By the end of the day, Draco felt as if he'd been through the wringer. He didn't have to look hard for the reason why, either.

Not when said reason sat in the chair next to his desk, a sullen expression on the boy's face. The youngster, although having the appearance of an angel, had been an absolute terror.The rest of the students had already been dismissed for the day.

Draco pushed aside the stack of papers on his desk and folded his hands together on the surface, leaning toward the young boy.

All day, he'd seen the physical resemblance between this child and his father and it annoyed him to no end.

Although Eli had skin that was darker than the blond would have expected from a Potter Weasley gene combination and his eyes were dark brown, probably like his mother's, instead of the bright green of his fathers. At least that's what Draco assumed. He hadn't been that close to Ginny Weasley to really notice the color of her eyes.

Draco looked over the boy for a few minutes, determined to keep his voice calm and friendly. He
had decided on that first day when he knew he'd be teaching Potter's son that he would not imitate his former Potion's Professor. He would give the boy a fair shake and not give Potter any ammunition to use against him by saying he was prejudiced or unjust in the treatment of his son.

"Eli, I know starting at a new school can be difficult, it's a big change. Why don't you tell me what your days were like at your last school?"

"Better than here," the child stated sourly.

Draco held back a sigh and his growing irritation.

"Better how?"

"We had real desks, for one thing."

The blond teacher looked at the tables. The only difference between a desk and a table was the storage, which was taken care of by cubbies that were affixed to each side of the table.

"Would you prefer to sit at your own table?"

Eli lifted one shoulder, not answering.

"If you do, then all you have to do is say so. We both know that you won't be sitting next to Jonathan tomorrow."

"He's a tool." Eli's expression indicated what a condemnation that was.

"He's a student in my class, the same as you are, and he doesn't deserve to be picked on all
afternoon by anyone."

"I wasn't picking on him." Draco lifted an elegant eyebrow.

"Really?"

"I don't care what he said," Eli sulked.

"Actually, Jonathan didn't say anything. He didn't have to. Eli, I saw you poking at him. You were
messing with his papers. You even hid his lunch from him, and then on the playground after lunch, you deliberately hit him with the ball. So what gives?"

"He didn't dodge fast enough or he wouldn't have gotten hit."

"This isn't the best way to start off in school, I should know," Draco told the boy, remembering his own first days at Hogwarts.

It had been a fair bit of culture shock for the young Slytherin, as he had been used to being home schooled before then and receiving unshared attention.

The blond now knew that he had been quite the spoilt brat when he had attended Hogwarts, and, he was ashamed to admit.

A bully.

Eli gave him a quizzical look at his teacher's words, but then his face took on that sulky pout again.

"So call my dad and tell him that."

Draco had no desire whatsoever to speak to his father. Just seeing Potter in person for a brief five minutes had been more that enough for him.

"Let's make a deal, shall we? Tomorrow is a brandnew day. We'll all start fresh. Or, we can add your name to the list on the board."

The blond gestured to the corner of the board where two other names were already written.

"You know how that works? The first time, you get your name on the board. The second time, you get a check mark and a visit to the Headmaster. If you get another check mark, you'll be suspended. I don't think your father would be very happy with you if that happened."

Eli looked glum.

"Do you think that's unfair?" Draco asked.

The boy lifted his shoulder again, not looking at his teacher.

Draco propped his chin on his palm.

"I want you to enjoy class. It's no fun for any one of us if one of our class members is miserable."
Something else Draco knew all about.

"But the fact of it is if you're caught trying to deliberately hurt another student, there's not going to be anything I can do to help you. Headmaster Gage has very clear rules about behaviour. What you did on the playground today was wrong."

The blond would bet all the galleons he had in Gringotts that if his Slytherin classmates from Hogwarts could hear him now, they wouldn't believe it.

"The ball hardly hit him," Eli whined.

"Only because he wasn't standing still, and don't act as if you were playing a game of dodgebal
because I know you weren't."

Eli's face scrunched up, like he'd swallowed something bitter.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"It's Jonathan who deserves the apology. You can use my phone here to call him, if you'd like."

The young boy gasped slightly. "Now?"

Draco let himself be amused by the Potter boy's appalled expression.

"No time like the present, and I'll bet that Jonathan is home by now since he lives just around the corner." The blond plopped the phone on the corner of his desk in front of Eli and pulled out the phone list.

"Ready?" Eli morosely picked up the phone and dialed the number that Draco recited.

Deciding to give him at least the illusion of some privacy, the Slytherin rose and moved away from his desk, crossing the room to straighten the art supplies still scattered across the counter. Behind him, he heard Eli deliver his apology. Short, brief and about what the blond had expected, but at least he'd offered it.

Draco tapped the ends of his handful of paintbrushes on the counter then dropped them into a large jar where they fanned out like some arty bouquet. He turned around to face Eli and caught him surreptitiously swiping his cheek. Tension and irritation drained out of the blond the same way it always did when he was faced with an upset young child, leaving him with only the urge to comfort.

Evidently, Eli, son of Harry Potter or not, was no exception.

"Remember that tomorrow is a brand new day," Draco said to the young boy.

"All fresh, right?"

Eli didn't exactly jump up and down in agreement, but he didn't roll his eyes, either.

Before Draco could ask how the youngster was going to be getting home, the door to the classroom opened.

"There you are," Harry stated with some relief.

The slight smile that had been on Draco's face slid away at the sight of Harry standing in the doorway, his dark hair falling over his eyes. Eyes which could vary from a bright emerald to almost a dark forest green, depending on his mood.

Currently, they looked dark and far from happy.

The Slytherin gave the small boy at his side a sympathetic look, remembering when he had been on the receiving end of those hard stares once upon a time. Draco picked up his teachers bag, slinging it over his shoulder and curling his fingers around the webbed strap to keep from patting the youngsters shoulder.

Little terror or not, there was something about the child that got to him, something about him that reminded Draco of himself.

"You're late, you were supposed to meet me outside," Harry said.

His voice hadn't changed. It was still deep and strong.

"Only by about ten minuets," Draco said, answering before Eli could.

"He had some questions we needed to take care of." The boy shot his teacher a surprised look that he ignored.

Harry's eyes narrowed. He still had the longest lashes Draco had ever seen on a man, long and thick, and as darkly colored as the hair on his head.

"What kind of questions?" the Auror asked.

Draco decided to let Eli handle that one.

"About, uh, sports," the boy finally said.

Harry looked suspicious.

"Car's in the parking lot," he stated after a moment.

"Go wait for me."

Eli gave that little shrug of his and headed out the door.

"See you tomorrow, Mr. Malfoy."

"See you, Eli." Draco's hand was strangling the web strap.

"Potter," the blond stated in dismissal, his tone going from warm to icy in under a tenth of a second.

He barely looked at Harry asstepped by the Auror.

"Draco..."

Every nerve the blond man possessed tightened. He felt it from the prickling in his scalp to the
curling in his toes. And though he would have liked to have kept walking, he stopped and looked at the dark haired wizard over his shoulder.

After all, he was the parent of his newest student. He would have to deal with Potter on that level no matter what his personal feelings were.

"Yes?"

Harry's lips compressed for a moment.

"I..ưm..how are you?"

Draco didn't know what he might have expected him to say, but it definitely hadn't been that.

"Busy," he replied evenly.

"Did you need to discuss something about Eli?"

"I'm sorry he was late this morning. It won't happen again," Harry apologized, unsure of what else to say.

"It's okay."

When it seemed as if Potter had nothing further to add, Draco began to turn again.

"I didn't expect to see you here," Harry said, hoping to stop the blond from leaving.

"I can say the same thing about you."

Draco felt certain that he imagined the flicker in Harry's eyes at that; wishful thinking on his part that Potter might feel something, anything, about what had happened all those years ago. He'd made his feelings then perfectly clear, even though the Gryffindor had never been perfectly clear about anything else.

And damn it, that fact still stung even though Draco had made himself believe that it was all water under the bridge.

"Excuse me, I have things I need to do."

The blond turned again and strode down the corridor, the click of his shoes sounding brisk and hollow. Harry's hands curled as he watched the tall, exceedingly handsome blond stride away from him. He didn't make the mistake of speaking his name again.

Draco hated him.

Well, could he blame him? When it came to Draco Malfoy, Harry pretty much hated himself, too, for what he had done.

Merlin, but he still couldn't believe the blond was here, in Little Whinging of all places.

Aware that Eli was still waiting for him, Harry headed out to the car. His son was fiddling with the radio when he opened the door and sat down.

"He tell ya?"

Eli sat back in his seat as Harry reset the channel to something a little less headache
inducing.

'Great. Tell me what?' the Auror thought. He started driving away from the school.

"What do you think?" Harry questioned instead.

His son heaved a sigh, obviously assuming the worst.

"Figures. I was only kidding with the guy. How was I supposed to know his glasses would fly off like they did? At least they didn't break or nothing."

Harry gave his son a hard look, thinking he was glad Eli was more open than his teacher evidently was.

"Did you apologize?"

"Yes. I used Mr. Malfoy's phone in the classroom."

"Good," Harry intoned. "Don't do it again."

They were silent as they drove past the police station that Harry had been to earlier. The Auror had taken on the identity of a police officer in order to track down the lead he had on Snape without the muggles being any the wiser. The lead seemed to be more promising than he had first thought; seems like there was some new type of designer drug circulating that no one was able to make heads or tails of. Even after having a sample analyzed, the police couldn't figure out what entirely it was made up of or what it was.

To Harry, it sounded like just the thing his old Potions Professor would brew up.

"So, what's your teacher like?"

Harry asked to break the stony silence and possibly learn a little more about his former rival and lover, putting thoughts of his job out of his mind for the moment.

"Besides being a rat fink?" Eli grumped.

Harry let out an impatient breath.

"He didn't tell me anything, pal. You did that all on your own."

"Geez." Eli's head hit the back of the seat at his own stupidity. He looked out the window.

"He's all "Dad!" Eli shrieked and laughed.

Harry shrugged with a mischievous smile and went inside.

"Wipe your boots,"

He reminded as he tossed his jacket on the coat rack and his police radio on the kitchen counter.

Harry opened a box of pasta and put a pot of water on the stove. He sat down at the dining table and waited for it to start to boil before adding the spaghetti. The raven haired Auror rarely used magic to prepare meals. He actually enjoyed cooking, the one good thing he had learned about himself during his time with the Dursley's.

"So how was your first day?" Harry asked his son conversationally as the boy wandered through to go to the living room to watch some TV.

"I've got homework," Eli admitted.

"Vocabulary."

"Well, horrors," Harry smiled.

"Get a start on it before we have dinner." Eli nodded grudgingly before pounding up the stairs to his room.

Harry chuckled softly and then added the long grains of noodles to the now boiling water, turning the heat down a notch. The Gryffindor began to prepare the sauce, his mind thinking about a certain Slytherin. Shaking himself out of old memories, he sighed and set down his long wooden spoon.

What happened with him and Draco was a long time ago, yet it still felt like yesterday.

The last he had heard, the blond had wanted to work at Gringotts.For some reason, a career in finances seemed to suit the Malfoy heir perfectly, but then he had just vanished from the wizarding world. Harry had certainly not expected to find him here of all places, teaching third grade muggles.

Harry shook his head and drained the pasta, getting everything ready for their meal. He called his son down from doing his homework and the both of them sat and ate their supper in comfortable silence.

Later in the evening, after Harry sent his son off to his room to finish the last bit of homework and get ready for bed, he received a floo call from Ron Weasley and Terry Boot.

"What's up?" Harry questioned his best friend.

Terry and Ron were also Aurors and worked closely with Harry, a fact that made Ron's parents quite proud.

"Hi Terry," the dark haired wizard greeted the second head as it popped into view.

"We need to discuss a few things, is it okay if we come through?" Ron asked.

"Sure," Harry agreed, stepping back so his two fellow Aurors could come into his living room.

This was another little perk from the ministry. They had set up a floo system between their office and Harry's home in the muggle world so they could maintain contact easily.

"We've found out that a large shipment of Lovage is heading out of Germany. Looks like it's making its way here," Terry told Harry as the three men sat in the comfortable living room.

"Lovage?" Harry questioned.

"Isn't that used in confusing draughts?"

"Yes. Also someone has recently ordered a large amount of Billywig venom from within the wizarding world."

"How recent?" Harry asked, his voice showing concern. He knew Billywig venom caused giddiness.

"Couple of weeks ago, but we can't track who's getting it. I assume it's our long time missing Potions Professor," Ron stated, his face grim.

"Bad business, this," Terry added.

"Not the kind of stuff that should be getting into the muggle world."

"Well that explains why the police here haven't been able to figure out what's in the drug that's been popping up lately." Harry pushed his hand though his hair.

Ron sighed sure that Harry was not going to like what he had to say next.

"It seems as if Little Whinging is just one of many small towns to become involved lately." The red head looked out the window, studying the sun that hung low on the horizon.

It wasn't quite evening yet, but the temperature was already dropping.

"Theres been more locations that this drug has been seen in," Terry said.

"Seems whoever is behind this keeps moving around to small towns and it's highly difficult to pinpoint where the stuff is coming from. The muggle authorities are working on it, but slowly. Drug trafficking is so common here that it doesn't get high priority unless it kills someone or it's distributed in large amounts. If Snape is behind this, he's being pretty crafty about it all and keeping himself below the radar."

"What do you mean, if?" Harry questioned huffily.

"Who else could it be?"

"I'm just saying," Terry intoned neutrally.

"There's more Death Eaters on the loose than just Snape and this drug isn't that hard to make. I know Snape's the expert on all things potion, but any wizard could have put this together. The ministry has said that even a muggle could cook this stuff up once they had the proper ingredients. We're really not sure it is him." Harry frowned angrily and was going to argue, but Ron interrupted, giving Terry a look.

He pulled an envelope out of his pocket and handed it over.

"This is all the information we have and copies of our notes. You can look at the evidence and make up your own mind."

Harry didn't bother opening it now. He placed it on the coffee table, his anger dissipating.

"You guys have done a great job. If it is him, I'm sure we'll catch him. I wonder, though, why he's doing this?"

"This is what I mean," Terry continued, trying to convince Harry not to jump the gun.

"What would be Snape's motive? Why wouldn't he stay in hiding like he' been doing? Why endanger himself now with this?"

"I have no idea of his motives," Harry returned sharply.

"All I know is that Dumbledore is dead because he trusted that greasy bastard and that Billywig venom had to come from our world. They would have needed a wizard for that and one that knows what it does."

"My bet is on Snape being the mastermind behind it," Ron added, backing up his long time friend with a nod of agreement.

Terry knew when he was outnumbered and stopped arguing about it. In his mind, he felt that both Ron and Harry were too obsessed with Snape and he was afraid they were going to possibly let the real perpetrator go free in their desire to capture the Potions Professor.

"Well, I guess we should head back," the red head said after a short, uncomfortable silence.

"But before then, mind if I say hello to my nephew?"

"No, go ahead. He's upstairs in his room," Harry smiled.

The Weasley's had offered to keep the boy while Harry tracked down Severus, but the Gryffindor had declined. He knew they all missed Eli, but he had no idea how long this was going to take and he didn't think he could handle being apart from his son for an indefinite amount of time.

Since the death of Ginny the boy was isolating himself and pushing Harry away so he intended to use this time for the two of them to reconnect and get closer as a family again.

After Harry's two friends had left, he turned on the telly and generally ignored the shows for a couple of hours as he thought over everything he had found out so far about this case before clicking off the tube and grabbing the envelope off the table, heading upstairs to his own room.

He said goodnight to his son as he passed by the boy's door. He felt troubled by what he had learned today and accidentally finding the missing blond weighed on his mind as well. There were things that he knew he had to put right with his ex-lover, but first he had to catch Snape.