Disclaimer: I own nothing; everything belongs to J. K. Rowling.
Summary: Draco Malfoy, the rich arrogant aristocratic. Draco Snape, the bitter obsessive pauper. Harry Potter, the honourable, caring muggle-raised. Harry Black, the reckless, bold social elite. When the truth is revealed how do they pick up the pieces.
Chapter One
Harry lay on the grass just under the window of the living room as he had done 1 year before. It was sometime after midnight and he had snuck outside to do some of his homework under the stars and with a flash light. His work was on something to do with transfiguring facial features. He pointed the touch over his textbook, scanned a couple of lines and then gave up.
"Oi Tonks" he hissed into the darkness.
Some leaves rustled somewhere behind him "Wotcher Harry. You know your not suppose to know that I'm here." A tall girl with a pale and heart shaped face bounced over to him. Her hair was short and spiky and was a violent shade of purple. "So?" She asked as she lay down on the grass beside him and offered a big grin, her dark eyes twinkling in merriment.
"Homework" he gestured to the book in front of him "can you help"
She gave him a disapproving look "I really shouldn't but…" a grin broke out "sure. Give me your quill and that parchment" she accepted his quill and then the parchment and began to write.
Harry grinned as he watched her features change in annoyance. Her features always became fuller when she was annoyed, sharper when she was flirty and strange when she was playful. Harry could always count on Tonks from the moment they had first met there had been an instant connection. Dumbledore said it was because he remained her of her once favourite cousin Sirius Black, which was ironic because said cousin was the reason for Tonks hiding outside his house. Sirius Black traitor to his best friends (and Harry's parents who were killed as a result of the attack) had escaped from Azkaban approximately 3 years ago and the general idea was that he would be coming after Harry to finish the job. At least that is what the media suggested. Dumbledore disagreed on the reason but never expanded. But after 3 yrs there was no sign of him. Tonks wasn't surprised she always believed that Sirius was innocent but she never spoke to Harry about it, he had just heard Tonks and Remus talking about it once. Besides that was the least of Harry's worries.
After his 3rd year where he faced Voldemort at the end of the Triwizard tournament that he had been mysteriously entered into, Voldemort had been after him with a vengeance. Only last year Voldemort had been trying to plant false images in his head. Fortunately Harry had been able to pick up occlumency which blocked the memories and broke the connection between him and Voldemort. Unfortunately the person who had been sent to teach him was the dreaded potions teacher- professors Snape who had a semi-personal vendetta against him. Harry liked to think of it as a semi-personal vendetta because he knew that Snape only really hated one person- Sirius Black. Harry knew this because once he had been able to enter Snape's memories and had a chance to see his parents. After so many years he could finally see the resemblance between him and his mother- the bright green eyes. Unfortunately, he hardly looked like his father that is if you didn't count the untameable hair and the glasses. In fact Harry looked a little like Sirius Black- especially now that he had lost a bit of his baby fact and had grown taller.
But anyway back to the memory he had seen. In the memory Harry had seen Snape yelling at Sirius Black saying how much he hated him. Hagrid had let slip once that Snape disliked Harry because he reminded him so much of his enemy. Of course Harry thought this meant his father since Snape hated him as well- but Snape didn't hate anyone like he hated Sirius Black. And Harry looked more like Sirius than his father. But these thoughts had been banished to the back of his mind when he realised the implications of it. Beside Dumbledore insisted that he was a Potter through thick and thin. Dumbledore thought highly of his dad, said he was his right hand man. Sirius had been a little less controllable.
"Done" said Tonks triumphantly "although I think I wrote a little more than necessary"
Harry offered her a small smile "thanks. I'll have to cut it down a little, the teacher would never believe a wrote it by myself if it's that long"
A silence followed.
"So" Tonks jostled Harry's shoulder with her own "a girlfriend yet"
Harry coloured "not since the disaster of the Yule Ball with Cho and then the Ginny thing. Having a girl burst into tears really puts a damper on a relationship"
"Aah yeah. Probably wasn't the best thing to date your best friends sister, and a girl with 6 older brothers"
Harry began to relax "yeah probably"
"You're such a stud" she joked "but just like your father and his friends you know nothing about relationships"
"It not safe to be with me. Maybe on some level I know this and"
Tonks face fell "that's you boys excuse for everything isn't it"
There was an awkward silence.
Harry knew she was talking about Remus Lupin one of the order of the phoenix members and a werewolf. She had been in love with him since their Hogwarts days but he thought that being with him was dangerous.
"He has a point" Harry said softly
Tear began to glisten her eyes "do you think I'm, a good auror"
"Yes" he responded without hesitation
"Then why can't I be trusted to take care of myself. Time is so short don't you think we all deserve to be happy! What if you never get the chance- what if we never get the chance to see how great we could be and what if I never stop loving him"
Now Harry felt uncomfortable, this conversation was a bit more than his current maturity range. But Tonks was looking at him with such desperation that Harry acted on pure instinct. He pulled her over towards him and gave her a hug.
Draco Malfoy was in his potions laboratory. He was trying to mix as many violate substances together without killing himself. It helped relive the stress that he had been under since his father got sent to jail for fraternizing with the dark lord. Or as Draco liked to call him the puppet master because he controlled his death eater like they were unable to move and think for themselves.
Draco's ability at potions seemed not to be an inherited thing. His father was terrible at it and often blamed the house elves when he failed to mix something as simple as pepper-up potion. His mother had told him that she too had been terrible at it until she had taken remedial potions lesson with Severus Snape- his godfather. A man who Lucius hated, which was not surprising since the only thing they had in common seemed to be that they served the same master and knew Narcissia. It always amazed him he and his god-father had much more in common, more so than he had with his own father. As it appeared the only they shared was incredible good looks thought to be fair he could have gotten that from his mothers die, and good personal hygiene which his god-father lacked. In fact whenever Draco looked at Snape's hair he felt the need to wash his own in case he caught something.
Potions had always come easy to him. In fact anything that could be broken down into component was easy for Draco to grasp. Draco believed it was because he had leant from a young age to be able to control his emotions and to manipulate them to his will. So many people were unable to hide the truth from him because of his uncanning ability to zero in on people's weaknesses.
But his love for potions was more than the fact that it came easy to him. It was that he could lose himself in the atmosphere of the potions environment. That was the one discipline that required total concentration and allowed Draco to forget who he was and any obligations that he may have. It was for this reason that Draco often didn't pay much attention to his work in potions. He always got 100 in the written and then would make up his potion at the end of the day. Which was the benefit of having a god-father as a member of staff.
"Draco" called out Snape as he swept into the room. Draco preferred to swagger or saunter. "Your mother said you've been in here the whole day, she's worried"
Draco shrugged "so".
Why his mother always seemed to call Snape when Draco was 'misbehaving' was beyond him. The only thing Lucius could ever do was threaten not to give him money- which his mother would always do anyway.
"She's worried" he repeated
Draco snorted "I'm in a potions lab not hanging out with death eater… oh wait I've being doing that all my life. Why is she suddenly so worried? What's in it for her?"
Snape sighed. It always gave Draco the willies when he did that. It meant that Snape was indeed human under all that grease.
"She's your mother"
"I'm aware of that. Thanks for pointing that out" he carefully poured a potion into the beaker over the open flame.
"You cannot blame her for what you… father did"
"I don't" he turned down the heat a fraction
"Then why do you hate her?"
Draco turned sharply "I don't hate her. I hate him and the fact she married him"
"She- she had no choice"
"And what do you know of my mother and her choices"
Snape eyes narrowed at the tone "More than you think"
"Your just like him- serving the dark lord and hey get of me" he shouted as Snape pinned him against an invisible wall
"Everything I have become, everything that I had done is for a reason"
Draco sneered relaxing in the uncomfortable hold "give me one"
Snape paused as if he was going to tell him. Instead he released the spell. "Everything you have, these fancy clothing, the Malfoy name- everything is because your mother married your father. And one day Draco you will find out the answer to that question and when you do I guarantee that you wish I had not told you"
"Try" he pushed.
"I have to go. Dumbledore" he sneered "it's expected me"
"You're a coward Snape. Trading in one master for another. You could be so great and yet you hide behind potions and grease. You sit in that castle doing the will of a crazy man just to please another. So don't give me that self- righteous act. You are nothing but a dog with no ambition. How you became the head of Slytherin I will never know"
"Do not speak of things that you know nothing of Draco. You are merely a boy who is too afraid to show the world exactly what he is capable of. You hide behind the Malfoy name when that is notwhat defines you. You are more than that. Youcould be great. But you don't try; you buy opportunities rather than work for them. The question is why are you afraid for people to see the real you"
"The real me" Draco scoffed "This is the real me Draco Malfoy"
"NO IT IS NOT" shouted Snape with such vexation that Draco took a step backwards.
"What do you know about me that make you so sure?"
Snape turned away wearily "Forget it. You are only a child. My reasons for sitting in that castle doing the will of a crazy man as you so eloquently put it are my own. But I do it because I must and because the most valuable thing I have is in that castle"
"What your potions?"
"While I normally admire such wit from you, I cannot respect a boy who has nothing but a sharp tongue going for himself, one who does not try"
"Well that makes us have something in common"
"I guess it does" said Snape as he finally left the room.
Draco watched him leave. If only Snape could leave the castle then maybe he could take Draco with him.
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