Harry Potter Tripped Through the Veil and Found a Family

Gossip & the Minstry: Where Is Draco Malfoy?

Harry gasped as he was bodily thrown from the room, Narcissa shooting him a playful look over her shoulder.
"Thank you for offering, dear but I think I can handle setting up. Why don't you go see Draco? I heard you two have unfinished business." The large doors slammed shut before he could even open his mouth.
Merlin, did the whole Wizarding World know about his almost kiss? This was so embarrassing!
He had been avoiding Draco for a week now, the other man looking amused every time they crossed paths.
"Mummy, did Grandmother kick you out? Grandfather said she's very particular on how stuff is set up." Atticus said as he bounded towards him, a wide smile on his face.
The Ball was tomorrow and Narcissa had been running around since sun up. Harry had offered to help when she had very gracefully launched him from the room, leading to him pouting outside the door.
"Yes, she did. Best to remember not to upset her, she's stronger than she looks." He whispered conspiratorially, making sure she didn't hear him.
"Have you seen Father? I was hoping we could play together today."
"Ah, I think he had to stop by the Ministry today." Harry knew for a fact he did, having accidentally eavesdropped when Draco was talking with Lucius about an upcoming case as he hid in the nearest closet.
"Oh." Poor Atticus's shoulders were slumped as he scuffed his foot against the ground. The sight had Harry hugging him tightly, trying to think of a way to cheer him up.
"Why don't we make cookies together, Atty? I bet the House Elves would love the company!"
"I want chocolate chip, Mummy!" He squealed and Harry was too busy mentally patting himself on the back to notice his sneaky smile.
"Mummy, tell Atticus to stop eating the dough! He's going to get sick and it'll be so gross."
Scorpius demanded as he swatted his brother's hand for the tenth time, little finger marks in the cookie dough they were currently making.
"Mummy, Scorpius keeps hogging the icing!" Atticus whined as he discreetly tried to wipe his face.
"Be kind to each other, boys or Uncle Ron is going to get to eat all of the cookies." He threatened, watching as they immediately stopped fighting. Ron had somehow become a common enemy for them, something that he and Hermione enjoyed to tease him for.
"Mummy, you know who would love to get homemade cookies?" Atticus said suddenly, his hand clasped with Scorpius's.
"Who?"
"Father! He's been working so hard." Scorpius announced and Harry got the sinking feeling that he was getting tricked.
"Your Father is very busy right now, maybe we could leave some in his office?" Harry offered and watched them both wilt, their little faces full of unhappiness.
"Oh. Father must be too busy to see us."
Atticus's lip wobbled and Harry waved his hands frantically in the air, immediately taking back his words.
"I just didn't want to bother him but I'm sure he would be happy to see us!"
Harry helped them take off their aprons and plate up the best looking cookies while waving goodbye to Poppy, the little Elf happy to see them go.
"The Ministry of Magic!" Harry called out, making sure both boys held his hands tightly as they stepped through. He managed to stay on his feet and let Atticus pull him forward, already chatting about how "excited Father was going to be, just you wait!"
"Boys, do you know where Father's office is?" He asked slowly and Scorpius opened his mouth before closing it, sharing a look with Atty.
"It's definitely here, Mummy." Scorpius muttered before adding "somewhere."
"Well, I guess we'll just have to find it!" He silently put a tracking spell on each child, just in case, and pulled out a galleon.
"Heads is the top floor and tails is the bottom floor." He flipped the coin as they shouted "heads!" and nudged it with his magic so it landed just right.
"Good job, boys! Let's start on the top floor and we'll make our way down." He waved cheerfully at the security guard from last time as Scorpius pressed the elevator button over and over again.
"Level One" a feminine voice called out and the doors slid open to reveal a nice corridor with portraits lining the wall.
"Who's that, Mummy?" Atticus asked as he pointed to the first picture frame.
"Ulick Gamp, the First Minister of Magic." Harry read the little plaque and the man flashed them a proud grin.
Scorpius darted further down, shouting out the names of the former Ministers and laughing at the dirty looks he got.
"Er, may I help you, sir? The Minister is in a meeting." Lavender Brown gave him a curious glance from behind her desk, a stylish clip holding her brown hair back.
"Hi, Lavender! Sorry to bother you, we were just looking for Draco." He gave her an apologetic smile as Atticus started arguing with the portrait of Grogan Stump over who was the best Quidditch team of all time.
"We're having an adventure." Scorpius said importantly, his chest puffed out as Lavender
coughed to hide her laughter.
"I see. A very important task. I hope you find him!" Harry ushered the children back towards the elevator and let Atticus push the button.
"Level Two."
Half a dozen eyes stared at them over a room full of cubicles as they stepped foot in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
"Harry! What are you all doing here?" Cedric called out as he brushed the crumbs from his shirt, his lunch forgotten on his desk.
"Hi, Cedric! We just stopped by to see Draco."
"Oh, you're not avoiding him anymore? Good for you, Harry! I know how difficult it is to confront your feelings." He said, his voice echoing in the silent room.
"Shut. Up." He hissed, his cheeks flaring in embarrassment.
"Would you like some cookies, Mr. Diggory? We made them with Mummy. Conrad told me to look out for you because you have a sad life." Scorpius held out one of the uglier cookies and Cedric looked offended as he took a large bite.
"I don't have a sad life, Scorpius! I live in a wicked cool flat by myself and I have this awesome job!" Cedric flashed his badge and the boys shared an unimpressed look.
"I think Cedric is so cool." Harry couldn't help feeling bad for him, especially when Atticus patted his side.
"Mummy doesn't mean that, Mr. Diggory."
"Alright boys, I think we've bothered the nice Auror enough. Let's continue on, shall we?" He pressed the elevator button before they could make Cedric cry in front of his coworkers.
"Make sure to stop by for dinner sometime, Cedric." He called out as the doors shut.
"Conrad said his dad eats frozen meals in his underwear." Scorpius giggled and Harry snorted.
"I think Conrad is going to get a stern lecture when his dad gets home."
"Level three."
The doors opened to reveal a broken stool with a sad looking coat rack. A door with a taped window read "Muggle Liaison Office".
"Hello? Is someone there?" Arthur Weasley called out as he peeked out the door, his face lighting up at the sight of them.
"Children! What are you doing here?" He hugged them tightly before dragging Harry forward, his cologne reminding him of home.
"Arthur, we're on a little adventure looking for Draco." Harry explained for the hundredth time, his lips curled in amusement as the boys ooed and ahhed over their "Grandpa having his own office."
"Ah, you've made up. How wonderful, Harry. Like Molly always says, "never go to bed angry." Arthur winked and Harry wanted to sink into the floor.
"Er, yes." He figured it was easier to agree than to try and explain why he was so embarrassed.
"Grandpa, do you really investigate Muggles?" Scorpius asked, his voice full of awe.
"I actually work for the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts office but they downgraded the whole Department to one room." Arthur shuffled his papers around and a toaster started floating above their heads.
"I want to work with you when I grow up, Grandpa!" Atticus cheered and Scorpius joined him.
"Me too! Mummy, do you think the Ministry would hire us?" Harry imagined Draco's face at the idea of the Ministry trying to deny the children anything and grinned.
"I know they will or Father will bully them into it."
Arthur looked delighted by their interest and they spent some time learning about different ways to break enchantments on common Muggle items.
"Bye, Grandpa!" "See you later!" The children waved enthusiastically from the elevator.
"Good luck finding Draco!"
"Level four."
"Oh hello, Harry Potter." A dreamy voice came from the corner of the room and Luna Lovegood floated towards them, her hair in two long braids.
"Luna! Where have you been?" He spun her around in a hug, his lips curled up in delight. He had gotten close to her after the War and they spent many moonless nights wandering around the moors or racing down back alleys, in search of new and exciting creatures.
"I've been right here." She answered, eyes staring past him.
"Boys, come say hello to Aunt Luna. Luna, this is Scorpius and Atticus, my sons." Harry was proud to show them off to his friend.
"Hello, children. Have you heard of Nargles?" Atticus looked enthralled as he reached out to touch her hair.
"I like your braids, Auntie."
"I've read about you! You discovered Wrackspurts, invisible creatures that cause confusion and disorientation!" Scorpius recited as he dug around his pockets before pulling out a tattered quill.
"Can I get your autograph? All my friends will be so jealous!"
"Wow, Luna! You're a real life celebrity." Harry joked and she wrinkled her nose.
"I don't know how you could handle it, Harry. It's awful." She groaned before darting off, leaving two starstruck boys and a slightly confused adult.
"How'd Aunt Luna know you were famous, Mummy?" Atty asked and Harry shrugged.
"Luna just knows things." They wandered around the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures before Harry fought a yawn. They had been all over the Ministry and still hadn't found Draco. He knew he could've just asked someone but this was fun and Harry couldn't remember the last time he had done something just for fun.
In his old Universe, he was expected to go to interviews and charity events, to galas and store openings. He hated every minute of it. No one wanted to get to know the real him, they just wanted to fawn over the Man Who Conquered. He could only spend so much time reenacting his fight against Voldemort before he wanted to Avada himself. He hadn't realized how unhappy he was before.
"Mummy?" Scorpius said, both of them waiting for him to press the elevator button.
"Sorry, boys. I just realized how happy I am." He said softly, wrapping his arms around both of them,
"We're happy too!" Atticus shouted in his ear and he couldn't help but laugh at their excitement.
"Alright, let's find your Father."
"Level five."
Harry squinted at the map on the wall and read out "Department of International Magical Co-operation. I never realized how many floors the Ministry had. I've only been in the lower ones." He could navigate the Department of Mysteries well enough but the rest was like a maze.
"Mummy, look!" He saw a flash of blonde hair and saw Draco talking with a group of important looking people, overhearing bits of legal jargon he didn't understand.
"That was brilliant, Draco! I can't believe how well you handled that case." Someone exclaimed, their hand drifting a little too close to him. Harry felt jealousy flaring in his gut and spoke loudly, not caring about the consequences.
"Draco!" He enjoyed the shock on the older man's face before he grinned broadly as he stalked over.
"Well isn't this a surprise!" He clutched his chest as the boys hugged him tightly.
"We brought you something, Father." Harry pulled the cookies out of his bag and brandished them with a twirl.
"We made cookies with Mummy!" Scorpius explained, matching grins on their faces.
"Homemade cookies just for me? This is a dream come true!" Draco didn't hesitate to take a bite. His groan of appreciation sent a tingling feeling in Harry's stomach and he remembered why he had been avoiding him.
"Is that Granddad?" Atticus said loudly and dragged Scorpius away, the two brothers sharing a conspiratorial look.
"Don't go too far." Draco snorted at the look they gave him and Harry rolled his eyes.
"I put a tracking charm on both of them." He admitted, hitting his wand against his palm, unsure what to do with his hands.
"Would you like to see my office?" Draco offered and he agreed, still not meeting his gaze.
He could feel everyone watching them and it made his skin crawl. Draco led them deeper into the Department and stopped in front of an elegant door.
"Did you make them engrave your name on the door?" He couldn't help his amused snicker, the bold font proudly displayed on the glass.
"Of course, a Malfoy deserves the best." Draco said in a posh drawl, a slight twinkle in his eyes.
Harry let his gaze wander and decided he quite liked Draco's office. It was comfortable with a nice leather sofa pushed against the wall, the desk matching the one at the Manor.
"I'm glad we found you, I think we've been all over the Ministry. I'm sure you'll receive some complaints." Draco smirked as he edged closer, acting like Harry was a skittish animal.
"I don't mind. I'm just glad you came to find me." He was close, too close and Harry stepped back but tripped on the leg of the coffee table. He tumbled to the ground but was caught by strong arms, their position familiar as Draco hovered over him.
"You've been running away from me, Harry. Where's your Gryffindor spirit?" He crooned and Harry flushed, his heart beating so loud, he was sure Draco could hear,
"I haven't been running, I've been strategically retreating. I've heard it's a very Sytherin tactic."
His voice sounded breathless and he internally cursed himself.
"Is that what you'd call it?" Harry had to recite the twelve ways to use dragon's blood to stop the blood rushing to his lower half.
"Yes."
"Will you tell me why? I've missed you." Draco dropped his head on his shoulder and Harry felt his resistance disappear, his hands gripping the front of Draco's shirt, wrinkling the fabric in his tight grip. He met startled grey eyes before pulling him forward and letting their lips meet.