Harry Potter and the Year that Changed Everything

Harry Potter and the Year that Changed Everything (12)

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Chapter Twelve: What's In A Name?

If the group had ever needed a Hogsmeade weekend, it was now. Even Hermione, who had been studying flat out for weeks, had been counting the hours since their last class on Friday had ended. The Ministry and the Order were both scouring the whole of England now and Hogsmeade was one of the areas of highest concentration. Assured that it would be as safe as anywhere else at the present time, co-heads McGonagall and Dumbledore had gone ahead and allowed the Hogsmeade weekends to continue, but only for those in their sixth and seventh year. When the doors of the castle were opened for the students to leave, Mr. Filch was nearly trampled in the haste to escape the confines of the school's walls. For a few hours at least, all of the students were eager to escape the rigors of studying for N.E.W.T.'s, or the end of year exams the sixth years had awaiting them.

With Harry and Hermione being Head Boy and Girl, they were required to oversee the students arrival into Hogsmeade, as well as to make sure that they were all accounted for when they left. In the time between they were both allowed to pursue their own interests, and both of them fully intended to.

Ginny and Neville were the first to splinter off from the group once they reached the village. Ginny had originally teased her boyfriend about wanting to go to the rather infamous Madam Puddifoot's Tea Room, but finally let him off the hook when she said that she would much rather go with him to Fred and George's shop and then have lunch at the Three Broomsticks. Looking greatly relieved, Neville set off with her hand in hand.

Once satisfied that all of the students that had left the castle had made it into Hogsmeade, Ron threw his arm around Hermione's shoulder and gave her a squeeze.

"Well, looks like everyone is present and accounted for. What do you say we head over to the Hogshead and get a few pints of scrumpy? Fred and George swear by it."

Hermione gave him a knowing look. She had gotten to be quite the expert with those over the years.

"I'm sure they do. Most people swear because of it. That stuff is lethal. Are you looking to put some hair on that barren field you call a chest, or is it that you've heard that they rent rooms by the hour?"

Ron blushed slightly but continued to look unabashed.

"Hey, you said it, I didn't. Well, I'm game if you are, babe."

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Sure, let's go. Maybe we can get a discount if we pay by the minute. Wait a second; is that Draco over there? I wonder why Crabbe and Goyle aren't with him?"

The rest of them all looked to where Hermione was pointing. Sure enough, a white-blonde head of hair was making its way further down the main road. Stopping in front of Madam Puddifoot's, Draco took a quick look around before entering into the shop. The very sight of this caused all four of them to look on in shock. Even Luna seemed to doubt her senses. Hermione shook her head as if to clear it.

"Who would have thought that Draco would be the type to go in for a romantic interlude? Pansy must really have him around her little finger to make him go there. I would think all those hearts would cause him to go all hivey. Oh well, to each their own. Come on, Ron. I'll give you five minutes head start in Honeyduke's so you can get all that sugary nonsense you want before I come in and drag you out. After that we can hit Fred and George's shop, and then we'll get a butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks. That way, I can be assured that the glasses have been cleaned during the reign of the current monarch, and you can ogle Madame Rosemerta's cleavage."

Ron gave out a small cheer and placed his hand firmly in Hermione's. As they walked on, Hermione laughed at something he had said and placed her head on his shoulder. Luna then turned to see Harry still staring at the spot Draco was last seen before he entered the shop. She moved closer to him and placed her own tiny hand in his.

"Come on, Harry. Let's walk around a bit and see where out feet take us this time."

Harry still felt uneasy about Draco, despite the warmth and security he felt at holding Luna's hand.

"Something's not right, I can feel it."

Luna smiled at him and turned his head to look at her.

"I know. I can feel it, too. But, I also know that we can't live our lives in fear. Come on, let's go see if there are any secluded spots where people might avoid detection."

Harry nodded. This seemed like a good idea.

"Right, we can check and see if there's something going on that we should all know about."

A devilish grin appeared on Luna's face. It was the same one she'd first shown him that unforgettable night in the kitchens.

"Actually, I was hoping that we could get up to something that nobody would know about."

Harry nodded. This seemed like an even better idea.

**********

Draco found the place to be revolting. The tiny tables were all filled with idiot couples snogging in abandon while there was an escaped Death Eater on the loose. A year ago this thought would have made him smile, but not now. He knew that his father had disappointed the Dark Lord once and that meant that there would be no second time. Whatever his father was doing, he would either succeed or die. That meant that there was no person or place safe from his father. And, he also knew full well, that included him.

Draco had received an owl from his mother that very morning asking him to meet her at the old entrance gate to the village. With it leading to nothing more than hills and rocky outcroppings, she had said it would be a place where she would avoid detection. That part didn't bother him. What did bother him was why his mother would need to see him so badly, and why she would ask him to come alone. Crabbe and Goyle were more of a hindrance than help most of the time, but they did provide an amount of protection. However, if the objective was to avoid detection, keeping them away was probably a sound decision.

Slipping out the back door of the tiny shop, Draco was not surprised to see a few people he recognized from his trips to the Ministry with his father. Being accustomed to hiding in the shadows from years of experience at school, he managed to skirt his way around the wandering guards as he kept to the bushes in order to make it outside the village proper. A short walk along the now rarely used path brought him to the old entrance to the town. A few newspapers dating back to over two years ago lay on the ground next to the gate, but apart from that there was no sign of life anywhere. This bothered Draco. What information did his mother have that was so important to tell him? Had she heard from father? Was she going to turn evidence on him? The ministry had offered protection for the both of them in the past, had this latest incident drove her to finally seek their help? He knew that his father would have no qualms about killing them both if they became obstacles to him and the Dark Lord. Just as he was about to take cover behind a large juniper bush so that he could continue waiting for his mother, Draco's world suddenly turned black. Occupied as he was with worrying over the situation he was in, he had never heard the stunning hex that came his way.

When he awoke a short time later, he thought for a moment that he had somehow lost his sight. Things were just as black when his eyes were open as they were when they had been closed. As his vision adjusted to the low lighting, he realized he had not been blinded after all. He was instead sprawled out on the cold stone floor of what appeared to be a cave. More of the old newspapers were lying around along with what appeared to be a small smokeless fire that was situated against a far wall of rock. The weak light it provided made it possible to discern a human shape close by it. The once gleaming white-blonde hair may not have been nearly as brilliant as usual, nor did he have on his normal superior sneer, but Draco was still immediately aware of who had caused him to be there.

"Father! How did you... where are we?"

Lucius Malfoy looked at his only son with a look that one might adopt if they were looking at an item in a shop window. It was a look of appraisal, but with no trace of warmth or kindness.

"I came across this cave while trying to find a place near enough to the school to get at you. It was then a simple matter to enter my own home and use our crested stationary to make you believe it was your mother that wished to see you. I knew full well that she would feel compelled to seek protection from the Ministry when she heard that I was back in the country. Your mother is a true Slytherin, Draco. When she is threatened, she would turn on anyone to save herself. Well, I've managed to convince her of the folly of such actions."

Draco quickly got his feet.

"What did you do to her? I swear, if you've hurt her..."

The remainder of his threat was left unsaid. Lucius had silenced him in one instant and secured him to the hard rock wall behind him in another. As he approached him, Draco could see that his father's eyes were wild looking and, despite the cold dampness of the surroundings, his brow was drenched in sweat.

"You'll do what, boy? How dare you raise your voice to me? You mother has served her purpose to me by providing a Malfoy heir to continue out exalted line. She survives now only as an amusement to me. You, however, can serve a purpose to me still. You can, and you will."

Lucius rolled up his sleeve and showed Draco the Dark Mark located there. His son had seen it many times before, but this time was unlike any other. Draco felt no envy or admiration for his father now. Instead, all he felt towards him was fear and repulsion.

"This is the mark of my loyalty, Draco. This is the power that I serve. I have pledged my life to it, along with the lives of those that I control. I control you, Draco. I am your father, and you will do my bidding. Soon, the Dark Lord will rule the entire magical world and will rid us of the inferior Muggles and half-blood traitors. The Dark Lord will greatly reward his followers and he will smite his enemies. I have failed him in the past, and so I must do all that is in my power to make amends for that failure. You can make that happen for me. I will be returned to my rightful place by his side, while you will gain his grace and favor as well. What I ask of you is simply to do what should have been done sixteen years ago, had luck not been on his side. You, Draco, must bring an end to the life of Harry Potter."

Draco's eyes widened as the air left his body. How own father wanted him to kill? He admitted that he hated Harry, but the idea of actually killing him seemed more extreme then he could imagine. How could someone ask their own child to kill for them? And yet, in truth, Draco already knew the answer. His father was lost to him. He was a servant to the Dark Lord, and that affiliation had been first and foremost since before he had even been born. Lucius continued to look at him without any hint of humanity or familial compassion whatsoever.

"The Dark Lord sent me back here to convey this task to you, Draco. If you fail to complete it, one of two things will happen. Either I will kill you, or he will kill me. I am a true Slytherin as well, boy. I will not lay down my own life to protect yours, I promise you. My absolute loyalty is to the Dark Lord, Draco. Your life would be forfeit should you fail. I will now end the spells that are holding you immobile and dumb so that you may give me your answer. What shall it be, Draco? Potter's life, or your own?"

Draco slid down the wall slightly as his invisible restraints gave way. Seeing the manic gleam in his father's steel grey eyes he knew he had no choice, may god have mercy on his soul.

"I will do as you ask, father. I will kill Harry Potter and restore the honor of the exalted and ancient house of Malfoy."

Lucius smiled a humorless smile and grasped the boy by the shoulder.

"You have chosen wisely, son. Now, let us discuss the best way to achieve this goal. It would be best to get Harry on his own, but if the blood traitor and the Mudblood slut get in the way, their death will merely be the start of a greater slaughter to come. All those that stand in the Dark Lord's way will beg for an end to their suffering. Let Potter be the first to do so. Come, we have little time before you must return to the castle."

**********

Harry had been waiting for something like this to happen ever since he'd found out about Lucius being back in the country. What he had not expected was that Professor Snape would need his help in whatever they were planning. After the spectacle Ron and Hermione had made in front of him in the great hall he wasn't overly surprised that he wanted to meet with him privately, but he did wish someone else could have gone along with him. After the debacle of his Occlumency lessons with him back in fifth year, Harry positively hated the idea of being alone with the greasy haired git.

Knowing that Snape was a stickler for punctuality, Harry arrived at the door to Snape's dungeon classroom with a few minutes to spare. Moving to knock on the door, he noticed that it was slightly ajar. Figuring that Snape had left it that way since he knew Harry was coming, he pushed the door open and called out to alert the man to his presence. Unfortunately, his presence was already known. With the violent downing of a mace upon his cranium, Harry descended quickly into a world of darkness of his own.

-Meanwhile-

"Professor Dumbledore."

"Ah, Severus, what can I do for you?"

"I was about to ask you the same question. You sent me the message saying that I was to come see you immediately."

Both professors now looked confused.

"I sent you no such message, Severus. Are you certain it was from me?"

Snape frowned.

"I found the letter in my office. Only a fellow member of staff or a prefect for my own house could have gained entrance without first getting my express permission. How could..."

Snape let his own question trail off. Dumbledore had also arrived at the same conclusion.

"Draco! Quick, we must get to the dungeon's immediately!"

The Headmaster and Snape ran off to the grand staircase. There were of course many secret passages and hidden doorways one could use to navigate the school, but Snape himself had made sure that none of them entered into his own domain for fear that someone might steal potion ingredients. This fact meant that it would take more than a few minutes to get to their destination. Both men hoped, for different reasons, that they would be able to make it there in time to prevent whatever had been planned.

Draco was caught off guard by how fast Harry was coming to after being crowned by the mace that he had taken from one of the suits of armor on the third floor. He had actually hoped it would end up killing him outright, thus saving himself the problem of employing magical means to do it. Magic could be traced, his father had told him that on several occasions. Regardless of that, he had a job to do. He would have to use the killing curse instead. It was an unforgivable, but all of that didn't matter anymore. Snape would be back from the wild goose chase he had sent him on soon enough, most likely with Dumbledore along with him. Draco would have to kill Potter and then flee the castle. He would run towards Hogsmeade and meet up with father back at the cave. He would then be a fugitive of justice and never be able to show his face in public again. At least not until the Dark Lord had prevailed. Did he even think that was possible anymore? No, those kinds of thoughts would get him killed. He had to be strong and he had to be unfeeling. In short, he had to be a true Malfoy.

He saw Harry pushing himself off the floor. He could hear him groaning as he placed one hand on the back of his head where the mace had hit him. Draco could have sworn that there had been an open and bleeding wound there when he had fallen, but now it seemed to merely be a raised lump. Potter's wand was a few feet away from his other hand and Draco knew that it was not or never. Closing his eyes and gripping his wand as tight as he could, he prepared himself to take the life of the boy whom he had hated now for seven long years.

Before Draco could mouth the words of the killing curse, visions began to flash in his mind's eye. He saw himself as a murderer. He saw himself living the same life as his father did. He saw himself on the run, never safe and never secure. He saw himself as a puppet of the Dark Lord, his very life subject to the evil demon's whims. He saw his mother's battered body and watched as he and his father uncaringly turned their backs on her. He saw the rest of his life spent alone, just as he was now. He didn't want to see his life like that. He was a pure blood; he should have felt superior to the half-blood Potter. Instead, he had always felt inferior to him. Harry had always inspired loyalty from others, even without resorting to fear and intimidation. Others loved him without regard to his money or fame, even though he had an endless supply of both by now. He had many reasons to hate him, and he did so. But, even though he did hate him, could he live with killing him? When Harry finally looked up into his eyes, he knew the answer.

"Stand up, Potter."

Harry slowly reached fort his wand as he did as he was told. The lump on his head was now gone, but he still had one hell of a headache.

"What happened? Something knocked me out when I came through the door. Did you see what it was?"

Draco almost smiled at this. Almost.

"You got a good hard clout from that mace over there. If I do say so myself, I could have made a fair Beater."

Harry realized what Draco was saying right away. Pointing his own wand at him, he took a step towards the door.

"You did it? I should have known. What have you done with Snape? Is your dad here as well? I'll get Dobby to put him on his ass again. You can't win, Draco. Dumbledore is here, along with the other teachers and the DA. The two of you can't hold up against all of us. If you give up now..."

Draco cut him off.

"Don't you ever get tired of hearing yourself talk, Potter? Always going on about being the hero and fighting to your last breath. No wonder you weren't sorted into Slytherin. You won't find any of us running around risking our lives all the time."

Draco's demeanor confused Harry, but he still had his wand pointed at him just in case.

"I didn't want to be in Slytherin, Malfoy. I would have had to be with people like you and your gang of thugs. Why did you bring me down here then? You've already tried to kill me once just now, why didn't you try and finish the job when you had the chance?"

Draco's face turned troubled. Harry could have sworn he saw his eyes welling up as he turned away from him.

"You wouldn't understand even if I told you, Potter. Go ahead and get out of here. If you pass Professor Snape and Dumbledore in the hallway, let them know I'm still in here. I'll be waiting for them."

Harry didn't know what he should do. He wanted to get away from Draco, but his actions weren't consistent to how he knew him to be. Was it some sort of trick? Would Draco hex him as soon as his back was turned? If so, why hadn't he done it while he was unconscious? Harry knew that he would have survived whatever he had thrown at him, but Draco wouldn't have. Had he chickened out? Harry knew that Draco wasn't the bravest of souls, but killing him while he was defenseless would have been something he could easily imagine from him. Curiosity getting the better of him, as it often did, Harry walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder to regain his attention. Draco immediately shrugged it off as if he had placed a red-hot branding iron there instead.

"Don't touch me! Just... Don't touch me. Why are you still here? I know you're thick, but my god. I just tried to kill you! Run away to your precious Gryffindor tower, or maybe you'd prefer to have a quick grope with your precious Loony. Leave me alone to deal with what's coming. You aren't a part of this any longer, Potter."

Harry grew angry at Draco's comment about Luna, but he was more struck with the fact that he was planning to stay and take the consequences of his actions. This didn't sound like Draco at all to him. Knowing that something had to be wrong, Harry walked over to him again.

"Draco, what' going on here? You lure me down here to kill me, and now you want me to go away and leave you to get into trouble, maybe even expelled? You'll excuse me if I don't see how this adds up here. What are you really up to?"

Draco turned around and locked his now frantic looking eyes onto Harry's. Without really intending to, Harry slipped into his obviously troubled mind.

The images he saw there were nothing short of terrifying. Draco stood over the dead and mangled bodies of countless people. Draco was laying prostate at the feet of Voldemort. Draco was shivering in a familiar looking cave while his father berated him. Harry quickly pulled out and saw Draco stagger back.

"What the hell did you do to me, Potter? I had to see those horrible things once; I didn't ever want to see them again. How dare you invade my mind like that?"

Harry merely stared at him. He could remember back in fifth year when Snape had invaded his own mind and how it felt. He never wanted to experience that horrible feeling again.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that, I swear. Snape did that to me two years ago. I wanted to kill him for it. Draco, these visions, is that why you didn't kill me? Are you having second thoughts about your future? It's not too late, you know. The Order can protect you. I can protect you."

Draco returned his gaze to him. Why would Harry care anything about him? They had hated each other since the day they met.

"Protect me? Are you kidding? I've signed my death warrant, Potter! My father is going to kill me! Just go, will you? I'm no concern of yours!"

Harry grabbed Draco's arm to prevent him from turning away from him again.

"That's where you're wrong, Draco. You are a concern of mine. Every student here at Hogwarts is a concern of mine. I don't care if you want my help or not, you've got it. So, you can either accept my help and protection, or you can wait until your dear old dad comes to get you. Slytherins are supposed to be all about self-preservation, aren't they? I'm giving you a second chance here, I suggest you take it."

Draco stared at Harry with what remained of his defiance. Could he actually accept help from him? He didn't really have a choice. He knew if he accepted that nothing would be the same ever again, but at least he would still have a life to live.

"All right, Potter. I'll accept your help. But, you are not my friend, and I don't answer to you, understand? I'll never be accepted by your friends, and you'll never be accepted by mine."

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Harry couldn't help but smile at this.

"My friends are a lot more accepting than yours are, Draco. I admit that I don't see you and Ron trading chocolate frog cards anytime soon, but he'll adapt, just like you will have to. We may not all be purebloods, but we do look after our own. If you're with us, then you're one of our own. However, you have to do the same in return. You can't harass Hermione or Luna. You can't instigate anything between yourself and Ron or Ginny. And you can't torment Neville or anyone else for that matter. If you do get up to any of your old tricks, you'll have to deal with me. And believe me, you don't want that. Are we agreed?"

Draco considered this for a moment and realized once again that he had no real choice in the matter if he wanted to survive.

"Agreed. I won't start anything, but you had better believe that I will defend myself if provoked."

Harry nodded. He knew that this was as much as he was likely to get out of Draco right now. All things considered, it was a lot more than he had ever imagined he would get from him in the first place. A sudden thought entered into his head and made him ask a question that had been on his mind for a few days now.

"Draco, the other day when Krum was here the two of you ran out of the grand hall and were looking very furtive. What was that all about?"

Draco looked at Harry with real fear in his eyes. He could tell that Draco had thought that they had avoided detection.

"You saw us? How?"

Harry was confused again. What could the two of them have been doing that was so secretive? Was Krum somehow involved with Voldemort as well?

"Draco, what is it? Is Krum a Death Eater? Did he come here to threaten you? We can alert the Irish Ministry to bring him in. Maybe he could tell us something useful. Is he in contact with your father?"

Draco shook his head and ran his hands through his white-blonde hair. He knew Harry never let anything go, so he would have to tell him.

"No, Viktor isn't a Death Eater, and he would never threaten me. I'm going to tell you something, and you have to promise me you won't tell another soul. If this got out, well, it would be yet another shame that I have brought upon the house of Malfoy. "

Harry didn't know what to say. He couldn't help but wonder if what he was planning on telling him was the same as what the girls had already hinted at knowing about. Discarding this thought, he nodded in agreement.

"I promise. Like I said, we look after our own. Your secret is safe with me or any of the..."

Draco cut him off again.

"No! I don't want any of the others to know. It's bad enough that the Mudblood Granger knows. I don't want Weasley to know, too."

Harry was stunned, Not about Draco calling Hermione a Mudblood, that was a common occurrence, but how in the world did Hermione find out, and how did Draco know about it? He would have to talk to his dear sister later. For now, he merely nodded for Draco to continue.

"It started back in fourth year. Well, for me it did. Viktor came and sat with us at the Slytherin table, if you remember. I knew who he was, of course. We got to talking about things, you know? He asked me about you, and I assumed that he wanted to get information on you for the tournament. I told him that if he wanted a real insider account on you that he should try and take up with Granger. I'd seen her looking at him and knew that he would be able to win her over, especially with you and Weasley oblivious to the fact that she was hoping one of you would have the balls to ask her out. I misunderstood what he really wanted, but it seems to have worked out anyway.

When Viktor asked her to the Yule Ball, I was shocked. He was a pureblood from one of the oldest families in all of the Euro/Russian countries. I thought that perhaps he had done it to get to you, or merely so that he could bed her, but that was before I overheard the two of them talking when they thought they were alone. After that, I was able to be myself for the first time in my entire life.

I told Viktor not to tell Granger, but he said he didn't want to keep such a thing from her. He told me he had sworn her to secrecy and I knew that, despite my own personal feelings towards her, that she would keep her word. You can always rely on a Gryffindor to keep a promise. You're all so bloody predictable.

Viktor being a professional Quidditch player meant that his image would be ruined if the public ever found out. He gets love letters from females all over the world wanting his picture and offering proposals of marriage. The press had had him engaged to singers, actors, and even members of Muggle royalty. At one time they even said that Fergie had left Andrew for him. Viktor never denied anything, stating that he wanted to keep his private life just that, private. He wanted so much for the fans to love him and for them to be happy. I never said a word, either. My family would never accept it, nor would anyone in my house. I'm the last Male in the exalted house of Malfoy, Potter. Do you think my father would allow our great family name to come to an end because his only begotten son, the son of the last male Malfoy to have survived the last war, is gay? I had to pretend to be 'normal'. I had to pretend that I had feelings for Pansy in order to make my family happy. I'm expected to marry her and produce a fine brood of children to pass on the family name. Pansy expects this to happen once we have left Hogwarts. Viktor and I talked about that we could do and decided that he would come here to graduation. He could say he's here to see Granger, and then we could slip off together. My father coming back threatened that, but it is still what I want.

So, what about it, Potter? Some little joke you want to make about me being a poofter? Worried now about being in the changing rooms with me? Viktor might have liked what he saw with you for some reason, but I prefer my men to at least be taller than me and do something with their hair."

Harry was gobsmacked. Draco Malfoy was gay? Viktor Krum was gay? But what about that time when the burly Bulgarian had pulled him aside to ask him about his relationship with Hermione?

"Draco, this doesn't make sense. Viktor pulled me aside after they showed us the maze that night and asked me about the relationship between Hermione and myself. Wasn't that because of him being jealous of me?"

Draco laughed.

"You breeders are so clueless sometimes. Viktor was asking if you and Granger were an item because he fancied you, genius. He would have asked you out then and there if Crouch hadn't stumbled upon you. Don't worry; Granger set him straight, so to speak. She was surprised about me being gay as well, but she never let on. I have to give her that, she never used it against me.

Harry nodded. That part didn't surprise him in the least.

"Hermione is a good person, and a very accepting one. Unlike you, she would never hold anything against someone for being who they are. None of us do. Dean's black, so what? Ron and Ginny used to be poor, so that? You and Viktor are gay, but that doesn't affect who you both are as people. I won't be naïve enough to say that others won't hold it against you, but I can say that I won't, and neither will the rest of the group. I won't tell them about this, but you shouldn't be afraid to. We're a family, Draco, and that's all that matters."

Just as Harry concluded his sentence, the door to the classroom burst open as Snape and Dumbledore rushed into the room with their wands drawn. The Headmaster immediately turned his attention to Draco while Snape, surprisingly, moved to shield Harry.

"Draco! What is the meaning of this? Did you leave Professor Snape a message that was supposedly from me telling him that I wanted to see him?"

Draco bowed his head. An angry Dumbledore was enough to make anyone cower in fear.

"Yes, sir."

"Did you do this with the intent to lure Harry into a trap of some kind?"

Draco was about to answer in the affirmative again when Harry spoke first.

"No, sir."

All three of the others in the room stared at Harry in amazement. Dumbledore looked between the two boys in complete confusion.

"No, Harry? What do you mean? Draco didn't lure you down here with false pretenses?"

Harry shook his head.

"Well, he did do that, yes. But, he didn't intend to harm me. Actually, it was quite the opposite. He wanted to tell me that he had information on the whereabouts of his father. Draco has decided that he would now like to accept the protection offered to him and his mother by the Order and the Ministry. He wanted to talk to me alone first to bury the hatchet between us. I think that now he would be willing to talk to you, Professor. Maybe with Professor Snape there with you?"

Harry looked at Draco and nodded encouragingly. Draco had been stunned at first when Harry had stood up for him but he managed to recover quickly.

"Yes, I would like to do that. My father contacted me recently and assigned me a task to do for the Dark Lord. If I failed, and I did, my life would be forfeit, as would my mother's I believe. Please, you have to protect her. She's done nothing wrong in any of this except for loving my father. I'll help you in anyway I can."

Both Dumbledore and Snape stared at Draco in a mixture of amazement and relief. They had both thought it likely that Draco would follow in his father's footsteps and were encouraged that, perhaps, not all was lost. The Headmaster stepped forward to placed a comforting hand on Draco's shoulder; much in the same way Harry had minutes before. Without another word, the two of them left the classroom on their way back up to the Headmaster's office. Harry was about to leave himself when Snape stopped him.

"Mr. Potter, a moment please. You will pardon me if I find these events rather... odd."

Harry looked at Snape directly in his coal black eyes.

"These are odd times, Professor. Draco decided he didn't want the life that he was heading towards. I promised to help him, and he accepted. We have a common enemy now, and that makes us allies. We may not like one another, but we're on the same side. You should know all about that, sir."

Harry's barb was not lost on the potions master. Instead of a retort of the subtraction of points that he had expected, the sallow faced man merely sneered at him.

"It is a good thing that your potion's knife is sharper than your wit, Potter. Otherwise you never be able to cut anything stronger than a wine gum. I suggest you return to your tower now. If the Headmaster or I need your presence we will send for you. Good day, Potter."

Snape turned to leave but stopped and turned back around in the doorway.

"And one more thing. Please return that dented mace to its rightful place for Mr. Malfoy, will you? I'm sure Mr. Filch will notice that it is missing before long."

Snape then left in a rustle of black robes. Harry hadn't noticed the dent there before, but there certainly was one. Draco must have really cracked him a good one. Did that mean Snape knew about how it happened? Or did he just notice that it was lying there very much out of place? How did he know it had been Malfoy that had brought it there? It was possible that he had used his own legillimency powers on Draco, but how would he then explain how Harry was still alive? Did he know about Harry's advanced magical powers? He felt as if a hive of bees were loose in his head with all of the thoughts he was trying to process. One thing he did know, there would be no lack of things to talk about when he got back to his common room.

**********

Remus Lupin was sitting in the library at Hogwarts doing some research for the Order. Many of the students remembered him from his time there four years ago as a teacher and came over to say hello. Normally they would have begged him to come back and teach Defense again, but with Dumbledore himself teaching it this year they were not nearly as bad off as they normally were. Still, most of the students had liked Remus very much and wished that he would come back in some capacity. Just as Remus was fathering up his notes to leave, Harry walked in and came over to him.

"Prof... I mean, Remus! What are you doing here? Is something wrong?"

Remus smiled and shook his charge's hand.

"Good to see you, Harry. No, nothing is wrong. I'm just here to do some research and talk to Dumbledore. I was actually about to look for you. I wanted to talk to you about what's happened these last few days. We've got Narcissa in a safe house under constant security. And from what I've heard you're the reason she and her son came over to our side in the first place. Tonks has been watching out for him while's he's still here in school. In the summer he'll join his mother in the safe house and we'll put even more Order members on the security team."

Harry looked surprised.

"Tonks is looking after him? I've seen him around, but I've never seen Tonks with him."

Remus smiled.

"That's the point, Harry."

Harry laughed. He would now be on the look out for a Slytherin with poor coordination.

"Fair enough. Yeah, Draco really surprised me. I had always hoped that he could be brought over to your side somehow. He's always been a cocky git, but the fact remains that he is intelligent and inspires loyalty in others. We can use him, and I know that he can use us."

Remus chuckled at the determined look on Harry's face.

"I tell you, Harry, sometimes I think that you and your father have traded places. Your acceptance of Draco reminds me of your father's acceptance of me. Sure, the other Marauders went along with it, but he was the one who approached me in the first place. He became a great friend to me, Harry. He was a great friend who helped me turn away from a path that could have led me to a very dark place. I can only hope that Draco makes the same decision that I did. Your father made the biggest difference in my life, Harry. Just as your mother made the biggest difference in his. You know, Luna reminds me of Lily at times. Hermione does, too. For a while there I thought you mind end up with her, you know. I think Luna was a good choice, though. I can tell she thinks the world of you, and you don't need heightened senses to know you feel the same for her."

Harry blushed at the idea that he and Luna were so obviously in love with one another. Comparing Hermione to his mother as well though reminded him that Remus was not aware that there was a very good reason for that. He decided to focus the conversation instead on Luna.

"Luna is a great person. I really like her."

Remus laughed.

"Substitute the word 'person' for 'chick', and you've got the exact same thing that your father said to me about Lily. I could see through him then, and I can see through you now. I don't think I'm exaggerating by saying that you've fallen in love with our Miss Lovegood?"

Harry blushed an even deeper red now, causing Remus to laugh even more.

"You've got nothing to worry about, Harry. Luna is a very intelligent and strong young lady. I know that she comes off a bit... eccentric, but she's very loyal to you, and that says a lot about her strength of character. She's someone you can trust, Harry. Let her help you. Your mother and father were a formidable pair, son. You and Luna are as well. Don't forget that."

Harry simply nodded in reply. He knew that Remus was not yet aware of his new powers that made him formidable all on his own. And, with all of his allusions to his parents, it was getting harder and harder for Harry not to tell him that his parents, the man's best friends, were very much alive and still the formidable pair he had known them to be. When he was able to look at Remus again, he saw that his guardian was studying him very closely.

Although Harry was a master at Occlumency now, the heightened senses that Remus possessed was able to discern from his pulse and adrenal gland that there was something the boy wasn't telling him. He wondered if it was something as trivial as an advanced development in his relationship with Luna (wait, was that trivial? He made a mental note to have a talk with Harry I the near future about the bowtruckles and the fairies), or if it could be something of importance that he was trying to hold inside. Knowing Harry, he would not likely get much out of him right at the moment if he didn't want it known. When he was ready to talk, he would. Until then, he would have to trust that the boy knew that his guardian was there when he needed him. Before he could return to his questioning Harry about his encounter with Draco, they were joined at their table by another familiar face.

"Hermione, it's great to see you again. I was just congratulating Harry on his miraculous conversion of young Malfoy. Am I right to assume that you are helping out this worthy cause?"

Hermione smiled and nodded. She was very proud of her brother's achievement with their former archenemy.

"Yes, I'm trying to make Draco feel like he's as much one of us as anyone else is. Since his last meeting with his father he's felt like an outcast, like a failure. Harry and I have tried to get him more involved. Some of the Slytherins have distanced themselves from him, but he's adjusting. Harry has really got through to him. He owes a lot to Harry. For that matter, we all do."

Hermione smiled widely at Harry and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. After a moment spent watching the two of them being lost in their own little world, the sound of a barking-like cough brought them back into reality.

"Yes, Harry has done a great service to the entirety of the magical world and continues to do so. You two should be careful, though. Making goo-goo eyes at once another like you just were is a good way to get Luna and Ron unhappy with you. With what I've been told of Ron's reaction when Mr. Krum showed up, I could only imagine what he'd do if he caught the two of you holding hands. You two aren't up to anything... illicit, are you?"

Remus grinned. He had meant this as a tease, of course. He knew full well that Harry was besotted with the Lovegood girl, and that Hermione had finally given in and taken Ron on as both a boyfriend and a challenge. He had expected the two of them to laugh or give an embarrassed stuttering response and they leapt apart from one another. Instead, his heightened senses told him that both of their pulses had spiked, as had their adrenal glands. This confirmed his earlier assumption that something was going on, but it was obviously bigger than he had suspected. The idea of the two of them having a closer relationship than friends had caused a definite reaction with the both of them. Could they really be carrying on behind closed doors? He couldn't imagine either of them doing such a thing, but why else would they have such a reaction? Making yet another mental note, Remus decided to have a very serious talk with the boy on a number of subjects the next time he was back at Grimmauld Place.

Still looking very wrong footed, Hermione finally let go of Harry's hand and gave her own much more feminine cough.

"Yes, well, sorry to interrupt, but I just came in to get Harry so we could make plans for the next DA meeting. I wanted to run a few ideas past him."

Harry was only too happy to have an excuse to get away from the awkward situation he was in and nodded a little over enthusiastically. Remus noticed, but let it pass.

"Of course. I should be getting up to Dumbledore's office now anyway. Lucius may have eluded us last time, but we'll find him. Good luck with your DA meeting, you two. I'll see you again soon."

With a final handshake with Harry and a nod to Hermione, Remus left the library to attend an Order meeting with Dumbledore. A little voice in the back of his mind was telling him there was something important that Harry wasn't telling him, but he would have to put that aside... for now.

Back in the library, Harry and Hermione looked at one another. Both of them were thinking the same things. Did Remus know about them? If so, would he start asking questions? If he found out about the two of them, would he also find out about their parents being alive? Would he hold it against Tonks for not telling him the truth about her own parents? Remus knowing would not be such a bad thing, but the more people that did know meant the greater the chance that Voldemort might find out. Resolving wordlessly with one another that they would talk about it later, the two if them left the library to return to their common room. Hermione really did want to discuss their next DA meeting with Harry, and with what she had planned they would need all the planning time they could get.