This is the Way I Break

Author's note--Alright, so we don't find out YET what they're going to do for tonight's accommodations (next chapter!) but I think this chapter should make a few people giggle. I know it did me. Have you looked at the pics I linked from the other chapters yet? If not, you should! Okay, enjoy!

This is the Way I Break by Graballz

Chapter 3

Getting the Magic Back

“So what ARE we going to do for accommodations for tonight?” Draco asked curiously. Harry’s lip curled into a bit of a snarl, though he wasn’t angry. It was more of a reaction to doing something that he knew he wouldn’t like.

“Dunno exactly…yet,” Harry replied. “But first things first; we need wands.”

“Ollivander?” Draco bit his lip at the idea of going back to Diagon Alley. Neither of them had particularly fond memories of the wizarding locale, especially since they had avoided going out in public as much as possible before they moved to America.

“Not unless we absolutely HAVE to,” Harry said firmly. “I have another idea. Come on.”

“Where are we going?” Draco followed, but Harry waited until they were walking down the sidewalk, out of the station, before he answered.

“Grimmauld,” he said tersely. “That’s where our wands are; stupid museum or not, hopefully they’ll still be in the hiding place.”

“Note to us,” Draco tried to laugh, but it sounded forced. “Take our wands with us next time.”

“To be fair, we didn’t think we were ever coming back,” Harry said diplomatically.

“Shows what we know,” Draco grumbled, and Harry nodded ruefully. The large mansion sprang forth from between the two Muggle dwellings as they got closer, and while it looked exactly the same by and large, there were signs on the door that proclaimed it to be the location of the “Ministry of Magic’s Wizarding Home of Integration and Memory”, or ‘MoM’s WHIM’.

“How stupid is that,” Draco muttered as they pushed open the door and stepped into the entryway. “Mom’s whim…it’s not even a good name.”

The foyer had been restored back to its original brilliance from before Sirius’ ownership, with the only difference being the free-standing signs that prohibited cameras, film, and video from being taken inside the museum. Mrs. Black’s portrait no longer shrieked, and she actually looked happy, which disconcerted Harry immediately.

Kreacher popped into view, bowing low without actually looking up at them.

“Welcome, Masters, to the Wizarding Home of Integration and Memory,” Kreacher squeaked. “May I take Masters’ coats or bags? The next tour is starting in half an hour if Masters would like to join.”

“I don’t need a tour of my own house, thank you,” Harry replied dryly, and Kreacher’s head snapped up, his ears pointing straight up.

“Master Harry Potter?” The ancient elf’s eyes widened, and he grabbed his ears, hopping up and down. “Master has been gone a long time, but Kreacher knew that Master would return! Master Harry Potter is back!”

“Kreacher, don’t tell anyone, please?” Harry begged, and the elf fell silent, nodding. “Kreacher, let me ask you; are you bound by my orders not to tell anyone?”

“Kreacher is sorry, Master,” he croaked, bowing his head. “If Kreacher’s other master wants to know, Kreacher must tell him!”

“Who is your other master?” Harry glanced at Draco, who was frowning at the elf.

“Master Shacklebolt,” Kreacher wailed. “The house no longer belongs to Master Harry Potter!”

“Damn,” Harry griped. Draco squared his shoulders and adopted a snooty tone.

“I may not be your master, but as the last living relative of the Black family, I order you not to tell anyone that either Harry or I are or were here,” Draco commanded, and the elf fell at Draco’s feet.

“The Malfoy boy should be Kreacher’s rightful master,” Kreacher chanted. “The Malfoy boy speaks the pure truth! The Black family line that Kreacher loves and has served for his life is continued in the Malfoy boy, and Kreacher recognizes his blood masters before all other masters! Kreacher wishes that he served the Malfoy boy, and Kreacher remembers the kindness of his former Master Harry Potter.”

“Okay, thank you, Kreacher,” Harry cut the elf off, rolling his eyes. The house-elf got to his feet, bowed again, and Disapparated. “God, he was always in love with you.”

“I beg your pardon?” Draco’s head snapped around, and he quirked his eyebrow at Harry, who cracked a real smile.

“In sixth year, I had him and Dobby follow you to see what you were up to,” Harry admitted. “That was how I figured out you were using the Room of Requirement. When they came to me with the reports, Kreacher was going on and on about you and your perfect purebloodedness.”

“Well, he IS the family house-elf for a long line of purebloods,” Draco shrugged. “Being owned by someone like Sirius—who was pureblood by birth but not by attitude—was probably difficult for him, and then to be passed to someone who WASN’T pureblood…” Draco broke off when Harry’s smile was replaced by an angry look. “I’m not insulting you or your godfather, Harry; it’s the truth. All I’m saying is that the Ministry probably hasn’t done him any favors, and to have to greet tourists and take their coats…well, I’d be glad to see us too. Although him being in love with me disturbs me somewhat; you’re the only one I want to be in love with me.”

“I see your point,” Harry took a deep breath, letting go of the automatic anger that had welled in him, making him ready to jump to Sirius’ defense when Draco pointed out that he wasn’t being snarky. “And it’s not so much everyone else being in love with you that disturbs ME; it’s the thought of you being in love with anyone else BESIDES me.”

“Never,” Draco responded promptly, grinning adoringly at his boyfriend. “I’m yours, and you are stuck with me.”

“I can live with that,” Harry said, feeling a rush of happiness shoot through him, and then he remembered why he was there. He walked over to Mrs. Black’s portrait, but luckily for them, the frame was empty, which meant she was visiting another painting somewhere else in the house.

“If this is a museum, where are all of the people?” Draco asked, looking around.

“Well, Kreacher said that a tour is starting soon, so maybe everyone shows up for that,” Harry pointed out, grasping the frame and pulling with all of his might. Draco gasped as the gilded gold swung away, revealing a small gap behind the painting.

“What is that?”

“This is a secret hiding place I made,” Harry smirked, opening the bottom of a small compartment that was on the back of the painting. “This is actually part of the wall that I cut away, since a Permanent Sticking Charm was used on her frame. But if anyone else found it, they’d be looking in here,” Harry indicated the hole, “while in actuality, our wands are here.” Two wooden sticks dropped down into his palm, and he drew them out.

“You shoved sticks of wood up the backside of her portrait?” Draco began to giggle, immediately seeing the phallic representation, and Harry nodded.

“I thought it was quite fitting,” he laughed. “Plus I always wanted to be able to tell her to get the stick out of her arse; now, it’s quite literal.”

He kept his repaired holly and phoenix feather wand, handing the hawthorn and unicorn hair one to the blonde.

“Ahhh, much better,” Draco sighed, casting a Lightening Charm on the backpack. Harry had carried it during lunch, so Draco had taken it after lunch.

“Tell me about it,” Harry closed the wall without using his hands, a goofy grin spreading across his face as he and Draco exchanged triumphant looks. “Now let’s get out of here.”

“Don’t you want to see the museum?” Draco laughed, though he was mostly joking. He himself was intrigued enough to want to take the tour.

“No,” Harry shook his head vehemently. “I just want to get out of here.”

“Alright, fine, we’ll come back,” Draco acquiesced, and Harry wasn’t sure if he was being facetious or joking, but they pulled their luggage back onto the porch and down the steps, just the same. They carefully stowed their wands, and Draco renewed his original question about their sleeping arrangements for that night.

**********

Author's note--Alright, so filler chapter here, but I hope it gave you some giggles. First, yes, I KNOW "MoM's WHIM" was really lame (LAME!). I'm no good at acronyms, and I really should stop trying. (I couldn't come up with anything else that was less lame, in my defense!)

Also, since the portrait of Mrs. Black was stuck to the wall with a Permanent Sticking Charm (which you can't reverse, if you're keeping to canon) then Harry simply cut out the wall it was stuck to, to make the secret hiding place (if you didn't get that already). So when he hid their wands (since they were living in Grimmauld before they moved to America, that's where they would've left them), he shoved them in the hiding place on the back of the portrait, effectively shoving two sticks of wood up Mrs. Black's 'ass'. *giggle* I thought it was funny...*sigh*

And even though the Black house (and house-elf) now belongs to the Ministry (and has been turned into a museum, so there aren't any 'bedrooms' anymore, even if Harry and Draco WANTED to stay there, which they don't). That made Kingsley Shacklebolt Kreacher's master, except that Draco invoked the Black bloodline from his mother's side, so they at least have one ally in England, in the form of the house-elf. If the Ministry found out Harry Potter was back, then the Prophet would find out and that would be the end of the boys' peace and quiet. *shudder*

And so at the end, Draco still wants to know where they're sleeping that night, since he definitely does NOT want a repeat of the night before. They'll go back to the hostel if they have to, but they'd rather find a place to stay for the whole week that's more private. And believe me, they'll get it. It's coming! Thanks for reading!

MissNikki *GLOMPS* OH MY GOD!!! YOU'RE ALIVE!!! I MISS YOU!!! Thanks for your review, darling! I've missed you SO MUCH! I've been worried about you too, but I'm glad to know you're alive and well...Don't worry about it! Life kicks us all in the ballz at one time or another. Hopefully we'll have a chance to talk soon!

gorgeousbrowneyes Hey, I love your rambling reviews! (and I do it too, so how can I say anything?) Thanks! Yeah, I'm having issues like that with my mother at present. My "older brother" is gay, and I hang out with him and his roommate a lot. And one night, she and I were watching the episode of "House" where the two soldiers were gay and they kissed. And I was all crying on the couch because it was so sweet and tragic, and she was over on her chaise, and she's all like, "Ick! Ew! Gross! I can't believe they show that on TV!" and I was like, "What?" and she was talking about two guys kissing. She just thinks it's the end of the world, and I was like, "Shut up, it's beautiful. They love each other." And her response? "But they're two guys."

I was like, "That doesn't matter." And then she goes, "Have you ever seen (older brother and boyfriend) kiss?" and I rolled my eyes and was like, "Yes." and THEN (get ready for this) she goes, "Have you ever been intimate with them?"

I was like, "Seriously? Did you seriously just ask me that? WTF? No, um, hello, Mom, they're GAY! Not attracted here. Plus that's gross because he's my brother. I can't believe you even asked that!" (and then she cried because she always cries when we talk about homosexual stuff because "she just can't stand it".)

Although now my best friend has recently come out as a lesbian, and she's living with her girlfriend and I spend a lot of time over there. I haven't told my mom that my best friend is gay, probably because it would give my mom a heart attack. And I suppose the whole thing is that my mom's afraid I'm going to come out next, but I happen to like cock WAY too much, thank you very much. (Hence why I write slash, which ALSO makes her cry! *rolls eyes* Go figure. I can't win for losing with her.)

Okay, that had almost nothing to do with your review, but thanks for it anyway! *hugs*

Roozette *happy dance* Yay, glad you liked your surprise!!! The only thing about buying their own place (realistically) is all of the paperwork involved, plus the fact that it's rather late in the day when they arrived in London, so brokers are all closed (almost).

Plus they'd need it available immediately, but then there's the hassle of trying to find a broker who's not prejudiced like the hotel clerk (because remember, in this story, the majority of the British wizarding world was completely scandalized and horrified when their hero came out, and they wouldn't tolerate it, which is why Harry and Draco left...)

Plus they're only there for a week...and I had something else in mind. Hopefully you guys will like it even more than them buying their own place! Thanks for both of your reviews!

paigeey07 Thanks for your review! Glad you liked!

DracaMalfoy I know, right? *squeal* Here's more! Miss you too! *hugs* Thanks, darlin!

thrnbrooke Here it is! Thank you for your review! And yes, thank goodness for Roo! (saving our boys!)

SP777 Thanks for your review. As to your question about the Gringotts account, yes, Harry still has some money in Gringotts, but when they left England, he set it up so that it funneled money from Galleons to America dollars (or Galleons to pounds to dollars, if you prefer) into their American bank account. So it's going to be more of a challenge for him to get money out of his Gringotts account in England, versus the money he brought with him and exchanged.

(Does that make sense? I've had so many hassles with banks lately that I've pretty much come to the conclusion that you have to give them one instruction at a time, so for Harry it was, "Change my money to dollars and put it in my American bank account." For him to suddenly appear back in England at Gringotts to say, "I want Galleons out of my Gringotts account" (without prior notice) wouldn't go over well with the goblins, so that would cause a delay in and of itself.

Plus it was such a hassle for Harry to set up in the first place that he doesn't really want to change it for just a week and then have to re-set it up...I'm not going to expect actual competence from the bank! He's just going to use the cash he brought with him, plus his American credit card and debit card. That'll work well enough for the short time they'll be there. I hope this makes sense, and I'm not trying to shoot down your suggestion or anything.)

Plus, their flight didn't get in until late, so Gringotts had already closed on the day of their arrival. (Plus it's the weekend...so they can't really do anything with it until Monday anyway.) As we will see, the boys will have enough of a complicated Monday without thinking about the financial stuff.

And as to whether they could've found a "nice hotel"...yeah, they probably could have, and they did try. Here's that paragraph from Chapter 1:

They ended up having to get back on the Underground, which was rather dodgy at night. Draco followed Harry obediently, refraining from making a stinging comment when the Gryffindor took a wrong turn. They eventually ended up at another wizarding hotel (this was Harry's attempt at finding a "nice hotel", but as you can see, the prejudice against them was quite widespread), where they were refused service as well, though that time, Harry argued with the girl in English, to no avail. (As opposed to Draco arguing with the other clerk in French.)

They tried a Muggle establishment next (Muggle hotel: Harry's idea, not Draco's, but by this time, the blonde was so overwrought with the whole situation that he was willing to put up with it), but apparently they were in the ‘wrong’ part of London because the fat old proprietor rudely informed them that Old Compton Street was on the OTHER side of the city and threatened to call the bobbies if they didn’t leave immediately, even though they weren’t causing trouble. (This is a reference to the Old Compton part of London being the 'gay district', which they weren't in and didn't know about since it's the 'Muggle gay district'.) At that point, Harry was quite glad that Draco didn’t have access to a wand because the blonde looked ready to curse someone with a Dark and nasty spell. (More testament to Draco's mental state. He needs a hug!)

It was after midnight by the time they finally found space at a Muggle hostel. (I didn't want them sleeping on the street, but they DID go through such an ordeal by the time they got here that anything was better than nothing at that point, if that makes sense.)

Does that help? It's not that they didn't try...they DID...but it was just "one of those things" where it turned into more of a complicated process than either of them anticipated.

Draco's financial situation? Hmmm, good question. *wink* So far, we know that Harry supports the both of them with his money and that Draco was named the new Lord Malfoy after Lucius (and Narcissa) got the Kiss in Azkaban. What became of the Malfoy fortune and Manor? Good question...something to think about...

vampirekisses Thanks for your review! I liked Draco's reaction too! Take a good whiff because it'll get worse before it gets better.

Thanks again to everyone who reviewed! Thanks again for reading!