Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Survival of the fittest	By : Sasunarufan13 Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 18502 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 9
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter nor profit from it. Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling

Chapter List
- 4
- 5
- 6
Author's note: And here's the fifth chapter. Before you can go on to read, there's an important announcement I need to make.

!IMPORTANT NOTICE! Starting this weekend, I have to study for my exams. My exams end at the end of June, so until then there will be no updates. I will still be working on this story, but until my exams are over, there won't be any updates on this story so I can concentrate on my exams (as I really, really need to pass them). This story is not abandoned, it is just put on a small stop until my exams have ended. After that, the updates will appear again. Just thought I should all warn you in case people get confused when there is no update in two weeks.

Also, I have put a poll up on my fanfiction profile where you can vote for what kind of job Harry will have. Please vote :) It will help making a decision easier.

Thanks to the following reviewer: delia cerrano (the room won't be crowded because Harry will get a seperate room. As for his magic, it did get stronger and the rest of the explanation will happen in the seventh chapter normally)

Warnings: a bit of drama, not much. Oh and this chapter is edited by my, so I apologize if there are any mistakes left.

I hope you'll enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 5: Ministry ball and departure

Three weeks later, they all were back in England.

Being the main hero of the war, Harry had been asked to attend a celebration ball in honour of Voldemort's defeat a few months earlier.

Harry had refused at first, not eager to mingle and talk to unknown people whose sole attention would be on his scar. But he had to eventually give in when the Minister threatened to undo his restrictions on the press.

After the first couple of weeks following Voldemort's defeat, the press had gone wild with speculations about Harry's last moments confronting Voldemort and after they were tired of that, they turned their attention to his private life. Speculation about his relationship with Draco and his family quickly turned to outward slander articles until there were even articles suggesting that his relationship with Sirius was more than just godfather and godson – rumours which were eagerly fuelled by Molly Weasley, who claimed she had always been suspicious of their bond.

It was then that Harry had decided it was enough and had gone to the Minister, where he requested that the Minister put a leash on the press.

Having read the articles, the Minister had readily agreed to restrict the press. The next day, the press had been notified there would be consequences if they wrote any article without Harry's permission.

Thus it was now, a week and a half before school started again, that Harry was scowling at the mirror, disliking the formal robes he had to wear. Draco, who had also been invited to the ball – courtesy of the Malfoy family's influence -, would pick him up soon. After a brief discussion, it was decided their pets would stay home. Hiding four large animals, even with their ability to turn invisible, would be impossible in a crowded room, considering the chances were big other people would bump into them.

"I look stupid," he muttered in disdain and studied himself critically. While Draco looked well in formal robes, Harry looked awkward in them and it was clear he wasn't used to being dressed like this.

Hedwig, perched on top of his wardrobe, hooted softly and he sighed.

"Let's hope this evening is over soon," he mumbled and dropped some owl treats on the windowsill.

"Are you certain one of us doesn't need to accompany you?" Garin hissed, his long body curled up in a pile on the bed. Sapphire was sleeping in the small gap Garin had left open when he curled up. Ruby was taking a nap on the carpet, enjoying the last rays of the low setting sun.

"It would raise too many questions if someone bumped into you," Harry answered and his fingers absently traced over the necklace adorning his neck, which had been Draco's Valentine gift. He was also wearing the wrist watch Lucius and Narcissa had given him. His parents' locket was displayed on his desk, put under various protection charms.

Garin made a sound as if he clucked his tongue, but laid back down again.

"Harry, are you ready?" Remus appeared in the doorway.

With a last grimace thrown at the mirror, Harry turned around and nodded. "Yeah, I'm ready," He regarded Remus with troubled eyes. "I wish you and Sirius could join us though. I'm not looking forward to this ball."

The older man smiled sadly. "You know why that's impossible."

While the Ministry hadn't explicitly forbidden Remus from attending the ball, they had sent a letter in which they cautioned him against attending. Even though the Hogwarts professor was one of the war heroes, various people had expressed their disdain to letting a werewolf attend the festivities. The Ministry had written in a clear text that they couldn't guarantee Remus' safety if someone dared to attack him.

Remus had decided he didn't want to risk it and therefore Sirius refused to attend as well, not wanting to leave his lover alone and because he was disgusted by the people's reaction towards Remus.

"I know, but it's still unfair," Harry frowned, cursing those prejudiced people to hell.

"It is, but we can't do anything about it," Remus shrugged, used to the people's opinion by now, though it still stung him. "Besides, Minerva is coming over to talk to us, so it's not that bad that we're missing the ball."

"McGonagall? Why is she coming over?" Harry asked bewildered.

"Something to do with some teachers' posts, but I don't know more than that."

"She is not going to fire you, right?" the Saviour asked alarmed.

"No, no, she's just going to talk about a few open positions," Remus assured him.

"Harry, Draco has arrived," Sirius called from the foot of the staircase.

"I'll be right there!" Harry called back.

"Alright, try to have fun," Remus said lightly and Harry pocketed his wand in his sleeve.

He rolled his eyes. "Not likely," he muttered darkly to which Remus chuckled.

"Ready?" Draco smiled and his eyes looked at his boyfriend with admiration. Contrarily to what Harry thought, Draco was of the opinion that the dark haired wizard looked incredible in his formal, midnight blue robes.

Harry grunted annoyed, but nodded reluctantly.

Sirius smiled and patted his shoulder. "Just a few hours and then you can come back here."

Harry snorted and nodded to Draco. "Is your father waiting outside?"

"Yes, the Portkey will activate in two minutes so we better go join him." Draco answered and after saying their goodbyes, they walked outside, seeing Lucius waiting for them under the cover of a big tree, a few feet past the border of the wards.

Lucius nodded to Harry. "Good evening, Harry."

"Good evening," Harry greeted back and noted with slight envy that both Malfoys looked well in their formal robes.

Narcissa and Snape wouldn't be attending. Snape loathed the mere thought on its own of attending a festivity and Narcissa wasn't feeling up to it.

"Grab the Portkey; it will activate in six seconds," Lucius instructed and their hands joined the small copper goblet that clearly hadn't seen any water or another cleaning product for a long time.

Six seconds later, Harry felt the familiar and annoying tug behind his bellybutton and for a few seconds his body was squeezed through a very narrow tube and he was gasping when his feet landed on solid ground.

"Are you okay?" Draco asked concerned when he noticed Harry's pale face.

Harry smiled weakly. "Yeah, I just don't like Portkeys."

Lucius tapped his cane on the ground. "Let's go. The sooner we are there, the sooner we can leave." His disdain for the party was clearly audible in his voice.

They followed the arrows marking the route to the right room. Sometimes Harry thought he caught a glimpse of an Auror, hiding in shadows and charms.

Ministry functions were always supervised by the Aurors, but this time the best Aurors were assembled in case Dumbledore was near for some unfathomable reason.

Harry doubted the ex-Headmaster would show up now, but he figured he shouldn't go too much against the Minster's decisions.

The room, where the ball was held, was incredibly large. Even with the large crowd and the long tables loaded with food, taking up the space against the walls, the room seemed only half filled. Lit candles were floating in mid-air.

Right across from the door, against the wall, a raised platform stood, clad with a midnight blue carpet where the Minister would hold his speech.

Soft, classical music filled the space, together with the chatter of women clad in beautiful gowns and men dressed in classic robes. The mass was split in several smaller groups, spread out over the whole room: some were standing in the middle of the room, some near the tables and others underneath a window.

Harry had already seen some of his schoolmates: Neville, who had become a hero when he saved a group of six Hufflepuffs from three Death Eaters and who still wasn't used to the sudden attention, judging by the ever present blush on his face; Luna, who had kept the Death Eaters out of the Ravenclaw Tower (and who was now dressed in what seemed to be a blouse and a skirt made from tree leaves, together with matching green shoes and earrings with big leaves); Parvati and Padma, together with their parents; Daphne, who was talking with Blaise near a window …

While there were clearly more families present with ties to the houses of Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, there were also families tied to Slytherin attending, making up the majority of the Purebloods present. Those families were regarded warily by the others, but they didn't attempt or dare to do anything, scared for the rebuttal of the Ministry.

"How long do we have to stay here?" Harry questioned, not caring whether he sounded like a whiney child or not. He was already bored and uncomfortable and he had only just arrived.

Draco glanced at him exasperatedly while Lucius smiled indulgently.

"Two hours should suffice," the older Malfoy muttered and his sharp gaze flitted coolly from one side to the other.

"Thank Merlin," Harry mumbled darkly.

"Harry! Never thought I would see you here."

A grin appeared on Harry's face and he turned around to meet his friend. "Neville, glad to see you again!"

"Who managed to convince you to attend?" Neville asked amused, his cerulean blue robes bringing out his eyes. While he seemed more confident than a few months ago, he still glanced nervously at Draco, whose gaze was slightly narrowed.

Harry grimaced. "The Minister."

"Ah," Neville heard enough of Harry's tone to realize he didn't want to talk about it.

"How have you been this summer?" Harry asked, switching the attention to the other boy, who for once didn't mind the attention.

While Harry was talking with Neville and Luna, who had joined them a few minutes later; Draco was accosted by Blaise, who took him to a table to taste some of the dishes while talking about his vacation in Italy and Lucius – to his great annoyance – was engaged in a conversation with Marcus Parkinson and his wife Patricia.

"Lucius, how has your family been this summer?" Marcus asked with a thin smile.

The man was probably under the assumption his mask was well enough to hide his disdain, but Lucius saw right through it and he wanted to scoff.

"My family is well. We have enjoyed a holiday with Lord Black and his family," Lucius replied calmly and accepted the glass of sweet, white wine offered by a house elf.

"Ah yes, Lord Black," Patricia's upper lip curled up slightly, making her look like she had swallowed something sour like lemon juice. "Where is Lord Black if I may ask? One would think he would be present on an occasion like this one." Her muddy brown eyes glinted rather viciously.

"Lord Black had other matters to attend to, but he is represented by Lord Potter," Lucius answered and idly waved his hand at Harry, who had an intense look on his face while he listened to his friends.

"Ah yes, Mister Potter is of age now," Marcus murmured, his gaze calculating when he looked at Harry. "They grow up so quickly, don't they?"

Lucius merely inclined his head, wary of where the conversation was heading to.

"I can't believe my daughter is a young woman already," Marcus continued with a wistful voice. "She has inherited her beauty from her mother obviously."

Lucius raised an eyebrow slightly, but didn't comment; certain he wouldn't be able to hold back his retort what he really thought about their 'precious' daughter – the word 'beautiful' wasn't included in his response.

Marcus continued, seemingly under the assumption that Lucius' silence expressed his agreement. "I was thinking the other day that young Draco and our Pansy have quite a long history together. Why, they met for the first time when they were just six years old."

"It has indeed been a long time," Lucius smiled thinly. He was beginning to suspect what the Parkinsons were aiming for and he wondered if they really were that stupid or just too stubborn to acknowledge the truth – a bit of both, he suspected.

"Pansy has always found your son charming. This summer, the oldest son of the Rougefleur family was set on wooing her, but she declined his advances."

Amusement and annoyance were battling each other. Did Marcus really think he wasn't acquainted with the Rougefleur family? They were the most influential Pureblood family in France and the Malfoy family had been smart enough to make an alliance with them, not eager to have that family as possible enemies.

Lucius knew for a fact that the oldest son of the Rougefleurs had his eyes set on one of the Delacours' daughters and therefore wasn't the least bit interested in the only daughter of an unimportant Pureblood family.

"My, she must be popular then," Lucius replied bored.

Again Marcus didn't seem to pick up Lucius' disinterest, though Patricia narrowed her eyes a bit.

"Indeed she is, but she only finds one man worthy enough to become her husband and I can only approve of her choice," Marcus smiled and took a sip of his wine.

"She has high standards then," Lucius answered idly.

"That she has, but that's only to be expected when it comes to matters like this, no?"

A non-committal sound was his response.

"I am certain your son has high standards as well. After all, the Malfoy family is one of the purest bloodlines that still exist, thanks to your high standards."

Flattery will get you nowhere.

"Considering the intelligence, looks and charm owned by young Draco, I can safely assume he attracts a lot of attention."

Subtlety is not your strongest suit. How did you survive Slytherin with your abysmal acting skills?

"Like I mentioned before, our sweet Pansy is only interested in one man and that man happens to be your son."

Both Parkinsons looked expectantly now and Lucius decided he had enough of this inane talk.

"Unfortunately your daughter will have to lower her standards, because my son is unavailable," Lucius stated calmly.

"Who is he wooing then? None of the other Pureblood families have mentioned your son is a suitor for one of their daughters," Patricia remarked, her gaze sharp.

"You must have missed the various articles about my son and Mister Potter then," Lucius murmured with a silky voice.

Sharp, midnight blue painted nails dug into her husband's arm while she smiled sharply. "Of course we haven't missed that news. We all know however that their relationship is merely a fling; an experiment so they can settle down with a proper wife later," she responded stubbornly.

Lucius paused and studied the pair in front of him. Inwardly he sighed. It wasn't so much that they were stupid – though that certainly played a role – it was the fact that they refused to face the truth that made them pathetic.

He wasn't planning on forcing his son in a loveless marriage, like his own father had done to him. He had been lucky to get an understanding and open minded wife, whose only demand had been to wait with the divorce until their son was old enough. He had respected that one wish and while he never had been in love with Narcissa, he had come to love her in the course of their marriage as a dear friend and he was thankful for the son she had given him.

That didn't mean he would put his own son through the experience. Especially not if the possible choice for a wife was Pansy Parkinson – he suspected the girl wouldn't be as understanding as his ex-wife.

"Apparently you have lost your ability of comprehension with the defeat of the Dark Lord," Lucius stared at them coldly. "I'll make it clear for you: even if my son wasn't together with Harry Potter, your daughter would not even make the last place on the list with possible suitable partners for Draco. Miss Parkinson is a spoiled, selfish, immature, ill-mannered girl who doesn't even deserve the title of 'Lady' and whose intelligence level is the same as that of a second year Muggleborn Hufflepuff," he spoke smoothly and tapped his cane softly on the tiled floor, enjoying the dumbstruck faces of the couple. "Now that we have cleared up this little issue, is there something else you needed to speak about?"

Marcus opened his mouth, but closed it again when it was clear his voice had left him in his shock.

Lucius nodded satisfied. "I thought so. If you'll excuse me." Without waiting for a reply, he turned around and calmly made his way across the room, intent on talking to the Greengrass family.

A smirk lingered around his lips. Three, two, one …

"You pompous bastard!" a shriek suddenly tore through the excited chatter and the crowd fell silent in shock.

He could hear the crackling of the fired spell and was slightly surprised to know Patricia had immediately chosen for the Dancing Spine curse instead of something less offensive. He had pissed her off more than he had assumed. Well, it didn't matter.

He was ready to cast a shield for protection, when a familiar voice nearby snapped, "Protego!" and a light blue shield enveloped him, bouncing the curse off harmlessly to the ceiling.

When he turned around, he saw Harry standing a few feet away to his right, glaring at Patricia who had a small scuffle with two broad shouldered Aurors before they disarmed and cuffed her, leading her out of the room with Marcus trailing after them, after he casted a hateful glare at Lucius.

"Please accept our excuses for this brief disturbance," the Head Auror spoke through a Sonorus spell. "Enjoy the rest of the evening."

"Are you alright, father?" Draco asked concerned, his arm clasped around Harry's waist. They had approached him after Patricia had been escorted out the room.

Lucius nodded. "Of course." He glanced at Harry, whose eyes were still flashing with anger. "Your shield was appreciated, but unnecessary. I would have been able to call a shield on time."

Harry shrugged. "I didn't want to take a risk," he frowned. "Who was that woman?"

"Pansy's mother," Draco answered and studied the elder blond. "What happened?"

"Just a small issue I cleared up which dismayed them," Lucius answered in a neutral voice, though he threw his son a look which conveyed the message they would discuss it later.

Draco nodded slightly.

"Let's attempt to enjoy the rest of the evening," Lucius murmured.

Harry should have expected there would be trouble for him this night. Draco had left his side momentarily to speak with Daphne and he was lingering near a high window, alone for the moment. The Minister had held his speech and he had received thanks of many people again.

Bored out of his mind, he was counting down the minutes until he could finally leave.

His dream of his soft bed was rudely interrupted by a too familiar voice of the owner he had hoped to avoid.

"Look who we have here." His voice wasn't loud – yet – but the anger was clearly audible in his voice.

Harry stared apprehensively at his former best friend whose main goal now seemed to be harassing Harry. "What do you want?"

Ron's ears turned red – a sign he was close to exploding in rage. "For one thing, your excuses for Percy's death, how pathetic they may be."

"Why? He attacked me first, not the other way around," Harry snapped impatiently; tired of hearing the same accusations being thrown at him. It hadn't even been him who had killed Percy – it had been Sirius in self-defence.

How Ron and his mother could still claim Percy had been innocent was beyond his comprehension.

"You had it coming, obviously – he would never have attacked you without a reason," Ron argued hotly. "You can't say you were innocent with that plethora of Dark spells! They should lock you up in Azkaban!"

Harry couldn't hold back his scoff. "No reason? Your brother was working under order of Voldemort. He was nothing but an opportunistic bastard who had lost his mind in his desire to get higher up in the Ministry."

That made Ron snap and he quickly pointed his wand at Harry, the first syllables of an unknown spell (Harry suspected it wasn't a nice one) escaping his mouth.

However, just when Harry had erected a shield, a female voice called "Expelliarmus!" and Ron's wand was taken from his before he could finish the spell.

Both boys turned around and faced Hermione Granger, whose cheeks were tinted red. Her forehead was creased in a disapproving frown, the same one she always had worn when either Ron or Harry had neglected their homework until the last moment.

"What did you think you were doing?" Hermione asked and her tamed curly hair swished around her face when she stepped closer. Her blue, strapless dress glittered faintly.

Ron puffed up his cheeks like an angry chipmunk. "I was just giving that bastard what he deserves! He …" His rant was interrupted brusquely by his girlfriend.

"We're on a party, hosted by the Ministry and you thought attacking another guest would go unnoticed?" her tone was incredulous, as if she couldn't believe someone could be that stupid.

"But he …"

"Ron, let it go," she spoke firmly.

He glared at her and after throwing Harry a hate filled gaze, he snatched his wand from Hermione's hand and stormed off.

Harry blinked bemused and stared at the girl, who went red and looked down, seemingly finding the floor more interesting.

"I want to apologize for Ron's behaviour," she muttered. "He's been acting stupid the whole summer – I had thought he would behave himself at this party. He didn't manage to curse you, did he?"

He shook his head. "No, you stopped him on time. Thanks for that," he added, feeling awkward.

She gave him a one shouldered shrug. "It seemed you got your shield up on time, so my interference was probably not necessary." She glanced away, her hands fiddling with a small bow on her dress.

Harry felt uncomfortable; what should he do now? Continue the conversation somehow? Or make an excuse to leave?

While she didn't act as hostile as Ron and he had saved her life during the final battle (like the fight was called now), he didn't feel comfortable around her. She had been one of the people who had dropped him like trash, when it became clear he wouldn't give up Draco or protest his removal from Gryffindor – not that he could have protested, considering the terms of the ritual were very clear, but a lot of people had let him known he should have fought to stay in Gryffindor. Sure, she had never attacked him like Ron did, but she hadn't stayed at his side either.

Maybe she had been hurt by the fact he had given Draco a chance, but that didn't excuse her entirely. He supposed he was partly to blame as well. He shouldn't have given up on his friends so soon, but he had been tired of the arguments and he had allowed the rift to drive them further apart. Later in the year, Ron had completely destroyed any chance of reconciliation with his attacks. Maybe he could reconcile with Hermione, but it would never be the same as it used to be.

He was saved from making a decision, when a familiar voice called his name and footsteps came near.

"I should go," Hermione whispered and before he could say anything, she quickly walked away.

Right after her quick departure, he felt two warm arms coming around his waist, pulling him back until his back leant against a strong chest.

"What happened?" Draco murmured in his ear and he sounded wary.

"Ron wanted to start a fight, but Hermione stopped him," Harry sighed and frowned, still not entirely sure about what had transpired just now.

Draco tensed for a moment, before he relaxed again. "I would have thought that Weasley at least had the brains to not attack you here." Harry could imagine the sneer on his boyfriend's face with the next sentence he uttered. "Shouldn't have expected it of course. I am still amazed he got so far in Hogwarts."

"Apparently he had been pissed off all summer," Harry murmured.

"Not a surprise," Draco shrugged. He paused. "Want to leave?"

Harry nodded relieved and turned around.

Draco released him, stepped back and grabbed his hand. "Let's go find father."

They found Lucius talking with the Minister. He casted one look at Harry's troubled face and excused them, announcing it was time for them to leave.

They took a Portkey to Grimmauld Place where Lucius gave them a moment of privacy to say goodbye before he and Draco Apparated home.

Still feeling a bit troubled by what had happened at the ball, Harry entered the house and locked the door behind him.

The sound of low voices let him know Sirius and Remus were in the living room.

"Is McGonagall gone?" he asked when he entered the room.

The two men broke apart and looked at him surprised.

"You're home early," Sirius remarked after glancing at the clock.

Harry grunted and shrugged, picking a seat across from the men. "What did she want?"

"She wanted to talk about a position that opened recently," Sirius replied slowly.

"What position?" Harry asked and brought up a leg, resting his chin on his knee.

"With the disappearance of Dumbledore, she took over the Headmistress position," Remus began calmly. "But that leaves the position of Transfiguration teacher open."

"So she came to ask one of you to take over?" Harry furrowed his eyebrows, perplexed.

The older man nodded. "The other courses all have one teacher, so she couldn't ask one of them to take another course."

"So who's going to take over Transfiguration?"

"I will, because I was the best in Transfiguration when we were in school," Sirius grinned proudly.

"All the years?"

He nodded, still grinning.

"Well, Parvati will be happy at least," Harry muttered, remembering the girl's disappointment last school year when she heard Sirius would only be teaching the first through fourth years.

Remus grimaced and Sirius looked confused.

"What are you talking about?"

"Nothing," Remus spoke quickly.

Sirius glanced suspiciously at his partner, but for once didn't pursue the subject.

"Minerva told us the owls with the letters will arrive tomorrow, so what do you say of going to Diagon Alley afterwards?" Remus suggested.

Harry perked up. "Without Aurors?" he asked hopefully. Maybe the Ministry wouldn't be able to assemble a group of guards on such short notice.

Sirius shook his head, looking at him sympathetically. "Sorry, pup, but the Minister has already appointed three Aurors to join us on our trip."

A big sigh left his body. "Of course," he muttered broodily. It had been stupid to hope for that.

"It's just for two hours – you won't even notice they are there," Remus spoke soothingly.

Green eyes scowled at him. "They thought they had hidden themselves today too, yet I still noticed them at times."

"Well, it's only for two hours and then you won't see them except for the first school day when they accompany us to the station," Sirius replied, his fingers absently plucking at a loose thread of the couch.

"I guess," Harry muttered petulantly and stood up. "I'm going to bed."

"Party tired you out?" Sirius chuckled, stroking Remus' hand now.

Harry forced himself to smile. "Something like that," he murmured. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

"Everything alright?" Garin hissed after Harry had finished showering.

After slipping into his boxers and an old shirt, he opened the window and Hedwig hooted her gratitude before flying into the night to go hunting.

"Yes, everything went okay," Harry murmured, heaving a sigh when he climbed into his bed.

Sapphire purred sleepily in acknowledgement and Harry scratched behind her ear.

Not too long after, he fell asleep, mindless of the glance Ruby and Garin exchanged.

The following morning a sleepy Harry was eating his breakfast, leaving the reading of his school letter over to Remus.

"Is it okay if we search some books about your heritage in your vault?" Remus asked after passing the letter to Sirius.

Harry looked up from his toast with strawberry jam. "Sure," he shrugged.

Since his birthday, Remus hadn't let go of his idea of research. He was strengthened in his resolve when nothing else strange happened to Harry. His magical strength seemed to have grown stronger, but so far he hadn't performed a difficult spell to really check his level. The fact that nothing outwardly had changed, made the older man suspicious. After experiencing such pain, something very abnormal when receiving the magical heritage, something should have changed and Remus was determined to find out what exactly had happened.

"Ready to go?" Sirius asked twenty minutes later.

Harry nodded, feeling Garin sliding around his stomach.

The three Aurors were waiting outside; two men and a woman. The woman, with dark brown curly hair and light brown eyes, smiled friendly when Remus, Sirius and Harry joined the group, but the two men, one with grey hair and narrowed blue eyes and the other with strawberry blond hair tied together in a ponytail and small muddy brown eyes, just grunted, looking as enthusiastic as students during a history lesson.

They Apparated in a small alley, right next to the Leaky Cauldron and briskly made their way through the pub, ignoring the heavy stares of the other customers.

First they visited Gringotts and Remus spent half an hour in the large vault, handing over books to Sirius that looked promising for their research.

In the end they left with a bag full of gold and six heavy, old tomes, though Remus mused that maybe the Malfoy library would have some information about the Potters as well, considering they had a lot of texts about the various bloodlines in possession.

Sirius had looked resigned, remembering from their school time that his love wouldn't give up until he had found his answers.

From the bank, they made their way to the various shops; buying new school books; stocking in more quills, ink, parchment and potion vials. Hedwig got more owl treats as well.

As last stop, they visited the shop of the Weasley twins, though the Aurors – who had been following them the whole time (not even bothering to hide themselves) – frowned; clearly this shop was not enclosed in their plan.

George and Fred were happy to see them and introduced the small group to their newly invented products, ignoring the Aurors.

They left the joke shop with heavier pockets and three annoyed Aurors, who seemed very happy to leave the trio behind at their house.

The days leading up to the departure to Hogwarts were busy.

Harry finished his homework and checked the essay for mistakes, feeling a vague pang of sorrow when he remembered the times Hermione had looked over his essays while lecturing him and Ron about the perks of paying attention to the lessons. Thankfully, Draco agreed to checking his essays, the one time he had been able to visit his boyfriend during the last school free week.

Meanwhile Sirius and Remus were busy with planning and finishing their lessons.

Eventually the morning arrived when they would be going back to Hogwarts. Sapphire had been put in her cage, Hedwig following the same fate. Garin was curled around Ruby's neck, turning invisible when Ruby did.

They had agreed to meet the Malfoys at Platform Nine and Three Quarters. The Ministry had lent them a car, so they were driven to the station, arriving early enough to avoid a meeting with the Weasley family.

"I missed you," Draco muttered and embraced the smaller boy, kissing him softly on his lips.

"I missed you too," Harry murmured and slipped his arms around Draco's waist.

"Blaise is keeping a compartment for us," Draco let him know and after getting a hug from Narcissa and a handshake from Lucius, they got on the train.

A dark toned hand waving from the last compartment let them know where their friend was seated.

They managed to get their bags and all their pets (all invisible except for Sapphire, Hedwig and Cornelius – Draco's owl) inside the compartment – which wasn't an easy feat considering there were four large animals pressed between them.

Blaise, feeling the invisible, abnormal large presence against his legs, raised a dark eyebrow. "So, anyone going to tell me why it's so cramped here all of the sudden?"

Harry chuckled amused and Draco rolled his eyes exasperatedly.

While they launched into the explanation of how exactly Draco had acquired two new pets, the train took off, leading them to their last school year.

AN2: Not much drama or new developments in this chapter, but that can't happen in every chapter LOL What do you think of it? I hope you liked it; please leave a review behind with your thoughts!

Next chapter is called: "Welcome to Hogwarts"

See you all in the next update! (Which will be somewhere around the beginning of July normally)

Cuddles

Melissa
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Survival of the fittest