagrid's hut back in their school days.

Sighing, Harry opened his eyes and smiled around at them, knowing too well he would probably have looked just little bit daft if someone were paying close enough attention. He couldn't help it though.

A stirring on his other side caught his attention. Draco had been silent for most of the night, choosing to simply listen to their stories, his laughter drowned by everyone else's. He had just assumed Draco was satisfied just sitting back and letting the evening pass as Harry was but the man wasn't smiling anymore. Instead he just looked deep in thought, lost in some world of his own.

When Draco stood silently and made for the kitchen, Harry found himself following. He watched the blonde man head for the fridge and assumed he was just getting another beer but then Draco paused by the counter and seemed to slump against it.

"Hey," said Harry softly, reaching for his shoulder.

It earned him a hiss from Draco who spun around like he'd been stung. "Harry," he sighed. "You scared me."

"Yeah, sorry," said Harry. He moved around so he could rest against the counter as well, shoulder knocking against Draco's. "They can be a bit much, even for me sometimes," he said gesturing to the living room just as a cacophony of laughs arose.

"Hmm," hummed Draco.

"But it's not just that, is it?" Harry pressed. "What's wrong?"

Draco shrugged and Harry felt their shoulders brushing again. "I'm sorry, you should be with them, celebrating."

Harry rolled his eyes. "In case you didn't notice, I was just about falling asleep myself."

"I did notice."

Harry rolled his aching arms, flexing each of his muscles in turn to get a full account of how sore they were. Now that he was standing up, he could feel it in his legs as well. Waking up tomorrow was going to be a nightmare. "I went to that muggle gym today," he said to break the silence they had settled into. "The one you used to complain about."

"Yeah? Did you take the boxing class?"

"I did," Harry chuckled. "Let's just say that I can finally empathise."

"Tell me you didn't go for a run as well," said Draco, turning to him with a concerned frown. Harry just shrugged. "Harry!"

"I know, I was just-"

"Angry?"

"Yeah."

Draco nodded. "It's a good way to deal with that but just promise me you'll be careful. You can be… reckless sometimes."

"Hey now, I didn't come out here to discuss my potentially self-destructive behavior," Harry said, poking him in the arm playfully. "Seriously, what's wrong?"

"Honestly?"

"No, I want you to lie to me, Draco."

"Amusing," Draco deadpanned. There was a hint of humor there that hadn't been there before so Harry counted that as a win on his part. "I'm just really sorry, that's all."

"Oh?"

"All those stories, it just made me realized how much has happened in the past few years. How much I missed while I was just-just hiding away," Draco shrugged. "I really did take the coward's way out. I should have been here."

Harry wanted to tell him that it wasn't true or that it was okay but it really wasn't and there was no way to sugarcoat that. He just knocked lightly into Draco's shoulder. "Hey, you can't go back and change all that," he said instead. "All you can do now is try to fix what you can."

"I really want to."

"I know and you're moving forward," said Harry. "I'm not saying it's enough but it's a start."

"It won't ever be enough, will it?" Draco asked, sounding completely and utterly dejected.

"Honestly?" Harry sighed. "I don't know. But you're here and for now that's enough."

Draco nodded. "I'll keep trying, even if it will never be-" he never managed to finish his sentence because he was interrupted by loud shouts from the living room. The cries were followed by a loud crash and the sound of glass shattering. Harry had his wand out before he'd even made it to the door, Draco close at his heels.

The glass coffee table was in pieces and his friends were all scrambling back from where a large silvery-white cougar was stalking around the living room. When the animal turned to him it stopped in its tracks.

"Harry!" came the reverberating voice of Owen Peters. "56° South, -3.3° East, now. Hurry!" With that the cougar turned and hopped through the air, disappearing out through the still closed window.

"Bloody hell," Ron cursed, plopping himself back down on the couch. Everyone else stood transfixed, all their eyes on Harry. He felt his cheeks burning as he surveyed the havoc the patronus had wreaked across the living room.

"Ginny, Neville, I am so sorry, I will help you clean it all up I swear-" Harry began but Neville just clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"It's alright Harry," he said and Ginny nodded. "But perhaps you should head off, if it's an emergency. It sounded pretty urgent."

Ron frowned. "They didn't call for me."

Harry turned to look at the rest of them, noticing Draco staring daggers into the floor in front of him. "I should probably find out," Harry told them. "Just in case." He paused, looking at Ginny again. "I am so sorry, I didn't know-"

"Shut up and go save the world, idiot," Ginny grumbled, bundling him towards the door. "Accio coat. Here, it'll be cold outside." She pressed a quick peck to his cheek before pushing him out.

Harry knew something was wrong the second he apparated to the co-ordinates Owen had given him. Something about the silent thrum of magic he felt around him didn't seem quite right. There was a darkness about it that he hadn't felt in years and it was enough to have his hair standing on end.

He gave himself a couple of seconds to orientate himself. Looking around he took a deep breath. This was definitely the right building.

His idea of approaching it with practiced caution was short-lived however because just as he had finished conducting the routine charms to check for booby traps on the door, a scream cut through the silence, long and shrill. When it was obvious the door wasn't going to engulf him or explode or something ridiculous like that (there had been such incidents in the past), Harry kicked it open and sprinted inside.

"Lumos!" he whispered, straining his ears to pickup the telltale rustle or labored breathing. By wand light he could make out nothing. The room was bare with peeling wallpaper that revealed yellowing walls. A wooden staircase was set off to the side of the room though and as soon as Harry checked to make sure the bottom floor was clear he made his way towards it.

"P-please help," begged a voice from above. It sounded like a young girl. Another scream sent Harry rushing up the stairs, taking them two at a time.

A small girl was cowering in the corner of what could be an attic, it had a low, sloped roof and the walls were wooden. At first Harry couldn't see what she was so afraid of. He approached her cautiously, holding his hands up so she could see he was unarmed aside from his wand, which was still lighting up the small room.

The girl blubbered something as she hiccupped again and again. Her red tear-streaked face looked utterly terrified as she trembled. "Hey," said Harry, starting to feel goose bumps rising on his own arm. "Hey, I'm not going to hurt you, I promise. I just need to know who did this to you. Can you do that for me?"

The girl nodded. She wiped at her eyes and slowly looked up at Harry.

"Who did this to you?" Harry asked again. "It's okay, you can tell me."

She slowly raised a quivering hand and pointed. It took Harry all of two seconds to realize that no, the girl was not pointing at him but rather at the space behind him. His instinct kicked into action instantly even if his mind seemed to be stuck in some kind of stupor.

He spun around and immediately with his back to the girl, held up his wand at the place she had just pointed to.

"What the actual f-" Harry began, stopping himself just short of actually letting out the string of swear words on the tip of his tongue.

From the corner a dark hooded figure rose up, hovering about a foot off the ground. As it did so it seemed to bring with it a fresh rush of chilly air that set a new round of shivers through Harry. It was a fucking dementor. Of course it was. It's not like the last of the dementors had been 'taken care of' ten years ago or anything.

Ushering the girl behind him, Harry readied himself. The thing was obviously not as strong as the dementors of old had been because even as it rose higher the clawing dread he had experienced in his younger days seemed to be absent. His mind was instead just screaming at him.

"Expecto patronum!" Harry yelled trying to dredge up that feeling of contentment from earlier on in the day. Something like that was usually enough to send a message in patronus form. Apparently it wasn't enough to stop a dementor though, especially not a dementor that had apparently been in hiding for 10 years.

Frustrated now, Harry took a step back, fully aware of the trembling body cowering behind him. He closed his eyes, sorting through memory after memory. Christmas at Hogwarts, Tea with Hagrid and dancing with Hermione in their tent while they were on the hunt for horcruxes, those were all old memories that he had been using over the past few years to conjure his patronus. It had never been this hard though. None of them felt right now.

Finally Harry closed in on one, a memory that he had never thought to use because it usually caused as much pain as it did happiness. Taking a deep breath Harry faced the dementor that had been inching closer.

"Expecto patronum!" Harry closed his eyes and caught a glimpse of grey eyes and pale hair as he yelled the words. He could almost feel the heat radiating from Draco and when he smiled Harry couldn't say if it truly was the silver light streaming from his wand that was lighting up the room. His stag burst forward, dancing around the hooded creature before charging at it and Harry let himself for just a few more seconds be consumed by the memory. He could almost feel the reassuring pressure of Draco's hand grounding him as they sat by the great lake at Hogwarts on their one-year anniversary.

Harry took another step back, turning to reassure the girl behind him. It was taken care of now. Sure, he'd probably have a mountain of paperwork to fill out about how and why the hell a dementor had reappeared but for now he could reunite her with her family at least. At the end of the day that was the only thing that kept him working for the Aurors all these years.

She flinched at the side of him, one hand up to protect her face.

"Hey, it's okay, you're safe with me now," said Harry, holding up his hands to show he meant her no harm.

Before he could quite figure out what was going on she bolted, pushing past him and leaving him spinning in her wake. The curse hit him a fraction of a second later. It was a stunner and he didn't have time to dodge, all he could do was throw back the first curse he could think of as he was sent flying back against the wall. His shoulder connected with a sharp thud and he sank to the floor.

The pain in his arm was unbearable and as it throbbed he almost welcomed the mind-numbing feeling of losing consciousness.

A/N: I know it's been a while but i've been travelling so please bear with me. Hope you liked it :)