Carridwen

"Don't say I never,

You know it's nothin',

I've seen your hands, man, they couldn't be whiter.

So send a wire,

Write a letter,

Let me know if you're there and if your heart's still thumpin'." - "Pangea" Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin



Harry rushed to the nearest Apparition point and quickly made his way to Hogsmeade. Upon landing in the foggy little wizarding village, he took off at a sprint towards Harlow Lane, a suburban style street past the commercial strip known to most Hogwarts students.



He bolted through the comfortable beveled glass door of a small yellow french-style cottage, and knocked twice, his breathing harsh in comparison to the peaceful neighborhood.



"Harry, you're late." A woman stood before him, full lips pulled into a perfected pout, hair wrapped back in a simple french bun, a modest mauve cardigan buttoned over her white cotton blouse, curvy hips accentuated by a high-waisted black skirt that ruffled just below the knee.



"I'm really sorry," he sighed, knowing she didn't have much time on her break, "I got caught up, it's a rather short but tedious story. Do we still have time for tea, Hermione?



She peered at him with her chin turned up - as if looking down on him, though she stood a full two inches shorter than he.



"Harry James Potter, whatever will I do with you?" She let him enter the cozy home, furnished with stylish earth tones and assortments of thick books across shelves on the walls. Leading him to the sitting room, he removed his jacket and she fixed him with a playful glare before turning to the kitchen to retrieve their tea.



Hermione had taken an apprenticeship post at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry immediately after her graduation. As Minerva McGonagall settled into the position of Headmistress, the school found itself without a Transfiguration professor, and she promptly offered the job to Hermione.



Hermione took the occupation with honor and sincerity, even crying as she took her oath of education. She conducted herself very seriously while teaching, going so far as to only accept the meager apprenticeship wages though full wages were offered, and checking her lessons with McGonagall weekly throughout her first year.



Though she managed to assign the largest book list of all the professors, she was a student favorite. Her recognition in the war and her younger age helped students not fear her as Snape was looked upon, while her way of translating the gibberish of their textbooks into easily understandable material in class had students grasping information and passing steadily. Her good looks couldn't hurt her reputation either; since graduation the frizzy haired know-it-all had blossomed into a sophisticated woman with curves and classic beauty.



She reappeared around the corner with a tray of lemon scented tea and biscuits, and sat down in the simple fawn colored velvet armchair, a Lord and Taylor design from the 1940s.



"We're not going to have time for lunch, but there's always time for tea," she squinted fussily at the man beside her, "but I have missed you. Between my classes and your classes, you probably see Ron more often at the pub than you see me!"



Harry laughed a bit at this, but it was true. He and Ron got together at least once a week for pool at a muggle pub, while Hermione kicked Ron out of the house so she could grade papers. They had been living together since her apprenticeship started, with him attending Auror training throughout the first year. He was now a full fledged Auror - his training sped up by his war hero status - working directly in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and was often away during week days on cases while Hermione taught.



"So how's McGonagall treating you?" Harry asked lightly, knowing the question would launch the young teacher into an array of answers.



"Oh, Harry, she's been wonderful this year! The Ministry awarded Hogwarts several education grants, and we've been able to upgrade so many things around the castle! The dungeons now have windows charmed to view the grounds, and even the house elves were given furnished rooms! It's rather fabulous. But how are you?"



That was a quick subject change , thought Harry. She really mustn't have much time left.



"Me? I'm doing alright. Classes have been hectic. This week has been quite a trip through the rabbit hole, though." He paused to sip from his tea cup, thinking how to phrase his next sentences, thinking that he much preferred a strong earl grey to this cup of lemon breakfast tea. "Have you ever considered buying tea that I like for my visits?"



"You know I'm not going to, so why ask?" She threw in an impish wink, "But you seem to be avoiding the explanation of your week."



Harry chuckled, he never could conceal his emotions from her. "Mm, just figuring out how to say this, Herm. It's been odd. Luna had a disastrous break-up once again; I was asked out by a bothersome classmate; I had coffee - with Blaise Zabini no less; and I had a very civil conversation with Draco Malfoy. What is the world coming to?"



Hermione's mouth gaped just a bit from this commentary, but she quickly recovered. "You had coffee with whom?"



"Blaise," the brunette fiddled with a biscuit, "And I think he was coming onto me, too."



"You just referred to him by his first name," she seemed more surprised by this than anything else, the cup of tea lifted half-way to her lips. She had already known of Harry's ambiguity concerning his sexual orientation, having been the one to console him after Ginny turned his life upside down, and she had the tendency to never be surprised by Harry's admissions.



"They've changed, I think, or so far as I can tell. Blaise hitting on me, Draco chatting pleasantly... Said they were planning for Pansy Parkinson's birthday, too."



"Oh! That reminds me!" Hermione's face lit up with what Harry considered her 'gossip' look - she and Minerva often gossiped about the information Minerva acquired through her exclusive channels with the ministry. "The Parkinsons are being investigated!"



Harry quirked an eyebrow. It had been fairly public knowledge that Pansy had denounced her name and the dark magic connected with her family.



"Yes, apparently they're being investigated along with other dark-marked families for bribing ministry officials, including Kingsley!"



"I'm sorry, but there's no way in hell Kingsley has been accepting bribes," Harry refused to believe any piece of rubbish linked to goddamn Skeeter. He'd known Kingsley throughout the war, and kept in touch afterwards - the man was more pure of heart and with better intentions than anyone he'd known.



"I agree. Ron thinks someone is framing him, but there are no facts to prove it. Several charities are finding holes in their paperwork; missing money, and they seem to be able to trace the money to hidden accounts in the Bahamas.



"Or so the Auror Corps has found," she clarified.



Harry sighed heavily. He'd seen the recent Skeeter articles floating their way through the syndicated newspapers, but how could any of that information be true? Kingsley accepting bribes - it just seemed... off.



"So the Parkinsons are being investigated. What about the Zabinis or Malfoys?" He hoped he hadn't been mistaken about the changed young men.



"I don't think the Zabinis are; except for Blaise, they're still in Italian society under the government there. And the Malfoys actually run a charity that has done well since the war's end, supporting abused women and helping them start new lives or escape their bad situations; but their charity has been finding money missing as well. Many of the Aurors think they've used the money to bribe officials, but Ron's office has been keeping track of their paperwork since they were established - he thinks the money was stolen from them."



"This isn't right." Harry frowned into his tea, even with Voldemort gone the Ministry seemed incapable of detangling itself from the deceitful web of its past. This isn't the ministry I risked my life to recover...



Hermione suddenly banged her tea cup down, "Oh no! I'm going to be late for class!" She swished her wand and flared the fireplace to life, standing up and smoothing her skirt over her hips, "I'm sorry, Har, but I've got to run! We'll have tea again soon, I promise."



He chuckled a bit and made to stand, "I can clean up here, Herm. You go to class, I'll lock the door behind myself."



"You're a lifesaver, Harry!" She swung her sleek black robes across her shoulders, the Hogwarts crest glimmering above her left breast, and she took a handful of powder to fling into the hearth - her floo connected her to her office at the school.



"I'll see you later, Hermione. You look wonderful, by the way." And she truly did, her almond eyes carefully lined with kohl, her full pink lips, the way her robes hugged her body as though she were a grecian goddess.



"Oh, Harry," she ran to him and hugged him fiercely, kissing his cheek chastely before turning again to the fireplace with a full smile across her lips. "You're too sweet, Harry Potter."



"Tell your students I said 'Hi!'" he yelled after her as she stepped into the green flame, and then looked to the cup of tea in his hand. Well, I suppose I'll clean up now.



He knew the way around their home by heart, and his steps took him to the kitchen, placing the tray and cup in the sink and turned the water tap on hot.



He rolled up his sleeves, looking for a sponge. He had an inclination to do the dishes the muggle way, he found it soothing - and a reminder that magic was a gift, one that shouldn't be taken advantage of.



Above the sink was a small valanced window overlooking an herb garden, a carefully perched photo of Ron and Hermione sitting on the window sill.



They looked so happy, embracing each other. The Ron in the photo kept blushing and kissing her on the cheek, and Hermione kept grasping his hand in hers.



Harry smiled at this; Ron had been trying to find the right way to propose to Hermione since they had moved in together - but he kept getting nervous or declaring she deserved something better.



Their home was cozy and perfect for the couple, small and comfortable. Harry hated to admit the pang of jealousy that coursed through him - he'd been single for over a year. Luna was wonderful to live with, and he never felt lonely, but he often wished he'd have something like Ron and Hermione.



He did have constant attention, people asking him out or people interested in him, but he found that he had to be picky. He wanted someone honest and trustworthy, someone interested in more than sleeping with the "The-Boy-Who-Lived." He wasn't preferential to men or women, though lately men had been catching his eye more often, he just wanted someone real, someone interesting, and someone who accepted him with all of his flaws.



After the war ended, he discovered fairly quickly that person was not Ginny Weasley.



Ginny had wanted so much from him, so soon. She reveled in his name printed across the papers and flaunted their relationship. When Harry started falling into a depression, she would nag for him to join the ranks of the Aurors, "That's what you're supposed to do, Harry. What will people think of you like this?"



He made up his mind, telling Ron and Hermione of his decision before breaking it to her, and was surprised to find them support his choice. And when he broke up with Ginny, she went ballistic. She attempted to smear his name in the papers, but Kingsley himself put an end to that before it started, and she even went so far as to shove her infidelity over the duration of their relationship in his face.



She had been seeing Dean Thomas on the side for four months of their relationship.



Harry had been shocked and affronted - he had started their relationship with intentions to marry the redhead. Subsequently, he went through a period after their break up where he found himself staggering drunkenly back to his home, or waking up in a bed that wasn't his, next to a person that wasn't Ginny. This was when he discovered his bisexuality - he blamed it on the firewhiskey at first, but decided later that he didn't mind when men hit on him, much less other things they would do to him.



Harry placed the wet dishes on a towel to dry, and headed to pick up his jacket and floo back to his apartment. He'd like to have a home some day with someone he could spend his life out with. Someone he could come home to and kiss, who would hold him and make him feel like his problems would all go away.



Maybe he would ask Blaise out. Be a bit more active in the dating scene. He hadn't seen anyone steadily since he started classes at Carridwen, often too busy getting his life back on track. There was always something he was looking for though, something to fill that void in his life, and he was never sure what it was.



He sighed for the umpteenth time that day and threw a handful of floo powder into the fireplace, stepping clumsily into the green flames and shouting out his residence.



Scrambling his way out of the hearth of his own home, he saw Luna perched delicately on their couch in a vintage lace chemise, flipping idly through a copy of the Quibbler.



She looked up dreamily, a small smile spreading on her pink lips, "There was an owl for you, Harry. I set it by Dinah's bed in the breakfast nook." Dinah was their fluffy kneazle, her white fur fading to gray at the edges, and her jade colored eyes peering from inconspicuous corners of their apartment. She often slept in Luna's room, but she had a junction in their breakfast nook dedicated to her, covered with small plush pillows.



He walked to the nook and grabbed the small stack of mail before pulling off his thick blue shirt and sitting besides Luna, bare-chested. She turned to him and tweaked the silver stud attached to his left nipple, a memento of his drunken post-Ginny days, and said in a voice full of reverie, "Who did you get letters from?"



Harry's lips had parted dumbfoundedly as he held up a thick parchment covered in tedious swirling script.



"I got a letter from Draco Malfoy."







A/N: why yes, voodoo fest was amazing. i hope everyone had a rad halloween.



ha, had a bit of a rough sunday night/monday morning though.... just, i hope everyone cherishes their friends and lets them know that... if your friends are showing any signs of depression, please get them help before it gets worse; depression is one of the leading causes of suicide. and if you could pray to whatever gods you believe in, or meditate or use whatever energy you use, to give some happiness for my close friend, that would be amazing. thanks. random shout out for aff, but he needs it. and i need him to get better.



and now for something completely different.



this chapter. good or no? i think it helped explain a lot of what's going on in harry's head... and sets the stage for some interesting things ;)

haha, next chapter is pretty fun! we see more of pansy parkinson, too :) she's such a fun character to play with.



let me know your thoughts!!



Elfprincess: im glad youre enjoying the progression! hope you liked the chapter!



MonsterOfMalice: yeah yeah, i know we're emailing, but you're still rad as hell. so thanks for the review! and i hope you liked the update.

reviews are appreciated!