Chapter One: Break Away
It was the day he had been waiting eight years for. The day he would be able to seize his chance at power. The second fall of the Dark Lord had left him hopeful, for a chance at his own glory. He had been anticipating this day for a year now, through the secretive and elusive planning. He could now see his partner in crime , Amycus, coming towards his cell through the are, iridescent, black bars. Amycus had finally reached his cell, holding in his hand both a set of keys and two wands. The dement ors were strangely absent from this particular cell.
"Are you ready Lucius?" Amycus questioned with a queer smirk amongst his face.
"Yes, I believe I am through with my time in this barbaric prison," Lucius answered, with a look of disgust, but at the same time a rather joyful tone to his voice.
***
Harry awoke, startled, hearing that familiar "pop" of apparation. He looked to his side, his wife, Ginny was still there. He released a sigh, relaxed that she hadn't left him yet again. But if it wasn't Ginny, then who could be in his house at this early hour? Ron and Hermione would be the only sensible possibility.
Harry jumped out of bed, grasped his wand and glasses and hurried out of the bedroom and swept down the stairs. He lurked into his kitchen, perplexed and taken aback to find none other than Draco Malfoy sitting calmly at his kitchen table.
"Now, before you curse me, Potter, you should at least take the time to hear me out." Harry didn't react in any way to what Draco had said. Why the he'll would Draco bloody Malfoy be sitting in his kitchen? Why had he come to Godric's Hollow? Why had he come to Harry, and not another pureblood family friend?
"Surprised, eh Potter? By the look on your face, I'm assuming you haven't seen this mornings Prophet yet," Malfoy said with that familiar annoying tone. He put his hand into the pocket of his robes, pulling out the newspaper. The headline read, "Lucius Malfoy Breaks Out Of Azkaban". The moving picture underneath showed a younger Lucius, in his mug shot from when he was first arrested. Harry glanced at the rest of the article, but was still speechless as to why he had a Malfoy in his kitchen.
"I have nowhere else to go. My mother already was on the run before I even got the news. Everyone else we trust is either dead or still in Azkaban," Malfoy explained, and seeing the look on Harry's face, continued, "My father has finally broken out of the highest security prison known to existence. Do you know what this means?"
" Malfoy, shouldn't you be happy that you have the chance to see your father again? I mean, I know you're still a cold-hearted prat, but you still care about your family". Harry said, finally breaking his silence.
"Just let me explain it to you, Potter!" Malfoy's voice rose while he stood up from the chair. " Before he went to Azkaban, even before the Dark Lord rose again, my father spoke of himself, replacing the Dark Lord, and fulfilling his duties. When the Dark Lord fell the second time, my father was rushed off to Azkaban before he had the chance to even say goodbye. Now that he's out, he will do everything and anything he needs to do to rise up to the Dark Lord's name".
"And isn't that exactly what you want, Malfoy? You were a Death Eater, after all". Harry interrupted, confused, but also realizing what this meant, that there would more than likely be a third war.
"You still don't get it, do you Potter? Remember the final battle at Hogwarts, I wanted to be on your side! The only reason I was a Death Eater was because my father was unavailable, thanks to you! If I hadn't agreed to take the mark, my whole family, including myself, would be dead right now."
Harry could see the look of fear on Malfoy's face, fear of his own father. Harry could finally understand a small part of Malfoy and his story.
"So what you're saying is that you need a safe place to stay?" Harry stated, finally fitting all of the puzzle pieces together.
"Yes, that's exactly what I'm suggesting. As you can see, I have no other options". Malfoy admitted.
Harry tried to think of what to do. Ginny, Ron and Hermione would never want to trust a Malfoy. Hell, he didn't even know why he trusted a Malfoy. Then, it hit him like a ton of bricks. He still owned Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place. But what if Malfoy was just using this for a hiding place for his father? He would just have to try and trust Malfoy this one time.
"Malfoy, I think I have one place that could accommodate you". Harry finally declared. He grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill and quickly wrote down the address of Sirius' old home and handed it to Malfoy.
"You have to memorize this address. I assume you have your things ready?" Harry was still worried about revealing his only safe house to Malfoy.
"Yes, I believe I am ready, Potter". Malfoy said with his trademark smirk. Harry held his arm out for Malfoy, and with a pop, the pair left Harry's house and arrived at the safe place.