He looked over to the Ravenclaw table and wondered if perhaps the elder Malfoys were trying to tell him something else. Was it alright for him to still talk to Luna? She was a pureblood after all, so maybe that was what they were trying to tell him. He smiled. He had always liked Luna, even if Hermione hadn't, and her odd outlook on life had always amused him greatly, but he had never teased her about it. He had always accepted her as she was, perhaps she could return the favour and accept him as he was as well. He would really like that because he was getting very lonely and as they got more homework piled on them, Draco got more and more frantic about doing well with his grades and Blaise it seemed was obsessed with his newest conquest, a girl in Ravenclaw who had apparently rebuffed everyone except Blaise, for what reason Harry couldn't even fathom, but they barely surfaced from whatever bed they'd stolen to lie in to eat meals and attend lessons.
Harry sighed, perhaps he really did need a friend and this was Narcissa's way of reminding him of that fact coupled with a sort of permission to interact with Luna at least. Or maybe he was just thinking about it far too much. He'd finished his breakfast and carried his treat box back to his rooms. He'd been spending so much time isolated up in his own rooms that it was almost like he wasn't even in a school, but like he had his own apartment that he lived in alone. It was almost pathetic.
He hadn't been flying since he'd held a Quidditch practice for the Gryffindor team the other week and frankly, that had been the last time he'd spoken to anyone as well. He was getting isolated and lonely and that wasn't good for anyone, especially not him.
He made it to the castle and he shook the slush off of his boots before heading right back up to his rooms, the very rooms he had been insisting that he would get out of once in a while outside of lessons or mealtimes. He sighed and pulled some homework towards himself. He'd go and find Luna, if he could, at dinnertime. Until then, he had a lot to be getting on with. He was almost finished with his homework and he had been contemplating making himself a cup of tea and picking up his newest Ancient Runes book after he was finished with his last assignment when the rings on his right finger heated up and he actually jumped. He cursed and sent a fervent thanks that no one had been there to see him.
He packed away his things, took five minutes to change out of his school uniform into something more respectable and 'adult' looking and then rushed like hell from his fourth-floor rooms to the outside grounds. He missed his first Portkey, but he had just enough time to wipe his sweaty brow and catch his breath before his second Portkey activated and he kept hold of his stomach as he took a measured step forward and took another and then another as his vision cleared and he could see the evening shift at the Ministry. It wasn't as busy as it was during the mornings, but there were still a few people lingering around, unlike when he'd come here months before on the back of a thestral, in the dead of night, when it had been completely deserted.
"Excuse me, visitors need to present their wand and explain their business at the Ministry!" The security wizard shouted after him.
Harry stopped, turned and looked at the wizard who had chased after him.
"I am Lord Potter-Black and I am not a visitor. A Wizengamot meeting has been called and I need to get there as soon as possible, so if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting and debates to conduct that are no business of yours."
Harry turned on his heel and strode towards the lifts, calling one and going to the second level, where the Wizengamot meeting room was.
He slipped into the room and smiled as he saw Lucius had been watching the door and he had been subtly observing him, even as he spoke to Xerxes, and Harry saw the approval in those steel grey eyes as they scanned him from head to foot, taking in his change of clothes, his brushed hair and his unflushed, non-sweaty face.
Harry slipped between the two men and smiled up at them both happily.
"You look far too happy to be here." Xerxes groused gruffly. "I was contentedly relaxing with a glass of the finest, vintage Merlot with a book that I've been having trouble finding the time to actually sit down and read and then this very late meeting was called."
"I was just finishing my last homework assignment. I was thinking of getting a cup of tea and breaking out my new Ancient Runes book when I felt my rings heat up."
"Your last homework assignment?" Lucius questioned. "So you have finished all of them bar the one?" Harry nodded. "I was just wrapping up my conclusion. I made a few hurried notes on a piece of scrap parchment so I know what my thought process was for when I arrive back at the castle and finish it off."
"Good lad." Xerxes praised him, clapping him on the shoulder. Harry only just managed to brace for it and keep his feet. "Basti misses you a lot, he hangs onto every word you write to him."
It took Harry several moments to realise that Basti must have been Xerxes' nickname for Rabastan, that of course, he wouldn't use his grandson's name in such a public place where any one of the lords and Heads of Departments could overhear them and he grinned. He couldn't wait to see Rabastan face-to-face and now he couldn't wait to call him by his cute nickname. He did wonder exactly how long Rabastan had had a nickname like 'Basti' and he wondered if his husband-to-be actually even liked it. He'd have to ask.
"I miss him a lot too. I can't wait until I get home for the holidays."
"Yes, your father has graciously invited us into his home for the festivities. You and Basti can spend your time there together and reconnect with one another after your unavoidable separation, I'm sure."
"They will have separate bedrooms." Lucius interjected very sternly and even on the edge of rudeness and Harry had to hide his grin in his sleeve. That had sounded like, and had even felt like, something only a real father would say and Harry's heart swelled with joy and devotion. He would never willingly give up this feeling of love and belonging. Never.
"Of course, Lucius! I would never dream of forcing such an issue between the boys when they are so newly acquainted. That will come much further down the line when they are both ready for it."
Lucius nodded his head tightly and he placed a hand on Harry's shoulder and steered him to a chair. Harry grinned harder into the sleeve of his robes for a few moments more before he composed himself and reined in his face-splitting grin.
He settled himself in the large, comfortable chair and folded his hands in his lap, waiting for the Chief Warlock to call the meeting to order while he silently observed everyone else in the room. Despite the harsh words exchanged and the tension between them, Xerxes still sat on Harry's other side, but he pointedly looked in the other direction to Lucius, who was sitting stiffly on his other side. Harry found the whole thing rather hilarious.
"Lords and ladies, gentlemen and madams, if I could call you to order." Albert Runcorn said just a little bit louder than the ambient noise in the room.
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