Three snippets, a DVD, and a videorec

[annafugazzi]

Anybody remember those Ember to Ember DVD requests?

I've got a list of them. Some are already done, some are almost done, some are but a gleam in my eye as of yet. Here's three partially-finished bits, and then one request that's actually, you know, done.

1. For coffeejunkii, who said i'd love to see the scene in which harry and draco make the decision to move in together :)
   
   
   Snippet
   "Move where, Daddy?" Alec's small voice piped up behind him, and Harry started. He and Draco glanced at each other in alarm. "Who's moving?" Alec repeated.
   
   "Nobody, Alec," Draco said quickly. "We're just talking."
   
   Harry glanced at Bill, whose eyes had widened slightly. Bill cleared his throat. "It would make warding easier," he said neutrally.
   
   "Make a lot of things easier," said Kara.
   
   "You mean they could come live with us?!" Alec said, incredulous, his eyes lighting up, and Harry's heart skipped a beat at the hope and joy flooding his son's face.
   
   "What?" Ben sat up, his ongoing squabble with Alec totally forgotten. "We could live at Alec's house? That's brilliant! And we could--"
   
   "Ben could live there and he could be in my room! And it would be just like--"
   
   And now Draco was looking cornered, and Harry figured he probably looked exactly the same, and they all desperately needed to backpedal.
   
   "Erm, boys, nobody's making any definite plans yet," Bill said hastily, then gave Kara a look. "Why don't we take the boys to a magical ice cream shop?" Kara frowned. "I know of one at Brigid's Cross that--"
   
   "But Ben's no' supposed to--" said Kara.
   
   "He'll be fine, the Healer said he could go out for short excursions. I even have amulets on me," he said, taking three of them out of his pocket.
   
   "But--"
   
   "It'll be good for him to get outside for a bit," Bill continued, taking Kara's arm and flicking his wand around the flat, Summoning the children's outdoor things with admirable speed.
   
   "But--"
   
   "By which I mean this isn't something they can decide with all of us hanging on their every word," he said firmly, motioning the boys to come with them.
   
   "It's no' like they're the only ones affected--" Kara was still saying as Bill herded them all out of the door.
   
   And then Harry and Draco were alone in the flat, with nothing but silence between them, and damn it, this was not how a discussion about something this important was supposed to begin.
   
   
2. Lisa3353 said I would love to read the scene between Fred and Anne (you have me on a Fred kick now) when he confronts her about sending Draco's picture to the paper
   
   
   Snippet
   "You think I did this?" Anne asked incredulously, looking back at the picture of Harry and Draco embracing on the cover of the Prophet. "How dare you--"
   
   "He was wearing a NewFace amulet," Fred interrupted.
   
   "The Aurors have the countercharm for that, Fred," Anne said scornfully. "You gave it to them yourself."
   
   "Not the ones for the new line."
   
   Anne blinked. "What?"
   
   "He was wearing the amulets we haven't put on the market yet. And all our counter-charms in the lab are for the new versions. Not for the ones Aurors already have."
   
   Anne's mouth dropped open.
   
   "You bitch," said Fred softly. "You were going to lie to me about this."
   
   Anne's eyes flashed with anger, and she raised in chin defiantly. "Oh don't act so surprised," she sneered. "Would you have told me the truth? If you'd done it?"
   
   
3. For heldin-delta, who said i really would like to read the whole fred/draco-window scene in the hospital from fred's point of view.
   
   
   Snippet
   "No, it's not supposed to be for kids, you know; it's kept in the back room. We wouldn't have sold it to your son unless he somehow found a way around the age line." The irate man before Fred narrowed his eyes. "Are you sure an older friend of his might not have given it to him, as a prank?" Fred asked. No need to get a poor kid in trouble; older friends were always good to deflect blame upon.
   
   "I would hope that any older student would know better than to do that," the man said repressively, and Fred had to suppress an amused and cynical snicker. "Besides--"
   
   "F-Fred!" Fred startled at the panicked tone to his twin's voice and turned around to see him come down the stairs two at a time, his face ashen.
   
   "What happened?" George opened his mouth, shut it again, and Fred felt a pang of alarm. "Is it Michelle Anthony Frank or Graham?" he asked quickly, and George shook his head impatiently. Fred let out his breath. "Demelza or Anne?" George shook his head again and he took a quick breath, clearly fighting to get control. Fred's alarm grew as George struggled to speak, his eyes expressing frustration at his inability to communicate.
   
   "Th- th- th-" George breathed out impatiently. "Th- the w-wireless, it- it-"
   
   Bloody buggering hell, George never stuttered this badly any more, not unless he was severely stressed, and the customer Fred had been helping was gaping at him in dismay. George jerked his chin at Fred's wand, and Fred flicked it quickly. "Accio George's pad!"
   
   A pad came flying out of the office with a quill attached, and George plucked it out of the air. On wireless, he scrawled. Pennington Stadium collapsed Ron Hermione Harry Alec
   
   A wave of panic washed over Fred.
   
   Alec.
   
   Oh god, Alec. He and George stared at each other in dismay. "Fuck. Did - had the game started yet?" George shook his head. "Maybe they weren't there yet--"
   
   George was still shaking his head. Wireless mentioned Harry and Alec
   
   "And Ron and Hermione?"
   
   Nothing
   
   "Maybe they weren't there, then," Fred said, and George nodded. "What did it say about Harry and Alec?"
   
   Harry spotted, seemed all right, possibly with two little boys taken to St. Mungo's
   
   Fred closed his eyes. "Oh God. Let's go there, then," he said, and turned to leave, the customer he'd been dealing completely forgotten.
   
   
4. For Bongo Monkeys, who said, I would be interested in seeing maybe a one shot, about 6-10 years later, saying what houses the boys were in, how Harry and Draco's relationship has done over the years, and so on.
   
   
   September 1, 2013
   Note: This is unbetaed. If you spot anything amiss, or are confused by anything, please let me know and I'll love you forever!
   
   Oh and does anybody remember if the names of the first years are called as "Parkinson, Pansy" or "Pansy Parkinson"? I can't find my copy of Philosopher's Stone!
   
   ***
   "When do you think they'll get to us?" Ben whispered nervously, and Alec shrugged. "Looks like alphabetical order. Dad didn't say it would be alphabetical order. I was hoping if we were in the first boat we'd get Sorted first. He didn't say it was an old hat, either. Did you know it was an old hat? I wonder how old it is." He wrinkled his nose. "I wonder if they've ever washed it."
   
   Alec gave him a gentle nudge and Ben rolled his eyes, but closed his mouth. Babbling, right. Babbling annoyed people, apparently. Ben knew that, but he couldn't help it sometimes. It didn't help that Alec tended to completely clam up when nervous and, therefore, at the very worst moments, an absolute deadly pall would hang over them both unless Ben spoke up.
   
   Ben glanced around at the other eleven-year-olds crowded at the edge of the Great Hall, all of them nervous, all of them excited. Many of them trying to pretend they weren't. Whispering to each other. Would be nice if Alec would do that, he thought irritably. Since they'd boarded the Hogwarts Express he'd been nearly silent. Sure would be nice to have somebody to talk to, for once.
   
   Ben looked around for the kids who'd been in their compartment on the Express. He spotted one of them, a small, lively black-haired girl, but in place of the friendly smile she'd had on the Express, she was now looking at him with suspicion as a gangly blond girl next to her whispered in her ear. Tiny eyes on the blonde girl, her mouth pursed up in distaste.
   
   Ben swallowed hard. That look was familiar. Probably found out who his Da was.
   
   Sod them, then. He turned his back on them both and looked around the Hall curiously as the Hat cried out, "SLYTHERIN!" and a boy joined the long table to the far right, to a smattering of applause from that table.
   
   "Delano, Franklin," said the friendly young professor in charge of the first years, and a small boy with buckteeth made his way to the chair and sat, nervously, looking up at the Hat as it was lowered down to him - and barely touched his head before shouting out,
   
   "RAVENCLAW!"
   
   There was a round of applause from the table next to Slytherin. Ben counted up. That was two Gryffindor, three Ravenclaw, one Slytherin and one Hufflepuff already. He gave the Hufflepuff table a long look.
   
   "D'you think the Weasleys are right? That that's where we're going?" Ben whispered, and Alec shrugged. "Doesn't look so scary. They look friendly. Those Ravenclaws all look so serious." Alec nodded and Ben suppressed the urge to poke him, just to get him to make a sound.
   
   A girl with long brown braids standing next to them suddenly turned to Alec. "Are you Harry Potter's son?" she asked abruptly.
   
   Alec blinked at her, startled. "Yeah," he said timidly.
   
   "And you're Draco Malfoy's son," she said, turning to Ben.
   
   Ben lifted his chin. "Yeah, I am," he said clearly, hiding his nervousness. He'd learned, he'd learned very well, that it didn't do to get defensive. He'd had a few nasty encounters with people who recognized him - "Death Eater spawn" hissed at him at Diagon Alley, that sort of thing - but it didn't mean he had to act like he'd done anything wrong. Because he hadn't.
   
   The girl was gazing at them both impassively, and Ben felt Alec step closer to him. He could almost feel Alec's nerves. He nudged Alec, distracting him. "Found Michelle," he murmured, nodding towards their cousin's table, and she grinned and waved at them, making some comment to her tablemates. Ben glanced at the rest of them. Although Dad hadn't said a word, it was obvious he was afraid Ben would be in Slytherin, and Ben could certainly see why. They really didn't look terribly friendly over there. Michelle seemed to be in her element, though. The only Weasley ever to be Sorted into Slytherin, Uncle Ron had said last year when they'd got the news, and Uncle Fred had pressed his lips together and then cracked a joke and tried to pretend it didn't matter to him, but they could tell it did. Not that Michelle cared.
   
   Well, at least if Ben got Sorted there, disappointed as Dad would be, he'd have one ally. Nobody messed with Michelle Weasley.
   
   Who would take care of Alec, though?
   
   "Goyle, Laurence," the professor said, and a dark-haired boy next to the girl with long braids gulped, glancing around the room nervously. The girl gave him a small shove and he moved towards the Hat. She watched him closely as the Hat deliberated over him.
   
   What does it do? wondered Ben. How does it decide? Why so quickly for some kids, and so slowly for others?
   
   "RAVENCLAW!" the Hat shouted, and the boy got up off the chair as the girl next to Ben cheered.
   
   "Good for you, Laurence!" she shouted, and the boy moved nervously towards the Ravenclaw table. There was a pause as a small house-elf appeared and tugged on the sleeve of the professor in charge of the first years.
   
   "Oh come on, don't stop now!" the girl next to him muttered, but the professor and the elf appeared to be involved in a deep discussion. The girl blew out her breath and glanced back at Laurence. "Ravenclaw," she said to Ben. "Wonder what his Howler will say tomorrow."
   
   "Howler?" Ben blinked at her. "His parents would send him a Howler for getting into Ravenclaw? Why would they get angry at that?"
   
   "Oh, not angry," the girl said, chuckling. "Only all of Dad's letters are Howlers. He can't write terribly well. I expect he'll be happy for us both no matter where we end up. Though he might wonder a bit, if I end up in Hufflepuff." She frowned slightly.
   
   "Was that your brother, then?" Ben asked, and the girl nodded, her eyes on the professor and the elf as the elf nodded and Disapparated. "You're twins?"
   
   "Goyle, Lindsay!" the professor said, and the girl instantly forgot Ben and almost bounced towards the stool in her eagerness.
   
   "HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the Hat a moment later, and the girl gave her brother an apologetic glance before moving to her new table.
   
   "Greely, Ben!"
   
   Ben gulped and forced himself to move to the stool, swallowing hard as the old Hat settled onto his head.
   
   "Gryffindor if I ever saw one," the Hat said decisively, and Ben started in alarm.
   
   "No!"
   
   "Beg pardon?"
   
   Ben blinked. The Hat... the Hat had answered him. Could anybody else hear it?
   
   "I - I want to be with my brother Alec," he whispered. "He's small, and he's shy. And he gets distracted and doesn't really talk to people if I'm not there. Please, he's my responsibility."
   
   "What House is he in?" the Hat asked.
   
   "None yet. But he's Harry Potter's son too - Harry's my stepdad, it's a long story - so loads and loads of people will want to talk to him and he can't really handle that."
   
   "Potter? Likely a Gryffindor too, then," said the Hat.
   
   Ben shook his head. "No, not Alec. He's small. He doesn't talk much. 'Cept with me."
   
   "Where do you think he'll end up?" the Hat asked curiously.
   
   "Could be Ravenclaw, 'cause he's good at music, but he doesn't really care about other school things… he's good at math, Auntie Hermione says he's really good, but…"
   
   "You could be in Ravenclaw too you know," said the Hat, and Ben was startled.
   
   "Really?"
   
   "There's a fine mind in there," said the Hat. "If you think that's where the other lad might end up…"
   
   "I don't know, though," said Ben miserably. "I don't know. Alec... if he's not interested in anything but music, then..."
   
   "Then he might not be a good fit." The Hat seemed to clear its throat. Did the Hat even have a throat? "We're supposed to be thinking about where you belong, though," it prompted Ben.
   
   "I don’t know..."
   
   "Do you think Alec might be in Slytherin?"
   
   "Not a chance," Ben said.
   
   "No, nor would you. You know, while I do like to keep families together, the first priority is to put a child where he belongs. And you very much belong in Gryffindor." It paused. "Or Hufflepuff."
   
   "Hufflepuff," said Ben decisively.
   
   "And what if Alec isn't Sorted into Hufflepuff?"
   
   "You'll have to change one of us, then," Ben said bravely.
   
   "I don't do that," the Hat said, amused.
   
   "You'll have to."
   
   The Hat chuckled. "Very well, then. HUFFLEPUFF!"
   
   Ben walked over to the Hufflepuff table in relief, and sat down next to the girl with braids, as Hewlett, Adolphus was called.
   
   "So, will your dad be sending you a Howler, then?" she asked him with a grin.
   
   "No. My family's all been saying Hufflepuff forever," said Ben.
   
   "Really? That's interesting." She clapped as Eleanor Jonas was sorted into Ravenclaw. "Wouldn't have expected that, considering." She gave him a quick glance. "You cut your hair since the pictures in the paper last year, didn't you?"
   
   "D'you think you know me just because you recognized me from a story in the paper?" Ben said, realizing he was possibly being rude, but the knot in his stomach was bigger now as he thought of what might go wrong. Like Alec going into Ravenclaw. Nobody he knew to keep him company. Alec was famous, and it always embarrassed him when people recognized him or asked him about Harry, and if he was in Ravenclaw the other students would expect a lot from him, and what if he tuned them out and started failing his classes because he couldn't be bothered to study anything but music, and then he didn't have any friends, and...
   
   "I know more about you and your dad than what was in that story," the girl said, and he turned back to her. Lindsay Goyle, that was her name. "Those were nice robes, by the way. You were both ringbearers?"
   
   "Yeah." Ben gave her a guarded glance. She really didn't seem unfriendly at all. "Our dads were pretty angry that the paper printed those pictures. It was supposed to be private."
   
   Lindsay shrugged. "Harry Potter finally getting married again, to a former Death Eater. My mum said they should've been happy the papers didn't print your Floo address too."
   
   Ben shrugged. Lisa Keitch went to Slytherin, and Andrew Kirke was called up.
   
   "My dad said your dad hadn't changed much," said Lindsay.
   
   "How would he know?"
   
   "They used to be friends. A long time ago. Here."
   
   Ben gaped at her, missing the next Sorting completely. "Really?"
   
   "Yeah." Lindsay smiled at him. "My dad had to go to Azkaban, same as yours. He was just lucky that he wasn’t as famous. But there've still been a few silly buggers who've tried to make trouble for us." She lifted her chin. "We don't let 'em."
   
   He looked over at her brother, over at the Ravenclaw table. "Doesn't it bother you that you're not with your brother?" he asked, and Lewis, Matthew sat and the Hat settled over his eyes.
   
   She frowned, puzzled. "Why? Ravenclaw would be deadly dull, don't you think? Too much reading, not enough fun. Much rather be here. Though it might've been nice to be in Gryffindor. Best Quidditch team, my mum says."
   
   Ben nodded. McCormack, Roberta went to the Gryffindor table, and Midgen, Louise took her place on the stool.
   
   "So you don't mind, being here? In Hufflepuff?" Ben asked Lindsay, his nerves drawing tighter as Alec's turn came closer and closer.
   
   "No."
   
   "Does anybody here know about your dad?"
   
   "Other than you and my brother, I don't know," she said. "But I've friends in Ravenclaw. They're in third year, and my mum used to be friends with their mums. They know some pretty good hexes. They'll deal with anybody who wants to be nasty to us," she said grimly. "D'you know anybody?"
   
   "Three cousins. Two in Gryffindor and one in Slytherin. Although…" he glanced over at the Gryffindor table, where Remy Weasley was busy chatting with a friend of his, utterly ignoring both Ben and Alec. "One of them's a bit of a prat. His brother's all right. And there's going to be another cousin here next year, and two more the year after that."
   
   Midgen, Louise, went to Slytherin, Nehal, Sanjay went to Ravenclaw, and then...
   
   "Potter, Alec!" the professor said, and smiled at Alec, who turned even paler. His green eyes met Ben's and he walked to the stool with the Hat, eyeing it distrustfully.
   
   Ben's fists clenched, wishing he could go up to the front, near Alec. Harry didn't like it when Ben was overprotective, but Ben couldn't help it. Alec got so nervous, and had been known to trip or drop things at the worst times. At the wedding, Alec had been pale and shaky for hours beforehand, even though the wedding was small and all he and Ben had to do was say a few words during the ceremony.
   
   He'd relaxed when they'd sung a song together, though. That part had been fun.
   
   Come on, Alec, you can do this, Ben thought as Alec sat down on the stool, his freckles dark against his pale skin. Don't drop anything, don't fall off the stool, don't think about the fact that there's hundreds of people staring at you. Just relax and let the Hat do its job.
   
   Ben fiddled with the collar of his brand new school robes, and hoped like hell that the Hat knew what it was doing.
   
   ***
   "Had I known your mother was a Weasley," the Hat said, "I would've told the other lad that you'd be a Gryffindor too."
   
   Alec's eyebrows went up. "You... you remember my mum?" he asked timidly.
   
   "I remember every child I've ever Sorted," the Hat said firmly. "So, lad. Gryffindor, like your father and your mother?"
   
   Alec blinked, his eyes covered by the Hat. "I could be in Gryffindor? Really?"
   
   "Of course," said the Hat testily. "I don’t place children where they don't belong."
   
   "But... but Ben's always having to defend me."
   
   "He doesn't have to," said the Hat. "You're quite capable of standing up for yourself, you know. Parents like yours, a spirit like yours... you've got plenty of bravery."
   
   Alec hunched his shoulders uncomfortably. "I... not really..."
   
   "Even defended Ben a few times, haven't you? Just now, when the Goyle girl recognized him. The first thing you did was step closer to him, just in case things turned nasty and he needed you."
   
   How had the Hat known that? "That's different," Alec mumbled.
   
   "It's often easier to fight for others than it is to fight for yourself," said the Hat. "But maybe you should start to learn how."
   
   "I should?"
   
   "It would make your father proud, wouldn't it?" said the Hat.
   
   "It would, yeah," Alec said, and his heart beat a little faster. His father, and the cousins already in Gryffindor, and the ones who were sure they'd be in Gryffindor, and Granddad and Grandmum, and the uncles and aunts, and--
   
   "It's too bad you weren't up first. The other lad would've made a fine Gryffindor as well."
   
   "Why didn’t he?"
   
   "He didn't want to leave you on your own. He seems to think you require protection."
   
   Alec swallowed.
   
   "So, Gryffindor, then?"
   
   Alec took a deep breath. "My dads'll be proud of me no matter where I am," he said slowly.
   
   The Hat chuckled. "Well they'll have to be proud of you in Gryffindor or Hufflepuff, lad, because there's no way I'll place you in Slytherin - or in Ravenclaw, for all that you've got a fine mind for music. Which will it be, then?"
   
   "Hufflepuff," said Alec firmly. "Like my brother."
   
   "Just and loyal indeed." There was a small pause. "Very well, then. HUFFLEPUFF!"
   
   ***
   "Well, that was certainly... unexpected," said the portrait of Severus Snape. "The children of Gregory Goyle, Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter, and a Weasley, all sitting together at the Hufflepuff table." He glanced at the other side of the Hall. "And the first Goyle in history to be Sorted into Ravenclaw. The Hat has finally gone senile."
   
   Harry made a rude gesture at the portrait, feeling a little silly even as he did it. Not like the portrait could see through his Disillusionment charm. It could probably sense what he was doing, though, as it sneered in his general direction.
   
   "Draco," it said, speaking to the spot where Draco was supposed to be. "Congratulations on your son's Sorting." Harry realized he was no better to able to read Snape's emotions now than he had been when Snape was alive. He wondered if even Draco could tell whether Snape was being condescending or sincere.
   
   "Thank you," said Draco quietly.
   
   "You'd both probably go now, before somebody stumbles over you," the portrait added, and it was odd how he could sound regretful over Draco's departure and eager for Harry to be gone, at the same time. "Entertaining as it would be to watch you try to explain your presence here without implicating Longbottom."
   
   Harry felt a touch on his shoulder and he and Draco carefully made their way around the last of the first years, and through the side door that Neville had left open for them. They waited until they were out in the corridor before Harry removed his charm and Draco removed Harry's cloak, and they swiftly made their way out of the building.
   
   They picked up their brooms in silence, and impulsively Harry pulled Draco close for a quick kiss. Draco smiled and tightened his arms around Harry, not letting him go.
   
   "No disappointment?" Draco asked.
   
   "That neither one's in Gryffindor?" Harry asked, and shook his head. "No, not really. There's more to life than bravery. You? Slytherin?"
   
   "God, no," Draco said, shuddering. "That'd be all Ben would need."
   
   "Someday maybe Slytherin won't have the same stigma it does today," Harry said.
   
   "Maybe." Draco shrugged carelessly. "Not my problem. There's more to life than upholding House honour."
   
   "Fair enough. Now, let's go, before we get Neville in trouble." They hurried towards the edge of the castle grounds.
   
   "It'll be odd, not having them home, won't it?" Draco commented.
   
   "Not just odd," Harry said ruefully. "It's losing the last third of their childhood. Can't believe I never thought about how difficult this would be."
   
   "We won't see them as much; that doesn't mean they're out of our lives. There'll just be fewer toys and messes to deal with, for a while." Draco gave him an affectionate nudge. "Cheer up. At least you don't have to deal with their departure throwing your job into chaos. I still have no idea how I'm going to compensate for losing two of the best choirmembers I've ever worked with."
   
   Harry smiled. "Come on, you knew they wouldn't have been singing for you much for the next few years anyway, once their voices broke. Besides, don't tell me you're not excited to be conducting that new string orchestra." He grinned at Draco. "'London's newest rising star in orchestral directing', they called you, right?"
   
   Draco rolled his eyes. "I need to stop Kara from e-mailing you those reviews. D'you think I could get permission to cast a few spells on her agent, get him to actually push her new CD, so she's too busy with her own career to bother me about mine?"
   
   "If you can figure out a way to not make it sound quite as self-serving, maybe," Harry laughed. He looked back at the castle. "It's a bad sign that I've already counted the days to the Christmas hols, isn't it?"
   
   Draco smiled. "I don't imagine there's too many parents who haven't."
   
   Harry sighed. "You know, I'm not worried about Ben, so much. He's been wanting this forever. But Alec... I just hope he can manage to learn enough magic here to Apparate, some day. And not just live for music every hour of every day."
   
   Draco squeezed his hand. "He's happy. He's good at what he does. And he knows what he's going to do with his future. That's more than most people can ever hope for, and he's only eleven."
   
   Harry nodded. He'd had a pretty good idea of what he was going to do with his future around Alec's age too. Being destined for a life of music seemed a far better fate than being destined to kill or be killed by a powerful madman.
   
   "Ginny would've been proud of him," Draco said.
   
   "Would've been." Harry kissed him. "I'm proud of them both." They reached the gate and slipped through it, then he climbed onto his broomstick. "Come on," he said. "Let's stop at the next town and call Kara to let her know about the Sorting."
   
   "And then let's go home," Draco said, and they lifted off.
   

And speaking of parents, not that we were, here's a link from piratesmile331 that was among a group of links that totally made my day, on a day when I experiencing boredom the likes of which cannot be replicated without reading the M section of a phone book.

The William Tell Overture sung by a mom