Rating:
PG
House:
Schnoogle
Characters:
Draco Malfoy Harry Potter
Genres:
Alternate Universe General
Era:
The Harry Potter at Hogwarts Years
Spoilers:
Philosopher's Stone Chamber of Secrets Quidditch Through the Ages Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Stats:
Published: 04/18/2004
Updated: 06/08/2006
Words: 97,140
Chapters: 21
Hits: 109,125

They Shook Hands: Year Two (Original Version)

Dethryl

Story Summary:
Harry Potter's holiday with the Muggles has been dreadful. He wants nothing more than to return to Hogwarts, but when he is rescued by a masked wizard in a black robe, it sets off a chain reaction of disasters. Things are no calmer at school as an ancient legend comes to life and a deadly monster stalks the halls. The new Defense professor boasts that he will end the threat, but can even the magical might of the famed Gilderoy Lockhart prevail against the Heir of Slytherin? Nobody knows who it could be, but the prime suspect is none other than Harry himself!

Chapter 06 - Gonna Go Back To Hogwarts If I Can

Chapter Summary:
Harry and Draco prepare to return to Hogwarts while Elan leaves for Durmstrang, Mr. Malfoy lectures on house elves, and the boys find their friends on the Hogwarts Express. There's some important news in the Daily Prophet, but Weasley doesn't know anything about it.
Posted:
06/27/2004
Hits:
4,889
Author's Note:
Yes, there is an AU version of Year One. This story is a sequel to my previous work,

They Shook Hands : Year Two

An alternate (but realistic!) universe Harry Potter fic
by Dethryl

Chapter Six - Gonna Go Back To Hogwarts If I Can

The morning of September first was like many of the other summer days Harry had experienced at Malfoy Manor. The sunlight streaming through his window made Harry yawn and pull the blankets up over his head. Drowsily, he lay there for a time. Then the sleep-fog cleared from his brain, and he sat bolt upright. He was going back to Hogwarts!

Harry was a blur for the next few minutes as he hurried through his morning ablutions. He took perhaps the quickest shower on record. He hurried around his room, grabbing all his belongings and packing up his school trunk.

He had just closed the lid when Draco knocked at his door. "Harry? Are you awake?"

"Come in!" Harry called.

"Breakfast is going to be on the table in a few minutes. We should get down there." Draco looked around at the room, which looked just as it had when Harry had first arrived. "Have you been up since sunrise?"

"Not quite," Harry replied. "I just can't wait to get back to school."

"That's got to be the strangest thing you've ever said," Draco chuckled.

Harry stuck out his tongue and left his trunk behind as he strolled out the door and down to the dining room. Sitting down, he helped himself to the toast. He found himself very curious indeed as to how they would be getting to King's Cross station. From his extensive explorations of the manor and grounds, he knew the Malfoys did not have a motor car.

"We'll Floo into London," Draco told him when he asked. "From there, we walk a bit to the station. Never fear, 'tisn't far."

"Draco, I'm afraid you and Harry will be on your own once we get to London," Mr. Malfoy said. "Elan and I will be continuing on to the International Floo Hub and from there on to Durmstrang."

Elan looked very put out that he would personally be escorted all the way to school.

"It will be good to see my old friend Karkarov again," Mr. Malfoy continued. "I haven't seen him in eleven years or so."

"Are you boys all packed?" Mrs. Malfoy inquired.

"Harry is," Draco said through a mouthful. "I just need to throw my books together."

"Chew your food," his mother admonished him. "And how come your books aren't all packed? Aren't you finished with your homework?"

"Mum!" Draco protested. "Of course I finished! I was just studying, that's all."

"I hardly think you're going to have a quiz on your first day back," she chided gently.

"Oh, I wouldn't bet on that," he drawled. "You know Professor Snape."

Everyone laughed. "Well hurry and finish up," Mrs. Malfoy instructed him. "We need to leave within the hour."

Harry went into the lounge after breakfast and snapped his fingers. Quick as a flash, an elf appeared. "Bring down my school trunk," he told it. "Make sure you don't break anything inside."

The elf bowed low. "Yes, sir. Dobby will bring down the trunk, sir. Dobby will not jostle or bounce or shake Harry Potter's trunk, sir." With a loud crack, it vanished.

Harry waited. And he waited. And he waited some more. Where the devil was that dratted elf with his trunk? Just as he was about to leave and go bring the trunk down himself, the elf appeared with an ear-splitting bang. It had the trunk with it.

"What took you so long?" Harry snapped.

The elf quavered. "Dobby is sorry, sir. Dobby had a bad thought and had to punish himself, sir." Actually, the elf did look a little dizzy. However he'd punished himself, he'd done a good job, apparently.

"Begone, Dobby, or you'll find out whether there is or isn't a God." Harry recognized Mr. Malfoy's voice and turned around to see him standing there. The elf vanished without a further word. "Was he giving you trouble, Harry?"

"A bit," Harry admitted. "What did he mean he had to punish himself?"

"A house elf is very attached to the family it serves," Mr. Malfoy said, sounding as though he were beginning a lecture. "When it commits an act that it knows will displease or anger its family, an elf feels compelled to punish itself."

"Even if it was an accident?" Harry asked.

"Even if," Mr. Malfoy confirmed. "A deed done by accident is still done, is it not? You didn't intend to swallow the Snitch, but you still won the match, correct?"

Harry instantly flashed back to his first Quidditch match at Hogwarts. Though he hadn't intended to catch the Snitch in quite that fashion, he had indeed caught it. The technicalities of it didn't lessen the conclusion one bit.

"Yes, I suppose so," he said slowly.

"Most often the self-punishment involves bashing its head against the wall," Mr. Malfoy continued. "They have very hard heads, elves, so they repeat a few times. Then, punishment enacted, they continue on with their tasks."

"One thing to remember," he added. "Never ever give a house elf an article of clothing. Always drop it on the floor. If you ever give an elf clothes, it severs the magical connection between elf and family. There are elves who have killed themselves rather than be subjected to the ultimate humiliation of clothes."

"What?" Harry was startled.

"Elves are very attached to their families," Mr. Malfoy repeated. "The giving of clothes is the ultimate punishment. An elf will gladly endure any other punishment you inflict upon it, even punish itself further, to avoid being given clothes."

"Of course that's all academic," Draco observed from the doorway. "You couldn't free any of our elves, for instance. Only once you have your own place and elves that belong to you."

The notion of owning another living being was anathema to Harry. His face must have reflected his feelings, because Mr. Malfoy patted his shoulder.

"I know exactly what you're thinking, Harry. People don't own each other. But you must remember that elves are not people. Owning an elf is very similar to owning a dog or an owl. They are living creatures, are they not? They think; they communicate. They are simpler creatures than we."

"But isn't slavery, well, wrong?" Harry felt a bit bold in asking this, but he felt comfortable enough with the Malfoys to speak his mind.

Mr. Malfoy looked intently at him. He snapped his fingers, and an elf appeared. "Yes, master?" it asked, bowing.

"Nibby, the time has come for you to have clothes," he said simply.

Nothing could have prepared Harry for what happened next. The elf let out a keening wail so intense, Harry had to clap his hands to his ears. Nibby burst into tears, crying and shrieking and carrying on. He threw himself at Mr. Malfoy's feet and begged for mercy, for forgiveness, and for death.

"Death, master!" he wept. "Death, not disgrace!"

Harry was considerably taken aback. They'd told him that elves lived to serve, but he hadn't truly believed them. Now he knew it was truth.

"Mister Malfoy, please make it stop!" he shouted over the wailing.

Mr. Malfoy smiled. "Very well, Nibby," he said, not looking down at the elf. "Return to your duties."

Nibby kissed his master's shoes several times. Then it disappeared without even getting up off the floor.

"You see, Harry?" Mr. Malfoy asked.

"I see," Harry said. His ears were still ringing.

"If your little demonstration is quite over," Mrs. Malfoy said as she came into the room, "we have places to be. Where's Elan?"

"I'm here." The former Hogwarts prefect looked quite splendid, if sullen, in his new red school robes.

"Good, we're all set then." Mr. Malfoy looked pleased. "Children, say your good-byes."

Draco hugged his older brother. "I'm going to miss you," he said, his voice muffled in Elan's shoulder.

Elan hugged his younger brother just as tightly. "I won't be there to look out for you anymore," he said in a choked voice. "So stay out of trouble, you hear me?"

"I will."

Draco hugged and kissed his mother. Mrs. Malfoy wiped away a tear. "Promise me you'll be careful," she asked.

"I promise."

Draco hugged his father. "You are a Malfoy," the man reminded him. "Never forget that."

"I won't."

Harry shook Elan's hand firmly. "Good luck," he said sincerely.

Elan nodded gravely. "Thank you, Harry. Stay safe this year, okay?"

"I'll try."

Mrs. Malfoy almost squeezed the breath from his body. "Harry, it's been a delight having you this summer. Do come back again. Our home is always open to you."

Harry's eyes started to water. More than anything he'd wanted a place to call home. Now it was being offered on a silver platter.

"Thank you," he choked out.

Mr. Malfoy offered his hand. "Harry, good luck to you this year. If you have need of anything, don't hesitate to write."

"Thank you, sir."

Draco held out the tin of Floo powder to him. His friend threw his own pinch into the fireplace and called out, "Puddlemucker's!" Stepping into the green flames, he vanished with a puff of smoke.

"You have the place? It's Puddlemucker's. It's a sweet shop only a block from the station. You remember about Floo?"

"Keep my eyes and mouth shut, my elbows tucked, wait until I stop spinning," Harry rattled off.

"Good. Any time you're ready," Mr. Malfoy told him.

"Puddlemucker's!"

* * *

"Easy now, Harry, you made it." Draco's voice made Harry open his eyes. This was the third time he'd travelled by Floo, and he still wanted to throw up. He let Draco lead him out of the fireplace, dragging his trunk behind him. The wheels that Mr. Malfoy had added to the trunk made this task infinitely easier.

"Urp!" he said, feeling his stomach lurch. He closed his eyes again.

"Deep breaths now, come on."

Someone thrust a glass into his hand. He drank and tasted cold water. His stomach stopped churning. He felt well enough to open his eyes.

Draco was peering at him intently. "How many fingers am I holding up?" he asked.

"Three," Harry said.

"Close enough," Draco teased him.

They were in a little sweet shop, just as it had been described to him. There were only two racks of sweets. The walls were blank. It looked like they were still in the process of setting up -- or taking down. A large fireplace dominated the rear wall.

"One Galleon, Mister Malfoy," a wizard standing behind the counter said. Draco pulled a coin out of his pocket and flipped it to the attendant.

"Come along, Harry. Plenty of other people will be coming through." Harry allowed himself to be ushered out the door. He blinked a bit in the sunlight.

"This way to the station," Draco told him. As they walked down the street, Harry was a bit spooked by being out in Muggle London again. Nobody recognized him, seeing only a pair of boys pulling school trunks towards the station. They hadn't carried their owl cages with them out in public. Mrs. Malfoy would be sending the birds up to Hogwarts tonight.

The station was busy with people going here, people going there. Muggles rushed every which way without a glance at anyone else. The two boys pushed their way through the crowd to the solid divider between platforms nine and ten.

Harry had caught the Hogwarts Express the previous September. It didn't leave from any normal platform. The train to school left from platform nine and three-quarters, a magical place only accessible by passing through the barrier. It was a trick that Harry had been told by the motherly Mrs. Weasley.

"Nobody's watching," Draco said, looking around. "You first."

Harry took a deep breath and ran at the bricks. Two steps away, he closed his eyes tightly. Magic was all well and good, but the human brain has difficulty accepting that you are running full speed at a brick wall. He didn't even notice when he pierced the barrier. When he had taken several more steps, he opened his eyes and saw the bright and shining train.

Draco appeared behind him a moment later. "Good show," he said. "Let's find the others."

The platform was a chaotic mob of children, parents, pets, and luggage. The two boys lugged their trunks to midway down the length of the train before someone snuck up behind Harry and covered his mouth. Startled, he turned to see Pansy standing there. Motioning him to keep silent, she crept up behind Draco and grabbed at his middle.

"Ah!" he yelled in surprise, dropping his trunk. The edge came down on Pansy's foot, and she shrieked loudly in pain. She let go of Draco and clutched at her smashed toes.

"You bastard, you did that on purpose!" she howled at him.

"Absurd!" Draco denied, picking up his trunk again. "It's your own fault for trying to assault me."

"Oh, I'll assault you," Pansy promised darkly, glaring darkly in Draco's direction. "Never fear of that."

"Are you the only one here?" Harry asked, trying to distract her. People were looking in their direction, probably wondering what all the yelling was about.

"Hullo, Harry. Yes, I'm all by myself. I was happy to see you both, but now you are welcome to join me."

"Oh hush," Draco dismissed her complaining. "You know I'm the centre of your existence."

Pansy didn't dignify that little jab with any response. She limped onto the train and to a compartment she had claimed. Harry and Draco stacked their trunks inside and took seats. Pansy sat down next to Draco and promptly shoved him over a bit.

"Hey!" he protested.

"So how was the trip?" Pansy asked Harry, ignoring Draco and his complaining.

"Sickening," he said truthfully. "I wanted to throw up."

"I've never liked Floo that much either," she told him sympathetically. "Someone needs to come up with a better spell that won't make you dizzy."

"Probably Tim," Harry laughed. "He's brilliant."

Pansy made a face. "That fool actually likes travelling by Floo."

"Ugh, how could anyone like it?" Harry asked, feeling sick.

"Here you are!" exclaimed Jenna, dropping her trunk with a thud. She grabbed Harry's hand. "Good to see you!" She grabbed Draco's hand. "Good to see you!"

"Jenna, are you hyper?" Pansy asked.

"Hi Pansy!" Jenna grabbed her hand as well. "Good to see you!"

"Jenna, what's the matter with you?" Harry asked. His snarky friend was speaking very quickly and zipping around a bit.

"I'm happy!" she exclaimed, bouncing in place. "September is finally here, and we can learn more about magic!"

"I think she just had too much sugar this morning," Tim observed, dragging his trunk into the compartment.

"Tim! Good to see you!"

"Hi Jenna," he said, giving her a quick hug. "Did you sneak a cup of coffee this morning?"

"No," she denied instantly. "Well, yes, but only a small one."

"And how many times did you refill it?" he teased her. "Must have been a dozen or so."

"Only three!" Jenna defended.

"Oh dear," he sighed. He looked at Harry. "Jenna likes to have a cup of coffee on occasion, but she really doesn't deal with the caffeine very well, you see. She also really likes the taste of coffee, so she goes overboard when she does have it. The result is what you see before you: a hyperactive Bludger pretending to be a girl."

Jenna giggled and threw herself into his arms. "You're so nice, Timmy," she said, making cute faces at him.

Tim rolled his eyes. "Don't call me Timmy," he sighed.

Blaise arrived next, then Crabbe, Millie, and Goyle. The now second year Slytherins were split into two compartments, and they wandered from one to the other freely. As the train whistle blew, Harry felt excitement clench his heart. He was finally going back to Hogwarts!

His friends had grown taller over the summer. Draco was now equal to Harry's height. Tim had always stood an inch or so above them both. Crabbe and Goyle were as big as ever, standing half a head over Tim. Millie had grown right along with the boys, standing just below Harry.

Blaise hadn't gotten much taller, nor had Pansy, but she was sporting a new hairstyle that made her seem taller. Pansy's braids were twined together and tucked up at the back of her head because of the summer heat. Jenna was bouncing around so much that Harry couldn't tell how tall she was.

There was a bit to catch up on, as they hadn't seen each other in a week and a half. They made small talk and played card games until the old witch with the sweets cart came along.

"Anything off the cart, dears?" she asked kindly.

"I'll take a copy of the Prophet," Tim said, handing the witch a few Knuts. He sat back and opened it up. The other Slytherins liberally raided the cart for Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, and Sugar Quills.

"Don't forget the Chocolate Frogs," Harry said, taking a stack for himself. Hopefully there would be some new cards he could find.

"Wow, Draco, your dad's really got a vendetta against Weasley's father, doesn't he?" Tim said, his head buried in the newspaper.

"Huh?" Draco asked, confused. They'd been talking about Quidditch.

"Talking about disbanding the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office?" Tim looked up and saw a bunch of blank faces. He rolled his eyes. "Oh honestly, don't any of you read?" He folded back the paper and thrust it out at them.

"Your father and Millie's father, along with several other people in the government, have proposed massive changes to the Ministry's budget. Mister Malfoy wants to downsize the government, eliminate waste, and use the savings to pay for his new program."

"What new program?" Millie asked.

Tim looked up to the sky and shook his head. "The program under the proposed new law that would remove Mudblood children from the Muggle world and bring them into ours after they are born."

"What?" Draco asked, reaching for the paper.

"Do you mean to tell me that neither of you knows about the Harry Potter Magical Child Protection Act?" Tim questioned.

"The what?" Harry demanded, thunderstruck.

"It's a proposed law that would make it illegal for any magical child to live with Muggles. Draco's father has been talking it up all week. He was asked how he planned to pay for it, and this," Tim tapped the paper, "is his answer."

"Any magical child?" Harry asked intently.

"Any," Tim confirmed. "The Act would sanction the removal of all magical children and authorize Memory Charms to remove all trace of the child's existence in the Muggle world."

"'No magical child should have to grow up around those who hate and fear magic', Lucius Malfoy said yesterday," Draco read. "'There is a fundamental wrongness involved in leaving these innocent children to be neglected, starved, punished, confined, and otherwise actively abused because parents do not understand that their children are different.'"

"Blimey," Harry breathed. That hit very close to what he himself had gone through while growing up in the Dursley home.

"But why name the law after Harry?" Pansy asked confusedly.

"Because of the interview," Millie answered. "There's no other way. Mister Malfoy wouldn't reveal the sorts of things that Harry went through unless Harry had already done it himself. Right, Harry?"

"It must be," Harry said, feeling slightly dazed. They were naming laws after him now? He felt a little weird about that. Okay, a lot weird. But if helped to keep any child from growing up with Muggles as awful as the Dursleys, Harry supposed he could get over it.

"If they're going to eliminate the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office, that means Weasley's dad is going to be out of a job," Tim told them. "What a delight. Perhaps they won't be able to continue at Hogwarts."

"Let's go see how he's handling the news, shall we?" Draco said, handing the paper back to Tim and getting to his feet.

"I'm game," Harry agreed.

"Sounds like fun," Jenna said, bounding to her feet.

Pansy grabbed a handful of the girl's shirt. "Oh no, missy, you're staying here where we can keep an eye on you. The last thing we need is for you to bounce up to Weasley and tell him it's good to see him."

"If she wants to go, let her go, Pansy," Tim said scathingly.

"Don't tell me what to do, Nott," she retorted.

"So you can tell Jenna that she can't go, but I can't tell you what not to do?"

"Exactly."

Draco and Harry ducked out of the compartment as Tim threw a cauldron cake at Pansy. They could hear the ensuing chaos through the closed door.

"Oi, Draco!" They turned to see Terry Boot walking towards them.

"Hullo, Terry," Draco replied. "How was your summer?"

"Fairly boring," Terry confided to them. "Hallo, Harry."

"Hello."

"Seen the paper this morning?" Terry asked, holding up a copy.

Draco smirked. "We were just off to find Weasley and tell him all about it. Any idea where he can be found?"

Terry nodded. "He's about two cars down or so. Mind if I tag along?"

"Not at all," Draco said. "Should be a bit of fun."

"Capital," Terry said cheerfully. "This way then."

Terry led them into another car, down the corridor, and into another car. About a third of the way down he stopped and peered through the keyhole. "Yes, this is the one."

Draco knocked importantly on the compartment door and opened it without waiting for a response. "Good morning, Weasley," he said brightly.

"Malfoy," Weasley said with venom. "What are you doing here?"

"Paying a visit," Draco said pompously. "Checking after your health. That sort of thing."

"I'm fine, now bugger off."

"Your manners are really abysmal, Weasley," Draco chided him. "I was just trying to be polite. I wonder what's to become of you now that your father's lost his job."

"What are you babbling about, Malfoy?" Weasley asked.

"You mean you didn't know? Well, I guess your father must not want to worry you all. I suppose I ought to tell you, then. With the new budget that's been proposed, your father's office is going to be eliminated. I don't know where they'll move him to, but my guess is the Centaur Liaison Office."

"You're lying!" Weasley exclaimed.

Draco smiled. "I have no need to lie, Weasley, not when the truth is so much more effective."

Terry held out his copy of the newspaper. Weasley took it, nodding his thanks at Terry. He read through the story, seeming to take forever about it.

Weasley's sister, Ginny, Harry dimly remembered, was curled up in a seat with a book. She had a quill out and was scribbling furiously.

"What's this then?" Draco asked, snatching the book out of her hand. "The diary of T.M. Riddle." He flipped the pages. "Evidently he's a chap without much to say. These pages are mostly empty."

"Give it back!" Ginny yelled at them.

"Second-hand diary, and it's probably the newest thing she owns, Harry."

"Give it back to her, Malfoy!" Weasley ordered him, looking up from the newspaper.

Draco held it above her head. "Does the ickle firstie want her diary back?" he taunted her.

Ginny kicked him in the shin. Draco yelped and dropped the diary. She caught it neatly and resumed her seat, sitting on the book and glaring at the Slytherins.

"Leave my sister alone, Malfoy!"

"Shut it, Weasley," Draco drawled. "Haven't you finished reading that article yet?"

Weasley flushed. "I finished reading it," he said hotly.

"Good. So what will Arthur be doing with his early retirement?" Draco asked, checking his nails for dirt.

"Get out of here, Malfoy!" Weasley shouted. His hands were clenched into fists.

"Your shouting is giving me a headache," Draco said, putting one hand to his temple. "I'm going to leave now." He stepped back into the corridor. Harry and Terry went with him.

"Oh, by the way, Weasley, if your mother is ever looking for a job, which she may be now that your father is soon to be out of work, tell her we'd be happy to hire her up at the manor. I had some of that pot roast she sent to Harry a few weeks ago, and she really is an excellent cook."

Harry slammed the door in Weasley's face as he lunged for Draco's throat. They could hear his little sister struggling to keep the git from coming out after them all. Draco laughed loudly and sauntered back up the train towards their friends.

to be continued...


Author notes: One of my beta readers is finding her time taken up by other projects, so I'm now taking applications for serious betas. References and a sample of written work would be helpful, and a willingness to argue with me is essential.
All chapters are posted on Schnoogle. All chapters and some juicy extras are posted on Dethryl's Citadel. Don't forget to join my Yahoo group for unmoderated discussion. Anyone interested in doing art should email me directly. See you next time!