Chapter 03
The next morning, while Draco and Harry were still in the arms of Morpheus, snuggled in each other's arms. (Harry on his back and Draco with one arm around the brunette waist and his head resting on his chest). At the sight of the darkness still present outside, it must not have been very late yet. Everything was quiet in the house, not a sound could be heard. Everyone was still asleep. However, where the couple were adept at sleeping in when it was possible, there was one in the family who got up early every day without exception. (Harry assumed that since the child was still only three years old and did not yet know the term "lazing in bed even when awake. "Draco, on the other hand, assumed that he had taken Harry's side and decided to make his life - his sleep - a hell on earth).
Not a noise was audible in the couple's room, however, if someone listened, they could start to hear the sound of small steps, certainly very discreet, but present all the same. At the age of three, little Gabriel was used to get out of bed alone now, and took a wicked pleasure in waking them up as soon as he himself was awake. (Honestly, he just couldn't stay in place for more than ten minutes. Where did he get that from? His parents asked him that every day. But the blond seemed to think Harry was responsible. Blaise, Pansy and Narcissa seemed to agree with him. Harry didn't understand where this accusation came from. He really didn't! - The twins had chosen not to speak out, they thought it was too much fun to cut the debate short. - )
So little Gabriel was up early again this morning, and from the sounds of footsteps approaching at high speed - well, as quickly as a three-year-old child could be. - from his parents' bedroom. Draco was still deeply asleep, yet Harry, with the experience of war and his difficult childhood, was waking up extremely easily (and he was totally used to being woken up by his son at hours that were not possible.) was beginning to wake up. With a wand less spell he opened the door a little bit, so that Gabriel could open it without his father having to come out of the cocoon of warmth where he was. (And let's be honest for two minutes, he didn't want to take the little risk of waking Draco. A Draco woken up for no reason was not a Draco Harry wanted to see). (Well, it was. But not woken up by him.)
Gabriel pushed the door open, went as quickly as he could to his parents' bed, tried to climb on it, failed three times. Harry took - at last - pity on his son and levitated him, knowing that Gabriel loved it, and released him on his belly, and consequently on the blond man's arm.
« Daddy, » sang the little one.
« Good morning, son, » replied Harry in a hoarse voice.
« Da' still sleep? »
« Hm Hm, you want to wake him? »
« Yeeeees’! »
« Take it as easy as you can, baby, » Harry warned, « okay? »
« P'omise! »
Gabriel got down on all fours, then crawled gently on his father's belly towards the blond man's head. Harry watched Gabriel move forward, being careful not to move so as not to knock his son down, and smiled mischievously as he saw him arrive at his destination. Little Gabriel put his little hands on Draco's shoulders and bent down to give him a big kiss on the cheek, the blond man moved a little in his sleep, but didn't wake up. After repeating this action three more times, Gabriel, not being known for his patience, leaned over to his father's ear and opened his mouth.
« Da' sleep over! » he shouted.
Harry laughed softly as he saw his husband startled, he held Gabriel by his short waist to keep him from falling out of bed.
« What? Attack? » Mumbled Draco once his heartbeat slowed down.
« Nope, » Harry replied, « just your son who doesn't want you to sleep while he's awake. »
« You know that in those moments it's your son, not mine, » the blond snarled.
« Don't change people's DNA when you feel like it, blondie, » Harry laughed.
« A Malfoy does what he wants, when he wants and with class, » Draco retorted a little more awake.
« Which logically means that Gabriel can do it just as well! »
« Gab' is half Potter, he lacks class. He gets that from you. »
« Gab', what did he say again, dad? » Ask Harry to his son.
« A ma'foy has a’ways class, » Gabriel answered in perfect imitation of a mini-malfoy, « even when he doesn't have it. »
« You see what I mean? Your son! »
« What time is it? » Draco asked, ignoring the brunette's last sentence.
« Not far from seven o'clock, » replied the said brunette after looking at his alarm clock.
« Do we have things to do today? »
« Hm... I have to go to the Ministry this afternoon, normally, » sighed Harry, « Kingsley wants to see me apparently. »
« I see. »
« And I think you have to go have tea with Blaise and Pansy, » Harry continued, « and either take Gabriel with you or leave him with Narcissa. »
« I think I'll leave him with my mother, » said Draco, « I think she wanted to go buy him some clothes... »
« Cause doesn't he have enough already? »
« Harry, Love, you know I love you, right? But no one ever has enough clothes, never, » Draco solemnly spoke, « and with the speed at which he's growing up, he's going to need them. »
« True enough... You want to go with Grandma 'Cissa baby? » said Harry kissing his son's forehead.
« Yes! » Gabriel exclaimed.
« In that case, we should go eat breakfast, don't you think? »
« Pan'cake, » ordered the child.
« It's Daddy Harry's turn today anyway, » said Draco imperial.
« It's always my turn anyway, » whispered the brunette.
The blond laughed as he took his son from Harry's arms, before getting up to walk out of the room.
« Dress quickly and go make some food, Man. »
« Yes, yes. » Harry sighed.
After a morning spent in good spirits, having eaten and prepared well, Harry left for the Ministry while Draco dropped Gabriel off at his mother's and then joined his friends at a tea room on Diagon Alley as agreed earlier in the week.
As for Harry, he'd just arrived at the Ministry, not that he wanted to, but he knew he'd have to go through it. It wasn't as if they could leave him alone for 30 seconds in this country. He sighed and began to go to the Minister of Magic's office. Deep in his thoughts, he didn't notice when he passed Hermione in the corridor. Hermione, on the other hand, had seen him, and hesitated to call him before stopping. If the brunette was there, it was for a reason and not of his own free will.
Harry was standing outside the door of Kingsley's office, dressed in trousers that seemed to be made of extremely tough leather (Charlie had sent it to him a few days ago. Resistant to spell, apparently.) of a grey shirt exactly like Draco's eyes and boots. As well as a few accessories and the hair attached quickly and who fell delicately on one of his shoulders. He had an aura of pure confidence, as if he owned the place, and everyone had stopped to stare at him, but no one could get close. He was breathtaking.
He calmly knocked on the door and entered, hearing the approval inside. « The sooner you start, the sooner you finish. » He encouraged himself mentally. Minister Kingsley was in his office, which in itself was quite normal. However, what was a little less normal was the presence of two other people in the room.
« Kingsley,« he saluted, « and... Ron. Why is Ronald Weasley here? »
« Arthur and Ronald Weasley are here because I asked them to come, » replied Kingsley calmly. « Do you mind, Mr. Potter? »
« Yes. » Said the Savior blankly, « but I have no choice, so please get to the point. »
Harry sat elegantly in front of Kingsley, he had a bad feeling about what was going to happen. He should have stayed in bed. With his family. Warm. Seemed like a better idea than coming here for whatever it was they was after. Except he wasn't going to like what the Minister in front of him was going to say.
« Harry, » began Kingsley, « first of all I want to say that I am happy you are back in Britain, it is a great joy to us to have you back with us again. »
« I can't really say that the joy is shared, » Harry replied coldly.
« What I can partly understand, » accepted the other man willingly, « but England is your country, and to have you back there is a joy. »
« If you could come to the reason of my presence within these walls... »
« Yes, yes, I can. What are you doing now, Harry? »
« I'm on holiday. »
The door opened at that moment, revealing Hermione. Harry sighed inwardly, of course she was going to be there too. It was as if everyone had agreed to spoil his day that had started so well.
« Sorry I'm late, » apologized Hermione, « I had to bring back some files. »
« No problem, Miss Granger-Weasley, if you'd like to take a seat so we can continue? » Asked Kingsley nicely.
« Of course. »
« So we were saying, Harry? Ah, yes! » The minister started again. « Any plans for work? »
« Not really at the moment, » Harry admitted suspiciously.
« You don't really think you can make a living without having to do anything, do you, Harry? » Interrupt Hermione.
« Firstly, Miss Granger-Weasley, that's Mr. Potter to you, » Harry began coldly, « secondly, I think I can afford to live several lives without having to work if I don't want to. Which I do not intend to do, however. Lately, I am not the only one who supports my family, Mr. Malfoy does have a job, and therefore an income. Not that it's any of your business, of course. »
« So Mr. Malfoy is working? » Kingsley asked, pensively cutting Hermione, who seemed to want to retort.
« Yes, he did. »
« Has his work been declared? »
« Of course, » replied Harry exasperated.
« In that case, why wasn't I informed? » continued the man without regard for Harry's tone.
« His work is attached to the Ministry of Magic in the America, so it is registered in the United States. Therefore there's no reason to warn you.
« However, Harry, he now lives in England, so he must register with our Ministry. »
« Oh but he is, » smiled the brunette calmly, « the British Embassy in America has sent his file here, already filed and arranged, and therefore having no need of being studied by any of your employees. »
Silence fell over the room, Harry ignored it and continued to stare at the man in front of him. No one in the room expected this answer. Hermione and Ron were not interested in what Draco was doing, so they had not researched and made the connection that Draco was married to Harry, and that, yes, what he was doing was indeed important in the turn of the conversation. Kingsley sighed, it was going to be more complicated than expected.
« Harry, just know that when you feel like working again, the Ministry would be delighted to welcome you, » he says hesitantly, « whether it's in an office here or as Auror. Chief Ronald Weasley here is all for it. »
« Exactly, » began the redhead as he stepped forward, « a visit to the Auror's offices is planned later on. »
« No. »
« Hm? »
« I said no. » Harry repeated in a sharp voice.
« We're never sure of anything, Harry, » said Kingsley calmly, « still keeping the options. You might change your mind one day. »
« Exactly Harry, » exclaimed Ron, « you can't know without even trying! Being Auror is a dream and the best job of all! Aren't you someone who wants to help people?! »
« Ron's right, Harry, » said Hermione softly, « if it had anything to do with... Draco, if he doesn't want you to do this job, then he’s not for you! »
« No, Hermione, I don't think you understood me, » Harry began threateningly, « not only do I have a family, a husband and a son, friends that I care about, I don't want to put their lives (or mine) in danger by doing a job that will draw a target very clearly on my forehead when I've done everything I can for the last five years to be as invisible as possible. I simply do NOT want to be Auror, do we understand each other? » he continued in a low but paradoxically very loud voice in the room.
« Totally, » Kingsley whispered, realising again that Harry was a powerful person and that he shouldn't be upset.
« As for the job at the Ministry itself, I'm not interested. This place lacks many things, Kingsley, and I don't want to be the mascot of a place like that. I'm keeping the option, » he announced slowly, « though I'll probably never take it. I KNOW what I'm going to do once my "holiday" is over, and it's certainly not to set foot in here again. Did you have anything else to tell me? »
« No, I didn't, Mr. Potter, » the Minister replied quickly.
« Well, I'll leave you now, » said Harry as he got up, « good day to you and good luck. »
As he began to move towards the exit of the office, a voice stopped him.
« Harry, don't you want to have a drink with me and Hermione tonight? » Asked for Ron's hopeful voice.
« Sorry Ron, » Harry replied in an absolutely not sorry voice, « but I've already made plans with Draco and some friends. Try again later, who knows, maybe you'll have better luck then. »
« It's not like you can't leave the ferret alone for a couple of hours, » mumbled the redhead.
« Excuse me? » The air in the room cooled considerably at Harry's words.
« He didn't say anything, Harry, » Hermione quickly replied in place of her husband, who was turning crimson red as quickly as ever.
« If you want to see me that much, think about inviting Draco too, and be polite to him, » Harry said in a firm voice, « No Draco? Not from me either. It's a Package Deal. »
Without waiting for an answer, the brunette left the room and the Ministry as quickly as he could without running.
At the same time on Draco's side. He was talking quietly with his two friends. Friends he hadn't seen in a few months already.
« So "Mister I never give news », Pansy said sarcastically, « now that Blaise and I have talked well about us, how are things on your side? »
« It's true that, » added Blaise, « why isn't your half with us? »
« Pans' it's not as if you're giving more than I am, » replied the blond after finishing his sip of tea, « right now... It's hectic, if I can put it that way... Harry isn't here because he had a "date" with Kingsley. »
« What does the old minister want with the Golden Boy? » Asked Pansy.
« Who knows, but honestly, it doesn't bode well, » sighed the blond boy, « we haven't been able to have a quiet day since we've been back here. It's absurd how much the people here are dependent on the "Savior of the World Wizard" and can't understand that he wants nothing to do with them. »
« It's always been like that, » Blaise commented nonchalantly, « when you need him, everyone admires him, and when they need someone to blame, they point him out. It's an unwritten law. And now that he's put an end to the war, they think that your dear, sweet man is going to cure all their little boo-boos because that's what he owes them. »
« And without asking for anything in return, » Pansy added, « because a Saviour must not be a human being and have desires for himself, absolutely not. »
« It's all bullshit, » Draco replied vehemently, « and it's tiring. I know that they said it would be better for Gab' to grow up here, to be ready later. But was that really a good idea, » he sighed.
« Only time will tell, » said wisely Blaise.
« In the worst case, we can beat them all with a wand, eh? We're not wizards for nothing, » joked mischievously the only woman present.
« Pansy, darling, I appreciate the thought, but you'd be much less pretty in Azkaban, » interrupted a voice behind them.
The three companions turned to the voice. Behind Draco was Harry, who had a small smile on his lips, but his frowned eyebrows, a sign that he was still somewhat upset and had not managed to calm down.
« Is your meeting over already? » Asked Draco as he moved over to make room on his mini couch.
« I tried to get it over with as quickly as possible, » sighed Harry, « Hey, Blaise, Pansy! »
« The hero returns, » exclaimed Blaise.
« Oh shut up,« reprimanded Pansy, « why is the Savior so sullen? »
« Because they take me for a fool and I don't appreciate it too much, » answered Harry, leaning against Draco to seek some comfort.
« What's happened? » asked the blond man as he began to run his hand through his hair.
« Already when I arrived, Ron was there, » Harry mumbled, relaxing somewhat.
« He had absolutely no business being there, » the three friends were surprised.
« Not at all, » Harry nodded and then Kingsley started singing my praises that I'd "finally" come back to England and that everyone was crazy with happiness. »
« Oh bollocks, » proclaimed Blaise.
« That's right, but that's not all, » said Harry, « he asked me what I was doing now, and then Hermione came in.
« Great, » Pansy growled.
« Hm, then when I said I was on holiday she burst into flames saying I couldn't make a living doing nothing with my days forever. »
« That's silly, » said Draco, « you already have enough money not to have to work. If you add my money, it's a lot to add on. »
« Not to mention that you work too, honey, » Pansy added.
« That, too »
« Yeah, but no, she'd forgotten that. And when I pointed all this out, saying that you were working, I had to explain at length how you didn't have to declare yourself to the British Ministry, and that the employees didn't have to stick their noses into your file now that it was the Embassy in America that had sent him here, so everything was in order. »
« I honestly wish I'd been a little mouse to see all this, their heads must have been hilarious, » sighed a dreamy Pansy.
« If you knew Pansy, » Harry laughed softly, « then Kingsley called Ron over and gave me a whole speech about leaving doors open in case I wanted to go back to work - which you know I want to do - and that I had my place in the Ministry in whatever position I wanted. »
« You should have known that, Love, » mumbled Draco.
« Then Ron went on to say that I was the Saviour who wants to spend his life saving people, and that I always wanted to be Auror. My lifelong dream, and that he was going to show me around the Auror offices in the afternoon. I honestly thought I was going to explode 'Dray! »
« It’s easy to tell. »
« Then, as if nothing had ever happened, and I hadn't explained it calmly and without shouting, » everyone shivered when they heard Harry say that, « Ron asked me to have a drink with him and Granger. And that I could do without you for a few hours. »
« So if I sum up, » Blaise started, « they wanted to make you the darling mascot to restore the Ministry's image, make you risk your life every day that passes for strangers (as if you hadn't already done enough), at the risk of losing your family and friends, and then denigrated your husband in front of you and still invited you for a drink? »
« Yep', that pretty much sums it up, » Harry says cheerfully.
« They live in a world of kittens and rainbows, » mumbled Blaise, « they have absolutely no sense of reality. »
« Absolutely none at all, » Pansy breathed admiringly.
« What did you say to him then? » Asked his blonde husband.
-« That if there was no Draco, there was no me, » answered Harry.
« You're going to hear about it in a little while Harry darling, » Pansy laughed, « Mama Molly is going to arrive because you've given her beloved children a boo-boo. »
« God, I hadn't thought of that, » Harry moaned, « and tomorrow we have to take Gab' to go shopping on Diagon Alley, to buy his things for the kindergarten, he starts next week. »
« Good luck with that, » Blaise laughed.
« Oh don't laugh Zabini, you and Pansy are coming with us and I swear I'll have absolutely no qualms about using you as a shield, » Harry threatened.
« But you're the most powerful wizard known and still alive! »
« Well, just for tomorrow I would have forgotten that fact, » Harry answered innocently.
« Damn it! »
While everyone laughed at Blaise's misfortune, they couldn't help wondering what the next day would bring...