Remember Me Always

Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be. *tear*

~Chapter 3~

‘Maybe that wasn’t the best way to start out this conversation…at least he’s not likely to think that this is some colossal joke,’ Harry thought to himself. Draco looked like he was in shock. ‘Definitely not the best way to do this. Alright Potter, think, talk to him.’

“Draco, do you understand what we just did?”

“Defied the laws of physics? I dunno, you just, we just, appeared in London. God that was awful.”

“Yeah, I didn’t really like Apparating when I first learned how to do it either. It takes a long time to get use to feeling like you’re being turned inside out.” Harry’s cheerful tone was doing nothing for Draco’s nerves.

“How about we go inside and then we can talk about what’s going on? There are a few people coming over that I’d like you to meet. I asked them to help me find a way to restore your memories.”

Draco didn’t answer, he just stood up calmly and made his way to the door. Harry followed, pulling out his wand in the process. Touching Draco’s shoulder, Harry moved the blond around to face him.

“I need to set the wards to recognize you, that way you can get into the house.” Noting Draco’s expression Harry clarified, “Wards are kind of like a muggle dead-bolt. They’re strong locks that are extremely difficult, sometimes impossible, to break.” Draco nodded in comprehension, but made no inquiries as to the meaning of the word ‘muggle.’ He wasn’t kidding when he said that he knew basic things; he knows what a muggle is,’ Harry thought to himself.

~oOo~

Harry’s home was a rather well manicured three story house. From the outside it looked like any other home in the neighborhood. There was a front garden with a green lawn, privacy hedges, and a smattering of medium sized rose bushes in front of the porch. However none of Harry’s conservative neighbors noticed when a small group appeared seemingly out of thin air in the middle of the well kept garden. The truth is, they didn’t see much of anything that went on at the Potter house.

This was thanks in great part to Hermione Granger; she really was the most intelligent member of the group. When Harry had first decided to move to a muggle populated area, it had taken a few days to assimilate all of the necessary wards. No witch or wizard who had not been approved by Harry himself was allowed within the house. Likewise, apparition was impossible inside of, or into, the house.

The charm placed over the whole of Harry’s home was a little something that he and Hermione, both, had cooked up. After a great deal of research, on Hermione’s part naturally, the two had set to modifying a few pre-existing spells. One of the effects was that muggles would not notice any magical activity around the building. The wards would also set off alarms within the house should any magical person enter the perimeter of the property, without having been already okayed by Harry.

Harry had joked, saying that he now had a protective cube around his house. The statement was actually quite true, seeing as the wards extended, not only to the property lines on each side of the house, but also to fifteen meters below, and forty meters above the residence. Harry had wanted to be able to fly, and do other such things with his daughter that muggles need not be privy to. After all, what muggle had seen anything like Fred and George\'s fireworks?

It was after every protection that Harry felt necessary was in place, that he and Vera moved out of Sirius’ old home.

~oOo~

What may have been amazing to muggles was actually quite normal for wizards. However, to one blond wizard who was quietly exploring the Potter house hold, things were quite extraordinary in deed. Harry stood back as Draco got acquainted with his surroundings. He knew that the Slytherin wouldn’t relax until he knew where everything was, especially the exits.

Draco looked around Harry’s living room. It was quite large he decided; his small flat was about a third the size of Harry’s first floor. The center focus of the room seemed to be the grandest fireplace he had ever seen. A grown man could fit inside of it! Two squashy armchairs flanked a large sofa, and there were bookshelves lining the wall opposite the front door. There were pictures everywhere in this room… on the bookshelves, the mantle, everywhere. The oddest thing about these pictures in Draco’s mind, was not the fact that they seemed to be animated, it was the fact that he didn’t find their animation to be unusual.

“Who are these people?” Draco asked motioning to a rather excited photo of the Weasley family, which was taken before Harry’s graduation.

“Those are the Weasleys. They’re like family to me. I believe that photo was taken the Christmas before I graduated, they invited me over to their home for the break. The couple on the far right are Arthur and Molly. And this is Bill, Charlie, Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny; she’s the only girl,” he said indicating each person’s likeness as they were named. “They actually have one other son, but they had a falling out a nearly a decade ago. Charlie died six years ago.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. They sound really important to you.”

“They are. Like I said, they’re basically my family.”

“What about your parents? Don’t you have some sort of family around?”

“My parents died when I was a baby, and I had to live with my aunt, uncle and cousin. They were not very fond of me, and the feeling was quite mutual.”

“I don’t really remember my family. I dream sometimes, about a man and a woman who look like me. I think they’re my parents, but for all I know I could have seen them on a television program somewhere.” Draco’s tone was a bit sad, but it wasn’t overwhelming. It seemed that he had given much thought to his family over the years.

Draco looked further down the bookshelf. He didn’t know who most of the people were, but it helped that Harry had explained about the Weasleys. He lingered on a photo that was apparently taken at a wedding. He had never seen so many ginger heads in one place; obviously a Weasley affair. The bride was a pretty brunette, she wasn’t overtly so, but she had a certain quality about her which was quite appealing. It appeared that one of the twins was the groom while the other was the best man. Every person there was dressed in robes (‘perhaps I hadn’t wandered out of a costume party’) and smiling.

He recognized Harry in the crowd. He was holding a little girl with curly blond hair, who was giggling. Draco only saw a few other blonds at the gathering (in-laws perhaps?), so her presence stood out to him. Wandering further down still, he found many more pictures of the blond girl; some with food on her face as an infant; some of a toddler with Christmas bows stuck all over her head; some of the same little girl in a ballet costume and one with her sitting in front of Harry on a broomstick, hovering a few feet in the air. She seemed so happy.

“Is this your daughter?”

“Yes, she’s my world.”

“I can tell. The two of you look very happy. What’s her name?”

“Vera Lillian Potter. She just turned six.”

“Is your wife one of the ones I’ll be meeting today? Is she in this picture?” he asked gesturing to the wedding photo.

“No, I’m not married. You’ll be meeting Ron, Hermione, and Fred today. Hermione’s the bride in that picture.”

“Are you close with Vera’s mother,” Draco asked with feigned neutrality. He had been so sure that Harry was gay. That was the reason that he’d agreed to lunch today; he thought it was a date.

“I think the details of who her parents are, is best left to after everyone gets here. Come on, let’s wait in the kitchen. Do you have any requests for lunch?” Harry asked trying to steer the conversation in a less controversial direction.

“What are my options?”

“Anything you want.”

“Well that narrows it down. Um, how about spaghetti? That should be pretty quick.”

“Spaghetti it is then.” With a snap of his fingers a saucepan appeared on the now hot stove, emitting a rather pleasing aroma of tomatoes and pepper. “You still like olives don’t you,” Harry asked absently as he chopped vegetables to be added to the sauce.

“Yes. How did you know that? You can’t read my mind can you?”

“No I didn’t read your mind. Besides, that’s not possible. Your mind isn’t a book to be perused at leisure. You and I went to school together…and, we developed a much closer relationship than just schoolmates. That’s how I knew.”

“Oh. Do you…have any pictures of me?”

“Several actually, I can show them to you later if you’d like.”

\"Can all wizards do that? Just snap their fingers and make things appear?\"

Their conversation was cut short by the sound of the front door opening.

“Harry?” a female voice came through the door.

“We’re in here Mione!”

“Hi Draco,” Hermione said softly as she entered the room. She walked over to Harry and gave him a hug, surprising Draco when she repeated her action on him after leaving Harry’s side.

Two red headed men followed Hermione into the kitchen a moment later nodding their greetings.

Turning once more to face Draco, Hermione introduced herself. “And this,” she said extending her hand towards Fred, “is my husband Fred.”

“Hey Malfoy, it’s definitely been a while.”

Before she could do it for him, Ron stepped forward and introduced himself. “This is so weird, I mean our families have know each other for generations. I’ve never had to introduce myself to you before.”

“Were we on friendly terms then?” Draco asked, thinking back to the older blond couple in the wedding photo.

“No, um…we didn’t agree on very much; sort of hated each other would probably be more accurate.” ‘Definitely not my family then’ Draco thought to himself.

“Why are you here if you hated me then?”

“Well, we stopped hating each other after Harry forced us to get along.” At this comment Draco shot a confused look at Harry. “After a while we sort of came to a truce.”

“Draco,” Harry began, “Ron, Hermione, and Fred are my best friends. They were willing to get along with you because you and I were…” Harry petered off at this point, not sure if he should just outright tell Draco that they were in a relationship.

“We were lovers weren’t we?” Draco cut in.

“Yes.”

“Draco we think you were hit with some sort of memory charm during the final battle, that’s why you can remember basic things, but have no real memory of your life as a wizard. I hope you don’t mind Harry, but I flooed Professor Snape this morning.”

“Hermione why did you have to do that?”

“Because, he knows a lot more about curses than we do. Besides, he is Draco’s Godfather; he’s got a right to know that he’s not dead.”

\"I\'m sorry, battle?\"

\"That\'s a very long story Draco.\"

Draco sat quietly listening to the three converse around him, but not paying attention to what they said. He was a wizard. Draco knew that there was something different about him, but he wouldn’t have guessed that he had…magical powers. God, that sounded strange. It was like some fairy story come to life. If he hadn’t been watching Harry make things appear and disappear for the last half hour, not to mention transporting them from Surrey to London in a split second, he’d think he was on one of those horrible prank shows.

~oOo~

The four sat together, eating Harry’s amazing cooking, talking about things that had happened in their past.

“You tried to hex Harry while his back was turned, and the Moody imposter transfigured you into a ferret! He was bouncing you around the hallway as punishment until McGonagall stopped him. Ahh…that was the best moment of my life up until that point,” Ron explained as he wiped tears of laughter from his eyes.

“Well it sounds like a pretty shitty time for me.”

“You were an evil little git back then, you deserved it.”

\"Fred! What a thing to say,\" Hermione interjected.

\"Doesn\'t mean it\'s not true.\"

“Alright, do you all have any good memories you’d like to share, because my opinion of myself is going all to hell.”

“I’ve got a good one,” Harry broke in. “Remember how you showed me your necklace and said that there was someone out there who was worried you had gone? That’s me. How about I show you my memory, instead of just telling you about it?”

“You can do that?”

“Yeah, just a second,” Harry got up from the table and left the kitchen to retrieve a pensieve from his room.

Upon returning he found Hermione explaining what Arithmancy was to Draco. “Can I interrupt?”

“We just filling time until you came back,” Hermione said.

“Yeah, with the most boring class to ever be taught at Hogwarts,” Ron interjected. Hermione smacked Ron in the back of the head at this point, which was more an action attributed to Ginny; perhaps her sister-in-law was teaching her a few tricks.

“Draco, this is my pensieve,” Harry said indicating the antique white bowl in his hands. “I wanted to show you a memory from the last Christmas we had together, before everything happened. Harry placed the bowl on the table, and placed the point of his wand at his temple. Slowly, he removed a long silvery strand, a memory, and placed it in the pensieve.

Draco looked down as the substance turned smoky and swirled around the bowl. “How do I see it?”

“Just touch it, you’ll be pulled into the memory.”

“Will you come with me?” Draco asked looking to Harry.

“Of course,” at that he took Draco’s hand, and pulled the blond up out of his seat. Together, they placed their joined hands into Harry’s memory, and left the dining room behind.

TBC

A/N: I got it out earlier than expected! (I’m so proud of myself, lol.) I would like to thank all of my wonderful reviewers: Sheila, silverhope, Arc, myniephoenix, Darcie, avihenda, entchen, thrnbrooke, Alex, eimiaj, Ki-chan, caty, roxierose13, Jacky, and Mel. Y’all are the ones who make me update all the faster.

Still to come: the memory, the photo album, and Vera. Plus, we’ll figure out exactly what it is that happened to Draco.