Renaissance

A/N: Standard disclaimers apply. My thanks to my wonderful betas Mamacita-san and refuz2luz, and any remaining errors are mine.

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8.

Anna was released from the Infirmary Sunday evening after dinner, and as Draco never left her side Harry reassigned his team to provide additional security at the festival and didn’t stray too far from the castle himself. This was especially true on Saturday when, because of the Open House, dozens of people traipsed through Hogwarts familiarising or refamiliarising themselves with the venerated halls of the castle and her resident students, staff, ghosts, and caretakers.

With so many people wandering about, their intentions assumed but unknown, Harry thought it best to be prepared for anything and broke out his trusty Invisibility Cloak to stake out the Infirmary doors for the afternoon. And when Madame Pomfrey declared her patient fit to leave, Harry escorted Draco and Anna down to the Slytherin dormitories.

“You really don’t have to, Draco,” he heard Anna complain as they neared the entrance.

Draco’s tone and stance were implacable. “I am not taking any more chances, Anna. I was careless with your safety once.” The pain of hir admission echoed through the chilled hall and reminded Harry of his own failings in that regard. “I shan’t be so careless again. Headmistress McGonagall has already given her permission. Soren shall stay here as your personal guard, and other agents from Paul’s company shall be installed at Hogwarts to patrol the halls for the safety of all students.” Draco flicked up a stalling hand. “No arguments, Anna,” sie said firmly.

The young gyrl sighed. “All right,” she acquiesced with a pout, crossing her small arms over her chest. “I still don’t see why I need to be singled out. Nothing’s going to happen, Vama, not with Harry here. He’s the best Auror ever! He’ll keep anyone from hurting me. Won’t you, Harry?” She smiled confidently and turned with uncanny accuracy to face the exact point where the unseen Auror was standing.

Draco pivoted on hir heel. “Potter?”

Harry pulled off the Invisibility Cloak and revealed himself. “Hello, Draco.” He smiled at the little girl. “And I would, Anna. I never want to see anything bad happen to you ever again, but your…vama is right. It’ll be good to have the agents from Anderson Security here because I can’t be here to look after you and follow Draco around to keep hir out of trouble at the same time.”

Anna giggled. “Oh, that’s all right then. You keep Vama safe for me. But you’ll come visit, right?”

Harry nodded, grinning broadly at the child who’d already come to mean so much to him. “Of course.” He came closer to the pair, then crouched to tuck a curling wisp behind her ear. “How else am I going to tell you about all the mischief your father got up to when he came to visit me while I was a student here?” he whispered conspiratorially.

Anna’s grey eyes grew wide with amazement. “You knew my Daddy?”

Harry smiled softly. “Not as well as I would have liked, but I did know him. He was my godfather, you know.”

Anna shook her head. “I didn’t know that! WOW!”

“I’ll tell you all about it. Did you know he was an Animagus?”

Anna nodded. “Uncle Remus told me.”

Harry grinned. “He used to prowl around the grounds with me and my friends. We called him Snuffles in his dog form.” He looked up at Draco’s blank face, one he recognised as disapproval, and shrugged. “But I’ll tell you more about then when I visit next, all right?”

Even white teeth like a row of little pearls showed behind her curling pink lips. “I’d like that very much, Harry.”

“It’s a date, then. And since we’ve missed the Open House and the relays, maybe Draco and I can play that game of one-on-one we promised you and your friends.”

With a last wide smile Anna threw herself into Harry’s open arms. “That’d be wonderful. Please do, Harry!” She leaned closer to his ear. “Vama needs to have more fun; sometimes sie forgets sie isn’t old yet. And you’ll look out for hir, won’t you?” she added worriedly.

“I promise,” Harry said into her hair.

“And you’ll come back and tell me about my Daddy?”

“You have my word, Anna. It will be a pleasure.” And it would. In his mind’s eye Harry could see the excitement on Anna’s face as he shared his stories. A warmth filled his heart as he imagined Sirius somewhere with his shaggy grin revelling in the joy of the little girl who adoringly called him Daddy.

He was brought back to the present by the soft press of lips against his cheek. “Thank you, Harry,” she said when she ended the kiss.

He offered her a winning broad smile. “You’re welcome, Anna.”

Draco couldn’t quite hide hir scowl, but it faded anyway as the young girl lifted her arms to Draco. Sie deftly lifted the child into a crushing hug. “I love you, Anna.” Draco held her out at arm’s length. “Promise you’ll be safe. Use that Slytherin cunning, all right? And write to me every day.”

Anna bounced a nod. “I promise. I’m so sorry for getting hurt Vama, but it won’t happen again. I’ll be more careful. And I won’t go anywhere alone.”

“I know, Petal. It wasn’t your fault. You just—” Draco pulled her close again. “You just be careful. You’re everything good in my life, Anna.”

“I love you,” Harry heard Anna whisper before dropping a child’s kiss on hir lips.

Reluctantly, the blond mage placed Anna on the ground and with a last wave and whisper the girl disappeared behind the dungeon wall.

“She’s a very special girl. How did she know I was there?”

“Anna is very sensitive to magical signatures,” Draco answered, the characteristic Malfoy reserve instantly back in place. “And very perceptive as well. You might’ve been invisible, but you weren’t exactly inaudible, Potter,” sie bit out in clipped tones.

Harry shook his head and took the triarii by the elbow into a darkened corner. “Oh, no you don’t, Draco. I won’t let you get away with putting on that distanced haughty act again. We—I don’t know, we’d gotten past that, were on our way to seeing each other instead of just reacting because of how we perceived each other. So don’t go shutting me out now. Tell me what’s eating you.”

Draco yanked hir arm back. “Whatever happened between us, Potter, doesn’t give you license to use my child!” the triarii hissed.

“Use?” Harry brow furrowed, then he lowered his voice further. “First, I wouldn’t do that. I know what it’s like to be desperate for scraps of memories of your parents. To want to know them so badly you’d do just about anything for the barest recollection—their favourite colour or food, a story about their worst subjects, or the things that made them laugh. You said you didn’t begrudge Anna her childhood. Fine. I don’t begrudge her her parentage. Sharing Sirius with someone else who loved him keeps him alive. Anna deserves that. There’s no price, no conditions.”

“You won’t desert her for your next kitten-in-a-tree, Potter?” Draco demanded. “Because she’s been abandoned too often by people she thought cared for her.” Draco’s voice was the quiet roar of a protective vamar.

Harry looked at him ruefully. “I know all too well what it’s like to be abandoned, Draco. I’d never do that to her. All right? And I know that her Dad’s identity has to be kept secret for now, or at least the Blood Rite does. I won’t be telling anyone. Though my team—well, Ron and Hermione—dug up her birth records and think....” Harry sighed. “They think Sirius raped you at King’s Cross at the end of fourth year, Draco.” He wanted the blond aware of the undercurrent of pity sie’d encounter from his oldest friends and where it had come from.

Taking a moment to settle his shock, the blond smirked. “Well, I’d never have suspected them of thinking my cousin capable of such a thing, but I have to admit they’re good, Potter. They’ve even determined the attack’s location.”

Harry paled a bit. “Y-you mean Anna’s...first parents? The rape happened on the train?”

Draco looked into the middle distance with a grimace. “I found hir bleeding and crying in the loos after you lot had your little fun.” Sie shook hir head at the memory. “Cleaned hir up as best I could while sie reversed as many of your hexes as possible, then we made up a story about having planned to spend the summer together when hir parents came to take hir away. They didn’t care; it’s not as if they really cared about hir, sie was just the heir, a symbol to them really. So we hid out the whole summer, studied glamour charms and went for long walks around the grounds which were really visits to the Healer in the village below the Manor. You know much of the rest.”

Harry nodded. “Draco…it’s none of my business really, but was it Pansy? I know you were really close then.”

The mage stared down at hir feet. “No Potter, it wasn’t Pansy. Sie was a year younger than us, only just turned thirteen when it happened. Hir attacker was a seventh year, he—well, I’m sure you could find out about both of them if you kept digging. But I—I’m asking you not to, Potter. Sie’s moved on. Sie doesn’t know anything more about Anna than that sie is my child, and I’d like to keep it that way. Sie’d figure it out if sie did the maths, but none of us really likes to look too closely at that time. The trauma was…well, it took hir a very long time to regain hir emotional balance. And your team might be sympathetic and well-meaning but all it would do is unbalance hir, set hir healing back by years. You understand?”

Harry clasped Draco’s shoulder, closing his eyes for a moment to relish the feel of the Resonance between them. He opened his eyes slowly and stepped back. “I understand. Their identities aren’t pertinent to our investigation and as it is now, the records show that only you and Sirius are Anna’s parents.” He offered Draco a small smile. “Let’s keep it that way, shall we?”

Draco nodded, relieved. “Thank you, Potter.”

“It’s Harry.”

The blond smirked. “Harry, then. Now if you don’t mind, Harry, I’d like to go home. Mark was kind enough to bring me a change of clothes and some work from the office, but I’ve fallen very far behind this weekend and I have several contracts and proposals to review before tomorrow. And I’m in desperate need of a shower and a stiff drink.”

Harry ran a hand through his messy hair. “Er, speaking of...I’ll need to assign a guard to your house for the duration. And things-erm-as they are I reckon it’s best if I do it myself.”

Draco waved hir elegant hand. “I assumed as much, Po—Harry. Helene has already made a guest room available for your use.” The corner of hir mouth quirked up. “Though I’d step tenderly, if I were you. It seems you’ve made a rather poor impression on my housekeeper, and Helene, Squib or no, is a very formidable woman.”

Harry grimaced. “Yeah,” he sighed. “Look, about that—I stepped wrong with her from the beginning but it’d be nice not to have to deal with a lot of open hostility for so many hours a day. If I make an apology, do you think she’d—”

Draco’s smirk was full-on. “Don’t worry, Harry. Helene is a perfectly reasonable woman when it comes down to it. Enough sincere grovelling and I’m sure she won’t even be trying to poison you by the second day.”

“Great.” Harry rolled his eyes and sighed.

“Well, shall we go, then?” The blond cocked hir head. “Now that I’ve been reassured of Anna’s safety, I really am anxious to be home.”
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They Flooed directly to the cottage from Remus’ quarters, and distracted by thoughts of what had been a long and emotionally taxing day, Harry tripped over his feet stepping out of the grate.

“Very graceful, Po—Harry,” Draco smirked, standing further into the room with hir arms crossed over hir chest. Helene tittered behind hir.

“Draco tells me you’ll be staying a while, Auror Potter,” the young housekeeper said coldly after a moment of uncomfortable silence.

Harry nodded. “Until hir safety is assured and whoever is behind these attacks is in Azkaban, Mrs. Raedler.”

Draco sighed. “It’s fine, Helene, honestly. Auror Potter and I have…reached an understanding—buried the hatchet, as you Yanks say.”

Harry stepped forward and extended a hand to the suspicious American. “I’m sorry you and I got off to such a poor start, Mrs. Raedler. I acted childishly and rudely. I’m hoping we can start again?”

Harry smiled tentatively, disarmingly, and his expression held the same mix of cautious optimism and regret that had derailed her anger every time one of the children from the orphanage had faced her over some spot of mischief. Shaking her head and muttering something about being a soft touch, Helene took Harry’s hand, noting Draco’s small approving smile and nod over the Auror’s shoulder. “All right, Auror Potter.” She smirked and sighed. “Helene Raedler, nice to meet you.”

Harry smiled broadly. “The pleasure is mine, Mrs. Raedler.” He pumped her hand gently. “Auror Harry Potter.”

Helene shook her head as a patient smile grew. “All right, let’s get you settled,” she said after a moment when Draco stepped forward and laid hir hand on her shoulder tenderly.

“It’s all right Helene, I’ll take him up. I know you’ve been waiting to interrogate me.” The corners of hir mouth turned up a bit. “I’ll get Harry sorted and meet you and Lars down here for tea in a few minutes.” Hir eyes twinkled a bit. “I wouldn’t say no to a bit of your onion tart as well.”

With an affectionate tap Helene shooed them away and turned for the kitchen. “You’re as bad as Lars,” she threw over her shoulder as the Auror and the mage headed up the stairs.

“You love it!” Draco called out cheekily, steering Harry further down the hall. Sie opened a plain door into the most ostentatious room Harry had seen in the small house thus far. It was exactly the kind of room that only days before Harry would have thought Draco would claim for hirself; heavy ivory brocade with gold fringe hung from the windows and around the bed, matching the embroidered ivory duvet and setting off the sheen of the dark wood antique tallboy, bedhead, and vanity with their inlay and carvings.

Perceptive as ever, Draco swept hir arm in a wave at the room. “It’s probably a bit much for your tastes, P—Harry; ours too, truth be told. But Pansy insisted, and as it’s hers and Blaise’s more often than not, it made sense to fit the guest room in a way she would appreciate.” Sie shrugged slightly with one slender shoulder. “We live rather simply here,” Sie smirked. “Well…simply in comparison to what most would expect of the Malfoys. Just make yourself comfortable.” Sie turned to leave the room, but turned hir head when sie reached the door, “You’re welcome to join us in the sitting room. Helene’s tarts really are very good.”

Harry’s stomach fluttered for reasons that had nothing to do with hunger when Draco smiled genuinely as sie left. Shaking his head at his own reactions, he pulled out his shrunken bag to unpack and wash up.

When he came downstairs he found Draco and Lars playing chess on an antique Muggle-style board and Helene expertly knitting a cheery blue jumper from her seat on the sofa. A newscast was quietly broadcasting from an Orb in the corner and Draco nodded here and there in response to the reporter’s commentary and took a bite of tart. The scene was settled, peaceful, and very obviously routine. Harry thought of his own usual evenings and wished he’d had people to come home to; often he felt as though he and Kreacher rattled around in the old Black homestead, but its days as a bustling meeting place, full of people and news, had ended with the war.

Harry sat himself next to Helene and eyed the jumper. “For Anna?”

Helene smiled. “It’s a Christmas tradition in my family. My mother used to make us each a new sweater every year.” She ran a hand over the nubby blue boucle. “I saw this yarn at shop in the village and knew Anna would just love it.”

Harry was a little surprised that she shopped in the Muggle village, but he reminded himself he was working on fostering a better relationship with Helene and kept his comments to himself. Instead he asked about Ameinias, convinced he would be more open to the discussion this time around. Helene smiled knowingly.

“I take it you’ve been asking around of people you trust?”

Harry nodded. “I’m not entirely comfortable with it all yet. For a long time I’ve considered that line of thinking to be nonsense and propaganda. But I spoke to a friend, a teacher, and the Headmistress about it and learned that knowledge of Ameinias has been suppressed or deliberately muddied at Hogwarts for years. You seemed to know a lot about it, so I just thought....” He shrugged.

“Yes, well, I can understand where you’re coming from, considering the damage the Death Eaters and pure-blood supremacists like Voldemort and Lucius did.” The click-click of needles paused and Helene patted Harry’s hand. “Extremists are dangerous, Auror Potter—”

“Harry,” he interrupted.

“—Harry,” she nodded. “They take common or rational notions and pervert them, use them to divide and control people. That’s not what Ameinias wanted for us. His purpose was to make wizardkind more aware of the need for stewardship of our gifts.” She gazed intently at Harry. “Magic is a gift, wouldn’t you agree, Harry?”

He bowed his head a bit, almost afraid to counter that gaze even though he honestly did agree.

“Then it’s important to our world to understand as much of that gift as possible. Yes, magic can die out in a bloodline; we know now as Ameinias didn’t that it may also re-emerge in a bloodline, or spontaneously appear in a Muggle line. We don’t know how or why that happens in the case of true Muggle-borns—maybe Magic senses a lack of magic users in the world, or that the traits in a particular family would be augmented by Magic’s presence and bring our world needed strengths.”

“Granger’s ability for logic and focus, for example.” Draco stepped in, tipping hir king over as Lars smiled his victory. “I’ve looked into her genealogy, and as far as I can tell she’s a true Muggle-born, not a case of re-emergence from dormant bloodlines. Her magical power is limited, but she has numerous other talents our community needs and benefits from.”

Harry blinked. “I wouldn’t have expected such glowing comments from you considering your exchange with her the day of the conference, Director Malfoy,” he mocked lightly, inclining his brow and tilting his head.

“I didn’t say I liked her personally,” Draco smirked. “I find her an irritating little know-it-all who’s limited by her own interpretations of things and by a blind allegiance to vetted authority figures,” sie shrugged. “But she’s not talentless. There are lots of people I don’t like who make fine mages, wizards, and witches, who make us stronger and more true to ourselves and our magic.”

“More true to ourselves?”

“Ameinias’ concept of stewardship,” Helene answered. “We are stewards of the gift of Magic. Our duty to ourselves, our world, and our children is to preserve and further Magic’s use and growth. Being true to ourselves as magical beings, respecting each other and the gift we’ve been given is vital to our survival and future.”

“So it’s not really about being pure-blooded for you, is it?” Harry asked generally of the room, catching Draco’s eye.

The magnate scoffed. “We saw how far that got us, didn’t we? Honestly, Harry, do you really consider my father an example of stewardship of anything but his own wealth and power? Magic demands of us a certain collective consciousness and responsibility. Renaissance Foundation works to make that responsibility known and understood. We use labels like ‘Wizard-born’ because they’re convenient, but it’s not about blindly adhering to old customs and traditions. Magic is a semi-sentient mystical force that lives within each of us. As we grow and are exposed to different cultures and ideas, so too does Magic grow and adapt. But we must also be careful to find a balance, to not be subsumed by the other cultures we encounter. Exposure to mainstream Western Muggle culture has brought us great innovations—” he motioned to the Orb— “but it’s also brought us great persecution, and some ideals and principles that have harmed rather than helped us. We need to hold onto our pride in being Magical beings and the differences that separate us from Muggles without being hateful about them.”

Harry smiled faintly as Draco’s speech became more impassioned. The fire and excitement brought an alluring flush to hir cheeks, and hir hands cut gracefully through the air, wrists flashing and fingers twirling around as sie made motions to encompass “us” and “we.” Harry liked that he too was part of the community Draco was so vividly describing, and so passionately committed to.

The four spoke late into the night, and Harry got a crash course in some of the philosophy and magical theory that drove the efforts of Renaissance Foundation and people like Helene, Lars, and Draco. He respected their drive to keep their heritage alive and thriving and really took to the analogies Helene made between magical people and the First Nations communities in Northern America, who also fought to keep their traditions alive and growing. Renaissance Foundation wasn’t advocating wholesale isolation but trying to maintain their resources and pride in the uniqueness of the magical world in light of greater exposure to outside influences and cultures. He understood now, and also knew that there was a long battle ahead for the minds and hearts of the magical community, given both Voldemort’s and Dumbledore’s legacies.

Finally, as Helene ushered them off to bed, Harry leaned over to Draco and brushed a light hand over the other’s shoulder. “I talked to Remus about Resonance too,” he whispered as the blond shuddered delicately. “It seems all of this has given me a chance to maybe be more true to myself, as well.”

Gleaming grey eyes met his steadily. “We will speak more of this then, I assume?”

Harry rolled his shoulders, a now familiar rush of warmth suffusing him. “We will, if you’re willing.”

Draco studied him some moments more and slowly inclined his head. “I am...agreeable.” Sie offered him a slight grin. “Good night, Harry.”

Feeling bold, Harry smiled and ghosted a kiss against Draco’s cheek. “Pleasant dreams.”

Draco drew back, shaking hir head in amusement. “Indeed.”


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Triarii-specific Terminology:
Vamar: Parent, usually shortened to vama, or vam
Veru: Triarii spouse


Chapter 7 Review Responses
Thank you all for the reviews!


isadmalfoy: Given how they’ve behaved so far I’d say your guess about Ron and Hermione’s response is likely. As for Anna, she is Draco’s biological daughter now, but who knows maybe there’ll be more kids in hir future…

Dezra: Yes, but Harry’s getting better about that. He’s had a pretty hard-hitting lesson about assumptions.

Omizu: More questions resolved in this one, and more twists to come. Thank you!

thrnbrooke: Glad you were relieved, and hope you enjoyed their getting closer in this chapter. This is all the info on Anna’s originators though, I suppose you’ll just have to keep guessing (*grin*).

applesauce_N_soysauce: Thank you! And here’s the next, hope it didn’t disappoint!

Justmine25: Aww…thank you! I’m a sucker for kisses and hugs! It was a relief to correct the perception of Sirius, though it was fun to keep everyone’s hearts in their throats for a minute. I think the Weasley’s were pretty negligent in the kids’ education, but they were just trying to be good Dumbledore followers. As smart as their sons and daughter are, they really are followers, even when they’re being innovative (like the twins). Thanks for reading!

Akumu_Suta-Raito: Thank you! Anna does take after her vama to a great degree. Much of the best of Sirius and Draco together makes for a very mischievous, intelligent, bold, and beautiful child. I feel bad for her suitors when she gets older. Draco might not be the sitting on the porch with a shotgun type, but sie knows some pretty scary hexes!
And don’t get too down on Ron and Hermione yet, they love Harry and want to be good friends to him so they’ll do what they think is best to help him. We’ll have to wait to see if he agrees with their version of what’s best. Thank you for reviewing!!!!

Rakel: Thank you! It’s good your nerves are soothed; and I’m glad you found this informative chapter engaging. Stories can sometimes drag when background information is run off; it’s a relief to know this one didn’t (also part of why it’s a shorter chapter than most). Thanks again for reading (and breaking out the pom-poms)!