The Truth

The Truth

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Harry couldn't help but remember the last time he had been in this particular fireplace. It was back in fifth year, and he was trying to find out where Sirius was. For as nervous as he was then, he was only marginally less so now. Still, Pansy was looking to him for support, and he would not let her down. If someone would have told him back then that he would be standing in that same fireplace with two years later with Pansy, especially doing it by choice, he would have told them that chance was a fine thing.

And yet, here he was. The two of them had opted to use floo powder to get to Pansy's house. Harry still had bad memories of the Knight Bus, and the Ministry was still keeping a close watch on Portkeys. It was hard to determine which of the two of them was more nervous. Pansy's brow was moist from perspiration and she was absently rubbing her slightly paunched stomach. Harry could also feel beads of sweat rolling down from his hairline. He wondered how he would react if the day came that he would have to tell the parents of the girl he ended up with that he had gotten her pregnant. Of course, that was assuming he did end up with someone. Even with Voldemort dead and gone, he couldn't help but feel any pursuit of his own happiness was out of the question. By the time they had both thrown down their handfuls of floo powder and yelled "Parkinson Manor," their minds were already miles away.

"Make yourself at home, Harry. I'll go and let mum and dad know we're here."

Harry sat down in a large black leather chair. If he were asked to describe the drawing room he was in using one word, he would say "formal." Everything looked as if it belonged in a museum. Black leather wing chairs, mahogany woods, and Italian marble were prominent features of the room. He recalled the desk of Ron's father, and realized that he was looking at it's polar opposite. On the large block of gleaming hard wood that was the desk, he saw nothing that could in any way be considered personal. There were no pictures of children, no notes to remind anyone to pick up a few things at the shops, or anything else that would in anyway convey a sense of the person who worked at it. Harry smiled at the thought of how much his uncle would appreciate the tremendous orderliness of it. The sound of a door opening behind him caused Harry to spin around in surprise.

"Who are you?" asked a young raven haired girl with rather pale skin and azure blue eyes. Her appearance caused Harry to stammer a bit before he was able to respond.

"Uh, I'm Harry, Harry Potter. I'm here with Pansy. You must be her younger sister. How are you?"

The girl looked him up and down. Harry got the distinct impression that she was determining if he was really who he said he was. After a few seconds, she obviously came to the conclusion that he really was Harry and gave him a half smile.

"Hi, Harry. We've been expecting you, actually. My name is Dahlia, but that's not important right now. Well, at least you were better looking than Draco was, a shame that you won't be around longer."

Harry's brows furrowed. What did she mean by that?

AVADA KEDAVRA!

Harry had no time to summon any kind of shield or reflective charm, not that any would have stopped the killing curse that had been thrown at him. Pansy's father had run into the room, followed by his wife and oldest daughter. When they had all entered the room, Pansy threw herself upon Harry, her heart seemingly lodged in her throat.

"Father, what have you done? You've killed him! You used the killing curse on another human being! Do you know what you've done?"

Pansy's father grabbed her by the arm and brought her up from the floor, throwing her onto the sofa like a rag doll. Pansy's mother ran to her side.

"Barnabas, be careful! She's pregnant for god's sake! Pansy, are you all right?"

Pansy was in a state of total shock. Harry was dead, and it had her father had done it. It took a while before she realized that her mother had mentioned her being pregnant.

"Wait, how did you know I was pregnant?"

Barnabas Parkinson stepped over the prone form of Harry and stood over his eldest daughter. Pansy had never seen her father like this before. She knew that he had done some things in the past he wasn't proud of, but she believed that he had put those things behind him. The person who glared down at her now was someone she had never known, a man that seemed to be more animal than man. When she spoke, his voice sounded unlike any she had ever heard before. The sound of it made her whole body cold.

"You no good slut! You worthless whore! Have you no shame? Have you no consideration for your own family? How dare you come back here, bringing him with you? You have brought this all on yourself, slag! Draco has rightfully washed his hands of you, and so have we. Now, get out, and never come back!"

Pansy's senses were overloading themselves. Everything was happening too fast, and she could feel her grasp on reality falter. Her father had called her a slut, called her a whore. He had told her that they had all washed their hands of her, just as Draco had. Wait, what had they said about Draco?

"Daddy, please, you have to listen to me. I don't know who you've talked to, but it's not Harry's fault."

Barnabas drew back his hand as if to slap her, causing Pansy's mother to use herself to shield her daughter. He continued to glare down at Pansy, looking more and more feral by the second.

"Don't you lie to me, girl! Draco's mother told us all about you and Potter. She told us how the two of you have been playing Draco for a fool for months. How could you do this, Pansy? Draco loved you, he was prepared to marry you, and how did you repay him? By spreading your legs for the famous Harry Potter! Draco was crushed by your infidelity and refuses to have any more to do with you, which he's quite right to do. Why did you do it? Was it because he's famous? Was it because he's rich? Or did you do it because you knew he was Draco's greatest enemy? Did you want to hurt Draco for some reason? Well, you've succeeded then. Go on, get out of my sight and never come back! Go and raise your bastard child as a reminder of your shame."

Pansy was now beyond the state of panic. She was now only remotely aware of her surroundings, her mind too overrun to function properly. She continued to stare up at her father, a small section of her brain ardently hoping that this was all some kind of nightmare.

"Daddy, you have to believe me, Harry isn't the father of my child! Draco is! He's the one that got me pregnant. I told him I was pregnant, thinking that he would be pleased. Instead, he told me that I had to get rid of it, and that he couldn't allow himself to be married to someone like me. Draco's mother offered me ten thousand galleons to have an abortion, but I told her I didn't want her blood money. Daddy, I want to keep my baby, it's not their fault that Draco is a monster. Please, you have to believe me!"

Barnabas continued to look livid.

"Ten thousand galleons? Isn't that a coincidence? I received word today that a mysterious ten thousand galleons was deposited into our vault. Was that your game, Pansy? Harry would get you pregnant and then you could blackmail Draco for money?"

Pansy went from a state of pure panic to one of confusion. Where had the money come from?

"No, daddy, that wasn't what happened at all. I would never do that to anyone."

Barnabas laughed a mirthless laugh that chilled Pansy to the core again.

"Then where did the money come from? Who else could afford to give away ten thousand galleons?"

"I could."

Everyone in the room jumped at the sound from behind them. Even Pansy's father stared in shock at the sight now before them. Standing up straight, so that he was now a few inches taller than Barnabas, was a very much alive, and very much upset, Harry Potter.

"Bloody hell," Dahlia said in amazement.

"You should be dead!" Pansy's father yelled.

"I get that a lot," Harry said. "Now, after you apologize to Pansy, we'll set about telling you the truth about what's really going on."

Barnabas was now in much the same state as his daughter. How was the Potter boy still alive? He had killed people in the past with the curse, and he certainly meant to kill him now. What kind of powerful magic did this boy truly possess?

"Look, I don't know what's going on here, but I want both of you out of my house. The two of you have gotten yourself into this mess; you'll have to make your own way out of it."

Harry considered raising his own hand at the man before him, but quickly decided that it wouldn't help the situation at all. Instead, he decided that he would press ahead with his bid to get them all to believe the truth of the matter.

"Mr. Parkinson, I understand why you are angry, but you have to realize that you are taking it out in the wrong people. The truth is that Draco took advantage of your daughter. Their engagement was a lie; Draco had no intention of ever marrying her. His goal was simply to have his way with her, just as he has done with a string of others. The only thing your daughter is guilty of is falling for Draco's lies, and the only thing I am guilty of is caring enough about your daughter enough to want to help her. I was hoping that you would be willing to believe your daughter, but I see now that you aren't. I feared that this might happen, so I have brought along something that should help you believe us."

Harry then reached into the pocket of his robes. Pansy's mother threw herself back across both of her daughters as her husband drew his wand again, thinking that Harry was about to attack him. Instead, Harry drew out a small vial of crystal clear fluid. Barnabas had seen enough of the stuff to realize what it was.

"Veritaserum? Do you mean you are willing to use an illegal substance in order to tell us what has happened?"

Harry nodded. He never took his eyes off Pansy's father, even when the man had lowered his own wand.

"I am. Besides, I don't think breaking one more law will matter much. The use of one killing curse should make this seem quite trivial. So, are you prepared to listen to the truth now?"

Barnabas agreed, sending Dahlia off to get a glass of water for Harry to place the drops into. One could take straight Veritaserum, but likes it's cousins in the intoxicant family, a chaser made it go down smoother. After Harry had downed the mixture, he sat down in one of the wing chairs and was soon under the full effect of the truth serum. Barnabas then wasted no time in his questioning of him.

"Harry, are you responsible for my daughter being pregnant?"

"No."

"Who is?"

"Draco."

"Did Draco's family really offer Pansy money to rid herself of her child?"

"Yes."

"Did you and Pansy ever have any kind of a sexual relationship behind Draco's back?"

"No."

"Did the money in our vault really come from you?"

"Yes."

"Did you give that money so that you could have some kind of hold over Pansy, or any of us?"

"No."

"Did you give us that money as some kind of hand out? Do you see us as some kind of charity for you to champion?"

"No."

"Why did you give us that money then?"

"I gave it because I have more than I will ever need. A friend was in need, so I helped her."

"I see. Well, I think I understand now what the truth is. I'll need to pay a little visit to Narcissa Malfoy later. But, before I go, I have one more question to ask. How did you survive my killing curse?"

"I survived because I cannot die. Only Voldemort possessed the power to kill me, and he is gone. I will now live until the next Light Lord is born, and then I will pass on to the next plane of existence."

Barnabas stared at Harry in amazement. He had heard some of the other Death Eaters speaking about a prophecy that involved Harry, but he had never wanted to know any more about it. Was this how he had managed to do all the things that Pansy had told them about over the years? Could this explain why Draco hated him so much? He had always been led by Lucius that it was Draco that was the persecuted one, but he now knew this was likely just another of the tissue of lies that the entire Malfoy family seem to live in. He had been a fool up until now, but he would be one no longer.

"Pansy, I am so sorry I doubted you. I know I've hurt you, but I've been so on end since the business was destroyed. I understand now that you've been the biggest victim in all of this. I know I haven't been much of a father lately, but I swear to you that I'll be a changed man from now on. I know what I have to do now, and I'm tired of being scared. I'm going to go to the Ministry right now. After I tell them what I know, Azkaban will have plenty of new lodgers. Ursula, you'll come with me. It's time to stop running from our problems."

The two of them then got into their fireplace and flooed themselves to the Ministry. Back in the drawing room, Dahlia gave her sister a hug before leaving Pansy alone with Harry. Pansy then went over and looked at Harry, who was still under the effect of the truth serum. She had never had the opportunity to really look him over like this. His black hair was thick and unruly, but soft as silk none the less. His green eyes, even though they were slightly glazed over from the effects of the Veritaserum, were a brilliant emerald color. She took the time to look over the rest of him. He wasn't as tall as the Weasley boy, but he had a surprisingly powerful build. Pansy guessed that it was due to his seven years of Quidditch playing. Her eyes lingered on his lips, and she wondered what it would be like to kiss him. She recalled that Draco had always been reluctant to kiss her, saying that such a thing was for over emotional fools. Pansy couldn't help but wonder what emotion could be caused by kissing the boy in front of her. A thought occurred to her before she leaned in, and she decided not to waste the opportunity that presented itself.

"Harry, is there any girl that you are in love with?"

"Yes."

Pansy's heart rate quickened. She had wondered if there was a girl in Harry's life. She quickly thought about who it could be. Could it be that Lovegood girl? She seemed to spend more time with him than the members of her own house, and she was the stereotypical "cute blonde." Was it that Cho girl? They had dated a few times a couple years ago, but she thought the two of them had broken up ages ago. What about the Weasley girl? She knew that she had a crush on Harry from the moment she arrived at Hogwarts, and they did spend an awful lot of time together. And then her mind settled upon the one girl she feared the most of all of them: Hermione.

It was common knowledge that the two of them were inseparable. She flashed back to fourth year when the article in Prophet had stated that the two of them were a couple. Draco often mentioned that the two of them were an item, but she had thought at the time that it was only a part of his jealousy towards Harry. The Granger girl was very attractive, and she did have the kind of body that boys looked at longer than they needed to. She had also heard many of the other girls say the same thing about Harry's body. The thought of the two of them together caused her stomach to clench, but she was determined to still ask the question that she had wanted to ask him ever since that day they met up in the Astronomy Tower.

"Harry, what is the name of the girl you are in love with?"

"Her name is..."

THE END