You've Got to Live!

"Draco Ichabod Malfoy! What the hell did you think you were doing?" Hermione screamed.

"Hermione Elizabeth Potter, what did you think I was doing?"

"Shut up, both of you," said Zephyr.

"You keep out of it, son!"

"Stay out, little brother."

"Draco! That was almost a Dark curse!"

"It is still not classified as one, Hermione."

"But it's dangerous!"

"It's not meant to be innocuous."

"She might be dangerously injured!"

"I hope she is!"

"You'll get into trouble!"

"It's untraceable. And anyway, she deserved it."

"She didn't."

"Did too."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"SHUT IT, YOU TWO! I VIRGINIA ISABELLA CLARENCE THEODORA IRENE MALFOY COMMAND YOU TO STOP!" yelled Ginny.

Hermione and Draco both stared at her in shock.

"What a name...how do you manage to remember it, Gin?" Draco asked, not noticing the surname yet.

"Malfoy?" said Hermione weakly, "you already got married?"

"Did she say Malfoy? But the wedding is not until December!" said Draco.

Ginny shrugged. "It's easier to remember with Malfoy. The initials spell 'victim'. I was the only girl in five generations, so I got five names. I didn't know that your middle name was Elizabeth, Hermione, until DIM here said so."

"Dim?" asked Draco. Hermione sniggered.

"What's so funny?" asked Draco, irritated. He suddenly realised what his initials spelt and blushed prettily.

"You're so adorable when you blush, love," said Ginny.

"I'm HEP! Cool!"

"I'm ZAP! Uncle Ron is RAW, isn't he? Too bad Dad doesn't have funny initials."

Hermione snorted. The other three looked at her questioningly.

"Well, I'm not sure whether I should tell you or not. Apparently this was his father's and Sirius' and Remus' idea of a joke. I don't know if he would like you to know..."

"Come off it, Granger," Draco snapped.

"Sure, DIM."

"Stop calling me that."

"Will not."

"Will too."

"Will not."

"Will too."

A groan brought an end to their bickering. All four rushed to Harry, who was sitting up in bed looking very miserable.

"Dad, what's your full name?" asked Zephyr.

"Harry James Potter, but why?"

"Mum said that there is something funny about your initials...which your father, Sirius and Remus found amusing."

"Oh, that. Well, it is too long; I don't use the name anyway, my Mum somehow managed to save me from being officially labelled that. It is Harold Ignatius James Athanasius Casimir Kenelm Everard Reginald Potter," he grinned sheepishly. Hermione giggled and Zephyr burst out laughing.

"Interesting combination of names, but what's so funny?" Ginny asked.

"HIJACKER Potter, Ginny," said Hermione.

Comprehension dawned on Draco and Ginny. They glanced at Harry and started laughing. For quite a few minutes, they kept laughing. Gasping for breath in between, Hermione managed to inform Harry about the others' names.

"Where's Rita Skeeter?" Harry asked suddenly, his face very serious. The other four pointed a badly hexed woman spread eagled on the floor.

"What did you do to her?"

"Nothing much, Harry. I would love to try out the Cruciatus on her, though," said Draco.

Harry looked scandalised.

"You shouldn't have hexed her that badly. She'll be in a right state when she gets up. She's very revengeful," he said.

"Don't worry, Harry," said Draco, putting his hand on his friend's arm, "she won't remember anything. I modified her memory. She will go back and write a public apology to you to be printed in tomorrow's Prophet."

Harry didn't know whether to look horrified or thankful. He was saved from replying by Hermione.

"I'll just dump her somewhere and come," she said.

"How about a Muggle garbage dump?" suggested Zephyr.

"Good idea," said Hermione and Disapparated with the unconscious woman.

Harry looked sick as he remembered Rita Skeeter's accusation. Draco, Ginny and Zephyr exchanged solicitous looks.

"Dad? What's wrong?" Zephyr asked gently.

The look of horror was evident on Harry's face now. He buried his face in his hands.

"What have I done?" he gasped.

"Well, you've destroyed your dining room, but the house elves have fully restored it. You nearly gave heart attacks to your elves and some of your friends. And you've fainted twice in a quite a short while. Oh yes, you made some great speeches," said Draco sarcastically. Ginny swatted his arm.

But Harry was not listening to any of this. His mind was focussed on only one thing - he had not trusted Hermione. He had believed the worst before even asking her the truth. He had reacted terribly without a just cause. He had hurt Hermione. He remembered the droplets of blood on her. He had caused her pain. He had injured her. He had accused her. He had caused her to cry. He had caused trouble to his friends as well. He had terrified his elves also. Why couldn't he ever do anything right? Why did he always tag along misery and pain? Why did he always manage to hurt those who loved him? Guilt stabbed at his newly mended heart, shattering it again. He didn't even notice that Hermione had reappeared.

"What happened?" Hermione asked. The other three shrugged and Harry refused to look up. He was feeling too ashamed.

"Harry? What's wrong, love?" Hermione asked gently, sitting down next to him. When he didn't answer, she removed his hands from his face and looked into his green eyes bright with tears. Ginny, Draco and Zephyr tactfully left the room.

"I'm so sorry for everything, Hermione...please believe me...I didn't mean it to come out that way...it's not that I don't trust you...I just lost it when I saw the picture...I - my mind - kind of - went blank...I didn't know what I was doing...I trust you, Hermione, I trust you with my life...I promise that I won't do anything of this kind again...it was not as though I really believed it...I just couldn't accept it...I have been abominable to you...I'll accept whatever punishment you give me...please don't hate me for this...I just-"

Hermione put her hand over his mouth, effectively shutting him up.

"It was a perfectly normal reaction, Harry. I understand. Don't berate yourself about it, for Merlin's sake!"

The look he gave her tore at her heart. She had been hurt because he had assumed the worst without even asking her about it, but then the logical part of her had kicked in and reasoned that he was still very insecure, and though they loved each other very much, their relationship was still in its initial stages in terms of time. It had not been a matter of trust - he had not paused to think about it. He had simply been shocked, and performed accidental magic in his shocked state. His lost look nettled her. She sighed irritably. And yet, she was oddly touched. She knew that she was the only one with whom he let down all the walls he had built around himself. She was the only one who would ever see him looking this vulnerable. She was the only one who fully understood his insecurities and the fact that the lonely child of an uncaring household still lived within him. She cursed the Dursleys mentally again. She also cursed several of the older wizards she respected a lot. After all, they had no lesser part in making him insecure. They had always manipulated him; used him as a pawn. She had no doubt that they loved him, but love was not enough to omit the scars that being used had left on his psyche. Even Dumbledore had kept secrets from him - secrets, which though painful, would have been better and less painful if he had been told before. She cursed herself for having letting one of her best friends drift apart due to her dating spree, for not being there for him when he needed her. A sudden flash of insight showed her how difficult it was for him to trust anyone. He had never learnt how to. He had never been taught.

She threw her arms around him and kissed him fiercely, trying to take away all his pain and misery. When they finally broke apart, she was satisfied to see that a smile was tugging faintly at the corners of his lips.

"I love you, Harry."

He shot her a very thankful look, which displayed his apology and gratefulness rather well.

"Me too, 'Mione, me too."

"Don't ever scare me like that again, ok? I got the shock of my life when I saw you standing in the middle of that tornado, all burst and bleeding. I nearly fainted, you know. You've got to keep your emotions controlled, Harry. I know that this enhanced sensitivity might have something to do with the potion I created for you, but you have a very strong will, and I know that you can control your self-destructive activities. Promise me that you'll at least try."

Harry nodded, his head hung low again. After a quiet minute, he asked, "How did you all get here, exactly? I heard someone say something about my elves...but I don't really remember what happened."

"Winky appeared in the middle of my class and dragged me out, babbling incoherently. As she dragged me outside the Apparition barrier's range, I gathered that you had read the paper and were wrecking havoc since then. I Apparated home and saw you in the middle of that mess. I assume that the other elves did something similar. Though I really doubt if they told anyone except Zephyr, Draco, Ron, Ginny and myself what caused your magic to get loose. Maybe Dumbledore. Certainly not the Auror Headquarters. The elves are rather smart, if I may say so. They all deserve a reward for all that they did today, you know."

Harry nodded again. "Where would I be without people to look after me all the time? I wonder how I survived at the Dursleys. I certainly have lost my style, haven't I? Being loved doesn't suit me," he sighed.

Hermione wondered whether she should be angry or amused at this, finally deciding on the latter.

"I think you're suffering from the 'Hero Syndrome'," she said, making her voice as serious as she could, "in that particular disease, the patient, who has been a hero, a survivor all his life, is not able to settle down with a comfortable life free from dangers. So, the patients create dangers for themselves, and often end up in St. Mungo's for the rest of their lives."

Harry's eyes widened in horror, and his voice shook as he spoke, "Do you mean to say that I will never be able to enjoy a normal life with you and Zephyr? How dangerous am I?"

Hermione burst out laughing and poked his chest with her finger. He stared at her for a moment before realisation dawned on him. He chuckled, and a minute later, both of them were clutching their sides and laughing madly, tears running down their faces. It was quite sometime before Harry was able to speak again.

"You clever witch!" he gasped, wiping his eyes, "you scared me so!"

"Even heroes need to be scared at times. I wonder what would happen if Rita Skeeter heard this? Imagine the headlines 'HARRY POTTER SCARED BY HIS WIFE! IS THE DARK DEFEATER LOSING HIS TOUCH?' By Merlin, that would be priceless. Your boss will probably sack you."

"Nah. I'm her best one."

"Tut, tut. Arrogant today, aren't we?"

"I love you, 'Mione."

"Quite a clever way to change the subject. Off the record, I do, too," she said, leaning on to him.

He enveloped her in his arms and sighed contentedly. They sat like that for some time, drawing comfort from each other. Finally, Harry said, "Let's go down and have a huge lunch. I'm sure the others don't like waiting."

Hermione nodded. Harry stood up weakly, feeling very drained. Slowly, they made their way downstairs. They heard Zephyr saying crossly, "As if one lovesick couple isn't enough! Why aren't there any normal people out here? Can't you restrict your lovesickness to your private rooms?"

"Shut up, little brother," said Draco.

"Here they are," said Ginny, noticing Harry and Hermione.

"Glad to see you've recovered, Potter. You're really pathetic at times, you know. Not to say infuriating. Kindly refrain from the 'self-deprecating hero' act in the future. You're supposed to be arrogant, you know," said Draco.

Harry flashed him a smile. "Thanks for the tip, Malfoy."

He pulled himself to his full height and struck an aristocratically arrogant pose and sneered, "I, Harry James Potter, Defender of Light, Order of Merlin First Class, future Minister of Magic, command you, Mr. Malfoy, Ms. Weasley and Mr. Potter to take up their seats on the dining table of the Potter Castle and settle for a delicious meal prepared by my unparalleled house-elves."

"Much better," smirked Draco. Ginny, Hermione and Zephyr laughed.

Their mirth continued through lunch. By the time they finished, Harry was feeling much better, albeit a bit weak.

"Shouldn't you two be going back to Hogwarts?" Harry asked Hermione and Zephyr.

"Nah, Dumbledore said we could go tomorrow. I'll stay in today. What do you say, Zephyr?"

"I'll stay in as well, Mum. We can go together tomorrow. Besides, I don't really want to answer the questions that'll be put up to me right now. I need to think of a nice reason why a house elf would suddenly appear in the middle of Potions and drag me off without uttering a word!"

"What about you, Draco? And you, Ginny?"

"Got to go back to the Burrow, but I'll be back to check up on you tomorrow morning," said Ginny. She stood up, kissed Draco, hugged everyone else and left.

"I think I'll be off as well. I'll come tomorrow morning, Harry, and I'll bring up some of my stuff - I'm planning to spend a week here. The Manor is getting too boring these days," said Draco.

Harry nodded, grateful. He didn't really want to be alone for a few days. He was thankful that Hermione and Zephyr were staying, but they would have to go tomorrow morning, and he would be left alone after that. He saw Hermione flash Draco a very grateful smile and Zephyr look at his older brother in awe. They all understood Draco's real reason for coming to stay, and they were all very happy for it. Draco reddened a bit at the gratefulness directed towards him by the three Potters.

"And I also need tips for the wedding from Harry," he said.

"I got my directions from you; may be you could use them on yourself?" said Harry, chuckling. They all laughed.

"Well, I'd better be going. See you tomorrow, guys!" Draco pecked Hermione on the cheek, hugged Harry and Zephyr, and left.

The three of them sat quietly for sometime. When Dobby came to clear the table, Harry said quietly to him, "Dobby, please ask all the elves to come up here. We would like to talk to all of you."

Dobby disappeared immediately. A moment later, all the elves were standing in front of them, looking rather guilty; except Kreacher, of course. The old elf looked rather pleased.

"So, the half-blood master has finally recognised his strength," he said, staring at Harry with something akin to respect.

Harry, Hermione and Zephyr were taken aback for a moment. Then Hermione spoke.

"We are rather pleased with the way you all reacted today. We are very grateful to you, for had you not acted timely in the way you did, who knows what might have happened. We are very proud of all of you and would like you to have some reward for this. What would you like to have?"

The elves looked rather bewildered. Dobby was the first one to recover his wits.

"Dobby wants some socks!"

Harry stood up and held out his hand. "Come, Dobby, let us go shopping for socks!"

They Apparated in a wizard mall, and Dobby was bought three dozen pairs of socks which he liked. When they Apparated back home, the elf's eyes were leaking. Winky wanted some Butterbeer. Hermione took her to Hogsmeade and bought her a whole carton of it, though she made her promise that she would not get drunk too badly.

One by one all the elves were taken to shop for their rewards. Niri was given a jewellery set of her choice. Pippy wanted evening gowns. She was given three. Orla wanted cosmetics, which she received in plenty. Kenny wanted a broomstick. Harry took him to Quality Quidditch Supplies and got one of his size. Lolly, a vain elf who thought himself to be rather handsome, received three sets of dress robes. Humpy, a very studious kind of elf, got the dozen books he chose in Flourish and Botts. Finally, only Kreacher was left standing.

"What would you like, Kreacher?" Zephyr asked.

"Nothing that you could give."

"We can try," said Harry.

"No, you cannot. I would like a wand. Can you get me one? You can't. There exists a statute prohibiting that."

Harry looked at Hermione, who shrugged. He knelt on the carpet next to the aged elf and said quietly, "I'll speak to Mr. Weasley and see what can be done. There must be a loophole somewhere."

A minute later, Mr. Weasley's head was in the fire, reading out the provisions of the statutes to him. Luckily, there was a clause stating that an elf could be given a wand by the master in certain situations, but only till the task was over. Then the wand must be confiscated.

"Let's get you the wand, Kreacher," said Harry happily, "you are given the task of protecting me, and you are bound to do that till I'm alive, so you can have the wand till then. After that, you can start protecting my heir."

"That will be Zephyr. Then he can move on to Zephyr's heir and so forth. Brilliant, Harry!" Hermione squealed.

Kreacher looked grateful. Mr. Ollivanders looked rather surprised to have an elf as a customer, but a wand soon chose the elf, and the three Potters and Kreacher left the shop in a good mood.

When they were all seated comfortably around the fire again, Harry noticed that Zephyr looked rather pensive.

"What are you thinking?" he asked.

"Nothing, Dad."

"Sure you are," said Hermione.

"No, Mum."

They were quiet for a minute. Then Zephyr spoke up.

"The thing you said about me being your heir - that was not true, was it, Dad?"

"Sure it was. You are my oldest son, and I believe the oldest son is the heir around here."

"But wouldn't you want your own blood to control your property?"

"Look, son, the wealth shall be distributed among all my children equally, of course, but only the oldest can be the heir."

"But I'm not your real son!"

"Of course you are!"

"Won't your other children mind?"

"Of course not. And if you insist on being so pig headed about this, we won't have any more children at all!" Harry's voice was trembling slightly.

Zephyr hung his head.

"Sorry. I was just - I mean, I don't deserve it. You're too good for your own good, Dad. Make him understand, Mum."

"I totally agree with Harry, Zephyr. I don't see why you have to be so stubborn about this thing. You are our son, and that's that. You will be the heir. If you don't accept that, we will simply have to give up the thought of having any more children. We have always imagined a big family - not as big as the Weasleys, of course, but definitely more than one kid. But it seems we will have to give up that idea. Heck, I thought even you wanted siblings, Zephyr."

"I do, Mum. But-"

"No buts."

"Fine, then. I'll be your heir, ok?" Zephyr shouted, then suddenly, burst into tears. His parents scooted next to him immediately.

"What is so upsetting about being my heir?" Harry asked softly, "if it bothers you so much, we'll refrain from doing it."

"It's not that, Dad. It's just that I'm not used to being cared for so much. I feel guilty. You have accepted me completely, despite my being not a very pleasant person and all...I'll be your heir - I would be proud to be your heir. Prouder than you can ever imagine."

He was hugged tightly from both sides.

"Thank you," he whispered, and the love in the room was so overwhelming that even the air shone with it.