It was a whisper that caught Harry's attention. Looking up from his work, he saw that Draco Malfoy was in the Auror division. The blond marched towards him. "Stay away from my father, you man eater!"
Harry blinked owlishly. What the hell was Malfoy doing here? And what was that? Man eater?
"I'm serious. Stay away from my father!" The blond repeated furiously.
By now, they had attention of the whole Auror division. Cursing the fact that he had open cubicle, he dragged Malfoy to the nearest meeting room. "What do you think you're doing, barging into my office like this? He snapped. "And what is it with Lucius?"
"I'm trying to save my father from your evil grasp." Malfoy replied hotly.
"What?" he asked, bewildered.
"Don't try to fool me! I know you're trying to seduce my father. Lunch! Dinner! It was all your doing!"
"Listen here, Malfoy, he's the one who ask me for those lunch and dinners you mentioned."
"I'm not fooled by you, Potter." Malfoy said stubbornly. "Everyone else might worship the ground you walk on and think that you're a frigging saint but I know better. You only want to take revenge for everything that has happened. Well, I'm not going to let you get it. Leave my father alone, Potter!"
Harry narrowed his eyes. He had enough of this accusation. "For the last time, there is nothing going on between Lucius and me! Now leave before I arrest you for threatening an Auror."
Malfoy left after that, glaring all the way.
Harry went back to his cubicle, grumbling inwardly. After Ginny he didn't date anyone since he was too busy with the Auror training. And now, Malfoy came and accused him of such thing! He was still fuming when Ron came back from his meeting with Gwabain Robards, the Head of Auror.
The redhead saw him and asked. "Hey, what's wrong mate?"
"Malfoy." He replied darkly.
"What is wrong with Lucius?" Ron asked, frowning. He still didn't like the idea that his best friend was spending time with his family's nemesis but had learned to accept it because of Hermione.
"Not Lucius, his son." He grumbled. "He came and accused me about revenge and using his father."
"Oh, that." Ron muttered.
"What do you mean by that?" he asked.
"Well, you do spend a lot of time with Lucius Malfoy." Ron said, shrugging.
"It's only lunch and dinner," he argued.
"You go with him on Saturday and Sunday too." Ron added.
"It was only a few times."
"And you spent all day together."
"We only talk!" he protested.
"And he covered all the expense, right?"
How did Ron find out about that? "He was insistent about it." He muttered.
Ron sighed. "Harry, he's trying to court you."
"What?" Surely, Ron must be joking. Courting him? Lucius Malfoy of all the people? It was absurd.
"At least that'ss what Hermione said." Ron admitted.
Okay. That explained a lot. There was no way Ron came to this conclusion all by himself.
"You're awfully calm about it," he said suspiciously.
Ron mumbled something in low voice.
"What did you just say?" he asked.
"Hermione hexed me, alright?" Actually she also said that Harry deserved happiness after what he had gone through. And if he ruined it, she would make him pay for it. He disliked Lucius obviously but Hermione was right.
"It seems that I have to have a talk with her." Harry was curious. Was it true? He didn't think that Lucius treated him differently. Well, Hermione would explain it to him later.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Malfoy came to my office this morning." Harry started without preamble. He was in Hermione's flat. After work, he, Ron and Hermione usually spent time together. This time he had told her that he had something important to talk about. Ron quickly escaped the living room when he heard this, leaving him alone with Hermione. "He told me to stay away from his father. And then I had conversation with Ron." He paused at this. "He said that Lucius is trying to court me." There, he had dropped the bomb.
The girl in question merely looked at him calmly. "Well, it's good that you know about this now…Although it's quite fun to see you and Lucius together with you having no idea at all."
"Hermione!" he protested.
"What? It's true anyway." She said. "And everyone knows about this."
Harry gaped at her. "What?" he croaked out. Everyone knew about it? He never felt that mortified before.
Hermione rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Honestly Harry, you've spent time with him in the last few months. People often spot you together. Surely they can come to the conclusion by themselves."
At the moment, Harry truly wished that the earth would open and swallow him. Now he understood why his fellow Aurors gave him sly grin whenever Lucius came to the ministry to meet him. He also understood the look given by Neville, Hermione, Ginny, Mrs. Weasley and all his friends. How could he miss the sign?
"You're so calm about it," he said at last.
Hermione shrugged. "I saw the way Lucius is looking at you. For me, that's enough to confirm his intention."
"That's it?" he asked in disbelief.
"And I also conduct some research about him." She said slyly.
Now, that was more believable. "And Ron too!" Harry muttered. "He freaked me out by his acceptance!"
She laughed. "Well, actually he yelled for hours. I tried to put some sense into his head but he wouldn't listen to me. In the end, I hung him upside down in the air and told him that you're an adult and can make decision for yourself. And if he tried to ruin your happiness, I would castrate him."
Harry's jaw dropped to the ground. "Hermione…"
"It was like yesterday…when McGonagall came to my house and told me that I'm a witch. Going to Hogwarts and met you guys. The adventure we had…facing Voldemort, riding Thestral, being in run, robbing Gringotts, being in life and death situations..." Hermione had a faraway look in her eyes as she said all of this. "It's over finally and it's time for us to move forward." She smiled and patted his shoulder. "You're like my brother, Harry. After everything that you've gone through you deserve happiness. And if the person you choose is Lucius Malfoy then I'll accept him because I want to see you happy."
A loud sniff was heard from outside the living room. He and Hermione turned to find Ron standing next to the door. Harry knew that Ron had been eavesdropping on their conversation. The redhead's eyes were suspiciously red.
"I still don't like him," Ron declared. "But it's your decision and I'll accept it."
"Good." Hermione said. "Now, let's have dinner."
"Yes! Food." Ron said enthusiastically.
Harry only shook his head at his best friend's antics. Despite that conversation, he was truly nervous when he met Lucius again. The conversation he had with Hermione and Ron kept playing in his head, distracting him.
"Are you feeling well?" Lucius asked.
"Uhm…Draco came to my office yesterday!" he blurted out.
The man raised his eyebrow. "Really," he drawled. "And what did my son say?"
Harry fidgeted a bit before telling Lucius everything, including his conversation with Hermione and Ron.
"Well, it's quite amusing actually seeing that you didn't have the slightest idea about my intention to court you."
"How would I to know?" he grumbled.
"And, now, what say you?" Lucius asked, looking straight at him.
He stared back at Lucius, complementing his answer. During these months Harry truly enjoyed his time with the man. Sure, Lucius was sarcastic, arrogant, and full of himself. But that was part of his charm. Besides that the man was truly good looking too. And Harry had to admit that he was attracted to him. "What about Draco?" he asked.
"I shall take care of him."
Harry took a deep breath. "Then yes. My answer is yes."
"Splendid." Lucius smirked, reaching over to take Harry's right hand and kissed it.
Author's Note:
Hi, everyone. It's me again. As usual please give me reviews. And before you ask, this story is a spin off of Goodbye Alice in Wonderland, minus the time travel thing. So this fic will cover about Harry and Lucius' life, their marriage, children, and all.