Drarry

Dementors

Hermione was bundled up in a thick rug and was suffering Molly's ministrations which constituted warming charms and cups of tea, with good grace. "Really, Molly, I'm fine now," Hermione insisted when Molly told George to fetch the kettle for the ninth time around. Harry was pacing at the window looking out upon the grass lit up with morning light. He was still holding his wand in a tight grip to the point that Ron, crouching beside the couch Hermione was on, was worried it was going to snap.

"Mate, it'll be okay," Ron said quietly, getting up and clapping Harry on the shoulder. But Harry's thoughts were actually far away from the immediate events. In his minds eye, he saw Draco. He saw the way Draco looked at him as if he were the only one in the world. Ginny looked at him, sure, but not in that way. What was it about Draco that undid him? He couldn't pin it down but now that Lucius was involved, he was scared for Draco's safety. It was clear that Lucius was unhinged. And if-

"Harry?" Ginny asked. Harry spun around and came eye to eye with Ginny. His heart missed a beat as he really looked at her. He did love her. But there was the Draco problem. He loved Draco too. Did he have to chose who he loved more?

"What is it?" Harry asked, seeing that something was on Ginny's mind.

"They're here."

Harry tightened his grip on his wand and walked over to the door. He'd made contact with the Ministry as soon as they were sure Hermione was okay. He opened the door and saw Kingsley, the Minister for Magic along with several Aurors.

"Hello Harry," Kingsley said grimly. "Why is it that everything gets serious when you're around?"

Harry laughed even though it wasn't that funny. He invited the troop in and Molly bustled about getting more tea and slices of fruit cake. Kingsley eyed Harry for a moment and then nodded to the outside again. Once the door was closed behind them, Kingsley faced Harry. His dark eyes locked onto Harry's green ones.

"I take it you've talked to Alastor?"

"Yeah. Bit of a surprise really," Harry said, taken aback by the seeming change in agenda.

"Did you also get our letter?"

Ah, the letter. Harry recalled it now, the letter he got at the start of the school year asking if he'd like to join the Aurors. He'd never replied to it, sure it was a scam or something.

"I did," Harry told Kingsley.

"And?" Kingsley asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'd like that," he said, surprising himself a little. "What about Ron and Hermione?"

"If they want, they can undergo training," Kingsley said.

"But I don't," Harry frowned.

"We feel you're more than qualified for the job," Kingsley explained.

"I didn't take down Voldemort on my own," Harry snapped. "If I didn't have those two, I'd have been dead in a week."

Kingsley looked a little amused and then sighed. "We'll talk more later. What I really wanted to tell you was that we've got Dementors coming soon so they can get info about Lucius. He's scheduled for a little visit soon."

Harry nodded, not the least bit surprised. They went back inside and sat in silence until one of the Aurors announced that the Dementors were coming. No one needed it explained to them. They'd all dealt with Lucius. A chill swept through the room and Harry fought against the fear building in his chest. The soul sucking creatures were only present for a moment, long enough to be informed of what Lucius looked like and then they were gone, leaving space for warmth to come back in the room. Harry felt the sweat beading on his face and accepted chocolate from Ron without a word. Kingsley said that Aurors were on Lucius's trail and that he hoped this could all be resolved soon. Then he left. As soon as he and his troop were gone, Harry relaxed. He'd seen the Ministers glance at him, the glance that meant they'd talk later.

"Lets all go and forget this all," Arthur suggested over a cup of tea. "Go and do something."

Something ended up being a game of Quidditch out the back. Harry, Hermione, George and Charlie against Ron, Ginny, Bill and Percy who had told them he would play so long as he had utter silence tomorrow so he could finish his report for the Daily Prophet. Percy had resigned from the Ministry after the war and went onto the Prophet, mainly documenting comings and goings in the Ministry.
Harry's team won which made him really happy for some reason. Perhaps the normalcy of Quidditch settled him down. Whatever it was, it didn't prep him enough for the letter attached to Dobby's leg. They'd headed off to bed after lunch, several games of chess, more chess and dinner. Harry had nearly sat on Dobby. He unrolled the detached roll of parchment and scanned it, his heart slowly curling up.

"Harry,
I am so sorry. I shouldn't have sent you the snake, I don't know what I was thinking. Perhaps I was hoping that you'd hate me for it. I just want to make your life simpler but I feel I've complicated it more. I heard about father and hate him too. I'm so full of hate it's like a volcano in my chest that's going to erupt. Harry, forgive me. Please. But I cannot keep running in circles with you, making you think we can be together like that. I do love you, in a way, but- merlins pants this letter gets worse and worse as I write it- not the way you want. Love Ginny. Please do. I think my problem is that I'm just not capable of actual love. Blame that on father. Anyway, I think what I'm trying to say is that I'm done with this being hard. Sorry.
-Draco.
Help.