FINDING HOME
Chapter 5. Heroes Identification
The air in the crowded room was so thick that it was getting hard to breathe. And Harry was still wrapped in the stupid blanket like a baby! He would gladly take it off, but a quick check already confirmed that he was naked under it. And no matter how hot it was here, Harry would rather suffocate than allow all these reporters to post a description of his "fragile body". Only several months ago, he actually thought that Rita Skeeter was the worst of their kind. How wrong he was…
But damn it, when would they leave him alone already? He was brought to St.Mungo's not to be demonstrated to whoever was interested, but to be examined. At least that's what Minister Fudge assured him of.
The desire to throw off the blanket was growing. Aside from the heat, his spots were itching again. Harry hated them already. The mediwitch who examined him said that those spots will most likely stay, as they appeared when he was still an elf. Although we can heal both humans and elves, she explained, no magic could rid a human body of marks of elvian origin. It would require a combination of two types of magic that simply did not mix.
Now Harry was doomed to wear little itching black spots covering his hands, neck and shoulders. Thankfully, there were none on his face, probably because he shielded his face when all hell broke loose. This was the last thing Harry remembered from the encounter with Pettigrew: first pain, as if he was turned inside out, then Voldemort's entrance, realization that he had no means to protect himself, not even his wand was at hand, but he needed to stop Voldemort, and then, then... insufferable heat all around him, piercing into his skin, there surely had to be flames, it felt as if he was burning alive, he could not see anyone anymore, both Voldemort and Wormtail were gone, and he had to escape, so he ran off, unseeing and confused.
But damn, this itch was awful! How could it be that wizards healed broken bones with one touch of a wand, but could not remove a few little spots? All he got was an advice to wash his skin with cool water whenever the itch started. An idiotic recommendation. Even a Muggle doctor would do better! At least his face remained unscathed. The thought of possible nicknames Draco Malfoy would invent for Harry if he had both a scar and spots on his face, was dreadful.
A cheerful voice reached Harry's ears, and he almost groaned. Not Lucius Malfoy again! Harry knew what was coming. Malfoy would parade into the room, drape his arm around Harry's shoulders and proceed to introduce the reporters to the hundredth version of I-Found-The-Poor-Child-Deep-In-The Woods-On-The-Brink-Of-Death-And-My-Heart-Almost-Broke-At-The-Sight. With each retelling, the tale became more and more detailed and heart-wrenching.
Harry did not recall anything that happened since he rushed out from his bedroom at the Dursleys', but he could bet that Malfoy was lying. He had to be! Lucius Malfoy was a Death Eater and a complete bastard. If he found Harry Potter dying, he would sit back and enjoy the show rather than take "the poor child" home.
But there were facts that Harry could not deny, things he was told at St.Mungo's by the personnel… Lucius Malfoy was the one who reported about discovering Harry, it seemed that the bastard even healed most of his wounds. So it must have been a voluntary decision on his part to bring Harry to the hospital.
It was very confusing. Harry could not decide how to behave around Malfoy. On one hand, the man was his savior, on the other, he was Evil and had to be playing at something.
"Judging by the solemn look, I would think that you either are deep in thought or suffer from a stomachache," the voice spoke into Harry's ear suddenly, and the boy jumped.
Harry jerked up and realized that all the reporters once flooding his room were gone, and he was left alone with Lucius Malfoy. No need to feign gratitude then. Harry scowled.
'What do you want from me? If you expect a medal for my rescue, I don't have it. You will have to ask Fudge."
The blond man smirked. "I am afraid I will have to satisfy myself with a little publicity, since they have no medals left. They already granted all rewards they had to the Brave Peter."
"Huh?" Not the best reaction, but Harry could not care less about impressing Lucius Malfoy with his eloquence.
"I am talking about our darling Peter and his posthumous rehabilitation. I bet your godfather is mad with fury now…"
That got Harry's full attention. "What do you know about my godfather?" he asked worriedly.
"Oh, everything. This little boastful rat would not shut up for a minute whenever he sneaked into my home. I would happily poison him if it was not the risk of offending Voldemort."
Wait. Peter – Wormtail – hero?! Harry shook his head, still uncomprehending. "You mean Peter Pettigrew? Why would they call him a hero?"
Lucius slightly tilted his head, studying Harry. "But of course he is a hero… When You-Know-Who found a way to get to the Boy Who Lived, our fearless Gryffindor who spent so many years pretending to be dead and spying for the Ministry, followed the dark wizard and killed him before any harm could be brought to the defenseless child."
Malfoy paused, obviously taking pleasure in watching Harry's expression changing from puzzled to horrified, and went on, apparently quoting a newspaper article from memory: "Even at school, Peter showed deep interest and keen understanding of ancient forms of magic. Now, many years later, he applied this extensive knowledge in the most critical hour, when the fate of the whole world depended on him. Unwavering, the man stood in the way of the darkness threatening to swallow yet another innocent victim…"
"But Pettigrew betrayed my parents! And Professor Dumbledore told me that it had been my magic that had stopped Voldemort. Elvian magic," protested Harry forgetting for a moment about his initial intention to ignore the man.
"Come on, Potter, do you really think that a wizard with any self-respect left would allow oneself to be saved by a mere house elf? And you were a house elf when Voldemort died. Can you imagine what the idea of a house elf defeating the most powerful dark wizard alive would do to the house elves community? The Ministry would never let such a nonsense reach public ears and turn our world upside down. Now, what were you saying about Pettigrew betraying your parents? Keep in mind that there is no proof to your accusations."
Harry's eyes burned with indignation. "This is true! You know it is! Wormtail is a traitor and a Death Eater! I will tell them!"
Lucius smiled indulgently. "According to the official version, Pettigrew was working undercover. After failing to protect Potters from Sirius Black, he continued to fight for the Light, joining Voldemort to find out about his plans. He gave a vow to defend little Harry, even if it would cost him his life," Lucius sighed. "I never guessed Fudge had a thing for romantic stories, but it took him no more than ten minutes to turn a Death Eater into a self-sacrificing hero."
Lucius Malfoy headed to the door. Putting his hand on the doorknob, he added: "Have a nice day, and don't forget that our official press conference will be held tomorrow, 11 am. Do try to keep silence there. If you let me do all the talking and won't forget to nod in the right places, perhaps you will manage to avoid some unpleasant situations. Nobody is interested in hearing your version. If you fail to follow the stream, you will probably end up in another department of St.Mungo's. It would be fairly easy for the press to turn the Boy Who Lived into the Boy Who Lost His Sanity."
He disappeared behind the door, leaving Harry to ponder if this last phrase should be considered a threat.
A small author note:
First, I would like to apologize for making you wait so long for this update (if anyone waited, that is). I got distracted with writing the sequel for The Arrangement that, as you may have noticed, is now posted. Of course, you guys could always do something to make the next chapter appear faster... Reviews do have this stimulating effect on me *wiggles eyebrows*
Now to all those who left their comments for the previous chapter: Natalie, leggy-stinks, Blake, Ryllis, Sime Fireblaze, MOI, Nez, nightwing, Khissa, sras (one hundred points for getting into my concept of house elves! And yes, I am not quite done with those creatures in this fic), Anni, Calmardaa, litecrystal, SBBO - thank you very, very much. It makes me so happy to know that you read and enjoy the story!
