Chapter Twenty-Nine - Happier Days
Sure, the world believed Harry to be a liar, and an inconvenient pest while a mass murderer was on the loose, but the night with Malfoy had brought a calm to his mind. Moreover, living with two of the Marauders had its effect on how much you can care about something, especially during the day. Everything is put into a different perspective when you Godfather just throws anger fits the moment news passes about a ministries' bigoted statement, while five minutes he later he throws smarties and whipped cream on the cake that is now smashed on the ground. Five minutes after a tantrum, five minutes after Harry's world seems to collapse- Let's just all have a picknick and eat deliciously smashed cake with too much whipped cream! Sirius's confidence exceeds every humiliating Ministries comment and thus Harry thought he might try this as well. They actually made a game out of it- Every morning Remus would find Harry sitting on Sirius' back who's doing push ups while Harry reads the paper aloud, laughing in victory when a (distant) Black family member name is called out or Harry's name is.
Harry found this new cooping mechanism gave him some headspace to finally reflect on his dreams. Honestly, why would he keep these weird dreams from Sirius and Remus. It was starting to feel pointless. The moment he sat and thought about it he found how weirdly unnatural they are, or at least, unnatural to the ordinary person he guessed.
Sirius and Remus flipped out a bit more than Harry expected, meaning they quieted down for the rest of the hour after their conversation of reassuring Harry that they would investigate it "and fucking fix it," if Sirius was to be believed.
Sadly, this turned-out Snape was suddenly involved, and not a day later Narcissa was invited over for tea. The occlumency lessons increased and it was agreed upon that Snape, "you can call him Severus, Harry", would take over the lessons once Hogwarts started. Snape or Severus, or whoever, came over more often after that. The meeting with Narcissa and Sirius had apparently resulted in Snape becoming a conspiracy thinker and wanting to analyse every detail.
Harry deliberately chose to stay out of the way. He had enough of all the theories and Voldemort slithering his way into his life. Remus and Sirius told him they were on it, and he trusted them. They tried keeping him in the loop. Showing him the wall, yes an actual wall in the third sitting room, that they had created with letters, pictures, theories, and newspapers about Voldemort's doing and connections. Apparently Snape, and Narcissa whenever she could safely join, were very much involved in this, they had way too much knowledge on the dark arts.
All Harry was concerned about was trying to keep Voldemort out of his mind, which is what he did. Meditate before going to bed and first thing in the morning. Tell Sirius, and sometimes Snape, what he had dreamed about. Write to Draco when he woke up in sweat, panicking. It worked, if only a little.
Bonjour Harry,
Mother and I just arrived in our townhouse in Paris, so I thought I'd write to you.
Paris is beautiful as always, even though my bedroom is at the smaller size and I fear I might not have enough space when we go shopping tomorrow...
Mother and I always have the most amazing few days with the two of us, where we go buy clothes, drink tea and just live our lives in peace.
It is always my most cherished moment in the holiday.
How are you fairing these days after my departure? It must be boring without my presence. I hope you are eating your nutrients and getting better. When Slytherin beats Gryffindor coming year I do not want it to be because 'Harry was not at his best'
Sorry my letter has to be quite short, as mother and I have a dinner reservation at Arpége. One of our favourites.
Hope to speak to you soon!
Au Revoir,
Draco