A/N: Ran into a little snag while writing: I wrote most of chapter 31 and then had ti go back and write chapter 30. Got a bit ahead of myself there!
As I am short for time, thanks will be posted with the next chapter, which will be posted this month, as soon as I have edited it to my satisfaction or I get tired of looking at it. Meanwhile, thank you bunches to those of you who leave reviews and remind me that this story does exist and people enjoy it, so I should continue it.
Harry wakes at dawn the next morning and slips into the Malfoy Library. "Query: Phrase "Malfoy heir'; additional keywords: designation, duties, and responsibilities. Search all documents. Begin," he says to no one and nothing in particular.
"Results listed in default fashion?" inquires the disembodied voice of the search charm on the library.
"Results listed in chronological order with most recent documents listed first."
"Search main library only?"
"Search secondary libraries as well."
"Complete results available in one hour."
Harry decides to have breakfast while the library sifts through its documents. Harry has to admit that the search engine spell is a magnificent charm. He only wishes that it had been invented soon enough to save him hours of time spent in the library with Hermione and Ron when he was younger. It had been Draco who had introduced the spell to Harry at the beginning of the war. After much pressing, Harry had finally gotten Draco to admit that he had not found the charm; he had invented the charm, basing it off Muggle computer search engines. This of course, had lead Harry to inquire why Draco knew anything about Muggle computers and search engines.
Draco had looked at Harry with disdain and said that his dislike of Muggles did not imply ignorance of them or their ways. Besides, all the stumbling and puttering about that wizards usually do when forced to deal with the Muggle world was unseemly, and it wouldn't do for a Malfoy to appear unseemly, if it could be helped at all. Furthermore, Harry was told, wizards in the Muggle world stick out like sore thumbs, which removed all strategic value from slipping into the Muggle world to hide.
Hermione had taken to the search engine charm with great alacrity and had actually started to work with Draco and Madam Pince to have one cast on the Hogwarts Library. Harry had tried it a few times while working on his lesson plans. It worked well, and Draco was to be credited as the inventor of the spell in Hogwarts, A History and a few other publications Harry couldn't remember. He supposed that he would have to become familiar with those titles, if he decided to accept Lucius and Draco's offer.
The table is set for brunch. The others are already at the table. Evan is the only one who looks fully awake. He is drinking a cup of tea and reading the morning paper with an enviable aura of calm. Harry wonders, however, how much of that calm was real and how much of it was sheer composure. He is beginning to suspect that much of Rosier's calm is an incredible self-possession. Rosier looks as though last night had not happened, as if his desire for Sebastian had not been flagrantly displayed for all of their little circle to see. Sebastian, for his part, looks pensive. James is making a cup of coffee for a very tired-looking Michael.
Harry sits in an empty chair to Rosier's right and reaches for the pitcher of orange juice. Rosier swears.
"What?" Michael asks groggily from across the table. Sebastian peers over Rosier's shoulder to read the headline that caught Rosier's attention, then passes the paper to Michael, who reads:
"Harry Potter Spotted in Muggle London."
"Fuck me," Harry mutters into his glass of orange juice. James smiles at him from across the table.
"Don't tempt me," he says with a wink. "Well, what does the article say, Michael, since you insist upon hogging the paper?"
"Nothing else, really. It's just a replay of Potter's greatest hits: surviving the killing curse, TriWizard Tournament, defeat of You-Know-Who, mysterious disappearance. The article speculates that this sudden reappearance could mean that Harry is ready to rejoin the wizarding world. Blah, blah, blah. No mention of us, Lucius or anything interesting except for this bit about Harry 'soldiering on bravely after the sudden death of his partner Draco Malfoy, who was killed by friendly fire in a tragic accident.' Blech."
"Friendly fire, my broomstick." James mutters. Harry slips into silence.
"You know, I'm surprised they recognized Harry with all of that hair covering his scar and without his glasses."
"I bet they didn't," Gabriel says, appearing seemingly out of nowhere and reaching around James to grab a piece of fruit from the center of the table. "Every now and then the Prophet likes to print these articles to up readership and to remind people that Harry is still out there, somewhere. Notice, they didn't even use a current picture of him. That's one of those damn war propaganda photos."
"Maybe who ever tipped off the Prophet didn't have a camera," Sebastian suggested.
"Unlikely," Gabriel said. "If he was in a Muggle club and recognized Harry, then he probably had one of those mini phone things that all the Muggleborns are carrying around all the time. Don't all of those things have cameras now?"
"But the timing, Gabriel—"
"Is uncanny, I know, but they publish one of these every six months or so and they have been overdue for one. I wouldn't worry about it. If they knew any real facts, they would love to gossip about Harry Potter falling in with the old guard and possibly becoming tainted by pureblood politics."
"Is that what they will say if I become the Malfoy heir?"
A dead silence falls over the table. "Are you really considering accepting the title?" Sebastian asks. His tone of voice is undecipherable. Everyone else at the table eyes Harry curiously.
"I am considering it. I'm currently having the library do a search for information relevant to the title," Harry says, looking down at his plate. "You wouldn't mind, would you?"
"Of course not," Sebastian says. "I never really wanted to be the Malfoy heir to begin with. I only accepted the position when asked because I knew I was Uncle's last resort." Sebastian's tone is warm and when Harry steals a glance at him, he sees nothing in Sebastian's face to contradict that warmth. In fact, Sebastian looks pleased.
"May I offer some friendly advice?" Lestrange asks gently. Harry nods.
"Don't look down when someone asks you a question. It's very ill-suited to someone who is heir to the Potter, Black and perhaps the Malfoy families. It is also very unbecoming for the Man Who Killed Voldemort to flinch at a simple question."
"I am heir to the Black family?"
"Well, yes, you are Sirius Black's designated heir. You've certainly inherited the family estate—and you can keep it," Michael adds when Harry opens his mouth. "I'm having enough problems keeping the old Lestrange place together. Grimmauld Place is probably in not much better shape. Bet the whole place is infested with doxies. Even if it weren't, I'd let you keep it just so I wouldn't have to deal with that portrait of Aunt Walburga."
"Now, now, Aunt Walburga was quite fond of you, if I recall," Evan teases.
"Yes, well, she was fond of you, too—until Uncle Alphard took you in. Who knew Uncle Alphard was still alive? Everyone thought he was dead until your father's will was read and Uncle Alphard showed up to take custody of you."
"That was rather the point," Evan replies dryly.
"A stunt like faking his own death only made him the perfect guardian for our Evan, didn't it?" says James.
"If you become the Malfoy heir, there will be lots of gossip, yes," Rosier says abruptly, getting back to the matter at hand. "The most malicious of the gossip should be turned aside by saying that it was Draco's last wish. Public approval for Draco is rather high. He is viewed as something of a tragic hero by most."
"I disagree. Yes, the public has decided to remember Draco fondly. If it is revealed that he was killed saving Potter's life, well, the public will probably remember him still more fondly. However, stating that it was Draco's last wish that Harry be his successor will fuel speculation as to the real nature of the relationship between Draco and Harry, at best. At worst, the public may think he is being bought off or brainwashed by Lucius in an attempt to make wipe some of the mud off the Malfoy name," Gabriel says.
"Oh, how I hate politics," Sebastian says lightly, buttering his toast.
"You and me, both," Harry says, feeling a massive headache coming on. Sebastian gives him a sympathetic smile.
"I wouldn't worry about machinations as such. Lucius will be more than happy to handle that end of things until you are adept enough to handle them yourself, and you will be, sooner than you think. You, Harry James Potter, are more cunning than you let on," James says with a conspiratorial wink.
/
Harry dumps a load of books onto the table in front of Rosier. "The next batch," he says, wiping dust of the front of his shirt.
"These are useless," Evan says, tapping a small stack in on his left hand side. Harry picks up that stack of books and sets it on a table for the house elves to shelve later. He looks at the search results and for the titles of the next books and goes to search for the telltale glow that the search engine spell casts upon documents that matched Harry's query.
He is returning with one arm full of books and the other arm full of scrolls when he hears Sebastian talking to Evan. Harry ducks back behind a bookshelf and wonders how it is that he keeps managing to arrive just in time to eavesdrop on Evan and Sebastian's private arguments.
"Evan, talk to me." Harry feels a stab of longing at the tone in Sebastian's voice. He shakes it off, reminding himself that it is only Sebastian's empathy that has that effect. There is a determined silence in reply.
"Evan." Again that pang of longing and want. There is the sound of a book slamming onto a table.
"Stop. That." Harry wonders if Sebastian can feel the hurt and irritation even Harry can hear in Evan's voice. "You are taking shameless advantage of your abilities, and using them quite unfairly, I might add."
"How else am I supposed to get through to you?" Plaintive, but without the added emphasis of Sebastian's empathy.
"Have you tried simply asking and not trying to barge into my private feelings with all the delicacy of a troll in a china shop?" Rosier's voice has an icy edge.
"I was wrong last night, I admit it." Sebastian sighs. "I just didn't know what else to do. You are most unresponsive."
"Just because I don't wear my heart on my sleeve, Sebastian, does not mean that I don't have one. I am very … responsive to you." Harry wonders with dry amusement if that is the closest Evan will ever get to directly admitting that he cares for Sebastian.
"Then why do I feel nothing from you? Even now, when your voice tells me that you're angry. I can't pick up anything. When I touched you the other day, I couldn't feel anything either. Before there was always something."
"How do I feel now?"
"Amused—no, angry—no, pleased." There is a moment of what Harry imagines to be a confused silence. "You're projecting, aren't you? Just deciding upon an emotion and broadcasting it? Evan Rosier, master of illusion, is at it again." There is a hint of bitterness in Sebastian's voice.
Harry sneezes loudly and drops his armloads of books and scrolls in the process.
"Gah. Damn dust," Harry mutters to himself. He takes the handkerchief that Sebastian offers and lets Rosier gather up the books and the scrolls and set them on the table.
"How is the research coming along?" Sebastian asks. His tone of voice is light with a slight waver.
"Slowly," Harry grumbles.
"Lots to read?"
"No, but there are a lot of texts that refer to the duties of the Malfoy heir without actually clarifying what any of those duties are. I suppose they assume that if you are reading the text, then you are a Malfoy and you already know all about them."
"It's not an unreasonable assumption," Sebastian points out.
"No, but it is a damn annoying one."
"Anything I can do to help?" Sebastian asks. Harry looks at Evan, who is extremely focused on the book in front of him.
"Not right now. If I think of anything, I'll let you know." Sebastian nods, and leaves. The sound of his footsteps fades quickly.
"How much did you hear?" Evan asks.
"How much did you want me to hear?" Harry asks in reply. Evan sighs and puts his head in his hands.
"So much for telling him how you feel," Harry mutters.
"I never thought I'd have to," Rosier says, shutting the book and putting in a pile on his right.
"You were never going to say anything, were you? You were going to let him go on this tour, have an arranged marriage, fall in love with someone else, and you were just going to watch?"
There is a horror to that situation that sends chills through Harry. Evan doesn't reply. Harry decides to let the subject drop. After all, it isn't as though he is exactly qualified to give out advice on affairs of the heart himself. He gathers a stack of books that Evan has set aside as having relevant information. "I'm going to read these in Draco's room. The bed is a lot more comfortable than these chairs," he announces. Evan nods and continues turning pages. As soon as Harry leaves the room, he hears the sound of Evan's chair scraping the floor as it is pushed back suddenly and Evan's hurried footsteps echoing through the hall. Harry hopes it means that Evan is running after Sebastian.
Harry enters Draco's room and sighs, shaking his head at Evan and Sebastian. He puts the stack of books on the nightstand and pulls open the drawer. The small velvet box and Draco's diary are the drawer's only contents. Harry opens the box. The serpent glistens in the sunlight. Harry picks it up gingerly and pins the brooch into his shirt and tries to imagine himself as the Malfoy heir.
Something hard hits Harry in the back of the head.
Rubbing the back of his head and muttering all sorts of swear words, Harry turns to see what hit him. It is a book. He picks it up. "Codex Augustine 6th Edition" is embossed on the blue leather cover of a very thick book. Harry picks it up and opens the cover. "Regarding the duties and responsibilities of the Malfoy heir," is written on the first leaf. Harry swears again.
Trust Draco to bother to interlock a summoning charm like that.
Trust Draco to find ways to annoy Harry even post mortem.
With a sigh, Harry opens the book and settles down for a long read.
So, you know how it goes: read, then review! I will love you forever if you do. No, really, I will.
Love always,
J. Silver