Chapter 29
Blaise sat with Harry’s head in his lap. It was the morning after the debacle at the Ministry and the attack on Diagon alley. Harry had come home and completely passed out. This morning he woke up for just barely enough time to eat toast and drink some water before he fell asleep on the couch again.
Blaise was very content to just sit with him there and stroke his hair. Blaise had also fallen asleep early yesterday, exhausted. It had been very overwhelming. He honestly needed this quiet time just to process everything that had happened.
First of all, they had met with Ron and Hermione and Blaise hadn’t loved how cold Ron had been to Harry. He understood that the couple had been hurt, but from Blaise’s point of view, they had given up. Harry had needed them, needed anyone who cared about him, but he had been alone for years.
Hermione seemed better. She looked like she genuinely cared about Harry and was trying to move past things. She also didn’t seem to be having the same biases against Slytherins and Harry’s old lifestyle that Ron did.
Then, they had been interrupted. Blaise had watched as Harry had jumped dutifully into action without question. He didn’t spare a second for concern of his safety. He had followed Ron into an unknown battle with immense courage. Blaise had been terrified, for his safety and for Harry’s, but he had put his faith in Harry, trusting that he knew what he was doing.
Blaise had found himself evenly matched with the Death Eaters there. He had never dueled like this before, and though he was good at school, he was definitely rusty now. He had been blasted back into a wall when he had turned to defend Ron.
The board going through his leg had been painful, but he was grateful that it hadn’t been any worse. When they had emerged from the hole in the wall, Blaise had been shocked by the amount of power that was simply swirling around Harry. The fight was completely over, and Harry’s eyes had been almost glowing.
Then, Harry had healed him with magic that Blaise had never seen before. Blaise’s pain had completely vanished, and he had felt reenergized. He would have scolded Harry afterwards when he saw how much it had taken out of him, but they didn’t have the time. He was grateful of course, but he didn’t want Harry hurting himself to help him with a non-life threatening injury.
At the Ministry, his concern for Harry had grown, but his worry hadn’t been needed. Blaise had never seen someone meditate the way that Harry had. He had never heard of it as a magical technique. Harry had described it to him once like he was communicating with his magic. Blaise didn’t feel like he and his magic were separate. His magic didn’t have feelings. It was just spells. Harry was on a completely different level. Blaise had always known that, but it was still new for him to see it.
It made him sad that someone so immensely talented and unique had felt so alone. He knew that Harry hadn’t placed any value on his life for the longest time, and to Blaise, that was tragic. Harry was one of the most special people on this planet, and not just because of his magic. He was sweet. He was strong. He had endured so much, and he didn’t come out of it as a monster. That was rare. He was trying so hard to get better every single day. Blaise had never been more grateful than he was to get to call Harry his.
When they had walked into the room and saw Dumbledore standing there, Blaise had almost forgotten how powerful the old man was. For one moment, Blaise had almost committed a crime against him. His rage had welled up and he had wanted to hurt him, kill him. And then he remembered that the man was Albus Dumbledore and he couldn’t do anything, for various reasons.
Blaise had been extremely impressed by Harry’s ability to keep himself together. He had watched as Harry transformed his fear into the all too familiar Golden Boy mask that Harry was so used to wearing. He didn’t allow himself to be pushed around by the Minister or by Dumbledore. There had been many times where he wanted to step in for Harry’s defense, but he hadn’t needed to. Harry was firm. He was confident. He could play with the big dogs all on his own.
Blaise had genuinely feared for Harry’s life as well as his own when he and Dumbledore had started arguing. The room had been alight with magic. The windows had shattered, and Blaise didn’t know which one of them had done it. He had been touched by Harry’s thoughtfulness when he had felt himself enveloped by his gentle protective spell, so different from the harsh magic that was flying around the room.
He’d been nervous that if Harry said the wrong thing, Dumbledore was going to snap. He was worried that if Dumbledore said the wrong thing, Harry was going to snap. Harry’s eyes had been blazing in a way that Blaise had never seen before. He looked dangerous. Blaise wasn’t afraid of him at all, but he knew everyone else had been. Blaise had been shocked when Harry dropped the truth bomb. He wasn’t sure if that had been the smartest decision but he would support Harry through anything.
Then, Harry had threatened Dumbledore’s life openly. It made Blaise’s stomach churn with anxiousness. Harry was not a murderer no matter what he had done to Voldemort. His promise was not empty though, Blaise knew that Harry had meant every word that he had said.
“You know that I could,” Echoed through Blaise’s brain. A confident statement. One that Blaise wasn’t sure he would’ve believed yesterday morning. Yes Harry was powerful, but powerful enough to kill Albus Dumbledore? Now though, Blaise believed him. He would need to talk to Harry about it when he woke up.
Next, Harry had proceeded to absolutely rip through the wards and apparate out with Blaise. Blaise had been so shocked that he had almost fallen when they landed. It was unheard of. His shock had completely dissipated though when he saw how Harry had completely fallen apart. He had sent a wave of magic over the field and then fallen to his knees.
Blaise had needed to coax him for several minutes before he even looked up at him. It was to the point where Blaise had been debating who he could call for help. He had been genuinely concerned that Harry wasn’t going to be able to catch his breath. When Harry finally did look up, his green eyes had been so full of hurt and fear that it had torn Blaise apart. Harry had cried, and while he held him Blaise had cried.
Harry shifted in his lap slightly and made a noise in his sleep. Blaise looked down and saw his eyebrows were slightly creased and his lips were downturned.
“Shh,” he murmured, stroking Harry’s hair until his face smoothed out again.
Blaise knew Harry struggled with nightmares still, but he no longer woke up screaming. Normally he would just wake up suddenly with a gasp and then go back to sleep seconds later. Blaise wasn’t sure if Harry ever even remembered waking up.
Harry slept for almost another hour before finally stirring and opening his bleary eyes.
“Good morning again,” Blaise said. Harry looked up at him for a moment and Blaise had to keep himself from chuckling. Harry was not quite awake yet. At least not mentally. “Or I should say afternoon, it’s just past noon.”
“I didn’t mean to sleep so long,” Harry murmured as he stretched.
“It’s okay,” Blaise said, giving him room to sit up, “You had a stressful day yesterday.”
Harry grimaced at the reminder of the day before, “I don’t even have words for yesterday.”
“How are you feeling about it, in general?” Blaise asked, trying to determine where his head was at. The last time Harry was coherent, he’d had a hysterical breakdown.
Harry sighed and ran through his hair with his hands, “Mostly embarrassed.”
Blaise blinked, “Why?” Of all the emotions he had expected, embarrassment had not been one of them.
“I threatened to kill Dumbledore. In front of Dumbledore. And the Minister. And Hermione. And Draco Malfoy. And who knows who else,” Harry said sheepishly, “I don’t know why I said that.”
“Well… you were pretty angry, as you have every right to be,” Blaise reasoned, “Do you actually want to… you know?”
Harry shook his head, “No not like in a murder sense. But… Blaise, he still wants me dead. I could tell. And so if it came down to self-defense…”
“How could you tell?”
“It was the way he looked at me after I accused him of it. I was just angry, I didn’t actually know, but his face confirmed it,” Harry said, “I was scared and I was just lashing out. I was trying to seem more confident than I was.”
“Well, you seemed confident. Powerful,” Blaise told him, “I don’t think anyone in that room would have been willing to mess with you, even Dumbledore.”
“I don’t like being that person, but I feel like it’s the best way to protect myself,” Harry said, and leaned back against the couch, “Are you alright? I know yesterday was a lot for you too.”
“Yes, you protected me, I felt the shield, so thank you,” Blaise said, “And I’m fine, I was just worried about you.”
“I wasn’t sure how heated things were going to get,” Harry admitted.
“I think all of us were a little bit afraid there for a moment,” Blaise told him, “But you handled it really well.”
“I suppose now I need to go write that letter to the lawyers,” Harry said.
“Maybe from now on we need to be inviting them to the meetings,” Blaise thought out loud as Harry stood up to go write a letter.
“That’s a good idea,” Harry said, “Though I don’t know if I’ll be invited back to anymore meetings.”
“I think after what you did in Diagon, they’ll want to invite you to everything,” Blaise said.
“It wasn’t that impressive,” Harry muttered as he wrote.
“Harry, you single-handedly dealt with all of the Death Eaters, without using your wand,” Blaise pointed out.
“It’s easier that way,” Harry shrugged.
“It’s easier that way,” Blaise echoed in disbelief, “You’ve got to teach me.”
“Sure. That would be fun,” Harry said with an endearing smile, “Anyway, I had help. You, Ron, the twins.”
“Harry, we barely did anything, I literally only got blasted through a wall,” Blaise retorted. Harry stood up and tied the letter to Blaise’s owl’s foot before sending it off.
“Yes, I almost killed the guy for that if I’m being honest,” Harry said seriously. Blaise laughed nervously. Harry moved to stand in front of him, “I’m not kidding. I thought you died for like one second and I was- furious doesn’t begin to cover it.”
“Well love, I appreciate it, but I don’t want you to go killing people for me,” Blaise said. He reached out and pulled Harry’s hips so that Harry was straddling him.
“Oh no? I thought you were into that kind of thing?” Harry teased, resting his arms on Blaise’s shoulders.
“Not exactly,” Blaise murmured as Harry leaned close to him but did not kiss him.
“What kind of things are you into then?” Harry asked slowly, pressing his hips into Blaise’s ever so slightly. He tightened one hand on his hip and slid the other up Harry’s side under his shirt teasingly.
“I can think of a few things,” Blaise said, words ghosting against Harry’s lips, and rolled his hips up. Harry gasped. “Your noises for one.”
Harry blushed a beautiful pink color.
“How easy it is to rile you up, for two,” Blaise said, rolling his hips again and tweaking Harry’s nipple. Harry moaned. “And how sensitive you are.”
Harry pushed his lips to Blaise’s, seemingly too impatient to be teased any longer. The kiss was passionate, and Blaise loved the way that Harry was grasping at his hair. The pair started moving together, rolling their hips in tandem.
Suddenly, the fireplace roared to life and the pair froze.
“Ah, I’m sorry boys,” they heard Pansy’s familiar voice, “Just grabbing a few things.”
“Pans,” Blaise groaned, dropping his hands back to Harry’s hips and laying his head back on the couch cushion.
“Sorry sorry, I’ll be gone in a few minutes and then you can keep going,” she said, running to Theo’s room. Harry dropped his head against Blaise’s shoulder, trying to catch his breath while laughing softly.
“Hey, do you know where Theo’s tux is?” Pansy came back out to ask.
“No?” Blaise responded, “You’re killing me here.”
“You do have a bedroom for a reason you know. Anyway the wedding is in less than two weeks and my fiance has lost his tuxedo. Unbelievable,” Pansy muttered, “Harry, do you know what you’re wearing yet?”
“Uh,” Harry squirmed slightly on Blaise’s lap, who had to bite back a moan. His body had not yet gotten the memo that they were putting a pause on their previous activities. “I wasn’t sure if I was invited.”
“You’re ridiculous, of course you’re invited,” Pansy said as she left the room to check Theo’s room again. She continued yelling, “Even if Blaise forgot to ask you as his date, you’d be invited on your own.”
“Oh, well, thanks,” Harry called back.
“Harry, would you like to be my date to their wedding?” Blaise asked, tightening his grip on Harry’s hips.
“Why yes I would,” Harry said with a grin. He dipped down for a light kiss again. This one was sweet. Before they could deepen it, they heard a bird fly through the window. Harry looked up and then stood to check the letter on the owl.
Blaise gave a deep sigh of sexual frustration.
“It’s from Luna, it’s the rough draft,” Harry said. He sat down on the couch next to Blaise to read it. It was long, and Blaise figured he would give Harry the privacy to read it first. Pansy bid them goodbye as Harry was reading.
After a long time, Harry sat it down.
“That was… a lot nicer than I thought it would be,” Harry said.
“Oh?”
“She exposed a lot of what happened. She also really went after my team. She really didn’t criticize me much at all,” Harry said, leaning back.
“Well that’s good?”
“Yeah,” Harry said thoughtfully, “It feels really personal, but I can tell that she’s being very careful to not reveal anything too personal or leave anyone room to ask questions where I wouldn’t want them to.”
“Is there anything you’d want her to change? Is she allowing that?” Blaise asked.
“She said she’s open to notes,” Harry nodded, “I don’t know, I think I need to read it more, but I need to give it some time. Would you be able to take a look at it later?”
“Why not now?” Blaise raised an eyebrow.
“Because now, I think we have something that we need to get back to,” Harry said, turning to him deviously. Blaise’s body hardened again.
“Oh yes,” he purred, “Where were we?”
He slid forward on the couch and pushed Harry down until he was horizontal.
“I think something like this,” Harry said breathily in a way that made Blaise want to tear him apart slowly.
“Maybe something a little more like this,” Blaise vanished their shirts and began sucking on Harry’s neck, hard.
“Or something like th-this,” Harry stuttered and gasped, and Blaise felt their trousers and pants disappear.
“Maybe I should lock the floo this time,” Blaise said, and flicked his hand out. He then pressed his thigh firmly between Harry’s.
“Good idea-” Harry’s sentence turned into an endearing squeak as Blaise ground down.
“Merlin I love you,” Blaise murmured.
“Show me.”
And Blaise did.
After Luna received the go ahead from Harry, she sent the article to her publishers. She sent it with a picture of Harry taken from just after the battle of Diagon where his eyes were blazing, and his power swirled almost visibly around him. He looked dangerous yet heroic. He looked like a man who had seen far too many evils but had not let it stop him.
Luna took a deep breath the next morning when the Quibbler was delivered to her. There on the cover was her picture and her article.
A Deep Look into the Enigmatic Life of the Boy-Who-Lived: A Luna Lovegood Exclusive
Harry James Potter is one of the most famous people in the Wizarding World. We all know why. He defeated the Dark Lord Voldemort not once but twice. Once as an infant, where he tragically lost his parents, and once as a fourteen-year-old boy. This feat has propelled him into the public eye, though not much has ever been known about his personal life. There are a tremendous number of rumors and speculations about him and his personal life, but until now, there has been nothing concrete.
After he defeated Lord Voldemort for the second time, he disappeared. The public wondered where he went, if he was okay, what he was doing. He came back with an astounding number of high test scores. He was on track to be one of the most powerful and influential wizards of all time. Then, in a move no one predicted, he fell into the party lifestyle. Drugs, booze, girls, and money became all he seemed to care about. He didn't care about his reputation or his power. It seemed that Harry Potter had fallen down the dark path of so many child stars. Why?
Well, the reason behind it stems from more than just childish wants and rebellious feelings. It lies much deeper. I've spent the last several months trying to uncover the secrets that lay beneath Harry Potter's bold exterior.
At first glance, Harry was just as he seemed. I traveled to his apartment to meet him. It was in an expensive building and was fabulously furnished. His flat was trashed from a party the night before, though he did seem quite sheepish about it when he realized, and in an impressive display of wandless magic, he cleaned it up immediately. He greeted me more politely than I had expected. We chatted a bit and then he invited me along with him for a day of work. He had a photoshoot, and a charity event to attend. I then followed him to the club that he often frequents.
It was all of the glamor and fame that I had imagined. A team of people shuffling around him to get him to where he needed to be on time. Expensive clothes and expensive champagne. A makeup team and a publicist. A manager and a posse of friends who may or may not have been in it for the money. Camera flashes everywhere he went and adoring fans begging for pictures and autographs. The club was a predictable though intense scene. Illegal substances were everywhere, and antics ran wild. I couldn't bear to stay long, as the pace of the night was much above what I could keep up with, even though I was only observing.
All of this I expected, as I said earlier. What I didn't expect though, was how much depth there was to this enigma of a man. From the first moment, there was intelligence, and kindness behind his eyes. His life has been nothing like anything I have ever encountered, and yet, he displayed a remarkable amount of humbleness. Interestingly enough, despite being surrounded by so many people, there was a slight loneliness that I could detect on several occasions. The mysteries only seemed to grow with the more I observed. Here's what I learned:
Harry Potter grew up with his relatives in the muggle world and did not know magic existed until he was eleven. His Hogwarts years were riddled with terrifying encounters with the Dark Lord that we had all presumed to be dead. He made friends, played Quidditch, and did well enough in his classes. People who knew him from the time unanimously remembered that he was always sweet and caring to others. He was brave and would do anything for his friends.
Harry was somehow unprotected from intense bullying due to his name, and more concerningly the Dark Lord. Each year there was an event that put him and his friends in danger. He escaped all on his own. Where were the teachers to protect the young boy? Where was the famed headmaster?
After the Triwizard tournament, and the Dark Lord's return, Harry was sent back to his relatives. There appeared to have been no protection, because the Dark Lord found him and attacked him. This is when Harry was able to vanquish him with the incredible strength of his magic. From there, the headmaster Albus Dumbledore took Harry to Hogwarts to heal. He was magically exhausted and severely injured.
Here's where things become unclear. Harry and Albus Dumbledore both told me that they had begun having arguments. The nature of these is unknown. However, the tension was thick enough that Harry Potter's old best friend Ron Weasley was very aware of it. After some time, after all of the awards and ceremonies, the fighting came to a head. Dumbledore claims that Harry walked out against Dumbledore's advice. Harry claims that Dumbledore kicked him out of Hogwarts though he begged to stay. I will not make an opinion on who I believe to be telling the truth. Minutes afterwards, before anyone else could have known what occurred, Harry Potter was picked up by Death Eaters. The details of his time with them are unknown. However, when he finally escaped, without the help of Dumbledore but instead the help of some adult friends, he needed to be healed for a long time. Another note, something that I will not cover in this story but will be doing a follow up on: Several of my sources claimed that Sirius Black was innocent, was Harry Potter's godfather, and died to save him in this encounter. I will do more research into this.
Continuing on with this story, the famed Nicholas Flamel of all people took Harry Potter to a secret location to protect him from the Death Eaters, and from Dumbledore. This is shocking, as the two were always rumored to be close friends. Harry says that Flamel healed him and trained him and is the reason for his impressive magical abilities. Sadly, Flamel passed, and Harry took a few years to travel the world and rest.
He returned to find that people were using his name and money without his permission. When he hired a legal team to deal with it, he also got set up with his management team. They urged him to follow the path of celebrity. Here is where we must remember all of the trauma that Harry has endured. This answers the question of why Harry Potter became the playboy bad boy that he did. He was shoved into a life full of escapes that left him with only one option. He dove into it. He used it to take the money that he deserved and cope unhealthily with everything that had happened to him in his short life. Without friends or family that he trusted or could rely on, he truly cannot be blamed for the choices that he had made with the struggles that he faced.
This is a sad tale indeed. His friends remarked that they didn't recognize him. They, like us, didn't know all that had happened. He was a completely different person in their eyes. All of the glitter and glamor could not hide the fact that this life was not one to be coveted, no matter how much his team wanted the world to believe that it was.
However, the story does not end there. As I was wrapping up this story, I met with Harry one more time. It was a completely different interaction. I met with Harry, and he told me that he had fired his team and was done with the lifestyle he was living. He was reconnecting with his magic, and old friends. He looked much healthier than he had the last few times that I had seen him. There was a softness in his eyes that I hadn't seen before. He seemed much more like the sweet boy that all of his friends had claimed he used to be.
Harry isn't sure what he wants to do next. He does know that he wants a more stable and sustainable life that is more out of the public eye. He wants to settle down. I for one, support him completely. After all that he has given to us, all of the lives that he's saved, he deserves nothing but a wholesome and happy life. He deserves privacy and gratitude from us. He deserves to find love and purpose.
And Harry is not done helping us either. Just as I was about to publish this article, I was made aware that Harry had swooped in to stop an attack on Diagon Alley. Death Eaters had been trying to attack several stores, and Harry had not stood for it. Witnesses stated that he had barely used a wand, and had taken them all out, virtually on his own. Power had radiated off of him unlike anything seen before, more than even was recorded at Albus Dumbledore's public defeat of Grindelwald. The scene was dealt with swiftly, and I would like to extend my intense gratitude to him.
Harry has told me that he plans to help stop these remaining Death Eaters, and then he is going to retire. I for one, would be very afraid if I was one of the rogue Death Eaters who is out there. Harry has one goal, and that is to stop them, and then relax. He will never work in the auror department. He is skilled at fighting, but it is not what he enjoys. He encourages the wizarding world to learn to arm and defend themselves in the future. He wants everyone to try to treat each other with love, respect, and understanding. He wants to be able to live a simple and quiet life and we can help him by taking care of ourselves and each other.
He has seen and lost enough in war to last a lifetime, let's do our part to make sure he doesn't have to deal with anymore. We thank you Harry, for your immense sacrifice and help that you have given to us so many times. The Wizarding World is owed to you, I wish you the best luck in finding your own peace and happiness.
Luna sat back after she finished reading the article. It was exactly how she had written it. Now she could only wait to hear what everyone else had to say.
"Well, it's out now," Harry said as the Quibbler landed on their kitchen table.
"It is," Blaise said.
"Honestly I'm relieved, " Harry said, picking it up, "But why did she pick this picture? I look insane."
"You look hot," Blaise said against his ear. Harry shivered.
"Wait, not yet I need to write to Remus," Harry said, "I keep putting it off."
Remus set down the Quibbler when he was done reading it, guilt churning in his stomach. His wife, Tonks took it next. She seemed to have a similar reaction.
"We should've reached out," she murmured.
"Yes," he said, leaning back in his chair, "I didn't know that he didn't have anyone else."
"He must have been so alone," she whispered, horrified, "After what he went through..."
"I was so caught up in the grief from Sirius and then the baby," Remus said quietly, "It's not an excuse, but I just couldn't handle trying to figure out his and I's relationship."
"You did tell Luna to tell Harry to reach out, didn't you?" Tonks asked carefully. Remus nodded.
"I wonder if he's angry," Remus said, "He has every right to be."
"Well, you aren't his father, or his godfather," Tonks reminded him, "He does have a right to be angry, but you know you did the best you could."
"James would be so mad at me," Remus whispered and closed his eyes, "Sirius too."
"You checked up on him afterwards and it was painful to you at the time," Tonks said, "They would understand. Besides, you can't change things now."
"Maybe I should write," Remus thought. Tonks nodded. Then another owl flew through the window. It had simply Remus's name on it. From Harry. "Or he beat me to it."
Remus opened the letter.
Remus,
I'm not sure if you want to hear from me or not. I know we left off in an awkward and painful place for both of us. If you don't want to reconnect, I would completely understand, but I want to be sure.
I'm not sure if you saw the article come out or not, but I know Luna Lovegood did contact you. I want to thank you first and foremost. Luna said that you made it clear that you would respect my privacy, which is more than anybody else did. You didn't need to do that, but I am truly touched by the respect that you showed me.
If you did want to connect, just owl me back with some date and times. I would love to catch up with you. If not, again I understand, and I wish you well with whatever you are doing at the current moment. I will always be grateful to you for saving me and for showing me so much respect when so many others did not.
From,
Harry.
He quickly penned back a response, writing that he would absolutely meet up with Harry and that he was free at several points over the next few days.
Remus anxiously awaited the meeting and hoped he could make things right with his best friend's son.