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
- 37
- 38
- 39
AN: I present to you all, chapter 38.
Okay, so I am going away next week, and I am also struggling to keep up with these updates, SO... I have made a decision that I am going to take a few weeks off. I have been going with this almost continuously since December and need a break. I will not be posting updates for this story until the 20th Oct at the earliest. This is NOT me giving up on this story, I will definitely be back. Hopefully in that time I will have managed to get more on top of this story. :)
In the meantime, 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
(I have also posted the updated version of chapter 4 - same story, improved quality)

Previously:
“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.”
-#-
When they woke up the next morning there was a letter from Dumbledore on the table, requesting that they join him for breakfast in his office. They found this request particularly odd, given that neither of them could remember the man ever missing the morning meal in the Great Hall; but he was the headmaster, so they would of course comply. Neither of them had a lesson first thing and they decided they would probably be able to return to their rooms to fetch their books in good time to get to Herbology, this being the only class that the two of them were sharing this year. They would have to come back to their rooms by then anyway, to hand over the care of their son to Sirius.
As such it didn’t take long for them to wash and dress themselves or Orion; they were far too used to juggling the numerous morning tasks between them now for it to cause them much difficulty. Though Draco was less than impressed when their son decided to wet his nappy just as they were almost ready to go,.
“Orion, baby, I love you, but you have your father’s sense of timing,” Draco said with a sigh as she lay the little boy down on his changing mat.
“What’s wrong with my sense of timing?” Harry demanded with a small frown.
“Nothing really,” Draco said with a cheeky smirk, “I just enjoy blaming things on you.”
Sirius let out a bark-like laugh, as Harry pouted, “Sometimes I think you just keep me around for your own amusement,” he said as he grabbed a clean nappy and passed it over to his wife.
“Not JUST for that,” she said, with a full teasing grin on her face.
“Father figure still in the room,” Sirius said, quickly, “one who does NOT want to hear other reasons you keep him around, Draco.”
“I was going to say, that I keep him around because I love him, but if you will insist on twisting my words…”
Sirius groaned, and it was Harry who was laughing this time. “I love you too,” Harry said as he leaned down for a quick kiss from his wife, before giving Sirius a wink.
“You two will be the death of me, I’m sure,” he said, shaking his head as he retreated back to the safety of his room to get dressed for the day. He figured he should probably have breakfast in the Great Hall with the other professors, even if the Potters’ presence had been requested elsewhere.
“Okay, little man,” Harry said, picking Orion up into his arms, as Draco could go wash her hands. “We are going to go see what Dumbledore wants,” he told him, Orion babbling and curling his little fingers in Harry’s robe. “We just have to wait for Mummy.”
A moment later Draco rejoined them, and the young family made their way across the castle to the headmaster’s office, their curiosities piqued and their stomachs rumbling. It was apparent that Dumbledore had been waiting for them because as they approached, the ugly stone gargoyle that guarded the entrance moved, permitting them to climb the stairs. Draco rapped her knuckles on the door twice and they were called inside.
-#-
There were several occasions when Harry and Draco had been inside the Headmaster's large office, but neither of them could recall a time when it had looked quite so cramped.
“The house elves were rather enthusiastic about providing our breakfast feast, I am afraid,” Dumbledore told them with a small chuckle. “They do not often get the opportunity to cater for me privately and I fear that they rather felt the need to prove themselves.”
The headmaster was sat on the far side of a large wooden table that now occupied the majority of the floor space; not that much of the table was visible beneath the variety of dishes that seemed to contain everything one could think of to eat for breakfast: chopped fruits, cooked and cured meats, bread prepared in at least ten different ways, porridge, waffles, cereals, sausages, eggs, bacon, mushrooms, tomatoes, croissant, brioche, pancakes… and that was without starting on numerous items that Harry wasn’t even sure he could name.
“Come. Sit,” Dumbledore instructed, when the two teenagers remained standing in stunned silence just inside the door, giving them a wave towards the two chairs opposite him at the table. There was also a small, very padded, slightly reclining high chair, which was obviously placed there with Orion in mind. “I thought you might appreciate both being able to enjoy this meal without your hands being occupied,” the headmaster said with a gentle smile as they spotted it.
“Thank you, Sir,” Harry said nervously; stepping forward, easing his son into the new seat and strapping him in with great care. The chair was, unsurprisingly, magical; colourful lights started floating in front of Orion, and he let out huffy sounds of delight as he waved his hands at them. In the meantime, Draco had sat herself in one of the chairs and seemed to be trying to decide where to start.
“Please, do indulge yourselves,” the headmaster said with a warm smile, “I thought it best that we meet, to discuss privately some of the regulations that our new High Inquisitor is imposing.”
“Can’t you stop her?” Harry asked. And if there was a little more aggression in his voice than he had intended, who could blame him? The odious woman was proving to be the greatest threat to his family since Lucius Malfoy.
“Alas, my boy, if only it were that simple,” the headmaster said sadly.
“Sorry, sir, I mean no disrespect, but isn’t this your school?” Draco asked politely, as she helped herself to croissants and fruit. “Surely it is your decision?”
Dumbledore gave her a wry smile. “While technically that is the case, unfortunately my influence may not be as complete, in the decisions regarding this school, as you believe.”
“The governors?” Draco asked, surprise in her eyes. “They want this Umbridge woman here?”
“High Inquisitor Umbridge was appointed by request of the Minister of Magic himself,” Dumbledore informed them, leaning forward to meet Draco’s expression of curiosity with intensity, as though encouraging her to keep thinking on the matter.
“I am guessing that you think that it might not have exactly been his idea?” Draco asked, making Dumbledore smile and give her a small nod.
Harry had been torn between enjoying a bacon sandwich and watching his happy son, whilst listening to them talk, but now turned to look between them.
“Okay, feel like I am missing something here,” he told them.
“If the Minister suggests that he send in an inspector to ensure that Hogwarts’ professors are up to standard, it would be pretty difficult for the board of governors to reject the offer,” Draco explained, looking questioning at Dumbledore. “So, you think this is a very clever way of getting some degree of control over what goes on in the school, Sir?”
The headmaster gave a sad nod of confirmation. It was precisely his concern about the motivations and machinations behind the appointment of Dolores Umbridge that had led him to summon them to breakfast with him. It seemed likely that the upcoming months would be difficult for all at Hogwarts, but likely for none more than the Potter family, who seemed to somehow be in the middle of the whole debacle; Dumbledore couldn’t help but worry about how they would get through this latest challenge.
“But you don’t think it is the Minister who is after that control?” Harry asked with a thoughtful frown; Draco was much better at this political manoeuvring than he ever would be.
“Oh, I am quite certain that Cornelius Fudge will have been delighted with the idea,” Dumbledore explained, “and more than happy to co-operate with the individual who suggested the concept, but…”
“Lucius…” Draco hissed out between her teeth, dropping her half eaten croissant back to her plate.
“Malfoy?” Harry questioned in surprise, his own breakfast now completely forgotten too. It hadn’t occurred to him that the man could be behind Umbridge’s presence in the school, but he could certainly believe the man capable of such an act. Now that the idea was in his head, he realised that he shouldn’t put anything beyond the man.
“Do you know any other Lucius?” Draco demanded snappishly, leaning forward and running her hands through her hair. “Sorry,” she muttered, not having meant to take her frustrations out on her husband.
Harry reached out and grasped her hand for a moment. He understood; his own mind was having a small temper tantrum too, ranting inwardly about the unfairness of it all. “You think he is behind this?” he managed to ask the headmaster, his voice surprisingly calm.
“I believe we would be foolish not to consider the possibility,” Dumbledore told them with a nod.
“This is all to mess with me?” Draco asked, looking up with concern written all over her face; she felt daft for having believed that Lucius might back off now that he would have a new heir soon.
“It may not have been his only motivation,” the headmaster said. Draco and Harry shared a puzzled look before he spoke again. “There have been... questions asked, with regards to your accident.”
“That was nearly eighteen months ago,” Harry pointed out with confusion, “why now?”
“Are they trying to blame the school or Professor Snape?” Draco asked worriedly. “But why, I thought that Lucius and Professor Snape were friends? He helped my mother with the potions to get pregnant again, why would Lucius want to punish him for his role in my accident now?”
“Alas I cannot answer, for I simply do not know,” Dumbledore said, leaning back in his chair as he sipped at a cup of tea. “That would have to be a question for our esteemed potions master. While I felt it was important to discuss these theories with you both, I had another reason to request your presence,” he told them. “I must ask that you obey High Inquisitor Umbridge’s ruling regarding seating arrangements at meal times.”
“What?” Harry exclaimed in surprise, “you can’t be serious, Sir.” Draco simply looked horrified.
“I am extremely serious, my boy,” the headmaster said sternly, peering over the top of his half moon spectacles, “we cannot hope to quickly comprehend her purpose here, and so to take rash action at this point would be unhelpful and problematic.”
“Can we not just attend meals in the hall?” Draco suggested.
Dumbledore sighed. “A decree has been laid down that all students are required to attend at least two meals a day, during the week, and one meal a day at the weekend, in the Great Hall.”
Harry gaped at the old and somewhat weary-looking old man. “Can she do that?” he asked.
“It appears so, at least for the moment; and I ask you to not cause trouble,” the headmaster requested with pleading eyes. “I do assure you that you are not alone in this and a small measure of tolerance for the ministries interferences, may make the issues, which we are likely to encounter in due course, more manageable.”
The young couple shared an uncertain look, before nodding their, extremely reluctant, agreement. “You think this is going to get worse before it gets better?” Draco asked, already knowing the answer, smiling when Harry reached for her hand again.
“Don’t worry, we will figure it out together,” Harry promised.
Dumbledore smiled at the young family proudly; if anyone could survive this it would be them, but he would have to keep a close eye on Umbridge, because her disapproval of Harry, Draco and Orion could potentially have devastating results.
-#-
As they had promised, both Harry and Draco attended lunch in the Great Hall later that day, and sat, grumpily, at their separate tables. Practically all of the school was in attendance, though this wasn’t any real surprise. For most of them, Umbridge’s decree had changed nothing; the majority of the students rarely strayed from those within their own houses most of the time anyway and so now being restricted to at least spend meals with their similarly sorted peers was no hardship at all.
Apparently Dumbledore had, at least, managed to persuade Umbridge that the sorting by year was unnecessary. When Blaise and Draco sat themselves a good distance from the other sixth years, none of the staff made any attempt to correct this. Nor was any action taken when Ginny unexpectedly sat down next to Harry with a smile on her face.
“Unless you are here to apologise to Harry…” Ron snarled at her.
“… and intend to apologise to Draco…” Harry added, cradling Orion closer to his chest protectively.
“… then you can shove off,” Ron finished, his tone deadly serious. Even Hermione didn’t seem to object to the way her friends were speaking to the red-headed girl.
Ginny said nothing. She simply huffed slightly as she moved off down the table to sit with a few others from her own year. When Harry glanced over at the Slytherin table, both Draco and Blaise were looking decidedly pleased that she had been dealt with so swiftly; but Harry could admit, at least to himself, that he was a little hurt that she would rather sit away from them than learn to accept his marriage and young family.
Dinner was looking to be much the same, just as boring and morose as lunch; Harry took his seat with Hermione and Ron, while Draco went to sit at the Slytherin table with Blaise.
“Apparently that Umbridge woman was inspecting the fifth year Muggle Studies class today,” Neville was saying to Seamus as they sat down next to Ron, across from Harry.
“Is there any pattern to which professors she is ‘inspecting’?” Dean asked, with air quotes to indicate his scepticism.
“No idea,” Seamus told him with a shrug, “it all seems a bit vague, if you ask me.”
Umbridge had not really done much in her first few days at the school and yet she had completely failed to endear herself, in any respect, to the majority of the student population. The staff didn’t seem particularly fond of her either given the looks some of them had been throwing in her direction.
The real trouble was that the general idea of inspecting the teaching standards was a favourable concept, which made it very difficult to argue again and, as Draco had realised over breakfast, probably why the school governors had accepted the appointment of a High Inquisitor. It was just that, Umbridge being a woman with such bitter prejudices and unwavering loyalty to the Minister, there was little hope for an unbiased review.
“She sure doesn’t like you though, Harry,” Neville said in barely more than a whisper, glancing up at the head table where Umbridge was sitting glaring daggers in Harry’s direction.
“I am not sure if it me she doesn’t like, or Orion,” Harry told his friends, looking down at the three month old, sleeping peacefully in the crook of his arm.
“Why would she have an issue with Orion?” Dean asked with confusion. “He’s just a baby.”
“Yeah, it’s hardly his fault he has a Slytherin for a mother,” Ron said.
Harry would have taken that badly but he knew well enough by this point that the red-head was just teasing. Nonetheless, he still hit Ron over the back of the head for good measure.
-#-
Draco stifled a laugh as she saw Harry clip Ron over the back of the head, much to the amusement of the Gryffindors around him; it was bitter-sweet because she wanted to be sitting with them. A large part of it was that she still hated being separated from Orion at all, and that she missed having meals with Harry; but there was also part of her that was surprised to realise how much she missed the natural banter that seemed to happen between the now sixth-year Gryffindors.
“Umbridge is glaring daggers at your husband and son again,” Blaise said casually.
Draco’s eyes flicked to the front of the Great Hall, and sure enough Blaise was right. She scowled at the malice in the other woman’s eyes. A sudden anger flared within her, hating that Umbridge was looking at her husband and her son like that? It made her want to scratch the High Inquisitor’s eyes out. She took some deep breaths to try to calm herself down, her hands clenched painfully are her cutlery, somewhat shocked at the strength of her feelings.
"Draco...?" Blaise was looking at her with concern, but the blond simply shook her head; she couldn't handle platitudes and sympathy right now and thankfully Blaise understood enough to return to his own breakfast.
She understood why they were going to allow Umbridge the small victories, in the hope that it would stave off, or at least give them a fighting chance with, the bigger battles; but she despised the idea and hated that she really had no choice in the matter. It was difficult to let the vindictive toad of a woman separate her from Harry and Orion, even for just short periods of time. They had worked so hard to stay together and the woman had waltzed in and her first act seemed to have been intended to blown them apart. After the discussion with Dumbledore, she was worried that this was a deliberate plan, and even Harry’s assurances fell short of easing her worries.
She glanced down the Slytherin table to where the other sixth years were sitting. Draco knew she couldn’t trust them; they had abandoned her after the accident and cast her out of their exclusive social network before her disinheritance was even official. But the primary point of concern was still Pansy’s ongoing viciousness towards her. Draco had really hoped Pansy's father would have found the other Slytherin girl a new husband during the holidays, and then she would ease off, but it seemed that he had failed to do so, or else Pansy disliked the new choice intensely; either way, Pansy seemed to loathe Draco every bit as much as she had before.
As though she had been able to hear Draco’s thoughts, the pug faced girl turned to smirk in Draco’s direction, holding up her hand and wiggling her fingers in a mocking wave. Draco shuddered inwardly and sent back a blatantly false smile, which was closer to a sneer, before turning back to her dinner.
Draco thought she had hated the other Slytherins’ attitude before, but it was nothing like the rage that boiled in her gut now. Before, their coldness had only meant she’d had to forsake her own house table; now, because she couldn’t trust them, she was insisting that Orion spend all meal times at the Gryffindor table with his father, even though being apart from him cut her like a knife. She hated it; if they couldn’t all be together, her little baby boy should be with her at least as often as he was with Harry, but she wouldn’t risk her son being targeted.
“Mrs Potter,” Professor Snape’s droll voice said from behind her.
She turned and looked up at him, having been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn’t noticed his approach; she mentally berated herself for having let her guard down, leaving her vulnerable, in what she had to regard as, somewhere potentially dangerous. Stupid Gryffindor influences, she cursed inwardly.
“Professor,” Blaise greeted formally.
“Good evening, sir,” Draco said politely.
Snape narrowed his eyes at the pair of them before handing over a neatly folded piece of parchment to Draco. The potions master seemed to be trying to figure what was going on with the blond's obvious tense mood; Blaise suspected that it might be his way of telling Draco to calm down.
“Do not be late,” he instructed firmly, before sweeping out of the room.
Blaise stared after the potions master in surprise, while Draco turned to the parchment in her hand and unfolded it.
Mrs Potter,
I will be available to provide instruction in the art of potion making for you and your husband for precisely one hour, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, starting at 7p.m.
Professor S. Snape
Draco grinned, that was definitely what she needed: an hour of potions. Of course then she remembered that it meant being in a room with Harry and Professor Snape together for a full hour, and the smile slipped from her face. It really was going to be a long year.
-#-
Having handed Orion over to Sirius, who had told them not to worry and seemed genuinely delighted to get to spend an hour or so taking care of his grandson, Harry and Draco headed towards the potions classroom on the dungeon levels of the castle.
“This was a really bad idea,” Harry grumbled, “Snape hates me.”
“PROFESSOR Snape might hate you less if you could actually remember to use his respectful title,” Draco said under her breath.
“Funny,” Harry said sarcastically, “but I really don’t think that is what is behind the years of tormenting me.”
“He doesn’t torment you,” Draco said, with an exasperated sigh.
Harry just gave her a sceptical look but said nothing; whatever they wanted to call it, whatever they called him, Severus Snape was never going to be nice about teaching Harry Potter.
"It is only for two hours a week, love," Draco reassured him, with a patronising smirk and a pat on his arm. "Think of it as good training for all those really mean people the Ministry makes Aurors deal with."
"Thanks for that, I feel so much better now," Harry said, sarcastically, as he pushed open the door to the potions classroom.
"Mr and Mrs Potter," Snape's familiar voice said. He was standing up close to his desk and turned to look at them wearing very much the same expression he did whenever faced with any group of students. In that moment the slim shadow of a hope that Harry had had, an idea that the potions master just might be a little easier to deal with in their private lessons, evaporated. "Take your seats," he instructed as he linked his hands behind his back and waited expectantly.
Draco quickly made her way through the classroom and took a seat somewhere near the middle. Harry followed and sat down next to her; they both removed their textbooks from their bags and looked up at the professor expectantly.
"I will permit you to remain in these seats for today's lesson," Snape explained, his lips drawn into a thin line of disapproval, "as you will simply be using this hour to familiarise yourselves with the Restoration Potion. However…"
"You want us to spend the whole hour reading about one potion?" Harry asked in disbelief. "Sir," he added quickly as an afterthought, remembering what Draco had said on their way over.
"Yes, Mr Potter," Snape said ,glaring at Harry through narrowed eyes. Harry though that it sounded as though the professor was speaking through clenched teeth. "And I will, in future, expect you to sit at least a few seats apart," the potions master added, going back to his interrupted train of thought.
Harry looked grumpy about this but was still more bothered by spending a whole hour re-reading one page of instructions when he could be back in their rooms with Orion and Sirius. "Surely it won't take an hour to..."
"Perhaps," Snape interrupted, "if you devote this small segment of your precious time to studying the textbook BEFORE you attempt to brew your first NEWT level potion, your wife and I might survive the hazards of being present for the attempt."
"Yes, sir," Harry said, his own teeth clenched to keep from saying something irrevocably stupid.
"The instructions can be found on page 172," he informed them curtly, "I expect you both to be able to brew this potion perfectly during Thursday's session."
"Yes, sir," Draco said clearly, having already begun flicking through her book to find the page before Snape was even done speaking.
"Failure to do so will mean you will return to this room each evening until you successfully complete it," Snape told them, though clearly directing his remarks almost entirely at Harry. "I will be most... displeased should I have to spend additional evenings trying to compensate for your incompetence."
"Yes, sir," Harry droned quietly, putting his elbow on his desk and resting his chin on his palm as he settled in for a very boring hour of reading.
-#-
"Remus?" Molly's kindly voice called out, as she stepped out of the fireplace into Grimmauld Place's kitchen about a week after the start of term and found it empty.
Sirius had asked her to visit his old friend when she could, given that he would rarely be free to do so. He knew better than most what it was like to feel like to be alone in the world and, while that wasn’t entirely true of Remus’ current situation, Sirius could well imagine that Remus might feel that way being in that old house by himself.
Molly had agreed, of course. She was so impressed with Sirius and the man he was becoming. She had been worried when he first came back into Harry's life that he was going to be a terrible influence on the teen, but she had been forced to accept that he was taking to his responsibilities as a father, and even a grandfather, figure very well.
Not wanting to disturb the awful portrait of Walburga Black, Molly didn't call out again as she made her way through the hallway. She checked each of the rooms on the ground floor and found them all just as empty, and almost completely devoid of signs of life; the only evidence that anyone had even been in any of the rooms was a half empty bottle of scotch and a glass, both on a small table next to one of the chairs in the front room. Molly frowned at that for a moment before deciding to check upstairs.
"Remus?" she called again, as she poked her head into the library and then the drawing room, but there was no sign of him. It was well past noon and she hadn't really expected to visit and find the man still in bed, but it was looking more and more likely as she made her way further up the old house. Her apprehension about how well the werewolf was coping with being alone in Grimmauld Place was growing, rapidly.
She was fairly sure she knew which room was Remus' and hoped that he had at least been sober enough to find it himself or else she would have to go room to room. But sure enough, as she pushed the door open, she knew she had the right place.
Things were lying everywhere, clothes, books and pieces of parchment. She could smell how much he must have drunk the previous evening, and probably into that morning, from the air in the room alone. As she stepped towards the bed, where Remus was sprawled on top of the covers, it only got worse.
"Oh, Remus," Molly sighed, in a combination of disappointment, concern and exasperation. "What are we going to do with you?"

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Please do take a moment to review and give me your thoughts, it would mean the world to me. (As always I will happily respond to any and all review posted when I post the next chapter, like I have below)
Review responses:
Gruffard - Yes she is, and Umbridge has her reasons, they will become clear in time. Remus is definitely not coping well at all, as you can see from this chapter.
ChaosLady - Thank you
Reba - Adults generally aren't very good at saying "yes perhaps this is partly our fault", particularly when they can just blame it on teenagers, or at least that has been my experience so far (as both an adult and as a teenager). But I agree, it can be very annoying but that is what Harry and Draco are up against, they are assumed to be incompetent until they prove otherwise, no matter how unfair that is. If Harry had tried to fight them on it any more than they did, he simply would have lost his son, and probably Draco in the process; I think his decision to work with the system as best he could showed a great deal of maturity. All either of them really care about is being allowed to stay together as a family.
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For The Sake Of A Name