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
- 39
- 40
- 41
AN: I present to you all, chapter 40.
I think this chapter came together well. It is still taking me longer to update than before as you will have noticed, but I am still working on it when I can. No idea how long the next chapter will take, but I do have a chapter plan already to be written so hopefully no more than a few weeks but time will tell and it may depend on what my muses want to work on.
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

Previously:
Her attention turned back to the Gryffindors as she spotted that Weasley and Potter had not been the last to leave, as she had believed; the girl Weasley was following them. The redheaded girl was obviously trying to be secretive about it too, given the distance she kept between herself and the other two boys. Pansy had never really spared anything more than a passing thought for any of the Weasleys, but the expression on the girl’s face had definitely caught her eye.
It was anger, possibly even rage, and it was directed at Potter and Weasley; of course, it could simply be a case of sibling issues and of no importance to Pansy at all, but if that look was for Potter…
Pansy smiled; this was something worth investigating.
-#-
"I trust you are enjoying your new position at Hogwarts, Madam Umbridge," Lucius said with a polite half smile.
"Oh yes," she responded with a tinkling little laugh that made Lucius have to repress a shudder, a situation he found himself in all too often.
It was the evening of the second Friday of term. They were sitting in the drawing room of Malfoy Manor and the High Inquisitor was trussed up like a chicken in the most revolting pink suit Lucius had ever had the displeasure of seeing. She was slurping at a glass of bourbon; it seemed he had been correct to serve her from the lower grade spirits as she had babbled vociferous approval upon first tasting it.
"There is a great deal of work to be done there, of course," Umbridge told him seriously, "but that is to be expected given the free rein that Albus Dumbledore has been given for so long."
"Quite so," Lucius said dryly, really wishing there was someone less... irritating who would be suited to his purposes; but he had to remind himself there was a specific reason for her selection for the role.
He was seated in his favourite chair. There was something about it that made him look regal and he knew it, he had chosen it for that very reason. He had one knee folded over the other, making him appear relaxed whilst still maintaining control; his hands were neatly knitted together, resting easily on his lap.
"I understand that the appointment of a High Inquisitor was your idea?" Umbridge asked, giving Lucius what he was sure was supposed to be a flirtatious smile; it managed to do something to his insides, but it felt more like nausea than attraction. "That you suggested the position was given to me?" she went on.
"You understand correctly," he stated, her gratitude would certainly help matters as far as he was concerned; and given the awful way she was smiling at him, he was sure that she was indeed grateful. "Tell me, how has your first week progressed?"
"Dumbledore has been surprisingly accommodating, but some of the teachers less so. And it is the Potters who have been causing problems; you know all about that of course," she added, leaning back in her chair with an exasperated sigh.
"I do indeed," he told her, suppressing the smile that wanted to twitch on his lips. She really was going to be too easy to play, he didn't even have to bring up the subject himself.
"A child, in the care of teenagers," she said huffily. "Entirely unsuitable. Completely irresponsible," she mumbled, but Lucius heard her clear enough. "It seems disgraceful that they have been given permission to raise a child at school, or to be honest why they have been given leniency to keep the infant at all."
"I couldn't agree more," Lucius said. "I did what I could, offering to take the boy in myself but..." He gave a put-upon sigh. "I just wanted to give that innocent child a real future but the ministry seemed to think that two sixteen year olds would be better suited than Narcissa and me."
"Well..." Umbridge said, a devious smile forming on her lips, "... I am well positioned to observe their attempts at parenting. I am sure a detailed report on their activities would help the committee to rethink the matter."
"Oh no, I wouldn't want to trouble you..." Lucius said, trying to sound surprised and shocked by her suggestion. He hadn't dared to dream that she would play so beautifully into his hands.
"It would be no trouble," Umbridge assured him. "In fact, I feel I must, for the sake of the child. That little boy deserves better, I know that, I..." she paused. She wasn't supposed to talk about what had happened, the ministry files were sealed and those in the know ordered into silence.
"There is something you wish to share, Madam Umbridge?" he asked, trying to express casual interest. He was fairly sure that he knew exactly what it was that she wished to tell him, but given he was not supposed to know, nor was she supposed to speak of it, he would wait to see what she would reveal.
"I cannot," she stated. "Just know I have experience in these matters. I will watch the Potters closely." Umbridge just had to hope that was enough; that she and Malfoy could find a way to work together on the issue. It had not been part of her reason for being appointed at the school; no, she had been appointed to monitor the teaching standards. But she could not allow this situation to continue; she had to do something.
"Do let me know what you find," Lucius requested kindly. "That child is of my blood, even if his mother betrayed my family."
"I will see that my reports find their way to your desk," she told him, toasting him with her glass of bourbon before downing the reminder of it.
"That would be greatly appreciated," he said, with a nod of his head as he got to his feet, Madam Umbridge following suit. "Oh, and you might want to look into Draco's accident," he suggested as he directed her towards the room where she would floo back to Hogwarts.
She turned and looked at him curiously. That was a long time ago now; more importantly... "Isn't Severus Snape a friend of yours?"
"In a manner of speaking, but that accident still should not have occurred and I would hate to see another family suffer as mine has," Lucius explained. "I just think it would be wise to maintain a watchful eye on the esteemed potions master."
For too many years had he permitted Severus Snape to be counted amongst his allies, the man had always served his purposes well, but something had changed in him during his most recent visit. Lucius suspected that the potion master's loyalty was not as secure as it once had been, and in truth he was beginning to wonder how long it had been wavering for; Snape still seemed to have concern for Narcissa. Lucius thought that the potion master seemed to feel almost guilty over her predicament; most likely due to his role in having brewed the potion that enabled the conception.
Narcissa was now seven months pregnant and stuck in her own bed, on orders from a well respected and expensive healer. The house elves and provided her with all the care she needed now, but Lucius felt the concern for his unborn heir like a weight in his chest; he hated that he was having to go through this at all and he would have his revenge on those responsible.
"I will see what I can do," Umbridge said, though she was looking at him strangely.
Lucius suspected that she believed him to be conspiring to something; she wasn't wrong but it made no difference, the woman would not act against him while their interests remained so aligned. Even if their paths were to diverge, his role in her appointment as High Inquisitor proved his sway with the minister; that alone would ensure her cooperation.
"Good day to you, Madam Umbridge," he said politely. "I appreciate you sparing me some of your time."
she stepped towards the fireplace, taking a pinch of floo powder from the silver box that a silent house elf that had appeared and offered.
"To you too, Mr Malfoy," she responded as she stepped into the fireplace and floo-ed to Hogwarts.
There was a certain smugness in the tall blond man's expression, now that there was no-one there to see it; Madam Umbridge was every bit as easy to manipulate as the Minister himself. He already knew about the secret she was keeping, about what motivated her so strongly to assist in removing Orion from his parent's care, but there was no need for her to know that.
As for Snape; he would not see the man removed from his post just yet, but there was no harm in arming himself with the tools to make it happen. If nothing else it would ensure his obedience in some matters of importance, starting with the remainder of Narcissa's pregnancy. Nothing could go wrong; Lucius Malfoy would not lose a second heir.
-#-
The first two weeks of term had been exhausting, so Sirius and the Potter family had eagerly anticipated the arrival of the weekend, however the relief of Friday night was short lived when they awoke to Orion's distressed cries in the early hours of Saturday morning.
"I'll get him," Harry mumbled sleepily as he literally rolled off the side of their bed, only just managing to get his feet underneath himself quick enough to stand up, rather than ending up in a heap on the floor. Though perhaps the heap on the floor might have been preferable given how tired he felt.
Harry had no idea what time it was but he didn't think they could have been asleep very long; Orion had already woken them once to be changed and fed, but Draco had gotten up then. He glanced towards the window, confirming, as he thought, that it was still dark outside; middle of the night dark, not just early morning dark, he suspected.
He lifted his bawling son out of his cot that they had been using for nearly a week. Sirius had put it together for them when he was watching Orion on Tuesday morning while both Harry and Draco were in Herbology.
"Hey there, little man, what's the matter?" Harry asked, cradling Orion against his chest; the first thing he noticed was that he looked rather flushed, and that he was warmer than he should have been. He checked Orion's nappy but it was clean; so he warmed one of the bottles of expressed milk they kept under a preservation spell with a quick wave of his wand, picked it up and tested the temperature before trying to get his son to eat.
Orion was having none of it though, turning his head away from the offer bottle, his tiny fists scrunched up and pulling at Harry's pyjama top; his crying was really not letting up at all.
"Draco, I think you should come here," Harry called out as he rocked his son gently to try and calm him. He didn't want to worry his wife, but couldn't deny that he was growing increasingly concerned for his son.
Draco appeared in the doorway a moment later and Harry couldn't help but smile at her; her hair was a mess, she was yawning, rubbing her eyes sleepily, and the pyjama top she was wearing was so big on her that there was no doubt that it was Harry's; all-in-all Harry thought that she looked adorable. That was other than the look of worry on her face as she approached her husband and son.
"I think he had a fever," Harry said, as Draco took their son into her arms.
She cuddled him close as she rested the back of her hand of her son's forehead; the skin was warm and clammy, he was sick, she was sure of it. "It's okay, baby, Mummy's got you," she cooed, "and Daddy is going to go wake Madam Pomfrey right now so we can make you all better."
"I am?" Harry asked, glancing at the window again and wondering just what time it actually was.
"Yes, you are," Draco said sternly, "your son is sick and needs a healer."
"Okay, Daddy's going," Harry agreed as he placed a kiss on Orion's forehead. He went to grab his cloak and shoes, not wanting to waste time getting dressed, but not going to make himself sick by going out into the Hogwarts corridors in just his pyjamas.
"Yes, and he is going to go quickly before Mummy kicks his arse," Draco added.
Harry chuckled as he pulled his second shoe on, before pulling his arms into the black cloak. "I love you both, I will be back as soon as I can," he promised kissing Draco chastely and hurrying for the door to their bedroom.
Draco followed after him at a more sedate pace and stood in the doorway rocking their distressed child in her arms, as Harry closed the door over the entrance to their rooms behind him. She had known it would happen sometime, that Orion couldn't go his whole life without ever becoming unwell, but it was still upsetting her more than she wanted to admit. Her heart was beating fast and hard in her chest as she failed to offer Orion the comfort he needed and her eyes burned as she tried and failed to hold back her tears.
"Draco?" Sirius voice questioned from the doorway to his own room.
"Oh, sorry," she said quickly, as she wiped away the stray tears that had escaped. She belated realised that he had probably been able to hear Orion from the moment Harry had opened their bedroom door. "Didn't mean to wake you."
"No, no, its fine," Sirius said quickly, hurrying over to them. "What's going on?" he asked as he ran a hand over Orion's hair and met Draco's tear filled eyes.
"He's sick, Sirius," she told him, letting more tears fall; she was simply too tired to fight them. "He has a temperature and he's all clammy and won't stop crying..."
"Hey, hey, hey," Sirius said gently, pulling Draco into a hug from the side, not wanting to wedge Orion between them if he was already too warm. "Come on let's cool him down a little and get him out of these clothes," he suggested, guiding them towards the bathroom.
Draco looked almost as upset as Orion sounded, but she was the poor little boy's mother after all, so Sirius supposed that he could understand her being that way.
"Harry went to get Madam Pomfrey," Draco told him as she sat down on the floor, leaning back against the edge of the bath as she started to manoeuvre Orion out of his sweaty clothing.
"Okay, that's good," Sirius told her, glad that the school nurse would be able to check Orion over, even though he was sure it was just a minor bug that would pass quickly; it was just so upsetting to see the normally happy, smiley little boy so obviously distressed.
Once the little boy was undressed, Draco lay Orion on her chest, his head over her heart, as she gently ran her fingers through his hair and over his back. Sirius passed her a flannel that was very slightly dampened with cool water and she carefully brushed it over her son's tiny forehead and across the back of his neck. As she washed his little body his cries softened and became whimpers, as his mother comforted him and the cool cloth eased his heated skin.
She hadn't even noticed when Sirius left but she looked up at him as he returned and handed her one of Orion's baby blankets. "Poor kid," he said, sympathetically, sitting down with his back against the wall near the door.
"Thank you," Draco said earnestly as she wrapped it loosely around her son, before going back to gently brushing to cool cloth over Orion's head and neck. She really wished Harry would hurry up and get back already, even the little soft cries that their baby boy was letting out now were breaking her heart.
Sirius couldn't help the yawn that escaped him; they had all had a really long first week back and he would be the first to admit this wasn't what any of them needed for the weekend, but it wasn't like it was Orion's fault that he had gotten poorly. He watched on sadly as the three month old boy reached up and tugged at his ear and hair.
"You can go back to bed if you want, we'll be okay," Draco said quietly, pressing her finger into Orion's clenching fist.
It was bad enough that she, Harry and Orion were awake like this in the middle of the night and she felt kind of bad that Sirius had to be too; if anything his week had been more exhausting that either of theirs had been. The man was amazing really; she knew that people hadn't expected much from him, she had heard the jokes and stories about how he had been as a teenager but Draco honestly had no idea what she and Harry would have done without him.
"Not happening," Sirius told her with a smile. Not only was he one of the little boy's guardians but, far more importantly, he loved Orion; there was no way he could have gone and slept now even if he had been inclined to do so. "I will go to bed when we know what is wrong with Orion, and preferably when he is asleep again."
"How's he doing?" Harry asked as he appeared in the doorway of the bathroom, looking and sounding as though he had run a mile.
"Better than before," Sirius told him, as he got to his feet.
"Excuse me, Mr Potter, but there was little point in waking me in the middle of the night, if you are not going to allow me through to tend to my patient," Madam Pomfrey's stern but kindly voice said from behind Harry.
He blushed a little feeling momentarily a bit stupid, but he had been in quite a hurry to return to his wife and son. "Sorry," he mumbled, stepping into the bathroom and allowing her through.
It really was very crowded with them all in the small room and so Sirius stepped back out into the doorway to give them a little more space. Madam Pomfrey knelt down next to Draco, her bag clinking and rattling as she placed it down on the floor and Harry presumed and hoped that it contained potions or medicines that would help ease Orion's suffering.
"He's going to be okay, right?" Draco asked, her voice shaking a little as the school nurse cast a couple of quick diagnostic spells over the whimpering infant.
"He is going to be just fine," Madam Pomfrey assured her with a soft smile. "He has a tiny bit of a cold, that has given him an ear infection." The nurse started to dig in into her bag, the vials clinking together as she shuffled them around before pulling out a bottle of blue liquid that Draco recognised as a pain reliever. "Do you have any milk expressed?"
"There are a couple of bottles in our bedroom," Harry told her quickly, "Sirius, could you...?"
"I've got it," Sirius said, already half way to the door of Harry and Draco's bedroom before Harry could even finish the request.
"Let's give this little man some pain relief and get his fever down," the nurse said as she pulled out a second bottle that Draco thought must be a mild fever reducer.
Harry gratefully took the bottle of milk when Sirius returned and took a seat on the floor next to Draco as he took the top off of it. The nurse tipped three drops of the pain reliever and four of the fever reducer into the milk, instructing Harry to give it a good shake.
"Do you want me to...?" Harry started to ask, holding out his arms for Orion. He could see on his wife's face how tired she was and he wanted to get back to sleep soon as much as he did their son.
"No, I need to," Draco insisted however. She shifted Orion, who gave a weak and exhausted cry, into the crook of her arm and Harry placed a kiss to her temple as she took the milk and potion mix. She raised the teat of the bottle to Orion's lips but he protested and turned his head into her chest, his little hands coming up to his face. "Come on, Orion, you really need to drink this," she said, her voice heavy with worry and, after another couple of attempts, he finally latched on and drank.
"Keep him hydrated, so I want you to keep up with all his regular feeds, okay?" the nurse instructed and Harry and Draco both nodded their understanding. "The cold flannel was a good idea, use that if it helps, and you can give him another three drops of pain relief and four of fever reducer every six hours," she instructed clearly.
"Leave those with me," Sirius said, taking the vials as Madam Pomfrey passed them over and he went to put them somewhere safe.
"Now, I am certain he will be fine but if he seems to be getting worse at all, or the potions aren't helping then you bring him straight to me," the nurse told them firmly, smiling at how well Orion was doing at drinking the milk; he was almost half way through the bottle already. "Hopefully he will be well again by Monday but if he isn't I would like to see him, but other than that just try to get some rest. And I do mean the two of you, as well as Orion," she told them sternly.
"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on them," Sirius said who was back and leaning against the doorframe watching the Potter family with great affection.
"You better make sure you get some rest as well, Professor Black," she said with a small smile. "I will be most displeased to hear stories of you being too tired to complete your lessons come Monday."
"Yes, Ma'am," he agreed, chuckling as she headed for the door.
"You know where I am if you need me," she said, before leaving the room and the Potter family to what was promising to be a long and tiring few days.
-#-
"...so then Katie did this really awesome dive and actually managed to catch the quaffle. Of course, we were all in shock," Ron said. He and Hermione were walking back up the Grand Staircase to the Gryffindor common room following lunch on that Sunday. "I really thought she was going to hit the ground, but if she can do something like that in our next match..."
Hermione was listening, she honestly was, even if only because she knew how important the sport was to Ron but she just didn't understand his need to detail the full blow by blow of their practice session. It was nothing new; she remembered him doing the same after each match they watched, though Harry had been there at the time and she had been able to just tune the pair of them out.
On Saturday morning Ron had had heard from Sirius that Orion was unwell; that of course meant that Harry would be staying with his family instead of joining the Gryffindor Quidditch team outside. Ron had come to the Potters’ rooms wanting to move the team practice to Sunday but Harry had been insistent that he still wouldn't be able to attend then either, and that they should go ahead without him.
Ron had been pretty disappointed but obviously Orion was Harry's priority, he understood that; he cared for Orion a great deal and of course just wanted the little guy to get better soon. However, given the excitement with which the redhead was talking about their practice, Hermione was fairly sure that once the team had actually gotten out onto the pitch they had not really felt the absence of their seeker. They were, of course, able to practice just as well without Harry there, but she understood how it might affect morale.
"Hello, Hermione; hello, Ronald," a familiar and most welcome dreamy voice said, breaking into her thoughts.
Hermione turned and smiled at Luna as the petite blonde fell into step with them at her side. "Hello, Luna," she greeted fondly.
"Luna," Ron said with a slight frown on his face.
Hermione didn't think that Ron had anything against the blonde girl in particular; it was more that his monologue regarding the quidditch practice had been brought to a rather abrupt and premature end; something that Hermione wasn't upset about in the slightest. Since the start of term she had met with Luna several times; the girl had an uncanny knack of knowing exactly when she would be in the library.
They were only two weeks into term and already the bushy-haired brunette found herself looking forward to those moments when Luna would seemingly appear from nowhere and put a smile on both their faces. More often or not the two of them could be found sitting next to each other quietly reading in the library, but sometimes one of the would find something of particular curiosity and then they would launch into a dynamic discussion of the details.
They disagreed on many things and Hermione found the younger girl's theories largely bizarre and fanciful, while Luna often would chuckle at how the Gryffindor girl needed to open her mind to the world of possibilities she was closed off from. The way the Ravenclaw girl viewed the world was rather endearing though, Hermione thought.
"I had a book I wanted to show you," Luna said to Hermione, smiling up at the taller girl, blinking her large pale eyes slowly. "Perhaps we could go sit outside for a while? You would be welcome to join us, Ronald," she said, leaning around Hermione to look at the red-head on her other side.
"Thanks but I'll pass... really important essay to write," he said.
Hermione's pinched lips told him that she knew full well that he was making an excuse; and a rather poor one at that, given the curve of her mouth. She was right, of course, but an evening playing snap with Seamus, Neville and Dean was a hell of a lot more appealing that sitting listening to Hermione and Luna debate the existence of Blimberling Himmingers, or whatever it was she had been talking about last time he had the misfortune of getting caught in one of their debates.
"Your loss," Luna said, sounding as happy as ever, linking her arm through Hermione's and leading them off towards the Entrance Hall, presumably to go sit in the grounds.
"I have a most interesting localised warming charm we can try," Ron heard Hermione tell Luna, as he watched the two girls walk away from him without a glance back.
It really was a peculiar friendship and, while he wasn't overly fond of the strange Ravenclaw girl, he was happy that Hermione seemed to enjoy Luna's company. He couldn't help but feel a little bit resentful though; Harry was always with Draco and Orion, understandably, and now Hermione was often disappearing off with Luna. Ron sighed to himself, part of him hated how selfish it felt to even think it, but he couldn't help but wish he could have his best friends back all to himself, just for a little while.
-#-
Molly had really tried to insist that Remus stay at The Burrow that evening, but she knew she could not force him to and so she had no choice but to watch as he returned to Grimmauld Place alone. She comforted herself with the small achievement of not only having managed to talk Remus into joining her and Arthur for dinner, but into actually eating something.
"Molly, you really shouldn't worry so much," Arthur said, putting his arm around his wife's shoulders to lead her away from the fireplace where Remus had just floo-ed away.
"He is too thin, I am sure he isn't eating," she said. "And I dread to think how much he is drinking, I could smell it on him."
"I know, but you did a good thing bringing him here this evening, and we will help him, but just not tonight," Arthur insisted.
Molly sighed. It was very difficult to just let it go when she was quite so certain that the man was doing a truly terrible job of taking care of himself; it was also becoming clear that he was quite seriously depressed. She knew Arthur was right though; she had done what she could, and would continue to do so.
She was not quite sure what it had been that had set Remus on this downward spiral. Possibly just being lonely rattling around by himself in that big, old, empty house. Whatever the cause, the talk of increasing werewolf legislation, that was now being reported every day in the Daily Prophet, was doing nothing to help him. According to Arthur, Umbridge was behind it and that fact just made Molly all the more furious that that woman was being set loose upon Hogwarts. She worried for her children, and for Harry, Draco and Orion; she had a sinking feeling that things were going to get worse before they got better.
But there wasn't anything to be done about that just now. For the present, she was going to have to talk to Sirius about Remus, and soon; they just couldn't allow Remus to carry on this way.

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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 - I think Pansy honestly believes that Draco is only with Harry because that was her last option kind of thing, she certainly believes that it would be best for Draco to "save her" from her marriage to Harry. As for Ginny, she just believes that Draco has stolen Harry from her, and while she understands that Harry loves Draco and Orion, she would rather have him for herself; at the moment she sees no way to make this happen, but if Pansy was to suggest something...

Yes, my time away really helped and, while I won't be posting on a regular schedule, I will be updating as often as I can and have found my direction with the story again.
Goldfish - I understand Delia has her computer back now, but I hope you will keep reading :D Ginny and Pansy could have the potential to be bad news, if they can work out a plan because obviously they aren't going to be able to easily win Harry and Draco for themselves.
Chaos Lady - They definitely have the potential to cause a lot of problems, but it is unlikely to be an easy alliance even if it does happen.
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For The Sake Of A Name