Authors note- Sorry I've been so slow with this chapter. I wandered off to
another state for two weeks, and I'm also in the process of moving house.
Please, review and tell me if Draco's explanation makes any sense. If it
doesn't I'll try and write a better one.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...
Draco grinned and shook his head. He was being nicer to them than he usually was (as far as Ginny knew), but he wasn't volunteering anything for free. "Now Harry. You've been my friend for years, and I would love to help you, I really would. But my father is a Death Eater. So, by helping you I'm betraying my own family, the family who raised me, cared for me, funded my education…"
"Get to the point." Ron snapped.
"That is the point." Draco said. "I'm losing a lot more than I'm gaining here."
"So, what do you want?" Hermione asked. She reached for her wallet. "I have two galleons and a stick of gum."
Draco shook his head. "Money I have. What I don't have is the experience of seeing Ronald Weasley willingly publicly humiliate himself." He produced a thick sheaf of papers from the folds of his robe. "I wrote a speech for you."
Ron took it and started to read it. "I, Ron, am a penniless, worthless and ill bred nothing who is even lower than Hermione, the stuck up mudblood. My great-great grandfather was a breed of toad and I have dancing teddy bears on my underwear-"
"You don't read it now." Draco interrupted. "Nope. If you survive this adventure, with my help, then you will read this entire speech while standing on a soapbox in Diagon Alley. On Christmas Eve. When the entire wizarding population is there shopping."
Ron scanned the first page. "I hope I die." He said with a sigh.
Harry glanced over Ron's shoulder. "This is pretty long Draco. When did you write this?"
Draco shrugged. "A few weeks back. I never dreamed I would actually find a use for this literary masterpiece."
Hermione waved her hands impatiently. "Okay. It's agreed. Now tell us, please."
"Hey, I never agreed to anything!" Ron objected. "Look at this! Its five pages long and he's written on both sides of the paper. There's three paragraphs about my underwear, and on page two he wants me to tell them that I'm in love with Neville Longbottom!"
"Ignore him. He'll do it." Hermione said.
"Okay." Draco said, "here's how the highly abridged version goes."
"Once upon a time there was a young man called Tom Riddle. He was the kind of guy you would expect to grow up to be psychotic. Raised in a boys home, never shown much affection, abandonment issues… so he does what anyone would do in his situation, and he becomes the Dark Lord and rains pain and destruction down on everyone he meets. Until he meets a small, weak being called Harry Potter. Decides to destroy Harry and his parents, just for a lark I suppose. But Harry repeatedly beats him back. It's quite embarrassing really. Then one day he has a great idea at three o'clock in the morning-"
"Can you tone down the drama?" Hermione asked tiredly.
"'Fraid not. This is a great story. It has to be told this way. Anyway, its three o'clock in the morning and he wakes up from a dream yelling 'Eureka! I've got it!' The plan-" he leaned in and whispered conspiratorially. "Is to go back in time and delay his metamorphosis into You Know Who!" he grinned. "It's brilliant really. This way, he gets to spend his days being an upstanding member of the community, and his nights quietly recruiting Death Eaters. He forms his army much more quickly the second time round, because he knows who will be swayed and who will stay on the path of goodness and light and all that crap. So his army has been in place for close to thirty years, training and preparing and doing minor evil. Waiting patiently for their big debut. And that debut will be tonight, during dinner. The first time, You-Know-Who conquered everywhere except Hogwarts. This time he plans to work backwards. Hogwarts will be the first to fall, because the Death Eaters are right here. And nobody could possibly foresee half the faculty and almost all of Slytherin suddenly beginning to fire horrible curses at anything that moves."
"So basically, Evil Guy went back in time. Stopped himself from becoming evil. Planned a Trojan Horse attack on the only thing that stands between him and world domination. Is going to kill us all slowly and painfully." Harry summarized.
"See what I mean? It loses all its effect if you put it so simply." Draco said.
"Actually, I thought that Harry's explanation was quite effective. Very terrifying." Ron said.
Hermione stood up. "I'm going to the library." She announced.
"Is this really the time to be study- Oh, you're gonna research counter curses. I'll come too." Ron said.
"I understand how that would mean that all the people he killed are still alive, and nobody would be worried when he decided to teach DADA, but I still don't get why those two are together." Ginny said, watching her brother and Hermione go. "I can't really see You-Know-Who being linked to Ron's love life."
Harry raised a hand "Oh! I know the answer to that!" he said cheerfully. "My mum fancies herself a matchmaker. Ron and 'Mione are her greatest success."
Draco glanced around. "I have to go. Never tell anyone that I was here. Tom Riddle is in the teacher's lounge. He's turned it into a sort of Headquarters. It's entirely possible that you'll find some way to put things right again. You always did before, I hear." He looked deeply regretful for a brief second, then his usual arrogant mask returned to his features. "Harry, we're not friends in the other timeline." He warned. "When- if this is all fixed, we'll be sworn enemies."
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...
Draco grinned and shook his head. He was being nicer to them than he usually was (as far as Ginny knew), but he wasn't volunteering anything for free. "Now Harry. You've been my friend for years, and I would love to help you, I really would. But my father is a Death Eater. So, by helping you I'm betraying my own family, the family who raised me, cared for me, funded my education…"
"Get to the point." Ron snapped.
"That is the point." Draco said. "I'm losing a lot more than I'm gaining here."
"So, what do you want?" Hermione asked. She reached for her wallet. "I have two galleons and a stick of gum."
Draco shook his head. "Money I have. What I don't have is the experience of seeing Ronald Weasley willingly publicly humiliate himself." He produced a thick sheaf of papers from the folds of his robe. "I wrote a speech for you."
Ron took it and started to read it. "I, Ron, am a penniless, worthless and ill bred nothing who is even lower than Hermione, the stuck up mudblood. My great-great grandfather was a breed of toad and I have dancing teddy bears on my underwear-"
"You don't read it now." Draco interrupted. "Nope. If you survive this adventure, with my help, then you will read this entire speech while standing on a soapbox in Diagon Alley. On Christmas Eve. When the entire wizarding population is there shopping."
Ron scanned the first page. "I hope I die." He said with a sigh.
Harry glanced over Ron's shoulder. "This is pretty long Draco. When did you write this?"
Draco shrugged. "A few weeks back. I never dreamed I would actually find a use for this literary masterpiece."
Hermione waved her hands impatiently. "Okay. It's agreed. Now tell us, please."
"Hey, I never agreed to anything!" Ron objected. "Look at this! Its five pages long and he's written on both sides of the paper. There's three paragraphs about my underwear, and on page two he wants me to tell them that I'm in love with Neville Longbottom!"
"Ignore him. He'll do it." Hermione said.
"Okay." Draco said, "here's how the highly abridged version goes."
"Once upon a time there was a young man called Tom Riddle. He was the kind of guy you would expect to grow up to be psychotic. Raised in a boys home, never shown much affection, abandonment issues… so he does what anyone would do in his situation, and he becomes the Dark Lord and rains pain and destruction down on everyone he meets. Until he meets a small, weak being called Harry Potter. Decides to destroy Harry and his parents, just for a lark I suppose. But Harry repeatedly beats him back. It's quite embarrassing really. Then one day he has a great idea at three o'clock in the morning-"
"Can you tone down the drama?" Hermione asked tiredly.
"'Fraid not. This is a great story. It has to be told this way. Anyway, its three o'clock in the morning and he wakes up from a dream yelling 'Eureka! I've got it!' The plan-" he leaned in and whispered conspiratorially. "Is to go back in time and delay his metamorphosis into You Know Who!" he grinned. "It's brilliant really. This way, he gets to spend his days being an upstanding member of the community, and his nights quietly recruiting Death Eaters. He forms his army much more quickly the second time round, because he knows who will be swayed and who will stay on the path of goodness and light and all that crap. So his army has been in place for close to thirty years, training and preparing and doing minor evil. Waiting patiently for their big debut. And that debut will be tonight, during dinner. The first time, You-Know-Who conquered everywhere except Hogwarts. This time he plans to work backwards. Hogwarts will be the first to fall, because the Death Eaters are right here. And nobody could possibly foresee half the faculty and almost all of Slytherin suddenly beginning to fire horrible curses at anything that moves."
"So basically, Evil Guy went back in time. Stopped himself from becoming evil. Planned a Trojan Horse attack on the only thing that stands between him and world domination. Is going to kill us all slowly and painfully." Harry summarized.
"See what I mean? It loses all its effect if you put it so simply." Draco said.
"Actually, I thought that Harry's explanation was quite effective. Very terrifying." Ron said.
Hermione stood up. "I'm going to the library." She announced.
"Is this really the time to be study- Oh, you're gonna research counter curses. I'll come too." Ron said.
"I understand how that would mean that all the people he killed are still alive, and nobody would be worried when he decided to teach DADA, but I still don't get why those two are together." Ginny said, watching her brother and Hermione go. "I can't really see You-Know-Who being linked to Ron's love life."
Harry raised a hand "Oh! I know the answer to that!" he said cheerfully. "My mum fancies herself a matchmaker. Ron and 'Mione are her greatest success."
Draco glanced around. "I have to go. Never tell anyone that I was here. Tom Riddle is in the teacher's lounge. He's turned it into a sort of Headquarters. It's entirely possible that you'll find some way to put things right again. You always did before, I hear." He looked deeply regretful for a brief second, then his usual arrogant mask returned to his features. "Harry, we're not friends in the other timeline." He warned. "When- if this is all fixed, we'll be sworn enemies."