Title: Final Show of Gratitude
Author: Elizabeth Young
Disclaimer: Harry Potter is © J. K. Rowling, Warner Brothers, Scholastic Books, Bloomsbury Books, and all other entities involved in the Potterverse.
Spoilers: Book 6 and 7, but I twisted some parts and the epilogue a bit. Draco married Pansy and he doesn't have a son.
Summary: Harry is mentioned in the Final Will of Draco Malfoy. What he gets surprises him.
Pairing: None (but if you squint, it could be one-sided DMHP)
Warnings: None
Word Count: 1,700
Author's Note: This is un-beta'd so forgive me for any incorrect grammar.
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Harry Potter had not heard of Draco Malfoy's death until it was publicly announced in the Daily Prophet's obituaries. Harry Potter had not heard of Draco Malfoy's death until he was asked to go to Gringotts because he had been mentioned in Draco Malfoy's will.
"Ah, Mr. Potter, glad you could join us." A goblin said monotonously, making everyone in the room aware of his presence. As everyone turned their heads to either stare or glare at him, he only nodded at the goblin and at Mrs. Malfoy, who merely gave him an enigmatic stare. The goblin cleared his throat.
"As we are all aware of the reason of our gathering here, I will go straight to the point. Due to the death of one, Draco Lucius Malfoy, we have activated and read his will and will now divide his estate as is stated in the will."
"What! I'm his wife! It's obvious there will be no division of his property! It all goes to me!" Pansy had stood up.
"Mrs. Malfoy, be that as it may, he explicitly stated that his belongings, property and whatever he has under his name must be divided according to his will and not his wife." Pansy's cheeks had turned a shade of red at this and sat down and crossed her arms. "Now, before we begin, does anyone else have other objections?" The goblin said but no one replied. "Very well, first I shall read the will aloud." As he started reading, the will's words appeared on the wall behind him like a hologram and scrolled down as it was being read.
Gringotts Wizarding Bank
Final Will and Testimony of
Draco Malfoy:
Written on August 15, 2015
As witnessed by:
Grapplegook,
Head Goblin of Gringotts and Financial Adviser to Draco Malfoy
Lady Narcissa Malfoy,
Mother of Draco Malfoy
"I, Draco Lucius B. Malfoy, being of sound mind and body, willingly write this Final Will and Testament on the fifteenth of August, year two thousand and fifteen. Upon my death, I hereby, bequeath my possessions to the following people:
"To my wife, Pansy (Parkinson) Malfoy; I leave to you, the summer home in Wiltshire and one-fourth of my monetary property. Pansy, this is not negotiable." As the goblin read what Pansy had been given, it looked like she was about to hex someone.
"To my friend and business partner, Blaise Zabini, I leave one-eighth of my monetary property and my shares and stock of the muggle business, Fortune 500. Blaise, do well by me, and stay at the top." Blaise said nothing, but smiled slightly.
"To my mother, Narcissa (Black) Malfoy, I leave all my personal belongings and all remaining Malfoy estate and one-fourth of my monetary property for you to use as you see fit. I love you, Mother." Harry turned to look at Narcissa to see what her reaction was to these statements. All he did was tilt her head slightly to show she had heard.
"To Harry Potter, I leave all remaining monetary property to donate to any one or more charity you deem fit. I also leave to you a letter." The goblin took out a letter with the Malfoy seal in wax on the flap and his name in a neat cursive on the back. "As we speak, as stated, his property will be transferred to their respective owners. And Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy personally requested of me to ask you to read it in private but you are not obligated to."
"I'll honor the request. And I'll come back in a few days after deciding which charity to donate the money to, is that all right?"
"Of course. And with that, everything has been said and done. A pleasant day to all of you." The goblin said and promptly left the room.
Pansy had then suddenly stood up and started walking towards Harry but Narcissa, who was next to Harry, gave her a look that made her stop in her tracks. Blaise sighed. "Come on Pansy, let's go."
"B-But! Why on earth did Draco give Potter anything in the first place! It's-" She was quickly silenced by Narcissa with a silencing spell and a glare. "Blaise, escort my daughter-in-law to the Wiltshire summer house, please." She said icily.
"Yes, Mrs. Malfoy. Come on, Pansy. Don't be an idiot and just see when you've lost." He said dragging her away, as she continued to glare at Harry. Narcissa turned to Harry. "Mr. Potter."
"Uhm…Please call me Harry." He said fidgeting.
"Very well then. Harry, whatever wrong my son has caused you, I apologize on his behalf, because knowing him, he had no intention of doing so. And I would also like to thank you for whatever good deed you have done for my son during you school years, though I doubt you did any. But also, I would like to thank you…for what happened in the forest."
Her last sentence startled him, "What? But I didn't do anything-"
"Harry, a mother's gratitude is unconditional when you tell her that her only child is alive amidst an ongoing war. You had given me more relief when you assured me of Draco's safety when compared to you ending the war. Goodbye and take care." She pecked him on the cheek and then left Harry alone in the room, thinking over what she had said.
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Harry came home, told Ginny what happened and said that he'll be in their study, reading the letter.
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Potter,
I'm telling you now that even in death I think you're a prat. So don't mistake me for some sappy nitwit.
After the war, the Malfoy name had lost the power and prestige it once had. And after some persuasion by my mother and my good friend, I decided that maybe a clean slate was in order. In the muggle world. Yes, I know, I was a prejudiced person but apart from us being able to do magic and them having technology, I realized that there was really no difference whatsoever.
We have evil lords who promise supremacy over others; muggles have terrorists and their leaders who claimed the same thing as Voldemort did. We have magic to make our lives easier, and they have technology. We have a hierarchy; they have one as well, though it's more commonly known as 'classes.'
They also have this weird ritual-like behavior called 'religion'. I decided to go to one of their meetings; they called it a 'mass.' And it was boring. But their choir had chosen a particular song that made me think automatically of you, of what you did. The song is called, "Mighty to Save"
Everyone needs compassion
A love that's never failing
Let mercy fall on me
Even I think, after what I had done and what I had seen, not everybody needs compassion or mercy. But that's what you had done, isn't it? You showed me mercy. You testified on my behalf during my trial. We were enemies! You could've just let them lock me away in Azkaban; god knows, Weasel would've let them. But you didn't. Listening to you during the trial, it made me so angry that you were there during my moment of weakness at the Astronomy Tower in 6th year but it confused me at the same time; you had the chance to mock me, to insult me, to make me feel the same way I made you feel whenever I insulted you being an orphan. It was a golden chance for payback for all I've put you through, but you never took it. But after the trial when I confronted you about it, what you said really threw me for a spin, "If I was in the same position as you, if I was given the chance to spare my parents, I would've probably done the same!"
Everyone needs forgiveness
A kindness of a Savior
The hope of nations
Even if you deny it, you were the hope of this nation, of the world. Even during the Final Battle with Voldemort, you couldn't cast the Killing Curse. Some people could call it kindness or some could call it weak. I'm a little bit of both, but I know how hard it is to cast that particular curse, so I won't fault you for it.
Savior
He can move the mountains
My God is Mighty to save
He is Mighty to save
Forever
Author of salvation
He rose and conquered the grave
Jesus conquered the grave
You are the Savior of the Wizarding World. Deny the title all you want, it's what you are. I didn't say it's who you are because it's not who you are, is it? You're an annoying git is who you are. (Harry chuckled slightly at this.) And I didn't listen enough to know who this Jesus person was but you conquered the grave too, so to speak. Surviving a direct blow of the Killing Curse, according to my mother. Bravo, Potter, your Gryffindor bravery -and stupidity, I might add- has surfaced in that moment.
The rest of the lyrics were just repeats of the chorus so I won't put it here anymore. Plus, I'm getting tired of writing to you. Right now, you might probably be wondering, 'why on earth did Draco Malfoy write to, of all people on this earth, Harry Potter in the first place?'
Honestly?
I don't know either.
Maybe going through a war then surviving it makes you loony or makes you grow up or a little bit of both. But I realized that you were my school rival. School rival. We're not at school anymore, are we? So I think that a truce is in order. I know I'm dead but better late than never right? So there. And my mother would probably never say this to you but, thank you. From what she told me, you told my mother that I was alive in the castle, and you relieved some of her fears.
So there. Basic message of this letter:
I'm sorry I was a prat to you –and Granger only. I enjoyed being a prat to Weasel. I will never be sorry.- and thank you for reassuring my mother that I was alive.
I hope you have a good, not necessarily long, life with whomever.
Draco Malfoy