"The silence of the people is a warning for the king."

-French Proverb

3

Old Photographs

Harry looked down at the object in his lap: the photo album that Hagrid had given him the last day of school. He flipped it open with care.

The first picture was of his parents, holding him as a baby. It looked like it was summer from the grassy background and clear, blue sky behind them. His parents were waving and smiling cheerfully. His mother was holding his small wrist gently, making him wave to the camera, but he had no idea what was going on. His mother's red hair was blowing softly and his father's hair getting even more unruly from the wind.

Harry couldn't help but smile at seeing the picture. "Thanks, Hagrid," Harry whispered to himself.

He turned the page to see a picture of four young men, their arms around each others shoulders as they smiled and laughed. The men looked to be about nineteen. The background seemed to be in the fall since there were leaves of different colors on the ground.

The man on the far left was a lot shorter than the others. He had short light brown hair, his cheeks were a bit red, and he was chubby around the middle. As he smiled, Harry saw that his two front teeth seemed to protrude slightly more than the others.

The next was, unmistakably, his father, who had his right arm around the chubby bloke, his left arm around another man with long, black hair. James was smiling widely as his hair ruffled in the wind. He was peering at the camera through his round glasses. Harry could make out his father mouthing the words, "I love you, Lily."

The third man from the left had darker and longer hair than the others. He was smiling, but it seemed like a half smirk. His long hair was being blown around in the wind, but he still managed to look suave. The sleeves of his robes were rolled up casually. Every now and then, in the picture, he would give an energetic laugh.

The last man, who had his arm around the dark-haired man's shoulder, was smiling pleasantly. His short, light brown hair was being moved slightly by the wind. He let out a cheerful laugh occasionally, and would sometimes turn to the others next to him and smile even wider.

Harry took the picture out of the four little tabs that allowed it to stay in it's place, to see if it said the other men's names on the back. There was only a date: September 1978. He put the picture back and moved onto the next.

The next picture was from a wedding, and Harry guessed it was the wedding of his mother and father. And he could see from the picture that he was correct.

His mother was in a beautiful white wedding dress, which had sparkles on the front in a flowery design. Her crimson hair was in a beautiful bun with some strands falling down around her face. His father was in a formal black cloak with a red flower in the front pocket. He was holding her from behind, so that his arms wrapped around her in a gentle embrace. They were both smiling happily. Far off behind them, the man from the other picture with the long, dark hair was waving enthusiastically to the camera.

Harry laughed aloud when he saw this. A couple seconds later, he heard the connecting door to Draco's room open. His blond friend poked his head out.

"What's so funny?" said Draco, looking slightly tired.

"I'm just looking at some family pictures," said Harry, looking back down at his parents wedding picture.

"You've got family pictures?" asked Draco, opening the door fully and walking inside. "My parents are alive and I don't even have any family pictures." There was a hint of sadness and deprivation, but it was quickly gone.

"You've got that picture of your mum and you."

"Yeah, I guess. But you've got a whole album."

"I only got it this year from Hagrid."

"That big oaf gave it to you?" asked Draco, who sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Yeah, but I'm glad he did. I've never seen these pictures before."

Harry moved the album, so that Draco could see the pictures, too. He turned the page to the next picture. Harry would have wanted to see the pictures by himself, but he didn't mind Draco's presence.

It was another wedding picture; this time of his dad and the man with the long, dark hair. They were standing next to each other, looking like brothers. The man next to his father gave the impression of being the best man. They were both smiling widely and sometimes his father would wave to the camera.

"Are these your parent's wedding pictures?" asked Draco, looking the picture over with interest.

"Mmhmm," said Harry, still looking at the picture with a small smile on his face.

Draco moved his face toward the picture and narrowed his eyes. "The best man looks familiar. Do you know his name?"

"No. Where have you seen him?" Harry asked curiously.

"I don't remember," said Draco, moving back.

Harry flipped the page again, and this time it was a whole bunch of people from the wedding. There were over thirty people, cramming into the picture. Most of them Harry had never seen before. But he recognized a couple people.

He recognized a younger Dumbledore, who was wearing a pale blue cloak and a lighthearted smile. He still wore his half-moon glasses, which was glistening in the sun. A couple people away were McGonagall: her hair was still in a bun, but she didn't have her usual look of strictness. She instead was bearing a warm smile as she wore a brilliant purple cloak.

Hagrid, too, was in the picture. He was on the far right, smiling excitedly, like he usually does when very happy. He was wearing his usual brown coat, but Harry could make out a red tie beneath it. His hair also wasn't as unruly. The three other men from the other pictures were scattered around the picture, as well.

Draco leaned in to look at the photograph again, and a sour look appeared on his face. "Dumbledore and Hagrid were at your parents wedding? Ugh."

Even though there were more photographs to look at, Harry slammed the book shut, loudly, which made Draco jump. "I'm going to sleep. Good night," he irritably.

Draco got up and walked to the door. Draco stopped and turned. "By the way, to extinguish the torches, all you have to do is wave at them. Night." Harry put the large album on his bedside table along with his glasses. He waved slowly at the torch on the opposite wall and the flame went out. He did this to the others in the room before calling it a night.

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Something was poking him rudely in the face. Harry opened his eyes, but couldn't see a thing in the darkness. He waved his hand into the air as he lay down and one of the torches lit up. It was still incredibly dim in the room. Harry sat up to see the creature, Dobby, standing near his bed, looking around nervously. His watch said that it was close to one am.

"Dobby must tell Harry Potter something. Dobby will have to punish himself for visiting you, sir," said the creature. "Harry Potter must go back to his family now. Harry Potter must be safe." Harry grabbed his glasses and saw that Dobby was wearing an old pillowcase, covered in stains.

"Sit down, Dobby," said Harry casually.

"Sit – sit down? Harry Potter wants Dobby to…sit down?" asked Dobby. His eyes had widened in shock and he began to bang his head against the edge of the bed.

Shocked, Harry pulled off the covers and tried to get the unusual creature to stop. "Stop, Dobby. Draco might hear you," Harry said just above a whisper. "Just…just sit down on floor…I…command you?" He figured that Dobby would only listen to a direct order.

"Harry Potter is not Dobby's master. But Harry Potter is a good person and Dobby will gladly do so," said Dobby, as he sat down on the floor in front of Harry's bed. "Dobby heard that Harry Potter met the Dark Lord yet again this year. Harry Potter is very brave to face him."

"Brave? No. I'm not brave," said Harry, shaking his head slightly.

"But Harry Potter must be brave to face such a man as the Dark Lord."

"Dobby, what is it you came here to tell me?" asked Harry, looking at the big-eared creature. Dobby got up and walked closer to Harry.

Dobby whispered, "Harry Potter must not go to Hogwarts this year." After saying this, he grabbed the large album and began to bang the book against his head. Harry took it from him and placed it on his bed away from Dobby.

"Why? Why shouldn't I go to school?" Harry asked. "What is it you know?"

Dobby looked around and began to rub his hands, nervously. "Hogwarts is not safe, Harry Potter."

"What's wrong with Hogwarts? Is something bad going to happen, Dobby?"

"Dobby heard the Chamber of Secrets will be reopened in Hogwarts this year." But right after saying this, he walked to the torch on the wall and jumped up trying to burn his hands, but he was, thankfully, too short.

"The Chamber of Secrets? What is that? Who did you hear it from?" asked Harry loudly in quick succession.

Dobby shushed him after he came back from trying to burn himself. He looked toward the door that connected the two rooms. "Harry Potter must go back to his family in the morning. Harry Potter must leave. Dobby must be promised by Harry Potter that he will go home tomorrow and not go to Hogwarts," said Dobby.

"No. Dobby, I must go to Hogwarts. Hogwarts is my home," said Harry. There was slight pause and then he continued, "What horrible things are going to happen? Dobby, what do you know?"

"Dobby knows that brave Harry Potter must not go back to Hogwarts this year."

Ignoring Dobby, Harry said, "Does this involve Voldemort?"

"Don't speak his name," said Dobby as he cringed.

"Does it involve the Dark Lord? Does he have something to do with all this?" Harry saw that Dobby was going to grab the album again, so he snatched it away.

"No, Harry Potter, sir," said Dobby.

"Just tell me what the Chamber of Secrets is. Who opened it before?"

"Dobby will only tell Harry Potter after he promises that he will not go back to Hogwarts this year," said Dobby. He was more mischievous now, but still nervous.

"No, I can't."

"Harry Potter must promise Dobby."

"No!" Harry said loudly to the creature before him.

Harry turned when he heard the door connecting the two rooms, open suddenly. When he heard a "pop," Harry looked to see that Dobby was gone. Draco came in, rubbing his eyes. "Who were you talking to?"

"Err…no one. I must've been talking in my sleep," said Harry, as he pulled the covers back over him.

"You sleep with your glasses on? Odd, don't you think?" asked Draco, knowing something was wrong.

"I forgot to take them off," said Harry believably. He yawned widely and Draco did the same.

Without another word, Draco left the room, closing the door behind him. Harry placed the album back on the table with his glasses, and finally went to sleep for the night.

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The next morning arrived. Harry had no idea whether the weather outside was bright or gray because he had no windows. But he didn't really care. He used to sleep in the cupboard under the stairs, so he was used to it. As he checked his watch, Harry realized that he had slept in late. He dressed in a casual black cloak and went downstairs for breakfast, thinking that Draco would already be up.

As Harry entered the Dining Room, morning's white light streaming into the room carefully; he saw that the only person present was Mr. Malfoy. The blond haired man was sitting at the head of the table, facing Harry, as he read the Daily Prophet. Mr. Malfoy looked up when Harry entered and told him to take a seat before calling for Dobby.

Harry sat in one of the side seats. Mr. Malfoy put the paper down and drank from the goblet in front of him.

"Did you sleep comfortably, Harry?" asked Mr. Malfoy, as he looked at him with his gray eyes.

Harry nodded as he said, "Yes, sir."

"Good," said the man. There was a slight pause, but Harry knew Mr. Malfoy was going to say more. He could feel it. "I'm sure that Draco has told you about the rooms you not allowed to enter, and I hope that you can respect those rules. I happen to know that you have a certain disregard for the rules at Hogwarts." He smirked at saying this and Harry did so, too.

"I dare say, I do, sir," said Harry still smirking, but then it vanished. "But I will respect your rules."

Mr. Malfoy nodded at Harry words. Dobby then came in carrying a silver tray with a steaming plate on it. He walked over to the left of Harry and placed the tray down. He picked up the plate and placed it before Harry. Dobby turned away, but not before giving Harry a dark look.

Harry poured himself a drink and began to eat. After some time, Draco and Mrs. Malfoy came down and ate also. Mrs. Malfoy had light blonde hair, almost as long as her husband, and light blue eyes. She said hello to Harry before sitting at the other head of the table. Harry and Draco laughed as they ate, telling jokes to each other. Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy paid no attention to them.

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For the next couple days, Harry had a great time at Malfoy Manor. Draco and he would spend a lot of time outside, practicing Quidditch. Draco told Harry that if a spot were open for a Chaser, he would try out for it. After practicing with him for the past couple of days, Harry saw that Draco was an excellent Quidditch player, but not as good as himself.

They dropped down onto the garden's green grass, breathing heavily after some practice. Harry and Draco laid their brooms beside them. Harry was lying on the grass, looking up at the blue sky. He heard Draco sit up.

"Dobby!" he called, turning back toward the manor. "Dobby!"

When there was no response, Draco got up. "You want something to drink?"

"So kind of you to ask," said Harry as he sat up. He knew that Draco was only getting him a drink because he was getting one for himself. Draco gave him a look. "Sure."

Harry looked around the beautiful garden. Further back was a pond with golden fish, and a small bridge that went over the pond. Large trees were everywhere, but there was a patch of grass before all that, where Harry and Draco could practice. Near the pond on the right was a large weeping willow tree. Some of its branches fell into the water, creating ripples.

There was a hissing near Harry as he sat there. He looked around and saw a small, green and red snake come out from behind a tall patch of grass. It went over to Harry and he had a half a mind to get up and go into the manor, but for some reason he wasn't afraid.

"Hello, little snake," Harry said to it, as it crept ever closer.

"Hellooo," hissed the snake. Harry's eyes widened, not expecting it to talk back. But then he remembered the time with Dudley in the zoo, which had been about a year ago.

"Do you live in this garden?" asked Harry, leaning down to look at the snake. The snake picked up his head and nodded. Harry put his hand on the ground and the small snake slithered onto it.

He could feel the smoothness of its rubbery scales on his skin. The snake looked up at Harry with glassy yellow eyes. It crawled around Harry's arm, and he laughed as it did so. The way the snake went around his arm felt somewhat ticklish.

As he laughed, Draco came out holding two glasses of pumpkin juice. Harry turned, and Draco stopped in his tracks. "Why are you holding a snake?" he asked. He continued to walk forward. Draco placed the glasses of juice on the flat ground and sat down, but he was further than before.

"The snake came up to me," said Harry, moving his arm as it slithered around it. Draco took a sip of his juice, still eyeing the snake on Harry's arm. Harry knew that Draco was watching him, so he put the snake down.

Before it crawled away, it said, "Sssee you." Harry nodded to the snake, and then it disappeared into the grass. Harry grabbed the other glass; his mouth parched, and gulped it down quickly. "Want to play some more Quidditch?"

Draco nodded as he drank his pumpkin juice. When he had finished the whole glass, he threw it down, grabbed his broom, and flew away into the air as if in one fluid motion. Harry did the same, but even quicker, making the grass below move from how quickly he had gone.

Preview of Chapter 4—Trust:

A new trust begins between Harry and Draco… (Not slash.)