Harry Potter was not a dumb man, not by any means. So, when Draco Malfoy has a long lost cousin appear out of nowhere at the exact time his father went to Azkaban… it seemed a little fishy to him.
Him and Draco had become rather close friends over the last few years, he was one of the only people who really knew Draco. They have had long conversations about families and traditions, one time in fifth year Draco even brought out a family tree to show Harry how all the pureblooded ties were connected.
It had only been 2 days into the new term when Harry remembered something very important about the Malfoy lineage…
Lucius Malfoy had been an only child.
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It was the very end of their first week when they had their first potions class of the year, double blocked with Gryffindor, of course. When they walked in, they were all surprised to see that the chalkboard at the front of the room had a drawing of the classroom on it. Harry frowned and looked over at Draco confused, the blonde only shrugged, confused himself.
The group moved and went to their normal part of the classroom to sit. It was less than 10 seconds after class was supposed to start that Severus walked in, an almost sadistic look on his face. Abraxas frowned, Severus had been his best friend for a long, long time now, and he knew nothing good came from that look.
"because I have been having issues when it comes to seating the last few years, I have decided that from now on, you all will be in assigned seats." He spoke calmly, looking over the group of students.
"oh, that's cruel," Harry whispered to Draco, who he was sitting next to. Draco couldn't help but make a noise in agreement.
Severus took out a piece of parchment from his robe pocket and started reading off names. "Parkinson and Bullstrode, Row 1 station 3" was the first set of names that Severus called that had any of the friend group in it. Pansy sighed and stood with her backpack,
"I bid you farewell, gentlemen," she fake curtsied and then got up to go sit with Bullstrode at the work station they would share for the rest of the year.
"I'm not going to lie," Harry said quietly, turning in his seat so he was also talking to Blaise and Abraxas who were currently sitting at the desk behind them. "I'm terrified of who he's going to put me with. I just hope Professor Snape is feeling somewhat merciful today."
"Malfoy D and Longbottom, row 2 station 1," Severus called. Harry turned and gave Draco a little smirk, said blonde had all the blood drained from his face,
"he's not feeling merciful." Draco all but squeaked, he felt Harry pat his shoulder and he couldn't help the weak glare he shot at his friend. He stood and took a couple of deep breaths before going to sit down at his table with his new lab partner.
"Longbottom," Draco greeted, nodding his head a bit as he sat down, he noticed the surprise that filtered over Neville's face at the not hostile greeting he received. Draco thought he definitely liked not seeing hatred in the others eyes, like he was expecting. He hadn't spoken to Longbottom since either 3rd or 4th year, maybe he didn't detest him anymore?
The Gryffindor looked like he was about to respond when he was nudged by Ron Weasley on his way to his own new seat,
"sorry 'bout your luck, mate." Ron said to Neville as he walked by "can't get much worse than malfoy." The redhead made sure he was talking loud enough that Draco could hear him.
Draco couldn't help frowning, the comment stung just a little. Well, there went that thought- Of course Longbottom still despised him; it wasn't like it wasn't Draco's fault that the other hated him, but he still hated that he was hated.
"I don't know, Weasley," Draco quipped back, "he could be stuck with you, after all."
Weasley's face turned 7 shades of red in anger before he stormed off to his own seat. Draco jumped just a little when he felt and heard Neville snickering from beside him. He couldn't help looking at the other in confusion and apprehension. What was this guy playing at?
Neville looked up at Draco then and the Gryffindor found he didn't like the anxiety and little bits of fear sitting in the others eyes. Was Draco afraid of him? The two of them hadn't spoken in years now, Neville didn't remember if anything significant happened. It just seemed like one day Malfoy was treating him like shit and then the next he was ignoring his entire existence.
"so," Neville started, taking a breath "I'm not all that great in potions, we both know this, and I'm sorry you're stuck with me as a partner" he said really quickly. Draco just seemed to look at him for a moment before a half smile came to his face; Neville felt his heart quicken when he saw Draco smile, even if it was closed off and guarded.
"Don't worry about it, maybe I can help you?" Draco offered, "I'm pretty sufficient in potions if I do say so myself, we could meet up after classes and I can tutor you?" The blonde liked the grin that Neville threw his way.
"well Malfoy, if we're going to be seeing more of each other- Hi, I'm Neville." The Gryffindor held out his hand and his grin widened when Draco reached over and shook it.
"Call me, Draco."
Back on the other side of the classroom, the rest of the class was getting their assigned seats. Harry felt like it was taking forever to get his name called,
"Malfoy A and Potter, Row 4 station 3." Snape finally called out. Harry turned around in his seat, already seeing Abraxas up and going towards their new station. Harry really hoped that being partners with him wasn't going to be weird or awkward. He got up and followed Abraxas over to their new station.
The blonde looked up at him and gave him a bit of a smile,
"y'know," Harry said as he sat down "I'm not sure we ever properly met. I'm Harry, it's nice to meet you." Abraxas looked him over for a second before his smile gets a little bigger,
"Abraxas. And the pleasure is all mine."
-HHLL HHLL HHLL-
It was about a month into the school year now, and Abraxas found being a teenager again to be rather interesting and annoying at the same time. But he thought he was managing himself alright.
It was the middle of the night, Abraxas was in his bed with the curtains drawn, reading a book by wandlight. He knew it was getting late, and he should head to bed, but he was very interested in the story and it was a Friday night, so he figured there was no harm in indulging himself.
It was half past 3 in the morning when Abraxas heard the curtains around one of the other beds in the dorm being slid open. He furrowed his eyebrows, who in god's name was awake at this hour? He listened closely to the person, and he frowned when he heard sniffling and quiet crying coming from whoever was awake. He listened as the other man padded himself silently over to the door of the dorm and left.
Abraxas peaked out of his own curtains to look around the room, he was surprised when he saw Harry's bed to be the one that was empty. His frown only deepened when he realized exactly who was up at this hour crying. He slowly made his way out of his bed and left the dorm to see if he could go find the other.
Abraxas made his way down the stairs and saw Harry sitting in a window nook that outlooked the underside of the Black lake, and Abraxas could tell even in the limited light that there were tear streaks down Harry's face. He made his way over to him and sat down at the other end of the nook, noticing as Harry jumped at his presence.
"Abraxas?" Harry asked a bit confused, rubbing his eyes to try to get the tears out of them so he was no longer crying. "what are you doing up at this hour?"
"I could ask you the same thing," Abraxas hummed,
"I didn't wake you up, did I?" Harry asked, an even deeper frown coming onto his face. Abraxas quickly shook his head before Harry got too upset,
"no, I was up already, but I heard you leave and I just wanted to make sure everything was okay." The blonde said gently, noticing how Harry turned his face away from him just a bit to try to hide some of the tears.
"yeah, I'm okay." Harry whispered, hugging his knees to his chest. Abraxas didn't buy that for a minute though, so he just waited a little bit to see if Harry would open up on his own. His patience was rewarded,
"I'm just… very tired." He sighed, "not physically tired, but like emotionally tired. Like I'm just so exhausted all the time. I thought it was just residual effect from the abuse and neglect over the summer, but I've been eating normally now for a while and the bruises have long been faded…" Harry leaned his head up against the window pane, looking out at the ecosystem that lived under the water. He kept talking, and the more he talked the more he couldn't get himself to shut up. Eventually, he had babbled to Abraxas about everything that seemed to be troubling him, from classes to his overall miserable-ness.
"and Abraxas… all I want to do is sleep," he said after a rather long spiel, looking over at him. Abraxas frowned deeply as the tears that had momentarily stopped started flowing down Harry's face again. "all I want to do is sleep but every time I close my eyes I have… I have these horrible nightmares…" his voice cracked and quivered, it was obvious this was something big to Harry. "and I know they're just dreams, I know they are… but I wake up in the middle of every night screaming because of them. and thank god for silencing charms or you all would be sick and tired of me…"
Harry squeezed his eyes shut and the tears just came faster and harder, a sob escaping him despite himself. Abraxas did the only thing he knew to do, he moved closer to Harry and pulled him into his arms, hugging him close. He thought Harry was going to protest and pull away at first, but the brunette just let another sob escape him and before he hid his face in Abraxas' neck.
He rubbed his back soothingly, "shh Harry," he said softly, he was surprised by how soft his own voice was. He just held the other for a long while, rocking them back and forth and humming quietly to get Harry to calm down. He let out a small sigh of relief when he felt Harry start to relax against him.
"thank you…" Harry whispered after a while, Abraxas hummed in acknowledgement.
"you're welcome. I know you are much closer with Draco, but if you ever need an ear to listen or a shoulder to lean on, I'm here for you as well." Harry looked up at him and smiled,
"I'll remember that." The brunette said before pulling away from the blonde and getting up to go back to their dorm. Abraxas couldn't help the small smile that formed on his face as he watched Harry go.
-HHLL HHLL HHLL-
Draco and Neville had been meeting up outside of class every few days since they were first assigned their seats in potions. Draco wasn't lying when he said he would tutor Neville, and the Gryffindor was making fast progress.
"do you remember the potion we made sometime last year that was like amortentia but less intense?" Draco asked Neville as he walked up to him in the room of requirement, carrying a few potions books.
"vaguely," Neville answered honestly, an easy grin coming to his face, Draco tried not to blush at it.
"well, I know for a fact that Severus is going to be asking us to brew the real thing in class sometime this year, and since it's rather similar to this lite version, I figured we could use it for practice." Draco sat down next to the brunette at the makeshift potions lab the room had provided for them. He noticed Neville nodding his head out of the corner of his eye,
"That sounds like a good idea. How does this one work again? I know amortentia smells like the things you love, and has to be ingested to actually work as a love potion- but I don't remember anything about this one." Neville chuckled softly, paying close attention to the way Draco's lips twitched up into an amused grin at the banter,
"So, this one isnt actually a love potion- not in the traditional sense, anyway." The blonde hummed, "When you drink it, it doesn't make you fall in love with whoever gave you the potion. Instead, it tells you who you are falling in love with- if you're falling in love." Draco explained. When he turned to Neville he saw that the Gryffindor was giving him an odd look,
"and how do you know that it isnt going to tell you the wrong thing and then send you on some journey towards the wrong destiny?"
Draco blinked and tilted his head to the side a little bit, a small smirk on his face, "Because it isnt just blindly guessing from a list of people. It dives deep into your magic to bring forth the answer- because even if you don't know that you're falling in love, or you don't want to admit it; there's no hiding from your magic."
Neville felt his chest tighten just a little bit and he forced a blush off of his face, "alright, let's get started, shall we?"
A couple of hours went by with the boys brewing and chatting, and finally when the potion changed from a weird purple color to a vivid red- they knew it was finished.
"I dare say," Draco smiled as he inspected the potion, "that you have a perfectly brewed Diatirium potion." He watched a large grin spread across the others face as he ladled some of the potion into two vials.
"I never did get to try my Diatirium potion last year- probably because it exploded in my face." Neville joked, his grin only grew when Draco snorted in response, "how does it work exactly? Is it going to just tell me if I'm falling in love, or something?"
"The last time I took it, I wasn't in love with anybody, so it simply said that." The blonde shrugged, "well, it doesn't exactly say anything, it isnt like some disembodied voice in your mind, it's more of…" Draco paused to look for the right set of words, "it's more of just a sense of knowing that washes over you."
When Draco finishes his sentence, he hands Neville a vial of the potion, which he takes and turns over in his hand a few times. When he looks up at the blonde he sees him holding out his own vial,
"Cheers?"
Neville looks at him for a second and can't help the grin on his face, he clinks their vials together and then they both down them like a shot.
Neville doesn't know what he's expecting, but he finds the warmth that starts to bubble up in his chest feels rather nice. He closes his eyes and leans back in his chair, waiting for the potion to do its thing.
Slytherin green, blue eyes, a playful smirk, bubbling laughter, blonde hair…
It hits him right as he hears a quiet "oh, no…" from his companion, and when he opens his eyes he sees Draco standing and then backing away from him.
"I… I should go," Draco stammers out, not able to look him in the face anymore.
Neville frowned as Draco moved toward the door of the room, he found himself up and out of his seat before he even knew what was going on. He gently grabbed Draco by the wrist,
"Where are you going?" he asked softly.
Draco downed the potion easily, and it was only a matter of seconds before it started to take effect.
Dusty brown hair, Gryffindor red and gold, luscious green plants, crooked grins, hazel eyes…
Draco's eyes snap open and look at the man in front of him, he can't stop himself from letting out an "Oh, no…" as he realizes exactly what the potion was telling him. He quickly stood up and started to back away, and when he saw the hazel eyes in front of him open, he quickly turned so he has his back to the other,
"I… I should go," he mumbled, trying to make his escape, but he's stopped by a hand gently wrapping around his wrist,
"Where are you going?" the tone in the others voice is soft, and in that moment Draco wished that Neville wasn't so kind. He honestly didn't know the answer to that question; and he couldn't think of a lie quick enough so he just stayed quiet. He glances over his shoulder at the brunette and he knew a bright blush had to be covering his face.
Neville watched the way Draco reacts to him closely; the blonde tried to pull away from his grip by backing up some more, but Neville followed him easily until he had backed himself against a wall.
"You don't have to leave," Neville stepped closer to him,
"I-I should…" Draco tried to counter, but Neville just took another step closer,
"And why should you?" Neville's voice sounds like velvet, when he didn't receive an answer he continues, "Is it because of the potion?" he watched Draco nod almost against his will.
Neville stared down at him for a moment before he took one last step closer, moved his hand from Draco's wrist to the back of his neck, and kissed him soundly. He feels Draco's breath hitch and then he feels him relax into, and return, the kiss.
When they pull apart, they're both a little out of breath. Neville rested their foreheads together,
"Now do you think you should go?" he whispered. He got his answer when Draco reached up to kiss him thoroughly.
-HHLL HHLL HHLL-
Harry was idly sitting on the edge of the astronomy tower, kicking his feet as they dangled over. He hated to admit that sometimes, he would look down at the hard ground hundreds of feet below him and think about how easy it would be to just lean forward and…
"Harry?" the ex-Gryffindor jumped a little and turned in his spot, effectively dislodging his gaze from the ground; and his mind from the thought of falling very quickly towards it.
Abraxas had been on his way up to the tower to do some last minute astronomy homework. He pushed open the door and was surprised when he looked up and saw somebody already inside. They were perched precariously on the ledge of the tower, and when he finally got a good look at the other student, he was even more surprised to see Harry. From what Abraxas could remember, Harry didn't take astronomy. What was he doing all the way up here?
He called out the man's name as he started to walk towards him. He watched as Harry jumped and then turned to him, but he didn't say anything other than, "Oh, hey…" before slowly turning to look back out at the grounds.
Abraxas frowned, he didn't like the look in his eyes, he knew what Harry was thinking about. The blonde put his things down on the ground before he walked over to the ledge that Harry was on and climbed onto it as well.
When Harry looked over, he saw Abraxas sitting just staring out over the grounds. His gaze rested on the horizon line, and then to the slowly darkening sky.
Harry watched him for a while, just taking in all the little details that he hadn't given himself time to notice before. He finds his breath unexpectedly taken away as the moonlight cascaded over the others pale skin, highlighting every feature on his face. The way the stars danced in his blue eyes made Harry think that they were made out of diamonds.
They sat in silence for a long while, Harry alternating his gaze from the sky and Abraxas. He didn't even realize how late it was until he heard the midnight train whistle from the direction of the Hogsmeade station.
"C'mon, Harry," Abraxas said softly, climbing off of the ledge and pulling Harry down with him, "we should get to bed before someone catches us." Harry nodded and the two of them started on the trek back to the dungeons.
"Abraxas?" Harry stopped them as they got to the entrance to the dorms; Harry and the blonde hadn't said much to each other tonight, but it felt like they were connecting deeper than Harry would have thought he would.
"Yes?" Abraxas asked once he turned to look back at Harry.
"Thank you…For sitting with me tonight…"
"You're welcome," Abraxas smiled kindly, a soft look in his eyes that he didn't even know he had, "anytime you need me, I'm here."
Harry felt warm at the offering, and after quiet goodnights, they both climbed into their respective beds and fell asleep for the night.
A/N: Thank you for reading and I hope you liked the second chapter of Twisted Fate! If you have any comments or suggestions, I'd love to hear them!
Thank you again!
-HHLL