Harry Potter and The Beloved Incubus (BP4)
folder
Harry Potter › Slash - Male/Male › Harry/Draco
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
41
Views:
21,683
Reviews:
120
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Harry Potter › Slash - Male/Male › Harry/Draco
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
41
Views:
21,683
Reviews:
120
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
No Bystanders
Chapter Number/Total: 4/40
Chapter Title: No Bystanders
Words: 3221 Words
Harry dropped the towel from his hips to the floor upon exiting the bathroom after his and Draco's shower. He found trousers in the walk-in closet and pulled them on, pulling the flaps of fabric at the fly just to test them. He looked in the mirror at his shirtless form, examining his body. He thought he could see a pooch in his lower stomach, but it was probably just his imagination. He gave his reflection a tiny frown and proceeded to dress himself, getting ready for the Order meeting taking place at Grimmauld.
Draco stood in the doorway, watching Harry look at himself. "I suppose we will have to buy you new clothes soon." He smirked. "But I don't suppose Madame Malkin gets much call for men's maternity wear."
Harry gave Draco a sarcastic smile and rolled his eyes. "Probably not," he said with a small snort.
"You may have to go back to wearing the over-sized Muggle clothes or traditional robes with lots of volume," Draco said.
"I'll have to do something," Harry replied. "Although I don't think I'll be able to hide it forever, no matter how big the robes are."
"Better to let the world think you are getting fat than know the truth," Draco said.
Harry nodded and shivered just the smallest bit as he thought of what Voldemort might do with the information.
"I want to talk about the meeting," Draco said, nearly finished dressing himself.
"What about it?" Harry asked, pulling on his outer robe.
"Everyone is frightened," Draco said, "and they should be. But you can't be. You need to show them that you can handle this."
"I know," Harry said with a small sigh. "I can, I think."
"They need courage, and they need you to show it to them," Draco said quietly, walking up to stand looking into those green eyes.
Harry smiled softly and nodded again, looking up at Draco. Despite his expression, there was also determination shining in his eyes.
"You don't have to know everything, that's why you have a team." Draco smiled.
"I have a good team," Harry said. "And a very, very, very good husband."
Draco raised an eyebrow. "I have some talents that please you," he purred.
Harry's smile widened. "They please me greatly," he said with a playful eyebrow waggle.
"I think, my husband, our leader, that we had better go before I get other ideas," Draco laughed.
Harry chuckled. "Save them for later, yeah?" he joked, leaving the closet.
***
Even previous Order meetings hadn't been as full as this one. The press of sorrow and fear was overwhelming. The only members not present were those who were needed in the field.
Everyone watched Harry with a sort of nervous calm if there was such a thing. When he, Draco, Hermione, and pretty much every Weasley, besides Ginny, arrived, the tension seemed to rise and fall at the same time.
Harry nodded to a few people before he made his way to the front of the kitchen table, staring around at the full room.
Draco sat down to the left and slightly behind Harry. His choice was deliberate symbolism. He would help with strategy and lead a field mission, but leading the Order was Harry's role.
Harry leaned forward at the table and took a deep breath before letting it out slowly. "We all know what we're here for," he said. "The last two nights have been ... awful to say the least, but I've never been prouder to work with such a group.” He paused and continued looking at each of them in turn. “With the final count at 117 dead, at least a third of which were children, I think it's safe to say that this war is finally, really, truly upon us. He's not going to hold back anymore. There's no reason for him to."
Draco sat back, waiting until Harry called on him to talk about the issues he had brought up the day before.
"We need to focus on getting the word out about what the Wizarding wizarding community can do to fight against him. As Draco said the other day, everyone has to choose a side now. We want them on our side."
"Right you are, Harry," wheezed old Elphias Doge.
Shacklebolt stood up, getting Harry's attention. The man looked older than he had at the last meeting and it looked like he hadn't slept since before Christmas Eve. "We were caught unprepared and the Ministry knows it," he said. "I am not sure how Scrimgeour will try to slant this, but we need people to know this could have gone better."
Beside him, Tonks was nodding. "Most died before we ever even figured out who we should be looking for," she said.
Draco discreetly nudged Harry, hoping to get a word in, but still very aware of his odd place in this group.
Harry felt the nudge and nodded to Tonks and Kingsley. "Actually, Draco was just saying something similar to me," he said, leaving it open for Draco to talk if he wished to.
Draco stood up. "Everyone knows that His followers target Muggles and m ... Muggle-borns," Draco began, realising he almost slipped his terms. "But what no one seems to realise is that because of that, they were able to exploit the rest of the wizarding worlds' own prejudice as well. The Ministry keeps a record of every witch and wizard, but pays no attention to Muggle relations of those members of the community. Families of wizarding folk were killed because they weren't protected. Most of us have wards or charms on our homes. They had none."
Mr Weasley gave a very firm nod. "I've always been saying that they need protection. They may not be part of our world, but they are a part of the people in it."
"Yeah, but how do we go about protecting them?" asked Fred. "It's illegal to do magic in front of Muggles, well, at least the ones that don't know anything about us, and while the families of wizarding folk know about us, it's still illegal to provide them with magical means of protection, isn't it? Like say, putting a ward up, or even giving them one of our Shield Charm hats. Too risky."
"And it's a ludicrous law," said Bill. "Draco's right. It is a weak spot and one that should be looked at. These are things no one ever thinks about until something like this happens."
"Yes," Draco said. "Every child born in a magical family grows up with these protections. Muggle-borns are neglected even when we know who they are. And their families are at higher risk now than the wizarding families. Forty-two of those killed were children. Others were parents, sisters, brothers of our community."
The room was full of nods and comments of agreement. There were a few people, such as Headmistress McGonagall, who were so shocked to hear this from Draco Malfoy that they looked at him like they had never seen him before.
"This is a matter of changing the law," said Charlie. "With proper information out, it might be easier to do that. Most don't give a damn. They don't even think about it, like Bill said."
"I'm going to give an interview to the Prophet," said Harry. "Hopefully, that will make some difference."
"I was called a coward because I wouldn't kill," Draco sneered, "but they are the cowards, wearing masks and killing people who have no way of protecting themselves. Killing children in the night."
"Precisely," Shacklebolt agreed.
Harry felt that sharp hatred course through him, but it only lasted a second. "So, I'm going to give the interview to try and inform people about this weak spot and inform them about what this war means for them in general. They need to be more prepared than they are. You would think they haven't been through the first war at all."
"People have been trying to keep Fudge's mentality. Pretending it isn't happening yet, even after the leaflets have been sent out and there have already been dozens of deaths," said Mr Weasley. "There will be no ignoring after this. An article in the Prophet is a very good idea."
"Draco's idea, once again," said Harry, wanting to show these people just who he was married to and the man he trusted with all of his secrets.
"I think I understand the reason," Remus said quietly. "The last war wasn't won. It was only delayed. Most wizarding folk did not lift their wands to do a thing about it. They lived in fear, but not action."
"Well, it's started up again," said Harry. "And we'll damn well win it this time."
Tonks frowned. "So what needs to be different than the last time?" she asked. "I mean, He was killed and came back. And we can't even keep the Death Eaters we capture in Azkaban."
Harry sighed. "Well, the Ministry was leaning so heavily on the Dementors, and now that they're gone, who the hell is guarding Azkaban anyway?"
Moody snorted, then snapped, "Those willing to take the jobs. Seedy disreputable lot if you asked me."
"Well, we should have Aurors in there," said Harry firmly. "At the very least."
"Scrimgeour keeps saying he's going to place Aurors there - another thing the public doesn't know about are the guards in Azkaban - but one of the problems with that is there are limited numbers of Aurors as it is," said Mr Weasley.
"Well, wizards from the regular magical law enforcement should be there then. Not dodgy people who could probably be persuaded to join Voldemort anyway," said Harry.
"That is the problem," Shacklebolt added. "We don't have enough trained people in the Auror department or other divisions of Magical Law Enforcement. The Ministry has focused on paperwork for its staff and relied on the Dementors for punishment. We need to change that and get more field-trained people."
Harry nodded, wondering how on earth they were going to do all of this. "Okay then, so that's another thing on the list - near the top of the list mind you. We can't have every Death Eater we catch getting right out again. What do we do about the families of Muggle-borns and half-bloods? We can't leave them unprotected still, not after this."
"I have a suggestion about the Death Eaters," Draco said quietly.
Harry turned his head. He nodded and raised his eyebrows. "Go ahead," he said.
"You won't like it," the blond said.
Harry frowned slightly and a few other people suddenly looked a bit wary.
"What?" Harry asked.
"Kill them," Draco said. "They are a continuing threat. At least kill their leaders when they are caught."
Harry frowned more and shook his head. "I've already said we can't do that," he said. "It's fine in battle. If they die they die, but I just - I don't think it's right of us to simply kill them once we've got them down, when they can't fight anymore."
Draco frowned, he didn't want to argue with Harry about this in front of people, but he felt the point was important. "So what will replace the Dementor's Kiss? And how is having your soul eaten by a monster like that not worse than being legally executed?" Draco asked.
"It is worse," said Harry, "but not all of them got a Kiss. Bellatrix and the Lestrange brothers are proof of that. If anyone should have been Kissed it was them. There are things worse than death. We don't have to kill them. We shouldn't." He didn't understand why Draco couldn't see that killing them would make them like the other side.
Draco sighed and sat back. Most of the Order members followed the conversation without stating their opinions. Draco noticed that several people had nodded with his questions.
"So we are still left with the problem of how to contain them until the Ministry is willing to change policies," Shacklebolt said, sounding frustrated.
Harry nodded and sighed. "There's always sticking them in the cells at Malfoy Manor. They're safe enough. But it also depends on who catches the Death Eaters. Any Death Eater that isn't captured by an Order member will be taken to Azkaban. We can't smuggle them out of Ministry custody." He gave Tonks a quick glance.
Tonks nodded. "How much room do you have in the Manor dungeon?"
"I am not exactly sure," Draco replied. "And it depends on how many you are willing to put to a cell. We don't need guards at the Manor, as there are wards to prevent Apparation, no doors or windows in the cells, and the house-elves take care of the prisoners."
"I don't expect to catch all of them," said Charlie. "It's not as if it's easy. We may not even need that much room."
Harry sighed and nodded. "True. I think the Manor dungeons are plenty big."
"So we can bring Death Eater leaders to the Manor instead of the Ministry?" Shacklebolt asked.
Draco looked to Harry, nodding his approval but letting it be his decision.
"Yes," said Harry, not voicing how it still made him uncomfortable. "It's the best place we have for them."
"Good," said Mr Weasley. "Are the wards there set to accept every Order member?"
"No," Draco said. "The lower levels currently only allow Shacklebolt, Tonks, Harry and myself."
"Well, I suppose that will have to be remedied," said Mr Weasley. "Or there should be some sort of procedure set up for taking in prisoners, as it is your home, and where you and Harry are currently living."
"Who will need access besides Aurors?" Shacklebolt asked. "What do you think, Harry?"
Harry was silent for a moment. "Well, like Mr Weasley said, it is our home, so the least amount of people that can get in, the better. Not that it's a trust issue, but anyone is susceptible to Imperious, and if they had access to my place while I slept - well, I hardly think I need to spell it out for you. So I say that if anyone catches a Death Eater that's not an Auror, contact one of them and they can bring the prisoner in."
Draco nodded and everyone seemed to sigh with relief to have some decision about what to do.
Harry was relieved as well, but there was still the Muggle issue. "Okay, so we have that bit figured out. Now what do we do about the Muggle families?"
"Well, I think it appropriate that we include the wizarding families in this," said Hermione. "Being Muggle-born myself, I know my mother would feel odd with any sort of protection that I didn't say was all right, or approve. They're going to want to deal with their own family members, not people they don't know, who can do funny things that many of them don't understand."
"So we need to get the word out to Muggle family members that there are resources they could use," Tonks said. "We also have to find housing for refugees who can't go home."
"Well, where are we supposed to house them?" asked Harry. "We don't have many big places, as the wizarding world is all about being hidden."
"Well, we could always set a place up," said Ron. "Like we did for the Quidditch World Cup."
"But that took months, Ron," said Fred. "We need something quick."
"Hogwarts," Draco said.
"That's a possibility," said Mr Weasley. "Minerva?"
McGonagall raised an eyebrow. "It is certainly big enough to house them," she said, "but is it the safest spot for a Muggle? Hogwarts isn't exactly the most mundane place in the wizarding world. There are many dangers there. If it is needed, though, Hogwarts will certainly open its doors."
Draco was also thinking of the long term strategic placement of Hogwarts as the nearest place to the island which he owned, but suspected was occupied by Death Eaters. But like the Horcruxes, he didn't think it was time to let others know if it.
"Well, that is one option then that we may have to use. Anyone got anything else?" said Harry.
Draco raised an eyebrow and looked at Harry, wondering if he should wait and talk privately or speak up here.
"Well," said Mr Weasley slowly, "there is the option of setting it up so that the Muggle families stay with their wizarding relatives, but that might make it harder to protect them, as a lot of our own aren't very good at protecting themselves even. It also leaves out the parents of Muggle-borns still in school. They would have nowhere to stay. Hogwarts may be our best bet."
The discussion on where to keep refugees went on, and it was finally agreed that Hogwarts should be used for some of the Muggle families. There were some issues that needed to be dealt with as far as the families in the southern parts of Britain, jobs and such, but it would all be worked out in due time. Slow progress was still being made with the giants and werewolves, slow, but progress all the same. There was everything to be fixed with the Ministry, but that certainly was not going to be solved in a day. But at least they had the beginnings of a plan.
The meeting lasted quite a long time, for most of the day, in fact, and everyone was getting tired. It was apparent that nothing else could be discussed to further their positions.
"Well, if that's it then," said Harry with a sigh, rubbing his eyes.
Draco laid his hand on the small of Harry's back. He was tired too. Draco was impressed with the way Harry had handled the meeting.
"Yes, that's it," said Mr Weasley. "I say we call it a night."
Harry nodded. "Yes, let's," he said.
Draco waited while everyone milled about, saying goodbyes and talking with Harry. He wanted to get home but he knew the social aspect was important too.
Harry mingled a bit with some of the members that he didn't see very often, but he was ready to go himself and also found that he was feeling pretty hungry.
"I suppose we better be going," he said after a while to the small group he was talking to. He bid them goodbye, walked over to Draco and they Apparated home.
Once there, Draco pulled his husband into his arms and sighed wearily. "Let’s eat in our rooms tonight," he suggested.
Harry nodded, hugging Draco and resting his head on his chest just below his chin.
Chapter Title: No Bystanders
Words: 3221 Words
Harry dropped the towel from his hips to the floor upon exiting the bathroom after his and Draco's shower. He found trousers in the walk-in closet and pulled them on, pulling the flaps of fabric at the fly just to test them. He looked in the mirror at his shirtless form, examining his body. He thought he could see a pooch in his lower stomach, but it was probably just his imagination. He gave his reflection a tiny frown and proceeded to dress himself, getting ready for the Order meeting taking place at Grimmauld.
Draco stood in the doorway, watching Harry look at himself. "I suppose we will have to buy you new clothes soon." He smirked. "But I don't suppose Madame Malkin gets much call for men's maternity wear."
Harry gave Draco a sarcastic smile and rolled his eyes. "Probably not," he said with a small snort.
"You may have to go back to wearing the over-sized Muggle clothes or traditional robes with lots of volume," Draco said.
"I'll have to do something," Harry replied. "Although I don't think I'll be able to hide it forever, no matter how big the robes are."
"Better to let the world think you are getting fat than know the truth," Draco said.
Harry nodded and shivered just the smallest bit as he thought of what Voldemort might do with the information.
"I want to talk about the meeting," Draco said, nearly finished dressing himself.
"What about it?" Harry asked, pulling on his outer robe.
"Everyone is frightened," Draco said, "and they should be. But you can't be. You need to show them that you can handle this."
"I know," Harry said with a small sigh. "I can, I think."
"They need courage, and they need you to show it to them," Draco said quietly, walking up to stand looking into those green eyes.
Harry smiled softly and nodded again, looking up at Draco. Despite his expression, there was also determination shining in his eyes.
"You don't have to know everything, that's why you have a team." Draco smiled.
"I have a good team," Harry said. "And a very, very, very good husband."
Draco raised an eyebrow. "I have some talents that please you," he purred.
Harry's smile widened. "They please me greatly," he said with a playful eyebrow waggle.
"I think, my husband, our leader, that we had better go before I get other ideas," Draco laughed.
Harry chuckled. "Save them for later, yeah?" he joked, leaving the closet.
***
Even previous Order meetings hadn't been as full as this one. The press of sorrow and fear was overwhelming. The only members not present were those who were needed in the field.
Everyone watched Harry with a sort of nervous calm if there was such a thing. When he, Draco, Hermione, and pretty much every Weasley, besides Ginny, arrived, the tension seemed to rise and fall at the same time.
Harry nodded to a few people before he made his way to the front of the kitchen table, staring around at the full room.
Draco sat down to the left and slightly behind Harry. His choice was deliberate symbolism. He would help with strategy and lead a field mission, but leading the Order was Harry's role.
Harry leaned forward at the table and took a deep breath before letting it out slowly. "We all know what we're here for," he said. "The last two nights have been ... awful to say the least, but I've never been prouder to work with such a group.” He paused and continued looking at each of them in turn. “With the final count at 117 dead, at least a third of which were children, I think it's safe to say that this war is finally, really, truly upon us. He's not going to hold back anymore. There's no reason for him to."
Draco sat back, waiting until Harry called on him to talk about the issues he had brought up the day before.
"We need to focus on getting the word out about what the Wizarding wizarding community can do to fight against him. As Draco said the other day, everyone has to choose a side now. We want them on our side."
"Right you are, Harry," wheezed old Elphias Doge.
Shacklebolt stood up, getting Harry's attention. The man looked older than he had at the last meeting and it looked like he hadn't slept since before Christmas Eve. "We were caught unprepared and the Ministry knows it," he said. "I am not sure how Scrimgeour will try to slant this, but we need people to know this could have gone better."
Beside him, Tonks was nodding. "Most died before we ever even figured out who we should be looking for," she said.
Draco discreetly nudged Harry, hoping to get a word in, but still very aware of his odd place in this group.
Harry felt the nudge and nodded to Tonks and Kingsley. "Actually, Draco was just saying something similar to me," he said, leaving it open for Draco to talk if he wished to.
Draco stood up. "Everyone knows that His followers target Muggles and m ... Muggle-borns," Draco began, realising he almost slipped his terms. "But what no one seems to realise is that because of that, they were able to exploit the rest of the wizarding worlds' own prejudice as well. The Ministry keeps a record of every witch and wizard, but pays no attention to Muggle relations of those members of the community. Families of wizarding folk were killed because they weren't protected. Most of us have wards or charms on our homes. They had none."
Mr Weasley gave a very firm nod. "I've always been saying that they need protection. They may not be part of our world, but they are a part of the people in it."
"Yeah, but how do we go about protecting them?" asked Fred. "It's illegal to do magic in front of Muggles, well, at least the ones that don't know anything about us, and while the families of wizarding folk know about us, it's still illegal to provide them with magical means of protection, isn't it? Like say, putting a ward up, or even giving them one of our Shield Charm hats. Too risky."
"And it's a ludicrous law," said Bill. "Draco's right. It is a weak spot and one that should be looked at. These are things no one ever thinks about until something like this happens."
"Yes," Draco said. "Every child born in a magical family grows up with these protections. Muggle-borns are neglected even when we know who they are. And their families are at higher risk now than the wizarding families. Forty-two of those killed were children. Others were parents, sisters, brothers of our community."
The room was full of nods and comments of agreement. There were a few people, such as Headmistress McGonagall, who were so shocked to hear this from Draco Malfoy that they looked at him like they had never seen him before.
"This is a matter of changing the law," said Charlie. "With proper information out, it might be easier to do that. Most don't give a damn. They don't even think about it, like Bill said."
"I'm going to give an interview to the Prophet," said Harry. "Hopefully, that will make some difference."
"I was called a coward because I wouldn't kill," Draco sneered, "but they are the cowards, wearing masks and killing people who have no way of protecting themselves. Killing children in the night."
"Precisely," Shacklebolt agreed.
Harry felt that sharp hatred course through him, but it only lasted a second. "So, I'm going to give the interview to try and inform people about this weak spot and inform them about what this war means for them in general. They need to be more prepared than they are. You would think they haven't been through the first war at all."
"People have been trying to keep Fudge's mentality. Pretending it isn't happening yet, even after the leaflets have been sent out and there have already been dozens of deaths," said Mr Weasley. "There will be no ignoring after this. An article in the Prophet is a very good idea."
"Draco's idea, once again," said Harry, wanting to show these people just who he was married to and the man he trusted with all of his secrets.
"I think I understand the reason," Remus said quietly. "The last war wasn't won. It was only delayed. Most wizarding folk did not lift their wands to do a thing about it. They lived in fear, but not action."
"Well, it's started up again," said Harry. "And we'll damn well win it this time."
Tonks frowned. "So what needs to be different than the last time?" she asked. "I mean, He was killed and came back. And we can't even keep the Death Eaters we capture in Azkaban."
Harry sighed. "Well, the Ministry was leaning so heavily on the Dementors, and now that they're gone, who the hell is guarding Azkaban anyway?"
Moody snorted, then snapped, "Those willing to take the jobs. Seedy disreputable lot if you asked me."
"Well, we should have Aurors in there," said Harry firmly. "At the very least."
"Scrimgeour keeps saying he's going to place Aurors there - another thing the public doesn't know about are the guards in Azkaban - but one of the problems with that is there are limited numbers of Aurors as it is," said Mr Weasley.
"Well, wizards from the regular magical law enforcement should be there then. Not dodgy people who could probably be persuaded to join Voldemort anyway," said Harry.
"That is the problem," Shacklebolt added. "We don't have enough trained people in the Auror department or other divisions of Magical Law Enforcement. The Ministry has focused on paperwork for its staff and relied on the Dementors for punishment. We need to change that and get more field-trained people."
Harry nodded, wondering how on earth they were going to do all of this. "Okay then, so that's another thing on the list - near the top of the list mind you. We can't have every Death Eater we catch getting right out again. What do we do about the families of Muggle-borns and half-bloods? We can't leave them unprotected still, not after this."
"I have a suggestion about the Death Eaters," Draco said quietly.
Harry turned his head. He nodded and raised his eyebrows. "Go ahead," he said.
"You won't like it," the blond said.
Harry frowned slightly and a few other people suddenly looked a bit wary.
"What?" Harry asked.
"Kill them," Draco said. "They are a continuing threat. At least kill their leaders when they are caught."
Harry frowned more and shook his head. "I've already said we can't do that," he said. "It's fine in battle. If they die they die, but I just - I don't think it's right of us to simply kill them once we've got them down, when they can't fight anymore."
Draco frowned, he didn't want to argue with Harry about this in front of people, but he felt the point was important. "So what will replace the Dementor's Kiss? And how is having your soul eaten by a monster like that not worse than being legally executed?" Draco asked.
"It is worse," said Harry, "but not all of them got a Kiss. Bellatrix and the Lestrange brothers are proof of that. If anyone should have been Kissed it was them. There are things worse than death. We don't have to kill them. We shouldn't." He didn't understand why Draco couldn't see that killing them would make them like the other side.
Draco sighed and sat back. Most of the Order members followed the conversation without stating their opinions. Draco noticed that several people had nodded with his questions.
"So we are still left with the problem of how to contain them until the Ministry is willing to change policies," Shacklebolt said, sounding frustrated.
Harry nodded and sighed. "There's always sticking them in the cells at Malfoy Manor. They're safe enough. But it also depends on who catches the Death Eaters. Any Death Eater that isn't captured by an Order member will be taken to Azkaban. We can't smuggle them out of Ministry custody." He gave Tonks a quick glance.
Tonks nodded. "How much room do you have in the Manor dungeon?"
"I am not exactly sure," Draco replied. "And it depends on how many you are willing to put to a cell. We don't need guards at the Manor, as there are wards to prevent Apparation, no doors or windows in the cells, and the house-elves take care of the prisoners."
"I don't expect to catch all of them," said Charlie. "It's not as if it's easy. We may not even need that much room."
Harry sighed and nodded. "True. I think the Manor dungeons are plenty big."
"So we can bring Death Eater leaders to the Manor instead of the Ministry?" Shacklebolt asked.
Draco looked to Harry, nodding his approval but letting it be his decision.
"Yes," said Harry, not voicing how it still made him uncomfortable. "It's the best place we have for them."
"Good," said Mr Weasley. "Are the wards there set to accept every Order member?"
"No," Draco said. "The lower levels currently only allow Shacklebolt, Tonks, Harry and myself."
"Well, I suppose that will have to be remedied," said Mr Weasley. "Or there should be some sort of procedure set up for taking in prisoners, as it is your home, and where you and Harry are currently living."
"Who will need access besides Aurors?" Shacklebolt asked. "What do you think, Harry?"
Harry was silent for a moment. "Well, like Mr Weasley said, it is our home, so the least amount of people that can get in, the better. Not that it's a trust issue, but anyone is susceptible to Imperious, and if they had access to my place while I slept - well, I hardly think I need to spell it out for you. So I say that if anyone catches a Death Eater that's not an Auror, contact one of them and they can bring the prisoner in."
Draco nodded and everyone seemed to sigh with relief to have some decision about what to do.
Harry was relieved as well, but there was still the Muggle issue. "Okay, so we have that bit figured out. Now what do we do about the Muggle families?"
"Well, I think it appropriate that we include the wizarding families in this," said Hermione. "Being Muggle-born myself, I know my mother would feel odd with any sort of protection that I didn't say was all right, or approve. They're going to want to deal with their own family members, not people they don't know, who can do funny things that many of them don't understand."
"So we need to get the word out to Muggle family members that there are resources they could use," Tonks said. "We also have to find housing for refugees who can't go home."
"Well, where are we supposed to house them?" asked Harry. "We don't have many big places, as the wizarding world is all about being hidden."
"Well, we could always set a place up," said Ron. "Like we did for the Quidditch World Cup."
"But that took months, Ron," said Fred. "We need something quick."
"Hogwarts," Draco said.
"That's a possibility," said Mr Weasley. "Minerva?"
McGonagall raised an eyebrow. "It is certainly big enough to house them," she said, "but is it the safest spot for a Muggle? Hogwarts isn't exactly the most mundane place in the wizarding world. There are many dangers there. If it is needed, though, Hogwarts will certainly open its doors."
Draco was also thinking of the long term strategic placement of Hogwarts as the nearest place to the island which he owned, but suspected was occupied by Death Eaters. But like the Horcruxes, he didn't think it was time to let others know if it.
"Well, that is one option then that we may have to use. Anyone got anything else?" said Harry.
Draco raised an eyebrow and looked at Harry, wondering if he should wait and talk privately or speak up here.
"Well," said Mr Weasley slowly, "there is the option of setting it up so that the Muggle families stay with their wizarding relatives, but that might make it harder to protect them, as a lot of our own aren't very good at protecting themselves even. It also leaves out the parents of Muggle-borns still in school. They would have nowhere to stay. Hogwarts may be our best bet."
The discussion on where to keep refugees went on, and it was finally agreed that Hogwarts should be used for some of the Muggle families. There were some issues that needed to be dealt with as far as the families in the southern parts of Britain, jobs and such, but it would all be worked out in due time. Slow progress was still being made with the giants and werewolves, slow, but progress all the same. There was everything to be fixed with the Ministry, but that certainly was not going to be solved in a day. But at least they had the beginnings of a plan.
The meeting lasted quite a long time, for most of the day, in fact, and everyone was getting tired. It was apparent that nothing else could be discussed to further their positions.
"Well, if that's it then," said Harry with a sigh, rubbing his eyes.
Draco laid his hand on the small of Harry's back. He was tired too. Draco was impressed with the way Harry had handled the meeting.
"Yes, that's it," said Mr Weasley. "I say we call it a night."
Harry nodded. "Yes, let's," he said.
Draco waited while everyone milled about, saying goodbyes and talking with Harry. He wanted to get home but he knew the social aspect was important too.
Harry mingled a bit with some of the members that he didn't see very often, but he was ready to go himself and also found that he was feeling pretty hungry.
"I suppose we better be going," he said after a while to the small group he was talking to. He bid them goodbye, walked over to Draco and they Apparated home.
Once there, Draco pulled his husband into his arms and sighed wearily. "Let’s eat in our rooms tonight," he suggested.
Harry nodded, hugging Draco and resting his head on his chest just below his chin.