Disclaimer: JKR owns it all
Timeline: Alternate universe, the story will approx. spans 1980 to 1995
Rating: This chapter PG-13
Chapter: 2/10
Summary: We jump a decade into the future, shortly before Harry's eleventh birthday. There we meet the young Harry Malfoy who's in a fix, between his family's hate for muggles and muggle-born and his natural kindness. And he's determined to find out who his real parents are…
Author's note: Harry is very different, I know, but he's also raised totally different. It's only natural that a child believes until a certain age what the parents say.
The Debt
By Artemis (Artemis1000@gmx.net)
Chapter two: The truth comes out
Summer 1991
In her study Narcissa was reading a book about dark spells intently. She's chewing her lower lip in concentration and every couple of minutes she forcefully tucked a blonde lock behind her ear.
With two boys shortly before puberty and her duties as the lady of the house, she could rarely spare the time to wage war against evil, but still she kept herself up-to-date. Every couple of months Lucius, who's commanding the Aurors by now, would assign her to a not so dangerous, but a dark witch requiring mission and she wanted to be ready for this times.
A timid knock disturbed the silence of the room and as soon as Narcissa had ordered him to enter, Dobby squeezed his head through a slit in the door. "Mistress, dinner ready." Instantly Dobby fled and the witch rolled her eyes. Dobby was still scared because she'd turned him once into a mouse and wanted to feed him Lucius' snakes because he'd gotten the wrong napkins for her boys. And the boys were almost eleven years old…
But dinner was a good idea since Narcissa's hungry herself from all the intense working. So after she'd brought the book back into the library - as Aurors they'd a permit to possess Dark Arts books and were anyway never searched - she went through their large garden to the park.
There Lucius was trying to teach Draco and Harry Quidditch. Trying being the word of the day. Both boys were laughing so much about the other brother's mishaps and clumsiness that they couldn't hold on to their broomsticks for longer than a couple of seconds.
"You three children over there, go upstairs and take a shower, we can have supper", she ordered with an affectionate smile. The boys looked sheepish when they realized she'd seen their failed flying attempts, but Lucius was having a good time teasing them about it.
The beautiful blonde was laughing softly when she walked back the marble
path to the main building, the manor itself.
"Uh… hi guys." Harry sat down at the long dining table opposite to Draco and rubbed his scar in embarrassment.
"Now that we're complete…" Narcissa tapped her wand on the empty table and the next moment it's packed with a fine, silky tablecloth, silverware, finest china and delicious smelling food. "Bon appétit!"
"Bon appétit", it's chorused.
"So, have you any ideas what we can do this weekend? If not let's go to Diagon Alley and fetch school supplies. Darling, will you have to work?", she asked.
"No, I only have to stand to Wednesday night this month. The Dark Lord is dead now for so long, the vast majority of his followers have either been arrested or gave up."
"We could get Harry to tell us what he wants for birthday", suggested Draco with a malicious smile. "Only two weeks are left after all…" He's still holding a grudge cause he hadn't rescued him from Pansy's flirt attack at last dinner party.
"Get over it already, Drac! I told you I didn't saw it!", snapped Harry. Birthday presents were always a touchy topic for him - asking for something embarrassed Harry, although his parents were telling him for years they could very well pay it. "Why don't you tell us which presents you want?"
"A Nimbus and a wand especially designed for Dark Arts."
"You can't even start a broom and you'll only use the Dark Arts wand to hex me! Father, mum, you can't do that."
"Don't fight, children, you make your mother unhappy", admonished Lucius sternly. He loves his boys but they're just gifted in picking fights… "Harry, we'll think of a present for you. Draco, your mother and me will discuss a broom. But for a Dark Arts wand you're too young."
This reminded Harry of something. "I know what I want for birthday. I want you to tell me about my other parents and how I got the scar on my forehead. You always said I'm too young, but now I'm old enough to learn magic and go to Hogwarts…"
Narcissa and Lucius shared a meaningful look. Finally the Auror said, "your mother and me anyway wanted to tell you when you turn 11, Harry. You'll be confronted with your parents, with their and your own past at Hogwarts, it's better if you know the truth."
"Will you tell me too?"
"Yes, Draco, you can be present if Harry doesn't minds."
Harry nodded beaming his approval. He's so happy. Finally he was old
enough to be told about his parents, after so many years! Now Harry had
another reason to look forward to his eleventh birthday.
The next two weeks couldn't pass fast enough for Harry. The only pro about it was that he's turning a formidable flyer, now that he's spending all his day on the broom to keep his mind off his birthday.
A pleasant diversion was in this situation the trip to Diagon Alley. Harry loved Diagon Alley, it's his favourite wizard place and he's always nagging his parents to come.
This visit was special, though. Finally he got the beautiful silk school robes with silver clasps he'd wanted since he was a little boy, his own snowy owl which he named Hedwig and he went to admire the brooms. Harry's less eager to buy school books, considering that he would have to study them. The very thought gave him the creeps. Only buying Potions stuff was tolerable because Lucius told him the teacher was his friend.
Another week and finally July the 31st was there.
With Draco having only two weeks later birthday, they'd agreed this year on one big party instead of two smaller ones.
But that didn't mattered for Harry anyway at this day.
While breakfast he could open his gifts, a children's Nimbus from his parents, a young, still small snake from Draco and a journal with initials from his grandfather. Happy birthday cards he's sent among others from Goyle, Crabbe and Pansy, latter caused all of them a good laugh.
Harry's gaze fell on the last package. It's wrapped in the same paper as the broom, but small and maybe an inch thick. He could somehow feel that it's important. Opening it slowly and with trembling fingers, he found a frame and an envelope. "What is this here?", the confused boy asked.
"This is a magical frame, Harry, you can save several photos on it. Two are on it until now, one of your parents and one of the three of you. In the envelope is a letter from your parents for you."
Suddenly loosing interest in making the baby snake bite Harry, Draco craned his neck to look first at the pictures, then read the letter. He'd the right to know something about his brother's parents, didn't he…?
My beloved son!
I'm so sorry that I could never take care of you, couldn't see you grow up. Know that your father and me loved you more than anything else in the world. Enough to die to save you.
We hope that you are still safe from Voldemort and that the Malfoys take good care of you, that they give you a home and a family.
I don't know if they told you your real identity and if they will. They will know better than me what is necessary to keep you safe and we trusted them enough to give you to them, so please forgive them for the white lies they had to tell you. We all only want you to be safe from Voldemort and his Death Eaters.
There is no more time, they are coming for us. I wish I could write you more but the Malfoys will explain you everything if they can.
We'll love you forever Harry
Mum
"Just a moment! Father, weren't you also once a Death Eater?"
"Yes, I was, Draco. And this is not the right time for such kind of conversations. Harry, are you okay? I suppose you would like me to tell you everything … but I don't know where to start…"
"Uh… if you were a Death Eater and the Death Eaters wanted to kill me because the Dark Lord wanted me dead, why did they trusted you?"
"James, your father, saved once the life of Narcissa and me. We promised that we would pay him back. But instead of asking us to save himself he asked us to save you. He wrote a letter only a couple of days before they died, explaining their misery to me. By then we weren't anymore serving Lord Voldemort, two months ago we'd joined the Ministry of Magic."
"Okay, but why wanted Lord Voldemort to kill me?"
Narcissa took over now. "Because you're dangerous to him. Harry, this may be hard for you to accept, but your last name is Potter and you have had the power to kill the Dark Lord. That's why he wanted to kill you as an infant. So that you could never become a match for him. We managed to reconstruct that after he killed your parents he used Adava Kedavra on you. Somehow, the spell backfired and killed him instead of you. That's where you got the lightning bolt scar."
"You mean… you mean Harry is the Boy Who Lived? My brother Harry Malfoy is the same person as Harry Potter, Boy Who Lived and disappeared the same day Voldemort disappeared? The guy about who's whereabouts nobody knows anything, but there are some rumours he's alive and other he's killed when he killed Voldemort?"
"Yes, exactly this person is your brother."
Harry was still in shock about the part that he's dangerous to the fearsome Lord Voldemort. It took a couple of minutes until the whole informations sunk in. "Woah, that's much. I mean, really much. In fact I'm having here a manor information overload. A few minutes ago I was just a boring, normal boy who happened to be the adoptive son of the Malfoys and now…"
"…you're a blood celebrity!", supplied Draco.
"You know, your quips are not really helpful, Draco. what… what does that mean? Which effects will that have? I mean, of course I need you to tell me more details, so that I really understand what's going and maybe I'll even have to read some books, but… Am I still going to be your son? Or is it now all over because I know now what happened?"
"That depends on you, Harry. You were always more than a duty and over the course of the last ten years you became our own son, no matter if you're the only black-haired Malfoy and if the woman who gave birth to you had the name Potter. Our love for you hasn't changed."
"Thanks, mum, that means a lot to me. Father, Draco?"
"My feelings for you haven't changed either."
"You're still my brother."
"So…", Harry looked still a bit hesitant, "…what now?"
"Why don't you guys try with Harry his new broom while I tell the house elves to make ice cream?"
"Great!"
While everyone else went to bed, Harry found himself sitting in front of his new journal.
I don't have any idea how this will change my life. I mean, honestly everything is turned upside down. I'm not who I always believed I am - not a Malfoy - now it's official that my family isn't really my family. Maybe this will change everything in the long run or maybe nothing will be different but that I know some facts more about my past.
Today wasn't very much different. After all I have a good comparison, knowing how my family treat me before breakfast and after breakfast. We had a nice day with much ice cream, flying and in the afternoon we made a picnic in the forest. We even managed to convince father to swim in the lake. Well, we didn't really convinced him, more like we pushed him into the lake and when he stopped being angry he agreed that it's fun.
It's a beautiful birthday. Now I look forward to my birthday party. There I will get also most of my presents.
I'm not sure if I would choose everything to be like yesterday if I could. I really don't have an idea.
I'm happy that I finally know the truth about my parents, their death and my adoption. But how was that saying… the truth is a bitter pill. It really is. Oblivion was so much more comfortable. But I'm not someone who picks comfortable just because he's afraid or too lazy to face a challenge.
But I also don't want my life to change dramatic since I'm very happy with it the way it is. I like being who I am and what I am, I don't care what people think about my family. My family Malfoy, not Potter. They don't matter anyway. And if my real parents, James and Lily, I found out, trusted mum and father then they have to be deep-down good people, no matter what the majority believes. We all make mistakes and at least they corrected their mistake.
Somehow it's cool that I have two families. Very few people have that.
Okay, there aren't many people either who have defeated Voldemort or are famous as the Boy Who Lived. Hm, that reminds me of something Draco asked me earlier at the lake. He asked if I would become arrogant now, knowing that I'm the hero of all wizards and witches. After I pointed out that he's also arrogant and that without saving the world I really thought about it.
Maybe it will matter for other people, who want to get a part of the Potter money that is still in Gringotts or who just hope they can become famous through me. But I'm still the same person with the same bad habits and faults, I'm still only human. People who really care about me won't care that I'm the Boy Who Lived, they'll only care for me as a person. I'm lucky that I have a family consisting only of this kind of people.
Besides, for the time being nobody will find out. Father says it's safer if I stay being Harry Malfoy than becoming again Harry Potter. Although he's sure that someone who tries hard will find me. He says I look much like James Potter, too much to be inconspicuous. I agree with him after I saw his picture. But at least I'll try keeping it a secret. This way I can make friends at Hogwarts without the burden of being the famous Boy Who Lived. And when they find out, either because I tell them or because the public finds out, then they know me already and noticed that I'm nothing special.
Well, that's more or less my whole battle plan. Father called it a battle plan when we made this decision and I like it.
Yours sincerely
Harry Malfoy-Potter
tbc…