A Meeting with the Malfoy's

Harry starred at the letter in his hands still not sure what to do, "How do we even know this isn't some kind of trick?"

Sirius said, "Because the Malfoy's are purebloods and as such there are certain traditions and rules of etiquette that they will not break. One tradition is the right of protection. Anyone invited to the home of a pureblood to discuss the payment of a debt, like the one Draco owes you, is under the specific protection of the family. If that person is harmed in any way, by either the person who is inviting them or whoever else comes to the home, the family will lose any and all political and social standing (they would essentially become lepers in Wizarding Society) they would lose any formal titles they hold and all of their assets would be consolidated and given to the closest living relatives of the dead guest."

Harry nodded, "so what do we do?"

Remus said, "Well it's up to you Cub, you may not want to go right now, but if you don't the Malfoy's will keep bothering you about it. Once you meet with them you can ask for anything you like as much or as little as you want and Sirius and I will support you no matter what this is all up to you."

Harry bit his lip thoughtfully, "I could make them donate their entire fortune to charity organizations."

Sirius snorted, "Yes but if you did they would probably hate you and come after you later the Malfoy family is very powerful and very dangerous as enemies even now."

Harry nodded but gave them a mischievous smile that was pure marauders, "You got admit it would be funny."

Sirius gave a laugh, "That it would kiddo."

Harry said, "I think the end of the week is good then we will be done with the Malfoy's before all the insanity for Bill and Fluer's wedding starts up and I want you both to go with me, I don't care about any hospitality rules I don't trust them."

Sirius nodded, "We certainly understand that Kiddo."

Harry took a blank piece of parchment and said anytime on Friday would be fine, then sent it back with the eagle owl.

Harry asked, "So what will the Malfoy's offer me? Last year Professor Snape told me about families offering 'lesser family members' (which I still think is completely disgusting) but the Malfoy's can't do that Draco's an only child."

Sirius shrugged, "They may offer you a house elf."

Harry pointed out, "But I freed Dobby years ago."

Remus piped up, "Yes, but many old pureblood families like the Malfoy's often have more than one house elf. Usually they inherit or buy other elves from family members or other pureblood families and then the elves have children and before you know it you've got your own staff. They might also offer you one of their estates or even a title."

Harry wrinkled his brow, "Title?"

Sirius nodded, "Some pureblood families will marry squib children into muggle royal or noble families. In their opinion those are the only kinds of muggles worth associating with. I believe Prince Charles has several distant magical relations and the Malfoy's are probably related to him through some convoluted fashion or another. As such many hold titles and can choose to share them with others by adopting those people into their families or giving them a title of their own."

Harry felt himself go a little green, "So if there were some kind of great royal tragedy Draco could become king of England?"

Sirius shook his head, "It's highly unlikely Kiddo, most connections between royals and magical families are fairly distant. Draco would probably be 100th in line for the throne the odds of him becoming king of anything are about the same as the odds of winning the lottery."

Harry relaxed a bit, "I don't think I'd want a title or to be a noble being the Boy-Who-Lived and the Man-Who-Defeated-Voldemort is quite enough thank you very much."

Remus said, "You could look over their ownings and estates perhaps choose one you like."

Harry thought for a moment, "that wouldn't be too bad, but I have my own to deal with, my 17th birthdays is less than a month away and then I become Lord Potter and inherit all of my dads' properties."

Remus answered, "I know it'll be hard to handle all of that, but we'll help you and I'm sure Bill would be willing to give you a hand as well (after his honeymoon of course)."

Sirius snickered, "Yeah, I think Bills' going to be busy for a while, like the next month or so."

Harry gave a light laugh and sighed heavily as his thoughts drifted back to the graveyard at Godric's Hollow and the ruined house he'd seen. The images kept playing over and over in his head and Harry had a feeling they would continue to do so for many years."

Remus noticed Harry was gazing off in the distance as though he was trying to see something miles away, "You're still thinking about James and Lily."

It wasn't a question but Harry answered anyway, "Yes." He turned back to his parents and said, "I love you, both of you Dad and Papa, but I can't help wondering. What would things have been like if they had raised me what would it have been like if they never died? I know I'll never get an answer, but I can't help wondering."

Sirius nodded as he walked over to stand in front of Harry he placed his hands on Harry's shoulders and looked him in the eye as he said, "I understand Harry, to this day I wonder what would have happened if I hadn't gone after Peter? What would have happened if I had been able to prove my innocence and raise you like your parents wanted? It's something you will probably never stop wondering about, but the important thing to remember is don't let it rule your life. If we get consumed by what could have been or what might be we lose what is."

Harry gave a small smile, "Dumbledore said almost the exact same thing to me my first year at Hogwarts when I found the mirror of Erised."

Remus and Sirius pulled Harry into a hug which he returned as fiercely as he could. The rest of the day was relatively quiet. Harry spent the rest of the week talking to his parents about his biological parents. Harry heard stories about their years at Hogwarts and how Lily had gotten the Marauders addicted to Muggle movies by taking them to a bunch of film festivals. Apparently Remus found the "Wolfman' movies incredibly funny. Harry also talked to Griphook and was given a basic understanding of Malfoy family holdings and investments (as someone who they owed a life debt to Harry had the right to look into their finances).

Finally Friday arrived, Harry put on a nice pair of robes so he looked clean and well put together, but not too dressy. He wasn't going to dress up especially for the Malfoy family even if they were acting nicer since Voldemort almost killed Draco. Sirius wore a darks blue robe with an open front and loose fitting black trousers with a button up gray shirt it was a nice outfit that would also give him the ability to move and fight if necessary. Remus wore a robe cut in a similar style to Sirius' but his was a dark red, his pants were charcoal gray and his long sleeved shirt was brown. Like Harry the two men had their wands in wand holsters at their wrists, Harry also carried his emergency portkey and a few Weasley joke items that would prove useful in a duel if it came down to a fight.

The three of them apparated to the edge of the Malfoy estate. Harry couldn't help looking around impressed. Draco had been right to brag about his family home, the house was huge, surrounded by massive grounds with flower beds and pruned shrubs cut to look like various magical creatures. The rest of the view was hidden by the sight in front of them. The house had a large rot iron gate with a large letter M on it surrounded by hedges, Sirius walked forward and said, "Harry James Remus Potter-Black and his parents have arrived to speak with the Malfoy family".

A moment later Lucius Malfoy appeared in front of them as the gate swung open, Lucius had his long hair pulled back from his face and wore fine gray silk robes that enhanced the look of his hair and eyes. Lucius stepped forward and walked up to Harry then bowed at the waist causing Harry to raise his eyebrows in shock. Lucius spoke, "I welcome you to our home Mr. Potter."

"Potter-Black" Harry corrected instantly."

Lucius nodded, "Potter-Black, I thank you and your family for coming and would appreciate it if you would follow me in so that we can discuss the terms of your reward for our gratitude."

Harry didn't like all of the protocols and rules, but his time with Severus had taught him to respect them and so he responded correctly, "Thank you for inviting us to you home Lord Malfoy we would be honored to enter your estate and speak with you and your family."

Lucius turned and walked down the long lane, as the hedges cleared Harry saw the grounds open up before him. Harry couldn't hold in a gasp as he took them in, the grounds were huge and absolutely gorgeous, there was a horse stable behind the large and elegant manor. As Harry looked around he heard a squawk from his right and turned to see two albino peacocks strutting along the walk. Harry shook his head at them as they walked into the manor, Draco and Narcissa stood in the large entry way, there were portraits hanging on the walls who were obviously Malfoy family members. A huge marble staircase stood in from of them with elegant redwood banisters. The entire effect was ostentatious and Harry though it was little too show-offy.

Draco stood to the side nervously fidgeting, he wore a Slytherin green robe with a snake necklace, next to him his mother stood wearing a light blue dress that had odd sort of pattern on it that Harry could quite make out. The two of them bowed and welcomed them to Malfoy Manor then Lucius lead them into the living room. The couch looked like something from a French romantic painting. It was huge with carved feet made to look like snake heads, the fabric was dark leather and as Harry sat down it felt hard and unyielding just like the family it belonged to. There were three matching chairs were the Malfoy's sat. Remus stood behind the couch covering the two of them as Sirius sat on the couch with Harry keeping an eye on the Malfoy family.

Lucius spoke, "Mr. Potter-Black I thank you for saving my sons life, we wish to offer you compensation in gratitude for your actions. As you may know it is typical to offer a lesser family member to someone in gratitude for such actions."

Harry nodded feeling his stomach squirm as Lucius continued, "Our son is an only child and we have no other relatives to offer, but we can give you something of high value."

Lucius snapped his fingers and a moment later a house elf stood there holding a baby elf in her arms. The baby was small, about the size of a kitten, and wrapped in a blue sock. The elf stood looking terrified, she (for Harry assumed the elf was female) had the same bat like ears all elves had, her nose was small and squashed with a bit of a snoutish quality to it, she wore a filthy rag around her and Harry couldn't help feeling sorry for her, he knew instantly that he had to take these two home with him, but he also knew there needed to be more to it.

Lucius said, "this elf, whose name is Tilly, and her son Bibby are both in good health and would make fine servants you may have one or the other or both if you like."

Harry felt ill, "I would be happy to accept them both."

The Malfoy's looked relieved, but Harry continued, "However, I would like to request additional compensation."

Lucius looked like he had swallowed a lemon, "Such as?"

Harry fought a smirk, "I believe you are distantly related to the Weasley family, they are good people who are like family to me, but they are poor and many of their possessions were destroyed in the war. Worst of all they lost a son. Nothing can make up for Fred, but the family needs something now. If you will allow me to look over your estates I will select one that you will give to the Weasley family, make it anonymous tell them they have received it because the heir has recently come of age. Also, I would like you to make a donation to Saint Mungos for the care of Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom, and a donation to the Hogwarts fund that assists students who can not afford their own supplies. As well as the fund Kingsley has created to repair the damage Voldemort did to the wizarding world

Lucius's face went dark, "and where will these funds come from?"

Harry smirked, "I know for a fact your family holds stock in a well-known maker of broomsticks and one of their brands has sold over ten thousand items."

Lucius asked, "How do you know that?"

Harry asked, "Do you honestly think that I would come into this without any knowledge of your family? I also know that you are the sole owner of the only Brittish company that manufactures spider silk robes I believe the fund from those two assets are more than enough to pay for what I ask."

Lucius pinched the bridge of his nose, "Anything else?"

Harry nodded, "There is one last thing, I will soon gain control of my family's finances and intend to create an orphanage for orphaned magical children. I would appreciate your support in getting it up and running."

Lucius sighed, "How much?"

Harry shook his head, "You misunderstand me Mr. Malfoy I mean your political support, money is not an issue for me, but I do not know politics as well as you do. Your family has suffered since Voldemort's second down fall, but you still hold a lot of political standing and I know many of the Ministry's high ranking employees owe you big favors. Kingsley will be happy to help me create this orphanage, but there are some who will oppose it and if you could help me cut through some of the red tape it will help a great deal."

Lucius raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

Harry sighed, "This isn't just for children whose parents were killed by Voldemort or death eaters, it will also help children of death eaters who have nowhere else to go. Kingsley will do his best to protect these children, but once they are sent to an institution or someone's home they could be mistreated by those who are meant to care for them or other children. If we let these kids fall to the wayside they could easily rise up to become the next Voldemort. What's more I want to ensure they are well cared for."

Lucius asked, "Why?" again.

Harry leaned his head back and sighed, "not many people know this and I would appreciate it if you treated the information I am about to give you with…." Harry searched for an appropriate word and finally added, "Discretion. My aunt and uncle never cared for me, they made it clear from the moment I arrived in their home they wanted nothing more to do with me than was absolutely necessary. For the first ten years of my life I slept in a cupboard underneath the stairs that was only about five feet high, I always wore my cousins ratty hand me downs, never had toys of my own, and wasn't fed properly. I spent most of my childhood dodging blows and hiding from my uncle when he got drunk. My childhood was not a happy one and I swore one day I would do all I could to protect other children like me. What's more if things had been only slightly different I could have been the worst dark wizard to ever live and Voldemort could have been the savior of the wizarding world. Not many people know this, but the two of us had a lot in common and led similar lives, it was the moral choices that made us truly different. I know what it feels like to be pushed to your limits and how close it can bring you to falling off the edge, and how hard it is to get back once you have fallen. I want to help others so they don't have to go through that."

Draco spoke up for the first time since they had arrived, "you were abused?"

Harry sighed, "Yes and no, my aunt and uncle were not kind to me they never wanted me in their house and made sure I knew it constantly, they never really got me gifts aside from cheap stuff like an old pair of Vernon's sock or a fifty pence. My uncle would come after me when he was drunk, but he rarely found me and usually he would just swear at me and smack me around. I learned to dodge blows from an early age and was often smacked and hit, but never outright beaten or sexually abused. I know it sounds weird, but I am fairly lucky. A lot of kids suffered worse than what I went through, that doesn't make it right or o.k., but it is something for me to remember. I want to do all I can to stop things like that, I'm going to be talking to Kingsley about doing more in the muggle and magical world to monitor, detect, and stop child abuse. The orphanage is one step in that direction."

Draco looked completely shocked while Lucius looked a little angry at his son for speaking out of turn. Lucius asked, "how much are we talking about in total?"

Harry smirked, "I thought you could use the entirety of both investments for these donations."

Lucius looked like he'd swallowed a lemon, "You expect me to donate $10 million galleons to these charities?"

Harry kept his face blank, "yes."

Lucius' face darkened. "Why?"

Harry said, "for starters you are required to comply with my request. What's more your family has a current net income of $10 billion galleons, $10 million is less than a tenth of your total ownings. Even with the costs you have to pay to maintain your estates you can spare it. Finally, your family's standing has fallen significantly in Wizarding society people believe that you got off easy again. There's an old muggle saying, 'fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me' people were willing to accept you (to a degree) after the first war, but they are more cautious about it this time around. Donating to charities will improve how people see you and add to your public image while also (hopefully) putting you on the right path to making amends for your actions. I believe you are interested in doing just that?"

Lucius kept his glare, but said, "yes we do want to make amends, you don't understand totally. It wasn't just the fact that the Dark Lord tried to kill Draco that changed our opinion about his ways it was the results of him staying here in our home and what he did during that time which revealed the truth to us all. I will not go into details about what happened, it is a personal matter and something that you do not need to hear."

Harry nodded, "you're right, I don't need to hear because I know." Harry lifted his fringe to show his scar, "I had visions of Voldemort during the war, I saw what he did to others and felt it as well. I don't need you to tell me what Voldemort did because I know, and what I don't know I can guess."

Lucius closed his eyes, "Children should not see those things."

Harry shrugged, "Why not? Children were often victims of Voldemort if those things could be done to them then I can see them."

Lucius looked Harry straight in the eye, "I will not lie to you Mr. Potter-Black I am not now and have never been a nice man, and that is something I will continue to work on, but I doubt will change much. However, one thing that I have always disapproved is the torturing of children. Even if they are muggle they do not deserve such things. Whenever there was a death eater raid on muggle villages I would do all I could to get children out. I would often look the other way or distract other followers while families escaped, when that wasn't possible I would."

Lucius took a deep breath, "I would kill them quickly to avoid that fate, it may not seem kind, but it was better than the alternative."

Harry sighed heavily, "I know, I honestly can't blame you for that or say that I wouldn't do the same thing in your position."

Lucius nodded and reached out to shake Harry's hand saying, "We agree to your terms."

Harry shook saying, "Our debt is settled."

Lucius then placed a hand in his pocket (causing Remus and Sirius to pull out there wands) and pulled out a sock which Harry assumer belonged to Tilly, "I give you this token to transfer ownership of my servants to your care."

Harry took it (after Sirius had scanned it twice for hexes), "I accept these two servants into my home and thank you for your gift."

Lucius stood and Harry followed suit, they all shook hands and then Draco walked them back to the entry way. When they got there Draco turned to Harry, "Look Potter."

"Potter-Black" Harry correct automatically.

Draco nodded, "Potter-Black, we've never gotten along, and you didn't have to do what you did, I just want to say thank you and I'm sorry for all the shit I put you through over the years."

Harry said, "I accept you're apology, but I can't just forget it all."

Draco sighed, "I wouldn't expect you to, but I want you to know I'm going to change and I would like to personally offer you something." Draco reached into his robes and pulled out a large pewter snake clasp, "it's charmed to offer protection from lower level curses."

Remus and Sirius both scanned it first, Harry didn't know why they needed to when he could sense magic, but they insisted there were things Harry might miss. Once Sirius and Remus gave their approval Harry accepted it and they left for home. Shakira and Sly pounced on Harry the second he arrived. They started licking his entire face, the two animals had obviously sense the distress around them all when they left and were happy they had arrived safely.

Harry laughed loudly, glad that he no longer had to wear glasses because they would have broken by now, and said, "o.k. down guys down."

The two animals finally backed down and a small sniffle came from the right, Harry turned and saw Tilly standing there with Bibby in her arms. Harry gently walked over to her, Tilly shuddered slightly and held her son close as Harry began to speak, "hello Tilly, I know you must be very scared right now, but I want you to know I took you in because I wanted to protect you from any bad things that have happened to you. You don't have to worry about anything here, we will take good care of you and Bibby and never hurt either of you."

Tilly looked scared, but she finally spoke in a high squeaky voice, "Tilly is a good house elf she will keep her silence Master doesn't need to worry about Tilly making Master look bad."

Harry shook his head, "I'm not worried about that, you will be treated well here. There are a few rules for house elves who serve us, first of all if you want freedom you can have it and stay here as a free elf and receive paying for your work."

Tilly looked absolutely terrified at the idea, but Harry continued, "Second, you will not punish yourself or hurt yourself in anyway, if you do something wrong we will punish you, but we will not hurt you or ask someone else to hurt you. Three, you do not need to work around the clock, you will get breaks throughout the day and you stop work at 8 every night unless you're in the middle of something in which case you will be done as soon as you finish. You may use your free time for whatever you like and you will receive regular medical check ups from Madame Pomfrey who is a trusted friend of ours."

Tilly looked completely terrified and totally unsure, finally she asked, "why would Master waste money and other things on house elves?"

Harry said, "You and Bibby and our other elves are not a waste and we want to help you and be kind to you because you deserve it. Now Dobby!"

A moment later the elf appeared wearing a pair of blinding green shorts and a orange shirt, "Yes Harry Potter-Black sir."

Harry smiled, "Dobby this is Tilly and her son Bibby they are our new house elves, would you please give them a tour of the grounds and show them the house elf quarters."

Dobby nodded, "Oh yes Harry Potter-Black sir, Dobby would be honored." Dobby turned to Tilly, who looked at him like he had three heads, and said, "Please be coming with Dobby miss."

A moment later Dobby disappeared with a crack and Tilly followed bringing Bibby with her.

Harry sighed, "it's going to be hard helping her recover from whatever the Malfoy's or Voldemort did to her isn't it?"

Remus said, "Yes, but this is a good start, I think part of the reason she was so nervous was because we are both werewolves."

Harry raised an eyebrow, "You think Draco would tell his servants about us?"

Remus shook his head, "He wouldn't need to house elves are magical creatures and as such they can sense other magical creatures including werewolves."

Harry nodded, he supposed that made sense, Harry sighed, "I'm going to go change it's been a long day and I am tired."

Sirius said, "We all are, we'll have lunch soon and maybe go flying."

Harry brightened as he ran upstairs, he changed into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt then let Hedwig out of her cage as he sprinted down for lunch. They had pepperoni pizza and a salad, after waiting a half an hour for the food to settle the three of them went outside to fly. They took off and began tossing a quaffle back and forth, Hedwig flew next to Harry gliding in front of him and weaving to and frow. After tossing the quaffle they began racing back and forth, Harry raced up and dove down as Sirius swung around to the side. Remus flew up form under and then did 360 turn in the air.

Harry whistled impressively as he turned and twisted his broom, the three of them spent the rest of the day laughing and flying around blowing off steam and letting the tension that had been building the last week out as they spent time together with each other.

a/n that's all for now next chap Bills wedding and possibly Harry's birthday any opinions on b-day gifts speak now.