Chapter Thirty-Three: Slytherin to the rescue

(i) The characters and world of Harry Potter are the property of the remarkably talented J.K. Rowling. I make no money from this.

(ii) Thank you to all the readers who have stayed with me through the writing of this tale. Your kind reviews have been enormously helpful. Not only do they provide motivation and inspiration to keep going, but your intelligent comments help me formulate my plot and character development. So please do continue to review and tell me what you think of the story. You have no idea how wonderful it is to hear from you.

(iii) And finally, much gratitude to my brilliant beta, Queen_of_Stars.

All errors that ultimately remain are my own.

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Draco and Astoria were the first to leave the Room of Requirement. The couple had their heads together discussing how best to approach Theo. Hermione was confident that between Draco's cunning and Astoria's practical sensibility, they would come upon the most likely way of convincing Theo to approach Ginny.

The plotting couple were closely followed by Neville, Susan and Hannah who had their heads together, too. Hermione knew the three were working on how best they could squash the rumours that would probably be circulating among the guests in the Great Hall. Many of the alumni were friends or distantly connected to the trio. Moreover, with Susan Bones' connections and Neville's Gran's acquaintances, making sure nothing was said was easily achievable. They only really needed to ensure Ginny behaved. Sometimes, Hermione thought it was wonderful to have friends who were so obviously unremarkable. No one paid Susan and Hannah much notice, even though they were celebrated heroines. They were good at fading into the woodwork and working quietly behind the scenes. Right now, a full frontal attack would send Ginny screaming to Lavender and Romilda Vane with vicious gossip. That kind of tittle-tattle needed to be avoided at all costs. After leaving the gathering at the Head Table, Ginny was being shepherded by George and Bill. Both of the older Weasleys were sensible and would be willing to let Ron distract and deflect Ginny's ire.

Ron, Harry and Hermione were the last to leave the Room of Requirement. After the others had left, the trio began to make their way down to the Great Hall together. Harry kept looking around to make sure they weren't spotted. The other two, however, were trying to repair their long-standing friendship.

"Okay, Ron?" asked Hermione gently. "I know it was a gamble bringing Draco and Astoria, but I've come to trust them. You do realise that the advice they offered was sensible."

Ron frowned but nodded. "I don't like it. I don't like having Ferret in on my family business. But I know it's for the best. It's just hard. I still don't entirely trust you, despite knowing it's just my inner darkness disliking you and being jealous of the prominence you and Luna gained after the Battle of Hogwarts. I know it's bullshit. I know I'm the one who went home, but this feeling that rises in me isn't logical or sensible. I'm fighting it, but it's not easy to control."

Hermione put her hand on his arm. "I know. I've got my own inner darkness, you know? Mine's just as hard to control; it just isn't as obvious as yours. I'm really thankful I had Severus, Lucius, even Cissy to talk to. They know what it's like to fight the beast within you. They've really helped keep me grounded."

Harry nodded his head in agreement. "Severus is excellent. He's got so many demons, and still, he's so strong. He's got superb control over his magic. So sometimes he falters, but he generally grits his teeth and tampers it down. Kingsley's the same. I think all Aurors have it in them because they've had to perform so much Dark magic in the name of the greater good. Remember Mad-Eye. No one said he was sane. He became what he did because of the Dark magic he had been exposed to over the years. We are not alone. We have support if we need it. But ultimately, only we can fight our inner fears, our hidden paranoia."

Ron sighed. "I know, mate. I was there when Kingsley spoke at the Auror Training inauguration meeting, remember?"

Harry blushed. "I didn't know you were paying attention."

Ron grinned. "How could I help it? He was talking directly to me, or so it felt at the time."

Harry nodded his head. "I felt his words were meant for me, personally, too. Perhaps all of us in that room felt the same. He was talking about what we are all going to have to fight, to face, for the rest of our lives."

Hermione wished she'd been able to listen to Kingsley talk so frankly to the boys. She'd learned everything from books, from Lucius and Severus. But she realised that they probably knew even more than Kingsley did. Lucius, after all, was almost as much of a Dark Arts expert as Severus was. Perhaps even more so, as he was heavily into Dark Charms, something that wasn't really Severus' forte.

"It was worth it, though," said Hermione brightly. "Look on the bright side. Moldyshorts is gone. We are still standing, and tonight is just one example of how far we have come. Draco and Astoria were working with the DA. That's something I never thought would ever come to pass."

"Me neither," said Ron with a chuckle. "Merlin, if Crabbe and Goyle could have been flies on the wall."

A sombre silence fell as the other two considered the painful way in which Crabbe had died of Fiendfyre, of the absolute lack of sense in the thuggish Slytherin.

"Goyle's going to be in Azkaban for a long time," said Harry quietly.

"I don't think he really knew what he was doing," said Hermione.

Ron scoffed. "You've gone soft, 'Mione. He knew what he was doing. He and Crabbe deliberately ignored the ferret's pleas to leave well enough alone."

Hermione nodded. "It's such a waste though. All that hate, all that killing, for some stupid megalomaniac. Ron, do you see why it's so important that we forgive, that we help bridge the gaps? We can't let some maniac use our fears against us. Lucius and Cissy aren't inherently evil. Manipulative, sneaky, cunning, devious, yes, categorically to all of that, but they aren't evil. They were afraid. Afraid of losing their world."

Ron grunted. "I know, 'Mione. I'm a pureblood, remember? I've heard all of this from my Aunty Muriel. But that doesn't mean we Weasleys were willing to go on a rampage and kill Muggles and Muggle-borns either."

"I know, Ron," said Hermione gently. "But your family had less to lose. They had some knowledge of Muggles. The Malfoys were so afraid of losing everything they had worked centuries to collect that they weren't really being logical. Most of the purebloods were just afraid, and then, lo and behold, here comes the heir to Slytherin offering them a way forward. They latched on and didn't question Riddle's motives and plans until it was too late."

Ron sighed. "Yes, well," and then he stopped and scratched his head. "George said something to that effect before going up to speak to you and the Malfoys. He said we can't allow people to use us for their own purposes. I can't believe George saw so clearly."

Hermione looked down on the floor silently. She still found it hard to even think about George without Fred's presence and death colouring her thinking.

Harry put his hand on Ron's shoulder. "I think it was losing Fred that finally made George sit down and think things through. He was always the strategist of the two, and without Fred to go charging off into mischief, I think George has had time to think, to reason. He's right. We can't let the next Dark Lord or Lady use us, our fears. Goyle and Crabbe, well, they were fools. We knew that. They didn't have a fully functioning brain between them. That's why it was so easy to convince them that Riddle was right. They couldn't reason. If Severus could be taken in for a while, and he's undoubtedly a genius, then why should idiots be able to see beyond the obvious?"

Ron grunted in agreement. He didn't have to like it, but he did see that Harry and Hermione were right. Hell, everyone was right in doing their best to include the Malfoys and the other Slytherins into their world. Turning the lot of them into outcasts would just go to create the next Dark Lord or Lady that much quicker. He wasn't so far gone into his sense of irrationality that he couldn't see their point.

Upon reaching the student entrance to the Great Hall, the trio split up. Ron went to go speak to George and Bill while Harry cornered Kingsley and relayed their plans. Hermione meanwhile went to inform Lucius and Narcissa to see if the other Malfoys had anything worthy to contribute. It felt good to have such excellent people to support their arrangements. No longer were the Golden Trio stuck in the middle of nowhere. Now they had solid support to back them up.

Draco and Astoria had, on entering the hall, made their way towards the group of their former Slytherin house-mates. They hadn't really socialised since Draco had been too intent on spending some solid time snogging his fiancée.

The others immediately made room for Draco and his future wife. They were too smart to deliberately cut the pair. Pansy, despite her jealousy at losing Draco, who she had thought was a sure thing, smiled broadly in welcome and immediately began cooing about the artful arrangement of Astoria's blonde hair.

Draco, watching the attention being paid to his fiancée, sneered at the other Slytherin's flattery. But he had to agree that, compared to Pansy, Astoria, despite her attention to her locks and artfully applied make-up, looked young and fresh in her school uniform. Pansy looked like she'd come to the party to pull. Her dark hair was cut short in an edgy, trendy style, and her dress was slinky, black and extremely short. Shaking his head at his former friend's obvious lack of taste and his own youthful foolishness in finding something and someone so overt attractive, he instead began to talk politics with Theo and Blaise. Soon, the three young men had quietly moved apart from the ladies.

Draco cleverly brought the topic over to his father's brilliance in adopting Granger. He'd always boasted in his younger days about his father, so this kind of discussion was in keeping with what they expected of him. "I was rather shocked to see how quickly mother and father were willing to change their behaviour to suit the new order. I did hesitate in welcoming the Mudblood into our company. But I must admit she's not at all what I expected. She's rather witty, actually, now that she's learned to spar on a manner befitting a Malfoy."

Blaise sniggered. "Really, Draco? You like the Mudblood."

Draco looked thoughtfully at Blaise, but then he turned to include Theo in the confession he was making. "I do. Much as it pains me to admit it, I was wrong. Potter's not that bad either. I still get the kicks out of annoying them and insulting them, though, but it's not got that tinge of impending doom surrounding it. There's no one left to spy, to sneak back to the Dark Lord that I actually laughed at one of their return insults. It's nice to be free and to be able to figure out who I really am without fear of death or pain or the destruction of my family."

Theo sighed. "You're lucky. Your father was always politically savvy. Mine just didn't know when to quit. I'd rather he were stuck in Azkaban; at least I could have visited him at some point. Now he's gone, fighting the Aurors in a supposedly brave blaze of glory. I'm just glad I didn't evacuate to the castle, but to my grandparents' manor in Cornwall. If I'd been there, I'd have been forced to fight and would be sharing a matching cell to Greg. How is he? Any news?"

Draco shook his head. "Father didn't do too much to find out. We know that he and his father are in for life, though they will evaluate the case in three years' time and see how they are doing. If there's room for re-education and reintroduction to society. But you know how the Goyles have always been. It's unlikely that they'll know how to play the game and recant their position as loyal Death Eaters. Fools, all of them."

Blaise nodded. "I know. We at least all sat on the sidelines. We never got involved more than we could help it."

Draco frowned. "Well, you and Theo were lucky. I got branded. I had no choice; it was agree or watch the madman torture my mother. Of course, I crawled on my hands and knees and kissed his bloody hem."

Theo shivered. "I hated my father for the longest time, but now I'm only glad he insisted that I wasn't marked until I finished Hogwarts. I was even willing to fail my NEWTs if it had meant I could have put it off for another year."

Blaise, Theo and Draco all shared a moment's contemplation of what their lives would have been like if Riddle had won. Then, shaking themselves out of their momentary contemplations, the three men threw themselves into a more jovial frame of mind.

"Congratulations on the betrothal," said Blaise with a smile. "I've not been around since the war ended."

"Thank you," said Draco. "I'm fortunate to have been able to secure so ideal a partner."

Theo's eyebrow quirked at the comment. "What happened to you and Pansy? Weren't you guys together almost until the end of the war?"

"Not really," said Draco. "We were together through our sixth year, but in the seventh, we were already drifting apart. It was never really an exclusive relationship. It was handy mostly."

Blaise tried to pretend that he wasn't paying attention to the discussion of Pansy. He had, on more than one occasion, made use of the fact that Draco and Pansy hadn't shared an exclusive relationship.

Draco, however, was using the topic to make Blaise feel slightly uncomfortable, and perhaps leave him and Theo alone.

"Is she seeing anyone, do you know?" asked Theo next. He, too, had been out of the loop for a while.

"I'm not sure," said Draco. "I doubt she'll refuse an offer though. You know what Pansy's like."

As the two of them sniggered, Blaise nodded his head and strolled off towards the drinks table.

Draco grinned unrepentantly. "I think he likes her. But he knows his mother will never approve of her. She's not as well connected as Mrs. Zabini would like."

Theo smirked in response. "I doubt Pansy would want to be tied to Blaise anyway. He's got that whole 'I'm your man, you're my woman' thing going. None of the girls like to feel like they're owned by the person they're seeing. Even I know that much, and I'm always hopeless in relationships. I can flirt and do the first bit, but then I get all muddled."

Draco laughed. "I've been thinking. You need to stop seeing Slytherins. They are far too likely to see through your attempts at manipulation. Besides which, other than the Greengrasses, most of their family reputations have, if not been tainted, at least been damaged by default with the Dark Lord's reign."

"Don't I know it," said Theo glumly. "My family name is shite. I can't even go back to the castle. The Ministry is holding it at the moment until we pay compensation for the Aurors and other related war crimes. My coffers are empty. No wonder my bitch step-mother is actively seeking another partner. We are almost completely financially ruined. The only good thing about the Ministry is that they aren't taking anything away permanently. It's only being held in trust until I can pay their price. Then, it will be returned to me. I thought they'd just put it on the market. Shacklebolt's got his head screwed on right, though; he knows that's the surest way to drive us all even further away."

Draco nodded. He'd heard rumours, of course, who hadn't? But he hadn't known things were this dire. "Why don't you try going out with someone from the other side? By ensuring that Father cooperated as fully as possible with the Order and the Ministry, we've managed to do okay. Adopting Hermione was a genius stroke of luck. She's really helped ensure our place in society didn't falter. Godfather was pivotal, but people will always question his role as double-agent. Hermione, though, is beyond doubt the poster girl for the Order."

Theo's eyes widened at the suggestion. "Who do you have in mind? Granger?"

"No," said Draco, horrified. "Don't put it around, but Father's just spoken to Severus about organising a betrothal between him and Granger. I was thinking more along the lines of the Weaslette. She and Potter have broken up. She's vulnerable, will be impressed with your descriptions of the castle and you will always have, despite the current change in fortune, a place in society. Moreover, you want to maintain that place, something Potter's got no interest in."

"The youngest Weasley? Are you mad? They'll skin me alive for even looking at her." Theo was horrified, but even as he spoke these words, he couldn't resist a glance across the Hall at Ginny, who was surrounded by Ron, Lavender, George and Angelina. Even from this distance, she did stand out. She looked vibrant, sexy and filled with raw energy. He had a sudden vision of her, naked, her hair spread out like fire across his silk sheets. It was a tempting thought.

"Come on," said Draco. "I'll introduce you."

Theo gaped for a moment at Draco. "You're serious, aren't you?"

"Oh, yes," said Draco. "It makes perfect sense. Arthur is going places. He's the backbone of the Order and will soon be moving up through the Ministry once they've weeded out all those they feel are not for the new programme. The joke shop is still doing well, despite the loss of Fred. Lee Jordan's been a good replacement, so money is not going to be that much a problem in the future. Bill's married well. Fleur comes from good French stock. Other than for their Blood Traitor status, they are not a bad family to be connected to. Even my mother and father allowed and acknowledged their overture of reunification this evening."

Theo nodded. "Yes, I saw that. I was amazed when some of the Weasleys came and spoke to your family."

Draco nodded his head. "There you go then. They aren't socially unacceptable. And politically, they are well placed. Come on. This is sure to be useful."

Theo still looked wary, but he allowed Draco to lead him across the floor.

Once in the presence of the Gryffindors, Draco smiled pleasantly.

George, who like his brother Bill, had been quietly told of the plan the others had arrived at, smiled in welcome in return. "Cousin, it's good of you to join us."

Angelina looked in query at George. She well remembered the Slytherin seeker from her days on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. But seeing the others, except for a glaring Ginny, nod in welcome, she too extended a smile in greeting.

Draco nodded in greeting to everyone in the circle too. Then, putting an arm around Theo, he said, "I brought the most evolved of my friends over. I thought Theo would benefit from some mutually informative conversation."

George sniggered. "What, is he going to tell us how to invest our money?"

"I could, if you'd like some advice," said Theo seriously. "Notts have always taken a keen interest in finance. It's what I've known since I was old enough to read the broadsheets."

Draco agreed with a chuckle. "Yes, we used to give Theo part of our pocket money while at school. He'd invest it for us, and we'd use all the profits for our end-of-year parties."

Theo laughed. "I remember that windfall I made when I bought shares in East Asia. I think the entire party consisted of caviar and champagne our fourth year. I'm still getting business propositions from the seniors of that year. They couldn't believe a fourteen year old could make that kind of dough from pocket money."

George looked impressed. "If you're serious, mate, and since you come with my cousin's recommendation, I'd like to show you my portfolio sometime. I've put away most of the earnings since we started back into the business, but I've also started putting a little away for my parents and siblings."

Theo immediately agreed. "I'm still getting into large fund management, but I'd be pleased to look over your portfolio. I've already started handling some of Draco's more personal investments."

As the men began talking profit and loss, investment futures and financial markets, Ron's eyes nearly popped out of his head. He had never paid the slightest attention to any of this kind of thing. He had no idea his brother even understood this kind of talk. It was obvious that George had been working very hard since leaving school. As the topic changed towards Muggle investment prospects, Ron's eyes widened even further. Who would have imagined that Slytherins knew so much about Muggle technology? He was starting to see why Hermione kept saying that the Slytherins were not what they had thought they were. Theo seemed to know more about computers and wireless technology than even his father did. But then, Ron realised, his father to be fair wasn't really studying Muggle technology in depth. He was more of a dabbler.

Eventually, once the two Slytherins had completely gained their place in the Gryffindor circle, Draco winked at George and asked Angelina for a dance.

Blushing, the older girl placed her hand in Draco's. Never would she have thought she'd take the floor with the boy she'd known in the Gryffindor Common Room as the Ferret. The war really had changed things.

Once Draco made the move to lead Angelina on the floor, Theo graciously asked Ginny for a dance.

Ginny had not expected it. At first, she had been horrified to see the two Slytherins make their way over to join her family group. She had been fuming, listening to Ron, the traitor, and George. What was George thinking, talking to the two snakes? But eventually, she had grown interested, despite herself, in their conversation. She loved money. Hearing them throw around figures and expectations had made her realise that although Harry was rich, Draco and Theo were infinitely more well off. They were the real cream of pureblood circles. She had always known it, but she'd never really thought further about it since, in her mind, they had just been dirty Slytherins. But now, since she was no longer with Harry, she looked at Theodore Nott with new eyes. He was tall, lanky, yet well built. His shoulders were broad, his waist and hips slim, and he dressed with the Slytherin eye for detail and quality. His robes were of the softest wool, his shirt, expensive spider silk. A quick glance confirmed he had on diamond-studded cufflinks and matching buttons. Nice.

Preening at how quickly she had been sought out, for she had not missed Theo's quick glances her way, even as he talked finance and investment with her brother, Ginny decided that the best way to show Harry what he was missing out on was to find someone else. Theo Nott would do nicely. He was everything Harry wasn't. Didn't his father die fighting at their castle in Inverness, if the Prophet was to be believed? Ginny tried to imagine herself the mistress of a castle. A smile graced her face. Oh, wouldn't Romilda gasp to know she had found someone so much more interesting. She could even tell everyone that she had broken up with Harry because she was interested in Theo. She knew Harry would not contradict her. Deciding that circulating her version of events was far more preferable to letting the gossips know she had been dumped by the Saviour of the Wizarding World who wanted to live in a village and make soup, Ginny smiled flirtatiously at Theo.

Theo's shrewd eyes did not miss the emotions that were revealed one by one on Ginny's face. But he was a Slytherin; he did not mind the calculating gleam in her eye. He had a plan of his own, after all. Besides, it was refreshing to be with someone who was so easy to read. No Slytherin girl would have allowed herself and her vulnerabilities to be seen so easily. However, his heart picked up a faster beat when she finally seemed to come to a decision and smiled seductively up at him. Theo tightened his arm around her in response. Two could play the game.

Ginny's eyed widened in alarm at the openly predatory gleam in Theo's eyes. She shuddered as she felt the strength and possessiveness in the arms that surrounded her. Harry had never really held her this way. Theo danced with superb mastery and control.

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A note from the beta:

I'm so sorry for the wait!!! Kittyperry is an absolutely amazing author/friend who had this out a long while before I managed to pull my act together.

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A/N: Love it or hate it, please let me know what you think.