Chapter 11 – An Amused Accord

Although the luncheon and afternoon with the Malfoys went reasonably well, Harry was still relieved to bid them good bye. "Too many paradigm shifts" he muttered to himself and tried to ignore the brass-toned amusement of his lowaar. "Hush you" he grumbled. "I would like to see you handle years of one perspective attempt to morph into something totally different in a matter of hours." Laughter rang out in his mind and he forced his lips not to twitch in response.

After the teens were left alone, Harry suggested that they each spend some time in their House common rooms, to stay in touch with their House mates. He could see Draco's reluctance, but the Gryffindor felt the need to ground himself in the familiarity of his friends and House, so ignored the twinge of guilt he felt over the blonde's lack of enthusiasm.

Harry joined Hermione, Ron and Neville who were working on their Transfiguration essays and attempted to ignore the giggling leers from Lavender and Parvati.

Hermione glanced at the tittering girls and frowned in disapproval. "I'm sorry Harry" she offered. "I know you hate being the center of attention. It's just the whole 'Magical Veela chooses Hero as Mate" syndrome. It will eventually blow over."

Harry sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "I know 'Mione, it's just a bit intense. All I've ever wanted is a 'normal' life, but the universe seems to conspire against me."

"Harry?" Neville cleared his throat and waited for a nod of encouragement before proceeding. The shy teen dropped his voice to a low whisper. "What do your…guests….think of the situation?"

"They are currently amused with the situation. Although Ortinoth did suggest that perhaps the universe offered me a Veela mate to make up for other aspects of my life." He sighed again. "His parents came over for lunch today."

Harry glanced up, noting Hermione looked compassionate, Ron looked faintly disgusted and Neville wore a sympathetic expression.

Neville responded first. "That must have been slightly uncomfortable, although the Malfoys would never be anything less than a gracious guest."

Harry nodded slightly. "They are all being very gracious…a good word for it, Neville. They are polite and even surprisingly open, considering who they are." He thought about telling them about Dobby, but decided it wasn't important. "I learned that Lucius' father pretty much insisted that he take the Dark Mark before he reached seventeen and that Lucius himself objected to being marked as a slave. He also mentioned that he originally met Tom Riddle, not the insane madman that became Lord Voldemort. It was an interesting discussion."

Hermione frowned slightly in thought. "Does the family not support You-Know-Who then?"

"I think they are being as Slytherin about it as they can. Lucius called Snake Face a madman and is more concerned with keeping his Mate and child safe than anything else."

Neville nodded and at Harry's surprised looked added "A pureblood puts Family First above all else. When there are active Veela genes, it intensifies the response."

"Bloody Hell" Ron muttered, ignoring Hermione's automatic rebuke for the language. "As much as I hate to agree, you're right, Neville. His father would have absolute authority over him before seventeen and once Malfoy found his Mate…" Ron's voice trailed off as he thought through the situation.

Hermione interjected in a low whisper "I don't understand. What do you mean his father had absolute authority? How could he force him to be marked by You-Know-Who?"

Ron and Neville looked at her in surprise and then at each other. Neville nodded to Ron to explain. "Hermione, doesn't a Muggle parent have absolute control over their children?"

"Well, it depends on what you mean by absolute control. They have to abide by the laws, such as no child abuse. And I can't think of any parents who would force their child to be marked by a madman."

Ron shook his head. "In the Wizarding world, the parents have absolute control. They can bind their children in many ways whether the child agrees or not. Betrothal contracts are common among pureblood families and are made when the children are still infants. Apprenticeship contracts can also be made without the child's consent. In most families, the parent asks what the child wants, but they don't have to do so. I remember Bill telling me that several families approached my parents when Ginny was born to discuss potential family alliances through a betrothal and Ginny would have been bound by the terms of the contract if one had been arranged."

"Especially if it benefited the Family as a whole" agreed Neville. "Family first."

Harry tapped the feather of his quill against his lips. "Do you think it's even remotely possible that Lucius Malfoy's father would have bound him to Voldemort without his consent?"

"Abraxas Malfoy had a reputation as a somewhat harsh man" said Neville slowly. "And I believe it was his wife who had the active Veela gene, so he wouldn't have had the Veela instincts. If he thought it was in the best interest of his Family to align with the Dark Lord, he likely would have offered his son up as proof of his loyalty."

Harry lay quietly on his bed, replaying the conversations with the Malfoys in his mind. His lowaar were conspicuously quiet as he considered the many revelations the day had provided. He dropped into his mind and looked at the Juanth Darastrix indwellers.

"What is your assessment of the Malfoys?" he prompted.

Ortinoth spoke first. "Not yet, young one. We are here to advise, not make decisions for you. Tell us what you think first."

Harry groaned and rubbed the back of his neck, trying to ease some of the tension out. "The Malfoys live by their own Family laws. By our ways, they permitted Voldemort to prey on people weaker than himself who had no chance to fight back; Muggles and half-bloods. However, they are not Juanth Darastrix, they are part Veela. And Veela put their Mates and Families above all else."

He paced within the confines of his mind. "I grew up on a cupboard, barely fed and treated as the Dursley's personal slave. If I worked hard, didn't talk back and kept out of sight as much as possible, I survived."

"The Malfoys grew up in wealth and luxury, but with their own rules and criteria for survival. If Lucius can be believed, his father, his own sire, forced him to be branded as a slave before he achieved his Veela inheritance and found his Mate. His father wasn't a Veela and while he had his own perspective of "Family first", he viewed his own son as a tool to be used rather than a child to be cherished."

He paused and looked at his lowaar with a troubled face. "What type of father forces his son into a life of servitude?"

Ydraith murmured softly "Indeed, and how would that action warp a young and impressionable mind?"

Harry nodded at her. "The Malfoys have worn masks their entire lives, employing numerous and subtle manipulations to not only survive Voldemort, but to build power in the pureblood society. This type of action probably is behind many of those masks. Their public mask is one of cold ruthlessness, which does make others pause before opposing them. That very ruthlessness is part of the protection they employ for their Family."

He paced back and forth as he tried to verbalize his thoughts under the watchful eyes of his lowaar. "I don't agree with many of the Malfoy choices and I'm still struggling with the years of animosity towards Draco and his parents, but I think I can at least understand them better after today." He turned to look at his lowaar. "What have I missed?"

Ortinoth moved forward and draped his arm around Harry's shoulders, then pressed a kiss on the top of his head. "Very well reasoned, ghergo'ir. We all make choices and decisions based on our history and upbringing. You learned to 'work hard, not talk back and keep out of sight' growing up. Lucius learned to put his Family first in all things and obey his sire. Someone raised differently may have chosen to defy his father and accepted death rather than be branded as Voldemort's slave or even to regard the Dark Mark as a badge of honor rather than enslavement."

Ydraith picked up the conversation. "Have you considered your own personality in the formula, ghergo'ir? Your friend Hermione describes you as having a "people-saving thing". Among the Juanth Darastrix, you seemed destined towards the Way of the Guardian, either as a protector or perhaps a healer." She smiled at Trieth's chuckle at the blatant attempt to influence their ir'svaust'waph. "You automatically try to help and protect others, while the Malfoys automatically try to protect their Family. Can you find a compromise? Will they accept your inclinations and can you accept theirs?"

Harry twitched his mouth into a wry smile. "I guess that's what the next few weeks will help identify. Merlin, will my life ever be easy?"

Azreth snorted at him in amusement. "You would be bored too quickly, ghergo'ir. And speaking of Merlin, I recall that his protégé having many of the same concerns."

The teen paused and slowly raised wide eyes to Azreth. "Merlin's protégé? You mean the Arthur Pendragon of legend? Are you saying you knew Arthur and Merlin?"

Brass, baritone and chiming laughter erupted from the lowaar. "Do you remember how long we lived, ghergo'ir? Merlin or Myrddin Wyllt as we knew him, was an excellent conversationalist with a dry and occasionally wicked sense of humor." Azreth tipped his head and looked at their outdweller. "You do have quite a bit in common with young Arthur, now that I contemplate it."

Harry blinked. "Me? I have something in common with Arthur? The King of Britain?" His voice squeaked a bit at the end.

Azreth nodded and couldn't restrain a chuckle as Harry's voice rose in disbelief. "I never considered until now how much alike your circumstances were. Both of you were raised in obscurity with no idea who you really were. Both of you were treated as servants while others in the family lived in comparative luxury. Then while you were yet children, each of you learned abruptly that you were more than you had ever known and that each of you had the world relying on you."

Charok nodded, adding his own comparison. "Both of you had an old wizard mentor, well respected by their people. Both of you were children of prophecy and destiny. Arthur was to unite the lesser kingdoms into one nation while you were to free your nation from a Dark Lord."

Ydraith interrupted, her voice somewhat chilly. "There is a difference. Myrddin watched over young Arthur. While he wanted him to learn humility in order to become a wise and compassionate sovereign, he made sure that Arthur had a good and decent childhood. As he grew, Myrddin offered him advice and support. Once Arthur wielded Excalibur and found his destiny, Myrddin kept no secrets from him."

"Dumbledore wanted to protect our ghergo'ir from much of wizarding society as well keep him unassuming, but once he placed him with the Dursleys, he never verified that Harry was safe and well. When he needed assistance, Dumbledore kept things from him or phrased his advice as riddles, causing him to make more mistakes as he attempted to muddle through. Young Arthur won in great part because of Myrddin's support and guidance. Our ghergo'ir survived as long he has almost in spite of Albus Dumbledore." The last two words were almost spit from her mouth as if poison.

Harry blinked in surprise. While the Clan had questioned him over the summer about his upbringing, they had typically declined to comment on the actions of others, only to say that young should be treasured and cherished. To hear what amounted to ringing condemnation from Ydraith was unexpected.

Ydraith's eyes softened as she laid a hand on her chest and bowed from the waist to Harry, offering a full apology from one family member to another. "Forgive this old one, ghergo'ir. My prejudices should not contaminate your perspective."

The teen bowed in response, crossing his arms and resting his hands on his shoulders as he offered his respect of autgabin to nafldask, and lowered his eyes in deference. "Your wisdom is welcome and respected, Nalfdask."

Harry and Draco were chuckling as they approached the Great Hall for breakfast where their friends were waiting for them. Narcissa had shared some of the pranks Draco had played on his tutor during luncheon the previous day, but Draco regaled Harry with the tricks she never learned about, leaving the Gryffindor laughing loudly as they came in earshot.

"How could he have believed the note though, Draco?" Harry gasped.

Draco's smirk was in full force. "I was a precocious lad with full access to the Malfoy library. I found a charm that changed the handwriting, of course."

"Of course" Harry snickered. He paused as he realized Hermione, Ron and Neville were on one side of the Great Hall's doorway, while Pansy Parkinson, Vince Crabbe, Greg Goyle and Blaise Zabini were on the opposite side.

"Good morning" he said cheerfully to both groups. Nodding to Draco he added "See you in class" before holding his arm out for the ladies to proceed him into the Great Hall.

"The twins would appreciate some of Draco's pranks" he said to Ron, holding back a snicker at the devious nature of a young Draco's revenge towards a smarmy tutor.

Ron kept him entertained with some of the new products coming out soon from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, the twins highly lucrative joke shop in Diagon Alley.

Harry didn't pay much attention to the Owl Post when no letters came his way, and even breathed a sigh of relief that his latest round of letter writing was apparently done. He ignored the students buying the Daily Prophet, as he found the publication beneath contempt after the lies it had printed over the years. Unfortunately, he heard Hermione's muttered "oh no" as she read the front page of her own newspaper.

"Please tell me that comment wasn't on my behalf, Hermione." She glanced up briefly and the look on her face made him close his eyes. "OK, how bad is it?"

The brown haired girl passed her newspaper over to him.

"Boy-Who-Lived Claimed as Veela Mate" by Rita Skeeter

In a shocking revelation, this reporter learned that The-Boy-Who-Lived has become romantically involved with Draco Malfoy, heir to the House of Malfoy. Like many ancient pureblood families, the Malfoys have Veela ancestry; the younger Malfoy inherited Veela blood from both his father Lucius and his mother Narcissa (Black) Malfoy. He reached his inheritance this summer and identified Harry Potter as his True Mate within days of the teens returning to Hogwarts for their sixth year.

"It was definitely a surprise for Harry" related a close friend. "He wasn't interested in blokes before. But when he discovered that denying a Veela its Mate usually resulted in the Veela's death, he agreed to see if he and Malfoy could work something out."

Anonymous sources related that the two teens notified their Houses at the end of the week, and moved into family quarters at Hogwarts this past weekend. "They were rivals throughout the last five years, especially when they were both Seekers of their House Quidditch teams" a close friend of the boys said. "However, Malfoy's Veela choice turned that around."

What impact will this have on the conflict with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named? Will the younger Malfoy become the second most wanted target of the Dark Lord, just behind his Mate? Will Mr. Potter re-evaluate his position on pureblood policies as a result of his liaison with Mr. Malfoy? Obviously, many eyes will be scrutinizing the teens over the upcoming months.

Harry cursed fluently under his breath and then glanced over towards the Slytherin table. Silver eyes met his own and a brief movement indicated they could discuss it after breakfast. He gave a nod of agreement and handed the paper back to Hermione.

Her sharp eyes hadn't missed the nearly imperceptible non-verbal conversation between the young men, and she had to lift her teacup to her mouth to hide her grin.

Draco and Harry had different classes for the first lesson of the day, but met up for Transfiguration later in the morning. Several class mates had teased him about the newspaper article, but Harry kept a dry smile on his face and ignored the needling. Learning to control his temper had been a large part of his summer with the Clan.

Harry waited outside Transfiguration for Draco. They chatted briefly about Quidditch until they moved out of earshot of others and then Harry muttered "Will your father be safe with that article being published?"

The blonde's eyes widened slightly. "You're concerned about my father?"

Harry nodded once sharply. "What will Voldemort do when he sees that?"

A brief smile played across the Slytherin's lips. "You never fail to surprise me, Harry. I also owe you an apology. We should have discussed this when my parents were here yesterday."

Harry raised an eyebrow briefly. "As soon as you said we could share quarters but before the announcement to our Houses, my father sought an audience with the Dark Lord. I hope you don't mind, but he implied that your relationship with Dumbledore was less than perfect and suggested that over time you might be swayed in your beliefs." At Harry's hard look, Draco smirked. "Think like a Slytherin, Harry. By the time the audience was completed, the Dark Lord said we had until the end of the school year to use the Veela bond to turn you towards his side. That essentially means we bought some time and you won't be targeted before then."

The Gryffindor's mind raced through the implications and a slight smirk appeared on his own lips. "Perhaps I can discuss staging a disagreement with the Headmaster in the future." Green eyes met silver and met an amused accord.

Lowaar = indwellers

Ir'svaus' waph = outdweller, one who lives

Ghergo'ir = Young one

Autgabin = Grandson

Nafldask = Grandmother