Harry Potter and the Past That Never Was

The rest of the summer fell into a dull routine for the most part. Harry spent three days a week at Hogwarts with either Dumbledore, going over some of his memories of events to come, or with Snape becoming more adept at applying Occlumency and Legilimency. By his birthday, he was able to construct a false memory or thought to present to an attacker rather than relying on a Fidelius Charm.

There were two days during the rest of the summer, which stood out to be a little less than normal. Both Hermione and Harry received invitations to visit Malfoy Manor. These invitations were to them but in care of Hogwarts. They were not formal invitations but really just a short note that said.

"I just thought you'd like to get together before the term starts. Let me know via owl post and we'll set up a day and time."

Harry was not sure he wanted to see Malfoy Manor, but Hermione thought it was a good idea and they could begin planning how they would form their army once school began. Therefore, they replied to the letter saying they would like to come and after a couple more exchanges of letters, they agreed upon a date and time.

On the appointed day, Dumbledore arranged to have the Granger home connected to the Floo network on a temporary basis so she could travel directly to the Malfoy Manor without first having to go to Hogwarts.

"Of course by temporary, I mean for as long as we see fit to keep the connection active," Dumbledore winked at her.

Harry used the fireplace at the Weasleys' house and soon found himself inside a huge, oval shaped room. Stepping out of the Malfoys' fireplace, he saw a house-elf he immediately recognized as Dobby standing just a few feet away. Dobby was carefully brushing ashes from Harry.

"Welcome to Malfoy Manor... Master Draco is waiting on the patio," squeaked the house-elf. "Dobby will bring you to him."

It was not anywhere near as large as Hogwarts castle. However, the mansion was much too large for a family of three to live in Harry's opinion. After what seemed like miles, they finally stepped through a door and found Draco sitting at a round glass table with his nose in a book.

"One of your guests has arrived Master Draco," squeaked Dobby. Draco looked up and said, "Okay, Dobby."

"I thought Granger would be with you." He motioned to a chair.

"Dumbledore arranged for her house to have a connection to the Floo network," said Harry. "I expect she'll be along soon."

"Can Dobby bring you something to drink, Mr. Harry Potter?" Dobby asked.

"Okay, Dobby," said Harry. "Whatever Draco is having is fine."

Dobby skittered off to fetch a drink as Draco closed the book. Harry noticed it was the first year Potions textbook.

"Going to actually try to learn potions this time around then?" asked Harry.

"Funny, Potter," said Draco. "No, I have to look as if I'm studying. My father insists I get top marks."

"Not much chance of letting him down is there?" Harry felt a pang of regret, not having parents of his own to insist upon top marks.

"No," Draco laughed, "that's for sure. I will bring home ten O.W.L.'s for them to brag about."

"How many did you get last time?" Harry wanted to know.

"Six," Draco answered. "One O and five E's, how about you?

"Seven," Harry told him. "One O, five E's and one A."

"Your outstanding was in Defense no doubt?" Draco asked.

"Yes, it was in Defense, Potions for you?" Draco nodded in agreement.

"How about Granger, how did she do?" he wanted to know.

"You really want to know?" Harry laughed. "She got eleven, ten O's and one E."

"That doesn't surprise me," Draco said.

"She was actually disappointed she didn't get eleven perfect grades," Harry laughed again.

Dobby returned about this time with a large glass similar to the one Draco had. It was heavy crystal, with a gold ring around the lip.

"Does Master Malfoy require anything else?" Dobby asked.

"No," said Draco, "we're all set."

"Very good, Sir," Dobby squeaked and disappeared into the house.

"So," Draco started, "do you have any plans yet?"

This was no doubt the reason Draco invited them over. Harry should not have expected anything less. Hermione certainly wanted to be there to discuss their plans.

"Yes." Harry took a swallow of his drink. He had not had whatever was in that glass before. It was fizzy and sweet. However, he rather liked it. "Do you remember the D.A. we organized in fifth year?"

"I remember," said Draco. "Umbridge had a cow trying to catch you at it. You do know she was on to you right from the go?"

"We thought so too when she came out with that decree about organized groups," said Harry. "Anyway, we're going to start it up right from first year."

"Are you going to be the leader?" Draco asked. His tone had a rather accusing sound to it. Harry remembered what Hermione warned him about bruising his ego.

"With all three of us as leaders," Harry answered. "If we're going to work together that's the only way."

"Yeah," Draco drawled. "I've worked that part out already."

"Don't be surprised if we're both taking marching orders from Hermione though," Harry snickered as he took another swallow. "What is this, anyway?"

"What is what?" Draco looked confused. Harry pointed to the glass.

"Are you kidding me?" said Malfoy, looking surprised. "You've never had cola?"

"No. I was never allowed," Harry told him.

"Wow," was all Draco could say. "And you're probably right about Granger."

"It was her idea from the start," Harry told him. "She figures being the boy who lived and all of that I'll be some sort of magnet. And you have a lot of influence with the Slytherins."

"You're used to getting all sorts of attention," said Malfoy. It did not sound bitter or jealous, just a statement of fact.

"Whether I want it or not, you know I really don't like being the center of attention," Harry told him.

"No, I suppose you didn't choose to be who you are," Draco admitted.

"I have to tell you though," said Harry. "I never dreamed I'd ever be sitting here having a civil conversation with you."

"Oh come on, Potter. I'm a great guy, I'll have you know," said Draco, laughing. "But you're right. It does seem strange."

"Anyway," Harry went on, "Hermione still hasn't told me exactly what we're going to be doing other than building a network of allies. And knowing her, I don't think she intends it to end after school."

"No, and it is a good idea as well," said Malfoy. "Sooner or later we'll be the ones in charge at the Ministry."

"I've never seen past school really," said Harry, shrugging. "I was either going to be an Auror or a Quidditch Player."

"No, you're not," said Malfoy. "Your future has already been decided for you whether you realize it or not."

"You think so?" Harry asked.

"I know it," said Malfoy. "But so have mine and Granger's."

"How did you get there?" Harry wanted to know.

"You don't really believe we're back in time by accident," said Draco.

"I know Dumbledore said it was planned to bring me..." Harry started but Draco cut him off.

"No," he said. "I mean the three of us in particular. Do you believe that was some sort of accident?"

"I don't know really," said Harry. "The whole thing is weird."

"I think they planned it exactly as is turned out," said Draco, nodding at him.

"If that's so," said Harry, "I really have to wonder why the three of us in particular."

"Because..." They both turned in surprise to see Hermione standing there, "...we're the three people who can best bring all four houses together. Or didn't you catch that bit about friendship and working together in fifth year?"

"You've worked that out, have you?" Draco asked her. "I think you've hit it spot on."

"Also, I don't believe the Sorting Hat makes up those songs by itself," said Hermione. "This it what Dumbledore wants."

Harry could see the disgust in her eyes when Dobby skittered forward to ask if she wanted a drink. To his relief, she calmly asked for iced tea and took a chair at the table with Harry and Draco.

"Right then," said Hermione, "you've told him about the D.A.?" Harry nodded to her.

"How'd you come up with the name Dumbledore's Army, anyhow?" Draco wanted to know.

"Oh," said Harry, "the original name was Defense Association or D.A. for short. Ginny thought it would be a thumb of the nose at the Ministry to call it Dumbledore's Army, seeing as that was exactly what Fudge was afraid Dumbledore was doing out at Hogwarts."

"Your drink." Dobby set Hermione's glass down and disappeared before she could thank him.

"I know," said Draco, looking in the direction Dobby went, "you don't like the idea of house-elves."

"If I had my way it would be illegal to own them." Hermione took a long swallow of the tea she had been given. "How can anyone in good conscience own another intelligent being?"

"I've never known life without them," said Draco, shrugging. "You get used to it."

"I could never get used to something like that," Hermione replied.

"So you don't think it's an accident either?" Harry asked Hermione, derailing the argument Hermione was sure to start over house-elves.

"Do you really believe with Dumbledore and Snape involved this turned out any other way than exactly how they planned it?" asked Hermione. "Dumbledore is the most powerful wizard alive today. And Snape isn't exactly a bumbling idiot."

"And they're just letting us think it was all an accident?" Harry asked. He had to agree what Hermione and Draco said made sense.

"So this is just another thing he's keeping from me," said Harry. There was a deep frown on his face.

"Ok, you have to get over this poor me bit," said Draco. "The last thing Dumbledore would want is You-Know-Who seeing all of these plans in your head. I wouldn't tell you everything either. And you might be surprised to know exactly how much he knew about you."

Harry glared at Malfoy for a second and just as quickly grabbed his glass, which was nearly empty.

"It's exactly what Snape told you, Harry," Hermione agreed. "Draco is telling you the truth."

"So you see?" said Draco. "I'm not as stupid as you think I am."

"We may have called you a lot of things over the years, but stupid was not one of them," said Hermione. "Crabbe and Goyle on the other hand...." Harry laughed, and to His surprise so did Draco.

"The two Gorillas?" he asked. "Did you know they managed a whopping two O.W.L.'s each?"

"Two," said Harry. "Not a bad idea to have two hulks watching your back though."

"They're not really a bad sort," Malfoy said after a moment, "typical followers you know. Anyway, I want to show you something interesting." He got up and motioned them follow.

After another seemingly endless walk though rooms inside the house, Draco led them down a set of stairs and into a dark and very hot room. Hermione seemed to be drawing back and Harry must have thought she did so because of the muttered 'Oh please tell me you're here to release me' coming from the far end of the room. However, it did not seem to be that at all. The room looked very uncomfortably like a dungeon, a musty, dank smell almost overpowering the senses.

"Over here," said Draco, leading them to a large cage. Inside was a snake that looked to be about seven feet long if Harry judged the way it coiled up correctly. "I think you'll recognize this snake."

Upon hearing that, Harry looked a little closer. He nearly jumped back when the snake raised its head, sensing the movement in the room. He had seen the snake both in the visions he had, but also in person, the night Voldemort regained his body.

"Nagini," Harry whispered.

"And who are you that knows what I am called?" The snake turned her head and faced Harry directly.

"I'm Harry," he said. Harry knew the snake was not yet a Horcrux, as this did not happen until fourth year.

"I don't know you, Harry," said Nagini. "But you are the only one who has talked to me."

"No one has talked to you before this?" Harry asked.

"I can sense when people are saying things, but never in a way I have understood so they must not be talking to me," the snake said.

"What's he saying?" Draco wanted to know.

"What?" Harry asked, only then realizing he was speaking in Parseltongue. "Oh, nothing really, just saying no one has ever spoken to her."

"Am I to understand..." all three turned to see Lucius Malfoy standing at the doorway, "...you are capable of conversing in the language of snakes, Mr. Potter?" Lucius had a curious expression on his face.

"Yes, Sir," Harry answered, feeling his heart beat wildly.

"Fascinating creatures, snakes," said Malfoy, walking slowly toward the cage. "How long have you known you possess this particular gift?"

"The sustainer is here," said Nagini. "I will eat soon."

"As long as I can remember, Sir," said Harry, as his eyes turned toward the snake when he heard its words.

"Did it just speak to you?" Malfoy asked, looking down at him, somewhat in awe if Harry had to put a word to the Death Eater's expression.

"Sorry," said Harry. "Yes, she must have sensed you near. She said the sustainer is here."

"Fascinating," said Malfoy. "It was been rumored the Dark Lord transferred some of his power to you."

"He could... talk to snakes?" Harry asked, still playing ignorant in front of the elder Malfoy.

"Oh yes," Lucius answered. Then Harry felt his scar begin to tingle. He did his best not to betray he was aware Malfoy was using Legilimency against him. He countered by projecting an image of garden snakes. "The Dark Lord and Salazar Slytherin himself were Parselmouths."

"Parselmouth," said Harry, "is the actual term for snake language?"

"The term for the language is Parseltongue," Malfoy explained. "One who speaks the language is called a Parselmouth."

"You are talking to the sustainer," Nagini said, "I can sense this. Tell the sustainer I like my prey to be alive."

Harry was always surprised to know he could not really tell the difference between Parseltongue and English. To his ears, he was simply hearing different voices. Malfoy noticed Harry's eyes stray to the cage again. Nagini's head was up, still facing Harry directly.

"It's still speaking to you?" Malfoy asked.

"Yes, Sir," said Harry. "She said to tell the sustainer she likes her prey to be alive."

Hermione emitted a shocked whimper at that.

"It's the law of the wild, Miss Granger," Malfoy said to her. "And it calls me the sustainer you say?"

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy," Harry answered. "You must be the one who feeds her."

"I am," Malfoy said, walking over to a smaller cage Harry had not noticed before. There were several rats inside the cage.

"Live prey is it?" He reached in and grabbed one of the rats, then returned to the snake cage. Hermione gasped when she realized what Malfoy was about to do.

"Draco," Lucius said, "why don't you give Miss Granger a tour of the house?"

"Yes, Father," said Draco, motioning Hermione to follow him. She appeared torn between wanting to leave the room and not wanting to leave Harry alone with Lucius Malfoy. However, she followed Draco from the room in the end.

"There," Lucius said. Harry knew the Lucius Malfoy he was accustomed to would have delighted in Hermione's discomfort as he fed the snake in front of her. He opened a door near the back corner of the cage and pushed the rat inside.

"Sustenance," Nagini exclaimed, and immediately turned toward the rat that was cowering in the corner as it sensed the danger. The snake was very efficient in tracking down, striking and killing the rat.

"It would appear," said Malfoy, "I will have to continue to give it live animals. Well, we have no need to watch it eat. Come, it is much too hot in here for me." Malfoy put his hand on Harry's shoulder and led him out of the room.

"You're a very talented boy," Lucius said as they ascended the staircase. "I believe I'll have a word with one of your professors, Severus Snape. Such talent should be nurtured, and allowed to blossom."

Harry never really had the chance to gain a lot of insight into the mind of a Death Eater. He knew they were all afraid of Voldemort and no doubt were tortured on a regular basis, but other than that, he never really knew exactly how the Death Eaters felt about the one they served. Nevertheless, he also knew each one of them were capable of killing.

"Mr. Malfoy," said Harry. "I was wondering if you knew why he wanted to... uh wanted to kill me."

"No one has seen him since that night." Malfoy stopped, and turned to look at Harry. "So no one knows why. I can tell you even if he were around no one would have the nerve to ask him that question. I do however, have an idea."

"Would you tell me, Sir?" Harry asked him in his best curious sounding voice.

"One of the drawbacks of being powerful is the constant awareness there are those who covet your power. Whether it is true or not, do you understand what I mean?" he asked.

"Yes, Sir," said Harry. "You mean people are jealous of you."

"Exactly so," Malfoy nodded. "I think he got the idea you were a threat to his power and sought to eliminate you as a threat."

"That's..." Harry stumbled over his tongue, trying to find the exact words he wanted to use, "that sounds insane."

"Insane," Malfoy repeated, "is one of the more mild terms I personally would use for someone who would kill a defenseless infant."

"Now that's interesting," Harry thought. It seemed to Harry, Malfoy did not agree with Voldemort about everything.

"I guess I was trying to be polite," said Harry to which Malfoy laughed. "It's just hard for me to understand why he would try to kill me."

"My guess is he wanted to eliminate you as a threat before you could grow powerful enough to challenge him," Lucius said as he continued to walk once more. "Only he didn't seem to know you were already a threat."

"Sorry, Sir," said Harry. "How was I already a threat to him?"

"That, I couldn't even begin to comprehend," said Malfoy. "But what I do know is you're the only one to ever have survived the killing curse, and you did so as an infant."

"But what happened to him?" Harry asked as if in awe of the story.

"No one knows," Malfoy said.

"Do you think he will ever return?" Harry wanted to know. Malfoy stopped walking again, looked down at Harry as if wondering if he should answer the question.

"All I can say about that is I hope I do not live to see the day," he said softly.

"Whoa!" Harry thought. "Wait until Hermione hears about this."

"If you'd like to wait on the patio for your friends, Dobby will escort you," Malfoy said. "I have an appointment I must see to," He extended his hand, which Harry took. "It's been nice to see you again. Do enjoy the rest of the day."

"Thank You," said Harry. "It's been nice to see you as well."

Dobby tugged on Harry's sleeve as Malfoy got into the fireplace saying "The Ministry of Magic" as the green flames erupted.

"This way, Harry Potter Sir." The house-elf led him back to the patio and then said, "Dobby will bring more drinks." Then was off again, leaving Harry alone with his thoughts.

This rare look inside the mind of a Death Eater really threw Harry into a bout of confusion. Just knowing someone like Lucius Malfoy who was one of Voldemort's most loyal supporters, would disagree with him over trying to kill Harry was enough to make him want to have a closer look. Perhaps he would talk to Snape and see what he had to say. Dobby returned with new drinks for all three of them before Draco and Hermione joined him on the patio.

"Are you all right Harry?" Hermione said, looking concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine," answered Harry. "That was really pretty interesting."

"Oh?" Hermione said.

"Yes. Did you know he didn't like the idea of trying to kill me the night he killed my parents?" Harry asked.

"Too Right," Draco said, "he's always said it was his biggest mistake."

"I don't quite know how to say this," said Harry. "But I know your father would have happily killed me if Voldemort hadn't made it forbidden. But after talking to him, I'm starting to wonder just how evil you father really is."

"It's really not so simple as good and evil," the young Slytherin said. "The Death Eaters may not be model citizens, not above a bit of bribery here and there, but they'd not kill."

"You're saying the only killing any of the Death Eaters have done has been at Voldemort's behest," said Hermione.

"No," Draco said, "Bellatrix probably would have been a mass murderer anyway. But as a group the Death Eaters likely wouldn't kill if it weren't for him."

"I'm not sure I agree with that," Hermione said. "Those people we saw at the Ministry were worked up into frenzy."

"You would be too if you knew the Cruciatis or worse would be what you got if you failed," Draco said.

Hermione did not say anything, as she had never experienced that curse. However, she knew Harry had, and somehow knew Draco had as well.

"You said it yourself in Diagon Alley," Draco went on. "When he tells you to do something, you do it or suffer." Draco had a fearful expression on his face.

"So why did you join him?" Harry asked.

"Join him?" Draco looked surprised at the question. "He didn't come up to me and say 'let's be pals'. He came here right after I got home from school fifth year, and told me my father failed and unless I performed a service for him, we'd both die."

"Yeah, but when I heard you on the train you were bragging about it," Harry pointed out. At this, instead of becoming offended Draco laughed very loudly.

"You've never had a go with Pansy Parkinson then," Draco said. "She loves my tragic, dangerous life." Harry did recall how she fawned over him when he had been injured by the hippogriff, Buckbeak.

"Boys!" Hermione muttered, shaking her head but not able to keep herself from laughing.