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

Chapter List
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Author's Notes: Sorry guys for taking so long! I had a lot of editing work with this chapter and then RL got really busy with my mom visiting, work and some shopping for the warmer weather. I got back the next chapter from one of my betas, but not from the other, so once I get that too, I'm going to get that ready as well. All that I have scheduled besides catching up with my posting is cooking and finishing a Korean drama I'm watching. I want to get some more writing in as well and finish chapter 8.

Another thing is that I'm going to reschedule posts to Thursdays or Fridays as because of the time difference, betas and everything, that just works better.

I read through my reviews. I sometimes go through them to see about concerns and such, so here are some answers to things that you guys brought up.

One is Hermione's diet. In 2008 I felt ill all the time, especially after eating. I was concerned, because I've had several problems like that and some involved rather nasty things, so I went to a doctor. After some tests they found that I have Candida in my blood, so I had too much in my system. I cut out all sugar, flour, and some other minor things, took mushroom-killing medication. The blood test after 3 months of this revealed that I managed to bring down the levels to the normal one. I never slacked for one meal. If any of you have it too, then I suggest sticking to it religiously and not wavering. For those who had not had it, I have to tell you that it can be a very serious problem. If you have other conditions that weaken you, you can die from the combination. Actually, while I was on the diet, there was an actor in my country who died from a really severe case of Candida infection. So no, I'm not kidding. Anyone can have it.

Second is my gaming. I do love to play, I especially get caught up in it when I start the game, but I'm too much of a Gemini to have only one interest at a time. Plus, I already played through DAII once as a mage. I also have several chapters written already.

Third, is the "when am I getting on with the action". Well, this is going to be novel-length from the looks of my plans, so I have to build it up. Like I said, the progress is sloooow. However, the next few chapters are going to actually show progress.

As always, I send my love to my lovely betas, Hazel and Icicle. You send some love their way too!

Chapter 4: An Important Missive

The next day Harry woke up feeling more refreshed and alert than he had in a long time. He had only been on the diet for less than two days, but it seemed to be working. Harry had so much energy that he wanted to jump out of bed, run into James' room and rouse him, then tickle Albus awake, and lastly, blow a raspberry into Lily's tummy. But they were with Ginny, he realised, and his good spirit threatened to evaporate. However, he shook himself and managed to not let that dampen his mood. He quickly got ready for the day. It was a Saturday, which meant no work, but Harry couldn't stop thinking about last night and contemplating Hermione's difficult situation. Saturday or not, he had things to do today.

He skipped down the stairs to the kitchen, where he startled his house-elf with his loud morning greeting. Hermione was already sitting at the table and smiled at his antics. She had dark circles around her eyes and the fact that she was not trying to take over Dinky's work was a testament to her exhaustion. Their special white flour-free, sugar-free sandwiches were placed before them, along with tea and sweeteners. As Harry was munching on his breakfast, he was glad that Dinky could bake the special bread; it was so delicious warm, and fresh. They also ate a small salad on the side which contained a few slices of crisp green apple.

"I thought we couldn't eat fruits," Harry said, remarking on the apple.

"Just not the ones with a high sugar content. Green apples are fine," she answered and even smiled a little.

They both enjoyed their meal silently for a while, but the breakfast table was too quiet without any children around.

"Hermione, I've been thinking," he began. "We should get you a solicitor, to help with the divorce and getting custody of Rose and Hugo."

"Harry, you know I don't have any money."

"But I do."

"Harry..."

"I've promised to help you." Harry refused to hear her protests. "I have a lot of money, even with Ginny practically pouring it out the window on her trips. A lot of my money is invested in good, solid businesses that are making more money. Let me use it to help you."

She nodded, reluctantly. She did not like taking his money, but there was no other way.

"I don't know much about Wizarding Family Law myself," he continued, "nor do I know any solicitors who are good in the field. But, I had an idea last night. I ran into Draco Malfoy yesterday."

Hermione frowned at the name of the blond wizard.

"He was pissed off at Ron, because he brought him in for some questioning. You know how Ron is; he is always accusing the Malfoys of something. So maybe we could ask him for some advice. He must know some good solicitors."

"You really think he would help?" she looked sceptical.

"Yeah. It would be like getting back at Ron."

"But all the purebloods have been furious with me, telling me that I should go back to Ron. He is a pureblood too, Harry," she pointed out.

"True, but he said something that got me thinking. Do you know the differences between Light and Dark Wizards?" he asked the question that had been bothering him for a while.

"Dark Wizards do evil magic, Light Wizards do good." Hermione frowned.

"That's what I thought. Then I realised that's something we had learned from the Weasleys. So, I went to the bookstore and searched for anything on the subject. I found an old book in the used section and last night, I read a little of it. It's about Dark Wizards," he started to explain. "Apparently, the terminology doesn't even refer to using a type of magic, rather it's cultural. Light Wizard Culture has been dominant for several centuries. The author actually claims that she's afraid Dark Wizards will die out and that all their traditions will be lost. She further explained that Dark Wizards are called such as they follow the path of the Goddess, who is symbolised by the moon, and because of that they mostly perform rituals at night. For them, women are very important and unlike Light wizards, Dark Wizards don't rule over their wives."

"That's so fascinating, Harry. I can't believe I never looked this up!" She was clearly miffed about Harry being more knowledgeable than her on a subject.

"It's okay, Hermione. Apparently, the book that I found is rare and was the last one printed on the subject. It's over a hundred years old! The Shoppe owner explained this to me when I bought it. And I only know that much, I was too sleepy to read more last night," Harry said, blushing. He was used to Hermione knowing everything and him listening with wide eyes.

"So you think that Malfoy would have a different attitude towards my divorce because he's a Dark Wizard?"

"Yes. How about we send him an owl after breakfast and request to meet him?"

"Good idea," Hermione said, perking up. It felt good to be doing something about her situation.

Once they were finished with their meal, they composed a letter together for Malfoy. Harry sought out his owl, Scops. He was a Common Scops Owl and had his own little space in the attic. The bird was much smaller than Hedwig had been, kind of funny looking too, with big round eyes, but Ginny thought it was cute, and so they bought it at the time when they got married. She had told him that it was ridiculous that he was still mourning his late owl, but on many lonely days she had been his only companion. Harry found Scops sleeping on his perch and had to nudge him awake. Scops puffed and huffed, but stuck out his leg dutifully. His large eyes widened in bewilderment when he was told his destination, but left for Malfoy's home all the same.

After they had watched the owl quickly disappear through an open window, Harry smiled reassuringly at Hermione and suggested she lie down for a bit. She looked somewhat relieved that they had the beginning of a plan, so she was optimistic about getting a small nap. Harry decided to continue reading the book he had purchased, in order to prepare for his meeting with Malfoy. If the blond would meet him, that is. So, Harry went to his own room and lay down on the top of the covers, pillows fluffed up behind him and started to read.

He was just starting on chapter two, when Scops landed on his nightstand and impatiently held his leg out. Harry took the message off the limb and the owl immediately flew off, not even waiting for a word from its owner. Harry remembered how he used to talk to Hedwig and felt a pang in his heart again. He chased it away with a sigh and opened the parchment.

Potter,

The Mudblood's problems don't really concern me, especially since she was stupid enough to marry a Weasley. However, you are right, I would love to see Weasel lose against her and get taken down a peg. He has been too smug for my taste since the war for my taste and not to mention annoying. Still, don't think I'm going to help you out of the goodness of my heart. You're going to have to give me what I want in return. I will be Flooing into your 'house' - and I use the term loosely here - at 1pm, sharp. Be ready to receive me, Potter, and make sure the Mudblood is presentable. I know the Weasleys are still paupers, but I don't want to actually see it.

Regards,

Draco Lucius Malfoy

Harry shook his head at the blunt letter. Malfoy had apparently not changed one bit, but he needed him and the prat knew it. He glanced at his watch and noted that it was only 11am, but he knew how long women needed to get ready, so he went to rouse Hermione all the same. She wasn't hard to wake up, so once her eyes focused on him, he showed her the letter. Her eyes widened and she rushed to the bathroom after grabbing her beaded old beaded purse. Harry could hear clothes falling onto the floor.

"What am I going to do, Harry, I have nothing to wear!" she shouted from the bathroom.

"You could wear one of Ginny's fancier robes. She has so many, I doubt she has even ever worn half of them," he said, remembering the many times that the end-of-the-month reports from his Gringotts vaults had listed the names of a clothing establishments. He didn't even know there were so many places to buy robes! Not to mention that robes could cost that many Galleons.

"Are you insane, Harry?" she practically screeched at him. She had the shower going by then, but she had obviously used some sort of a charm to make sure that she heard Harry through the sound of the water. "On the one hand, Ginny is shorter and way skinnier than I am. I'd never fit into anything and using charms on those clothes would ruin them. I've seen what she wears all the time and those fabrics don't take to enlarging charms well. Besides, the way we are now, she'd be really cross with me if I wore anything of hers."

"You could quickly Apparate over to Gladrags. I know Ginny is a big customer of theirs and I would pay for it. Just tell them that I sent you and I'm sure they'd put something together for you in no time." Harry hoped he had arrived at a good solution. Women and their clothes...

"I'm not sure. I'm not really comfortable taking your money," she said as the water stopped and she was getting out of the shower.

"Hermione, you know that I want to help you. I have so much money, what is it good for if not for helping out my friends?" He sighed. Money was always such an issue. He was always glad to help his friends with it, or buy anything Ginny or the kids wanted. He just wished Hermione would not make a big deal out of it.

"All right, Harry," she said as she opened the door. She was probably wearing one of her newer robes, which meant it was only a few years old, but still looked rather worn. However, her hair fell down her back in long waves and her make-up was really nice. Over the past years, she had obviously learned some better grooming charms.

"You can Floo there and tell them that you need the robes in a hurry. Maybe later we could go back and get you some other clothes. If we're associating with Malfoy for a length of time, you'll need it," he explained.

"You're right," Hermione acceded.

"Why are you making such a fuss over your appearance anyway? It's so unlike you," Harry noted.

"My mother always taught me that if you ask for something from someone, you always have to make sure to get on their good side first. He spoke in his letter about my appearance and I'm just afraid that if he doesn't see me make an effort, then he'll just turn around and Floo right back. I'm also worried about what he'll want in return for his help." She really did sound worried. "What if he asks for something devious or illegal?"

"We'll see, Hermione. I'm sure he won't ask for anything he knows we are not prepared to give."

She just nodded and went to use the Floo. Harry went to Dinky to notify him that he should start lunch and once he was finished, he should put Hermione's under a stasis charm. After that, he went up to read some more. By the time he sat down to eat a delicious-looking meal of chicken and vegetables, it was already past noon. He didn't want to wait for his friend, because he wasn't sure if she had time to eat before the meeting with Malfoy.

He was almost done when the Floo flared to life and she stepped out in dark blue robes that were embroidered with a white leaf pattern along the edges. Harry assumed the cut must have been in style, because he had seen the more well-dressed witches wear similar robes on Diagon Alley, but he didn't really know what was different about it. Clothes would always be just clothes for him. Hermone was beaming in them though and that was what really mattered. Apparently the shopping had done her good emotionally. She sat down at the table in front of him after her chipper greeting and once the elf served her meal, she began to eat. It was obvious that she was taking care not to get something on her new robes, she was eating so slowly.

Harry finished his dinner quickly and he wondered whether or not he should change. He looked down at his house clothes, the rather worn loose trousers and the T-shirt and then looked over at his friend. Changing would be a good idea, he decided and let Hermione know that he would be in his rooms. So he went up to his bathroom, cleaned his teeth and face. Afterwards he selected his favourite emerald-green shirt and black trousers. He reluctantly put on a short black robe. He was still not used to wearing such things outside of work, but the shorter ones were not such a bother. They were quite modern as well, he supposed. He hadn't seen short robes until a few years before, and he was glad that they appeared as they weren't as annoying as the long kind. He didn't bother with his hair as he knew it would be in vain, so he went down to see that Hermione had already finished her meal.

At one o'clock they were both standing before the fire in the living-room and the fire changed to green to signal that the Floo was being used. A second later Draco Malfoy regally stepped out, his pale blue robes flaring out behind him. He would have made Snape proud.

End Notes: I've never had to edit so much in a chapter! My poor betas had a lot of work with this one, probably because I'm just generally better at writing dialogue. Maybe I should write dramas.

Please read and review. Inspire me to write a lot over the weekend, since I'm not going to have a lot to do around the apartment.
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Things Fall Apart, But Then You Build Again