Harry Potter BIG BANG part 2 and PICTURES!
Title: Wizards work in mysterious ways (part2)
Author: naturegirlrocks
Rating: R
Pairings: Harry/Draco, Severus/Luna, Lucius/Hermione, Ron/Pansy, George/Gilderoy, Percy/Narcissa
Summary: Harry comes back to Hogwarts for his eighth year, he wants Draco but Lucius is the new DADA teacher, Snape is Headmaster and why is Lockhart back?
For the harrypotterbang
Artist: The Wonderful cydciedah who took images from my brain and drew them.
part 1
Severus was quite taken aback over the small room. It was indeed an archive of some sort, but it only had four bookshelves, a small reading desk and a chair. It was no bigger than his private potion ingredient room, the one that was not open for students. Looking closer at the files he smirked. Albus, you old fool, he thought fondly. He convinced himself that the feeling in his throat was only his wounds healing and not approaching tears.
It seemed that Dumbledore had liked to choose a couple of students each year that he favoured and then kept track of these students after their graduation. Each former student got a file. Severus always knew the codger was prone to favouritism, but then again… what teacher wasn’t? Severus certainly had his favourites, most of them where in Slytherin of course.
Looking at his own graduation year, 1978, he noticed to his surprise that only three names were saved. His own, Sirius Black and Lily Evans Potter. He glanced at Lovegood. She was sitting on the writing desk looking though a file marked with the name ‘Kingsley Shacklebolt - Ravenclaw’. Severus debated for a second over the ethics of letting a young budding reporter look though the Minister of Magic’s life story, then he smirked and turned back to the shelf.
Lily’s file was thin. There where only four newspaper clippings from the Prophet inside. One where she was accepted to the Auror program; one for her wedding day; one for the birth of her son; and one for her death. Severus stroked a fingertip over the photograph where she was standing smiling in front of her house with her husband and young son. She smiled at him from the picture, James looked irritated and baby Harry just looked curious.
He replaced the file and looked over to Lovegood again. She was, quite openly, putting the Shacklebolt file in her schoolbag. She smiled up at him with a dreamy expression on her face. The kind of expression that always had him wondering if he had her full attention of none at all. He gave her a hint of a smile back, not too much.
If he were to pick his favourites outside Slytherin, he thought as he turned back to look at his own file, he would probably pick her as one of them. He had only ever given her E’s and O’s in potions, and from what he was told she also exceeded in other classes. She was not as clever as Granger, but she made up for it with wild imagination and a decent artistic talent.
His file was filled with wizarding space. Severus had to lay it down on the writing desk next to Lovegood to look at it. There were his five theses from the Potions Academy, copies of his apprentice diploma and his Potions Master certificate, and a newspaper clipping from when he was hired as a professor at Hogwarts. Silly old sod.
Suddenly he felt fingers moving though his hair. Startled, he looked up at Lovegood. She does it again, that slow movement that should not feel so good.
“It’s soft,” she says with a distant voice. “Do you make your own conditioner?”
“What?” Severus takes a step back from her. “What are you on about, Lovegood?”
“I make mine,” she smiles and tosses her long blond hair slightly.
“Really?”
He looks at her smooth blond hair; against his will he is impressed. He if any should know how hard it is to make a decent conditioner. Not that he really should bother about that stuff, but living every day in potion fumes makes his hair look rather greasy. And, not to forget, it is a quite difficult potion base to manage, even for an advanced student like Lovegood.
She holds a lock of hair out for him. Severus hesitates for a moment, and then he takes the lock gently between his thumb and forefinger. It feels soft, impressive indeed. Perhaps he should ask her to bring the potion to class for a show and tell…
Then she leans in and kisses him, and, save him Merlin, he lets her.
“I…” Severus tares himself away from the hot soft lips. “I can’t…”
Lovegood slowly begins to untie her Ravenclaw tie. Severus is glued to the floor. You can’t. I can. She is your student. She is of age. She is crazy. I’m crazy… It’s been so long… so long… She is undoing her blouse now, glimpses of a pink lacy bra tickles his eyes.
Before he can think of any more excuses Lovegood wraps her legs around him, pulling him closer. As their lips meet again he is lost.
-------------------------<-----------------@
Harry sat on the side of Draco’s bed in the infirmary waiting for him to wake up. He absentmindedly played with the last toad that Draco had belched up before the curse was lifted. The toad was actually Slytherin green and its warts had speckles of silver, its eyes were yellow. Harry had saved it from Madam Pomfrey’s vanishing spells that had taken away the other five toads coming out of Draco’s mouth. Harry guessed that Draco probably was quite happy over being unconscious, that is if he was conscious…
He looked up as a groan was heard from the bed. Draco stirred. Harry leaned forward, placing the toad on Draco’s chest. Grey eyes flickered open.
“I don’t care if you are Potter,” Draco frowned at the toad. “I’m not going to kiss you.”
The toad croaked.
“I’m here,” Harry waived his hand to get attention.
“Good, then you kiss him,” Draco frowned. “Where am I?”
“Infirmary. Pomfrey said you should stay over night,” he got up from the chair. “I’m going to tell her you are awake.”
“This is all your fault.”
“Hey!” Harry stopped and turned. “It was you who wanted me to eat the cake rather than giving me a kiss.”
“I was not talking to you!” Draco stared menacingly at the toad.
“Err… I’ll get Pomfrey.”
Before he got to the nurse’s office, though, Lucius Malfoy walked into the infirmary. He was wearing a simple teacher’s robe, like he just had taken the first best thing and then rushed of to see his son. Pomfrey came out of her office and met him, talking low about what was the matter and what she had done to Draco.
“…he just needs rest,” she concluded as they all stood by the bed.
“Now you are in trouble!” Draco continued to glare at the amphibian. “Daddy is going make potion ingredients of you!”
Lucius raised an eyebrow, he had probably not been called ‘daddy’ since Draco was a toddler. Harry smirked and tried not to laugh. He stood close to the bed, tapping his fingers nervously on the bed sheet next to the pale hand laying there. He would nothing more than to hold that hand.
“Belched toads does not make good ingredients, son,” Lucius lifted the toad of Draco’s chest ignoring the ‘Hey! Come back’. “Then everybody would be belching frogs.”
“He is a little confused,” Pomfrey smirked taking up a glass vile from her apron and putting it to Draco’s lips. “He got hit by four different Stunning spells and a Confundus.”
“Why?” Lucius turned worriedly to Harry. “Did he do something? Is he in trouble?”
Harry was surprised by the pure emotion behind the words. Lucius was usually so cold and collected. He was even talking to Harry as if Harry was a real person. The toad croaked.
“I…” Harry tentively touched his forefinger to the side of Draco’s thumb. “I ate a piece of cake that was meant to poison him. The others thought that he was poisoning me…”
Both Lucius and Pomfrey blinked. Draco groaned and put his hands over his face in a way that indicated a huge head ache. Harry bit his lip.
“Why?” Lucius looked from his son to Harry and then back again.
“I wanted to show him that he could trust me.”
“And you get him in the infirmary?”
“He wouldn’t… err…” Harry trailed of looking around for an escape. “Err…”
“Food, Potter,” growled Draco. “Go get me food.”
“Right…” Harry moved a little to the side, but then remembered that he had to get on Lucius’s good side. “Would you like something as well, sir?”
“Please,” Lucius graciously took up a package from the inside of his robes. “And would you please deliver this to Miss Granger? Tell her she has detention at seven.”
“It’s Saturday…”
Lucius gave him a look. Harry took the package, it felt like a book.
“Sir?”
“Yes?”
“Please don’t vanish the toad.”
“Fine,” he transfigured a glass of water to a small aquarium with a flick of his wand.
Harry took a few more steps, stopping at the door with his hand on the knob.
“Sir?”
“Yes, Potter?” Lucius’s voice had a dangerous edge to it.
“Can… Can I date your son?”
Silence. Lucius’s face became a shade paler. Pomfrey frowned, looking like she wanted to administer a anti-heart attack spell of some sort. Draco just shook his head, looking at Harry with utter despair.
“Potter,” he said. “I have not come out to Father yet.”
“Oh…” Harry shifted by the door. “Oh…”
“Food. Now”
“I’ll send a house elf,” Harry escaped.
@----------------------->---------------------
Ron and Pansy had eaten at The Three Broomsticks. Pansy had gotten a few angry looks but no one had approached them. Still, they felt it better to take dessert with the others in the Great Hall. Ron had enjoyed the meal and the walk back to the castle. He had had his first real conversation with the girl. He had been worried that they might not have anything in common, making a relationship difficult.
Ron was pleased to find that she was interested in Quiddich and was not opposed to a game of Wizard Chess. He also found that she could help him with his Charms homework. Pansy had been pleased to find that since Ron had five older brothers, Ginny for a little sister and Molly Weasley for a mother, he was very good at taking orders and listen. Ron was not so sure that he liked that, but forgot all about it when she took his hand as they walked.
His happy mood sunk as they entered the Entrance hall. Hermione was standing in the middle of the room, crying on the chest of a panicking Seamus Finnegan. Dean was patting her awkwardly on her back.
“Oh thank Merlin!” breathed Seamus. “Look Hermione! It’s Ron!”
“Rooooon!” she cried as Seamus dumped her wet face on Ron’s shoulder.
Ron glared at his friends. What did they expect him to do about this? Sure, he was her ex-boyfriend, but there were reasons that he now was her ex. That he did not know what to do in situations like this was on of the reasons. Seamus and Dean just shrugged.
“What is wrong?” Ron tried.
Hermione hiccupped something about how she hated her hair and something about not being pretty. Then she whined and croaked something that sounded like Stupid Mudblood, but Ron was sure he heard that wrong.
“You have lovely hair, Hermione,” he tried coaxing and patted her back. “And you are pretty. Don’t you think so? Seamus? Dean?”
“Stunning,” nodded Seamus.
“Very,” concurred Dean enthusiastically.
This somehow made her cry even harder. Ron was feeling wetness leaking though his jacket and jumper. There was a loud sigh and Pansy stepped forward, rolling her eyes.
“Men!” she said the word like an insult. “Granger?”
Hermione sobbed, but tilted her head to look at Pansy.
“You have lovely hair,” Pansy stoked her arm.
“Re- really?”
“Yes, and you are pretty.”
“Hey, I said that!” protested Ron.
“Shut up!” Pansy glared at him and turned back to Hermione with a kind smile. “Do you want to borrow my hair brush?”
“Ca- can I?” Hermione pushed herself of Ron.
“Yes,” Pansy held out her hand and Hermione took it. “And some blush maybe, have you ever tried lipstick?”
Ron was confused. Why had Pansy first told Hermione that she was pretty (something Ron had already said by the way) and then suggested make up? He followed as Hermione held on to Pansy’s hand and let herself be led into the Great Hall and towards the Slytherin table. He glanced at Seamus and Dean, they just shrugged.
“Women,” muttered Ron and turned his attention to the desserts on the Gryffindor table.
He needed some sugar-induced bravery before he confronted Lucius Malfoy about dating his adoptive daughter.
@---------------->----------------------------------
“Eighty nine percent,” announced George looking up from the Memory Test Spell result. “The best one yet. The treatment seems to be working.”
Gilderoy sat back in his armchair looking over the young man, and liked what he saw. He smiled a confident smile. He was very glad to regain his many smiles; he had missed them without knowing what he missed. Since a very young age he had practiced them, catalogued them and practiced them again. Gilderoy had a small psychological streak in the back of his mind that sometimes showed itself and told him that this was probably why he was too vain and selfish. These moments of clarity were usually short and taken over by his own awesomeness.
But even though he was self-absorbed and vain, it was not above him to see qualities in others. That is, if he bothered to look. George Weasley was one of them that had caught his eye. It had begun when the man had put a tracking collar around his neck. It had not felt humiliating; it had felt safe and maybe a little of arousing. He did not like to admit his weaknesses (there were so few of them anyway), but he had a fear of getting lost.
“What is this?” he reached forward and took a colourful catalogue from George’s papers.
“Oh…” George looked a little sad. “That is my and Fred’s…” he took a deep breath. “That is my business. A joke shop. Weasley’s Wizarding Weezies. It is closed down… for the moment, while I’m… here. We… I… I have not made anything new since… since that catalogue came out… before… before the war. ”
Gilderoy nodded and leafed though the glossy pages. George had opened up a little about his dead twin when Gilderoy told him about his crazy sister. He felt a little sad over that the mind that had thought up all these jokes and toys now only was half. He was convinced, though, that George could get back on his feet, and he was going to help the only way he could; with his many smiles.
“No need to ask,” he said, pushing back a curl of perfect hair. “I’ll do it.”
“What?” George frowned.
“I know you are overwhelmed,” Gilderoy continued giving him the I’m so modest but you know I’m the best-smile. “Please, no need thank me. I know that it’s a great honour. Of course I’ll be your model for the next catalogue. No need to thank me.”
“Thank you?”
“You are welcome,” he winked and turned a page, feeling a rush of magic through his fingers. “Oh.”
He recognized the charm as an of-age-restraint, no one under the age of seventeen could open these pages in the back. Gilderoy raised an eyebrow as he looked over the magical pictures. Imaginative sex toys and costumes were twirling over the page. He looked up at George who was blushing in a quite attractive way. Gilderoy gave him the I’m game if you are-smile.
“I’m also available for some product testing…”
--------------------------------<-<--------@
Luna felt dizzy as Severus pulled out of her. (‘Rus’, she thought, that is a good name for a Horclump.) It was not the kind of dizzy that she normally felt, the day-to-day dizziness that other people like to call her ‘looniness’. This was a dizziness that filled her up and warmed her from the inside. The heat coming of the Professor’s body enhanced the smells impregnated in his robes. Luna would never again smell clover and brimstone without thinking of this moment. She sighed contently, if she was a Bleedrog she would have purred.
“What have I done?” Severus gasped (it seemed only right to think of him as ‘Severus’ now). “What have I done? Fool! Weak! Merlin help me…” he fumbled with his belt buckle.
“I’m not going to tell anyone.” Luna said gripping the hem of her pink lacy bra in a subconscious protective manner. “It was not my first time.”
Severus’s eyes snapped to her face and then to her hand over her breast. The dark eyes narrowed and he took a step closer. Luna’s hand trembled as he took her hand and pushed it away. His long, rough fingertips moved over her skin, following the net of scars over her chest. He looked up at her again, concern in his face. Luna fought not to look away.
“It was during the war…” she said, not feeling dizzy at all. “I was captured… Daddy doesn’t know... Well, he knows that it happened, not how or…” she quieted, feeling tears burn in her eyes. “…or who.”
“Do you know who?” Severus stroked his thumb over her cheek, he leaned into the touch.
“Yes, him,” Luna could feel her tears flowing now. “I don’t know who the others were, they had masks…” she made a move with her hand, drawing a circle around her face.
She was suddenly engulfed by two long arms; her face was again pressed to the comforting smells of the robe. Luna took a deep breath. The scents of sweat and sex were mingling with the herbs and smoke. Again little of the dizziness came back to her and she leaned closer to the warm body that not moments ago had given her so much pleasure.
“I was not there,” Severus voice was glum. “I swear I was not there.”
“I know,” Luna took another breath. “I know your smell anywhere… And you made me feel so good jut now.”
The arms tightened around her, a light kiss on the top of her head.
“Malfoy?” he whispered, terror in his voice.
Luna understood. Lucius Malfoy was his charge, his childhood house mate, his friend. He was also Draco’s father. She would have been happy to lie, but she did not have to. She shook her head. Severus leaned back so he could see her face. He looked relieved.
“No. He was drinking quite heavily back then, I would have smelled that,” Luna dug her fingers deeper into the sides of his shirt. “And when he looks at me now, he looks at me like everyone else does.”
“And how is that?”
“Like I’m loony,” she smiled. “I don’t mind, because I am.”
Severus gave her a rare smile that made his face look almost foreign. Luna felt honoured to take part of this smile. He looked down on her chest, frowning.
“I can’t take them away, since they are healed,” he said thoughtfully. “But I can have a potion that can make them a little less visible.”
“Thank you.”
She leaned in to kiss him, but he tilted his head, making her lips hit the side of his mouth. Luna laughed and tilted his head back with her hand to give him a proper kiss.
-------------------------<--------------------@
Harry entered the Great Hall. He had just been to the kitchen, asking the house elves to send some sandwiches to the two Malfoys in the hospital wing. The small creatures had looked confused, and maybe a little worried. Harry had just shrugged, got his own plate of sandwiches and gone on to see if he could catch some dessert as well. He dumped himself down by the Gryffindor table between Ron and Neville. Harry continued to stuff his face with food.
“What’s up with you?” Ron licked his spoon clean of apple tart and reached for seconds.
“I outed Draco to his father,” chewed Harry gloomily.
There was a pause as the closest of the Gryffindors took in this fact. Someone giggled nervously.
“Where is Hermione?” Harry looked around for his friend.
“Over there,” Ron pointed with his thumb over his shoulder to the Slytherin table.
Hermione was sitting by the Slytherin table surrounded by giggling girls. Some of the girls seemed to have arrived from the Ravenclaw table and Hufflepuff as well. They were all holding small bags, comparing their contents to each other. Hermione’s hair was currently manhandled by Susan Bones with a brush, and her face was taken over by Pansy and what looked like a fistful of small brushes.
“Fuck it!” said an exasperated female voice on the other side of Neville.
Harry looked over and saw Lavender Brown dragging Padma Patil across the hall to the Slytherins. Several Gryffindors starred at them in shock, then a fifth year girl ran after them holding her own small bag. Harry frowned.
“Women,” huffed Ron, drenching his new piece of apple tart in custard.
“I have a package for her, I think it’s a book,” Harry said, placing said package on the table next to his plate. “Professor Malfoy said it’s for her detention tonight.”
“Hermione?” asked Ron, spoon halfway to his mouth. “Detention on a Saturday night? What did she do? Blow up the library?”
“I don’t know,” Harry sighed. “But I better get it to her so she can read it before she goes, so she won’t get in any more trouble.”
He rose from his seat and walked across the hall. It felt a little awkward going into the pile of giggling girls. Discovering his sexuality had not given Harry a seventh sense to the workings of the female mind (the sixth being Magic). He knew that several gay men claimed that they did - if Draco was one of these men or just a ponce, Harry did knot know. Anyway, Harry did not understand girls, and being gay only made only them seem more foreign to him.
“’Mione?” he asked.
The girl looked up at him with one eye surrounded by black lines and the other one in lilac. The whites of her eyes were a little red. Harry held out the package for her.
“Professor Malfoy asked me to give you this, and you have detention at seven.”
He was not prepared for the smile of pure happiness spreading that was over her lips. All the times he and Ron had gotten detention she had always scolded them. Harry was even more surprised when Pansy patted Hermione’s back.
“See,” she said.
“Yes,” smiled Hermione and hugged the book to her chest.
Women thought Harry and ran away to the safety of his friends, wishing he was in the infirmary with Draco.
@----------------->------------>------------------
“So…” his father sat down beside his bed, cane casually over the lap.
“I’m sorry! I…!”
“Quiet boy,” Lucius said calmly. “Remember you are a Malfoy.”
“Yes Father…” Draco looked down at his hands on the cover.
“As it were, I already know about your… preferences,” Lucius suddenly looked sad and lost. “I… I was waiting from you to tell me yourself. I want to be your friend, Draco, not push you away by seeming to interrogate you…” He sighed and made a good effort to regain his former posture.
Draco was shocked. He had not seen his father this vulnerable since the days before his trial. Lucius was really trying to change, and it was all for him. All of a sudden it accrued to him that his father was sacrificing the rest of his life to the servitude of Hogwarts, just so he could spend this last year with Draco. He felt oddly moved by this.
“So you are not disappointed?” he asked.
“Do not talk to me about disappointments,” Lucius shook his head.
Draco was just about to ask what he meant by that when a house elf popped up with a tray of sandwiches and a jug of pumpkin juice.
“Thank you,” said Lucius as the creature put his burden on the nightstand.
The house elf’s grew to double the size, bowed and disappeared back to his friends, probably telling that the world was coming to an end. Draco stared at his father as he examined the sandwiches. If this were the Manor, the house elves would never serve something as plebeian as ham and cheese between two pieces of bread. They would have served a hot bread roll, a square of cheese and a piece of ham. Draco doubted that his father even had drunken pumpkin juice for the last twenty years, at the Manor there would be wine, or at least grape juice. Lucius sighed and took a sandwich, then offering Draco the plate.
“What do you mean ‘disappointments’?” he asked carefully as he reached for the food.
“Well…” Lucius took a bite of his sandwich, crewed and swallowed before continuing. “This world has not really turned out as I thought it would,” he winced. “I found out to late that I was serving a madman; My wife of twenty two years left me for a Weasley who still wore dippers when we married; My best friend was a traitor and he is now my keeper; I’m stuck in this castle nine months of the year for the rest of my life…” he sighed again and poured himself a mug of juice.
“Father…”
“Let’s just say that you being gay is the least of my worries.”
“How did you know?” Draco chewed his food carefully, glancing up at his father.
“I came upon a conversation between Granger and Lovegood.”
“Then you know about their plans?” Draco winced.
“The one about giving Lovegood to me so I would be happy, so you would be happy, so Potter could take you out?”
“Yes.”
“Gryffindors,” they both huffed in unison.
“I think there is a chance there is a change in their plans…” his father avoided his eyes in a way that meant it was time to change the subject.
“So... what do you think of him?” Draco nodded nervously at the door through which Harry had left.
“Potter?” Lucius looked thoughtfully down at his mug, twirling the liquid around. “I can’t say I like him, but I don’t dislike him either. He has power and influence, which is enough for me to accept him.”
“Thank you,” smiled Draco, knowing that he would never get a better approval.
They sat in silence for a while, eating quietly. Pomfrey was clinking with medicine bottles in her storage room.
“What about Pansy?” asked Draco carefully.
“What about her?” Lucius poured another mug of juice. “The papers are through. She is now your legal sister.”
“I think she wants to date Ronald Weasley,” Draco bit his lip.
“Oh?” Lucius tapped his wand to the side of his mug.
“Yes…”
Draco could smell the transfigured alcohol and winced. Transfigured alcohol was something not even desperate teenagers would drink. It was generally used for sterilising potion- or medic equipment. Lucius gulped it down, letting his eyes tear up.
“That’s nice,” he said though his clenched teeth.
---------------------<-----------------@
Severus again stood before Luna Lovegood as she sat on a desk. This time it was not sexual, well, not entirely. She looked up at him with dreamy eyes. This would worry him more if this wasn’t her normal look. He gave her a small assuring smile and stroked his fingers over her bare breasts, trying to assess the damage to her skin. He was appalled by the amount of pain she must have suffered under the torture. The thought that he could have been in the same house, at the same time, made him almost nauseous.
They had met Lucius coming from the infirmary as they left the small archive. Severus had taken the opportunity to quietly ask if he knew anything about what happened to Luna in the Manor dungeons. Luna had been told to walk on ahead to Severus office. She had given him a knowing look as she left. She understood that he had to be sure.
“I knew things were happening…” Lucius had not avoided his hard stare, openly letting Severus into his mind. “I admit that I turned a blind eye many times for the sake of my family, but I never participated…” he swallowed as Severus unlocked a piece of his mind. “Not in the rapes. I… I… tortured, we all did, but I had not even met her before her escape.”
Severus had nodded and apologised for the mind intrusion. Lucius gave a weak understanding smile, he smelled of disinfectant. They parted ways and Severus continued on towards his office where Luna was waiting.
“Did you find out what you needed to know?” she asked as he let her inside.
“Yes.”
“Good,” she stroked the back of his hand with her fingers.
He stroked her skin a last time, a quite unnecessary move, before walking over to his storage. Severus breathed deep. He had to stop this. He was her headmaster. Her teacher, for Merlin’s sake! Slowly he reached for the scar reduction potion, calculating how much he had do delude the fluid to fit her skin.
“Miss Lovegood, Luna…” Severus took a deep breath.
“I don’t mind, Headmaster,” Luna took up a bottle of dried birch leaves from his desk, studying it against the light of the fire. “I know you can’t be with me anymore.”
Severus turned to her, trembling, with bottle and cotton swab in hand. Again she was looking past him, like she was watching something beside his head. It actually made him feel safe, strangely enough. He moved slowly back to her, stopping just before he touched her knees. She reached up a delicate hand and stroked his hair.
“It is really soft you know,” she said. “I will wait for you.”
“What?”
“I will wait for you,” Luna repeated like she was talking about the most natural thing in the world and not a borderline unethical and perhaps illegal affair. “What are you doing for Christmas?”
“I…” he poured some drops of the potion on to the cotton.
Severus’s hands were steady, though his heart was beating fast - years of training with volatile fluids made that to a man. Slowly he dotted her scared skin. She inhaled as the stinging cold of the potion worked its magic.
“I don’t know,” he was not looking at her breasts now, but into her big blue eyes.
“I’ll ask daddy to invite you. He won’t mind.”
“Are you sure?” he whispered, remembering just in time to remove the cotton from her skin before it created an even worse scar.
“Are Jeko-lizards yellow?”
Severus assumed they were and leaned in to give her a light kiss.
@---------------------------->-----------------------------
Lucius tied his long hair back with a black leather band. He had gone for a simple look, with a powder blue robe and silver buttons. He adjusted the moderately embroidered collar and gave his reflexion a look.
“What am I doing?” he asked himself, the mirror knew better than to answer him.
The girl was a Muuuaueuggleborn. She was twenty six years younger than him, the same age as Draco. He was her teacher, and he was already on parole. He had tried to kill her once. He had watched, and done nothing, as Bella tortured her. Still, she had some strange puppy love on him and he was going to use her. Lucius ran a fingertip over his eyebrows.
Ganger was clever, well-read, she had been in battle - there was no way he ever could fool her for any longer amount of time. He had to be honest with her. More honest than he ever had been with Narcissa or Draco. He had been thinking over this carefully ever since he overheard the girls’ conversation.
There was a knock on the door. He could hear Vlad the Impaler on the other side complimenting a ‘very blood-filled boy’. Lucius smirked and walked over, knowing what was coming. He was not prepared for the pure red-ness that greeted him as he opened the door.
Red hair, red face, red freckles and red Gryffindor robes.
Lucius was at first surprised that the boy wore his best school robes on a Saturday night, but then he realised that the robes were probably the nicest the boy owned. The Weasley was trying to impress him. Nervousness rolled of the red freckled skin. Lucius raised an eyebrow.
“I.. I…would…” the boy’s voice cracked.
Lucius contained himself for making an insulting comment.
“You would like to ask if you can date my stepdaughter Pansy?”
“Yeah, err… I mean, yes, sir.”
Lucius stood still and let the young man seethe in nervousness, waiting for the tell-tale sign that irritation was beginning to creep in. Weasley shifted. Lucius lifted an eyebrow. It took shorter time then expected to rile the boy. A small tension was working in the corner of Weasley’s mouth and his blue eyes actually darted to meet Lucius’s gaze once.
“Very well,” Lucius drawled. “You have my permission.”
His insides clenched at the thought that he had now actually opened the door for Weasley grandchildren. He felt a little sick, but hid it behind his schooled mask. It is only dating. It is only dating. The Weasley grinned up at him, his face a little less red. Lucius scowled.
“Are you leaving Mr. Weasley?” he sighed. “Or are you joining Miss Granger for detention?”
Lucius made a move to the girl that was walking up to them looking anxious and over-made. She gave her friend a withering look.
“Err… I’m leaving,” Weasley jumped. “You ‘kay, Mione?”
“Yesss!” she answered between clenched teeth and gave him ‘bugger off’- signs with her painted eyes.
“Right. Bye. Thanks,” he hurried off.
Lucius turned to Granger, feeling a little more back on track. Right, where was I? Yes. Honesty!
“Come in Miss Granger,” he stepped aside leaving her room to enter.
“Thank you,” she crossed the threshold, letting him close the door behind her.
He noted that her hair was tightly tied in a bun on top of her head. She also wore a fine layer of make up that enhanced her eyes and lips. Lucius tilted his head as he noted that she wore one of Pansy’s dress robes, slightly magically altered. Granger looked nervously around the room; she was hugging her gifted book to her chest. She noted his look.
“Thank you for this,” she said.
“You are welcome,” Lucius was pleased that she not offered to give the book back or say that it was too much, like many receivers of expensive gifts often did. “Please sit down. Tea?”
“Please,” hesitantly she sat down on the flowery pattern of the 1800-century sofa.
Lucius conjured up a modest silver tea set and two bone china cups that he prepared earlier. Granger’s hand was shaking slightly as she held up her cup for him to pour.
“Are you still afraid of me?” he asked offering her sugar, which she declined.
“A little,” she blushed.
“I seem to have that effect on people,” Lucius put one spoonful of sugar in his tea. “I assure you that I’m not going to hurt you.”
“But you are going to use me?”
He blinked at the serious tone in her voice and the hardness in her eyes. No, she was not a fool. Carefully he weighed his words while pouring her some milk. Why did he need her? Was it her closeness to Potter? He already had hooks in the boy though Draco, and now through Weasley as well. But that worked the other way as well. If he ever hurt Granger, Potter could take both Lucius children away from him. This was his last and only chance, and he knew that. Granger looked at him, biting her lower lip, her hands trembling.
“I’m going to use you,” Lucius nodded. “I’m going to use you socially, politically and, with your consent, sexually.”
“Oh,” she blushed, looking down at her cup.
“But,” he reached out and lifted her chin with a finger. “I’m also going to use your amazing mind and your company. And I will give you as much in return.”
“What do you feel for me?” Granger whispered, her brown eyes darting over his face for signs of deceit.
“I accept that you are a…”
“Mud-”
“Muggleborn.” He took a breath. “I accept you and I respect you. In time I can grow to…” he looked away; his eyes involuntarily seeking the photograph of Narcissa and a five-year-old Draco on his desk.
“Do you love her?” Granger was following his look.
“I was nineteen when I married, she was seventeen. It was arranged; we had no feelings for each other. For six years we lived in the same house, taking lovers, barley speaking… Then one night I found her crying, she had fallen in love with one of her loves but he left her for someone else. We spent that night together, and Draco was conceived…”
“Go on,” Granger urged, placing her soft warm hand on his.
“We decided to be good parents to him. No more fooling about. At the time he was born, I think we were in love. We had some good years together… But as the Dark Lord returned…” he took a breath Honesty. “We fell apart, holding fiercely on to a dying flame. After the final battle, in the Great Hall, we looked at each other and knew that it was over. We love each other but we are not in love anymore…”
“That is so sad,” Granger wiped a tear from her face.
“She seems to be happy with the Weasley boy,” Lucius swallowed all his lukewarm tea in one go. “As I…” He cleared his throat. “As I think I can be with you.”
“Do you think I’m pretty?”
“I…” Lucius hesitated, frowned and pulled his wand. “Excuse me.”
He murmured a spell to undo her hair from the tight knot on her head. Brown curls cascaded down her shoulders and back. He then threw a gentle cleansing charm on her face, making the make up fade away. She gasped. Lucius smiled.
“You are pretty,” he said.
“You accept me, respect me and think I’m pretty?” she tilted her head.
“Yes.”
“What more can I ask for? Call me Hermione…”
She was leaning forward to catch his lips. Lucius held up a hand to her shoulder.
“Wait, I should ask you father.”
“My father is Obliviated and lives in Australia,” Granger gave him a teasing smile. “If you really need to ask someone, I guess you could ask Mr. Weasley - I’m living there until I graduate and can find my own.”
Lucius blinked. Screw traditions he thought and leaned in to kiss her.
---------------------------------<--<<-------------------------@
Ron sat himself down beside Pansy by the lake. She had spread out a blanket and cast a couple of heating spells to protect them from the cool autumn evening air. After helping Hermione dress she had gone out to her and Ron’s meeting place. She had nothing against Granger making a move on Lucius, but damned it if she was going to call her ‘mother’. Smirking to herself she thought about how Draco would react over this turn of events.
“What’s so funny?” asked Ron
“Just thinking,” she moved closer to him
She smiled at him, feeling a little surprised over that she actually enjoyed watching him fold his long limbs to a comfortable position. It was one of her greatest secrets that she had had the biggest crush on the Weasley twins in third year, not even Draco knew that and he knew everything. Pansy was not going to tell Ron about it. She was not going to tell him about the very interesting rhythmic noises she had heard coming out of Professor Lockhart’s office either.
“How did it go?”
“He said yes,” Ron rubbed his sweaty hands over his thighs.
“Really?” she tried not to sound surprised, but failing.
“You doubted it?”
“Didn’t you?”
“Yeah, I did.”
They sat quietly for a few moments, looking out over the water and the few ducks that bobbing around. A tentacle rose from the surface and pulled down one of the ducks. Pansy’s hand timidly touched Ron’s. Ron pounced like a cat, knocking her over on her back and violently started kissing her neck. Pansy giggled out loud and pulled him closer so that their lips could meet.
@------------------------------->----------------------
Harry took of his invisibility cloak and pushed it down to the pocket of his robe. He looked nervously around the infirmary. Draco was looking expectantly up at him from the bed.
“This feels so naughty,” Harry giggled.
“Come on,” Draco rolled his eyes and moved over to give Harry room. “You have been here more times than any of us could count, don’t tell me no one ever tried to sneak into your bed?”
“Sure they did,” Harry took of his robe, standing only in his pyjama bottoms next to the infirmary bed. “But I kicked them all out.”
“Well, I’m not going to,” Draco pulled the covers away revealing his own pyjama bottoms and smooth pale chest. “Now get in here before I freeze to death.”
Harry chuckled and climbed into the bed. He smiled as Draco adjusted himself to fit next to his body. A blond head nuzzled to his shoulder and a leg folded itself comfortly over his hip. Harry pulled the warm boy closer and breathed in the soft flowery smells. Draco laid his hand on Harry’s chest, drawing small patterns with his fingertips on the skin. Harry took a deep breath and relaxed, something finally felt right.
“Harry?”
“Yes?” Harry was almost falling asleep.
“About that deep dark kinky fantasy…”
“Yes?” he was awake. “You want to do it?”
“Not here,” Draco gave Harry’s chest a small swat. “I just wanted to know…”
“What?”
“Do I have to spell my nose off?”
“Why? What? Oh! Eugh! No!” Harry shivered. “Disgusting.”
“Do I have to dress up like my father?”
“Draco,” Harry adjusted himself so that they could look in each others eyes. “You don’t have to dress up as anyone else. I want to be with you.”
Draco nodded and smiled weakly.
“Does it involve girls underwear?”
Harry bit his lip and thought back to the lingerie store. He had imagined Draco in some of those things. But then he shook his head. That was a good fantasy, but not his deepest, darkest and kinkiest.
“Not this one,” he said to keep the door open to that path for later.
“Tell me.”
“I want you to tell me,” Harry whispered and blushed, but held his new boyfriends grey eyes.
“What?” Draco looked confused.
“I want you to tell me yours,” the whisper was even lower this time and the blush was redder.
Draco blinked. Then he blinked again. Then a malicious smile spread over his handsome face.
“Your deepest darkest kinkiest fantasy is me telling you mine?”
“Yeah…?” he bit his lower lip hesitantly.
“Oh this is going to be fun,” mused Draco and nuzzled closer.
“I’m going to regret telling you this, aren’t I?” Harry kissed the top of Draco’s head.
His only response was an evil giggle.
--------------------------<-----------------@
Epilogue:
Narcissa put down her morning tea on the wicker table. She was going through the mail and had just been reading a letter from her son about Lucius’s recent engagement to Hermione Granger. She smirked to herself; she always knew Lucius would come out on top. Draco was a bit upset in his letter but seemed to accept the arrangement. It was probably Harry’s good influence who had helped him with that.
It was a year and a half since Narcissa had left England with her young lover. They had been living on this small Caribbean wizard island since then. With her wealth, intelligence and Percy’s bureaucratic skills they had been quickly established in the small community of permanent residents. Percy was now the Governor’s aid - the Governor had not even known that he needed an aid until Narcissa had told him. For herself she had chosen a life of leisure working at the island’s only five-star hotel as hostess for the spa. Her job mostly consisted in being gorgeous.
Narcissa stretched her long well shaped legs, showing of a lovely tan. She was forty four years old but she looked like thirty. Her good health and skin did not only resolve from potions and spa-treatments but also from the relief of not living under constant treat of death or harm - having a twenty three year old lover was not bad for her either.
She took up her teacup but almost dropped it as she noticed the next piece of mail: Weasley’s Wizard Weezies Catalogue, Adult Edtion. Gilderoy Lockhart (a secret little crush of hers) was blinking seductively up at her, wearing only a pair of tight leather trousers. Damn, that George. Narcissa knew George had sent them the catalogue only to tease and shock her and Percy. She reminded herself to write to Ronald Weasley, telling him to keep his brother and business partner under control. The only aid she needed in the bedroom was Percy, thank you very much.
The wicker chair on the other side of the table creaked and there was a content sigh.
“Good morning, Severus,” Narcissa smiled as she picked up her last letter. “How are the newlyweds?”
“We are going out looking for a Padda,” his lips did something resembling a smile. “I’m hoping to find some fresh herbs and leaves on the way.”
“That’s nice,” she did not ask how he kept cool in the long grey robes he was wearing.
She gave a wave to Luna over by the breakfast buffé table. The young woman was dressed in an orange sundress, big pink sunglasses and holding a butterfly net pinned under her arm.
“Oh,” Narcissa looked down at her letter, a photograph attached. “Pansy had her baby,” she showed Severus the picture.
“There ought to be a law against so much red hair on a newborn.”
Narcissa laughed and patted her own rounded belly. She smiled as she noticed Severus noting the Adult Catalogue. She pushed it over to him, better have it out of the way before Percy arrived for breakfast.
------------
The End
PICTURES
Molly AK:ing clock G
Draco feeding Harry pepper cake G
Luna's pink bra PG
Extra from the artist: NWS picture
Author: naturegirlrocks
Rating: R
Pairings: Harry/Draco, Severus/Luna, Lucius/Hermione, Ron/Pansy, George/Gilderoy, Percy/Narcissa
Summary: Harry comes back to Hogwarts for his eighth year, he wants Draco but Lucius is the new DADA teacher, Snape is Headmaster and why is Lockhart back?
For the harrypotterbang
Artist: The Wonderful cydciedah who took images from my brain and drew them.
part 1
Severus was quite taken aback over the small room. It was indeed an archive of some sort, but it only had four bookshelves, a small reading desk and a chair. It was no bigger than his private potion ingredient room, the one that was not open for students. Looking closer at the files he smirked. Albus, you old fool, he thought fondly. He convinced himself that the feeling in his throat was only his wounds healing and not approaching tears.
It seemed that Dumbledore had liked to choose a couple of students each year that he favoured and then kept track of these students after their graduation. Each former student got a file. Severus always knew the codger was prone to favouritism, but then again… what teacher wasn’t? Severus certainly had his favourites, most of them where in Slytherin of course.
Looking at his own graduation year, 1978, he noticed to his surprise that only three names were saved. His own, Sirius Black and Lily Evans Potter. He glanced at Lovegood. She was sitting on the writing desk looking though a file marked with the name ‘Kingsley Shacklebolt - Ravenclaw’. Severus debated for a second over the ethics of letting a young budding reporter look though the Minister of Magic’s life story, then he smirked and turned back to the shelf.
Lily’s file was thin. There where only four newspaper clippings from the Prophet inside. One where she was accepted to the Auror program; one for her wedding day; one for the birth of her son; and one for her death. Severus stroked a fingertip over the photograph where she was standing smiling in front of her house with her husband and young son. She smiled at him from the picture, James looked irritated and baby Harry just looked curious.
He replaced the file and looked over to Lovegood again. She was, quite openly, putting the Shacklebolt file in her schoolbag. She smiled up at him with a dreamy expression on her face. The kind of expression that always had him wondering if he had her full attention of none at all. He gave her a hint of a smile back, not too much.
If he were to pick his favourites outside Slytherin, he thought as he turned back to look at his own file, he would probably pick her as one of them. He had only ever given her E’s and O’s in potions, and from what he was told she also exceeded in other classes. She was not as clever as Granger, but she made up for it with wild imagination and a decent artistic talent.
His file was filled with wizarding space. Severus had to lay it down on the writing desk next to Lovegood to look at it. There were his five theses from the Potions Academy, copies of his apprentice diploma and his Potions Master certificate, and a newspaper clipping from when he was hired as a professor at Hogwarts. Silly old sod.
Suddenly he felt fingers moving though his hair. Startled, he looked up at Lovegood. She does it again, that slow movement that should not feel so good.
“It’s soft,” she says with a distant voice. “Do you make your own conditioner?”
“What?” Severus takes a step back from her. “What are you on about, Lovegood?”
“I make mine,” she smiles and tosses her long blond hair slightly.
“Really?”
He looks at her smooth blond hair; against his will he is impressed. He if any should know how hard it is to make a decent conditioner. Not that he really should bother about that stuff, but living every day in potion fumes makes his hair look rather greasy. And, not to forget, it is a quite difficult potion base to manage, even for an advanced student like Lovegood.
She holds a lock of hair out for him. Severus hesitates for a moment, and then he takes the lock gently between his thumb and forefinger. It feels soft, impressive indeed. Perhaps he should ask her to bring the potion to class for a show and tell…
Then she leans in and kisses him, and, save him Merlin, he lets her.
“I…” Severus tares himself away from the hot soft lips. “I can’t…”
Lovegood slowly begins to untie her Ravenclaw tie. Severus is glued to the floor. You can’t. I can. She is your student. She is of age. She is crazy. I’m crazy… It’s been so long… so long… She is undoing her blouse now, glimpses of a pink lacy bra tickles his eyes.
Before he can think of any more excuses Lovegood wraps her legs around him, pulling him closer. As their lips meet again he is lost.
-------------------------<-----------------@
Harry sat on the side of Draco’s bed in the infirmary waiting for him to wake up. He absentmindedly played with the last toad that Draco had belched up before the curse was lifted. The toad was actually Slytherin green and its warts had speckles of silver, its eyes were yellow. Harry had saved it from Madam Pomfrey’s vanishing spells that had taken away the other five toads coming out of Draco’s mouth. Harry guessed that Draco probably was quite happy over being unconscious, that is if he was conscious…
He looked up as a groan was heard from the bed. Draco stirred. Harry leaned forward, placing the toad on Draco’s chest. Grey eyes flickered open.
“I don’t care if you are Potter,” Draco frowned at the toad. “I’m not going to kiss you.”
The toad croaked.
“I’m here,” Harry waived his hand to get attention.
“Good, then you kiss him,” Draco frowned. “Where am I?”
“Infirmary. Pomfrey said you should stay over night,” he got up from the chair. “I’m going to tell her you are awake.”
“This is all your fault.”
“Hey!” Harry stopped and turned. “It was you who wanted me to eat the cake rather than giving me a kiss.”
“I was not talking to you!” Draco stared menacingly at the toad.
“Err… I’ll get Pomfrey.”
Before he got to the nurse’s office, though, Lucius Malfoy walked into the infirmary. He was wearing a simple teacher’s robe, like he just had taken the first best thing and then rushed of to see his son. Pomfrey came out of her office and met him, talking low about what was the matter and what she had done to Draco.
“…he just needs rest,” she concluded as they all stood by the bed.
“Now you are in trouble!” Draco continued to glare at the amphibian. “Daddy is going make potion ingredients of you!”
Lucius raised an eyebrow, he had probably not been called ‘daddy’ since Draco was a toddler. Harry smirked and tried not to laugh. He stood close to the bed, tapping his fingers nervously on the bed sheet next to the pale hand laying there. He would nothing more than to hold that hand.
“Belched toads does not make good ingredients, son,” Lucius lifted the toad of Draco’s chest ignoring the ‘Hey! Come back’. “Then everybody would be belching frogs.”
“He is a little confused,” Pomfrey smirked taking up a glass vile from her apron and putting it to Draco’s lips. “He got hit by four different Stunning spells and a Confundus.”
“Why?” Lucius turned worriedly to Harry. “Did he do something? Is he in trouble?”
Harry was surprised by the pure emotion behind the words. Lucius was usually so cold and collected. He was even talking to Harry as if Harry was a real person. The toad croaked.
“I…” Harry tentively touched his forefinger to the side of Draco’s thumb. “I ate a piece of cake that was meant to poison him. The others thought that he was poisoning me…”
Both Lucius and Pomfrey blinked. Draco groaned and put his hands over his face in a way that indicated a huge head ache. Harry bit his lip.
“Why?” Lucius looked from his son to Harry and then back again.
“I wanted to show him that he could trust me.”
“And you get him in the infirmary?”
“He wouldn’t… err…” Harry trailed of looking around for an escape. “Err…”
“Food, Potter,” growled Draco. “Go get me food.”
“Right…” Harry moved a little to the side, but then remembered that he had to get on Lucius’s good side. “Would you like something as well, sir?”
“Please,” Lucius graciously took up a package from the inside of his robes. “And would you please deliver this to Miss Granger? Tell her she has detention at seven.”
“It’s Saturday…”
Lucius gave him a look. Harry took the package, it felt like a book.
“Sir?”
“Yes?”
“Please don’t vanish the toad.”
“Fine,” he transfigured a glass of water to a small aquarium with a flick of his wand.
Harry took a few more steps, stopping at the door with his hand on the knob.
“Sir?”
“Yes, Potter?” Lucius’s voice had a dangerous edge to it.
“Can… Can I date your son?”
Silence. Lucius’s face became a shade paler. Pomfrey frowned, looking like she wanted to administer a anti-heart attack spell of some sort. Draco just shook his head, looking at Harry with utter despair.
“Potter,” he said. “I have not come out to Father yet.”
“Oh…” Harry shifted by the door. “Oh…”
“Food. Now”
“I’ll send a house elf,” Harry escaped.
@----------------------->---------------------
Ron and Pansy had eaten at The Three Broomsticks. Pansy had gotten a few angry looks but no one had approached them. Still, they felt it better to take dessert with the others in the Great Hall. Ron had enjoyed the meal and the walk back to the castle. He had had his first real conversation with the girl. He had been worried that they might not have anything in common, making a relationship difficult.
Ron was pleased to find that she was interested in Quiddich and was not opposed to a game of Wizard Chess. He also found that she could help him with his Charms homework. Pansy had been pleased to find that since Ron had five older brothers, Ginny for a little sister and Molly Weasley for a mother, he was very good at taking orders and listen. Ron was not so sure that he liked that, but forgot all about it when she took his hand as they walked.
His happy mood sunk as they entered the Entrance hall. Hermione was standing in the middle of the room, crying on the chest of a panicking Seamus Finnegan. Dean was patting her awkwardly on her back.
“Oh thank Merlin!” breathed Seamus. “Look Hermione! It’s Ron!”
“Rooooon!” she cried as Seamus dumped her wet face on Ron’s shoulder.
Ron glared at his friends. What did they expect him to do about this? Sure, he was her ex-boyfriend, but there were reasons that he now was her ex. That he did not know what to do in situations like this was on of the reasons. Seamus and Dean just shrugged.
“What is wrong?” Ron tried.
Hermione hiccupped something about how she hated her hair and something about not being pretty. Then she whined and croaked something that sounded like Stupid Mudblood, but Ron was sure he heard that wrong.
“You have lovely hair, Hermione,” he tried coaxing and patted her back. “And you are pretty. Don’t you think so? Seamus? Dean?”
“Stunning,” nodded Seamus.
“Very,” concurred Dean enthusiastically.
This somehow made her cry even harder. Ron was feeling wetness leaking though his jacket and jumper. There was a loud sigh and Pansy stepped forward, rolling her eyes.
“Men!” she said the word like an insult. “Granger?”
Hermione sobbed, but tilted her head to look at Pansy.
“You have lovely hair,” Pansy stoked her arm.
“Re- really?”
“Yes, and you are pretty.”
“Hey, I said that!” protested Ron.
“Shut up!” Pansy glared at him and turned back to Hermione with a kind smile. “Do you want to borrow my hair brush?”
“Ca- can I?” Hermione pushed herself of Ron.
“Yes,” Pansy held out her hand and Hermione took it. “And some blush maybe, have you ever tried lipstick?”
Ron was confused. Why had Pansy first told Hermione that she was pretty (something Ron had already said by the way) and then suggested make up? He followed as Hermione held on to Pansy’s hand and let herself be led into the Great Hall and towards the Slytherin table. He glanced at Seamus and Dean, they just shrugged.
“Women,” muttered Ron and turned his attention to the desserts on the Gryffindor table.
He needed some sugar-induced bravery before he confronted Lucius Malfoy about dating his adoptive daughter.
@---------------->----------------------------------
“Eighty nine percent,” announced George looking up from the Memory Test Spell result. “The best one yet. The treatment seems to be working.”
Gilderoy sat back in his armchair looking over the young man, and liked what he saw. He smiled a confident smile. He was very glad to regain his many smiles; he had missed them without knowing what he missed. Since a very young age he had practiced them, catalogued them and practiced them again. Gilderoy had a small psychological streak in the back of his mind that sometimes showed itself and told him that this was probably why he was too vain and selfish. These moments of clarity were usually short and taken over by his own awesomeness.
But even though he was self-absorbed and vain, it was not above him to see qualities in others. That is, if he bothered to look. George Weasley was one of them that had caught his eye. It had begun when the man had put a tracking collar around his neck. It had not felt humiliating; it had felt safe and maybe a little of arousing. He did not like to admit his weaknesses (there were so few of them anyway), but he had a fear of getting lost.
“What is this?” he reached forward and took a colourful catalogue from George’s papers.
“Oh…” George looked a little sad. “That is my and Fred’s…” he took a deep breath. “That is my business. A joke shop. Weasley’s Wizarding Weezies. It is closed down… for the moment, while I’m… here. We… I… I have not made anything new since… since that catalogue came out… before… before the war. ”
Gilderoy nodded and leafed though the glossy pages. George had opened up a little about his dead twin when Gilderoy told him about his crazy sister. He felt a little sad over that the mind that had thought up all these jokes and toys now only was half. He was convinced, though, that George could get back on his feet, and he was going to help the only way he could; with his many smiles.
“No need to ask,” he said, pushing back a curl of perfect hair. “I’ll do it.”
“What?” George frowned.
“I know you are overwhelmed,” Gilderoy continued giving him the I’m so modest but you know I’m the best-smile. “Please, no need thank me. I know that it’s a great honour. Of course I’ll be your model for the next catalogue. No need to thank me.”
“Thank you?”
“You are welcome,” he winked and turned a page, feeling a rush of magic through his fingers. “Oh.”
He recognized the charm as an of-age-restraint, no one under the age of seventeen could open these pages in the back. Gilderoy raised an eyebrow as he looked over the magical pictures. Imaginative sex toys and costumes were twirling over the page. He looked up at George who was blushing in a quite attractive way. Gilderoy gave him the I’m game if you are-smile.
“I’m also available for some product testing…”
--------------------------------<-<--------@
Luna felt dizzy as Severus pulled out of her. (‘Rus’, she thought, that is a good name for a Horclump.) It was not the kind of dizzy that she normally felt, the day-to-day dizziness that other people like to call her ‘looniness’. This was a dizziness that filled her up and warmed her from the inside. The heat coming of the Professor’s body enhanced the smells impregnated in his robes. Luna would never again smell clover and brimstone without thinking of this moment. She sighed contently, if she was a Bleedrog she would have purred.
“What have I done?” Severus gasped (it seemed only right to think of him as ‘Severus’ now). “What have I done? Fool! Weak! Merlin help me…” he fumbled with his belt buckle.
“I’m not going to tell anyone.” Luna said gripping the hem of her pink lacy bra in a subconscious protective manner. “It was not my first time.”
Severus’s eyes snapped to her face and then to her hand over her breast. The dark eyes narrowed and he took a step closer. Luna’s hand trembled as he took her hand and pushed it away. His long, rough fingertips moved over her skin, following the net of scars over her chest. He looked up at her again, concern in his face. Luna fought not to look away.
“It was during the war…” she said, not feeling dizzy at all. “I was captured… Daddy doesn’t know... Well, he knows that it happened, not how or…” she quieted, feeling tears burn in her eyes. “…or who.”
“Do you know who?” Severus stroked his thumb over her cheek, he leaned into the touch.
“Yes, him,” Luna could feel her tears flowing now. “I don’t know who the others were, they had masks…” she made a move with her hand, drawing a circle around her face.
She was suddenly engulfed by two long arms; her face was again pressed to the comforting smells of the robe. Luna took a deep breath. The scents of sweat and sex were mingling with the herbs and smoke. Again little of the dizziness came back to her and she leaned closer to the warm body that not moments ago had given her so much pleasure.
“I was not there,” Severus voice was glum. “I swear I was not there.”
“I know,” Luna took another breath. “I know your smell anywhere… And you made me feel so good jut now.”
The arms tightened around her, a light kiss on the top of her head.
“Malfoy?” he whispered, terror in his voice.
Luna understood. Lucius Malfoy was his charge, his childhood house mate, his friend. He was also Draco’s father. She would have been happy to lie, but she did not have to. She shook her head. Severus leaned back so he could see her face. He looked relieved.
“No. He was drinking quite heavily back then, I would have smelled that,” Luna dug her fingers deeper into the sides of his shirt. “And when he looks at me now, he looks at me like everyone else does.”
“And how is that?”
“Like I’m loony,” she smiled. “I don’t mind, because I am.”
Severus gave her a rare smile that made his face look almost foreign. Luna felt honoured to take part of this smile. He looked down on her chest, frowning.
“I can’t take them away, since they are healed,” he said thoughtfully. “But I can have a potion that can make them a little less visible.”
“Thank you.”
She leaned in to kiss him, but he tilted his head, making her lips hit the side of his mouth. Luna laughed and tilted his head back with her hand to give him a proper kiss.
-------------------------<--------------------@
Harry entered the Great Hall. He had just been to the kitchen, asking the house elves to send some sandwiches to the two Malfoys in the hospital wing. The small creatures had looked confused, and maybe a little worried. Harry had just shrugged, got his own plate of sandwiches and gone on to see if he could catch some dessert as well. He dumped himself down by the Gryffindor table between Ron and Neville. Harry continued to stuff his face with food.
“What’s up with you?” Ron licked his spoon clean of apple tart and reached for seconds.
“I outed Draco to his father,” chewed Harry gloomily.
There was a pause as the closest of the Gryffindors took in this fact. Someone giggled nervously.
“Where is Hermione?” Harry looked around for his friend.
“Over there,” Ron pointed with his thumb over his shoulder to the Slytherin table.
Hermione was sitting by the Slytherin table surrounded by giggling girls. Some of the girls seemed to have arrived from the Ravenclaw table and Hufflepuff as well. They were all holding small bags, comparing their contents to each other. Hermione’s hair was currently manhandled by Susan Bones with a brush, and her face was taken over by Pansy and what looked like a fistful of small brushes.
“Fuck it!” said an exasperated female voice on the other side of Neville.
Harry looked over and saw Lavender Brown dragging Padma Patil across the hall to the Slytherins. Several Gryffindors starred at them in shock, then a fifth year girl ran after them holding her own small bag. Harry frowned.
“Women,” huffed Ron, drenching his new piece of apple tart in custard.
“I have a package for her, I think it’s a book,” Harry said, placing said package on the table next to his plate. “Professor Malfoy said it’s for her detention tonight.”
“Hermione?” asked Ron, spoon halfway to his mouth. “Detention on a Saturday night? What did she do? Blow up the library?”
“I don’t know,” Harry sighed. “But I better get it to her so she can read it before she goes, so she won’t get in any more trouble.”
He rose from his seat and walked across the hall. It felt a little awkward going into the pile of giggling girls. Discovering his sexuality had not given Harry a seventh sense to the workings of the female mind (the sixth being Magic). He knew that several gay men claimed that they did - if Draco was one of these men or just a ponce, Harry did knot know. Anyway, Harry did not understand girls, and being gay only made only them seem more foreign to him.
“’Mione?” he asked.
The girl looked up at him with one eye surrounded by black lines and the other one in lilac. The whites of her eyes were a little red. Harry held out the package for her.
“Professor Malfoy asked me to give you this, and you have detention at seven.”
He was not prepared for the smile of pure happiness spreading that was over her lips. All the times he and Ron had gotten detention she had always scolded them. Harry was even more surprised when Pansy patted Hermione’s back.
“See,” she said.
“Yes,” smiled Hermione and hugged the book to her chest.
Women thought Harry and ran away to the safety of his friends, wishing he was in the infirmary with Draco.
@----------------->------------>------------------
“So…” his father sat down beside his bed, cane casually over the lap.
“I’m sorry! I…!”
“Quiet boy,” Lucius said calmly. “Remember you are a Malfoy.”
“Yes Father…” Draco looked down at his hands on the cover.
“As it were, I already know about your… preferences,” Lucius suddenly looked sad and lost. “I… I was waiting from you to tell me yourself. I want to be your friend, Draco, not push you away by seeming to interrogate you…” He sighed and made a good effort to regain his former posture.
Draco was shocked. He had not seen his father this vulnerable since the days before his trial. Lucius was really trying to change, and it was all for him. All of a sudden it accrued to him that his father was sacrificing the rest of his life to the servitude of Hogwarts, just so he could spend this last year with Draco. He felt oddly moved by this.
“So you are not disappointed?” he asked.
“Do not talk to me about disappointments,” Lucius shook his head.
Draco was just about to ask what he meant by that when a house elf popped up with a tray of sandwiches and a jug of pumpkin juice.
“Thank you,” said Lucius as the creature put his burden on the nightstand.
The house elf’s grew to double the size, bowed and disappeared back to his friends, probably telling that the world was coming to an end. Draco stared at his father as he examined the sandwiches. If this were the Manor, the house elves would never serve something as plebeian as ham and cheese between two pieces of bread. They would have served a hot bread roll, a square of cheese and a piece of ham. Draco doubted that his father even had drunken pumpkin juice for the last twenty years, at the Manor there would be wine, or at least grape juice. Lucius sighed and took a sandwich, then offering Draco the plate.
“What do you mean ‘disappointments’?” he asked carefully as he reached for the food.
“Well…” Lucius took a bite of his sandwich, crewed and swallowed before continuing. “This world has not really turned out as I thought it would,” he winced. “I found out to late that I was serving a madman; My wife of twenty two years left me for a Weasley who still wore dippers when we married; My best friend was a traitor and he is now my keeper; I’m stuck in this castle nine months of the year for the rest of my life…” he sighed again and poured himself a mug of juice.
“Father…”
“Let’s just say that you being gay is the least of my worries.”
“How did you know?” Draco chewed his food carefully, glancing up at his father.
“I came upon a conversation between Granger and Lovegood.”
“Then you know about their plans?” Draco winced.
“The one about giving Lovegood to me so I would be happy, so you would be happy, so Potter could take you out?”
“Yes.”
“Gryffindors,” they both huffed in unison.
“I think there is a chance there is a change in their plans…” his father avoided his eyes in a way that meant it was time to change the subject.
“So... what do you think of him?” Draco nodded nervously at the door through which Harry had left.
“Potter?” Lucius looked thoughtfully down at his mug, twirling the liquid around. “I can’t say I like him, but I don’t dislike him either. He has power and influence, which is enough for me to accept him.”
“Thank you,” smiled Draco, knowing that he would never get a better approval.
They sat in silence for a while, eating quietly. Pomfrey was clinking with medicine bottles in her storage room.
“What about Pansy?” asked Draco carefully.
“What about her?” Lucius poured another mug of juice. “The papers are through. She is now your legal sister.”
“I think she wants to date Ronald Weasley,” Draco bit his lip.
“Oh?” Lucius tapped his wand to the side of his mug.
“Yes…”
Draco could smell the transfigured alcohol and winced. Transfigured alcohol was something not even desperate teenagers would drink. It was generally used for sterilising potion- or medic equipment. Lucius gulped it down, letting his eyes tear up.
“That’s nice,” he said though his clenched teeth.
---------------------<-----------------@
Severus again stood before Luna Lovegood as she sat on a desk. This time it was not sexual, well, not entirely. She looked up at him with dreamy eyes. This would worry him more if this wasn’t her normal look. He gave her a small assuring smile and stroked his fingers over her bare breasts, trying to assess the damage to her skin. He was appalled by the amount of pain she must have suffered under the torture. The thought that he could have been in the same house, at the same time, made him almost nauseous.
They had met Lucius coming from the infirmary as they left the small archive. Severus had taken the opportunity to quietly ask if he knew anything about what happened to Luna in the Manor dungeons. Luna had been told to walk on ahead to Severus office. She had given him a knowing look as she left. She understood that he had to be sure.
“I knew things were happening…” Lucius had not avoided his hard stare, openly letting Severus into his mind. “I admit that I turned a blind eye many times for the sake of my family, but I never participated…” he swallowed as Severus unlocked a piece of his mind. “Not in the rapes. I… I… tortured, we all did, but I had not even met her before her escape.”
Severus had nodded and apologised for the mind intrusion. Lucius gave a weak understanding smile, he smelled of disinfectant. They parted ways and Severus continued on towards his office where Luna was waiting.
“Did you find out what you needed to know?” she asked as he let her inside.
“Yes.”
“Good,” she stroked the back of his hand with her fingers.
He stroked her skin a last time, a quite unnecessary move, before walking over to his storage. Severus breathed deep. He had to stop this. He was her headmaster. Her teacher, for Merlin’s sake! Slowly he reached for the scar reduction potion, calculating how much he had do delude the fluid to fit her skin.
“Miss Lovegood, Luna…” Severus took a deep breath.
“I don’t mind, Headmaster,” Luna took up a bottle of dried birch leaves from his desk, studying it against the light of the fire. “I know you can’t be with me anymore.”
Severus turned to her, trembling, with bottle and cotton swab in hand. Again she was looking past him, like she was watching something beside his head. It actually made him feel safe, strangely enough. He moved slowly back to her, stopping just before he touched her knees. She reached up a delicate hand and stroked his hair.
“It is really soft you know,” she said. “I will wait for you.”
“What?”
“I will wait for you,” Luna repeated like she was talking about the most natural thing in the world and not a borderline unethical and perhaps illegal affair. “What are you doing for Christmas?”
“I…” he poured some drops of the potion on to the cotton.
Severus’s hands were steady, though his heart was beating fast - years of training with volatile fluids made that to a man. Slowly he dotted her scared skin. She inhaled as the stinging cold of the potion worked its magic.
“I don’t know,” he was not looking at her breasts now, but into her big blue eyes.
“I’ll ask daddy to invite you. He won’t mind.”
“Are you sure?” he whispered, remembering just in time to remove the cotton from her skin before it created an even worse scar.
“Are Jeko-lizards yellow?”
Severus assumed they were and leaned in to give her a light kiss.
@---------------------------->-----------------------------
Lucius tied his long hair back with a black leather band. He had gone for a simple look, with a powder blue robe and silver buttons. He adjusted the moderately embroidered collar and gave his reflexion a look.
“What am I doing?” he asked himself, the mirror knew better than to answer him.
The girl was a Muuuaueuggleborn. She was twenty six years younger than him, the same age as Draco. He was her teacher, and he was already on parole. He had tried to kill her once. He had watched, and done nothing, as Bella tortured her. Still, she had some strange puppy love on him and he was going to use her. Lucius ran a fingertip over his eyebrows.
Ganger was clever, well-read, she had been in battle - there was no way he ever could fool her for any longer amount of time. He had to be honest with her. More honest than he ever had been with Narcissa or Draco. He had been thinking over this carefully ever since he overheard the girls’ conversation.
There was a knock on the door. He could hear Vlad the Impaler on the other side complimenting a ‘very blood-filled boy’. Lucius smirked and walked over, knowing what was coming. He was not prepared for the pure red-ness that greeted him as he opened the door.
Red hair, red face, red freckles and red Gryffindor robes.
Lucius was at first surprised that the boy wore his best school robes on a Saturday night, but then he realised that the robes were probably the nicest the boy owned. The Weasley was trying to impress him. Nervousness rolled of the red freckled skin. Lucius raised an eyebrow.
“I.. I…would…” the boy’s voice cracked.
Lucius contained himself for making an insulting comment.
“You would like to ask if you can date my stepdaughter Pansy?”
“Yeah, err… I mean, yes, sir.”
Lucius stood still and let the young man seethe in nervousness, waiting for the tell-tale sign that irritation was beginning to creep in. Weasley shifted. Lucius lifted an eyebrow. It took shorter time then expected to rile the boy. A small tension was working in the corner of Weasley’s mouth and his blue eyes actually darted to meet Lucius’s gaze once.
“Very well,” Lucius drawled. “You have my permission.”
His insides clenched at the thought that he had now actually opened the door for Weasley grandchildren. He felt a little sick, but hid it behind his schooled mask. It is only dating. It is only dating. The Weasley grinned up at him, his face a little less red. Lucius scowled.
“Are you leaving Mr. Weasley?” he sighed. “Or are you joining Miss Granger for detention?”
Lucius made a move to the girl that was walking up to them looking anxious and over-made. She gave her friend a withering look.
“Err… I’m leaving,” Weasley jumped. “You ‘kay, Mione?”
“Yesss!” she answered between clenched teeth and gave him ‘bugger off’- signs with her painted eyes.
“Right. Bye. Thanks,” he hurried off.
Lucius turned to Granger, feeling a little more back on track. Right, where was I? Yes. Honesty!
“Come in Miss Granger,” he stepped aside leaving her room to enter.
“Thank you,” she crossed the threshold, letting him close the door behind her.
He noted that her hair was tightly tied in a bun on top of her head. She also wore a fine layer of make up that enhanced her eyes and lips. Lucius tilted his head as he noted that she wore one of Pansy’s dress robes, slightly magically altered. Granger looked nervously around the room; she was hugging her gifted book to her chest. She noted his look.
“Thank you for this,” she said.
“You are welcome,” Lucius was pleased that she not offered to give the book back or say that it was too much, like many receivers of expensive gifts often did. “Please sit down. Tea?”
“Please,” hesitantly she sat down on the flowery pattern of the 1800-century sofa.
Lucius conjured up a modest silver tea set and two bone china cups that he prepared earlier. Granger’s hand was shaking slightly as she held up her cup for him to pour.
“Are you still afraid of me?” he asked offering her sugar, which she declined.
“A little,” she blushed.
“I seem to have that effect on people,” Lucius put one spoonful of sugar in his tea. “I assure you that I’m not going to hurt you.”
“But you are going to use me?”
He blinked at the serious tone in her voice and the hardness in her eyes. No, she was not a fool. Carefully he weighed his words while pouring her some milk. Why did he need her? Was it her closeness to Potter? He already had hooks in the boy though Draco, and now through Weasley as well. But that worked the other way as well. If he ever hurt Granger, Potter could take both Lucius children away from him. This was his last and only chance, and he knew that. Granger looked at him, biting her lower lip, her hands trembling.
“I’m going to use you,” Lucius nodded. “I’m going to use you socially, politically and, with your consent, sexually.”
“Oh,” she blushed, looking down at her cup.
“But,” he reached out and lifted her chin with a finger. “I’m also going to use your amazing mind and your company. And I will give you as much in return.”
“What do you feel for me?” Granger whispered, her brown eyes darting over his face for signs of deceit.
“I accept that you are a…”
“Mud-”
“Muggleborn.” He took a breath. “I accept you and I respect you. In time I can grow to…” he looked away; his eyes involuntarily seeking the photograph of Narcissa and a five-year-old Draco on his desk.
“Do you love her?” Granger was following his look.
“I was nineteen when I married, she was seventeen. It was arranged; we had no feelings for each other. For six years we lived in the same house, taking lovers, barley speaking… Then one night I found her crying, she had fallen in love with one of her loves but he left her for someone else. We spent that night together, and Draco was conceived…”
“Go on,” Granger urged, placing her soft warm hand on his.
“We decided to be good parents to him. No more fooling about. At the time he was born, I think we were in love. We had some good years together… But as the Dark Lord returned…” he took a breath Honesty. “We fell apart, holding fiercely on to a dying flame. After the final battle, in the Great Hall, we looked at each other and knew that it was over. We love each other but we are not in love anymore…”
“That is so sad,” Granger wiped a tear from her face.
“She seems to be happy with the Weasley boy,” Lucius swallowed all his lukewarm tea in one go. “As I…” He cleared his throat. “As I think I can be with you.”
“Do you think I’m pretty?”
“I…” Lucius hesitated, frowned and pulled his wand. “Excuse me.”
He murmured a spell to undo her hair from the tight knot on her head. Brown curls cascaded down her shoulders and back. He then threw a gentle cleansing charm on her face, making the make up fade away. She gasped. Lucius smiled.
“You are pretty,” he said.
“You accept me, respect me and think I’m pretty?” she tilted her head.
“Yes.”
“What more can I ask for? Call me Hermione…”
She was leaning forward to catch his lips. Lucius held up a hand to her shoulder.
“Wait, I should ask you father.”
“My father is Obliviated and lives in Australia,” Granger gave him a teasing smile. “If you really need to ask someone, I guess you could ask Mr. Weasley - I’m living there until I graduate and can find my own.”
Lucius blinked. Screw traditions he thought and leaned in to kiss her.
---------------------------------<--<<-------------------------@
Ron sat himself down beside Pansy by the lake. She had spread out a blanket and cast a couple of heating spells to protect them from the cool autumn evening air. After helping Hermione dress she had gone out to her and Ron’s meeting place. She had nothing against Granger making a move on Lucius, but damned it if she was going to call her ‘mother’. Smirking to herself she thought about how Draco would react over this turn of events.
“What’s so funny?” asked Ron
“Just thinking,” she moved closer to him
She smiled at him, feeling a little surprised over that she actually enjoyed watching him fold his long limbs to a comfortable position. It was one of her greatest secrets that she had had the biggest crush on the Weasley twins in third year, not even Draco knew that and he knew everything. Pansy was not going to tell Ron about it. She was not going to tell him about the very interesting rhythmic noises she had heard coming out of Professor Lockhart’s office either.
“How did it go?”
“He said yes,” Ron rubbed his sweaty hands over his thighs.
“Really?” she tried not to sound surprised, but failing.
“You doubted it?”
“Didn’t you?”
“Yeah, I did.”
They sat quietly for a few moments, looking out over the water and the few ducks that bobbing around. A tentacle rose from the surface and pulled down one of the ducks. Pansy’s hand timidly touched Ron’s. Ron pounced like a cat, knocking her over on her back and violently started kissing her neck. Pansy giggled out loud and pulled him closer so that their lips could meet.
@------------------------------->----------------------
Harry took of his invisibility cloak and pushed it down to the pocket of his robe. He looked nervously around the infirmary. Draco was looking expectantly up at him from the bed.
“This feels so naughty,” Harry giggled.
“Come on,” Draco rolled his eyes and moved over to give Harry room. “You have been here more times than any of us could count, don’t tell me no one ever tried to sneak into your bed?”
“Sure they did,” Harry took of his robe, standing only in his pyjama bottoms next to the infirmary bed. “But I kicked them all out.”
“Well, I’m not going to,” Draco pulled the covers away revealing his own pyjama bottoms and smooth pale chest. “Now get in here before I freeze to death.”
Harry chuckled and climbed into the bed. He smiled as Draco adjusted himself to fit next to his body. A blond head nuzzled to his shoulder and a leg folded itself comfortly over his hip. Harry pulled the warm boy closer and breathed in the soft flowery smells. Draco laid his hand on Harry’s chest, drawing small patterns with his fingertips on the skin. Harry took a deep breath and relaxed, something finally felt right.
“Harry?”
“Yes?” Harry was almost falling asleep.
“About that deep dark kinky fantasy…”
“Yes?” he was awake. “You want to do it?”
“Not here,” Draco gave Harry’s chest a small swat. “I just wanted to know…”
“What?”
“Do I have to spell my nose off?”
“Why? What? Oh! Eugh! No!” Harry shivered. “Disgusting.”
“Do I have to dress up like my father?”
“Draco,” Harry adjusted himself so that they could look in each others eyes. “You don’t have to dress up as anyone else. I want to be with you.”
Draco nodded and smiled weakly.
“Does it involve girls underwear?”
Harry bit his lip and thought back to the lingerie store. He had imagined Draco in some of those things. But then he shook his head. That was a good fantasy, but not his deepest, darkest and kinkiest.
“Not this one,” he said to keep the door open to that path for later.
“Tell me.”
“I want you to tell me,” Harry whispered and blushed, but held his new boyfriends grey eyes.
“What?” Draco looked confused.
“I want you to tell me yours,” the whisper was even lower this time and the blush was redder.
Draco blinked. Then he blinked again. Then a malicious smile spread over his handsome face.
“Your deepest darkest kinkiest fantasy is me telling you mine?”
“Yeah…?” he bit his lower lip hesitantly.
“Oh this is going to be fun,” mused Draco and nuzzled closer.
“I’m going to regret telling you this, aren’t I?” Harry kissed the top of Draco’s head.
His only response was an evil giggle.
--------------------------<-----------------@
Epilogue:
Narcissa put down her morning tea on the wicker table. She was going through the mail and had just been reading a letter from her son about Lucius’s recent engagement to Hermione Granger. She smirked to herself; she always knew Lucius would come out on top. Draco was a bit upset in his letter but seemed to accept the arrangement. It was probably Harry’s good influence who had helped him with that.
It was a year and a half since Narcissa had left England with her young lover. They had been living on this small Caribbean wizard island since then. With her wealth, intelligence and Percy’s bureaucratic skills they had been quickly established in the small community of permanent residents. Percy was now the Governor’s aid - the Governor had not even known that he needed an aid until Narcissa had told him. For herself she had chosen a life of leisure working at the island’s only five-star hotel as hostess for the spa. Her job mostly consisted in being gorgeous.
Narcissa stretched her long well shaped legs, showing of a lovely tan. She was forty four years old but she looked like thirty. Her good health and skin did not only resolve from potions and spa-treatments but also from the relief of not living under constant treat of death or harm - having a twenty three year old lover was not bad for her either.
She took up her teacup but almost dropped it as she noticed the next piece of mail: Weasley’s Wizard Weezies Catalogue, Adult Edtion. Gilderoy Lockhart (a secret little crush of hers) was blinking seductively up at her, wearing only a pair of tight leather trousers. Damn, that George. Narcissa knew George had sent them the catalogue only to tease and shock her and Percy. She reminded herself to write to Ronald Weasley, telling him to keep his brother and business partner under control. The only aid she needed in the bedroom was Percy, thank you very much.
The wicker chair on the other side of the table creaked and there was a content sigh.
“Good morning, Severus,” Narcissa smiled as she picked up her last letter. “How are the newlyweds?”
“We are going out looking for a Padda,” his lips did something resembling a smile. “I’m hoping to find some fresh herbs and leaves on the way.”
“That’s nice,” she did not ask how he kept cool in the long grey robes he was wearing.
She gave a wave to Luna over by the breakfast buffé table. The young woman was dressed in an orange sundress, big pink sunglasses and holding a butterfly net pinned under her arm.
“Oh,” Narcissa looked down at her letter, a photograph attached. “Pansy had her baby,” she showed Severus the picture.
“There ought to be a law against so much red hair on a newborn.”
Narcissa laughed and patted her own rounded belly. She smiled as she noticed Severus noting the Adult Catalogue. She pushed it over to him, better have it out of the way before Percy arrived for breakfast.
------------
The End
PICTURES
Molly AK:ing clock G
Draco feeding Harry pepper cake G
Luna's pink bra PG
Extra from the artist: NWS picture
