Through The Fire

Year Five: Part Four

By the time the first term came to an end, Harry and Draco had become proficient with the non-verbal spells. They'd learned an impressive number of spells from Snape, Dumbledore and McGonagall and the Wolf Pack had added a few members. Through all of this, Lucius Malfoy remained ignorant of his son's extra training and the existence of a secret defense group.

What Lucius did notice was how very talented that Harry seemed to be. It was a bit concerning, and he wasn't looking forward to bringing such a report to the Dark Lord. Voldemort didn't handle bad news very well and it generally wasn't pleasant for the messenger.

Harry was not happy to be separated from Draco for the holiday. He supposed that it was healthy for them to spend some time apart, but that didn't make it any easier. Harry feared for Draco's safety and hated that he wouldn't be able to protect him. But Harry tried to set those worries aside for the wedding.

Remus and Sirius hadn't wanted a large, elaborate wedding. With a war brewing on the horizon, they just wanted to enjoy their day with the people they were closest to. So, they'd planned to have a simple ceremony at the house followed by dinner. Then they just wanted to spend the remaining days of the holiday with Harry.

The small ceremony was beautiful and Harry was glad to see Remus and Sirius so very happy. After so many years of heartache, they were sharing the joy that should have been theirs all along. They'd both wept openly when Harry made a brief, awkward little speech and referred to them as his dads.

Ron had to deal with the mingled pleasure and embarrassment of Viktor visiting the Burrow at Christmas. The Weasley family was quite pleased with the Bulgarian's fondness for Ron. The twins delighted in teasing Ron relentlessly, leaving Ron a flustered and irritable mess. Victor simply laughed fondly and entwined his fingers with Ron's, assuring the red head of his continued affection. For Ron, it was both mortifying and blissful.

It didn't take long for it to become obvious that Draco's holiday was going to be disappointing. His father was spending a great deal of time with his fellow death eaters, and any time spent at the manor was mostly spent in his study. He did speak to Draco some, but most conversations circled back to Lucius asking about Harry or the Order of the Phoenix. Draco didn't know much of anything about the Order, and he certainly had no intention of betraying Harry, so those conversations were rather brief.

Narcissa observed her son with a mixture of worry and pity. Draco seemed hurt by his father's repeated dismissals and she could see the anxiety on his face grow with each passing day.

The day after Christmas, Lucius left the manor once again. Narcissa sought out Draco, finding him reading a letter that was probably from Harry. He looked up from the parchment in his hand, tensing slightly when he met her gaze. She hated to see him so guarded around her.

"Draco will you talk to me?" she asked quietly.

"About what?" he asked, folding his letter up with a light blush on his cheeks.

"I want you to know that you can tell me anything," she said earnestly. "Anything at all. I love you and I just want you safe and happy. You know that, right?"

Draco nodded, grimacing slightly.

Narcissa hesitated, but ultimately she felt that it would be best to confront her concern head on. She just hoped that Draco would be open with her. "Darling, are you and Harry... together?" she asked haltingly. His silence and blush were quite telling. She sighed. "Why would you do this to yourself?" she asked him gently. "You know that there can't be a future for you."

Draco sat up straighter, irritation flitting across his face. "Yes there can," he said sharply. "And there is."

"Draco-"