The Age of Innocence is Over

By Phoebe Halliwell

Chapter four

Harry had stormed back to the tower after his encounter with Dumbledore, still fuming, never before in his life had the headmaster been so infuriating, why he couldn't just be reasonable for a change and drop the cryptic crap that he usually spurted out was beyond him.

He practically shouted the password to the fat lady, who at once took offence and almost didn't allow him inside, Harry however only at to send a glare her way and she swung open, willing to do pretty much anything to get him away from her vulnerable canvas.

Despite the fact that there were at countless witnesses to his uncontrolled rage now Harry punched the stone wall with about as much force as he would if he were to take aim at Voldemort himself. Of course Harry, however great, wasn't any match for a sturdy stone wall; he didn't even make a slight impression however the wall certainly made an impression on his fist.

Ginny Weasley, who was the closet to him at the time, at once got to her feet and went to tend to him; however Harry was not having any of it, as she tried to examine his hand he snatched it back glowering. It took all of her courage not to scramble back into a corner and cower there.

Draco and Pansy who had been sat in a corner in two comfy faded red arm chairs had now stopped talking to watch the scene, at least a third of the forty two students currently residing at Hogwarts were watching, a few having come down from their dormitories having assumed that the silence in the common room meant that something was wrong.

"Harry …" Ginny said carefully, she knew full well that her friend was just about at boiling point and could blow at any second. "Are you alright Harry?" She knew it was a really stupid question to ask someone like Harry Potter but she couldn't think of anything else to ask, she didn't however need the answer that came.

"No, I'm not bloody alright." Harry said, his voice slightly raised, anger still flowing through him and making him want to lash out, however he had enough sense in his head to know that he couldn't lash out at his friends who trusted and looked up to him, it just wouldn't be right so instead he attacked the nearest chair to him with a swift kick.

With a loud crunch the chair lost two legs and toppled to the ground, as it happened it seemed to be in slow motion as it fell, as it hit the ground it just fell apart and the only thought that passed though Harry's head was that Ron wouldn't be very happy when he got back because that was his favourite chair.

Neither Ron of Hermione were currently present in the tower, Hermione was constantly in the hospital wing training to become a medi-witch and Ron wouldn't have finished breakfast, not yet. He seemed to love his food too much to say and it was starting to show, despite the fact that he was constantly keeping Harry company in the training room.

Everyone at this point had taken a step back, they were all a little scared when Harry got into one of his tempers especially since it was so hard to calm him down, even Seamus and Neville had backed off and they were two of his closet friends. Bravely Draco stood up, Pansy took his wrist and gave him a warning glance as he looked back at her but he just nodded and went forward.

"Harry, come on, let's go upstairs and get your hand clean." Draco said and immediately a path cleared to the stairs up to the dormitories so that they could get through.

Reluctantly Harry allowed Draco to guide him up to their room with an arm just around his shoulders, rather than venting his rage on material objects Harry seemed to be crying. He knew that the boy hated to cry in front of the others, it was a weakness, a sign of defeat and Harry couldn't show that, not now, not ever.

He knew that what he had done had been stupid, everyone would be wondering why Harry did what he did but the headmaster just made him so angry, he knew it had to help those people, he couldn't just sit back and just let him happen, Pansy and her family were prime examples of the headmasters foolishness and he was going to swear to himself that he was going to bring them into Hogwarts, safe from harm and to do that he was going to need some help.

"I won't ask how you are, that's pretty obvious but what caused it, there has to be a reason?" Draco asked, he knew that this was a smarter question to have asked than 'are you okay', sometimes the stupidity of some of Harry's friends astounded him, questions like that didn't tend to calm people down, only infuriate them more.

"Dumbledore!" Harry spat furiously, "I'm making a stand Draco and I need your help to do this." Harry said, he knew that Draco would have the inside scoop so to speak on the Deatheater families and despite the fact that he and Lucius were not exactly on speaking terms quite yet he hoped that the older Malfoy would also lend a hand and Narcissa, being the cousin of Sirius, could also contribute.

"Anything, what do you want me to do?" Draco asked, of course he was slightly worried about what Harry could be asking him to do, but he would pretty much do anything to get a little closer to the boy, however when Harry had a plan it tended to be a time to worry. If his previous plans were anything to go by then someone was either going to end up dead, that or seriously injured.

"I know we are at risk from spies, I know all that and I don't need a lecture on it however I look at Pansy and what happened to her family and I can't allow that to happen again, they took too long in their planning and as a result were figured out, that is the reason for their deaths, it was the headmasters fault entirely. What I want is to consider which families would be sympathetic to our cause rather than to Tom's, I want to contact them and see if they are willing to help, which is where you come in."

"Me? What can I do?" Draco asked, he wasn't so sure that this was a brilliant plan, however Harry was coming from the right place, he was right when it came to Pansy and he didn't want it to happen again. He saw the intentions behind it and knew that what Harry was doing he was doing for the right reasons and he wasn't going to mess with that.

"I need you to think, you've been there, as has your mother and father, they can help too, think about the families that wanted to back out but couldn't, wanted to leave the service of Voldemort, even if they don't want to fight for us, we can shelter them here, can you do that?" Harry was determined, he needed this, if he could damage the forces of Tom then it would be a step in the right direction. He had dementors, giants, dark wizards, Banshee's, Boggart's, especially trained Crups, Pogrebin's, Red Cap's and a number of Werewolves on his side, if they could be diminished then it would be a huge step in the right direction.

"Most of the families that I believed wanted out are already here, myself, Millie Bulstrode, Pansy Parkinson, Malcolm Baddock and Miles Bletchley." Draco said counting them off on his fingers. "I know Crabbe and Goyal wanted to be there in the thick of things with Voldemort, too stupid to think otherwise I suppose, Theo Nott could be a possibility, after all he was a good friend, I suppose I could send him a letter, see what he says in reply, then there was Daphne Greengrass I didn't know that well to be honest, or her family really. As for the older generations I suppose you'll have to ask my father, he'd know."

"Okay, can you write a letter to Theo, slip in a few subtle hints but nothing major, I'll leave that up to you, I'll have a word with Pansy and Millie about Daphne, maybe they knew her a little better. After lunch we can go and have a word with your parents, which will give them some time to grieve before we intrude upon them."

"Alright, easy enough, I'm pretty sure that Daphne didn't really talk to any of us much, it might be slightly harder to get to her, however I know where she is, the ministry held a Christmas function at their house once after they donated money to some cause or another." Draco explained, he could hardly remember the shy girl, she was quite smart though, not even close to being in the same league as Hermione however.

"I'll have a word anyway, this can't go on any more, it isn't right, I know that Hermione would probably say that this is all down to my obsession with saving people but I just can't sit back and watch people that need my help be slaughtered because I can't be bothered to do anything about it."

"Harry, you are the most caring person that I have ever had the privilege to come across in this world you have the uncanny ability to care about anyone and everyone, you have the capability to help them and to save them, it isn't an obsession, it's a gift." Draco said as he thought, you certainly saved me.

"Yeah, if you say so" Harry said, "That certainly isn't the way that my friends see it."

"I'm your friend and I don't see it that way, at least I thought that I was a friend."

"You are a friend Draco; however, with me that isn't always a good thing, you know what has happened in the past, around me my friends seem to have shorter life spans than … something with a really short life span." Harry concluded after not being able to think of a good example of something with a short life span.

"I think that I'll risk it," Then, remembering that Harry had hurt his hand Draco carefully took it within his own and examined it. Harry winced and looked away; his knuckles were bleeding quite badly from the force of the punch.

"Will I live?" Harry asked smiling, he could see that Draco looked slightly concerned and he couldn't help but tease slightly, his bad mood thankfully evaporating, something about being around Draco just put him at ease, it was something that he couldn't quite explain.

"It's quite possible" Draco said smiling also, "Although you may have to see Madame Pomfrey for healing, unless of course you would like me to do the honours." Draco said looking into Harry's gorgeous emerald pools, he could have lost himself in their depths and the boy didn't even know it yet.

"Please do," Harry responded, "If I have to spend another second in the hospital wing, on those horrible uncomfortable beds I'm likely to go insane, it drives me absolutely mad sometimes, Poppy even caved in the other day and put a plaque up above one of the beds, I have officially visited the infirmary so many times that I have my very own bed."

Draco laughed before he cast a cleansing charm on the wound and then a basic healing charm that everyone in the Order of the Phoenix had been taught how to master, it had become something of a necessity for Harry as he taught duelling on four afternoons of the week and nasty little accidents did tend to happen.

"There, almost as good as new, although you may have a little scar tissue but nothing major, barely even noticeable, however what you plan to say to the others about what happened down there I have no idea." Draco said, he was still smiling and he was still holding Harry's hand. His skin was so soft, warm and smooth, he wondered whether or not Harry moisturised but then considered that he probably wouldn't have had the time. What puzzled Draco was that with all his magical training and sword training that he had to do practically daily Harry should have had hands that were rough, like a muggle builder or other form of tradesman. How he had managed to avoid such an awful fate was beyond Draco.

"Thank you, and as for what I'm going to tell everyone, I'll just say that I was angry that I couldn't do anything for the Parkinson's, they'll put it down to my saving people thing and forget all about it, isn't it great being Harry Potter, I don't think."

"I don't know anything about being Harry Potter but I can tell you for a fact that knowing him isn't all that bad." Draco said, although after the words had left his lips he regretted them, however Harry didn't seem to have picked up on the meaning behind the words and if he did he just left it.

The day dragged by with agonising slowness, Harry had arranged to teach all the Ravenclaw's this afternoon so what he wanted to do after lunch had to be done quickly, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy did make it into the Great hall for lunch which made Harry's job a whole lot easier, it meant that he didn't have to make his way up to their rooms, all he had to do was corner them when they had finished eating and have a word with them, the problem was however that the headmaster had also found the time in his busy schedule to come down to the great hall for lunch.

There were a total of twenty three adult wizards currently occupying Hogwarts along with the forty two students. When they were all present in the Great Hall it was pretty much a cramped affair, however it was full of laughing and joking, something that many needed after the mornings that they had had. Dumbledore however had the uncanny ability to pick Harry out of the crowd with extreme ease and watch him, especially after small disagreements, like the one that they had had that morning. It was with extreme care that Harry slipped away from the table when the senior Malfoy's were doing the same and followed them into the entrance hall.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, I am sure that you must be busy and I realise that I'm not exactly the person you want to be talking to right now, but please, I think that you may be able to help me with something." Harry said, as he spoke the Malfoy's stopped and listened to him which was certainly a good sign, they didn't even look as if they wanted to hurt him, they did however look as if they had shed tears earlier that day.

"Don't be sorry young man, we owe you a lot, we could have been destined for the same fate as the Parkinson's if you hadn't allowed us entrance to the castle and for that we are grateful, what is it you require help with?" Narcissa said, Lucius it seemed wasn't so content to speak to him and that was just fine with Harry, with the previous meetings between the two of them it was probably a good thing that nothing was said.

"That is precisely my point, you just turned up here and swore your loyalty to us, you claimed that you did not want to fight and that is fine but the Parkinson's, Dumbledore made them plan this for too long, he kept them away from the castle until he was a hundred percent sure that they would not betray us and as a result they were killed, I want everyone to have the same chance that you did, I don't want death to take everyone who is innocent enough to want to get out of Voldemort's services, those people that realised that they made the wrong choice."

"And what do you want us to do about it Harry?" Lucius asked, he didn't look at all happy that Harry was asking him and his wife to do something that could put them at risk, he also knew that Harry had no doubt asked his son to help.

"I'm not asking much, I just … anyone you think doesn't want to suffer any more, doesn't want to be in his inner circle any longer, could contact them, tell them there is another way?" Harry asked, "I know that I shouldn't be asking but I can't bear to think that if we don't do something then these people are just going to die."

"Your intentions are good and they are true, I see that now more than ever but you are young, you were not involved in this first war, spies were an issue then too, what you are asking could …"

"I am sorry to interrupt you, but I know of the risks Mrs. Malfoy, believe me I do, Dumbledore has lectured on and on about it, but I cannot just let these people die, if you give me the names I will make the effort and contact them myself if needs be, I won't put this all at risk but I can't live with the knowledge that I sat back and did nothing."

"If this is what the boy wishes to do Narcissa then this is what he will do, you know full well that when he has an idea in his head he doesn't let it go, he will have to learn one day, it is how his Godfather Sirius Black and Cedric Diggory were killed."

"How dare you bring that up, you have no right to even mention their names, you were there, you were one of the Deatheaters that were present on both of those occasions Sir, but I still forgave you, I allowed back into this castle against my better judgement and against all of my advisement, I want to give others the same chance."

Harry knew that talking with the Malfoy's was never going to be easy but he hadn't expected to be attacked in such a manor, he had just wanted to help, why could no one see that, why was it that whenever he tried to make a difference in this war that those deaths were dragged up time and time again, why did they want to make him suffer?

"I am sorry Harry but we cannot allow this to happen, what you are suggesting is that we give out invitations for any Deatheater to join in this castle whether they have truly revoked their oath to the Dark Lord of not, by doing so you are putting everyone in this castle at risk, are you willing to put sixty seven lives at risk?"

"What ever made me consider allowing you into this sanctuary for good I will never know, you don't deserve it, you heartless bastard, you are going to allow these people that you once counted as friends and vice versa to die because they felt as if they had no way out, a way out that you could have helped to offer them." Harry raged, "How can anyone be so selfish?"

"There will come a time in your life Harry that you will realise that the world isn't all black and white, people are not distinguished by whether they are a good person or a Deatheater."

"Then tell me, what's your shade of grey?" Harry asked and for a moment Lucius and Narcissa looked confused, sometimes they just didn't understand the boy. They didn't get a chance to even ask him what the meaning of what he had said was as he turned and stormed off. They had only a rough idea of where he was going and didn't really care to follow.

Harry tried not to think about it as he walked to the Great Hall, the place that he was scheduled to meet the eleven Ravenclaw students and help them with their defensive and offensive spell work within duelling. He couldn't turn up there in a rage like the one they had all witnessed this morning.

I hope you enjoyed the story, it is certainly fun to write!

CHOPSTICKS-THE-MIGHTY :- Wow, thank you so much, it's nice to know that your appreciated. Phoebe

JADELILYMALFOY :- It was my aim to write a serious story however I wasn't sure that I would actually be able to pull it off, thanks. If this story is popular I plan to put it on its own website. Phoebe

P.S – I have my own BOOK! If you go on to my profile there is a link to where you can buy it. Enjoy. Don't forget to leave a review. Phoebe xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx