Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Harco Empire	By : Toddy Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 34430 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or films. I do not make any money from the writing of this story, just enjoyment.

Chapter List
- 266
- 267
[Note: “x-x” = speech & ‘x-x’ = thoughts & *x-x* = telepathy & #x-x# Parseltongue]
(Apologies for paraphrasing the ‘Cursed Child’ incidents)
~~~ SHARING ~~~
It was Draco! The image was Draco, both Harry and Ginevra realised. At the same time, they both realised that the blond was having a similar experience to the one Harry had had when on the spectral train when saving Narcissa. That relief removed all the tension they felt. They hugged in reprieve and, still clasping each other, fell asleep; sitting on the cushions in Saint Godric’s Lady chapel.
###
Harry awoke, thinking he was in the arms of his lover. He was soon wide awake, because instead of being in bed with Draco, he was lying on an expanded pew, with his arms around Ginevra.
Then he remembered, the pair were in St Godric’s Lady Chapel watching over Astoria’s body with a spectral Draco laying next door on a mattress.
“I wonder if we could touch the vision and contact him?” asked Ginevra as she awakened.
“It’s worth a try,” agreed Harry rising, stretching and then going to sit on the floor next to his ghostly mate. He felt around gently and found that he could actually feel something where Draco’s forehead could be.
###
Draco woke, he was lying on a lawn. Someone was stroking his brow, at least that was what it felt like. He saw a ghostly hand and caught hold of it. It was familiar.
D: *Is that you, Lover?*
There was a faint reply which sounded like Harry. But, like the ghostly hand, the whisper was very faint. Draco had the feeling that Harry was trying to find out where he was. Another hand found his remaining hand. The two seers tried to send in unison. Draco received a muddled message that they would support him, in whatever he was doing. That gave him some comfort.
###
“I think he’s grateful, Ginny. But it’s very faint.”
“Yes. Something about tasks. He’s moving … Oh! He’s gone!”
###
When Draco rose from the place where he had been sleeping, he lost touch with the two hands. He was in an almost entirely green environment. As he looked around, he perceived moss covered models of castles. The door he had come through seemed to be surmounted by a miniature Victorian Scottish castle – Balmoral, he thought. Hogwarts definitely was another, then Edinburgh Castle perched on its rock was obvious. Here was another one, Draco had seen it in a picture. Romantically situated in a heather clad glen it stood on an island. ‘Now what was it called? What was the Gaelic for island? Ah! Eilean Donan, that was it.’
‘I feel sure that’s the one, but I had better check the others. The blond opened the Hogwarts door, there was a smiling portrait of Dumbledore. The Edinburgh one had Mary Queen of Scots behind it. The one he fancied had a tall bushy-bearded piper wearing tartan.
‘That queen was a bad one,’ Draco remembered, ‘She plotted against the English Queen and was implicated in the murder of her husband. That feels like a hellish mixture. Definitely not Edinburgh. Dumbledore is a different matter, he offered me absolution, but I refused it, that’s a possibility. The piper, a muggle, that should count against him, but no! My old headmaster is surely behind the veil. I’ll take the musician this time.
“Verra weel preferred laddie. I have a wee verse for thee.
‘The last supper of him who was good;
This should be of gold, instead it is wood,
For wine it was made; which then became blood’.”
Draco chuckled and remembered a visit to Glastonbury Abbey: “The Holy Grail!”
“Aye, weel thought out, laddie. Through ye go!”
The floor of this island was smothered in the blue flowers of the lesser periwinkle.
###
The image inside the Lady chapel grew stronger. Harry felt heartened and sent this feeling to his lover.
###
Draco felt his mate’s encouragement and ventured another communication: *Hello Harry, I’m in some sort of dream world. I have seven tasks to fulfil in order to return to you.*
H: *I can hear you faintly but better than when we touched the ghostly you. What are these tasks? Ginny’s touching my skin so’s to give us a communicative boost.*
D: *I’m working through the spectrum’s main colour groups and am in a blue environment with delphiniums around its edge. I have three choices to make here. I have learned that one leads to hellfire, another through the veil. Thus, I have to make the correct choice or never return to you. So far, I’ve succeeded.”
H: *Are we allowed to help you?*
D: *I’m not sure. Astoria could give me hints, before she went through the veil. I've found out that she’s dead.*
H: *Yes, we know. We’re keeping vigil by her body in the Lady Chapel. Your mattress is beside her coffin. She looks very peaceful now. What are your choices?”
D: *I’m looking around now. Within the hedge of delphiniums are straw arches, rather like the entrances to kraals. So, I suppose this will have some kind of African theme. The doors are made of vividly painted Zulu-like man-sized shields. I shall open each one before stepping over the threshold to denote my choice.*
There was a pause whilst Draco walked around. He jumped at the first one because a lion was there, and it growled. Only when he stood back did he realise that it was a mask, because he could see its holder’s dark-skinned legs below it. The next person was clad in fur, wearing a chimpanzee mask. At least, the blond thought it was a mask. He did not think that chimpanzees grew to normal human stature, but he was not entirely sure. A rhinoceros was next, and, as he opened the door it tried to spear Draco with its horn. It was some sort of hybrid because the horn was not pointed. Instead it was phallus-shaped; reminding Draco of his lover's appurtenance. That was the one he had appeared from, and Draco thought it oddly appropriate. The last one was an elephant which tried to ensnare him with its trunk.
These descriptions he relayed back to Harry: *I have to find the odd one out. Two have fur, one smooth-ish skin. Two are large, one is usually smaller. One is a hunter, the other two gatherers.*
H: *A hellish one and an entrance to the other life. I think the predator would be the way to eternal fire.*
Draco walked closer to the lion: *Yes! It has flaming eyes.*
As Draco looked at the elephant its trunk dipped into a pool, then it sprayed its back. The blond thought the misty droplets resembled the wavering veil: *I’m going for the chimpanzee.*
H: *We both feel it’s the right choice!*
###
“Well done Brother. I have a puzzle for you to solve:
‘My root is black, my flower is white,
I give protection from Circe’s blight,
To use me, only mages have the right’.”
H: *Ginny thinks it’s something to do with the Odyssey.*
D: *I was dreaming of the land of the lotus eaters earlier.*
H: *Where did Odysseus visit? Um … the Cyclops’s cave … Scylla and Charybdis … The isle of the Winds … *
D: *… I have it! He ate it to thwart Circe’s thaums.* Draco looked at the chimpanzee: “Moly?”
“You have it right, Brother. Go on your way with my blessing.”
###
To begin with, Draco thought he was underwater or maybe it was twilight.
H: *Your presence in the chapel has become more solid. I thought I saw some of the blue flowers a moment ago, now everything appears to be dark.*
D: *You did. I suppose this is the indigo area. There seems to be little natural light. I can see fireflies flying around … Oh! No, they aren’t … It’s a ghostly procession of orthodox monks carrying candles … Definitely spectral … They’re disappearing through the walls … So that means that … I’m in some kind of building. My eyes are accustoming themselves … Yes … Pillars and wall-icons … Something like a church. Some of the icons are doors … Let me see … The one I came through has a blue halo … another with a red one, and yellow and green. I don’t think they are halos, really. More like coloured backgrounds. The person inside the green one wears a fur hat and has a horse beside him. I’ll call him the Cossack. The one in the gold setting wears ecclesiastical robes, he’ll be the priest.* Draco chuckled: *Not all of them are saints, the red surrounds, appropriately is a red guard. You know, the ones with a wide flat hat.*
H: *Got the idea, which one are you going to choose?*
D: *All the red ones so far have hidden hell, so not the guard. That priest is smiling at me. I’ve had a couple of Gilderoy lookalikes before, I don’t trust that smile. The Cossack is dressed in black, a couple of those dressed in black have been gates to hell.*
H: *What about the thaumic feeling emanating from them?*
D: *Hmm … Not thought of that. Wait, whilst I get as near as I dare to them.*
Draco walked as close to the threshold of each one as he dared.
D: *The priest feels warm, probably because of all the vestments he’s wearing. The Cossack feels cold, those furs and leathers will keep him warm. The guard has green eyes just like yours, but I feel neither heat nor cold from him.*
H: *Draco, those are pictures, aren’t they? It’s not their physical attributes you are feeling, however lifelike they may appear to be.*
D: *Oh yes! That’s right. All the others I’ve met so far have been alive. So, it was their thaumic output I’ve been experiencing. That introduces an entirely new perspective. I’m going to inspect them again.*
H: *Be very careful, please. I need you with me. Missing Astoria’s bad enough!*
D: *Yes Love, I will … Oh! That’s it. Love!*
Draco examined the faces of all three depictions. Despite his smile, the priest had a hard face. The Cossack, a pinched face and cold eyes. The only face with any humanity in it was the guard. Besides which, he had Harry’s emerald eyes. Crossing his fingers, the blond pulled open the door. His heart stopped, and his face fell. Behind the picture was a grinning skeleton. Draco prepared to say goodbye to Harry.
###
Gritting his teeth, Draco shook the skeleton’s hand: “Tell me the worst. May I say goodbye to my bonded mate before it happens?”
In a gritty voice the skeleton replied: “You have a further conundrum yet before the inevitable:
‘When spread upon ground by those in need,
It will provide for everyone to feed,
But not the ones who’re filled with grabbing greed’.”
Draco let out a relived breath, but then his stomach tightened: “This is a Russian story isn’t it?”
The skeleton grinned and nodded benignly. Draco felt lost, he wished he’d listened to Victor more attentively.
G: *Hermione’s with us. She thinks it’s the magic tablecloth that feeds the peasants but not the boyars. Something that sounds like a skating samovar.*
D: *Great! Not a samovar, its Samobranka. Thanks, I vaguely remember Victor telling me, now.* He grinned back at the skeleton: “Samobranka … Hmm … Skatert Samobranka?”
The skeleton did a little dance and Draco heard an excerpt from 'Night on the Bare Mountain: “Have you eaten from it?”
“No. But I have a colleague who has.”
“Very good. I wish you well on your journey.” From behind him a set of gilded gates appeared out of the mist. The skeleton gestured and one opened to let Draco through.
H: *Where are you now lover? You’re almost whole here. I think there’s one further step for you to take.*
D: *I’m in a field full of violets, they smell heavenly.*
H: *Can you see a way out?*
D: *Not yet. Wait till I get off this bed … Oh …! Bed …! Did you say I was lying on a mattress?”
H: *Yes. You’re sitting up, now.*
D: *I’m in a small room. There seems to be no way out. No door no window, the walls glow slightly. The violets have turned into a carpet.*
H: *Have you something else to do? Like I had to kiss my snitch.*
D: *That’s it! What did it say around its middle?*
H: *I open at the close.*
D: *I’ll be with you in a minute!* He drew out the phial his Godfather had given him. Said: “I open at the close,” and drank the contents.
The walls melted, Draco had his arms full of a hugging mate, and his face covered in kisses. He was in the Lady Chapel, a place he knew well.
###
Once the greetings were over, Draco paid his respects to his wife, and the three of them closed the coffin’s lid.
As they exited the chapel, they saw six other coffins. Dean and Seamus were there, seemingly organising the party.
“Good to see you’re back in the land of the living, Dray. May we take the others in now?”
“Yes thanks, Shay. Thank you for giving us some privacy.”
“We did it for Harry, when he was away. What’s different? Is that old ‘ex-death-eater’ malarkey still worrying you?”
Draco just smiled and hugged him.
Seamus patted Draco’s back: “No doubt you’ll tell us about your mysterious adventure later. We’re over the worst of the sorrow, now we’ll let our loved-ones rest in peace until the funeral.”
“Funeral? Not plural?”
“Would you prefer a separate one?”
“No! I like the sentiment behind it. It just startled me. Are they being buried in a joint grave?”
“We had thought of cremation and adding their names to the memorial. Some individual partners want a brass memorial plate in church too.”
“I see, what has Harry chosen?”
“He hasn’t, Ginny and he were waiting to discuss it with you. There’s no real rush. John says that the memorial plate can be done at any time afterwards.”
“Do I take it that you and Dean are organising it?”
“Yes! We didn’t lose anyone close. So, we wanted to take the weight off those who had,” Seamus smiled gently: “Usual Dumbledorian co-operation, as ever.”
Draco gave Seamus and extra squeeze and looked directly into his eyes: “Thank you, from all three of us!” Then he disengaged.
###
For a change Draco was the besieged one, everyone wanted to commiserate with him on his wife’s death, Harry and Ginny were almost treated as also-rans. Harry managed to boost his mate when he started to become overwhelmed. At least, the congregation at church were a little more circumspect, they seemed to know more of the comforting words. Even then, in Wizarding society, there were those who felt that an ex-death-eater deserved his misery. A few even said it to his face, but when Harry challenged them, they ungraciously apologised. The Malfoy-mask was back in force, whilst he was out in public. In private, Harry devised means whereby Draco could vent his anger; usually via playing aggressive games of quidditch.
Draco and the other Seers had one consolation, they had known about the family curse beforehand, because Astoria had confessed during the fuss before Scorpius’s birth. There had also been other such dangerous events in their lives together, when that doom seemed to be looming. Thus, the shock was not quite as much as it appeared to outsiders. However, there was an Astoria sized gap in their joint consciousness, which would take some time to get used to.
###
The funeral was unusual; firstly, because it was a joint one. All the deceased ones had been Dumbledorians. The three remaining seers had ensured that the society’s equality of outlook was more important than one of than any one person, even if she had been a leader. The second unusual happening was the cremation. This followed the goblin rite, and caused some consternation to John, who was used to burial or crematoria services.
The funeral took place on Niggle Edge, in the locality where the fire jumping ceremony was usually held. The Christian rite had been observed in church and then the cortege solemnly walked up the hill. There a suitable framework for the fire had been created and the coffins were laid upon it.
In a burial service the relations and friends would scatter dust on the coffin, not this time. Relations and friends drew their wands. When John said: “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust,” they cast Incendios at the fire. Such was the concentration of thaums that, within seven minutes, there were nothing, but ashes left. Then a whirlwind gathered them up and took them away.
When that happened, the seers had a big shock: *Now that I am free from my earthly remains, I can return to you.*
*Is that you, Tor?* asked Ginevra.
There was a chuckle: *Do I sound like someone else. Then?*
H: *No. It was quite a shock to find the Tor hole in our joint consciousness refilled; when we were just getting used to it being vacant.*
The chuckle came again: *It seems the fluence has not finished with our quartet yet. Although Fawkes has told me that it has to be a secret amongst us, for the time being. It seems he is a bit stretched, and so, I’m to be your guide, from now on.*
D: *Some sort of guardian angel; are you?*
A: *They’re around too, I’m to be a go-between, I think. As you can expect, I’m still getting used to this, what best could be described as a half-way-stage. As you can still hear me internally, so I can still see through your eyes. It gets some getting used to, seeing through three sets of eyes simultaneously. The four heavenly creatures have more, I don’t know how they cope. I’ve been told that I will learn to block the various inputs, just as we do with our thoughts when we’re concentrating, but it’s not the same. I’ll get used to it. Now … My first instruction to you is that Ginny must take over the majority of things that I was doing. Molly’s angel says that she is very willing to take over, full-time, the playschool that you started.*
G: *Yes, I thought she would be willing. She’s deputised quite a few times when we were helping our husbands with the new places they found.*
###
During the wake, when people asked, the trio of seers told them that Ginevra, no longer having to carry out domestic duties, would be carrying on that her bonded mate was doing.
“After all,” she remarked: “I have shared all her thoughts and plans, via our link.” She chuckled: “When I get into a stew about pure-blood politics, I have a very good tutor in Draco.”
It would take a month or so, before the outsiders realised that Ginevra had all the nous of her partner, plus a few extra insights of her own. Not that they knew the inner truth.
###
Their first public engagement was when Hermione was installed as Minister of Magic. Naturally the press had a field day, resurrecting all the stories about the golden-three. And, not for the first time, questions were asked as to whether Draco was a suitable partner. They even suggested that he had used skulduggery to usurp Ronald’s place. Of course, they conveniently forgot that the seers ‘golden trio’ was not the same as the one that beat Voldemort.
Draco went into one of his cold funks again. Some of it was to avoid all the fuss, and some of it was because Hermione had asked him to make certain highly specialised and almost secret potions. Both of them knew the expected results, but the potions were not behaving as expected. There were some days when Harry’s mate resembled his irascible father, although without the evil intent.
###
The seers were just getting back into their stride when the next bombshell dropped. Two of their sons had disappeared. The seers knew that they had put them onto the train, but Minerva had told them that the pair had not arrived at Hogwarts. Their first thought was that some of the few remaining disenchanted pure-bloods had kidnapped the boys. But as a second string, Hermione thought that they might have alighted somewhere and been left behind, so, she had the aurors search the route. However, no trace could be found, nor were there any ransom demands.
The Seers knew that Albus and Scorpius had formed a team where each kept the other’s secrets. It was partly a reaction to James trying to boss them around. Some of it was because their fathers liked quidditch, whilst neither of their sons did, James, of course was following in Harry's footsteps and was a seeker. The two younger sons had both been sorted into Slytherin, and this helped to strengthen their support of each other. Naturally, the press thought and stated, that a true scion of the Potter clan, should have followed the family pattern. Rumours began to spread about their true birth parents. An especially pernicious one was that Scorpius was not Draco’s son, but Voldemort’s. As can be imagined this set Draco on edge, and he did what he usually did, isolate himself, just as when he was thinking about special potions.
###
After a week of no news, the trio were feeling quite glum. Even the ghostly Astoria was unable to tell them something comforting about the missing children.
Her last message had been: *There’s a gulf between us and the damned. It’s rather like looking over a broad, shark-filled river and fathoming out what is happening with the people on the other shore. Cedric says that he feels emanations from the other side. Ones that seem to want to resurrect him. As you know, that’s not allowed.*
H: *How is it then that I came back, Tor?*
A: *Like Draco you never went through the veil. Dumbles had the equivalent dispensation that I had. He stayed on the other side until he had met you. Now, from what Cedric and I can perceive; the whole thing seems to be centred around one of the more recently received damned souls and an older ugly one. Both of us have a premonition that it is your father, Draco, and the dark lord. They seem to be excited about something. I’ll let you know if we understand more.*
H: *You do know that Albus and Scorpius have gone missing, don’t you?*
A: *I knew you were all agitated about something. If it’s any help, they’re not here. I think, like Cedric, I would have felt something if they were in the other place.*
H: *So, you think they are still in the land of the living?*
A: *That is a reasonable assumption, yes. Oh! Just a minute someone’s beckoning me.*
Astoria’s presence disappeared from their joint consciousness for a few minutes, and then it was back: *Gloriana says that she’s perceiving two realities, both misty, surrounding Ron. He seems to have two wives, one in each reality.*
D: *Who is Gloriana?*
A: *She looks after the Prewitt and Weasley families.*
G: *What was that about two realities, Tor? Do you mean each side of the river you mentioned?*
A: *No. It’s about something that could happen in the future. Each side of the river tries to influence what happens there, so that the outcome is to their advantage. I’m still getting used to the concept.*
D: *Is this something like the parallel universes theory?*
A: *Something like that, yes. Gloriana says that Hermione has two jobs, one in each sphere. In one she is Minister, and in the less visible one she teaches DADA at Hogwarts.*
H: *I don’t understand about two realities; are you talking about where you are and the place over the river?*
A: *No, Harry. As I said the possibilities are either light-tending or dark-going. I’m told it’s about two possible outcomes in your world. You know that this place is timeless, I’ve had a chat with my grandpa and been introduced to other family members. Remembering names is difficult because each generation back quadruples in size. We don’t see the future but, as there is more than one possibility for the direction your world has to go in, the various outcomes are held in abeyance. Only when deliberate action is taken to bring about and incident, that’s when the alternatives appear. I’m told that, until Harry made the choice to return, there were two outcomes. Once he returned the dark possibility began to fade, disappearing completely, once the battle of Hogwarts was over.*
H: *Who is Ron’s wife in the misty one?*
A: *Padma Patel. It’s as though the other side is trying to promote this other reality. None of us here like the feel of it.*
G: *So if Ron and Herms are not married, Hugo and Rose don’t exist, in the misty world.*
A: *There is a son, he’ll be Hugo’s alter ego. As you surmised, Rose is not there. At least, we cannot see anyone. As I said it is very misty. The information is vague.*
H: *I think I know what you mean, Tor. The Kings Cross that I visited, was more like a hint of a station. Dumbles was amused when I said I thought it was Kings Cross. Then, the one I visited later, to free Narcissa. It changed into a swimming bath, as a reaction to me thinking about floating. I was only given the information I needed to complete the task.*
A: *Exactly! I can only provide information that you need and, in a way that you can understand. I shall leave our joint memory, to obtain more information. I’ll contact you when I have it.*
Then there were three minds inhabiting the joint consciousness.
###
That night, all three seers had a nightmare. Although they knew not what they were arguing about, Draco and Harry were having a fight; partly with wands drawn and partly by throwing furniture at each other. Ginny was the one who had to be peacemaker. But it was all a dream. When told about it, Astoria thought that it was the two realities trying to influence the outcome. If D&H returned to that hateful relationship; like they had had in Hogwarts, then the darker tendency would be in the ascendancy. By that, the trio realised that they, and every other living being, had an influence on the outcomes. Being magicals, their influence would also have a greater import.
###
The next time Astoria was in contact here sending sounded serious: *The other side have been dastardly, as usual. Somehow Albus and Scorpius have been transported into the other side’s misty realm. It’s as though they are in a different time warp. I suspect a time-turner has been used.*
G: *We were told that they all had been destroyed.*
A: *I think you should go and talk to Hermione.*
H: *What about?*
A: *Time-turners.*
H: *Is that a Fawkes-like hint?*
A: *Exactly!*
###
The trio went to see Hermione. After the usual pleasantries, Harry got down to business:
“Herms, am I correct in thinking that all the time-turners have been destroyed?”
“I thought so too. But after the raid on Ynyshud we found another one. I have it safe in my office.”
“Would you mind checking that it is still there, please? Draco asked: “Because all three of us have this feeling, that one is being used for nefarious purposes.”
“One of those ‘Spirit promptings’, is it?”
“Something like that, yes.”
“I’d be foolish to refuse, wouldn’t I? With all three of you feeling so certain. I’ll apparate to the office and have a look.”
###
Hermione returned, ashen faced: “It’s gone! And I think I know when. A couple of weeks ago I met Ron outside my office door. He was kidding around, like he sometimes does. Even going as far to suggest we should try for another child. Later, he said that he didn’t remember the incident, and went into howls of laughter. You know what he’s like, when he’s in a skittish mood, so, I got no sense out of him.”
“What did it look like, Herms?” Draco asked.
Hermione described it.
“Was it a silver colour or golden?”
“Silver. Why do you ask?”
Draco sighed and looked worried: “Some time ago, Silas, when he was Theo, said he was commissioned by my father to make a time-turner. After much experiment he produced one, but it only allowed the user one hour in the chosen time-zone. For some reason, Father was not satisfied with it and wanted another made. Which Theo did. The hour-length one was a silver one. Most likely the one that was stolen. That means that there’s another one hidden somewhere, the golden one. I think that we Seers should go and find it. If Father’s hidden it somewhere, it’s bound to have some blood-concealers on it. My blood should activate them, but we may have to use our joint powers to reveal it.”
“Why do you want to find it?” Ginny asked.
“We may have to use one to rectify what the remaining death-eaters are using the stolen one to do.”
“Where is it likely to be hidden?”
Draco looked pensive: “If it’s death-eaters who stole the silver one, that probably means that they do not have the golden one. My guess is that Father did not take that one with him when he flew the Manor.” He sighed: “I think it’s time that our trio did a courtesy visit to the Manor Nursing Home, together.”
“I’ll do my usual Friday visit,” offered Harry: “You two come along and, under the cloak, do the snooping.”
###
Back at the cottage, Astoria advised them that the dark-side’s mist was growing stronger. She was now sure that Albus and Scorpius were being forced by an older female, who bore a resemblance to a younger version of Bellatrix.
“I wonder?” mused Draco: “If Voldie and Dirtitrix fucked. If they did; and had a child, that would explain the rumours about Scorp. Usual misdirection: right story attached to the wrong person … Hmm … Yes … That would explain it.”
Harry side-hugged Draco: “All three of us know when he was conceived, and the problems it caused during his birth. I suppose that’s why we ignored the rumours. I know they’ve been niggling you for some time. Now we have a reasonable explanation.”
“I hope so, but it is just supposition at the moment.”
###
Friday came. Harry did his rounds, chatting to the inmates, as was usual whenever he appeared. It felt banal, but he knew via feed-back from Ernie and Lavender, that the inmates’ psyches brightened when he did so.
Meanwhile Draco and Ginevra were searching. Northing above-ground proved interesting. So, with Draco feeling uneasy, they searched the cellars. Eventually descending into the prison area. They were about to give up when Ginevra felt a faint aura. It came from a wall, or what purported to be a wall. It took Draco’s blood and their combined strength to break the enchantment. The niche so revealed, only one stone in width and height, contained what they were searching for and nothing else.
Now they had the golden time-turner. The next problem was where and when to return to in order to thwart whatever evil plans the other side had. Astoria was being as enigmatic as Fawkes was.
*There will be a sign on a particularly significant day.*
*There are lots of significant days, Tor,* Draco sent exasperatedly.
A: *I agree, but it will be when you can talk to others of my kind, as well.*
D: *Thanks! Got the date. Not too far ahead either.*
A: *For you, maybe. For me in this timeless place, it could have already happened or yet be eons away. I’m now chatting to my great-times-seven-grandparents there’re over sixty-five-thousand of them. Can you imagine it.*
D chuckling: *More than the spectators at an international quidditch match … No, not really. I’m not sure that many of mine will be there, knowing the pictures that used to criticise me, and the history of the Malfoys.*
A: *Perhaps you’ll be surprised. On this side, it’s all about acknowledging and owning our own sins, not making excuses, as we often do. Then it’s acknowledging and receiving God’s forgiveness. The judgement throne is painful, very painful; but the forgiveness afterwards is beautiful. Beautiful beyond any possible description. Anyway, some of your ancestors are mine also. Especially when you get past the sixty-five-thousand barrier.*
H: *What about my Peverell descent line?*
A: *We share some of them also, Harry. That descent is about the nearest direct connection in your world. It’s different here. I’ve encountered Ignotius but not spoken with him yet. No doubt we’ll have a chat sometime, he’s even further back than the sixty-five-thousand.*
H: *Fine! I understand. Bye for now.*
A: *Speak again to you soon. Bye!*
###
It was when Harry was preparing himself for the Halloween chat with his parents that it happened.
He was mooching moodily around Albus’s and Scorpius’s room, wondering what they were doing. As he was doing that, he was picking things up; remembering instances when he had reacted with his sons and that particular item. It was like praying for them to return soon. He saw something that he thought Albus had rejected. But there it was, the only connection with his Potter grandparents, Harry’s parents. It was a blanket that had been on Harry’s pram. Harry examined it; something had been spilled on it. Whatever it was seemed to have marked it, rather like a branding. Harry turned it this way and that, and as he did so, realised that there were words written on it. Suddenly he realised it was a message.
*Ginny, Draco, come here* he sent urgently: *We know where to go and when.*
Two cracks of apparition had his fellow seers present.
“Look what it says in Albus’s handwriting: ‘Dad, hello …’”
Ginny took the blanket from him: “Not ‘hello’ its ‘help’ … Err … Good Halloween?”
Draco was looking over her shoulder: “Not ‘Good Halloween’ that’s ‘Godric’s Hollow’. Then there’s what looks like a telephone number … Hmm … 3 1 1 0 8 1?”
“Got it!” Harry exclaimed. “It’s a date: 31^st October 1981. Like the stamp on those train tickets we’ve used.”
###
We all know what happened once the adults spun the time-turner, went back to Godric’s Hollow, and rescued Albus and Scorpius without interfering with the course of time.
###
When they found out about the time-turners, the Wizengamot was furious. Hermione narrowly escaped a vote of censure, and the destruction of the golden artefact was done in a very public way. There had been no way of hiding the existence of the time-turner, because at her trial, Delphini revealed that two existed, one of which she had destroyed. The trial also refuted the rumours about Scorpius's ancestry, much to Draco's delight.
###
At least for the rest of the school year, two seemingly penitents, Scorpius and Albus, contrived not to get into trouble. Not that Scorpius made any further headway in attracting Rose. She remained quietly disdainful of all his tentative advances. His failure in that department, seemed to draw him closer to Albus, and one chilly night in January, just after they had returned from the Christmas and New Year jollifications at home, they shared a bed to escape the chill of the Slytherin dungeons. It was for the first time. Just as their mates were doing, all trying to stave off the bitter cold.
"If our fathers can do it, why can't we?"
Somehow, cuddling to keep warm in the Slytherin cellars, led to other things. Not that they went as far as their fathers do now, but they both had very satisfactory ejaculations at the hands of their close mate. The enjoyment of that episode led them to further occurrences, and Scorpius's fixation upon Rose began to wane.
By the time the summer holidays came around, Draco and Harry were forced to have a very embarrassing heart-to-heart conversation with their two sons. The subjects covered the mechanics of every kind of gay lovemaking, plus the precautions to be taken so as not to cause injury. They also had a serious discussion about the continuance of the bloodlines, which was especially important for the Malfoy/Greengrass families.
"So, I have to father at least two descendants," Scorpius remarked semi-jocularly; “When my dad only had one to make."
"Do you no longer regard me as a dad," Harry remarked lightly.
"Of course, I do, Dad. But you know what I mean, don't you?"
Draco chuckled: "The boot's on the Malfoy foot now. Whereas Harry had to father three, to keep various bloodlines going, now we must, Scorp. It’s not that repulsive. You never know, but Rose might turn out to be lezzie. You'll just have to wait and see. Meanwhile enjoy each other. Because we live longer than most muggles, there's still plenty of time. Harry and I have learned to follow the Spirit's directions. They've landed us in all kinds of awkward situations, just like you two. But good always seems to spring out of them."
Albus looked serious: "We were scared shitless, Dads. But then there was just that thread of hope. Is that what you mean?"
"Exactly. If we are on the side of light, then there is always a way of turning evil situations into good ones. All it takes is a good heart and lots of courage, Al. You may be small, but that was an advantage, wasn't it? I was hurt when you rejected my gift of the blanket, but that turned out to be the pivot on which our world's salvation hung."
Scorpius looked at Harry anxiously: "You seem to be suggesting that we're likely to get hurt, Dad. Is that right?"
Harry hugged Scorpius: "Yes Son, I'm afraid it is. Sometimes I think it’s a test, to keep us on our toes. Then again, sometimes it's because we go into situations with less than pure intentions."
Albus giggled: "Like the story of the old woman crossing the road, Dad?"
"Is that story still doing the rounds? Yes exactly. It's that foggy bit in the middle that we muddle through usually, but we do get help."
Scorpius paled: "Err ... We've sort of met someone who helps. At least we think it’s somebody."
Harry had a premonition: "Could he be a phoenix called Fawkes, by any chance?"
"How did you know?"
"Well, he used to be our guide, and Albus Dumbledore's before that. We have a new guide, so I guess he's moved on to the next generation. He's not always clear about what he wants doing, but he'll discourage you from doing the wrong thing."
Draco chuckled ruefully: "At least once, he let me get into something painful, so that I learned from it, and then had to make recompense to someone I'd hurt."
Harry was silent for a few minutes and it seemed to stop the conversation.
Albus became agitated: Dad, “Have I said something wrong?”
“No … Not at all … I think that you two are taking on the active role that we used to have. Perhaps our trio has a new role to play. Probably the way we’ve been trending already. You know … Encouraging the whole magical world to co-operate.”
A: *Now you realise!*
D: *Just like Fawkes. He always confirmed things afterwards.*
“Dad, do you mean that we may get into other scrapes, like the last one?”
Draco side hugged both of his sons: “At least you aren’t fighting one another, as we did when we were your age. Yes, Harry’s right. Our roles will be complimentary, trying to keep magical society from becoming too inward-looking and divisive.”
“Know that we’ll support you, whatever happens,” Harry added.
A&G: *AMEN!*

THE END
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