Chapter Text

1.After the War

POWER SPLIT.

Well, well, well—just when we thought our magical world couldn’t get any juicier, Harry Potter and Geneva Weasley drop the ultimate bombshell: they’re officially over! Yes, you read that right. The couple that had us all dreaming of a happily-ever-after has decided to call it quits, and the reasons are as tantalizing as they are mysterious.

**Geneva’s Grand Exit**

Our favourite Weasley girl is making a dramatic exit to Beauxbatons Academy! That’s right—Geneva is leaving London’s glitter and gossip behind to finish her N.E.W.Ts in the glamorous French magical school alongside her sister-in-law, Gabriella Delacour. Is Geneva trading in her old life for a new romance in Paris, or is she simply trying to escape the relentless scrutiny of her high-profile relationship? We’ll be watching closely!

**Harry’s New Role**

Meanwhile, the ever-dutiful Harry Potter is staying put in London, but don’t expect him to be moping around. Potter’s diving straight into the Death Eater trials, defending some of the accused and presenting evidence for the late, great Severus Snape. And as if that wasn’t enough, he’s also taking on the Herculean task of helping to rebuild Hogwarts. No rest for our hero!

**The Big Question**

So, what’s next for our star-crossed exes? Will Geneva find new love in the City of Light, or will she bask in the freedom from fame? Can Harry juggle his monumental responsibilities and mend his broken heart? The plot thickens, and we’ll be right here to bring you all the sizzling details.

Stay tuned for the latest gossip and intrigue—this story is far from over!

Rita Skeeter

~*~

HOGWARTS TO REMAIN CLOSED FOR REPAIRS

Hold onto your hats, witches and wizards! Headmistress Minerva McGonagall has just sent the magical world into a frenzy with her latest announcement about Hogwarts’ grand reopening. And let me tell you, it’s not just any old restoration—it’s a full-blown makeover with some surprising new additions!

**A Tribute and a Haven**

First up, the castle will soon house a *Hall of Heroes*, a moving tribute to the brave souls who gave their all in the Battle of Hogwarts. But that’s not all—get ready for the *Tranquillity Garden*, a serene retreat designed by none other than Luna Lovegood. It’s the perfect spot for students to unwind and escape the pressures of magical academia.

**The Golden Trio and Their Not-So-Favorite Foe**

The biggest shocker? The return of the Golden Trio! Yes, Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, and Hermione Granger are making a comeback to finish their N.E.W.Ts. And wait for it—joining them will be the somewhat infamous Draco Malfoy. That’s right, the “baby Death Eater” who barely got a slap on the wrist after his trial, thanks in part to Harry Potter’s unexpected endorsement.

The decision to let Malfoy resume his studies has sent ripples through the wizarding community, with many wondering about Potter’s motives. Speculation is rampant, and as of now, Potter’s reasons for defending Malfoy remain shrouded in mystery.

**McGonagall’s Mysterious Plans**

When quizzed about the house system—a hot topic given recent debates—McGonagall’s response was characteristically enigmatic. “Yes, the house system will continue,” she said, adding with a twinkle in her eye, “There are surprises in store for the future of the sorting process, at least for the returning students.” What could she possibly mean? Dumbledore himself would surely be delighted by the gleam of mischief in McGonagall’s eye.

**What’s Next?**

So, what does this all mean for the returning students and Hogwarts’ future? Will the new changes bring harmony or more intrigue? Stay tuned, because this magical tale is far from over. The excitement is palpable, and you can bet we’ll be keeping you in the loop with all the latest updates!

Rita Skeeter

~*~

GRAND OPENING SOONER THAN SCHEDULED

Hold onto your hats, witches and wizards! In a sensational turn of events, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry has wrapped up its extensive reconstruction a whopping three months ahead of schedule. This incredible achievement is thanks to an astonishing number of volunteers and generous donations that poured in from every corner of the magical world.

The swift completion means the iconic halls will soon be brimming with eager minds, ready to dive back into their magical education…….

~*~

HEADMISTRESS TO RE-SORT RETURNING 8^th YEARS.

In a thrilling announcement today, Headmistress Minerva McGonagall revealed that this year’s Sorting Hat ceremony will not only welcome new students but will also re-sort the returning 8th-year students.

“While many students will likely be sorted into their original houses, we at Hogwarts believe in the power of change. To reflect this, we will be re-sorting returning students. The Sorting Hat’s decisions are always full of surprises, and this year will be no exception,” said McGonagall.

With this exciting twist, the castle is abuzz with speculation. Which of our esteemed returning students might find themselves in a new house? The anticipation is building, and I, for one, can’t wait to uncover the changes awaiting our beloved 8th years!

Rita Skeeter

~*~

It had been months since he and Ginny had split up, they were great friends but there were only so many times they could hear the ‘compliment’ on just how much they looked like his parents, and looking back on pictures it was clear, and a romance killer. Passion died quickly when your lover looked like... well, you’re dead mum. Ginny felt it too and what started out as a passionate reunion between lovers, quickly turned to an awkwardly arranged romance between two people who couldn’t be more than plutonic.

To everyone’s surprise and Ron’s fury, until they explained it, they were done pretending and went back to being friends which was really easy to transition to. Ginny wasn’t due to come back until the summer, and Ron and Hermione had left to go to Australia to find Hermione’s parents in February, they weren’t due back until Hogwarts began so he had been a bit lonely lately.

He had done his commitments and attended all the functions and charity events, played his part but he hated the press and the attention, it made all the things he was doing either annoying or daunting. He was frequently being accosted by people wanting to touch him- creepy- but also girls fainted around him, love letters with magical love traps and potions had made opening mail a nightmare and the sheer magnitude of the mobbing’s made him really hate leaving the house.

The amount of mobbing’s had meant he couldn’t do anything simple, not even go for a jog in the park, there were simply too many people trying to get a glimpse of ‘the Man that died to save us’, he was at least grateful they had stopped calling him a boy, like he was still some child.

A photographer had caught a photo of him jogging in his local park and the ministry itself had asked him to stop because 'the crowds of witches and wizards that followed him around were causing issues with the muggles and could he please jog somewhere else'. This had resulted in him installing a magically enhanced gym set for one of the rooms at Grimmauld place, which is where he lived with Kreature who was happy to keep serving Harry and didn't end up minding or complaining when Harry began to 'Muggleify' Grimmauld place or when he had finally got rid of that blasted portrait of Sirius’s mother. He had started jogging to do something physical and draining in an attempt to help him sleep but when he was forced to stop, he had found this alternative solution, Hermione would have been proud of his ingenuity.

The post war nightmares had come with a force, dragging him suddenly from sleep often, panting and sweating and wondering where he was. Sitting around and stewing on these nightmares had made it worse, he had tried talking but there weren't a lot of people who he felt comfortable to talk to, Luna had been the only one he found he could discuss the war with, she was happy to listen and he in return listened to what she had gone through at Malfoy Manor.

Harry had found out what Draco Malfoy had done to her, or had been forced to do to her, Crucio. She knew he didn't want to do it, she said he looked like he was going to be sick when he did, he would always sneak down to the cellar they were kept in, her and Ollivander. Malfoy would bring food and water, sometimes a healing salve or potion if he could and cast a heating charm for them or cast a small fire for them just to help out when he could. Luna had forgiven Malfoy, and they wrote to each other much to Harry's surprise.

Harry had been shocked to hear of this kindness but after seeing Malfoy try and fail to kill Dumbledore, he had come to the conclusion that Draco and Narcissa weren't evil, they were thrust into the darkness and learned to blend in to survive. Malfoy was still a git, that would never change, but, after learning about the Noble and most ancient house of Black and knowing Narcissa was Sirius's cousin, and all he had learned of Regulus, Sirius's brother, it was easier to forgive them. Not forget, just forgive. The Malfoy mother and son had not really chosen their path, much like he, hadn't chosen to be the Chosen One.

The nightmares he had, didn't go away with talking or coming to the conclusion that he didn't hate certain people anymore, Snape for example. The nightmares did go away more with the physical exertion, so he worked out every day and felt a sense of accomplishment when he would lie down for sleep his muscles aching beautifully. This wasn't the only thing he did to keep himself from thinking on the bigger things but, it helped, and it worked, it wasn't gone though, the fear, the sadness, the loss, the pain, it wasn't gone it was just locked away in a box of exhaustion.

This did have an effect to Harry's figure, not that others noticed too much as he still wore baggy clothes, but he noticed, and the effect wasn't entirely undesired. In his opinion he looked good. A lot less scrawny and a little brawnier, every muscle now defined, along with the stable diet that the house elf prepared for Harry, he was- at least on the outside- looking more like a healthy man and not so much an unhealthily skinny boy.

He wasn't the only one to gain a new appearance, though not through the hard work Harry had used but, Neville had grown into himself and now with the reputation as snake slayer he found himself on the receiving end of almost as much popularity as Harry did, though a very different kind in Harry's humble opinion.

 Neville was now second only to him as most eligible bachelor according to bloody Witch Weekly and The Snake Slayer had an entire spread in the magazine extolling his virtues, now the bloke received almost as many date requests, marriage proposals and disguised love potions as Harry did.

Working out had done a wonder at keeping him physically drained and ready for mostly peaceful sleeps. The physical however didn't help with the mental and emotional baggage that came after the war, his accursed brain wouldn't shut up in the silence of his now home.

He had explored the house more thoroughly and found an old worn leather jacket that had once belonged to Sirius along with what looked like a lot of old records and a record player. He discovered much more information about the brother Sirius never spoke about and found he had a bit in common with the guy, both seekers, and according to a journal Regulus had believed himself to be a pawn in a grander game of chess moved about on a board by the unseen hands of Voldemort and Dumbledore, it was rather poetic.

Towards the end of the journal Regulus explains his shame at those dying around him and when he learned of the Horcrux, thinking Voldemort had only made one he sought to destroy it and render Voldemort mortal, the entries stopped the night before he went to the cave and the rest of the story had been told to him by Kreature while he, Ron and Hermione hunted them.

The journal had described two people that Regulus loved more than anything and that he hoped to survive so he could be free with them, there was so much that he didn't understand, there had been others working with him. Harry had not known that before, but he had no way of knowing who these people were and where they might be now.

Harry had fleetingly thought that maybe Regulus had just run away after finding the Horcrux, after all they had not found a body but, that was stupid because if Regulus was still alive then Harry could not have inherited the house, Kreature wouldn't answer to him.

Harry almost wished the resurrection stone could summon any of the dead so he could just talk to some of the people that died during the first war, it was stupid, but he had a feeling they would understand him more, he knew Dumbledore would tell him not to dwell on the dead, 'pity the living' he had said. He definitely pitied himself.

With Harry's mind working a million miles a minute, he thought about his future, he hadn't ever really given it much thought as he figured he would be dead. Everyone seemed to be in the belief that he should be an Auror but, Harry didn't feel thrilled at the idea anymore, he had just spent a good portion of his life fighting a Dark Lord and his evil minions and most of those had been rounded up now, he didn't fancy continuing with such a profession, it seemed like asking for trouble - and trauma.

 The Gryffindor in him knew it was an honourable vocation, to defend those from harm and keep the world safe, but he had already done that, why should he keep doing it? What was left? Quidditch? he liked to keep that fun and really wasn't interested in anymore fame.

Teaching? he did well with the D.A in his fifth year he could teach but he was too young to do that now, he didn't feel like teaching.... yet. Should he think of a career in politics? Curse breaking like Bill. Dragon work like Charlie?. He didn't have a single clue, so many questions not just about what he should do, but who he was. Who is Harry Potter without a war? without the threat of the Dark Lord? Who was Harry? his identity had been and still was in a way linked to that war, now without it he had no idea who he was.

He had spent all his life with expectations thrust on him, from the Dursleys' and from Dumbledore and the wider wizarding community, now he had no expectations and was free to choose, but choose what? He was no longer the servant child the Dursleys expected, or the hero Dumbledore and the world expected. He never had any real hobbies aside from Quidditch, he never had the freedom to do what pleased him and now that he did, he feared that it was too late to find out what it was that did actually please him. So many questions and never any answers.

 So, he tried anything and everything hoping to distinguish for himself what he liked and didn't like, he read, he practiced potions and spells he found, he tried it all even going so far as to read political style books to see if he was interested and surprisingly found it interesting enough to learn quite a bit which in turn helped him navigate a tumultuous crowd of ministry employees and officials. When going through the trials it was invaluable, it had also help when he was at the many functions and events he had to attend. The reading and learning helped him mentally, so he took a leaf from Hermione's book, and read a lot.

Grimmauld had a whole library, which contained a great variety of books on all topics, including many on the dark arts and there were books he was sure would be classified as illegal. He read anything and everything that interested him, learned a few interesting spells that he thought would have come in great handy when they were actually fighting the war and saw an oversight on his behalf having not comprehended at the time to use the library to their advantage. Then again Hermione hadn't either so that made him feel better.

He used this knowledge to try things magically, combining spells and reading up on what magic can accomplish given the right talent, he found it interesting that medievalism for the wizarding world was very different to what he expected, when pureblood idealism was at its finest there were some things that actually was better than after 'muggleborns' and muggle culture had effected the wizarding worlds views on particular ideas.

An example that shocked him the most was homosexuality had not been an issue, though they were always married to a person of the opposite sex, if the male or female involved had a same sex love partner it was fine and encouraged for the happiness and wellbeing of the home, the lover would be formally known as a consort and had the same standing as the husband or wife.

In theory he supposed the parties involved would all have to at least get along so there would have to be a lot of love and respect involved knowing the need for heirs and how that would work, trust had to be a very big thing too. It seemed so distant to what he thought he knew about their history. It was something that he pondered, there was a volume two of the book and was surprised to discover it in Regulus' bedroom, this part of the book was just blood rituals and old magic that wasn't practiced anymore, he was pretty sure it was bonding ceremonies and life magic, but he wasn't interested in trying any of that.

 He knew he was powerful enough to try altering spells and working on his wandless and non-verbal magic but the more complicated the spell the more it drained him, which was just as satisfying as the physical drain of working out. With all the work he was putting in and his little experiments with Arthurs help sometimes, he had a lot to think about and it helped relieve some of the whirling in his head; he knew deep down he was just finding ways to run from his demons. That in itself was a lingering thought driving him forward, to keep pushing himself further until he gave himself a goal to be able to cast a wordless, wandless full spectral Patronus, no matter what it took he would do it because practicing it exhausted him mentally and emotionally, and now even if he did have a nightmare he didn't remember it when he woke and he didn't linger awake afterward.

All in all, he thought he was doing alright since his friends had gone to Australia and left him alone, he spent time with the Weasleys, he went to the public events that he had to, worked out, learnt more than he had in his time at Hogwarts and had managed not to have a breakdown.... Yet. 

~*~

Draco was still in shock that he and his parents weren't in Azkaban alongside many of the others who were captured, most of the Dark Lords major hitters had been killed in the battle of Hogwarts. Draco and his family had stayed behind after the battle and turned themselves in, this was what had got them some of their leniency, well Draco and his mother turned themselves in his father didn't want to and only gave in because the two of them stayed.

 It was Potters testimony towards his mother and him (which shocked him even more) that gave them even lighter sentencing and the statements from Luna and Olivander had meant Draco was able to attend Hogwarts when it reopened. His father would spend his life under house arrest without the use of his magic- it was being traced so if he even tried a simple Accio he would be sent straight to Azkaban, his mother was given ten years, house arrest without magic for five and then another five being able to return to the outside world, still without her magic. Draco was given a year house arrest, without his magic then a year of probation closely monitored by his teachers and McGonagall over his year at school- only then if he passes without incident, he would be a free man.

 He freely gave the ministry his memories of all death eater related information to help them retrieving those that had escaped and assisting in identifying what their crimes were. He had used his time to do the right thing and was trying to work through all the shit his father had taught him, all the pure blood prejudices that he had learnt were bollocks. However free he would be from others scrutiny he would never really be free of the guilt he held inside.

For years he had been a fool, by the time he had grown to realized how bad and wrong everything his father had taught him was, he was in too deep to stop, well he was too cowardly to do anything. He was determined to be better now and had taken great strides to think for himself over the past year. No more Malfoy mask, just him no matter what, he would think for himself he would make his own opinions through facts and experiences, and he was not going to be walking in his father's footsteps.

 He had once idolized his father, despite the man being cruel and unloving, Draco had always sought his approval and that had been his ultimate mistake, not taking a stand against what was clearly wrong for some misguided notion that doing so would earn his father’s love. Love wasn't like that, his father had no love in him, that in the end was really the two sides to the war not so much light vs dark but love vs hate and he had fought on the side of hate desperate for love like an idiot.

 However now he resented his father, hated him, Draco had decided for the year he was trapped in the house he would try his best to stay away from the man and so he did, far away as possible as much as he could.

He knew words would never be enough, so he planned actions and tried to learn as much as he could about... well muggles and re learn things from an unbiased perspective. It was an entirely new experience to look at something he knew, then break it down into certain categories, he had all the teachings he just had a bias view as all his basic education had been given to him by his father, now it was like reading a child's tale but with adult experience.

He could more clearly see where something had been warped and skewed to fit the current regime, after all children's tales were often more about how it's told and which details come up, as to what the moral of the story was. He also saw things that had just contradicted his teachings, like full parts of history or people that were redacted to really place emphasis on the wrong points, increasing the bias view.

 By placing emphasis of particular details and shadowing others one could somewhat change the narrative to the story entirely, he even discovered that while his direct line was not diluted, many Malfoys had in fact married half-bloods. His goal was to do just that this year unlock some kind of truth, paying attention to detail and not to what people put emphasis on, he wanted to truly understand how he felt about things to form his own opinion based entirely on his experiences.

From the time the war ended he wanted to grow into his own man, he wanted to learn who he was as Draco and not the Malfoy Heir and it was a confusing time in his head. Draco had already come to many conclusions over his time under house arrest, somethings were new to him, how he felt about muggle music, art and poetry, they were beautiful and well crafted. Though he found some of the muggle phrases confusing at first, with a lot of annotating and getting hold of some muggle reading material he was beginning to understand it better.

 Other things he just reaffirmed about himself, who meant anything to him, what he wanted in life in a sort of vague sort of way. Things that he knew and finally accepted about himself without the validation of others, he didn't care what others thought, but he was a private person, so he wasn't about to announce these things unless it was necessary or if ever found the courage to admit it aloud, but he certainly wasn't going to fall into the conforms of his so-called birth right and obligation.

Pansy, Greg and Blaise had been great helps, they kept in touch and wrote often, none of them were put up for charges but he knew Pansy was scared to go back to Hogwarts regardless. She was going to do it anyway, for Draco. They were all going back, it had been Pansy's idea as a show of solidarity to him they would make sure he wasn't alone and, in a way, he thinks she might be able to make amends for her outburst in trying to get the school to turn on Potter.

 When the news broke about the re-sorting, it was a shock but the four of them decided that they shouldn't be worried they doubted any of them would get re-sorted, he and Pansy were both cunning and ambitious even now, hands down Slytherin, Blaise may be loyal like a Hufflepuff but his ambition and laziness ruled him out for that, Greg might be a silent genius when it came to healing magic but that hardly made him a Ravenclaw, his brain was either empty or on food otherwise. Greg was also prone to not caring enough to actually be a healer, he would heal you, but you would owe him, and that kind of devious nature is definitely reserved for Slytherins.

So, in short, they weren't that worried. He could of course see others who were bound to return getting into another house, Granger would easily suit Ravenclaw without the need for her to be brave for Potter, it was likely. Longbottom could be Hufflepuff for his loyalty, he certainly showed it in the war, but the snake slaying champion of Gryffindor, would unlikely be sorted elsewhere. Weasley and the Savior would be in Gryffindor again and likely to cause all kinds of shit without Granger in their house to keep an eye on them.

That was just what he needed, he had made the decision that he would ignore Potter and Weasley as much as he could if it were not possible to completely ignore their existence altogether. Granger well, he owed her an apology, but wasn't about to do that in front of Potter and Weasley, so he figured he wouldn't entirely ignore her.

Draco's mother was quiet but fine most of the time, she spent time in the library in their manor with Draco most of the time just to have another person around, mostly in silence but it was nice. His father on the other hand had become worse, bitter and resentful he blamed Draco for their downfall, they had Potter during the war and Draco refused to identify him positively while his face had been affected by some spell. He knew it was Potter, his father knew he knew and if he would have confirmed it for his Aunt Bella, she would not have wasted time.

Potter wouldn't have escaped, and Draco did want Potter to escape, he wanted Potter to win, in that at least. His father had picked up on the fact that Draco had aided in any tiny way he could and when all was said and done, played his part convincingly enough to not get slammed in with the dementors. That had infuriated Draco, his father though with a life sentence had basically got away with all he had done on the back of his and his mother’s good deeds, few as they were.

 Draco hated that his father was free to torment them both with his mad ramblings of family traitors, the end of a pure era, and the destruction of a great wizard. It made Draco sick that his father still seemed to believe in some pure blood supremacy shit. He just tried to ignore it, without magic he would likely just ramble into insanity especially after his mother left, because as soon as he could leave he was never staying here again.

Part of him thought he deserved it as some penance for his crimes so he put up with it knowing in the back of his head that he and his mother would eventually be free from him while -Lucius- would stay here and rot in these dark corridors, he would visit his mother until she could leave but after that, may the rubble of the house bury what remains of his father.

The house was tainted, evil. Draco followed the family obligation of one family dinner per week on a Sunday night, those were the night where he would half-heartedly listen to some plan his father had to redeem the Malfoy name, but he never gave any of what was said credence. Pleasant was never the word to describe these family encounters. Dire was. 

~*~

Harry was in his bedroom of Grimmauld place still incapable of coming to terms with the day he had just had, he lifted the glass of fire whiskey to his lips and then knocked it back in one, sighing, smoke from the whiskey curling past his lips while he flunked down onto his bed.

The morning had been horrid as it always was when Harry had to go to one of those functions, it was for a good cause and he had promised Hermione that he would go to the Charity events at a minimum, as it was all for the redevelopment of the wizarding community which he was the face of. And Hogwarts. So, he dressed, nicely, though he didn't see the point he always looked messy anyway, he felt like he always looked like a boy trying to dress in his father's clothes but not really being able to fill it, although that was likely because his clothes were always a little too big because he didn't get them tailor fitted. With a brief glance in the mirror before he left, more to make sure he didn't have something stupid poking out somewhere, like toilet paper stuck to the bottom of his shoe, he was out the door and off to the Ministry. 

Once he was at the Ministry he was ushered to the giant Atrium where round tables were placed over the entire space, except for a platform for speeches and announcements. Harry found himself at a table with people he knew at least and what he thought was going to be a horrid day began to feel more like a lunch out with some friends and ministry workers he had dealings with. Of course, he was Harry fucking Potter, so the peace didn't last and during a rather pleasant conversation with Neville who was there at his table he had been attacked...... Again.

It was a relatively tame attack except that it had actually met its mark. One second, he was smiling at something Neville had said and the next he registered two things at once, a woman leaping from the other side of the table, wand in hand muttering a spell directed at him and that his heart was on fire. The second after that his heart was still on fire, but the woman was frozen in mid-air, Neville had immobilized her and was rushing to Harry. The final thing to register was that he was now lying on the floor clutching at his chest screaming that it burned before he saw black and passed out.

He had woken up two hours later in Kingsley's office, with Medi witches hurrying about him, his shirt now open and chest exposed,

"You're awake I see." spoke a familiar voice from above his head, he tilted his head to look upon an upside-down figure of Kinsley himself.

"Minister." Harry greeted, his voice was thick and groggy. His throat was sore possibly from screaming, then he remembered the pain. The burning in his heart, the spell that hit him. "What happened?" he asked Kingsley still trying to fit all the events together in his mind.

"You were attacked." Harry nodded as Kingsley spoke. "The spell used on you is a very rare and ancient spell, we are yet to determine if there is a reversal, but it doesn't seem to have had any effect on you as far as physical damage or mental damage." Well, it wasn't as bad as he thought.

"What was the spell I was hit with?... What is it supposed to do? because my heart felt like it was roasting over a very hot fire, are you sure there was no damage?" Harry asked hoping for the answers. At this new information however about his heart the Medi witches all took a collective gasp and then began furiously whispering among themselves. This obviously alarmed Harry so he looked back to Kingsley, eyes wide.

"Well, we don't really know yet what the original spell was as there have, until now, been no sign of any kind of symptoms." Kingsley gave him a hard, determined look, which didn't quite give the same effect from Harry's current perspective.  

"Why don't you cast Priori Incantato on the witch’s wand, it will reveal the spell she cast" said another familiar voice from another part of the room.

"Neville!" Harry exclaimed at seeing who had spoken.

"That's a brilliant idea, I'll go and see what I can do to speed this along." Kingsley said before striding out of his office screaming to his assistant to have the necessary people brought to him at once. The Medi Witches all huddled around just outside the office talking with professionals that appeared.

"You alright there, Harry?" Neville said walking over to sit beside Harry who had sat up head spinning a little, he pinched the bridge of his nose, shifting his glasses as he did and gave a sigh.

"Honestly Nev, I fucking hate it. Why can't I just have a normal day? Why do I have to be so fucking famous?" Harry grumbled, all his friends knew he hated the fame and he never asked for it but this new level being the Savior and being of marrying age made him a target for all the wrong reasons, ever since his split with Ginny he had been proclaimed Bachelor of the year by witch weekly and once that was announced the amount of love potions and spelled items he had received were concerning enough that he had all his fan mail redirected to the ministry to be sorted safely before it came to him.

The most bizarre thing to have come from his new found bachelorhood was the marriage contracts, pure blood families everywhere were trying to arrange marriages between himself and whatever daughters they had with promises of fortune and prestige, it was strange to have parents writing to him asking he consider their daughter or daughters, it actually sickened him to think some poor girl would be forced into a marriage with him if he accepted any of these 'contracts' so he had refused all of them sending replies saying that he was not interested in an arranged marriage and disapproved of the idea of marriage contracts altogether, that while he was sure that their daughters were all wonderful young ladies he was only going to marry for love.

This hadn't had the effect he would have liked as this spurred a response for most amending their 'contracts' to include a clause allowing him to exit the agreement if he did not fall for their daughters, he really had nothing to say to that and was sure he didn't feel like dating someone that was possibly being fake to win him over for the sake of their family, although he found that people were intimidated by his name and tended to be more accommodating -fake- when they knew who they were talking to, flirting with or just being around. His friends were the exception, but he couldn't imagine himself dating any of them.

Neville had been nodding along watching Harry think and relax after his grumble, but before Neville could say anything Kingsley strode back in with an elderly man behind him. The man was short and thin with thinning grey hair frizzed around his thin face. The man looked like a tiny stick insect man with Einstein's hair and Professor Trelawney's glasses. He was carrying a tome that was too big for him to actually carry.

"Right, we have some news." Kingsley announced, clapping his hands together as if to get the rooms attention, the Medi witches bustled in and to Harrys side and Kingsley went to sit at his desk with the stick insect man taking up the chair Neville had vacated.

"Ahem," the Stick figure man cleared his throat and all eyes landed on him, "We have identified accurately the spell that was cast on you Mr. Potter, the incantation that the woman used was 'Geminae flammae aeternum' this has been identified as the Twin flame Charm." the man said then folded his arms over the book on his lap. Harry was frustrated because the man looked like that was something they should understand.

"And what exactly are the effects of this Charm that has been placed on me?" Harry asked trying not to sound annoyed that he even had to ask.

"Oh, we don't know that this charm is so old there isn't much information on it and what information we do have is mostly speculation. The effects are unknown as it has not been performed for almost eight hundred years, historically it was a charm used for identifying and committing to a spouse a more primitive form of a wizard bonding ritual. After interrogating the woman, I understood that she was under the impression that by casting the spell on you, it would do you no harm but would identify you as her soul mate and you would inevitably fall in love with her and such, after researching the spell I have no reason to believe that she is wrong and that it didn't ... um .. stick, because she just wasn't your soul mate." the man explained, that was more like the information he was after.

"What about the burning pain when the spell hit?" Harry asked, Kingsley answered this time.

"We think that was just the spells way of deeming you as not her soul mate as she felt no such burn, as we don't know for sure and are unable to find anything as far as more information on the matter, we want to keep you monitored. As you appear to be in perfect health then we feel ok with you going home with someone available to watch over you in case anything changes."

"I'll stay with him tonight." Neville interrupted. Harry gave him a grateful smile and turned back to Kingsley to continue.

They spent the good part of the next hour making arrangements for Harry to be periodically checked over until there wasn't a doubt that he was fine, along with a brief statement to the Daily Prophet to stem the rumours, he had collapsed after being attacked and apparently caused quite the panic. Eventually he and Neville were able to leave and go back to his house, they spent the better part of the afternoon talking and complaining, well Harry complained Neville listened and agreed and fed him fire whiskey when it got late, it was then that he had his breakdown.

 Telling Neville, he didn't die for this, he wanted it to be over, wanted to just move away where no one knew him, muggle Asia sounded far and foreign enough. Neville had clearly felt bad for him but said he should get some sleep and that he was too drunk to go to muggle Asia right then, with that Harry was handed one last glass of fire whiskey and sent to bed.

Now he stared at his canopy drifting to sleep feeling tipsy from the alcohol and relaxed from the ranting, thankful to Neville and absently wondering about twin flames and true loves and soul mates, were they different? were they the same? was it even real? Did it even matter?

~*~

Draco tried not to read the paper often, but when he saw the front page when his mother was reading it, he couldn't help but pick it up. This morning in particular the Headline read:

SAVIOR ATTACKED AGAIN.

Last night it was confirmed that Mr. Potter was attacked by a crazed fan, understandably irritated by the situation our Savior simply said he was fine and there was no damage ......

Draco couldn't believe the nerve of some people, the man had done everything including give his life to the Dark lord, even if he lived afterwards, shouldn't he have been able to escape and relax on a tropical beach or something. He did suppose he knew Potter had a bit of a hero/martyr complex, so the git probably felt obliged to attend the tedious ministry functions and charity balls held in his honour.

The audacity of some people though, was truly unbelievable, the fact people felt the need to attack him selfishly only caring about what they want from Potter. He felt as though there was a lot of that throughout the time Potter had been at Hogwarts or apart of the wizarding world in general, people always wanted something from him but rarely gave anything in return, he wasn't even able to have peace and quiet after winning a war almost single-handed.

In his humble opinion it was one of the worse traits of the wizarding community, of course he had been no better when he had been younger, constantly teasing and tormenting a boy who did not deserve his selfish, childish, jealousy. After living with the dark lord however, he saw firsthand what that kind of selfishness could turn someone into, and it did not appeal to him. He never wanted to bow to someone like that ever again and chose to be wary of it in himself so he could fight ever turning out like Voldemort. 

Potter had never asked to be worshipped and yet people did so anyway, for him it wasn't about controlling the masses to his bidding, or some crazed vengeance towards a people who had wronged him. No, Draco knew Potter didn't like being famous, he had always known, even in school when Draco teased him for loving the attention, Draco knew it only riled Potter up because it wasn't true.

Much of the teasing Draco had done, and rumours he has spread were among the things he regretted in his youth, and looking back and in hindsight he wouldn't have wanted to be friends with himself either, especially when he had done whatever, whenever to act like a brat to a younger Potter.

As a boy he resented Potter for not giving him a chance and never trying to get to know him, but looking back now he had done absolutely nothing to deserve that from Potter or prove that he was even worth Potters time. At the end of the day Draco had always attacked Potter and for stupid childish reasons, although a lot of that hate came from the strong dislike of the Weasley brute but he was an adult now and was not going to fall back on those same habits, he had no reason to but it bewildered him that people would attack Potter out of what, Love, admiration, and it was other adults that were doing it.

In a way he could dismiss the childish antics of himself and Potter and all the other students who had tried or succeeded in attacking Potter in school, but adults should have their shit together, they should be better. Although when he looked back in his life as a child there were few adults who seemed to have their shit together at all, Dumbledore, though a good guy was bat shit crazy most of the time, brilliant no doubt but crazy. Severus, his godfather was also a great man but a bully non-the-less, his blatant bullying of Potter while entertaining for his child self, was extremely childish for an adult much less a teacher.

 Lucius, his father had stupidly followed a mad man, a fanatic who had no mind of his own, projecting all of that to his child was in Draco’s opinion the worst and most immature thing possible and he was infinitely glad for his mother’s curious influence over the years. He dreaded to think what he would have become if she wasn't around, quietly reassuring in the background and for the most part doing her best to project as loving a demeanour as possible without breaking pureblood decorum standards.

The article had referred to the attack as a failed attempt at 'winning the heart of the Savior', Draco was convinced it was some kind of love spell to influence Potter into falling for whoever. He had read a lot about love potions and spells, a secret interest of his, not that he would ever use such things but the theory of it was fascinating.

It made him wonder if love was real, like true love. There was plutonic love, he understood that well enough, he loved his mother and the love you can have for friends, he had always loved Pansy, Blaise and Theo having grown up with them visiting often even if it was hard to get to know them when all their families were in high society and decorum was expected even amongst the children.

He never had the kind of childhood that was fun and games, it was lessons and etiquette. Romantic love was something he had never really thought was real, sure people got married like his parents but that had been arranged and from what he knew most pureblood marriages were, he had expected he would have had it that way if thing weren't different now in society and people had choices.

That didn't answer the question of romantic love though, sure he had crushes, he thought people were attractive but in stories love is always described as passionate and he had never experienced anything like that, not romantically.

Even when he read about the love spells and potions it was described as passionate or obsessive or euphoric but then those things were borderline imperious curse shit, so is it real or not? how would you know? After all the imperious curse was calming in it effects.

Sex was an even greater anomaly, romance didn't come hand in hand with sexual desire or gratification, after all wanking was hardly romantic. There are theories that suggest a greater level of satisfaction when romance was involved but was that love or just desire.

He read a lot of the old rituals about soulmates and true loves, fated pairs and all that. In the old days when there were a rare couple that was magically proven to have what was described as a bond of sorts. A lot of the records show a magical bond between two people was a bond that could never be broken, there were different kinds of bonds that were described, soul mates were variable, friendships that would last forever, sibling soul mates were interesting as they always manifested in twins. Which is what made the scene of George Weasley hugging the corpse of his twin in the great hall all the more tragic to him, it was a frequent image in his nightmares.

The rarest was of course, a mated couple, a bond so strong you could basically read each other's minds, it was like having a best friend and a sibling with a side of desire, or that was how he understood it as it was described.

He read that pureblood marriage rituals were based off of the soul mate rituals, soul mate rituals were usually far more complex, but the idea around it was much the same. He often wondered about the physical ramifications of the rituals, - what they must have felt like? The way they were described were more than he could comprehend.

Love magic was some of the most complex and dangerous, there was one ritual that if the two people attempting the ritual weren't compatible in the right way, it resulted in all kinds of horrid side effects the worst of which was a state of emotionless that was in his opinion akin to the dementors kiss.

There was a small book in his library that he found one day; it looked like a journal but was a detailed description of a ritual that was so rare he thought it was the only record of it in the world. It sounded more like a fairytale about two people who were beyond soulmates the ritual was so detailed that he always went back to it, the idea of that kind of love, so strong that you almost become one person was such a lovely dream, reading it left him with hope that love like that existed.

His mother would call him a hopeless romantic but was it such a bad thing to want something great. It was all a dream non-the-less, a fairytale like anything fiction, a way of escaping the harsher reality that it wasn't real.

The fantasy was nice while it lasts though, so he read the book like it was a novel because it was so old that it was highly unlikely that kind of soul mate would actually exist at all or it was some crazed overly ambitious relative who thought they could create a bond like that, tried it and died a stupid death.

So, he stuck with the idea that it was just an elaborate story and had thus become his favourite story, the book itself having a permanent place in his room instead of the family library.

Knowing all of this and knowing more than most on the topic of love magic, he could not fathom why someone would use the kind of mind manipulation spells on someone like Potter, it seemed wrong for people to be able to do that to him, to anyone really. Love just seemed like something you shouldn't be able to mess with, it’s should just be one of those laws against magic like not resurrecting the dead or making food appear out of thin air, even if it wasn't real love just an impersonation of it shouldn't be possible, he supposed that's why it was real when it was so easily replicated and why the subject fascinated him so.