Cathleen Dowell couldn't sleep. It wasn't an uncommon problem with her, but usually a quick cup of Aziza's tea would fix the issue. Tonight however their was simply too much going on. It had been a long night, to Scotland and back in one night, and then the council. Well, not a council. That sounded to official for what the meeting was. A family gathering then; to discuss family business. This week was starting off hard and it didn't look like it was going to get any easier. If it was only this problem with Harry she would be ok, but with everything together it was too much. And of course, despite everything else, Harry was the problem she cared most about. True it was her job to make Miss Pamela focus beyond her gut instinct of protecting Harry but the truth was that looking back on her night, she was worried.

Harry had looked like shit. Generally speaking Mrs. Dowell didn't hold with language like that, but really, shit was the only way to describe how he looked. Of course, everyone knew that Harry had had a bad summer. She even knew the details. Quite frankly Mrs. Dowell was surprised that Harry had even come back this year. Pamela had been quite insistent that he not return. Where any one else would have bent to that girls will, however, Harry simply narrowed his eyes and told her to but out. But then that was what life was like with those two. Mrs. Dowell was actually quite happy with herself on how she had handled this particular situation. Pamela had been ready to fly off the handle and kill this boy standing next to Harry. It had taken a lot of screaming and locking Pamela in the back room to finally get her to see reason. So there she had been. Harry looked like shit and had just fallen into defense mode.

Flashback

"You know perfectly well what were doing here Harry. Don't be obtuse, it's not becoming." A slight scold, just enough to set the tone. Her eyes however were still on the boy, Draco. She had heard about the Malfoy's of course. You couldn't live where she did and not. However, at the moment she wasn't interested in the rumors. They were only good three-quarters of the time, which simply wasn't good enough when it came to protecting Harry.

"Mrs. Dowell, please stop that." Harry's voice cut through her thoughts. She didn't bother insulting his intelligence by asking 'stop what?' they both knew what she was up too. Behind her she could hear the boys smirking.

"Well, as lovely as this is, lets sit. I imagine we have quite a bit to talk about." She said gesturing to the sitting room area. Daniel and Joseph immediately flopped down onto the couch. Draco too moved to sit on one of the armchairs. Harry however stood standing.

"What did Pix say?" He was staring dead at her daring her to lie.

Mrs. Dowell raised an eyebrow at him. She had met all types of children and Harry was nowhere near the worst.

"Stop being rude and sit down." She waited till he finally complied and then continued on. "This conversation is not going to be about Pamela. It's about you and that boy."

"She freaked didn't she?"

Mrs. Dowell snorted. "Of course she did. But for the moment she is content to let me come and deal with this situation as I see fit. Now before anything else, what did you do to your arm?"

Harry looked down. Quite frankly he had completely forgotten about it. Joseph and Sal had also just noticed it and were instantly on their feet.

"You fucker, what did you do?" Joseph yelled at Draco, one hand already grabbing the front of his shirt.

"Jo, get off of him, he didn't do anything!" Harry yelled, trying his best to stand between the three men, "It was just a dumb mistake on my part. Stop!" Throughout the chaos Mrs. Dowell just watched. At some point they would really have to talk with the youngest Malfoy. She knew it had been a bad idea to bring Joseph and Daniel. Really, they were just as bad as Pamela was.

"Joseph, you will not use that language again anywhere I may possibly here it. Are we clear?" While her voice remained soft, the tone was steely. There would be no more disruptions on the part of any of her boys. Slowly Joseph and "Sal" backed down, their eyes still suspicious. The Malfoy child watched them carefully, not missing a detail. Mrs. Dowell noticed that one of the Veela's hands was gripping Harry's shoulder. She wasn't sure what the intention had been but it was an interesting thing to note. Looking at each of the young men in turn she said,

"You will all sit down and behave like you were raised properly. There will be absolutely no more of this sort of behavior." When they had all returned to their seats she continued, "Now, Harry, what did you do to your arm?"

Harry looked down and muttered something under his breath. Mrs. Dowell raised a single eyebrow at him.

"I said, I was trying to get out of the room and a spell I threw backfired." For good measure he added defiantly "Draco had nothing to do with it."

"I'm sure he didn't." Mrs. Dowell replied, "However, in the future do try to avoid loosing your temper at inanimate objects. It will do you nothing but harm. Did you take care of it properly?"

Harry just rolled his eyes at her. For a moment Cathleen Dowell thought about responding to the irritating gesture but decided against it. Instead she continued on with what she had come here to do.

"Harry," She said, "I'm sure you have questions but you do need to sleep. Why don't you and the boys go talk over Pamela's, shall we say, colorful reaction while Draco and I talk?" Though she phrased it as a question everyone in the room knew that it was anything but. Harry might have tried to object, but as she expected, he was in no state to put up the fight.

"Don't hurt him," He said, only half in jest, "Jo, Sal, come on you can give me all the horrible details." With one last glare at Draco, the two men followed Harry into his room. Draco's eyes watched them sharply. Clearly the veela was not happy about letting his mate go off with two strangers.

"Stop that immediately," Mrs. Dowell told him "Both Mr. Cero and Mr. Lest would die rather then let Harry get hurt, and not just because Pamela would tear them limb to limb if they didn't."

"And just who is Pamela, Mrs. Dowell?" The veela asked. Mrs. Dowell was impressed. Most people when faced with this group would have been cowed, not Draco Malfoy however. If nothing else, the boy had guts. Still no need for him to get the wrong impression.

"If Harry has not told you about his relationship with Pamela, then I see no reason to do so. As I said earlier, this is not about her, it is about you."

If Draco was put out, he didn't show it. With delightful nonchalance he leaned back into his seat and let a small smirk grace his lips "Well then, what do you want to know?"

Well, if that was the way he wanted to play then so be it. In her most proper English way she asked, "You are claiming Harry as your mate, correct?"

The veela just gave a small smile and nod, still at apparent ease.

"And you say you are willing to protect him from all enemies?"

Again he just smiled.

"Your father is Lucius Malfoy?"

He nodded again.

"And your father, and the better part of you living family, serves the man who has been trying to kill Harry for the majority of his life?"

His eyes hardened but he kept the same light tone, "that's what the rumor mill says, no proof so far though."

Quicker then he could blink, Mrs. Dowell was directly in front of the chair in which the veela sat. "If I were you Mr. Malfoy, I would take my questions more seriously. If for even a second I think that you are not to be trusted I will end this matter and it will not be pretty for you." Her eyes were deadly. This was not a time for games. Harry was a boy she considered to be like a son and she would not stand for anything less then the best for him.

The Veela however just glared right back. Slowly he stood and looked her directly in the eye. "I'll say this once more Mrs. Dowell, I don't know who you are and I don't know what your after, but I will never do anything to hurt Harry. I am perfectly serious." For a second the two of them stood like that face-to-face, then Mrs. Dowell threw her silver hair back and laughed.

"I like you young Malfoy. Maybe you will be good for Harry after all." She said when she caught her breath. From somewhere a clock struck three, causing Mrs. Dowell's face to go serious again. "Well, its time for us to go." She said, "I will gather my companions and we will be on are way." She turned toward Harry's door, before looking back, "And Mr. Malfoy? We'll be watching."

End Flashback

The teakettle boiled bringing Mrs. Dowell back into the present. There was no denying that she liked the boy. But he was an outsider. Not just any outsider at that. And this summer had been so hard. Harry needed things simpler. They all did. But then since when had God paid attention to what they needed. Shaking away that last blasphemous thought, Mrs. Dowell went to make herself another cup of Aziza's special tea. Tomorrow would be another long day, and she needed to be well rested.