-THE DAY BEFORE FUNERAL

-NARCISSA

Numbness; that's all I feel. I'm utterly numb right now. My husband, my ex-husband, is dead. How is this even possible? I never thought of Lucius as a mortal being. I believed he would live forever. That's part of what originally attracted me to him. Obviously, being pure bloods, our marriage was arranged. However, in the early stages of our relationship I found myself drawn to his perceived invincibility. I was excited for him to father my children. How could I not be? My husband was strong, handsome, wealthy, indestructible.

After the Dark Lord fell, I had no interest in rebuilding my relationship with my husband. He was atrocious to both my son and I. He forced us to follow a blood status crazed murderer. He forced my son to take the Mark, no matter how I tried to convince him otherwise. Granted, it did not help that my equally blood status crazed sister was here egging my husband on. But he was still my husband and Draco's father. He made an oath to always protect me when he married me and it is his duty as Draco's father.

I know that my leaving Lucius was the right decision. I wish, for my son's sake, that I had the courage to leave sooner. It ended up being just the wake-up call that Lucius needed. I have never stopped loving my husband; there was no way that I could. Every time that I look at my son, I see my husband's face. The only positive to leaving Lucius was that he worked twice as hard to mend his relationship with Draco. He finally got to really know his son and he let go of his old prejudices.

"Mummy?" My son whispered the question to me from his seat at our breakfast table. He's been nearly catatonic since he spoke to Appoline. I thought he was going to pass out when we needed to meet about his father's will.

I tried to smile at my son when I replied, "Yes, dearest?"

He sat up a little bit and toyed with his uneaten food, "D-do you think Father would have still loved me, if I told him?"

I saw how hard this was for my son; expressing feelings didn't come easy to the Malfoy men. "Oh, Draco, of course he would have. Your father only wanted your happiness, dear."

Draco nodded. He looked so fragile, I was afraid that he might break from the slightest touch. How do you save your children from this kind of pain? My heart was breaking for my son. He looked up at me, his beautiful silver-grey eyes swimming in tears.

"Mummy, is it ever going to get easier?"

I rushed to my son and cradled him in my arms. I rocked him back and forth and made soothing noises.

"Shh, shh, shh, Draco. It's okay, love, mummy is here. I promise it will get easier one day."

I stroked my son's hair and tried to believe the words I was using to comfort him.

-THE DAY BEFORE THE FUNERAL, AT THE BURROW

-MOLLY

"Mummy, I need your help."

Sighing, I looked up at my only daughter. There was no denying that she was beautiful and the pregnancy was only making her more so.

"Ginevra Weasley-Potter, if you have a problem with your husband then you have to talk to him. Unfortunately for you, Harry thinks of me like his own mother and has already spoken to me. Ginny, you are an adult and you are a pregnant adult. Stop playing games with your husband. You can't manipulate him; he isn't a teenager anymore. I know that you love him, I can see it in the way that you look at him, and I know that you want to work this out. But, honey, maybe you two aren't right for each other. Married people don't play these games."

My daughter's arms were crossed and she was pouting. But I could see the wheels turning in her mind. "But Mummy, I don't know anything else…"

"I know, Ginny, and that is partially my fault. You were all I ever wanted and so I tried to give you everything that you always wanted. I love you very much dear but I also love Harry. The two of you are unhappy together. Maybe it's time that you let him go. The two of you don't deserve to hurt anymore than you have to."

I got up, patted my daughter's hand and got up to prepare dinner. As I began chopping the vegetables, I thought back to the conversation that I had with Harry the day after we found out Lucius died…

His eyes were wide and bloodshot; he looked as if he had been crying all day. His hands were shaking and he looked pale.

"Molly, I trust you more than anyone else… Y- you're like my own mother. And and I- I, um, I have something that I need to talk about. I didn't know who else to go to. You're the only logical choice. Molly, I'm so unhappy. I'm sorry that I have to tell you this but Ginny is absolutely horrible to me. I can't go to work without her getting mad at me and starting a fight. I- I can't do anything. But there's something else. There's something more important… I could deal with all of the shit that Ginny puts me through and happily because I love her. Merlin, I love her so much. But I- I can't be with her anymore. Molly, I- I can't…"

Harry had started crying. I went over and hugged him, just letting him cry. I gave him the mother that I knew he needed. I rubbed his back in small circles and waited for him to still.

"No, shh, shh, shh. No, Harry. Let me put on a pot of tea and then you can talk again."

I gave him my stern, motherly look and he smiled at me appreciatively. I flicked my wand in the direction of the stove. The tea was almost instantly boiled. I flicked my wand again and the tea poured itself into two large mugs. I levitated the mugs over to us and set one in front of Harry and instructed him to drink. He drank half the mug before he continued. He took a deep breath and looked him square in the eye.

"Molly, I think… I think that I'm gay."

He looked away; he was obviously ashamed. I got up and hugged him. I looked him straight in the eye as I spoke, "Harry James Potter, never feel ashamed about who you are. I know that you love Ginny; you wouldn't be so nervous and upset if you didn't. More importantly, we all love you. Who you are attracted to does not affect who you are as a person. Don't be ashamed of this Harry."

When I finished speaking, he looked up at me with relief on his face. He looked lighter. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"How am I supposed to tell Ginny?"

I'll never forget the look on his face. It was a look of absolute helplessness. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. How could he tell her? How would she take it? Would this make it easier, harder? And what about the baby? I have no doubt that Harry will be an amazing father but… This… I don't know…

Ginny's voice suddenly broke into my thoughts. "I have to let him leave, don't I, Mum?"

My daughter gave me that same look of helplessness that Harry gave me. I hated having to hurt my daughter but I knew it would be for the best.

I nodded slowly, "Yes, Ginny. I'm so sorry dear. I'm sure that this must hurt… But, trust me, it's for the best."

We sat in silence, holding hands, both of us with silent tears running down our cheeks…

-THE FUNERAL OF LUCIUS ABRAXAS MALFOY

-DRACO

Gone. He was gone. It was a clear and mild morning; it was as if the weather was taunting me. The main garden area of Malfoy Manor was decorated in all white flowers, at my father's request. Each arrangement was in the shape of a different animal. The chairs were all white. Actually, everything except for his casket was white. In true Malfoy style, his casket was silver with Slytherin green accents and satin lining. The lid of the casket was adorned with a large Malfoy crest. He was dressed in traditional black dress robes and he was holding his wand and his cane.

The services were held in perfect Malfoy style. The entire time Mother sat in the seat closest to Father's head. She was doing a good job holding it together, better than me I hate to admit. It makes it worse that she has to take care of me while she's hurting. I shook my head to clear my thoughts and took a deep breath. I could barely register anything that was happening. I was seeing family that I had never met and questionable business associates of my Father. I could barely think straight, I had a splitting headache and I was trying my hardest to keep myself together. I couldn't forget the ever-important Malfoy mask.

"Draco."

One word; my name. It stopped me right in my tracks. He was here. I could never forget that voice. It was like rain on a hot day to me. It melted me to my core. The Golden Boy, the object of my affections since I was 16. Harry Potter was here, at my father's funeral. I slowly turned, hoping that I wasn't imagining his voice. I looked at him; he looked absolutely amazing. He was shorter than me by about two or three inches, but every inch of his body was covered in lean muscle. Merlin, he was perfectly tanned too. I could barely tear my eyes off of him. He was wearing a black suit with a dark grey shirt and a light grey tie. The colors made those perfect emerald eyes pop more than usual. And his hair, in trademark Potter style it looked like he just stepped off his broomstick. I finally looked at his face. He looked genuinely grief-stricken.

"Draco, I- I don't know what to day. I'm so sorry. I know, I don't know exactly how you feel but I mean- I, I uhhh… I guess I'm here for you if you need me."

He was fidgeting and stuttering. I couldn't tell why he was so nervous. As he ran his hand through his hair, I caught a fast glimpse of gold. Of course, him and the Weaselette would have gold wedding bands. Harry was so typically Gryffindor, I thought with a slight sneer. I cleared my throat and put my Malfoy mask back on.

"Thank you, P- Harry. I appreciate it. But I'd rather not talk about Father at the moment. Tell me, how's your wife?"

I was surprised to see his face turn sour for a moment. He regained his composure quickly. "Ginny, yeah, she's excellent. We're expecting our first child actually. Ginny is about four months pregnant now. I'm really excited; I can't wait to be a parent. I've loved helping Andromeda with Teddy. I've been begging her for the past few years to let me take him more often but she doesn't want him to interfere with my life. But this baby, it's so exciting and it's like I can give Teddy a baby brother or sister."

"Well, congratulations Harry! I'm glad to hear that. Teddy must be so excited; I'm surprised he hasn't told Mother or I. We go visit quite often."

"Oh well, we haven't told him yet. I mean Ginny's not very far along. We didn't really want to get his hopes up or confuse him. Actually, you're the first non-family member that I've told. I haven't even told Neville or Luna yet, actually."

He smiled eagerly at me. Clearly, he didn't want to discuss the Weaselette. As soon as I mentioned her, he brought the subject away from her. He didn't once mention how she was feeling about the baby. I decided to try again.

"So, since Ginny is pregnant, is she working at all? I can't imagine she'd be allowed to stay on the Harpies."

"Right now, she's taking a break. She got a lot of injuries playing with them. I'm the only one working right now. Actually, you'd be interested in what I do. I run a Quidditch shop. We sell supplies and I have Oliver Wood giving lessons to children. I used to give adults lessons on how to properly care for their brooms but they were only interested in meeting Harry Potter. What are you doing right now? Oliver and I wanted to start classes for teens but he's too busy with the kids and I run the business part. So… Would you?"

He looked up at me sheepishly. There's something in his face that I can't decipher. I can't help but smile back at him. He's so beautiful.

"Well, Mother and I own a medical apothecary. We recently added a larger staff and I have considerably more free time. How often would classes be?"

His smile grew and absolutely lit up his face, "The teen classes would only be offered during the summer vacation, the outdoors ones anyway. Teen classes would really primarily cater to Hogwarts students and obviously they can't go to classes year round."

"It's a deal."

I reached out and shook his hand. There was a slight spark and we looked up at each other. We silently acknowledged the spark between us. Harry nodded at me as he walked away. I could barely think straight. The rest of the funeral went by in a blur. Not that I was actually registering anything to begin with before Harry showed up, but now? Now I knew something. We Slytherins are really quite perceptive. Harry Potter was unhappy with his marriage.