The Honor of Your Presence

The Honor of Your Presence

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Summary: Sequel to ‘Old Enemies New Loves’. Harry Potter, savior of the Wizarding World, has been alone for the last decade. He is focus on his career but secretly he has always loved only one person. The trouble is she is married to a wonderful man and has a wonderful baby boy. Just when he thinks he will never have a chance tragedy ses. es. Rating: R Warnings: Violent character death, sexual situations.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

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Chapter 1: Enemies to friends
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The honor of your presence
is requested at the marriage of
Miss Virginia Claire Weasley
to
Mr. Draco Lucian Malfoy
on Saturday, the nineteenth of June
at sunset
Malfoy Mansion, Wiltshire.

Harry Potter looked again at the cream colored stationary with its shimmering green ink and shook his head. Who would have thought that you would find the names Weasley and Malfoy on the same wedding invitation? Just a year ago Harry would have checked anyone who dared suggest such a thing into St. Mungo’s’ Hospital for Magical Maladies but then again he was hosting the ferret’s bachelor party so maybe he was the one who needed to have his head checked.

He wasn’t exactly sure how it happened but a few weeks after Draco popped the question to Ginny the blonde Potions Professor had shown up on the doorstep of Harry’s London flat in SoHo one cold Saturday in February. How the ferret knew that his flat was on Carlisle Street he didn’t know though Ginny had probably told him.

Harry had opened the door to his flat and he promptly shut the door again. Fucking Bloody Malfoy? Harry shook himself and opened the door again.

“Ah… Sorry about that Malfoy.” Harry said a little sheepishly. “I wasn’t expecting you.” Or anyone else for that matter, he thought to himself.

“That’s ok Potter.” Malfoy said with a smirk. “I affect people that way sometimes. Nice flat.” He said as he walked in and looked around Harry’s private space.

“Thanks.” Harry replied at the unexpected compliment. He really couldn’t take credit for it though. “Actually Hermione decorated it. Well, she picked out the stuff and told Ron, Krum and I where to put it all.” Harry said with a smile remembering how a very pregnant Hermione had walked into his flat one day and declared that after eight years in the same flat it was tim ’mo ’move in’. After a long Saturday scouring every little shop in Soho Hermione had sat in one of the supple leather armchairs they had found for a song and proceeded to imperiously tell the three hapless males to put this there or to the other over there.

“She did a wonderful job. I haven’t spoken to her recently. How is she?” Draco asked. He raised a sardonic eyebrow at the look of incredulity that Harry gave him. Malfoy asking after Hermione the muggle born witch that he had tormented all through their time at Hogwarts? “Geesh Potter, do you really think I could just ignore my fiancée’s best friend?”

“No, I suppose not.” Harry said only a little grudgingly. “She is doing good. Her hands are full with Alexi but she is looking forward to going back to work in the fall.”

“That’s right.” Draco replied. “She and Viktor Krum had a child a couple months ago. A son?”

“Yeah and the little bugger is the spitting image of Krum. If I were a betting man I would say that little Alexi is a shoo-in as a seeker when he gets old enough.” Harry said with a smile. The little four month old was already captivated by anything gold and shiny that passed with in his range of vision. So, of course being the good godfather he was Harry had gotten the little tyke a toy snich that zoomed lazily around his crib.

“So what brings you to my humble abode?” Harry asked. “I am sure you didn’t stop by just to talk about Hermione.”

Draco chuckled a bit. “Can’t get much past you can I, Potter?”

Harry smiled at the blonde that had once been the bane of his existence.

“Potter, I know that this is going to come as a hell of a shock but I wanted to ask if you would be my best-man?” Draco said with a hint of hope before he rushed on. “Well, you see it’s just that I lost just about every friend I had in the war and those that were left… well you can imagine that we are not on the best of terms. You helped me out so much with Ginny’s brothers and you were right about her father.”

Harry had never seen the self-professed Prince of Slytherin so unsure of himself. Never in the near twenty years that he had known the, usually, conceited git had he ever seen any emotion but condensation and arrogance. This was a new side of Draco “Albino Ferret Boy” Malfoy.

“Sure, Malfoy. I’ll stand up for you.” Harry said and was rewarded with a true smile from his former nemesis.

“Thanks, Potter… Harry.” Draco said. Harry and Draco had begun a tenuous friendship where Draco continuously nagged the savior of the wizarding world to find a woman and get shagged. Harry would just nod and smile. There was only one woman he wanted, not that she would ever be available, maybe in a hundred years or so, wizards were long-lived after all.

Now, it was the first week of June and Harry was happily planning a stag party for the man that he had despised for nearly as long as he had known him. Calls were made days ago to the few people that Draco had formed friendships with after Hogwarts and the few Slytherins that he was still on speaking terms with.

A limo was booked to pick the party up at the Leaky Cauldron where Harry was now tossing back a shot of tequila sans salt and lime. He hoped that getting the majority of the party a bit smashed to start with would keep any old rivalries at bay.

Draco was happily drinking with Blaise Zabini, Krum and Marcus Flint. Terry Boot was deep in conversation with Fred and George Weasley about investing ieir eir growing chain of joke shops. The twins and Draco had buried the hatchet so to speak and were civil and almost friendly. Ron Weasley had come grudgingly and was now drinking fire-whiskey like it was water.

“Ron, slow down or they won’t let you in the club.” Harry said softly to his friend.

“I still can’t believe that my sister is going to marry the bloody sodding ferret.” Ron said scowling into his glass.

“Believe it mate. In just a couple of weeks.” Harry told Ron softly.

Tom, the old innkeeper of the Leakuldruldron, caught Harry’s attention and pointed to the door where a sexily dressed chauffeur stood. She was tall thin in a willowy way. Her hat was perched on her blonde head at a jaunty angle. Harry smiled, walked over to Draco and but his arm around the groom’s shoulders.

“Draco, your chariot awaits.” Harry said indicating the girl at the door. The seven other men gave a cheer when they saw their chauffeur and the group trooped outside to the black stretch limousine that waited double parked on Charing Cross Road.

Looking back now, the events of the night were extremely foggy for Harry, he had been drinking early and had gotten steadily pissed as the night went on. They arrived at the Spearmint Rhino after a rowdy turn around London and were shown to a private lounge. It was nicely appointed with deep black club chairs. He remembered the first dancer was a little blonde number dressed sch school uniform very much like what the girls wore at Hogwarts she was also wearing Slytherin colors, silver and green. Harry had an odd image of Flint bent over by one of the dancers and getting a spanking with a wild grin on his shifty face.

Harry sat in the background drinking, thinking of the girl he never had the bollocks to tell that he cared for her and ignoring the bevy of green clad girls that gyrated and danced just for them. Ron and Draco had come over at one time during the night, arm in arm, and congratulated Harry on a ‘Ruddy great party, Mate!’ Harry gave them a wan smile and waved their thanks off. After three am had rolled around the nine men commandeered the limousine once more and each man was dropped at his respective residence.

Draco was the next to last to be dropped off he gave Harry a crushing hug and drunkenly commiserated that it was too bad that ‘Arry Poddr shoulda been Sythrn. Arry Poddr is a better’n friend than Crabbe ‘n Goyle.’

With Draco’s drunken departure it was just Harry and Viktor Krum left in the car. Krum’s eyes were closed and it looked as if he was asleep but a moment later Harry felt the ex-quidditch seeker’s dark eyes on him.

“Harry, I am not able to attend ze wedding with Herminee. You vill look out for her for me, no?” Viktor asked.

“Sure, Viktor.” Harry replied. “Hermione is my friend. I’ll always be there for her, Alexi and you as well.”

Viktor nodded satisfied with Harry’s response. A short time later they pulled up in front of Viktor and Hermione’s home and Harry was alone again just the way he tried to convince himself that he liked it.

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A/N: The Spearmint Rhino does exist and is on Tottenham Court Road, which is just one street away from Charing Cross. I don’t know if they have private rooms for parties and such their website didn’t say so I made that up. Special thanks go to GrrArrg for her information about London and the vicinity of the Leakey Cauldron and the Ministry of Magic based on the maps that can be found in the HP Lexicon. Read GrrArrg’s work, she is awesome!!!

Chapter 2: Wedded Bliss