Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

For The Sake Of A Name	By : Bickymonster Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female Views: 52498 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any concepts or characters associated with it. I am not making any money from this this story.

Chapter List
- 36
- 37
- 38
AN: I present to you all, chapter 37. Apologies for the slightly late update but was my baby brother's 18th birthday celebration yesterday and I got rather distracted writing Fragmented Soul with Strawberrygirl87 today. But much better a little late than never, right? :D
Please do come and chat with me on facebook. If you would like to be friends with me there, then there is a link on my Profile page.
Enjoy.
Thank you to my brilliant beta, AchillesTheGeek.
Warnings and disclaimers apply as always
PLEASE NOTE: I have had it point out to me that I actually had Umbridge start as DADA teacher at the beginning of their 5th year (which I had some how completely over looked in writing recent chapters). This has now been corrected and they were taught by an unknown (though dreadful and annoying) teacher for DADA in their Fifth year. Umbridge is now just starting at Hogwarts for the first time in their sixth year. (Thank you to Black.aj.Rose)

Previously:
As they pushed open one of the doors and stepped inside it was obvious that Harry was right, they had missed the sorting, but apparently they were in time for speeches. There was an unknown, short, toad-like woman who was dressed in distractingly pink clothes standing up the front and she stopped mid-way through her sentence to focus her glare at the couple that had interrupted her.
“Oh, erm… sorry, we will just…” Harry said, pointing awkwardly towards the Gryffindor table, and guiding his wife in that direction with an arm around her waist.
They both found themselves wondering who the new woman was and hopeful that the look of dislike she was sending their way didn’t bode as badly as they feared it might.
-#-
Harry and Draco made their way to the Gryffindor table under the watchful eyes of the entire student body and the row of professors sitting at the front of the room. The unknown woman, who they had interrupted, was still watching them intensely and Harry was sure her gaze had rested on Orion for a few moments longer than he would have liked; but once the Potters had sat down in the seats saved for them by Ron, Hermione and Blaise, she gave a nasty, false little cough and went on.
The first impression they had was that her voice was nothing shy of sickening. At first glance someone might buy into the cute and innocent image that she seemed to want to present to the world, but it all seemed just a little too fake for either Harry or Draco to be fooled. Their friends agreed with that assessment, if the looks on the faces were any indication.
"Who is she?" Harry whispered under his breath.
"Shh!" Hermione hissed at him, her attention focused on whatever the annoying woman was saying. He looked back at Draco, on his other side, who seemed to be listening almost as intently as Hermione, a distinctly unimpressed look on her face. Well at least he didn't have to worry about listening now, the two girls would tell him everything later anyway.
"That's Umbridge," Ron told him, leaning across the table slightly so Harry could hear his whispered words. "She's just some bloody bint from the ministry; something to do with school standards. I haven't really been listening; assumed Hermione would fill me in later."
Harry distinctly heard Blaise, who was on Draco's other side, and Dean, who was next to Ron, both snort at that. Harry smiled; it really was good to be back.
-#-
Albus Dumbledore had politely smiled his way through Dolores Umbridge's needlessly long speech before dinner, but as he sat in his office a couple of hours later, her words still weighed heavily on his mind. He had known that Cornelius was becoming increasing paranoid, particularly with regards to his unfounded belief that Dumbledore was on the verge of launching a coup, but that he was now meddling in school business worried the headmaster to the point where he would have to take action. He had never wanted to fight against the Ministry of Magic, but it seemed the Minister's paranoia was going to leave him little
He was glad that at least he had not had any vacant teaching positions for the ministry to usurp, now that Sirius was taking on the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor; it was even hopeful that the man might stay for at least two years, given that was how long Harry and Draco had of their education left.
However, that was a worry for next year; Dumbledore had the far more pressing issue of their new ‘High Inquisitor' to contemplate. She was going to be judging his professors and their teaching courses, deciding if they were suitable for purpose. He had great faith in Hogwarts, and in the teachers who worked there, but Umbridge was not the kind of woman who was going to appreciate his more... eccentric colleagues.
Umbridge had been appointed by the Minister of Magic himself, much to her smug delight, if he wasn't much mistaken and while he knew little about the woman, what he did know gave him a terrible feeling of foreboding. The legislation for control and registration of werewolves had been on the cusp of being passed for the previous year and it had taken a great deal of work to prevent that.
His other major concern was for the Potters; particularly Harry and Draco's guardianship of Orion. He knew enough of Umbridge's history to be aware that the woman was likely to take the issue personally. Besides simply having someone who was in the ministry's pocket present in the school all the time would mean that even the small problems that every parent inevitably encounters would be caught on record.
He got to his feet, popping a lemon drop into his mouth. "You would think an old fool like me would know better than to hope we could have an easy year, but alas," Dumbledore said to Fawkes, "it would seem we are to be tested once more."
The Phoenix let out a trill of agreement, tilting his head to brush his feathers against the headmaster’s raised hand.
-#-
The next day happened to be a Monday and as such that the Potter family could be found at around eight in the morning trying to get ready to go to breakfast. It was not helping that Sirius was having a crisis of faith in his own abilities; he had a class of third years straight after breakfast.
"They are just Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws," Harry told Sirius.
"Harry's right," Draco agreed, catching her husband and holding him still long enough to fix the mess he had made of tying his tie, "they're all suck-ups and know-it-alls. What's the worst that could happen?"
"They could start correcting everything I say," Sirius suggested, looking a little nauseous.
"Yes, okay," Draco said, moving her attentions onto Harry's hair, "admittedly that is a possibility..."
"Draco..!" Harry chastised, batting his wife's fussing hands away. He turned to Sirius and took him by the shoulders, looking him in the eye. "You have been reading and studying for months for this, and yes we did know about that," Harry added when Sirius looked surprised.
"You aren't nearly subtle enough to hide your shameful secret studying habits from us," Draco told him with a laugh as she went to make sure that Orion didn't need feeding or changing before getting him dressed to take him down to breakfast in the Great Hall; which they felt they should really do given it was the first day of term and Sirius was a professor now.
"The point is, that you are ready for this," Harry told his godfather firmly with a supportive smile.
He had no doubts that Sirius would be an excellent teacher if he could just get past his doubts, if he could find confidence in his own knowledge. Besides, he suspected that many of the students would be too nervous at being taught by the infamous now-proven-innocent ‘murderer', Sirius Black, to cause too much trouble. It seemed that his godfather was going to need a nudge to get there though.
Harry checked that his wife was in their bedroom, before he spoke again. "Are you going to give Draco a chance to question your Gryffindor bravery?" he asked in a whisper.
Sirius scowled at that, "I suppose I can't have that. Fine, come on; let's go help Draco wrestle your son into some clothes so we can go have some breakfast, he said, throwing an arm over Harry's shoulders.
Draco looked up as the two of them walked into the bedroom and saw that Sirius was almost smiling again, "Oh, so you remembered your Gryffindor courage then?" she teased and she expertly slid Orion's arm into a little blue jumper Molly had knitted.
Sirius groaned and ran a hand over his face.
"Oh, well I tried to warn you," Harry said, with barely restrained chuckles as Draco looked between the pair of them in confusion.
-#-
Hermione was sitting alone at the Gryffindor table having already finished a bowl of porridge and was re-reading the assigned text for Ancient Runes, which was her first class. She was quite used to being there before her friends; she no longer waited for Ron to drag himself out of bed as it took much longer now that he didn't have Harry there to hurry him up and, of course, Harry and Draco had a child to wash, feed and dress before they would turn up. It was often Blaise who would show up first and so she was expecting it to be him when the bench seat dipped as someone sat down next to her.
"Morning," she mumbled, not looking up, wanting to finish the paragraph she was reading.
"Hello," a voice, which was far too perky and feminine to be Blaise's, said happily.
Hermione looked up in surprise and met the silvery grey eyes of one Luna Lovegood. They continued to look at each other and so Hermione was glad when the other girl started piling breakfast onto her plate, her focus now entirely shifted to selecting foods. It seemed that the Ravenclaw girl had decided to take her breakfast at the Gryffindor table and having already been exposed to the blonde's particular brand of logic, Hermione thought perhaps it was probably best for her own sanity not to question it. It wasn't like it bothered her; after all it was now perfectly normal for Draco and Blaise to eat with them and they were Slytherins.
As though summoned by her thoughts Blaise arrived and took a seat opposite them. "We haven't even had a single class yet, what could you possibly be studying?" he asked her with a gesture to the book open in her hands.
"Ancient Runes," Hermione told him with a smile before returning her attention to the text in front of her; she had, of course, already read it once, but she wanted to be sure she knew all the relevant material.
Blaise selected a red apple and sharp knife, starting to slice off pieces and then using the knife to place them into his mouth with a motion of practiced ease. He was just about to eat the second piece when he seemed to finally notice Luna. "Hi," he said, lowering the knife and chunk of apple.
Luna looked up from where she had seemed to be making a banana sandwich. "Oh, hello again," she said dreamily when she recognised Blaise from the journey the day before.
"Why are you sitting here?" Blaise asked; feeling confused about the girl's presence, "you're a Ravenclaw, aren't you?"
"Why are you?" She responded, "Your uniform seems to indicate you are at the wrong table as well."
"My best friend happens to be married to a Gryffindor," Blaise explained sounding slightly exasperated, "I sit here so that we can all sit together."
"I don't really have a lot of friends..."
"Shocking..." Blaise muttered quietly under his breath.
"...but I suppose that means I could test out eating meals at all the tables," she said, her voice trailing off as her eyes became unfocused, and the Slytherin assumed that she was probably considering the merits of experimenting with where she ate.
A hushed buzz of noise flittered across the students seated at their various tables and it became obvious what had caught their attention. Near the entrance to the Great Hall, Umbridge was standing with a clipboard that she was floating next to her, as if holding it was a task far beneath her. Even Hermione put down her book to watch what was going on.
"Yes, yes," Umbridge was saying, her raised voice carrying across the room, "if you would ensure that you are seated at the correct table please, and by year, if you will," her words a request, but it was in that way that adults suggest something with the expectation that you will comply. "And first years closest to the head table."
-#-
"What's going on?" Sirius asked, as he, Harry and Draco reached the Great Hall; however, they were unable to get inside as a crowd was building around the doorway.
"I WILL HAVE ORDER!" a high pitched piercing voice bellowed from inside the room.
"Is that that Umbridge woman?" someone nearby asked.
"Come on," Harry said, taking Draco's hand and keeping her close as he pulled her through the gathering of students; a path clearing around him when they realised he was trying to get through. Great, he thought to himself sarcastically; bet they are going to want to do deal with whatever is going on now.
"All students will sit at their CORRECT house tables, and you will all serve a night's detention for every minute you refuse to comply!" she told them angrily.
"Is she serious?" Draco whispered to Harry.
He shrugged, "I don't care how serious she is, I am not going to let anyone break this family up."
Draco grinned, "Ah, so Mr Potter, you can learn something," she teased.
"Mr Potter," Umbridge said as she came over to him, her voice becoming overly sweet again, just as it had been during her speech the night before. "If you would be so kind as to take yourself over to the Gryffindor table, I think you will find your friend is waiting for you there."
Harry looked across the hall and spotted a very angry looking Hermione sitting a little way down their table, her arms crossed over her chest and glaring daggers at Umbridge.
"Mrs Potter," Umbridge said, turning to Draco, "If you would take a seat with your friend at the Slytherin table," she instructed.
Draco glanced over at the Slytherin table and noticed that Blaise was there, looking perhaps even more livid than Hermione did. Her friend was running a hand over his own arm, and Draco realised that his location at the Slytherin table, where he was surrounded by their sneering classmates, had not probably been voluntary.
"...and I think it would be appropriate if you found someone else to care for your... infant whilst you are in public areas of the school," she added with a lingering glance of disapproval at the wriggling boy in Draco's arms.
"You have got to be fucking kidding me!" Harry yelled.
"Language, Mr Potter, that will be ten points from Gryffindor," Umbridge said, a smile on her lips, "do not make me make it twenty or else I will have to assign a detention as well," she warned.
"No, this is insane," Harry ploughed on recklessly, "I thought we were supposed to be promoting house unity."
"Dumbledore won't allow this," Sirius said finally making it through the crowd to stand on Draco's other side.
"The Ministry said we could raise our son, and Dumbledore himself has given us permission to..."
"Dumbledore is not the only person with authority in such matters, the Minister of Magic himself has granted me the power to whip this institution into shape," Umbridge said pompously, "before Hogwarts becomes any more of an insult to our magical heritage."
"You can't do this," Draco said firmly, worried that if this woman got her way she and Blaise would be forced to spend every meal with Pansy and the other Slytherins who she honestly didn't trust not to do something like poison her.
"ENOUGH!" Dumbledore's voice bellowed and the crowd still gathered in the door way cleared to allow him through; the other heads of all of the houses following after him. "What is going on?" he demanded.
"I am simply informing all students that they are required to sit at their relevant house tables during meals," Umbridge told him; puffing herself up as though it would help even out the dramatic height difference.
"And you believe you have the authority to implement such a change?" the headmaster asked, peering down at her over the top of her glasses.
"By order of Cornelius Fudge," she told him, handing over a piece of parchment, "I think you will find it all in order."
Dumbledore read it over twice, before realising that she spoke the truth. Always a first time for everything, he thought to himself, but he maintained his calm. "It would seem that at this time we have to abide by Madam Umbridge's insistence that all students sit at their own house tables."
"But Sir...," Harry interrupted.
"Now, Harry, I am asking you nicely to take a seat with Miss Granger; Draco I suggest for his own safety you allow Orion to go with Harry, but then I ask that you will kindly take a seat at the Slytherin table," Dumbledore instructed, his voice terse and his eyes apologetic, "though I will insist that Madam Umbridge permits that you are not required to sit with the other sixth years out of concerns for your own safety."
"I would rather go hungry," Draco said bitterly.
"You'll do no such thing!" Harry insisted angrily, as he felt his rage reach boiling point; he never wanted his family to experience hunger like he had his childhood. "We will eat in our rooms, after all we wouldn't want to ruin your precious order or let anyone find out that we are teenage parents," he told her.
He didn't want to hang around long enough for Umbridge to respond or throw a detention his way, and so he quickly wrapped his arm around his wife's waist and led his family back through the once-again parting crowds, and in the direction of the kitchens; leaving Dumbledore and Sirius to deal with the fallout.
-#-
It had been a long day. A really long day and the best thing Draco found she could say about it, as she made her way back towards her and Harry's rooms, was that she at least hadn't seen that Umbridge woman again. Even thinking about the events from the morning still made her feel angry.
A large group of their friends, which was pretty much a lot of Gryffindors, Blaise, and some Ravenclaw girl whose name Draco couldn't remember, had opted for lunch in Harry and Draco's rooms. It was a bit crowded but still preferable to the Great Hall. It was hardly surprising that the conversation was focused mostly on Hogwarts' first High Inquisitor and what had happened at breakfast.
According to Hermione, Blaise and Luna, Umbridge had had several of the more agreeable students from the sixth and seventh years ‘help' the more resistant of the students to their ‘appropriate' seats. Blaise had the bruise on his arm to prove it. As if that wasn't bad enough Umbridge had then used spells to ensure said students remained where they had been seated until the end of the meal.
It certainly went a long way to explain why Blaise and Hermione had looked quite so infuriated and yet had not been confronting the evil woman responsible, but it did nothing to ease the worries they all had over just how bad things at Hogwarts might get.
Draco pushed open the door and saw Harry inside where he was sat on the floor with Orion. "Hi," he said, looking up at her with a smile.
Their little boy was on his belly, trying to push himself up with his arms, with moderate success given he was only three months old. Harry hadn't had any classes first thing in the morning and nor in the afternoon and Draco had the period just before lunch free, so Orion had, more or less, been passed between them all day
"Hello," Draco said, as she took a seat on the floor next to her family and stole a kiss from Harry. "Have you two been having fun?"
"He has," Harry told her, "his grip is something fierce now; I was trying to burp him but all he wanted to do was pull my hair," he explained, rubbing at the nape of his neck with one hand.
“Aww,” Draco cooed teasingly, “my poor abused husband and my vicious child; what a wonderful family to come home to.”
“So, how was the first day back?” Harry asked.
“Much as to be expected, given this morning” she told him with a shrug, “I was just glad for it to be over; I have gotten used to being able to spend all my time with Orion.”
Harry nodded his agreement. Part of him wanted to ask her how she thought he had felt being away from him for a whole night, but they were moving passed that and he didn’t want to bring it up again; not without a good reason anyway.
“No Sirius?” Draco asked, looking around the room. She hadn’t missed the tense moment and wanted to change the topic quickly. It had been a great relief they had managed to settle their differences, but, despite his reassurances, she still half believed that he would change his mind eventually and she had no desire to encourage it.
“Not yet,” Harry said, “I assume he is still in his classroom, he had lessons all day; but I don’t imagine that he will be long given he won’t have any homework to mark yet.” Draco nodded her agreement.
-#-
Remus always felt miserable in the days following the full moon, but even more so on this occasion. After the previous one he had had Sirius with him for the duration of his recovery but it was his bad luck for his most recent transformation to have fallen so close to the start of term.
He packed the few items he had with him, which was little more than a change of clothes and the picture of himself with Sirius and James, throwing them haphazardly into his old, worn-out backpack. ‘But that was kind of redundant thinking that,’ he thought miserably, ‘everything I own is worn out.’
Even my own body, he thought wearily, as he looked down and took in his frail form that was swamped in hole-ridden clothes. It wasn’t as though he had anyone he wanted to smarten up for; Sirius would be his best friend no matter his appearance, though he wondered if Draco would find his presence more tolerable if he didn’t look quite so bedraggled. It was a thought worth considering; on another day, of course, when he wasn’t facing the heart-wrenching loneliness that returning to the empty house in Grimmauld Place was bound to be.
"Remus..." Sirius' voice carried along the length of the medical wing.
The werewolf plastered a smile on his face and turned to his friend. "How was the first day, Professor?" he asked him.
"Oh, yeah, it was fine," he said dismissively. "I didn't think I would get back here before you left."
"I didn't think you would have time in your busy schedule, so I was just going to go," Remus said far more bitterly than he had intended. It really did feel like between teaching, helping raise Orion and being a parent to Harry and Draco, Sirius' time was all used up and it was making Remus yearn for the days when it was only James and Lily who he had to compete with for the man's time.
"Nonsense," Sirius barked, letting out a little laugh, "I will always have time for you, old friend."
Remus wasn't entirely convinced but that the animagus had spent the last two full moons with him made him feel selfish for wanting more. After all he was a grown man now; Harry, Draco and Orion needed him but Remus was starting to think it was time he stopped clinging to his childhood and found a way to cope with the lonely future that lay ahead.
"I will come over to the house at the weekend," Sirius promised, taking in the morose expression of the werewolf's face. "Just because you can't live with us here, doesn't change the fact that you have become part of our family, okay?"
Remus nodded, again not convinced by the man's words, but he knew that Sirius meant well, and for now, at least, that could be enough. Worried if he spoke he might let Sirius see how old and broken and lonely he was feeling, Remus pulled Sirius into a hug.
"I'll see you soon," Sirius promised.
"Yes, soon," Remus agreed, forcing a smile and taking a beeline for the door.
"Soon..." Sirius promised again under his breath as he watched his friend leave.
-#-
When Sirius still hadn’t shown up by dinner time, Harry and Draco were a little concerned; not to mention curious as to how his first day as a Hogwarts professor had gone. Neither of them really wanted to face the Great Hall and so they opted to have Dobby bring their food to their room. They had nearly finished their meal when Sirius finally showed up.
“And what time do you call this, young man?” Draco said with a teasing grin as she looked up.
“Young man…?” Sirius queried with a chuckle as he closed the door behind him, “Harry, I think your wife is trying to seduce me with flattery.”
“Should I be worried?” Harry asked with mock concern.
“Don’t be a prat,” Draco told him, giving him a playful shove.
Sirius laughed. He messed Harry’s hair and smiled down at Orion, who sleeping in a bassinette that he was definitely getting a bit big for; he made a mental note that they would have to get the cot set up soon.
“So are you going to tell us about how the lessons went?” Harry asked.
“Or what happened to you after?” Draco added, with an eyebrow raised in question.
“Oh,” Sirius said, a little sadness in his eyes, “I just went to see Remus off; he was heading back to Grimmauld place this evening.”
“He is going back there? To live by himself?”Draco asked in surprise; though now she thought about it she didn’t know what she had expected.
She and the werewolf still weren’t exactly close but she knew that Remus had been trying his utmost to be good to her and to Orion; the idea of him rattling around in that dark old house all on his own made her feel sorry for him. They should have been able to have let him try to be part of their family, maybe stay with them at Hogwarts, but with his… condition, it just would never be an option. That would almost certainly give the ministry to take away their guardianship of Orion and she would never feel sorry enough for anyone to take such a gamble on her baby boy.
“He doesn’t really have anywhere else to go.” Sirius gave her a nod, as he explained. “He will be back in Hogsmeade for the full moons though, so I will make sure to spend plenty of time with him then,” he added.
“It doesn’t seem right,” Harry said, “but with him being… you know…”
“A werewolf,” Sirius amended for him.
“Well yeah, and I don’t think badly of him because of that,” Harry pointed out hastily, “but if Child Services find out that we were raising Orion around Remus then…”
“You don’t have to explain it to me,” Sirius told him firmly, “nor Remus. We might not like it, but we do understand. And it is likely to get worse before it gets better.”
“What do you mean?” Draco asked, glancing at her husband to see if he was any the wiser, and turning back to Sirius what it was clear that he wasn’t.
“Umbridge,” Sirius said with a scowl; it wasn’t a look that often graced his face and Harry had always thought it might have been one solely reserved for Snape. “I was talking to Professor McGonagall about her earlier; apparently she is the one behind the additional werewolf legislation they have been trying to put through in the last year.”
“Great,” Harry said sarcastically; letting out a groan and running his hand through his hair in frustration, “because we really needed another reason to dislike that woman.”

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Review responses:
Gruffard - Yes, Umbridge's motivations and goals are going to be quite different though there will be some similarities and she will still be awful. I hate Umbridge lots too.
ChaosLady - Thank you.
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For The Sake Of A Name