13

Narcissa Black had quickly become a wizarding world celebrity. Every few days, a different story appeared in the Daily Prophet and other newspapers and magazines around the world detailing her latest fashions, who she was dating and what time of night/morning that person was seen leaving her hotel room. She was traveling the world before deciding where to settle down and had already spent time in France, Italy, the Far East and Australia. There was even speculation on whether she would be featured in one of the upcoming Playwizard editions.

Narcissa had discovered quickly that being single, beautiful and rich made for a much more fun lifestyle than being on the arm of a pompous, arrogant, pureblood bigot. As for blood status, Narcissa was discovering that non-magical men seemed to be a lot more adept at the art of pleasuring her than their wizarding counterparts, especially when she slipped them pepper-up potions in their drinks. It seemed to have startling side effects for the 'wands' of non-magical men. Later, one of those men ran a blood analysis on himself and 'accidentally' made a discovery that would later turn into a brand new medication chemically known as Sildenafil Citrate.

Draco Malfoy was now only able to look at the paper when someone left a copy lying around. His subscription to the Prophet had run out and he found out that since his father's name had still been on his trust vault, it had been seized by the goblins, leaving him knutless and unable to even afford a newspaper.

Three weeks after his parents' divorce and his father's sentence, Draco was sitting at the Slytherin table all alone again. He kept looking left or right in the vain hope that someone would put down a paper and leave it so he could follow the current stories of his mother. He was disgusted with her as she was constantly in the company of muggles and mudbloods and always with that damn smile on her face. He almost jumped out of his shoes when a hand was placed on his shoulder. Looking up, he saw Professor McGonagall standing there.

"Mister Malfoy, I need you follow me to the Headmaster's office," the Deputy Headmistress said.

Upon arrival in the Headmaster's office, Draco and McGonagall waited for the Headmaster to look up.

Professor Dumbledore, though, was currently deep in thought. Severus had just given his weekly report concerning the Dark Mark on his arm and how it was growing darker. Dumbledore didn't really need the update that often, but the thought of Snape and tattoos always brightened the ancient Headmaster's day. Especially since the tattoo in question had serious symbolism in regards to the Headmaster's sexual orientation. He often wondered where else the Potion Master might have tattoos. 'I wonder if he's considered getting a cute little phoenix right…'

"HMMMMM."

Dumbledore looked up from his musing at the thought-interrupting throat clearing. 'It's that annoying cat lady again. She always interrupts me when I least desire her to. Maybe if I get a dog she'll leave me alone... hmm... Sirius?'

At that moment, at Malfoy Manor, a cold chill ran down Sirius' back and an urgent desire to take a shower enveloped him. For some reason, Sirius suddenly felt unclean.

"HMMMMMM HMMMMMM," McGonagall hmmed again.

"Yes Minerva? Ah! I see you have the young Mister Malfoy," Dumbledore turned his attention to the young man who had so little hair and no eyebrows. "Young man," Dumbledore turned up the twinkle in his eyes several degrees. "You're here today to identify where you will call home and who will care for you. There are several options open."

"My father…" Draco began.

"Yes, your father is an excellent place to start; that is one option you have. The goblins have offered for you to share his sentence. You can spend your time as he is doing to pay off his debt twice as fast," Dumbledore said. He looked down at a parchment on his desk. "You'd have to spend a minimum of one hundred and thirty years to halve the debt of your father," He looked up at Draco with an inquisitive look on his face. "Would you like to help your father like that?"

"One… One… HUNDRED YEARS!" Draco exclaimed.

"And thirty, yes. That is what I said," The Headmaster said serenely.

"Uh no, I think I might prefer some other option." At that moment, Draco realized the life he had known before coming to Hogwarts this past year was over. No father, no mother, no betrothed, no money and no home. As he contemplated what his life had become, Karma was about to kick him in the nuts one more time.

"Very well," Dumbledore looked again at the parchment. "Another option is to send you to live with either of your aunts. Of course, your aunt Lestrange, currently, is living in Azkaban, but the warden there assures me that you can be placed in her cell and they would feed you as well." Again he looked up at Draco. "Would you prefer living with your aunt Bellatrix?"

"In Azkaban?" Draco asked rhetorically. "I think not."

"Very well," Dumbledore crossed off a name on his list. "Your other Aunt is Mrs. Andromeda Tonks. She is somewhat reluctant to take you in since she was cast out of your mother's house, but she is willing as long as..."

"Stop there… I'm not going to live with ANY non-pureblood family, much less that muggleborn loving bi… person," Draco stated with an expression of utter disgust.

"You might want reconsider that statement as it will limit who can provide for you."

Draco whipped out his wand and said forcefully, "I, Draco Malfoy, swear on my life and magic that I will not ever willingly live with a non-pureblood family." A flash of light sealed the oath.

"Ah… that was an unfortunate thing to do I believe," Dumbledore said with a frown. He looked back down at the parchment and started crossing off names. "Severus had volunteered, but since Professor Snape is a half blood, he is out," Dumbledore continued crossing off names until only one was left. "There is only one pureblood family left who is willing to take you in, but before I mention them, I will give you the other options. Normally, you could be placed in a wizarding orphanage, but your father recently voted a series of budget cuts to the facility and they are unable to take any more orphans in at this moment. "

"Forget all other options, Headmaster," Draco sneered. "Just tell me who this pureblood family is that I will be living with. The Greengrasses? The Notts? The Crabbe's are very good friends of my father; it's them, isn't it?"

"Um no. It seems the majority of the pureblood families lost interest as soon as they learned you do not have any money. They are also concerned that the contract your father signed might have a clause about seizing assets from heirs as well. They are afraid that their own property might be seized if they were to take you in," Dumbledore started to get up from his chair. "I'll notify your new family of your decision this instant."

Draco had a sudden sinking feeling in his stomach. He watched the headmaster walk over to the fireplace and, after tossing in some floo powder, he said a word Draco didn't catch and green flames flared up.

"He's agreed to your family."

A female voice Draco had heard twice in his life rang out of the fireplace. "Excellent! I'll be over shortly." Draco felt cold sweat pour down his back as he remembered the two times he had heard the voice before. The first was when a howler exploded in his second year and shouted at Ronald Weasley and, most recently, was when a stumpy, redheaded woman was chasing a dragon yelling 'Ronnikens'. Just then, the fire blazed green and Molly Weasley stepped out of the fireplace.

"Goodness. I always say that you can never have enough children," Molly said as she sized up the young man in front of her.

"You can say that again," McGonagall muttered under her breath.

"We'll need to get him into shape, of course," Mrs. Weasley said. "But I'm sure after a summer of degnoming the garden, cleaning the house and feeding the chickens, he'll be fine."

"There is no way I'm going to live with this Mudblood loving... mgfmgh!" Draco's voice became garbled as soap suds started pouring out of his mouth.

Molly put her wand away and said, "Now there'll be no more of that foul language! I've raised seven children and know how to deal with them. Now nod if you understand me, young man!"

Draco's face turned red as he continued to sputter against the suds that continually replenished in his mouth. Molly waved her wand again and the soap started tasting more and more sour. Until, finally, with tears running down his face, Draco nodded.

"Fine," Molly Weasley said and, after a wave of her wand, Draco's mouth was cleared of soap.

"I am NOT..." Draco started, but stopped when Mrs. Weasley's wand rose again. "Uh… are there any other options."

"Unfortunately, with the magical oath you made earlier, there are not."

"What about Aunt Bellatrix? She's a pureblood and… and… Azkaban can't be that bad," Draco cried out as he thought of a whole summer of sitting next to and watching Ron Weasley eat and actually having to do manual labor.

"Well, that is still an option, I suppose," Dumbledore said.

"Yes, please! I'll go live with Aunt Bellatrix."

"Very well," Dumbledore said and turned to the Weasley Matriarch. "Thank you for wanting to help, but I'm afraid young Mister Malfoy wishes to go a different route."

"Our house will always be open, Albus, if he changes his mind," Molly replied and disappeared into the emerald flames back to the Burrow.

"I'll let the warden know to expect you next week, then," Dumbledore said to Draco.

"NEXT WEEK?" Malfoy shouted. "I thought it would be the end of the year!"

"I'm sorry, but your father always insisted on paying your tuition on a monthly basis out of your trust vault. Unfortunately, the last time we tried to collect the tuition; the goblins informed us the vault was now empty."

"But… but… but…" Draco stammered.

Dumbledore felt heartwarming compassion for the young man in front of him. "I'll let you stay until a week after the Easter Holidays, which gives you two more weeks here."

Draco was lying on his bed in his dorm a bit later when he suddenly had a thought. 'I can sell my broom. I should get enough money from a Nimbus 2001 to last at least another semester and maybe even a whole year. With a little time, I can rebuild my life!' With his hopes higher than they had been all day, he hopped off his bed and opened his trunk. It was then that he remembered he had left his broom at Malfoy Manor because his father had told him about the Triwizard Tournament and that there would be no Quidditch this year.

As he collapsed back on his bed, his only thoughts were, 'It's that damn Potter and his mudblood whore's fault! I'll make them pay before I go.'

xXxXxXx

Sirius was happier than he had been in a long time. Malfoy Manor and the surrounding estate were huge. He had purchased the house with all assets still in place. So he didn't have to worry about furnishing it. He had been exploring since he moved in. The previous day, he had opened a closet of what was obviously Draco's room only to find a Nimbus 2001 tucked away. 'He must have known about the Triwizard Tournament early so didn't bother taking the broom with him to school. Excellent!' It wasn't long before Sirius was flying around over the grounds.

Later, he realized he was going to need a house elf to help him take care of the place. He remembered Kreacher, the elf from his childhood, and didn't want to deal with him.

xXxXxXx

Millicent Bulstrode had been planning for Easter break ever since the letter from her father about the bride price. The week was supposed to have been her wedding and honeymoon, but now she had other plans. She knew that Draco never wanted her, but she had been the last choice his father had had at the time. She was tired of being at the butt end of the jokes around school. She was tired of being compared to a hag. She was determined for that to change.

Upon leaving Hogwarts for the week, she checked into a magical medical procedure clinic that specialized in entire body makeovers. She had been in owl contact with them for weeks, scheduling out the procedures they recommended. As soon as she got there, she was immediately scheduled for a bone structure reduction procedure. It was based loosely off of what had happened to Harry Potter during the second year.

Limb by limb the bones were banished and a modified skelegrow solution was administered that grew back the bones in a controlled smaller frame. Skin and muscles were reduced to match the new structure as well. By the time it was over, she was a couple of stones lighter and several inches smaller. With her smaller framed body, her breasts now displayed prominently. Overall, her body was definitely more feminine.

She also had several procedures equivalent to muggle plastic surgery that softened her facial features and jawline. Her hair, teeth and skin underwent several refinement processes and, finally, a slight magical adjustment to her voice made the pitch higher for a more feminine sounding voice.

During the week, she spent almost every galleon paid by the Malfoys and had experienced pain like she had never known before, but as she looked in the mirror the night before it was time to return to Hogwarts, she realized it was worth every knut and every agonizingly painful second. She knew she'd never be of Veela beauty, but she didn't want that anyway. She only wanted boys to look at her without feeling they needed to insult her or compare her to some monster. She wanted to not be the last choice and, as she looked in the mirror, she felt she was who she wanted to be.

Her mother and father had first objected to her wanting to change so dramatically, but had finally relented when they saw how desperately she wanted to not be the person who had been engaged to Draco Malfoy only because no one else would have him. As their gift to their daughter, they bought her a whole new wardrobe.

The next day as Millicent Bulstrode walked into the Great Hall of Hogwarts, several boys' eyes followed her wondering who the cute new witch wearing Slytherin robes was. A smile crossed her face as she noticed the attention. She first made her way to the head table where she identified herself, and then she walked over to the Gryffindor table where she had a quick word with Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. Several people wondered why Harry's fork dropped out of his hand as the witch said something to them. After a quick conversation with the two of them and a nod to the Weasley twins, she walked over and sat down across from Draco.

Malfoy was stunned to see someone sit near him. Nobody had done that in months. Though the witch across from him looked very familiar, he couldn't place who it was.

"Hello Draco," Millicent said.

"Do I know you?" He answered.

"You could say that."

"You look familiar, but I don't remember you. I'm sure I would have remembered someone as attractive as you," he said, hoping the compliment might help.

"Good. Those were the exact words I hoped to hear," Millicent replied and stood back up. "Oh and Draco, today would have been the day we returned from our honeymoon."

Draco's eyes widened under his non-existent eyebrows. "Mil... Millicent? But… but… but," was all he could sputter.

She just turned and smiled at him and then walked way.

Over the next few years at Hogwarts, Millicent enjoyed her newfound self-esteem. She refused to date anyone who had insulted her. In wanting a little revenge, she actually fell into the company of the Weasley Twins and helped them with their pranks, especially against the people who used to mock her and now tried to court her. A friendship developed and she became a regular in the Gryffindor common room.

Through the twins, she became friends with Ginny and Neville, also. She still had some friends amongst the Slytherins, as well. As the other females in the Slytherin House saw how gentlemanly the Gryffindors acted toward Millicent compared to the male slime that frequented the dungeons, Pansy, Daphne, Astoria and Tracey all became more interested in the other houses for company. With the ever present Narcissa Black in the news, the witches of the wizarding world, and especially in Hogwarts, followed her example and blood status fell by the wayside.

When the twins eventually opened their joke shop, Millicent became their first employee. Through them, she met their older brother Charlie and the two of them hit it off instantly. They owled each other frequently and Millicent visited the dragon reserve often to see the handsome dragon handler. On Millicent's twenty-third birthday, Charlie proposed to her and Millicent Bulstrode knew she was not his last choice.

xXxXxXx

The days were passing quickly for the school year. Harry was enjoying spending time with Hermione. His grades were skyrocketing as Hermione's reward system, along with not having Ron constantly complaining about doing homework, seemed to do wonders for helping him complete his work. Amazingly enough, he discovered by having a much more firm understanding of the subjects, he was spending less time overall doing the homework as the weeks moved on. Shortly before Easter, he received an owl from Sirius.

Hey Pup,

Just to let you know I am in a much safer place now. I don't know if you heard that Malfoy Manor was up for sale, but it was and my bid was accepted by my cousin Narcissa. I am living here now and the wards are outstanding. There is no chance of me being discovered.

This place is phenomenal! It has so many rooms I'm afraid I'm going to get lost. It's got a nice pool to swim in and it even has a small pitch to practice Quidditch. I've already been out flying and Buckbeak even joins me sometimes. Of course, you and Hermione are welcome to come spend the entire summer here. She can even bring her parents since there is plenty of room for them.

If you happen to know of a house elf who wants to work for me, please send them my way.

Oh! If you want a good laugh, you should ask Draco where his broom is. He seems to have left it here and, since everything in the house at the time of purchase is now mine... well, what do you think I've been flying for the last couple of days? I hope you let me have a go on your Firebolt over the summer, but this Nimbus 2001 isn't half bad.

Snuffles

Harry and Hermione loved the idea of spending the summer with Sirius and Hermione started thinking of ways to convince her parents to let her stay there as well. They both immediately thought of the perfect house elf for Sirius.

"Dobby."

Immediately, the small house elf appeared next to them. "How can Dobby help Harry Potter sir?"

"Dobby, is there some place we can talk in private where no one can overhear us?" Hermione asked.

"We can go to the come and go room," Dobby answered.

"What's the come and go room? I've never heard of it and it's not mentioned in Hogwarts, A History."

"It's a special room that will become whatever you want it to become. Follow Dobby and Dobby will show you. We need to go to the seventh floor near a tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy."

"Is that the ugly thing with trolls dressed in ballet outfits?" Hermione asked with a shudder.

"That's the one Miss Grangy."

Several minutes later, they were standing in front of a blank wall across from the tapestry. "Now yous need to walk in front of this wall three times wishing for exactly what yous want and the room will appear."

Harry wondered if the small elf was trying to prank them but did what he said. Walking back and forth three times while saying quietly, "I need a room to talk to Dobby in private, I need a room to talk to Dobby in private…" On the third pass, a door appeared. When they entered the door, they found themselves in a small room with nothing but a chair and a couch.

When him and Hermione were seated on the couch and had insisted that Dobby sit in a chair, which caused him to immediately start crying out being treated as an equal by the great Harry Potter, they started telling Dobby what they wanted.

"Dobby, did you know your old Master's house was sold?" Harry asked.

"Dobby heard something about it."

"Well, we know who bought it and they are interested in hiring a house elf to help take care of it," Hermione said. "Would you be interested in the job?"

"It's now owned by my godfather, Dobby," Harry added. "He's a good man."

"You want Dobby to work for your godfather?" Dobby asked with tears coming to his eyes. "Dobby would be honored." The little elf looked down for a few seconds and then looked at Harry and Hermione nervously. "Would your godfather need a second elf? Winky isn't doing so good."

"I'm sure Si... the new owner won't mind. In fact, it would probably keep him from being too lonely in the manor," Harry said.

"Can we go see your godfather now?" Dobby asked. "Dobby is eager to get started."

"We don't have a way to get there," Harry said. "The Hogwarts Express won't leave until tomorrow. I guess we can go then if you want."

"Dobby can take you," Dobby replied. "Hold Dobby's hand," He reached out and, taking Harry and Hermione's hand and a second later, they were standing on the grounds of Malfoy Manor. "Harry Potter will introduce me to his godfather now."

"How… how did you do that?" Hermione asked. "You can't apparate from Hogwarts. It says so in Hogwarts: a History."

"Wizards and witches, can't," Dobby replied. "But house elves can be. They don't use the same magic."

"PUP?" Sirius Black's voice cried out. "Where'd you drop in from?"

"Caught a ride from a friend, Sirius," Harry said.

In the end, both Dobby and Winky went to work at the old Malfoy manor and Harry and Hermione got to spend most of Easter week spending time with Sirius. In the middle of the week, Harry and Hermione were sitting under a tree on the estates in the late afternoon. Hermione was reading a book while Harry was lying on the grass beside her, watching her. He pondered the last year, how much better it had been since Hermione had become his girlfriend. Suddenly, he had a thought of how to make her happier, or at least he thought she would be happier.

"Be right back," he said to his girlfriend and quickly strolled away, leaving her wondering where he was going. He got out of her sight and quickly called Dobby and asked if he could do something. When the little elf replied in the affirmative, the two of them returned to Hermione.

"Come on," Harry said to her. "We have somewhere to go." He gestured for her to grab Dobby's hand.

Hermione looked at him inquisitively, and then thinking he wanted to go back to Hogwarts, she took the elf's hand. With a crack, the two of them were standing in a secluded area in the back garden of a well-to-do suburban home. Hermione's eyes widened as she realized she was in her own back yard. She turned and looked at her boyfriend. "Harry?"

"You spent the last several days with my family; I thought you'd like to spend a couple with your parents," he replied. He turned to Dobby. "Wait here, Dobby, so we can prepare her parents."

"Dobby will do what Harry Potter says."

Hermione was already pulling Harry toward the back door. Finding it locked, she quickly found a rock in the garden beside the door. Picking it up, and telling Harry off for thinking she was going to break her own window, she slid aside a plastic door on the bottom and a key fell out. She quickly unlocked the door and walked in. "MUM! DAD!"

Harry recognized her mother and father, of course. He had met them before their second year at Diagon Alley. But as the two older Grangers came hurrying into the kitchen at what appeared to be their daughter's voice, he realized he hadn't thought this through very well. He had, as he was wont to do, just walked into the lion's den without even thinking about it. He was meeting the parents of not Hermione Granger, his best friend, but of Hermione Granger, his girlfriend.

Harry swallowed hard as his pulse raced and a cold sweat broke out all over his body. As he looked at Hermione's parents, he realized he hadn't remembered just how large Mr. Granger was until that moment. In the current situation, the man looked three times larger than normal and four times scarier. He remembered the owls the Grangers and he had swapped at Christmas time concerning Hermione's present had been pleasant, but this was different. This time, he was easily within being killed distance. He quickly had a laugh to himself thinking that at least Ginny's father was a lot less imposing. Then again, Hermione when angered could be very, very scary as well and she had to have gotten it from somewhere. He steadied his nerves and made sure he kept eye contact with the two of them.

"Mum, Dad, you remember Harry, don't you," Hermione introduced.

"Of course dear. Hello Harry. I'm Jean, Jean Granger."

"And I'm Richard," Mr. Granger said and held out his hand. As with all fathers who are introduced to his girl's boyfriend, he measured the boy from head to foot. Looking for any flaw that might suggest the boy was unworthy of his girl's affections. As Harry shook his hand, Richard made sure the handshake was firm enough to quietly emphasize a silent "you hurt my daughter and I'll hurt you" message.

"Mrs. Granger, Mr. Granger. Nice to meet you," Harry said as he nodded at each one. "Uh... thanks for the help at Christmas."

"Oh, of course you're welcome, Harry. But none of the Mr and Mrs. It's Jean and Richard, please," Hermione's mother turned a wry grin to her daughter, "Or should he go ahead and call us Mum and Dad?"

"MUM!" Hermione blushed but smiled as she thought of their Christmas time conversation.

"Well, it isn't like we don't know him! Your letters for the last three years have been mostly about this young man." This caused their daughter to blush even more. "We were surprised, though, when that beautiful owl of Harry's delivered a message about a Christmas gift and the Yule Ball and he wanted to get something special for his girlfriend."

As Hermione continued to blush, Harry put his arm around her waist. "It's fine, Mione. I promise I'm alright with it. I love you."

Both of the older Grangers' eyebrows shot up and they looked at each other at the mention of the L word. Not the word itself, but the look in his eyes as he said it and the sincerity of the words spoken. When Hermione turned and wrapped her arms around Harry for comfort, they realized this was definitely more than a school time crush. All teasing aside, they both had the feeling that in a few years' time, this young man would be calling them Mum and Dad.

"I'll stop teasing now. How did you two get here? Did you take that Bus thingy you said Harry took at the start of your third year?"

"That's the Knight Bus, Mum. And no, we had a better way. In fact, he is waiting in the back garden," Hermione opened the door again and called, "Dobby."

The little elf came bustling into the kitchen and stopped when he saw the Grangers. Hermione made the introductions. "Mum, Dad, this is Dobby and he is a house elf."

The Grangers were at first shocked at the sight of the little elf. Hermione had mentioned them in several letters, including a long rant from earlier in the year about elf slavery. They both decided they didn't know enough about the topic to delve into it until their daughter brought it up. "Hello Dobby," Jean said.

"Dobby is happy to meet the parents of Harry Potter's Miss Grangy," Dobby replied.

Mrs. Granger looked quizzically at her daughter who gave a little smile. "Well, have a seat and make yourself comfortable Dobby."

The little elf immediately started murmuring "Treats Dobby as an equal. Great Harry Potter's Grangy's family…" The rest became garbled as tears came to Dobby's eyes.

"You're our friend, Dobby," Harry said. "Of course you're an equal."

After a while, Dobby apparated back to Malfoy Manor after assuring Harry he would hear when he called for the trip back. They spent the next couple of hours getting to know one another, but it was a little later when Mr. Granger invited Harry into the study by himself that Harry started getting nervous again.

Richard settled into a leather recliner after pouring himself a glass of scotch whiskey and studied the young man who was sitting nervously on the edge of the other chair. "I presume you know why you're in here, Harry?"

"Uh... I think so sir," Harry replied nervously. "Hermione?"

"Correct. She's my only child and my life," Richard started as his eyes continued to study the young man. "This past summer, I sent my young girl off to school again, and now a young lady that looks exactly like her brings a young man home," Richard took a sip of his whiskey before continuing. "Earlier, when she needed comforting, she turned to you. Yes, her mother and I were teasing her, but it was still you she turned to."

"But sir..." Harry started before Richard continued.

"Don't take that wrong, Harry. It's a natural thing. I won't say it doesn't hurt, and I wouldn't have minded if she had waited until she was thirty before a man showed up in her life, but here you are." Harry still felt the gaze upon him. "Now the question that all fathers must ask: what are your intentions concerning my daughter?"

At that question, Harry stopped being nervous and he looked Hermione's father in the eye and said, "Sir, your daughter is everything to me. She is my best friend and the person I love. When it comes to her, my intentions are simple; I want to do whatever I can to make her happy for as long as she will let me. When she isn't happy, it feels like a piece of my heart is missing."

Richard had to fight the urge to blink. The maturity of the answer the young man had just given him spoke volumes of his character. He took another sip of his whiskey. "From the look in my daughter's eyes, I can see she thinks the world of you."

"Then it's both ways, sir," Harry replied.

"You know if you hurt her, I'll have to find you, don't you?" Richard asked. "It's a father's job."

"Sir, if I were to hurt your daughter, I'll find you so you can beat sense back into me because I would have obviously lost it."

Even Richard couldn't keep a straight face with that answer. He nodded to Harry, and then motioned the young man over to a drawer. When he opened it, Harry saw all kinds of strange looking hooks and picks and funny looking things. "Know what these are?" And he looked surprise when Harry shook his head negatively. "Never seen what a dentist uses when he takes care of your teeth?"

Harry remembered that both of Hermione's parents were dentists. "Sorry sir, I've… uh... never been to the dentist."

"Well, I was going to say that it was too bad I wasn't going to get to threaten to use these on you if you hurt Hermione. I mean, I did arrange this drawer specifically for threatening possible suitors. But I think maybe I had better. You've never been to the dentist? Hermione explained that you lost your parents when you were young, but you're living with relatives right?"

"Yes sir," Harry replied neutrally, but said nothing more.

Richard Granger had met a lot of young men as a dentist. He recognized the look of someone who didn't want to speak about something and the tone the young man had used said volumes, but he let it drop for now. He did know it would be something he had to explore carefully at a later time with his daughter. He knew that if Harry was being raised in an abusive atmosphere, statistically, he was more likely to be abusive toward loved ones himself. Richard refused to judge the young man based purely on statistics, but he intended to explore the topic with Hermione and get to know this young man as much as possible to fully understand him.

"I would like to give you a full examination some time then, Harry," Richard said and noticed the look on Harry's face as he glanced down at the drawer filled with sharp dental instruments. "I promise that Hermione can be in the room to make sure I am not torturing you, though if you've never been to a dentist before, you just might think that is exactly what Jean and I are doing."

Harry glanced again into the drawer before answering as calmly as he could, "Uh... that's fine sir."

"Now I have one last question before we rejoin the ladies. I am considering inviting you to spend the evening here. If I do that, can I trust you? I mean when it comes to my daughter and her bedroom."

"Yes sir, uh… I mean I'd never sir. We… uh… I…" He decided to shut up then and just nod.

The nervousness of the answer was more than enough for Richard and Harry was invited to stay the night. In fact, he and Hermione spent the next two nights there before returning to Malfoy Manor and Sirius. Richard and Jean took Harry to their office for a thorough check-up and cleaning and found for someone who had never been to the dentist; his teeth were in relatively good shape. They still insisted on a full set of X-rays and a good cleaning. Upon leaving their office, Harry was positive that the drill they used had a small dementor inside of it for the fear just the sound of it seemed to cause.

Harry had Dobby bring over a bottle of Firewhisky from Malfoy Manor. It seemed like Lucius must have just taken a new shipment before he was sentenced by the goblins. Richard Granger's first sip of the beverage proved to be hilarious as he stumbled backward when he belched up a mouthful of flames. But when he recovered, he had a good laugh.

As Harry and Hermione held the house elf's hands and disappeared, Jean turned to her husband. "Well?"

"A fine young man, I have to admit. Though I am a little concerned about his life at his home."

"I agree. But I don't think he's been affected by it. Do you see the way he looks at Hermione?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Richard growled with a pout. "No boy should be in love with my daughter until she is at least twenty-five."

"I don't remember you waiting until I was twenty-five."

He couldn't argue with his wife's logic, so he went back to his study and had another glass of the firewhiskey and thought of the little girl who wore frilly dresses and he used to read fairy tales to. Now, it seems that same little girl was living a fairy tale and had found her Prince Charming.

xXxXxXx

Harry and Hermione were seated back at the Gryffindor table on the last night of Easter Break when a strange new witch in Slytherin robes came over to talk to them.

"Harry, Hermione," she started softly. "It's me, Millicent Bulstrode." And at that statement, the fork in Harry's hand fell to his plate as he studied the young witch. She definitely had the same eyes, and some of the features, but all Harry could wonder was how could such a change take place.

"I just wanted to say I'll be sitting with Draco for a very," she emphasized the word very, "short time. If you could let the twins know it's not for a good thing?" She gave a curt nod to the twins sitting further down the table who had no clue who the young witch was.

"Uh... yeah... sure... Millicent."

"Oh, and tell them thank you. I owe everything to them and something tells me that I owe you two as well."

"Good luck, Millicent."

She flashed them a smile and left as she walked toward the Slytherin table.

Hermione looked at Harry. "Well, we did say it was going to be interesting in Slytherin house, didn't we."

xXxXxXx

Barty Crouch Jr. was still drinking heavily. The run-up to the second task had been extremely stressful and the alcohol he had consumed during that time had led to a Firewhisky addiction. Not only was he still adding the potent alcoholic drink to his polyjuice potion (he had discovered it did in fact help keep a good buzz going during the entire hour) but he couldn't go to sleep anymore without it being a result of passing out from consumption.

He had a calendar on his desk with the day after the third task circled in red. The day after he got Harry Potter into his master's grasp, he was going to kill that redheaded, sorry excuse for a human being. He was still contemplating ways for it to be done. The killing curse was much too painless for this situation. He had an idea of locking him in a dungeon cell filled with slow acting poison filled food. He would even tell the idiot the poison was in the food and then just let him try not to eat the food surrounding him. Barty had recently found out that Weasley's biggest fear was spiders, so his current favorite method was to put him in a slowly degrading protective bubble in the middle of the acromantula colony. The bogus defense teacher wondered if the acromantula would kill him before he died from excessive crapping on himself. Either way, it would be an enjoyable way to pass a few hours. Crouch pulled down another bottle of Firewhisky and started his nightly routine of preparing for sleep.

xXxXxXx

Voldemort was getting cranky. He had now spent well over a year in the company of Wormtail and the Dark Lord thingy was getting an itchy wand finger. If that wasn't bad enough, he'd developed a rash on his bottom and Wormtail still hadn't figured out how to warm his hands.

"Wormtail!" the dark infant screamed. "What is today's date?"

"April something, my Lord," Pettigrew replied.

"I told you to always have the exact date! CRUCIO!"

"AAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHHH….!"

As part of his brilliant evil mind kept the hatred pouring into the curse on this faithful servant, another part of it concluded that it must be April 18th. 'Eighteen minutes of torture then.' He only lasted another six minutes before he started getting a headache from his loyal subject's screaming and had to silence Wormtail and then start the cruciatus curse all over again.

As Wormtail silently screamed below his high chair – err Height Adjustable Evil Villain Chamber of Nourishment, he silently counted how many days before Harry Potter's lifeless eyes looked up at him. 'Sixty-seven days.' A wicked grin broke over his face, but it was quickly gone as he felt a discomfort build up inside of himself. "WORMTAIL! You're useless! You can't even burp me well!"

xXxXxXx

Ron Weasley was sitting in the Great Hall during Easter break, shoveling his fifth plate of eggs and bacon into his mouth when an overly large gray owl landed next to him with a letter and a large package. When Ron went to grab the letter, the owl bit him.

"Ow! You bloody owl," he yelled. The owl then held out his leg and offered the letter. Just as Ron had it unfastened, the owl took another nip of Ron's finger. As he sucked the blood from his finger, he read the note.

Ron,

The owl who delivered this is our new family owl. His name is Regnad. Your father was able to buy him for a very low price due to the owl's tendency to bite the person receiving the letter. In the accompanying package are the Easter Eggs for you, Harry, Hermione and Ginny. Make sure everyone gets theirs.

Mum

Three more bloodied fingers later, the box was loose from the owl's leg and just as Regnad was to fly away, he leaned over and bit Ron on the ear as well. Ron opened the box and saw the four eggs inside. Each was the size of a dragon egg. He looked around the table. Harry and Hermione weren't there and Ginny was too engrossed in a conversation with Neville.

'What they don't know about, they'll never miss,' he thought and started eating all the eggs.

xXxXxXx

Harry and Hermione benefited almost immediately from Millicent Bulstrode's new friendliness. She warned them that Draco Malfoy was planning on attacking them some time before he would be forced to leave the school at the end of the week. Harry was continually carrying the Marauder's Map with him, checking on where the blond haired… uh… sort of blackish blond haired snake was located. They always arrived at any class they had with him early to make sure they could always sit in the back, preventing Malfoy from being behind them.

The day before the end of the week, Harry and Hermione left dinner a little early when the map showed Malfoy had positioned himself in an alcove on the fourth floor directly in the normal path back to Gryffindor Tower. They knew he planned to attack now. They quickly came up with a plan.

They decided to do the same thing they had originally done to Daphne and Tracy, except this time Harry would be the one under the cloak. As they got to the top of the fourth floor staircase, they looked back at the steps and cast three charms. "Glisseo," Hermione whispered and the steps flattened into a chute. "Aguamenti," Harry murmured and water shot out of his wand and coated the staircase and, at the same time, Hermione whispered, "Glacius." And the water turned to ice. The steps they had just walked up were now an ice covered chute.

Harry ducked under the invisibility cloak and moved closer to the alcove the ferret was hiding in. Hermione started humming to herself and walked past the alcove. As they had predicted would happen, Draco stepped out behind her and, after a quick look to make sure she was alone, began to taunt her. "Well if it isn't Potter's mudblood?"

Hermione smiled to herself and turned to face him. "What do you want, ferret?" She asked.

Draco sneered, though when a mostly hairless, deformed-eared person with no eyebrows sneers at you, it's more laughable than anything else. "You two destroyed my life. I don't know how, but you did. I wanted both of you, but I'll take care of you now and then go find Potter." He raised his wand, but Hermione just pointed a finger at him and yelled "EXPELLIARMUS!" And like the time with Daphne and Tracy, Draco's wand flew out of his hand when Harry quietly summoned it.

"WHAT! That's impossible!" Draco screamed.

Hermione smiled, then her eyes narrowed as she stared at Draco. "You're not telling me a MUDBLOOD is better than you are, are you Malfoy? You mean you can't do wandless magic? Let's see what a wandless stinging hex does." As she pointed her finger directly at Malfoy's crotch, the cowardly ferret turned and ran, right toward the trapped staircase. Harry cast one last spell, removing the Ferret's clothes, as Draco disappeared down the chute of ice. The stairs took that moment to switch and he slid off the side and plummeted three stories. He might have been serious injured if Severus Snape hadn't been walking in that spot at the time and ended up with a very naked Draco Malfoy landing on top of him again. Several other students exiting the Great Hall found the naked Slytherin lying on top of the Potions Professor. Peeves was also there.

Three stories above, Harry and Hermione were canceling the charms on the staircases and tossing Draco's wand down the steps before exiting as fast as they could.

"Snape and Malfoy lying in a hall… B-U-G-G..."Peeves started before the Deputy Headmistress found them.

"SEVERUS SNAPE!" Minerva McGonagall shouted at seeing a naked student and Snape lying there.

Snape had been walking quietly from the Great Hall, headed for his office when he heard screaming coming from above him. He had just enough time to look up and see a very naked Draco Malfoy descending rapidly. The next thing the Potions Master remembered was regaining consciousness with Minerva McGonagall screaming at him. In his befuddled condition he said the exact wrong thing again. "OH, JUST BUGGER ME!" It was only then did he realize that Draco was still lying on top of him. 'I have really got to get that statement out of my vocabulary,' he thought.

"Snape and Malfoy lying in a ha…"Peeves tried to start again.

"Stop that despicable behavior this instant!" The Deputy Headmistress said sharply, cutting the poltergeist off one more time.

"What, may I ask, is going on here?" Albus Dumbledore asked as he strolled up.

"It seems Severus and young Malfoy were about to be engaged in further sexual activities, Headmaster," McGonagall replied tersely. "I demand you take serious action this time, Albus."

"Severus... Severus," the Headmaster said softly to his pet Death Eater. "I have no choice this time, you know. I must do what I must do."

"You don't mean…" The greasy haired potion mastered started. "But.."

"I'm sorry Severus," the Headmaster took a deep breath before continuing with the unpleasant task. "I must severely discipline you this time, Severus. I hate to do this, but for the next week, you're not allowed to have apple pie with your meals. Is that understood? Minerva, you're to inform the elves."

Snape bowed his head and smirked. "Yes Headmaster."

"But…but..." McGonagall sputtered. "He was going to have sex with a student!"

"And I have punished him for it."

"But he doesn't even like apple pie!" The deputy Headmistress exclaimed.

"Then the punishment will not have a problem being carried out. Good night all," Dumbledore turned and started for his office, leaving behind looks ranging from bewilderment to amusement to absolute disgust. 'It was a bit harsh, but Severus must learn to control those urges,' he thought to himself.

Draco's exit from the castle was a subdued affair. No student could see the ferret without thoughts of him and Professor Snape flooding their minds and causing a round of vacated meals. Before he left, Millicent had sneaked into his dorm and stocked his trunk with Canary Creams, Horntail Honeys and Ducky Delights courtesy of the twins.

Several hours later, Malfoy found himself on a small boat crossing the North Sea. A short time later, he was put into his aunt's cell.

"Bella. We have your new roomy for you. Your nephew is here to share your cell," the warden said as he opened the cell and allowed Draco and his trunk inside. Draco, of course, had to surrender his wand before coming to the prison.

Bellatrix regarded her nephew with a look of disgust. "So you're dear old Narcissa's boy?"

"Yeah," Draco murmured not liking the deranged look in his aunt's eyes.

"Well, what do you have in your trunk?" She asked.

"Clothes and things."

"Open it up!" She demanded.

When he opened it, she saw the Canary Cremes first and yelled, "CANDY!" Grabbing several of them, she quickly shoveled them into her mouth. Several seconds later, she was a deranged, tall, yellow canary and she didn't like being a canary one bit. Unfortunately for Draco, there was no place to run and he was pecked constantly for the next ten minutes until she molted and turned back into a person. Unfortunately, the twins still hadn't worked out that molting problem and Draco was looking at his naked aunt who had spent the last thirteen years with no exercise and very little food, not to mention no bra. What he saw was an extremely can-see-ribs-through-the-skin thin, untoned body with breasts hanging down to her waist. He rushed to the window and threw up.

Unfortunately for Draco, the Azkaban warden saw no reason to replace Bellatrix's clothes and, when the cold wind of the north sea blew through the window, his aunt insisted that they share their body heat to keep warm at nights.