Chapter 3
Sweat glistening off his face and robes sticking to his skin, Harry finally stumbled his way back out of the bathroom, and immediately locked his eyes on Draco. "Words cannot convey the absolute depths of my loathing for you, Malfoy."
"Feeling better now?" Draco smiled entirely too brightly back at him for Harry's tastes as he studied the green eyed figure. "And you're sure you're done?"
"Draco, that was one of the singularly most unpleasant experiences of my life." For a moment, Harry paused, before carefully glaring at the man. "This is coming from a man who's been bitten by a bloody basilisk. So, I had BETTER be done!"
"Heya, Unca Harry!" Teddy waved from his chair before he looked over his god father and wrinkled his nose slightly. "You look like shit."
"Ted Remus Lupin!" Andromeda's eyes immediately locked onto her grandson as she glared as the suddenly shrinking boy. "You are FAR too young to use language like that!"
"It's what you tell him whenever you see him like that!" Teddy whined slightly in protest as he whimpered back at his grandmother.
"He's got you there, Romeda." Harry chuckled slightly as he watched the woman blush slightly at the boy's declaration before he lightly ruffled the kid's hair. "How've you been, squirt?"
"Granny Rommie's sister told us a story! Then, Granny Rommie told em about the Marauders…" He paused a moment, his nose scrunching up as he pouted slightly. "But she doesn't do it as good as you do." Pausing for a moment, Teddy suddenly stuck his finger out towards Draco. "Oh! And I found out he's whipped!"
"Oh?" Harry grinned slightly as he glanced over at where Draco twitched for a moment in response to his cousin's words. "That's some good detective work, squirt. Find out anything else?"
"Hmm… yeah!" Teddy grinned excitedly before he pointed at Astoria. "He's gettin' her to help protect him from you!"
"Ah I see." Harry nodded his head as he glanced over at Astoria. "Then the battle lines are being drawn." Pausing for a moment, Harry turned his head, before speculatively glancing over at Daphne. "Say, Greengrass…"
"No, Potter, I don't want a demonstration at how good you are at using your broom." Daphne deadpanned as she crossed her arms about her chest and smirked back the man.
"Sure about that? I really am very, very good." Harry paused, grinning back at the woman, before chuckling a bit. "But that's not what I was going to ask you."
"I want to!" Teddy spoke up, his eyes gleaming and hopeful. "You're the best on a broom, Unca Harry!"
"Well, I'll be happy to take you up on my Firebolt as soon as your Granny gives you permission." Harry answered easily enough, even as he smiled faintly at the expression that rapidly blossomed across Daphne's face. "Is there something the matter Greengrass?"
"My giving permission, will happen sometime between now, and over my dead body, Harry," Andromeda responded calmly as she sipped at her tea. "Need I remind you, I've SEEN you on a broom. I will not have Teddy in that kind of suicidal disregard for personal safety."
"Hence why I refused to ever see a single one of Draco's games," Narcissa agreed as she lightly glanced over at her affronted looking son. "The thought of seeing him in that kind of situation..."
"I'll have you know, I was never in any real danger." Draco protested with a loud sniff as he crossed his arms about his chest. "I left that to Potter."
"Ah, sweet memories." Harry pursed his lips as he looked up thoughtfully. "Quirrell jinxing my broom, your insane house elf sending a bludger to break my arm, your pretending to be a dementor, the actual dementor." He tapped his lower lip for a moment, before pausing as he turned his head and glowered sullenly at Malfoy. "Fifth year."
Draco winced repeatedly during Harry's descriptions before shrugging just a bit. "Wait a minute! The ban was all Umbridge."
"The song." Harry stated flatly as he crossed his arms about his chest before sighing slightly. "You're not going to let me have a drink, are you?"
"The song?" Draco paused a moment, his brow screwing tight in concentration as he searched his memory. "Which song?"
"Weasley is our King." Daphne drawled out as she lightly leaned back. "You remember? The one that got you jumped by Potter and one of the twins?"
"I'm sure that's still one of George's fonder memories." Harry agreed with a nod of his head, before lifting up his and starting to gesture towards one of the glasses.
"Harry, you wouldn't be about to attempt to conjure alcohol, now would you?" Andromeda asked with an overly sweet voice.
"I was considering it, yes." Harry agreed, wand still hovering over the glass. "And since I've known the spell since sixth year, I hardly thing it would just be an attempt."
"Is Unca Harry trying to make himself sick again?" Teddy spoke up, quietly staring over at Harry with trembling eyes that grew larger and larger with each passing moment, glistening in the light.
"Unca Harry likes being sick just fine." Harry muttered under his breath before glaring at Andromeda. "Trying to use Teddy is just plain low, Rommie."
"He taught it to himself to try and get out of trouble. Unfortunately for him, his mother tried the exact same trick when she was his age." Andromeda smiled with a slight fondness in her eyes before glaring at Harry. "And you do realize if you keep doing this to yourself, you're going end up dead, right?"
"Worse things than dying, Rommie." Harry gave the woman a half lidded smile as he shrugged negligently. "At least I know what's waiting for me there."
"And if I remember James and Lily properly, it won't exactly be a warm reception." Andromeda responded coldly. "Nor do I imagine my daughter and son-in-law will be too terribly thrilled with you abandoning your godson."
"Don't forget how angry Padfoot will be that I didn't live a happy, fulfilling life, or how disappointed ole Albus will be with his twinklie eyes." He paused a moment, before lightly rubbing his chin. "I imagine Sev will probably be smirking and telling everyone he told them so."
Daphne blinked for a moment, staring in open mouthed shock at the so casually apathetic man in front of her as she struggled to connect it to the quiet, but oh so passionate teenager she'd last seen. "Bloody hell, Potter! What happened to you?"
"Unca Harry got sick," Teddy said simply, tears lightly falling down his cheeks as he stared up at Harry. "Now, he just wants to go join mum and da."
"And my mum and da." Harry agreed with a nod of his head as he lightly lifted his wand up, staring at it. "Do you know how many times I've considered pointing this thing at myself and seeing if the third time's the charm?"
The looks of absolute shock rippled across the table in ever face Harry faced, saved two. Andromeda, merely sat there, the look of familiar resignation blossoming on her face, while Teddy merely looked at Harry in complete confusion. Finally, Draco managed to force his jaw back up, bringing his teeth to meet once more, before he spoke. "Oh, this is going to be just, LOVELY."
"A bit of advice, Malfoy." Harry smirked slightly and shook his head as he lightly twirled his wand between his fingers. "Just give it up now, or have you forgotten what happens when we tangle?"
"I seem to recall a certain incident where you were the one left in a full body bind with a broken nose on the Hogwarts Express." Draco shot back, as his jaw set with a flash of determination in those silvery eyes.
Harry blinked a moment, before leaning back and barking off a short, bitter laugh. "Oh, Merlin, I'd forgotten about that. One of my more brilliant moments that."
Turning his head away from where he'd been watching Harry, Teddy looked at Draco with tears again welling up in his eyes. "Are you gonna help my Unca Harry get better?"
"I'm going to do my best, cousin," Draco agreed with a quiet nod of his head, only to blink in surprise when the young boy got off his chair and dashed around Harry and grabbed fiercely hold of his waist.
"Please! I don't want him to be sick anymore!" The tears were flowing now as the boy clutched tightly against Draco's chest, the tears just flowing into the man's chest and gently, tentatively Draco began to slowly stroke his fingers through his cousin's hair. "I already lost mum and da! I can't lose Unca Harry! I can't!"
"Don't worry, cousin." Draco's voice was soft as he murmured down into the boy's ear, his silvery eyes locked onto the sullen glare Harry shot him from dulled, emerald eyes. "I'll make sure he gets better. Even I have to drag the arrogant idiot kicking and screaming all the way."
"Somehow, Malfoy, I think he plans to make you do just that." Daphne noted as she studied the way Harry crossed his arms about his chest, digging his fingers tightly against his wand as he simply glared defiantly back at the without saying another word.
-o-o-o-
"You know, you turned into a real arse, Potter." Daphne's voice cut in as she stalked behind him, glaring at the rumbled, sweat stuck robes that swayed on his skin. "I can't believe you did all that in front of your godson of all people!"
"Then, why are you following me, Greengrass?" Harry looked back over his shoulder and glared slightly at the blonde witch that was practically stuck to his heels. "Why don't you go off and do, whatever it is that stuck up little Slytherin princesses do when they're not lavished all over stuck up Slytherin ponces like Malfoy?"
"Because someone has to make bloody sure that you don't find your way into any alcohol!" Daphne growled back as she glared at man. "And as my sister DID come here to spend time with her fiance, I've found myself elected into the position."
"Not my fault Malfoy's an idiot who likes to bite off more than he can chew." Harry smirked just a bit as he shrugged his shoulders carelessly. "He's always been that way, remember?"
"Yes, well this time instead of being a stupid, selfish git, he actually seems to be doing something for someone else." Daphne paused a moment, before frowning even more as her eyes softened slightly. "Where as the most selfless boy in school, is acting like a selfish berk."
"Greengrass, I've been called every name in the book since I was 12." Harry shrugged another, apathetic shrug as he lazily arched a brow back at her. "I grew up being called freak among other things. I really stopped caring about the words that kept coming out of people's mouths years ago. They all mute out just fine with enough booze."
"Again, how the hell did this happen to you, Potter?" Daphne couldn't fight down the incredulous stare that lingered on her features as she watched the slowly mounting agitation on Harry's features.
"Why the fuck does everyone keep asking me that, like it's some great bloody mystery?" Harry finally almost screamed the words as he whirled around and glared eyes burning down into the woman. "Life fucking happened. That's it! People got their damned lives, got busy with them and left me the fuck behind. That's just how it fucking goes! Like good ole Hermione said, it's not Hogwarts anymore! Everyone has their lives and they don't have time to spend with old friends like they used to!"
"So, what, because your friends got on with their lives, you decided to crawl into a bottle? Oh, that's mature of you, Potter!" Daphne shot back as she glared at the man, her dark eyes smoldering. "Talk about turning into a selfish child!"
"Well, considering the fact that my childhood alternated between slavery, people trying to kill me and fighting for my life to save people's selfish, self centered arses, I guess that means I finally got me wish, in being just like everyone else!" Harry sneered then, his words dripping with sarcasm as he fully turned around and glared down at the woman. "But, then, what the hell DO you know about me, hmmm, Greengrass? You spend our entire time at school on the sidelines. Draco, self centered little prick that he was, at least has a damned reason for thinking he needs to try and 'save me.' You? You were just some no name little girl who at the most just sat on the sidelines and watched and did nothing."
"It's so easy for you to say that, isn't it, Potter? It's all just Black and White to you." Daphne snarled back as she glared at man. "Not all of us were the bloody Chosen one!"
"No, they weren't," Harry agreed, a vicious, victorious smile curling on his lips as he loomed over her. "Most of them had nothing to do with any of that bloody shite! Most of them, just regular, ordinary wizards that refused to sit around like sheep, waiting to be slaughtered. People with names like Tonks, Lupin, Weasley, Granger, Longbottom, Lovegood, Moody and more! People that stood up, knowing that they were in danger, that it put their families, their loved ones in danger, and do you know bloody fucking WHY they did that, Greengrass?"
Daphne took a step back, fear suddenly breaking through the burning wall of fire as she faltered against the pure venom in his words. "Why then?"
"Because they bloody knew that if they didn't, it was only a matter of time before their families would suffer anyway! They KNEW ole Tommy boy would NEVER be satisfied, would never stop, even if he'd managed to wipe out every single muggleborn and half blood in the isles! After that, where do you think he'd turn his venom, his hatred?" Sneering, he glared down at her with eyes that seemed to glow so much like that sickly Avada Kedavra green. "Tell me, Greengrass, where were you, when my godson's parents were giving their lives fighting that night? Where were you when Malfoy was struggling to save his friend from his own stupidity? WHERE WERE YOU when a HOUSE WIFE killed BELLATRIX LESTRANGE?"
Daphne shrank down, stumbling backwards as he seemed to loom, like some angry wraith, before her. Suddenly, she remembered that beneath the placid exterior of the selfish, childish drunkard, was still the Boy-Who-Lived and had defeated the Dark Lord. Finally, after a moment under that burning glare, she spoke up, in a soft, shamed whisper. "Safe, at home, with my family."
"Then don't you DARE think you have ANY right to demand answers out of me, Greengrass! The Malfoys, Draco, they were at least THERE! You? You and the rest of the sheep were waiting, cowering in your beds for Voldemort to finally turn his attention to you." Harry spat out the words, before turning on his heel and stalking away.
For a moment, she stood there, cowering and torn between turning and fleeing, and giving chase as she'd agreed to. Then, suddenly she felt a hand, calmly placed down on her shoulder. With a startled choke, she whirled around, only to widen her eyes in surprise as she behind the neutral features of Lucius Malfoy.
"Go back to the others, child. I'll see to him." The words were spoken in a reassuring gentleness as he pulled his hand away, even as his eyes followed the angry form of Harry Potter.
For a brief moment, Daphne took a deep, steadying breath before she shook her head carefully. "No offense, Mr. Malfoy, but given your history, do you think that's a terribly brilliant idea?"
"I'll be fine." Lucius reassured her, his lips lightly twitching upwards for a moment. "My wife has assured me, that I will regret taking any... aggressive actions towards the bo-man, and Potter himself won't throw the first spell. Now, go back to them."
For a moment, she hesitated, uncertainty written on her face, before slowly she gave a reluctant nod of her head, then turned and walked back the way she came. The instant her back was turned, Lucius's calm face cracked as a stared at Harry's retreating back. A deep, calming breath filled his lungs, before slowly he strode forward and moved to catch up to the far younger man.
"Potter." His voice was again calm as he called out, watching with wary eyes as the man froze in his steps, fingers tightening on the now visible holly wand.
"Lucius, I'm in a particularly bad mood, a great deal of which I'm currently attributing to your son, and I'm dangerously sober." Harry slowly growled out, not even looking over his shoulder at the man he could feel approaching. "So, if you're looking to settle old scores..."
"Considering I have little doubt as to which of us would end up beaten and bloody in his own home, I'd say not." Lucius stated with a simple reassurance. "We both know I won't start a fight I don't think I can win."
"Which explains your love of attacking school children." Harry hissed back as he turned his head and glared back at the man. "What the hell do you want?"
"I never had any love of attacking children, Potter, no matter what you might think. I did what I did for what I thought was right, and later for my family's safety." There was more than a slight touch of defensiveness in the man's tone as he lifted his head in defiance of the boy's words
"Spare me the justifications." Harry spat, his eyes burning with cold anger as he glared back at the man. "We both know the truth about what you've done, no matter what you might've claimed."
For a moment, Lucius grit his teeth against the surprisingly strong surge of anger the boy elicited, followed in moments by a matching stab of shame as he reluctantly nodded his head. "I understand that my actions have been less than... impressive in your eyes. Just as I understand that you will never forgive nor forget."
"Then the point of this, is what?" Harry asked in an angry, flat tone, tinged with impatience. "Because right now, all I want is a bloody drink to forget all about this stupidity I've been dragged into."
"I have something I want to show you." Lucius winced slightly as the man only glared even harder at him, that stare burning in cold warning. "Nothing untoward, it's something I think you should see, and something I don't wish for my family to know about."
"... I swear to Merlin, if you've got a family of muggles in your dungeons, Lucius, they won't even find a finger left of you." Harry hissed out as he clenched his fingers tighter, those eyes narrowed into dangerous slits as he clenched his fingers even tighter onto his wand.
Lucius twitched slightly as he glowered back at the boy and huffed in quiet indignation. "Nothing of the sort. It's something in my study." As he gestured down the hall, Harry grunted sourly then nodded his head, before waiting for the man to go first.
"Fine. But if this is a waste of my time, when I could be..."
"Is that all you think about anymore, Potter?" Lucius sighed with no small amount of frustration as he began to carefully stalk through the hallway of his own him, glancing slightly over his shoulder to the storming features of Harry.
"No, but it's what keeps me from thinking about those other things." For a moment, Harry paused, before he offered Lucius a cold, sickly smile. "And do believe me, Lucius, you don't want me thinking about those things I try to keep off my mind."
Suddenly, Lucius could feel a cold tremor of trepidation dripping down his spine, as he gave Harry a slight nod before leading him only a few doors down, carefully opening the door fully, before gliding in first. The blonde man could practically feel the way Harry caressed his wand the entire time. Watching him, waiting for the slightest sign that the older man was planning on doing something, anything that might give him the excuse Lucius was beginning to think the man was hoping for.
Harry's eyes widened considerably when instead, the man merely picked up a manila and most assuredly muggle style manila folder and handed it to him with a simple, stated word. "Here."
Curiosity danced for a moment across Harry's eyes as he took the folder, and carefully flipped it open to scan its contents, only to freeze for a moment on the first page. Then, the next was leafed through, then the one after it. In swift succession, the boy glanced hurriedly through the contents, before his eyes flashed up and he glared towards where Lucius was now seated in a high backed chair. "This is about me."
"Compiled since the summer after your and Draco's second year, yes," Lucius agreed with a careful nod of his head, before studying the boy in front of him. "Surely you didn't think that I limited myself to simply waiting for a chance to strike back at you after the incident with the diary?"
"Considering the way you purebloods typically handled things?" Harry arched a brow, and frowned again as he took a seat himself, watching the man warily as he looked more slowly through the folder, before his lips, began to lightly twitch at a particular page. "A muggle psychological profile?" He couldn't fight back the slight smirk that grew onto his lips. "Really, Lucius?"
"It was... suggested rather strongly to me." The man admitted as he carefully nodded his head in recognition. "A pity I didn't bother to read it until this year, though I suppose I could hardly have gone to Him with something like that, now could I?"
"Well, unless you had a particularly fervent death wish." Harry agreed with a nod of his head before frowning just a bit as he began to flip through the pages of the report, his face rapidly darkening with each passing moment. "Though, I'm beginning to wonder if you have one now."
"No one else has seen that file." Lucius answered to the unspoken question as he lightly turned his head, then drew out his wand, trying to ignore the way Harry tensed in wariness as he flicked his wrist and a small fire erupted in the study's hearth. "No two aspects of your life were investigated by the same person, and I paid to have all the memories the investigators accrued oblivated."
"Thorough. But again, there remains the question of WHY?" Harry's fingers clenched tightly onto the folder as he glared back at the man. "What are you hoping to gain out of this Lucius? What is it that you want from me?"
"To be free of your debt," Lucius replied bluntly, before he reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose as he shook his head. "Only, it's not so simple as the bloody debt my son has taken upon himself."
"Enlighten me then, because all things considered, I'm not Slytherin enough to have the patience for these little games." Harry hissed back as he slapped the file shut.
"Considering your life, the fact that you've crawled into the gutter with a bottle to curl up and drink yourself into oblivion is no less than absolutely shocking," Lucius continued with a frown, his eyes darting over to the flickering flames in the hearth.
"If your idea of keeping my interest is to tell me how I failed to live up to your expectations, you'll find that it's not the kind of attention you'd enjoy." Harry was growling now, his eyes flashing as he tightened his grip on his wand, narrowed eyes boring into Lucius.
"No, Mr. Potter, you misunderstand. Considering your past, and the way you've been treated, it's absolutely shocking that you decided to limit yourself to simple self destruction." Lucius gestured around him, frown firmly in place on his lips. "The fact that this home is still standing is testament to that."
"I told you that I'm not patient enough for these games, Malfoy. So bloody enough get on with it!" Harry snarled at the man as he shifted restlessly, angrily in his own seat.
"It is rather simple. It is in my family's best interest to make sure that you're healthy, physically AND mentally," Lucius said with an uncharacteristically blunt fashion. "Because you are walking on the edge, Mr. Potter, and there are two likely outcomes."
"Do tell, Malfoy." Harry had relaxed, just a bit, but his posture still radiated the coiled tension, ready to spring at a moment's notice.
"The greater, being that you simply end up dead. Just another vagabond dying cold and alone in the gutter. And to be perfectly blunt, I have absolutely no qualms about allowing that to happen." Lucius leaned back in his chair as he watched the man watching him with those piercing emerald eyes.
"At least someone bloody does," Harry muttered quietly under his breath, just loud enough for Lucius to hear.
Lips lightly twitching up into a smirk, Lucius nodded his head. "Quite. However, there is an uncomfortably sized chance that you'd instead snap and turn into something worse than Him. And THAT, Mr. Potter, is NOT an acceptable risk to me. Because I think we both know, that if you decided to step down that path, myself and my family would be among the first to suffer your wrath."
"So wonderful that you think I'd be worse than old Tommy boy." Harry shot sarcastically as he lightly glared at the man, though, he made no protest about the possibility, sending a cold, foreboding chill down Lucius' spine.
"You, Mr. Potter, seem to have the most singularly most frightening ability I have ever come across." Lucius answered with a quiet shrug of admission. "The ability to chose whether or not you are going to die."
"Oh? What makes you say that, Malfoy?" There was a glint in Harry's eyes as he glared carefully back at the man, but said nothing more.
"I know what wand it was that He used that night. I KNOW that he hit you with the death spell, a spell you made no move to dodge or escape, that you just ACCEPTED. Yet, there you were, later, living, breathing, standing against him. And when he tried it a third time, you fought back, and that wand turned against him." Lucius' words steadily grew thicker and thicker with emotion as he continued, fear quivering in his throat. "You Mastered the Hallows."
Harry considered for a moment, as he leaned back, almost seeming to relax as he gave Lucius a placid smile. "I inherited the first from my father, all the way from the original brother supposedly. I had it since Christmas my first year. The second... Ole Tommy boy had turned into a horucrux without even knowing what he had. Dumbledore left it to me after his death. The third... Well, I won the wand's loyalty from its previous master."
"Dumbledore." Lucius answered with a nod of his head as he slumped back in his chair, staring at Harry with a fearful awe.
"No."
"What...?" Lucius frowned at that, brow furrowing as he considered. "You must have disarmed Severus..."
"Again, no." Harry answered, as he let loose a soft little chuckle of amusement. "Dumbledore lost mastery of the wand to dear, dear Draco. Your son, in turn lost it to me."
Lucius merely stared back at the smirking man in front of him before sinking even further back into his chair as he couldn't help but slowly shake his head. "And you used Draco's wand in that dual."
"Tom didn't quite find the irony as funny as I did." Harry grinned slightly before shrugging just a bit. "So then, where does this leave us, hmm?"
"I simply wished to make certain you understood my motivations in this." Lucius paused a moment, before he lightly gazed down at his nails. "And for setting Draco up to stumble across you."
"... Oh, so I have YOU to thank for this bloody mess?" Harry glared again at the man as he slowly leaned forward. "I'll have to remember to... thank you properly."
"All I did was nudge Draco to the pub, my son doesn't even know that he was set up." Lucius paused a moment, as he sighed slightly and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Honestly, I had expected it to be something as simple as him leaving with your friends to deal with this mess. Instead, he chose to drag us into this madness."
"Well, Draco has manipulated this situation to where I'm rather FORCED to be here." Harry growled softly as he glared at the man. "So, where does that leave us then, hmm? Because I will warn you, if you try ANYTHING against Andromeda or Teddy..."
The unspoken threat hung in the air as Lucius nodded his head. "To be honest, Potter, my wife has already impressed a far more explicit warning to me on how I am to behave. But it doesn't change one, simple fact."
"That being?"
"You. Need. Help." Lucius held up his hand, cutting off the angry protest before it could leave Harry's lips. "I'm not talking about what you WANT, Potter. I'm talking about what you Need. If there's one thing that file stressed to me, it was that simple fact." He grimaced distastefully as he glanced around the study. "And as I've been drafted into this insanity, I've been forced to move every drop of alcohol in this house into a Gringotts vault for the duration of your rehabilitation."
"... Every... drop?" Harry stared dumbly at the man for a moment before narrowing his gaze. "Are you bloody kidding me?"
"Unfortunately, no." Lucius' face twisted sourly as he looked towards an empty decanter on a nearby stand. "It's all gone. Which means, you're going to have to stop running from those things you haven't wanted to think about."
"...Romeda had better of brought my bloody broom." Harry took a slow, deep breath, before exhaling it in a jagged rush of anger. "Don't suppose you have somewhere to... vent certain frustrations in a brutish manner?"
"I'm a rich wizard whose been married for over two decades, Potter." Lucius answered with a deadpan simplicity. "Of course I have a room where I can destroy things to my heart's content."
"Good. I think it would be in your son's best interests if you showed it to me."
For a moment, Lucius studied the tightly controlled anger in the young man, before inclining his head in agreement. "Yes, I do believe it would."
-o-o-o-
