The Foundation

The Foundation

By Newshound

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and company belong exclusively to J. K. Rowling. This fiction is for entertainment purposes only and no money is being made from it.

A/N: Thanks to all who read and especially those who reviewed. I'm very grateful for both the encouragement and interest.

Chapter 5 A Weekend's Respite

Harry stirred gently against the back of the couch when he felt not only the light, but the heat of the afternoon sun beating down on him. He was hot under the covers and he could smell the stale odor of sweat on his skin. He stretched, arching his back like a cat and clasping his palms together arms over his head, easing the tension in his shoulders.

He was going to have to pay Neville a visit and thank him profusely for the specialized pain potion he'd concocted. Neville had earned not only a Newt in Herbology, but now had a burgeoning business in herbal remedies for everything from morning sickness to ingrown toenails. Harry had suffered from headaches all his life and was prone to suffering the aftereffects of overindulgence whether it be in food or drink. After watching Harry suffer for years, Neville had brewed a special potion using common herbs to help Harry live a relatively pain-free life.

Harry had never imagined he'd have a lot in common with Neville, but once he'd gotten to know Neville, he found their lives had many parallels and he enjoyed spending leisure time with Neville. The only drawback to using the potion was that it required at least eight hours of uninterrupted sleep to be fully effective.

Harry felt better than he had in days; the potion had an unusual side effect of easing anxiety. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to handle the "Draco situation," though. It wasn't just his pain that had driven him home, if he was honest with himself it was a fair bit of embarrassment. Mornings after usually -from what he'd heard anyway - contained a good bit of sharing and now that it was all over and done with, he was reluctant to reveal his secret to Draco. He doubted whether Draco even suspected, but just in case, he planned to devise a few plausible explanations for what he now realized was a somewhat lackluster performance.

He looked into his warded fireplace and sighed. He'd had fun last night - out on the balcony and flying home anyway - and he really wouldn't mind seeing where the relationship took them, but he felt uncomfortable about the whole experience. To pursue a relationship would require him being honest with Draco about his past (or lack of one) and acknowledging that he'd used Draco to rid himself of what he now realized was not really the personality flaw he'd imagined it to be. His leaving the way he had probably had made the situation even more untenable. Thanks to Draco he was now free to pursue as many romantic - and sexual - encounters as he wished, but he found little comfort in the possibility.

He was tempted to remove the ward from his floo, but he imagined Hermione, not to mention Davinci would be curious about his whereabouts. Hermione was a relentless inquisitor and Davinci was probably her equal, if not her superior. He definitely did not feel up to facing a barrage of questions right now. He planned on fixing himself a simple supper, probably an omelet and some toast - Neville had suggested eating lightly for the next 12 hours or so. Neville had also warned him against ingesting any kind of caffeine, so he would have to forego his afternoon tea. He loved spending a quiet evening reading and listening to music and tonight seemed the perfect opportunity to indulge himself. He walked into the kitchen and began his search for his favorite omelet ingredients.

* * * * *

Draco stared into the floo barely aware of his surroundings. The floo bursting into bright green flames jolted him from his depressed stupor and the first thought that ran through his head was that Harry had gotten his floo address.

Draco?" Davinci called. He noticed his despondent friend sitting slumped on the couch, looking like his mind was a million miles away. "What happened to you last night?"

"Trust me, Davinici, you don't want to know," Draco assured. "If you don't mind I'd prefer to be alone right now."

"Another romance gone awry?" Davinci joked. "Don't tell me the disgruntled suitor is gone already?"

"He's gone, yes," Draco acknowledged. "Since you're being decidedly uncooperative- and inconsiderate as well, I'll ask. To what to I owe this delightful visit?"

"I wanted to confirm our appointment Monday morning," Davinci said. "I know you're spending the weekend with your daughter and I didn't want to interrupt."

"Remind me, I seem to have forgotten in my muddled state," Draco said in what Davinci now recognized as Draco's self-deprecating manner which often hid feelings of guilt.

"We have arranged to attend the opening ceremony and ribbon cutting of your camp for wizards gifted in art and music," Davinci replied. "Remember, the Divine Camp for Arts and Music? We have also agreed to conduct a tour for our benefactors as well as introduce our director and counselors."

"Now I remember," Draco said. "I'm to meet you at your office at 8 a.m. sharp, correct?"

"Yes, I think we'll have quite a good crowd, Draco," Davinci said. "Several Ministry officials are excited about the project and have expressed great interest in your idea about more camps, Draco."

"It's good to know someone's happy with me," Draco said.

"It might help if you talked about it," Davinci offered warmly. "I could come over; we could have dinner and play chess. You know how beating me at games improves your mood dramatically."

"I don't know if I'm in the mood for company," Draco said sadly. "I'm not much good for anything these days."

"You're so hard on yourself Draco," Davinci said. "Whatever's happened, it's probably not as bad as you're imagining."

'You're right, I really don't want to be alone, Davinci," Draco admitted. "Come on through and I promise I won't annihilate you at chess this time."

* * * * *

The weekend was a pleasant one for Harry. Hermione had convinced several wealthy businessmen who had attended Davinci's party to contribute to SPEW and she was so excited about this development -and the replenishment of her once meager funds - that she accepted Harry's response of "Oh no where, left early" to her questions about his whereabouts at the party.

He was spared further interrogation by Ron's worsening cold which required Hermione to be a full-time nurse to him. Harry offered to visit and give Hermione a much needed break from playing nursemaid, but she wouldn't hear of it, warning him about how contagious colds were.

He had removed his ward early Saturday morning and on Sunday afternoon while doing the crossword puzzle in the Sunday Prophet he received a Floo call from none other than Davinci.

"Harry! I see you survived our little party," he said amused at Harry's relaxed state. "I didn't see you leave, but two of my brooms are missing. You're not one of the guilty parties are you?"

"I promise, I don't have any of your brooms, Davinci" Harry answered innocently.

"Do you know where they are?" Davinci asked.

"Right now?" Harry said.

"So you are the guilty party, or at least one of them," Davinci said winking at him. " I see your reputation as being tight-lipped is well deserved."

The comment about tight lips made Harry blush slightly thinking about the events after the party, and he watched Davinci carefully to see if he knew who Harry had left with.

"I'm Flooing to remind you of our 9 a.m. meeting at the Divinity Camp we spoke about last week," Davinci said. "I trust you remember where it is. The opening ceremony is set to begin promptly at 9, so have a short statement ready for us. You're much better at writing these things than I."

"I'll be there Davinci," Harry said smiling back. "I'm very excited about this project and I can't wait to begin working with the directors."

"I never figured you for the artistic type, Harry," Davinci said.

"There's probably a lot of types you never figured me for," Harry said, a mysterious smile on his face.

The End Chapter 5