The Marauders' Sons

Tom was in a very good mood the next day. Ron and Hermione flooed to London to meet their guard at Grimauld Place that morning and took a portkey to King's Cross, while Tom and Harry got their invisibility cloaks and portkeyed directly to the train. This was Tom's first venture on the Hogwarts Express, so they got to the train an hour before departure so Harry could give Tom the grand tour. They decided to stick together, mainly because Tom would be damned if he left Harry alone for a second with all the people who would be around. He might not be able to see him, but with Astralimency, he could sense his aura, which was just as good. They waited for a while, making small talk, until finally the students started to board. They were both greatly tempted to do something to Ron, Hermione, Luna, and Ginny when they saw them, but they decided against it. When Tom was well-adjusted to his surroundings, they also decided to go up and down the train and keep tabs on those that appeared suspicious, i.e. the Slytherins.

They ran into some unique situations on their way. Being invisible, they could see anything, and they were not above spying on their (well, Harry's) friends for fun. They ran into Dean and Parvati in a compromising situation, and they also managed to catch a glimpse of Ernie Macmillan and Hannah Abbott sneaking away for a few minutes of alone time. This was all funny to Harry, as he actually knew these people, but Tom was indifferent. He was more focused on keeping the train on the tracks and preferably moving forward.

Harry always enjoyed the freedom he felt when he was under his cloak. He was so used to being the unwilling center of attention in the wizarding world that to be completely unnoticed, like he was at home, was something to be relished. Then he and Tom reached the main attraction of the train ride, the compartment that they both had been hunting for, Draco Malfoy's compartment.

Tom wanted to see them because he was interested in seeing just what Malfoy was like. He had heard all the horror stories about him and his goons Crabbe and Goyle, but he was curious regardless. He wasn't one to let someone else judge for him, so he had set out to find out for himself. Harry, on the other hand, was still smarting over loosing his Seeker position and broom because he had given in to Malfoy's taunting. He was dead set on proving that he was on Voldemort's side. It was the least he could do after the years he had wasted dealing with him. If Malfoy could ever serve a purpose to Harry, he could at least have the decency to be as evil as Harry liked to think he was. If he thought that today was the day that Draco would show his colors, he was sadly disappointed.

"How was your summer Draco? It must have been tough," asked Pansy Parkinson, who was sitting, as always, right up against him, trying, as always, a little too hard.

"I actually enjoyed it."

"But Draco your father was in Azkaban! I doubt that the Dark Lord will let him stay there for long, but aren't you at least sad that you never got to see him? Didn't you miss him?"

Unbeknownst to all in attendance, this had stuck a nerve.

"Miss him? I was glad to see him gone! I hate my fucking father! He is an insufferable bastard who genuflects before a pale as shit lunatic! They both can serve their purposes, but if they both turned up dead, I wouldn't lose any sleep," There was obvious bitterness in Malfoy's voice as he said this, and it was apparent that he meant every word.

"Don't say shit like that!" squealed Pansy, "You know you don't mean that! Your father has given you everything, the name Malfoy alone will get you anywhere, and you know that the Dark Lord is right, is the most powerful wizard on Earth, and will win! You better not let anyone hear you have taken that old bastard Dumbledore's side...like Potter."

"First of all," Draco started, obviously annoyed, "I mean it. I don't give a rat's ass about how right he is about the purebloods being in charge of things; I refuse to bow down before anyone. My father besmirched the name Malfoy when he decided to take orders from him! Its fucking sad the way he acts like the Dark Lord is the be all, end all of everything! Hell, I could take the expectations, I could take the insults, I could take the fucking beatings when I so much as lost out to Potter at Quidditch, as long as it meant that I could get whatever I wanted and use them both for my purposes, but I refuse to allow them to ruin the name Malfoy!! Next they will want me to take the Mark. Fuck my fucking father!! HE IS NO MALFOY!!! AND I NEVER SAID I WAS ON DUMBLEDORE'S SIDE AND I AM NOTHING LIKE POTTER!"

Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle were speechless. They knew already that he was proud, but they were much too scared of both Lucius Malfoy and the Dark Lord to ever say anything like that. They took what their parents had been saying about the Dark Lord as gospel, but here was Draco wishing death upon him, not to mention that Lucius Malfoy was the Dark Lord's right hand man! They were absolutely shocked. Malfoy was the one who harped on Granger for being a Mudblood all the time, he was the one who always said that Dumbledore was an old fool, he was the one who thought of cornering Potter for putting their parents in Azkaban, and last but not least, he was the one who used his father as a threat to everyone who crossed him. Now he was saying that he didn't care at all for the Dark Lord's cause, and hated his father. It was like the world had turned upside down.

Now that he had calmed a little, Draco continued with his most menacing glare, "Now that we have that squared away, you fuckers better not mention this to anyone. I am a much better Occlumens than any of you, so I can lie and get away with it. I doubt that the Dark Lord would be pleased if you tried to set up his most loyal, and richest, supporter's son, and we all know what happens when the Dark Lord is upset."

If Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle were shocked to hear this coming from Draco Malfoy, they had nothing on Harry Potter. Harry had always assumed the Draco was the leader of what he thought of as the Death Eater training ground also known as Slytherin House. Now, if he heard correctly, not only was this not true, but there was not even any love lost between him and his father! Harry just couldn't process how this was possible. It was like everything that he thought was true about Malfoy was wrong, except the arrogance. The arrogance was still there.

Tom, on the other hand, went right into Auror mode. Malfoy hates his father and doesn't give two shits about Voldemort. The only people to hear this little outburst that could be dangerous have already been taken care of. We could use him... Tom grabbed in the direction that he felt Harry's aura and dragged him into an empty compartment and immediately put a Silencing and Imperterable Charm on the door.

"You heard all that, right Harry?"

"Yeah, I can't believe that he really thinks..."

"Evidently," Tom cut him off, "he does. And we can use this to our advantage. Imagine if we had Draco Malfoy in the DA. Is he any good with a wand?"

"Yeah, he is just as good as anyone in the DA as far as grades go, and living in a house like Malfoy Manor, I bet he is a better dueler than most."

Both of the young men had the wheels turning in their head. Tom was right; Draco Malfoy would be an amazing addition to the DA. He would know everyone in Slytherin that had to be watched, and he had skill too. As much as Harry hated him, he knew this could not be ignored.

"Well," said Harry, "he said himself that he is not on Dumbledore's side, so we will have to very careful and sneaky. We have to find a way to motivate him to work with us without making our presence felt. This should be fun."

"True, but that's not good enough for me. I have heard the three of you tell me horror story one after another about how this kid works. We will have to double check him."

"But how?" asked Harry, "We can't just ask and Obliviate him if he says no, Voldemort will see right through that. We need something else."

They both sat there on the compartment for about ten minutes until Harry finally had a solution.

"There is only one person in the Order who he will ever listen to: Snape."

"What? You are seriously going to ask our only spy to blow his cover for a fucking student organization. Then there is the little fact that he hates you."

"Snape is Malfoy's godfather, I'm sure that Snape has at least a little love to spare for the prick. And as far as getting him to do it, I think I will leave that to Dumbledore; he is the master of the second chance after all."

Too right he is thought Tom sadly as they left the compartment.

The next few hours were fairly uneventful. They walked up and down the train, running into prefects, Aurors, and Remus. They maintained their cover, though it was hard not to laugh when they ran into Michael Corner and Cho Chang having a lovers' quarrel in the corridor. Bloody Hell! That had to be the best bitching out that I have ever seen. I guess it was a good idea to leave her after all. Then they heard a slight disturbance at the back of the train. They thought it was just another fight, but they went to investigate anyway. They were wrong.

They got closer, and then the screams started. Abandoning all pretense of secrecy, they stored their Invisibility Cloaks in Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Luna's compartment and they all six ran down the train. They had almost reached the back of the train when they started to feel them. It was cold, too cold, and they knew that the feeling of depression they felt was coming from the Dementors that they would inevitably meet. They got to the caboose, exited the train and from the small balcony at the very back saw that the Aurors and Lupin were on brooms firing Patroni at the fifty Dementors and spells at the ten Death Eaters that accompanied the Dementors. Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Luna fired Stunners at the Death Eaters as Harry started to fire his Patronus, when he looked down and saw Tom on the ground and shaking, with his eyes closed shut.

Tom had never been this close to so many Dementors at once, and he knew that if it ever happened, he would see what he was reliving at this very moment. He was at the top of a staircase, looking down into a dark living room, his living room, and there were five large men and a woman at the bottom.

"Maybe your friends will back off now," a cold, emotionless voice said. The voice was so cold that it put chills in his spine as he heard it. Then he could neither see nor hear anything, as the entire house was filled with spell flashes and screaming...

Harry ripped his eyes away and, thinking of his first kiss with Luna, fired Prongs at the mass of black. Between his stag, Hermione's otter, Remus's wolf, and Tonks' (she was one of the Aurors) raven, the Dementors were forced to flee, but there was still seven Death Eaters in the air high above the train. Then he felt the same feeling he got when he was at the lake in his third year, and the one he had when Sirius was killed. He felt the power rush through, as well as the anger, and then he turned his wand on the Death Eaters. Four of the Aurors had fallen, though luckily only by Stunners, so they might live, and it was hard to aim a spell at someone on a broom. They were almost one hundred feet in the air, so Harry thought he would slow them down.

"Petrificus Totalis!"

He hit the highest one square in the chest, and instead of just freezing in midair, as Harry had wanted, the Death Eater flew another twenty feet into the air from the force of his spell and then started towards the ground, and landed with a sickening thud and crack. Harry didn't skip a beat, none of them did, and they managed to bring down all ten of them after another ten minutes of Stunners. The five who were still standing looked at one another and then Hermione saw Tom sprawled on the ground and broke into sobs and lunged onto him.

"Tom! Oh my God! What they hit him with? Was it the Dementors? Is he all right? Oh my God! REMUS! THEY GOT TOM! HE NEEDS HELP! REMUS!" Hermione was inconsolable, so Remus did all he could do and put Tom on his broom and flew as fast as he could to Hogwarts, so he could get him to Madam Pomfrey.

"Hermione, it was only the Dementors. He'll be fine; he just needs to have some chocolate and rest. He's OK," Harry walked over to Hermione and held her, trying to calm her down, but he wanted to know what in Tom's past had that affect on him. He was the only one he knew that had memories powerful enough to knock him out.

Meanwhile, in the skies above Scotland, Tom was stirring.

"Mum..."

"You awake?" asked Remus, "You should have seen the scare you put into Hermione. What did this?"

"Dementors," Tom wasn't in a speaking mood, so he took the chocolate that Remus gave him and ate it slowly to avoid the conversation that he knew Remus wanted to have.

"You should see Madam Pomfrey, you look like Hell."

"As much as that means coming from you, I think I will pass," Tom tried and failed to be shake away Remus' fears for his safety so he could get back to the train.

"Poppy will have my head if you don't see her."

"And I will order a set of silver knives and get it myself if you drag me to her, I have to get to Harry and the train and nothing will stop me, besides, doesn't she have to mop the rest up?"

"I'll remember this," Remus responded, but not angrily. He had to respect the dedication he showed when dealing with Harry's safety, but he still did not look forward to his next meeting with Poppy Pomfrey.

"I'm sure you will."

Just then, Tom heard Dumbledore's voice coming from Remus's wand.

"Remus! We need you! Voldemort has attacked Azkaban with another hundred Dementors and what must be the rest of the Death Eaters! Tonks has the train under control! Hurry!"

"Albus," Remus began, "I have to drop Tom off at Hogwarts and then I will Apparate there immediately."

"What happened to him? Is he hurt?"

"The Dementors got to him, we are almost at the castle, give me five minutes."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The train got to Hogsmeade station an hour later, and everyone was worse for the wear. Hermione was still going sparse over Tom, and Harry had received some unsettling news from Tonks immediately after the battle.

"Well, we lucked out. No deaths on our side, but that Death Eater Harry hit with the Full-Body Bind is very dead. Landed on a rock head first, he did. It's not all good news though. You Know Who is hitting Azkaban with everything he's got as we speak. I dunno if the defenses there can withstand that kind of attack, there are only forty Aurors there on guard duty, and it took a little while for word to get out to reinforcements, especially since most of them were on their way to the train."

Harry didn't know what was bothering him more, the fact that Voldemort was thisclose to getting back most of his inner circle, or the fact that he had taken a life. I didn't even bother to stop his fall; I just went on to the other Death Eaters and let him fall to his death. I'm as bad as they are. Harry knew that he had to kill Voldemort if he ever wanted to win the war, that didn't mean he looked forward to it, but he had at least come to grips with the fact that he had to do it for everyone. This was different. He didn't have to kill that Death Eater, and he was a little scared of himself. He was so in the moment, he didn't even stop to think if he had sent that person, because it was a person, straight to their death. He, Harry, had just moved on to the next target, cold as ice.

When they got to the station, they were whisked away to the castle as soon as possible. Hagrid was as nervous as anyone had ever seen him, and they could not blame him; he was in charge of the first years. They were all shocked to see Tom run over to them at the station, and Hermione ran to him as soon as their eyes met and they kissed passionately before she pulled back to scold him.

"What are you doing here? You should be in the hospital wing. I'm taking you there right now," and she tried to do just that, even though they were still in the station.

"The Hell you will, I'm fine. Look, we have to get to the castle ASAP. It's still not safe around here. Harry, you got my cloak right? Good lets go, no stalling," Tom was a nervous wreck. There was no one here left but a couple Aurors, Tonks, Hagrid and himself to protect Harry and if there was trouble, he doubted he could keep them all safe for long. He was still very weak from the Dementors, and if there was anything that he hated, it was the knowledge that he couldn't do what he had to do at the moment. He thusly led them to a carriage, pulled out his wand and did his best Mad-Eye Moody impersonation.

"Now that I think about it," Ron asked, "why were you two even on the train, we had to be there for prefect duties with Ginny (who was a new prefect), but the two of you were at the castle when we left."

"We were doing a little extra security," Harry began, "you know, to make sure that everything went well. We actually volunteered separately and Dumbledore decided to team us together and let us use our invisibility cloaks. We took care if the inside while Remus and the Aurors worried about what was going on outside. We heard some interesting things too."

Harry then went into what they overheard Draco Malfoy say and what they discussed afterwards.

"Wait a minute, I just had a thought. How did you know where I was when you dragged me to the other compartment?"

Fuck, shit, fuck, fuck, shit, shit, fuck! Tom was not to allow anyone besides Order members to know of his powers for the time being, per Dumbledore's orders, so Tom had to think of a real good lie real fast, luckily, his mother was always training him to be an Auror like her, and he spent a while on the street before coming to England, so he was well-versed in the art of survival.

"I could hear your footsteps the whole time, so I just made a lucky guess." ...That sucked...

"Oh," HAHA I did it! "Maybe I should try to be more careful next time I'm in my cloak if it is that easy..."

"Hey," Tom couldn't let Harry beat himself up, he had heard to many stories from Hermione to allow that, "my mother was a little like Mad-Eye, she made sure I could tell when someone was sneaking up on me," Damn me and my guilty conscience, while I'm at it, why don't I just tell them the fucking story now!!

Then, as if on cue, Luna came to the rescue, "Tom, what are you going to do when you get to the castle? You don't have a house, do you?" Luna, you are the most wonderful human being I have ever met.

"Actually, I am a Gryffindor. I came here and was sorted so that they would know whom to send to America. That's why Neville is there, he was the candidate from Gryffindor."

The rest of the journey consisted of the couples reacquainting and the siblings looking forlorn, as they had no one to reacquaint with. Luna sat between Ron and Harry, and Hermione sat between Tom and Ginny. While Harry kissed Luna in the corner, Tom had one arm around Hermione's shoulders and his other hand on his wand. He looked outside the carriage, still edgy from the attempt on Harry, even though it was a diversion. Tom made Harry put his Invisibility Cloak back on as they got out and followed close behind him. When they finally got to the castle, Ginny led the way to the Great Hall and they all went to their respective tables.

"Look, they must all still be at Azkaban," observed Ron.

Indeed, the staff table held some glaring omissions. Professors Dumbledore, Flitwick, Sinistra, and the new DADA teacher were all absent. The only Order members at Hogwarts, besides Tom, were Tonks, Hagrid, Professor McGonagall and Snape. Snape couldn't fight for either side, being a double agent, and Hagrid and McGonagall had jobs to do, as did Tonks on the train. They sat at the table in hushed conversation, like the rest of the school, though they doubted that the others knew as much as they did. They were most likely talking about the attack on the train, not even realizing that Azkaban could be attacked, let alone overrun with Death Eaters and Dementors. Why do they get to be naïve? thought Harry Why do I always have to deal with this shit? I wonder if they even have a clue how much I envy them...

After about ten minutes, the missing teachers walked into the Great Hall, all of them obviously tired. The mystery of who the new DADA teacher's identity was solved as soon as Remus Lupin sat in the chair that he occupied three years previous. When he arrived, Harry noticed that Remus and Tonks were looking at each other with a curious expression. He was about to ask Hermione about it, but she was too busy fussing over an annoyed looking Tom. After the sorting, Professor McGonagall stood to address the students.

"Welcome back for another year at Hogwarts. I am speaking to you in Professor Dumbledore's stead because he is at the Ministry. I am afraid that there was an attack on Azkaban as well as the school train, and I regret to inform you that the Death Eaters imprisoned have escaped. The reports are still coming in, so I will refrain from giving further details. On a happier note, I am glad to welcome back Professor Lupin, who will again be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts. I would also like to welcome two new members to our school community. Professor Tonks will be taking Professor Lupin's classes on occasion and will also be in charge of school security. In addition, she has informed us that she will be willing to tutor as well, time permitting."

When Tonks was introduced she gave a genial wave to the students as she stood and they applauded politely. Tom, however, knew what was next and didn't like it one bit.

"Also, we have a new Sixth Year in Gryffindor. Neville Longbottom is studying in America, and in his stead, I would like to introduce, an American himself, Mr. Tom O'Malley."

Tom stood like Tonks, but instead of waving, he gave Professor McGonagall a glare to clearly tell them that he did not like being put on the spot like this. The students seemed to appreciate this, because he too received some applause. Who the Hell am I kidding? They're clapping because the know Minerva will skin them if they don't. Since she was introduced to her as Minerva McGonagall, he referred to her as Minerva in his head and he also called her that to her face when they were alone, which admittedly wasn't often. However, he would never, ever, refer to her as Minerva during school.

"Now, let us get on with the feast."

This had been a long day for them all, so they ate with gusto. Tom was a little self-conscious that he easily out ate most of the Great Hall, but then again, the Dementors took a lot out of him and he felt that he deserved to at least be allowed to eat his fill. Harry had lived to see another day, after all. He knew that Hermione and Remus were right, and he should have gone to the hospital wing, but he abhorred doctors. He did not like the fact that someone else would determine his health, so he avoided them at all costs.

That night, after he had gotten in a good brood in the common room of Gryffindor Tower, he made his way to the dorms when Harry went up to bed. He had always had the curtains drawn over the summer, so there was no surprise from Harry and Ron when Tom was thoroughly hidden behind them in his bed, not talking to anyone. He then pulled his map out from under his pillow.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

The entire castle appeared before him. More importantly, the people in the castle and their names were also shown. He made a habit of looking at the map every night, getting accustomed to the layout of the castle, and now he could figure out some of the other things that went on at the castle. He scanned the grounds, seeing who was where, and trying to remember as much as he could. He wanted to know not only Harry's habits, but also the habits of as many of the people in the castle as best he could. He learned a few things too as he surveyed the castle. He quickly took note that the Astronomy Tower was a popular place for couples. He also saw a peculiar sight in Remus' room. There was one dot, but it was glowing and there were two names-Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks. A second glance at the Astronomy Tower made a few things click in his head, and he chuckled a bit. At least someone around here is going to sleep well tonight. If it can only be one of us, it might as well be him. Besides, Tonks is hot. He was at this for a while and it was eleven o'clock, past the time that all were expected to be in their common rooms, even the Tower was almost clear, so Tom was a little surprised to see Draco Malfoy walking along a corridor in the direction of Severus Snape's office.