Second chances
"Oi! Wake up!"
"Oomph." Harry woke up to find a pillow on his face. Shoving his attacker off he rolled out of bed and put on his glasses. A strange feeling rose inside his chest when he saw who was on the floor rolling in laughter.
"Come on mate, today's the big day."
Harry simply nodded; he couldn't risk opening his mouth. Try as he might, he couldn't recall why he suddenly despised his best friend.
A knock on the door made the monster inside him rear its ugly head again.
"You two can come downstairs now, Ginny has started getting dressed so you won't be seeing her till it's time. The boys will be getting dressed in the shed after breakfast."
"Come on mate. What are you staring at? I'm starving."
Harry shook his head; Hermione had left and he hadn't heard a word of what she'd said. All he knew was that he wanted to wring her neck and he had no idea why.
Getting up he followed Ron downstairs still in a daze. He wanted to slap the smug smile off Arthur's face. He even wanted to scream at George.
What on earth was wrong with him. Last he remembered he'd gone out with all the Weasley boys, sans Percy who wasn't into parties, to celebrate his bachelors.
"Drank too much last night? Not to worry, I have the cure over here." Arthur said, handing everyone a vial.
"Aren't you going to eat anything?"
Harry wiped off a bit of spittle off his cheek and took a deep breath. He was very close to blowing Ron up into oblivion.
"Honestly Ron, I don't know how you can eat! Last night was crazy. What time did you and Harry get back?" Bill asked massaging his own temples as he took a sip of juice.
"Didn't we all get back together?" He asked between mouthfuls.
"Bill was the first one back around midnight. Then Charlie and George showed up around two in the morning. Percy and I went to bed around four and hoped that we wouldn't be murdered this morning, but fortunately you both are here. You know how upset Ginny was about the whole idea."
"I don't remember much of last night…" Harry replied to the questioning glances. "Excuse me, I need fresh air." He added jumping up and heading out to the orchard.
"Why did we split up?" He heard George's voice as he reached the door.
"We got too drunk too quickly!" Bill replied followed by shushing noises.
He snorted, knowing that Arthur was trying to keep Molly calm. The thought of Molly made his skin crawl, in fact, the thought of Ginny made him want to pull his hair out. What on earth was wrong with him.
He spent the next hour going over the last couple of years and he couldn't think of a single thing that would make him feel this way. Did someone potion him against the Weasley's?
'But you didn't feel any hatred towards Bill and Charlie or even Percy. Besides, Hermione isn't a Weasley.' A little voice in his head whispered.
Before he could try and figure things out someone stuffed a toast in his hand and started ushering him towards the shed.
He was feeling completely numb as he stood at the altar waiting for Ginny. For some unknown reason seeing Neville nod at him with a determined look in his eyes made him feel better. His stomach churned as soon as the music changed and Ginny started walking down the aisle.
She was wearing a strappy ivory lace gown. She stopped next to him and beamed; he gave her a weak smile in return.
'Run' the voice in his mind screamed. It was too hot and the minister seemed to be droning on and on. What felt like hours had gone by when someone nudged his side.
Looking up he found Ginny glaring at him.
"Wha…"
"Do you take Ginevra Molly Weasley to be your lawfully wedded wife?" The minister asked again.
"No." He blurted out not realizing that he'd said it out aloud.
Ginny froze, "this isn't funny Harry. Stop messing around." She said with a forced smile between gritted teeth, rolling her eyes towards the group of paparazzi that she'd invited.
"No, I don't love you." He repeated dumbly.
Ginny threw her bouquet and slapped him. "How dare you! I should have never allowed you to go out! Are you still fucking drunk?"
He heard some other voice or voices screaming, he couldn't really make out what they were saying. Suddenly somebody grabbed him and the familiar feeling of a hook around his navel made his world spin.
He landed on his butt.
"You okay Harry?" Neville inquired.
"What's going on?" Harry asked him in return.
"I'm doing what you asked. You sent me a letter this morning around 6 asking me to take you away when you said no. You did want to be taken away, didn't you?" He asked worriedly.
"No, I mean yes! Don't worry Nev, thanks… what? Why are you looking at me like that?" He didn't remember sending any letter but he chalked it up to being drunk.
Neville blushed "you've never called me Nev before…"
"Oh…"
Neville put up anti mail wards and showed Harry a room. Harry had been hiding out at Neville's for five days, he'd initially shared his thoughts with him. Neville was equally confused at Harry's sudden dislike towards his friends and fiancé. He'd listened to Harry recount every detail that he could remember, right from after the battle to the day of his wedding and nothing pointed to his sudden change of heart.
On the third day Augusta dragged him to St Mungos for a check-up. The check-up which had made his blood boil.
"He's been doused with potions since he was eleven. Look, we have a mild love potion and a loyalty potion here, I would guess it started during Christmas…"
"That's impossible, I mean Ginny wasn't even at Hogwarts when I was eleven then why would…"
"Think back, Harry, did you see her before Christmas? Did your feelings change between then and when you next saw her?" Augusta pressed.
Harry was about to shake his head when an image of her at the train station popped into his head. She'd just been an annoying little girl with red hair but then he saw her again at the Burrow the following summer and suddenly she was the girl "with bright brown eyes and flaming red hair." He mumbled.
He repeated his memory for both Augusta and the healer.
Augusta let out an angry growl "what 12-year-old boy thinks like that! I will destroy those bastards; line theft will not go unpunished not till I am alive!"
Harry had managed to persuade her to let him handle things. But ever since they'd gotten back, he couldn't stop thinking back to every instance that he had been robbed of. The one instance that stood out like a sore thumb was the summer after his fourth year, he couldn't understand why he'd spent all his time cleaning when he could have been spending time with Sirius.
'Compulsion potions' the voice in his head whispered.
"Harry, you need to see this."
"Nev, I'm not interested in what the tabloids have to say."
He'd caught a glimpse of the headlines the past couple of days. Every paper in the country was speculating his sudden change of heart. He just wanted to calm down before talking to the Weasley's, the papers wouldn't help with that.
"Harry, I wouldn't ask you to read it if it wasn't important…" Neville insisted.
Harry sighed and extended his arm. The first thing he saw was Ginevra Weasley's face plastered across the front page.
Exclusive interview with the bride not to be
By Terry Higgins
In a shocking interview Harry Potter's fiancé has opened up about her fiancé's constant internal turmoil. "The wedding is simply postponed; Harry has always had problems controlling his temper. He wasn't brought up in the best of environments…"
Harry let out a growl as he skimmed over the rest of the paper and jumped up. "Don't" he growled at Neville as he stalked up to the apparition point and disappeared.
Everyone was still eating breakfast at the Burrow when their door exploded, most the women shrieked whilst Bill, Fleur, Arthur and Charlie drew their wands.
"How dare you, you fucking cunt!" Harry shrieked and made a beeline for his ex-fiancé.
"Harry!" Arthur tried.
"Don't! I have a fucking temper, don't I?"
"Now listen here Harry, Ginny has been extremely worried about you we all have…"
"I'd shut my trap if I were you Molly, I'm in no mood for…"
Arthur tried to cut in again only for Harry to glare at him "potions and line theft sound familiar?"
Arthur paled, Molly let out a wail and fell in her chair.
"What are you talking about Harry?" Bill asked, looking at his parents in concern.
"Your lovely parents here whored your little sister out! I want to know why?"
A movement on his right made him turn to see Charlie tying up a red-faced Ronald.
"Harry don't…" Hermione whimpered.
"Stay out of it, this doesn't concern you!" He snarled back
The entire room was silent. Days seemed to pass as the silence stretched on and finally Arthur, looking resigned, gave in. "We didn't have the money…"
"Who all knew? Did anyone else ever dose me."
"Harry…"
"Molly it's over!" Arthur said with a tone of finality. "Yes, Ginny did in your sixth year and Ron did when you were all away."
"That's why he came back?"
"Arthur nodded."
"Did you know?" he asked turning to look at the other Weasley family members.
George's head dropped "Fred and I overheard mom and dad talking once but we did feel bad that's why we did that stunt with Umbridge."
"Yes, real martyrs you two were."
"Harry, I love you…"
"Don't! Look Ginny you were great, I mean the things you are willing to do to please a man are sick. Did Molly give you lessons?"
"HARRY POTTER!"
With a flick of his wand, he sent Molly flying back into the kitchen counter. "I could kill the lot of you and nobody would touch me. But no matter what your reasons, you still helped me escape the Dursley's during my summer break so I'll spare you. If I, were you, I'd leave Britain." He added to Percy, Bill, Hermione and Charlie and strode out.
He heard all hell break loose as he stepped out of the house and apparated away. In his blind rage he walked into the first pub he saw and decided to drown his sorrows.
Ginevra Weasley had made him sound like a nut job with a bad childhood. He wallowed in self-pity ordering another drink.
"You prefer Muggle single malt as well?"
Harry looked up from the glass that he'd been nursing and found Krum grinning at him.
"Your English has improved. I barely hear the accent."
Krum smirked. "I've spent the last three years in America, now I'll be playing here."
Harry nodded but went back to staring at his drink. He groaned inwardly when he felt Krum take the seat next to him.
"You know two years ago in America I went through something similar. Nearly lost my career over it."
Harry looked up at him again and raised an eyebrow.
"An ex-girlfriend tried to slander my name by saying that I am gay."
Harry scoffed "that's barely the same thing."
"Isn't it? They are both true. Being a gay Quidditch player isn't heard of, think about it, we spend hours together with other men and most of the time we are either in physical contact or we're walking around butt naked in the changing rooms."
Harry mulled over it for a while. "What did you do?" He eventually asked.
"I took control. I cut off the snake's head and spoke my own truth. Some liked it others didn't, but to fuck with the ones who were offended."
"But you could have lost your job…"
"I am Victor Krum! I am the hero to Quidditch like you are the hero to Britain. Fame may be fickle but if you know how to play your cards right nobody can stand in your way."
Harry finished his drink and stood up.
"Going already?"
"I have a snake to kill."
Krum smirked, "let's meet again once you've slayed your beast."
Augusta was smiling like a Cheshire cat the next morning. The morning paper once again had Ginny's face plastered on the front page but this time the headline read 'Man-Who-Conquered dumps the girl who allowed You-Know-Who to possess her'. Pictures of the chamber were published using a special pensieve and Harry's oath declaring that everything was true was printed in bold letters.
"Part one of three" Augusta purred. "I'm glad you are finally taking control."
The next day the article detailed Harry's life before and during Hogwarts.
The day after that the bombshell was dropped, the article explained in detail Ginny, Molly, Arthur, the twins and Ron's actions. It ended with Harry challenging them to prove his statements wrong, he even asked the reporter to get an interview with them under oath.
Needless to say, George was forced to close his shop almost immediately.
Ron lost his job in the Auror force even though Harry had already handed in his resignation.
The Holyhead Harpies not only ended Ginny's contract but they got a lifelong Quidditch ban issued against her.
But the worst was that Arthur too lost his job.
Molly in a fit of rage tried to contact every media outlet in the wizarding world to slander Harry Potter. But no matter where she went, they asked for an oath, when she would refuse, they'd end up printing an article that described how low the Weasley family had fallen. Inadvertently Molly ended up making her family's misfortune famous world over.
Bill Delacour née Weasley was forced to visit the Burrow to put up wards that would prevent any hate mail or haters from approaching the house. He along with Percy and Charlie had ended their relationship with the Weasley clan but he didn't want them to get hurt either. And thanks to Molly, the Weasley's were now hated world over, forcing her beloved clock to constantly point at mortal peril.
During the rest of the month Harry had carried on staying at Longbottom Manor as he started selling Grimmauld place and all its contents. He only kept a few family heirlooms and the books from the Black library.
He had been pleasantly surprised at the price that he'd been offered for the house, even though the area was now dilapidated the protections cast on the house and the magic imbued in it over generations made it a hot property. He could easily buy an estate in the Muggle world and still have enough left over till he figured things out.
He found a beautiful little cottage near the beach for a steal. The cottage was only two bedrooms and was falling to pieces but it was surrounded in five acres of lush land and even had a tiny path that led to a private little corner of the beach. The portion of beach didn't come with the land but the contractor assured him that they'd put up Muggle repelling charms and none would be the wiser.
Within a week Harry found himself standing in his brand new twenty-bedroom manor.
"Look at all this virgin land!" Neville remarked.
"I thought you'd like it. Here." he said, handing Neville a pouch.
"What's this?"
"That's the amount that the contractor quoted when I told him that I didn't just want grass everywhere, I want lots of trees and flowers as well."
"I'm not going to charge you."
"Why not?"
"Because we are friends!"
"So what? We might be friends but this could be a really good business opportunity for you."
"What do you mean?"
"There aren't any magical landscaping companies in Britain, not as far as I can tell…" Harry spent the rest of the day taking Neville to Muggle landscaping companies and showing him their work. By the end of the day Neville was all charged up and ready to pitch the idea to his grandmother.
Harry awoke the next morning to a tapping on his window. Sitting up he put his glasses on and looked around the empty room. The only piece of furniture in his new home was a sleeping bag that he was currently using. He had decided to try every single room before choosing which one he liked best, the tapping made him turn and frown.
It was Pig, he'd forgotten to ask the contractor to put up wards that would stop mail. Still frowning he let the bird in and untied the letter, at least it wasn't a howler he mused as the excitable owl followed him down to the kitchen.
He stopped in his tracks when he saw an assortment of breakfast items lying on the kitchen island. He was about to draw his wand when a tiny elf popped in.
"Tinkle! Jeez, you scared the jeepers out of me!"
The elf's ears drooped "Tinkle is being sorry! Nana be asking Tinkle to be making sure that you is eating proper!"
"Well, you've made breakfast for ten so I'm pretty sure I'm sorted for the week." He said with a laugh. "Tinkle, I can cook so you can tell Augusta not to worry."
The elf stood still, looking uneasy.
Harry sighed. "You know what, I can make eggs and bacon but I've never baked and boy does this fresh bread smell delicious. How about we make a deal? You can come here whenever you like and bake me stuff and I'll figure out the rest."
The elf pondered over his suggestion, finally looking up at him and smiling "Tinkle be asking Puffy for more recipes."
Harry shook his head in amusement as he watched the now excited elf pop away. He could foresee a future filled with baked goods.
"Oi, helping yourself much!" He exclaimed at Pig who was happily eating bacon.
Sitting down he poured himself a cup of coffee and unrolled the parchment, the neat handwriting told him who it was from. He still couldn't stand her but he'd hoped that she too had left.
Dear Harry,
This is the 97th letter that I'm writing to you and I won't stop till I get answers. After you left, I went to Flourish and Blotts and bought some books. I found out that healers can misdiagnose potions when they test patients. There is a 57% error margin, Harry, Madam Pomfrey could have given you a pain potion which can later show up as a love potion. I have listed the ingredients of two potions as an example underneath as you'll see only one ingredient changes in both…
Harry skipped over everything that she'd copied from the books.
…and before you say anything, I got myself tested as well and I've never been given potions. Why would they sneak potions into your food and not mine? Harry, you need to see past everything and focus on the good, I'm not asking you to marry Ginny but don't destroy so many years of friendship. We've all been through so much together, they even lost Fred and now Bill, Charlie and Percy won't even acknowledge their existence. Nobody will give them a job, Mrs. Weasley even tried to apply at a pub in Knockturn alley, they told her to send Ginny instead.
Harry snorted, spraying coffee all over the kitchen counter.
Angelina left George and took Ginny's spot on the team. We've been eating eggs, chickens and apples for two weeks now. Please Harry, if nothing else, please just publish a public apology so they can at least work. Do you know that Mundungus Fletcher refused to come to the Burrow? He said he doesn't associate with dirt bags. I know that you are a good person but I also know that research isn't your strong suit, I got a book on wizarding law as well, Harry your accusations are very serious. Line theft is the worst imaginable offence in wizarding society, especially amongst the pure bloods…
He stopped reading and summoned a quill and a piece of parchment.
Dear Hermione,
I really enjoyed your essay. I would still suggest that you do the smart thing and leave the Burrow but the decision is yours. If you stay, I suggest you keep your last name, it'll help you get a job. I also suggest that Ginny take up the offer at the pub, she'll get paid for services rendered which won't be too different from her parent's original plan for her.
Don't write to me ever again and make sure you tell the others the same. As you know line theft is a very serious matter, I haven't asked for legal action yet but bother me again and everyone will be taking a one-way trip to Azkaban. I can't be sure, but I believe that there won't be any eggs, chickens and apples there.
Sod off,
Harry.
He was about to get dressed for the day when another owl swooped in. He recognized this one as well, they'd send the same letter every couple of months. He didn't understand why they didn't just seize all his accounts and be done with it; he'd managed to live on cash for the past couple of years refusing to go to Gringotts after the break in that he orchestrated. Did they want to kill him? Or would he be arrested? He decided to finally go to the bank and get it over with, he was beyond caring any more.
But first he needed to do some shopping. If it was his last day he wanted to go out in style. Walking into the pantry he moved a hidden panel and opened the safe. Roughly half a million pounds lay inside, it was the money left over from his Order of Merlin first class and the sale of number 12 Grimmauld place.
Around noon Harry walked into Gringotts, he'd expected the guards to pounce on him, no such thing happened. He walked up to a teller and cleared his throat, "I was asked to come in."
The goblin looked at the letter that he was holding out and immediately yelled at a guard in his native tongue. Once again Harry was surprised that no sharp metal was poking him.
"Follow him!" The goblin barked and went back to weighing emeralds.
Maybe they didn't want to stain the white marble floor he mused as he followed the guard to what he presumed would be a dungeon. Instead, they entered a lavish office. Harry was certain that the gold veins that ran across the white marble walls and floor were real gold.
An old goblin looked up from his black velvet throne. "Mr. Potter, I was beginning to wonder if I would have to employ other means to bring you here."
"You can seize all my accounts…"
The guard growled and Harry felt a blade poke into the middle of his back. The older goblin laughed and said something in gobbledygook. The guard reluctantly made his way back out, shutting the gold door behind him.
"I have no use for gold! Why don't you take a seat, tea?"
Harry was now in a complete loss; he'd run through several scenarios in his head that had forced him to take a calming draught before coming but none of them involved him taking a seat and being offered tea.
He took a seat and accepted the cup. 'Maybe it's poisoned' the voice in his head said.
"It's not poisoned. We goblins love blood and gold. But you have something much more valuable to offer. You are a thief."
Harry squirmed in his chair and felt like an apology was necessary. "Yes, I'm sorry about that. It's just that…"
"No, no, don't be sorry. I wasn't accusing you; I was praising you."
Okay now Harry was completely baffled. He'd discussed the letter with Ron and Hermione several times. She'd read up on goblin punishments and told him to stay away from Gringotts because the bank was goblin territory and their law was the rule. Ron had pointed out that neither he or Hermione had received a letter, meaning that they expected Harry, who was the richest of the three, to give up his gold.
The goblin gave him a feral smile. "Never in the history of Gringotts have we even remotely experienced such a feat. A theft in our territory is unheard of…"
Try as he may, he couldn't control himself "Err, actually I remember a theft taking place when I was eleven…"
The goblin frowned "ah yes, but taking something from your own account and filing a report isn't really theft." He said in a distasteful tone.
So, Dumbledore had planned the whole thing, Harry thought and realized that he was quite capable of doing such a thing.
"Mr. Potter, what you did shook the goblin nation to its core. And so, the elders came up with a proposition, you could suffer the same fate as Griphook…"
Harry followed his line of sight and saw a wall lined with golden heads.
"Or you could become a consultant for Gringotts."
"Umm, what do you mean by consultant?"
"Every now and then you will be contacted by me. You will be given a location which is secured by us and you will steal from us. Every time you succeed you will be paid."
"So, I'll be a thief for Gringotts?"
"Yes."
He didn't have much of a choice. Either he would be decapitated, dipped in gold and placed on a wall or he could steal. "I think I'll accept your generous offer."
"I thought as much. Of course, you cannot tell anyone about it and there will be no written contract, but heed my words carefully if you try to get out of our little arrangement our next meeting won't be this pleasant."
Harry nodded.
"Great, here! This is our branch in France that you will be stealing from any time during the rest of the year. Keep in mind that if you are caught by local authorities, we will negate any supposed deals."
Harry read the name and address of the bank. "But won't they know who I am?"
"Apart from the elders and myself, nobody knows about this deal. They don't even know about this new security check that we have initiated."
A week had gone by since Harry's strange meeting, to celebrate a weight lifted off his shoulders he was meeting Krum and Neville for drinks.
"Harry told me about your new business, tell me could you make a garden on a balcony? I miss the gardens I have back in Bulgaria. I've gotten tired of living in apartments with no greenery."
"Sure." Neville replied enthusiastically.
"Oi, look! It's the cute one!" Krum exclaimed an hour later.
The three men had reached their happy place. Harry turned to see Draco Malfoy standing at the bar with his nose turned up.
"MALFY! DRAYYYY!" He called out and staggered up to the blond.
"Po…?"
Harry pulled the astonished man into a hug. Pulling away he kept his hands on his shoulders and looked Draco straight in the eye and seriously asked "Dray, are you a poof?"
Draco staggered back shoving Harry's hands off "what the fuck Potter!" He exclaimed angrily.
Harry pouted "I'm serious Dray!" He slurred "my friend has a crush on you…"
Draco glared at him "fuck off" he spat and left. He grabbed some dark-haired girl's hand and dragged her out with him.
"What'd he say?" Krum asked with hopeful eyes.
"He became all shy about it…"
"Another round of shots and Glenfiddich here!" Krum called out to the server looking giddy.
"He's the reason I would sit at the Slytherin table everyday but he'd spend all his time staring at you. I'm really glad that you aren't gay, it's hard finding a good-looking wizard. Especially one who is willing to accept that he's different."
"But you took Hermione to the ball!" Neville said.
"Yes, we went as friends. She had no self-esteem so she wouldn't expect anything of me."
"That's cold." Neville said, looking sad.
"She spent the night correcting me instead of having a real conversation. All I can remember is that her name wasn't Hermioninny and something about SPEW, besides she used me too. I helped her feel better about herself and she helped me keep my secret."
"So, you noticed he's gay too huh? Didn't have to be so blunt about it." A voice from their right said.
"Daphne!" Neville exclaimed "what are you doing here?"
"I live a few blocks down. Golden boy here chased away my company for the night, so I'll be joining you all. What are we having? Ugh, what lightweights! Get me a hellfire and some ice cubes please."
The server placed four shot glasses that had a red liquid which was smoking and four tall glasses with clear liquid that was sparkling on the table.
"The owner's a squib so they serve the magical stuff if you ask. You guys sure have great service though." She whispered.
"Viktor tipped the server to keep the drinks coming. I think I'm going to be sick…" Neville replied looking wearily at the glasses.
"Where are the ice cubes?" Harry asked stupidly.
Daphne rolled her eyes "hellfire is the shot that you take first, it really burns when it goes down so you chase it with this drink which has a cooling effect."
"It gets you drunk quickly!" Krum said, lifting the shot glass and nudging Neville to do the same.
Harry thought that Daphne's description lacked the true extent of horror that one experienced from this drink. He could feel the sweat pouring down his back as the drink burnt him from the inside out. His vision blurred as he picked up the tall glass with trembling hands and gulped down a big sip. The effect was instantaneous, it was like a fire inside him was slowly freezing over.
By the time they'd had their third round nobody felt hot or cold any more. The pub swayed around them and the dim lights shone brighter.
Harry awoke on the bathroom floor stark naked the next morning. His body was sticky with sweat, slowly sitting up he waited for the world to stop swaying and cringed when a pop made his head explode. A vial was shoved into his mouth. The bitter liquid made him gag but someone was holding his mouth shut and pinching his nose forcing him to swallow.
He tried to push the person away but found himself falling face first onto the floor.
"It'll take a minute to work."
"ARGH" He grabbed a towel and covered his naked form "what's wrong with you!"
"Nothing I haven't seen before! Besides, you made your feelings pretty clear last night."
"Wha?" But the blurry figure walked away before he could finish his sentence.
He started feeling normal again as he climbed into the shower and tried to recall what had happened the previous night. From the tenderness around his eye, it was clear that he'd been punched but he couldn't remember anything.
Getting out of the shower he got dressed and made his way down. From the looks of it everyone had come back to his place.
"What happened last night?"
"Draco came back to the pub to confront you." Daphne answered.
"So, he punched me! Okay that makes sense."
"No, you kissed him!" She corrected him.
Harry choked on the orange juice; Viktor was glaring daggers at him. "So, you punched me. Yeah, I guess that makes sense."
"No! I punched you!" She said with a huff.
Harry looked at Daphne utterly confused. "Why would you punch me?"
"Because you can't spend the night shamelessly flirting with me only to go and make out with a boy."
"Okay wait. There's a difference between a kiss and a full blown make out!"
"You kissed him and asked him if he liked it, when he was too shocked to respond you grabbed his face and shoved your tongue down his throat. From the moan that escaped his lips I'm pretty sure he'd call it more than a kiss."
Harry paled. "I-no! Why would I do that?"
Daphne huffed but left without another word.
"Did you like it?" Viktor asked eventually.
"I don't remember it."
"Only one way to find out!" Neville pitched in looking meaningfully at both men. "What?" He exclaimed at the glare that Harry gave him "you sort of owe him, he'd called dibs on Dray." He made sure to use a sultry voice when saying the name.
Harry threw a croissant at him but turned to look at Viktor. "Fine, let's do this."
Saying that kissing Viktor was awkward was an understatement. It was wet and stubbly and weird.
"Well?" Neville asked as they broke apart.
"You are a good kisser." Viktor said.
"It was weird. I mean your technique was spot on but I didn't really feel anything. Maybe I kissed him to prove that he was gay."
"But you said that he liked me back."
"Yeah, I may have embellished the truth…but if he moaned, he liked it right?"
"You are such a douche-bag!" Viktor exclaimed, throwing a roll at Harry but the sullen look had been replaced with a goofy smile.
"Why are there so many baked goods? I wouldn't mind some scrambled…" Neville said looking around the island which had twelve different types of baked breakfast items.
Tinkle popped in and tutted "I is saying I is cooking but no! Master thinks he is doing it all…" she kept on grumbling as she quickly whipped up a batch of scrambled eggs and sausages.
Harry gave her a sheepish look. "Which reminds me, I still haven't thanked your gran for sending Tinkle over every morning."
"What do you mean?" Neville asked, looking confused.
"Err, isn't she your elf?"
"No, Tinkle bonded to you. She's yours. Don't you remember when you were bawling your eyes out about Ginny she asked if she could look after you and you said yes."
'Oh' Harry mouthed "did I steal her from you?"
Neville shrugged "it's not really stealing. She's barely a year old, elves don't serve the family till they are one and bond to the family. But I'm glad she chose you; Gran wouldn't have accepted her lack of refrain. We have two other elves joining the family this week so there is more than enough help to look after the manor and grounds.
"Tinkle why didn't you tell me that you were bonded to me? And where have you been staying?"
The elf wrung her hands nervously "I is being scared but I is being good. I no lie only fib a little. But I is learning how to bes a good elf."
"I think you are a great elf Tinkle but I want you to always be honest with me, okay? Now why don't you choose a room?"
"Tinkle liking pantry."
"We have a lot of rooms."
"Tinkle liking pantry."
"Okay then you can stay wherever you like as long as you are comfortable."
"So, what are you going to do about Draco?" Viktor asked.
"What do you mean?"
"You'll have to talk to him especially since he's engaged to Daphne's sister."
"What? Why didn't you say anything last night?"
Neville shrugged "just assumed you knew…"
Harry awkwardly made his way to the Malfoy's garden, as luck would have it, he'd walked into Draco's engagement brunch. The elf at the entrance had simply pointed the way and left, he immediately spotted Daphne in the crowd. She was standing with another woman that he presumed was her sister.
Daphne was dressed in a light off shoulder summer dress that reached the floor, a belt accentuated her delicate figure. Her hair was done up in a braided bun showing off her long neck. He was so caught up at enjoying the view that he'd forgotten why he was there.
"What are you doing here?" Draco hissed from behind him.
Harry started but quickly recomposed himself and turned around. "We need to talk…"
Draco grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into the empty sun-room. "What do you want, Potter?"
Harry took a deep breath "first off I want to apologize about last night. I'm not gay I was just trying to make you see that you are. You cannot go through with this…"
"Are you always this charming? I could declare a blood feud this very second because of your insult!"
"You could but then you'd end up spending the rest of your life being miserable. I was serious last night; a friend does like you. You might remember him, Viktor Krum…"
Draco's eyes flashed but he didn't react.
"Look, I'm going over to his place for dinner tonight. Why don't you come? Who knows it might just change your life…"
"Get out." Draco hissed and turned his back to him.
Harry desperately wanted to say something else instead he gave him the address and left.
Later that evening he walked into Viktor's apartment. "Won't Neville be joining us as well?" Harry asked when he only saw three plate settings.
"He's having dinner with his fiancé."
"What do you mean fiancé?"
Viktor gave Harry a quizzical look "are you sure you weren't living under a rock the past couple of years? You seem to know nothing about your peers."
Harry made a strange sound and sat down. "The Weasley's weren't very popular so they didn't get any news and I was too busy playing hero to care about anyone other than myself."
Viktor hummed "at least you accept your shortcomings now all you have to do is work on them."
Harry nodded but frowned "I guess I'm just surprised how everyone is tying the knot at such a young age."
"We shall start with drinks and an appetizer… you should buy a book on wizarding etiquette and culture. Heirs of Ancient and Noble houses tend to get married young, it's the only way that they get access to their full inheritance."
"What do you mean?"
"Let's take you for example. You are the heir to house Potter. Your bloodline is an old one which means that you have a lot of accumulated wealth, at the moment you'd be using a trust vault which would give you enough to live a comfortable life not a lavish one. Once you get married, however, you'd come into your inheritance which would be a lot more."
Harry gaped at Viktor; he'd always presumed that he only had what he'd been using all these years he'd never thought that there would be more. "But why wait for marriage?"
"These customs are old but parents didn't want their children blowing up all their money by being irresponsible. They were afraid that people would try to use them for their money…"
Harry scoffed "it doesn't stop people from trying to get their daughter married off to you…"
Viktor shrugged "if there was a parent figure in your life, they would have made sure that all the paperwork was up-to-date. That's why even muggle borns have magical guardians."
"Paperwork as in?"
"There are special contracts the families sign to ensure that line theft isn't taking place. Basically, if either party is trying to defraud the other the consequences are dire."
"I need to find out who my guardian is…"
"You can look it up at the ministry."
The fire flared, startling both men and Draco stepped out.
"I apologize for my tardiness," he said stiffly.
"You are right on time." Viktor replied. Harry noticed that his voice had become deeper.
Draco handed him a bottle of wine and thanked him for the invitation.
"Oh, was I supposed to get something as well?"
"It is basic etiquette to not show up empty handed to someone's house." Draco drawled.
Viktor laughed, "don't worry Harry, I myself forget these little details often. Thank you, Draco."
Harry was suddenly very aware of being a third wheel. A young woman brought out the first course, seeing his opportunity he jumped at it.
"Oh no, is this shellfish? I'm deathly allergic…"
Viktor asked the woman to tell the chef to prepare something else.
"No, I don't want to be a bother. I'll go, fish and chips sound like fun…" he was out of his chair and through the door before anyone could say anything.
A week had gone by since Harry heard from either Viktor or Neville. So, he was surprised to find Viktor hammered at his doorstep on Friday evening. Viktor wasn't good looking but the way he carried himself and his roguish looks made everyone in the room turn around to look at him.
Now, however, he was a complete mess. He was angry and heartbroken all at the same time and he couldn't stand on his own two feet.
Tinkle managed to shove a sobering potion into his mouth so that Harry could figure out what had happened.
"He kissed me and it's all YOUR FAULT. His life has changed because of YOU!" He said between sobs and glares.
Harry eventually had enough and slapped him. "Will you just calm down; you are not making any sense!"
It took Viktor a couple of seconds to calm down "he kissed me goodbye. He's getting married tomorrow but he'll never forget the week that we spent together. I didn't think it was possible to start caring about someone so fast, I- I think I'm in love with him!"
Harry simply sat there and stared while Viktor cried himself to sleep, he honestly had no idea how to handle an emotional person.
In all honesty everything felt extremely strange to Harry at the moment. He'd spent years with only Ron as a friend, well Hermione was there as well but it had never been the same thing. It had just been a month since he'd started hanging out with Neville and Viktor, yet they had become really good friends really fast. So, in a way he understood Viktor's feelings towards Draco, sometimes in life when you meet the right people, time doesn't really matter.
Tinkle gave Viktor another sleeping potion as Harry got dressed in his wizarding finest to crash a wedding.
As he didn't have an invitation, he apparated to the boundary of where the wedding was taking place and walked in.
"Why are you looking so surprised?" Daphne's singsong voice called out.
She was a vision in red "I was surprised that security didn't stop me." He replied honestly, his brain had stopped working for a couple of seconds when she took a step towards him and revealed a thigh high slit.
"Ah, so you didn't RSVP."
"I was invited?"
"You are Harry Potter, of course you were invited. You are invited to things that even I'm not invited to, you choosing to ignore the invitation is your prerogative. Now, do you want to put on a show like you did at your wedding or will this be discreet?"
"Huh?"
Daphne sighed "well you are obviously here to stop this wedding, so tell me how I can help you!"
"Isn't it your sister's wedding?"
"Exactly and I think she's making a huge mistake. Her affections are one sided but she foolishly believes that she can make him love her. It doesn't work like that, you either click or you don't."
Harry couldn't find fault in her logic. "Yeah, I suppose you are right… Umm, maybe I should talk to him in private."
"Come on, I'll show you the way."
Draco blanched as soon as he saw Harry walk into the private suit "What the fuck are you doing here?"
"I should be asking you that very question."
"You know nothing, now leave before I call security."
"I won't leave till you tell me why you are doing this!"
Draco threw a bottle which smashed on the wall behind Harry. "You were a bad seeker but you'd make an even worse chaser."
"What is your fucking problem Potter? I've left you alone! Why are you still after me?"
Harry crossed his arms and leaned back against the dresser.
Draco let out a frustrated yell, "I have to do this for mother. Father was given the easy way out when they walked him through the veil but mother will never survive a five-year sentence in Azkaban, she's already started losing her mind. And nobody wants to deal with a Malfoy, not anymore."
"So Greengrass will get your mother out early if you marry his daughter. But what does he get?"
Draco flinched "he wants an heir; Daphne can't give him that and most well to do families will only marry their second sons to the younger daughter."
"An heir born of two younger children doesn't carry the same political clout as one born from a first born." Harry said, remembering a chapter in the book he'd bought about wizarding culture.
Draco's usual snobbish persona fell as his head dropped and shoulders slumped which angered Harry.
"So, you are just going to take the easy way out?" He said, striding towards Draco and shoving him back.
"NOTHING ABOUT THIS IS EASY!"
"THEN STOP HIDING BEHIND YOUR FATHERS NAME! YOU ARE STILL A SPOILT LITTLE BRAT WHO NEEDS HIS DADDY TO FIGHT HIS BATTLES!"
"I AM NOT!"
Draco staggered back as Harry's fist collided with his jaw. For a second everything was still and then all hell broke loose. Draco charged towards Harry screaming, they crashed through a window and fell out into the garden.
"ADMIT IT! YOU ARE WEAK!" Harry yelled as Draco grabbed his leg making him fall back down.
"I AM NOT!" Draco screamed; his face flushed as he tried to keep Harry down only to get punched again.
"THEN PROVE IT FERRET!"
"I AM GAY!" He screamed "THERE! HAPPY? I AM GAY AND I LOVE A MAN! I AM A FUCKING POOF! FUCK ME FOR ALL I CARE!" They both stood bloody and panting as they tried to regulate their breathing. The flash of a camera caught their attention, turning around they found Mr. Greengrass with his wand drawn.
"Daddy!" Daphne screamed, pulling his attention away long enough for a body to collide against both boys and take them away.
"You have to stop sending me these letters!" Neville said as he helped Harry up.
"I don't have a family Portkey; I'll get one made I promise."
"How many more weddings are you planning on ending?" Neville asked, looking genuinely worried.
"Oh, for the love of Merlin, not another one Neville!" Augusta exclaimed exasperated as a wedding band rolled out of Draco's pocket "what is this, your side hustle now?"
Neville gave her a sheepish look.
"What happened?" Viktor asked, walking into the living room and seeing Harry and Draco looking like they'd come from war. Neville had brought him to his manor before going to help Harry and Draco escape.
"I was an idiot and I'd like to give us a shot if you'll have me." Draco mumbled.
He winced as Viktor pulled him into his arms.
"So, who's this fiancé I haven't met?" Harry asked Neville as the other two bonded over their unexpected reunion.
"You are not breaking us up." Neville warned "it's Hannah, she was a Hufflepuff."
Augusta patched both boys up. Draco left with Viktor and Harry went back to his own home only to be re-bandaged and lectured by an irate elf.