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Things Fall Apart, But Then You Build Again	By : zeldaofarel Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 13943 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 7
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 11
- 12
- 13
Author's Notes: Yay, new chapter! This is a big one, important stuff happening below. My latest reviews sometimes went along the lines of "get on with it", and I am! It was quite funny, because as I was getting these, I knew that what they were reading was the calm before the storm.

The next chapter is going to be just as important. I'm currently writing chapter 15. 13 is with Icicle and 14 is waiting for some edit, then that's going to Icicle too. 15 starts out really funny, I was typing on the train and chuckling to myself. I'm leaving it up to the betas to see if I described the situation well.

Now for the Facebook likes. You guys need to like Drarry Shippers, which is brilliant. Lots of Drarry art and fanfic recs. They while you're already logged in, like Zelda of Arel too. :D I update the page with stuff that I'm working on, stuff that inspire me, or I just find fun. I also love using visual references, so I'm putting up all sorts of pictures and links that I'm using as resources. You all have to check out the guy I thought of when describing Adrian Conti. He's gorgeous. You can also leave reviews there, or ask me questions about anything.

As always, I thank my two betas for all their work. Faye, because I can ask her stuff about Britain that I may not know, and because she's my cheerleader. Plus she keeps talking about Drarry, which leads me to thinking about my fic, which leads me to writing more. She's like my muse. Icicle, I have to thank, for being my meticulous beta. She's still doing all the comma corrections, which is a feat in itself. I hope all her personal problems are handled now, and her uni work is going well.

Chapter 12: The Vote

On Boxing Day everyone in the Potter family was busy outside the home. The children all had play-dates, even Albus, who was not the most popular boy in his class. Ginny had lunch that would take all afternoon with some of the wives she met in the homes of the Wizengamot members. Harry, therefore, was free to visit Malfoy Manor once more. He could once again enjoy the walk up to the house, and he took great delight in the Malfoy gardens shrouded in white snow. Among the trees, he spotted a filled feeder for the deer. The warming charms did a great service to him once more as the sun was hiding behind a thick layer of clouds. To his amazement, he saw a white horse approaching from among the woods, with a rider clad in black sitting on top. It came at a trot, and as it neared him, he could see Lucius Malfoy on the steed. His long hair rose and fell behind him and he wore an uncharacteristic smile on his face. Harry hadn't talked to the elder Malfoy for a long time as he seemed to stay away whenever Harry visited. The horse stopped next to the dark-haired man and the blond got off the saddle.

"Good day, Mr. Potter!" he said in a jovial tone and it took all of Harry's willpower not to gape at the man. He had never heard two pleasant words from him.

"Good day to you as well, Mr. Malfoy," he greeted.

"Your family is doing well, I hope."

"Oh, eh, yes." It all felt rather surreal to Harry, and he even considered that he had been transported into another universe. Lucius Malfoy was making small talk and still smiling. It was rather unnerving.

"I spotted you while enjoying a ride. Do you ride as well?"

"Horses? No. I've only sat on the back of a Thestral once, if that counts."

"It's not the same, but it must have been an interesting experience," Lucius said, while Harry tried to avoid remembering the circumstances of that ride. "It's a long way to the Manor. How about I take you there?" The older man offered.

Harry looked up at the tall horse and the lone saddle on it. For a brief moment, he considered that Lucius would somehow cause him to fall and break his neck, but since they were no longer enemies, he doubted the man would resort to such a scheme.

"All right."

Lucius got back on his horse and held an arm down for the younger man. Harry wasn't sure how to mount a horse, so Lucius instructed him to put his foot into the stirrup and hoist himself behind the blond with his help. He placed his arm around the slim hips of Lucius Malfoy and held on as the horse went into a gallop. At first, Harry was scared of the speed and being jostled about, but he soon started to enjoy himself even though he got a face full of silky blond strands.

In a matter of minutes, they reached the Manor and Harry grudgingly dismounted. He was surprised to find that he rather liked riding and considered that it may be something he would get into in the future.

"Go on inside, Mr. Potter. I'm going to take Snowflake back to the stables," Lucius informed him.

Harry did as he was told and entered the Manor. He didn't see anyone in the foyer and considered that he should have sent a message that he was coming, but in his haste he forgot. As he was wondering where to search for one of the inhabitants of the house, he heard steps approach from the left and he looked down the corridor. The small figure who made his way towards him was Scorpius Malfoy. He was glad to see the child as all their interactions had been pleasant, and the boy was always knowledgeable about the whereabouts of the members of his family.

"Good morning, Mr. Potter," greeted the boy in a cordial manner.

"Good morning to you as well, Scorpius, and a Merry Christmas."

"I suppose. We don't celebrate Christmas here."

"Oh, why not?" Harry was puzzled by this. Who didn't celebrate Christmas?

"It's a Muggle holiday. We have Yule."

"How do you celebrate Yule?"

"Well, we stayed up all night on the solstice and had fun around the great bonfire in the garden." Scorpius began his account of the holiday. "When the sun finally came up the next day and the longest night was over, we cheered and thanked the gods. After that, we went into the house, got the presents from under the tree, and gave them to each other as symbols of how much we love each other. That's how wizards hold the holiday." The young Malfoy seemed very pleased with himself and Harry smiled at him in an attempt to disguise his puzzlement at the fact that he had never heard of such a thing. He supposed it was a dark wizard custom that he was going to have to follow in the future. Just as he was about to inquire of the whereabouts of the rest of the family, he heard the approach of the distinct steps of Draco. He was surprised for a moment by how easily he recognised them.

"Scorpius, I hope you're not boring Mr. Potter," the blond man said to his son as he came to stop next to him. Harry was again struck by how much they looked alike.

"No, Father."

"You run along now. Tell Hermione that we are in my office," Draco instructed and walked away, expecting Harry to follow as always.

"It was nice seeing you, Scorpius," he said, as a way of farewell, and then hurried to catch up with the older blond.

"Goodbye, Mr. Potter," Scorpius called after him.

Harry and Draco soon reached the familiar office and both took a seat on the couches surrounding the coffee table, facing each other. Almost immediately, a house-elf appeared with the tea set and poured them both a cup, then popped out of the room. Harry wondered if there was a sort of warning system that alerted the little creatures to someone entering that particular room.

"Do you have news, or you were just bored?"

Harry blushed a bit as what he was going to say wasn't so important as to warrant a visit, but he had no one else to visit on his free day. Besides, he found that he enjoyed Draco's company.

"Well, just that Arthur said the vote should go off without a hitch."

"That is good to hear, but you could have just sent a letter."

"I'm sorry. I'll be going then." He moved to get up, but the other man was quickly by his side and held his wrist gently. Harry didn't even see him round the table, but there he was, sitting next to him, their legs touching. Draco was so close.

"I'm not sending you away, Harry." Their eyes met and Harry could see something in the grey orbs that he couldn't name.

As they sat there, Harry could feel their connection. These were the eyes that he had looked into so many times, looking for a plot, a ploy, his own demise. He knew the man before him so well, but then again, so little. The Draco he had come to learn about in the past months was not the boy from school. He wondered if that boy ever truly existed, or his own prejudices encouraged by Ron, had clouded his vision. Then again, they had both changed. They grew up, became fathers. The world changed too. Harry smiled at Draco and the other man let go of his wrist. The touch was immediately missed. Yes, their relationship was not only about scheming. He had come to see his friend.

"Yesterday, I thought of how my life and also that of my children was going to change. The only relatives they have are among the Weasleys." He decided to talk about what concerned him the most and not the tingling on his wrist, or the feeling that their legs still touching gave him.

"True. However, once you get to know the dark families I'm sure you'll find people who will get close to you. It won't be the same, though. Is it too much to sacrifice?" Draco looked at him with an expression that allowed him to back out from all of it. Harry sighed and shook his head.

"No. I have set myself on this path, and I'm going to walk down on it. I have made peace with my decision. What the light families are doing is just not right."

"We will stand together, Harry. Frankly, I can't wait to see their eyes when you take your place next to me in the Wizengamot. I'll save you a seat." He smirked.

Harry laughed a little at the sight of that expression. That was when Hermione entered the room, greeted Harry and sat down opposite him in Draco's old place.

"So, what did I miss?" she inquired as she looked at the two boys in front of her. Harry found himself blushing, but he didn't know why.

"Arthur thinks I'm going to win."

"Oh... that's good." She observed them with a suspicious twinkle in her eyes.

They went on to discuss many things that day, but mostly they just enjoyed each other's company. Harry barely got home before the others.

* * *

The ninth of January couldn't roll around fast enough for Harry. He didn't have a spare minute to sneak away to see his friends and Ginny was being especially demanding. Harry hoped that his wife got the urge to travel again soon. Then he chided himself for thinking like that. Ginny was his wife, but things weren't the same as they had been before she decided to take on the world. However, deep down, he knew that he wasn't ready to face just what that meant, and therefore, refused to go there in his thoughts. Thus, his days seemed to consist of at least 36 hours, and he was getting very restless.

On the morning of the ‘Great Vote' as he had taken to thinking of it, he was feeling very nervous. Just a few more hours and his life would change forever. As he stood before the mirror shaving with his wand, he was infinitely grateful for the wizard who had invented that spell. His hands were shaking so badly that he would have killed himself with anything sharp. He finished quickly and let Ginny have the bathroom.

In his room, he again faced the dilemma of what to wear. He had taken the matter under consideration days before. It was very uncharacteristic of him, but he was going to stand beside Draco and all the impeccably dressed Dark families, so he didn't want to look like the poor orphan among them. That brought unpleasant memories back of the time when he was indeed the poor orphan. He selected forest green robes that complemented his eyes. He thought Draco would appreciate that since it was his house colour. He was already dressed by the time Ginny exited the bathroom in a cloud of expensive perfume that always made him cough.

He waited for his wife in the sitting room near the Floo. They had already had breakfast, or at least everyone else did and he just munched on plain toast and drank a bit of tea. He wished everything was over already. He just couldn't think about what was going to happen after the Vote anymore. When Ginny finally arrived in one of her more expensive robes, he leapt out of his seat and tossed powder into the fire before she could say a word.

Once they arrived to the Ministry, he hurried past the fountain memorial and upon seeing that all the lifts were in motion; he nervously pushed the button to go down. Ginny was saying something beside him, but he took no notice of her. He leapt into the lift and rolled his eyes as his wife took a more sedate pace to join him. Of course, things were made worse for him when the lift refused to take him straight to his destination and stopped along the way for other passengers. Finally, they reached the level of the Wizengamot and he stood in front of the great doors leading to the large chamber where they all sat.

Ron was already there in his Auror robes as he just popped down from work. They had been scheduled to arrive just at the time when the vote was taking place. The chamber was closed for the event, but Harry wouldn't have seen much anyway, since they cast their votes on such occasions on secret ballots. He was desperately trying not to pace. Then, the doors were opening, and people were walking out presumably to have a break, and there was Arthur, smiling. He stood before Harry, patted his back and said, "Congratulations, Harry. You are now officially a member of the Wizengamot and the holder of two votes."

Harry shook the man's hand grinning, feeling relieved. In spite of all the assurances that he got, he still couldn't help but feel like he was not going to get them. How wrong he had been.

"Thank you for all your help, Arthur." He sincerely thanked the man, but couldn't help thinking that this was the last time they were going to have a pleasant exchange.

After fifteen minutes of waiting, people were heading back to their seats in the Wizengamot. The chamber was no longer sealed and Ginny took a place along with Ron in the audience. They thought they were going to be the only ones when three lifts stopped and out poured a multitude of reporters. They all gathered around Harry, asking questions about his new position. Arthur stood in front of his son-in-law and halted them. They were slightly disappointed, but headed towards the open doors, clearly intent on observing the Chosen One's first day at his new job. That made Harry a bit more nervous as he didn't expect his choice to go public so quickly. He looked around and spotted Draco over Arthur's shoulder - who was probably saying something encouraging -, and found comfort in the smiling grey eyes. He was the last to walk in finally, and after taking a deep breath, he took the plunge.

He knew what he had to do. Draco had instructed him that when a new member was introduced, he would stand in the middle of the great circular hall and after some words he would need to take a seat. As he waited, he saw both Draco and Arthur gazing at him with an empty seat beside them. It struck him how he still had a choice, which wasn't really a choice at all.

"Members of the Wizengamot," began the Chief Warlock, "today we have the rare and pleasurable task of welcoming a new member amongst us. Harry Potter will be taking over the Potter and the Black votes from Arthur Weasley, who had been safeguarding them for him. Harry Potter," he looked straight at the young man, "please repeat the oath after me."

Harry knew that the oath was coming. He put his right hand over his heart and his left slightly in the air in preparation. He repeated every word as it was spoken.

"I, Harry Potter, solemnly swear that as a member of the Wizengamot I will represent the Wizarding World of Britain faithfully and honourably. I will look out for the welfare of all its citizens; may they be human or creature, all part of the magical world. I will make no law respecting one over the other. I will always vote guided by my own conscience. I will not be swayed by bribes or promises. I will respect my fellow members. I will not reveal any of the Wizengamot's secrets. To all this, I do swear, may my magic leave me if I betray this oath."

After he finished reciting the oath, the Scribe stepped behind him and helped him take off his green outer robe to reveal a black shirt and black trousers underneath. Then he helped Harry put on the official plum coloured robes of his new station. The Chief Warlock left his seat to stand before him and pinned the silver W onto his breast.

"From now on, Mr. Potter, you are officially a member of the Wizengamot," he declared.

That over, Harry knew it was time to sit down. First, he looked at Arthur, who patted the empty space next to him. Then he turned his head to Draco, who just looked at him, face blank. He was still leaving an opening for him after everything they had discussed. Harry was encouraged by that. He cast a last glance towards Arthur Weasley and said goodbye in his head. Then to the astonishment of everyone, he turned right, towards the Dark families and walked straight to Draco, sitting down beside him. The Head Mugwump seemed like he was going to comment, maybe tell him that he was on the wrong side, but the determination in Harry's eyes stopped him.

"Yes, well, … let's move onto the next agenda then," he began.

Harry couldn't hear what he was saying for a few moments as his heart was thumping too loudly in his chest, drowning out all sounds. Then he felt a hand take his and looked down to see pale fingers wrapped around his darker ones. He turned his head to look at Draco, who was smiling. No, that was an understatement. Positively grinning from ear to ear. Harry couldn't help but grin back and for the first time that day, he was calm. He knew that with the other man beside him, he could face the whole Weasley clan with the kind of determination that he needed.

That strength did help him just two hours later when they broke for lunch. Harry avoided looking at Arthur and towards the audience. However, when they had to leave the chamber he could no longer avoid them, nor the press. There was a rule against reporters jumping on him in the hall, but outside they could do as they wished. He walked out the great doors with Draco, who didn't leave his side even as he was bombarded with questions.

"Please, just one at a time!" the blond took command of the crowd. "Daily Prophet first." He gestured to the correct person.

"Harry, does this mean that now you have become a Dark Wizard?"

Harry wasn't happy about being addressed so familiarly by a complete stranger, but he supposed most people felt like they knew him.

"Yes. I have studied the positions of both sides on key issues and discovered that I agreed with the viewpoint of the Dark families. Therefore, I decided to join them." He gave the answer that they had discussed in preparation. They didn't expect to have to give them so soon, but they didn't rule the possibility out.

"Alicia Morag, Witches' Weekly. How did your wife's family handle the news of you changing sides?" asked a pretty witch that Harry recognised as she regularly covered him for the WW.

"I don't know yet," was his sincere reply and he couldn't help but try to seek out some red heads among the crowd. He spotted the three of them grouped together in one corner, probably discussing what went down.

"All right, I'm sure you all have enough to write your articles with. We only have an hour for lunch and I'm sure Harry is starving, so please be on your way," Draco instructed them, apparently appointing himself as Harry's media liaison.

They were both relieved to see them do as instructed, but as they cleared out the Weasley family became visible behind them. Harry thought Draco would leave him at that point, but instead they walked towards them together.

Facing those three redheads, Harry didn't know what to say. Arthur looked disappointed. Ron's face was scarlet, clearly indicating barely suppressed rage that Harry just knew was going to come out in a tirade any moment and Ginny looked close to tears. Her expression disturbed him the most. Here was the woman he married, the one he thought was the love of his life and he made her cry.

"Why?" Arthur asked after what seemed like ages just staring at each other.

"The Light is wrong. I … I don't see things the way you do." Harry bit his lip. They hadn't prepared anything for this scene. They knew it was coming, but it wasn't something that they could prepare for. "Arthur, I know that you and the Light see things in a certain way. Women, family, where the wizarding world is headed, but I don't. I think like the Dark does. I swore to listen to my consciousness, to represent all the people in our world equally, but I don't think the Light does. For years, I had been blind, not seeing the subtle undertones of your way of life. When Hermione left, it was all made so apparent … even I couldn't close my eyes to it. I just had to do something. The way you treat women is not right. Many of your ideals are not right. I'm going to change it to the way it should be. All equal." Harry stopped his rant as he ran out of steam.

"With Malfoy?" Ron spat out.

"Yes." That was all Harry could say to that.

Ron reached towards his wand, but Draco's hand gripping his arm halted him and the menacing look he accompanied with it took Ron's mind off it completely.

"Ron, let's go to lunch," Arthur instructed his son and with a sad look, steered him away from potentially losing his job and getting locked up.

Ginny, however, just stood there.

"How could you?" she finally spoke up and slapped her husband across the cheek. "That's my family and you just separated us from them! I always knew you were useless when it came to politics, but this is your stupidest idea so far! All you would have had to do was to vote like my father and go along with everything and we would have had a great place in society! I'm not staying in this country anymore I'm going back to Thailand!" With those words, she turned on her heel and marched off towards the lifts. Harry and Draco just watched her as she disappeared inside one.

"Well, I'm glad that's over," Draco spoke up and his calm tone startled Harry. He was still dazed from the slap and being told off by his wife. "Oh, come on Harry. I know this great restaurant nearby. We can finally have lunch together in public." The blond took his arm and led him towards the lifts. They were the only ones left on the corridor and their heels echoed in the empty space.

Harry could only think about three things. One was that he was finally through it and how relieved that made him feel. Two, his wife was leaving the country and he could go back to it just being him and the kids. Three, Draco was still gently clutching his arm and that made him feel warm and safe, two things it shouldn't have.
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Things Fall Apart, But Then You Build Again