Nothing is Ever Easy

Author: Renegade Moon

Rating: PG-13

Summary: Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy are killed by the Dark Lord. But Draco is in danger too, Voldemort has vowed to kill every Malfoy so that he would be the one and only Slytherin heir. Draco has to change his identity, and that means a new appearance, a new name, a new life. Things will be hard for him. But then again, nothing is ever easy.

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to JK Rowling, except the plot.

Author's Note: Hey everyone! First of all, I have something to tell you guys. READ MY SISTER'S FICS!! My sis hasn't been able to write for a long time, but now she's back on ff.net! And she asked me to advertise for her stories... So if you would read them, I'd be grateful! Her penname's Anyadelle and she writes mystery and adventure, or D/H romance...
THANK YOU : Maddie, lisaturpin (I haven't had time to read your stories yet, but I promise I will, and I'll review too !), Rebecca, Lilie Blaze (your fic 'A dragon's heart' is great ! Sorry I haven't had time to review yet...), Starrynights13, Camille, Atepogs, Sanaria, grr argh (Harry won't hate Alex/Draco forever, don't worry), cheerprincess343, nessa-girl, Starry Skies, Akira Gown, DeathAngelHell, Pink Witch (Wow, thanks for putting me on both you fav author and fav stories list !).

Chapter 10 : The Swords

"I'll be right back!" Draco told Harry, Ron and Hermione, before he walked out of the library.

The four of them had gone to the library to do their homework— they had to write an essay on centaurs for Care of Magical Creatures— and Draco had forgotten his books in their dormitory.

As he ran back to the Gryffindor common room, he suddenly bumped into someone and fell to the floor with a loud thud.

"Hey!" someone yelled. "Watch where you're going!"

Draco looked up, recognizing the voice instantly. It was Pansy. He hadn't talked to her—  nor to any other Slytherin— since his change. She looked furious, and the contents of her bag were sprawled on the ground.

"You stupid Gryffindor!" she spat, trying to gather all her things.

Draco felt his anger rising, remembering everything he had heard her say about him— about Draco, thinking he was dead. "Shut up, Pansy," he said without thinking.

Her head suddenly came up. "What?" she said sharply, a suspicious frown on her face. "It's Parkinson to you, filthy mudblood-lover gryffindor. I heard about you. Potty's new friend, right? And a mudblood's boyfriend too..." She shook her head slowly, looking disdainfully at him.

Draco glared at her. Words he had overheard her say echoed through his mind, "That Malfoy brat, no wonder he's dead, he wasn't good enough for the Dark Lord anyway... I knew he was going to end up this way... and I had to act like I was sad for that git..." Draco was furious. Right now, she was the person he hated and despised most in the world. As she went on and on insulting him, he tried as best as he could to control himself. He feared he might say something that would reveal his true identity, so he said nothing. She stuffed her books, quills and pieces of parchment roughly into her bag.

"Now, get out of my way," she said.

He raised an eyebrow. There was plenty of room for her to his sides, and he wasn't going to move.

"Why shoud I?" he said.

She took her wand out and pointed it at him.

That was when it happened.

Draco felt something strange inside him. Memories of dreams he'd had came back to him in a rush, dreams in which he was holding a silver and green sword like he'd always wanted to have. Pansy was going to hex him, and he knew he wouldn't be able to grab his wand fast enough. Something suddenly appeared in his clenched fist. Something hard, heavy and cold. Pansy saw it and gasped, before running away in the opposite direction.

Draco stood there staring after her, petrified and bewildered. He dropped the thing in his hand and it fell on the floor with a loud clatter. He looked down and saw it was a sword. A long, silver sword with emeralds the size of eggs on its handle, lay at his feet. A name was engraved just below the hilt.

Salazar Slytherin.

********************

Dumbledore was pacing in front of his desk in his office, a worried frown on his face.

"I don't know what to do, Albus," said Severus Snape, who was sitting in a chair beside the desk. "If I don't do it, I won't prove my loyalty to the Dark Lord and won't be able to be a spy anymore— if I'm still alive at all. But I can't do what he asked either; I can't deliver Malfoy to Voldemort."

Dumbledore didn't answer. He was still pacing, his head bowed and a hand to his mouth. He seemed to be in deep concentration, trying to find a solution. Snape looked at him, waiting for an answer.

Eventually, the Headmaster stopped and gazed at Snape. "We have no choice, we must tell Draco who he is."

Snape sighed. Dumbledore was right, of course. The boy had the right to know. He was about to say so, when he saw Dumbledore looking at him strangely, a twinkle in his eyes.

"What?" Snape asked.

The Headmaster remained silent for a moment, then said, "When are you supposed to take Draco to Voldemort?"

Snape stared at him. "Well, as soon as possible, or I won't—"

"How late can you afford to be?" Dumbledore cut him off impatiently.

"I-I don't know," Snape muttered, confused by Dumbledore's question. "Voldemort doesn't know he's still at Hogwarts, and he thinks I don't know either, so it could take a few days for me to find him..."

A twinkle of hope lit Dumbledore's eyes.

"But I don't see what—" Snape began, but Dumbledore cut him off again.

"And Voldemort said the Heirs would recognize one another for who they are, right?"

"Yes, that's what he said was written in that book."

Dumbledore turned around to gaze out the window. It was mid-january and snow covered  the Hogwarts grounds. The lake would be frozen at this time of the year, if it wasn't for the bewitched water that couldn't freeze.

Dumbledore's lips curled up into what could have been in other circumstances the brightest of smiles, but was only the grim, humorless remnants of it.

"I have a plan," he said in barely more than a whisper.

********************

Harry followed Alex into Dumbledore's office, and thay sat in the chairs in front of the desk. Dumbledore peered at them over his half-moon spectacles and gave them a reassurieng smile.

The headmaster cleared his throat. "You are here now because I have something very important to tell you both." Harry and Alex glanced questionningly at each other. Dumbledore looked at Harry and said, "I assume you remember what happened while you were in the Chamber of Secrets during your second year here at Hogwarts, Harry."

The boy nodded, though his brow furrowed. Dumbledore stood and grabbed what looked like a long bundle of cloth from a shelf. He handed it to Harry, who opened it carefully and... gasped.

It was the sword set with shimmering rubies he had made appear out of the sorting hat when he was fighting the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets! (a/n: happens in book 2, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. If you haven't read it, shame on you!) Harry couldn't believe it. He had completely forgotten about that sword. He turned it over, and saw the name engraved on the hilt, Godric Gryffindor. Dumbledore had said only a true Gryffindor could have made it appear. What did he mean, now? And what did Alex had to do with it?

Harry shot a glance at Alex and saw he was staring at the sword, an astonished look on his face.

"This, Harry, as you already know," Dumbledore continued, "is Godric Gryffindor's sword. Your sword."

"What?" Harry and Alex exclaimed as one.

A small smile appeared on Dumbledore's face. "You have been able to simmon the sword when you felt in danger. In so doing, you have proved yourself to be the true Heir of Gryffindor. This sword rightfully belongs to you, now."

Dumbledore then turned to Alex. "And you, boy, are the true Heir of Salazar Slytherin."

Harry stared at Alex, too abashed to speak. How could he be the heir of Slytherin? It didn't make sense at all! Alex, however, didn't look surprised. Instead, he reached into his robes and took out something that looked an awful lot like...

"A sword!" Harry cried. "The exact same as mine!"

Dumbledore looked at the sword. He didn't seem to have been expecting this, but he eventually smiled. Alex handed him the sword, and Harry caught a glimpse of something written on the hilt, Salazar Slytherin.

"So you've already figured it out," Dumbledore told Alex as he gave him back the sword.

"But..." Harry protested, looking fro Dumbledore to Alex and back again. "It can't be... Alex is a Gryffindor, he can't be Slyhterin's heir!"

Dumbledore had the familiar twinkle in his eyes as he looked over at Harry. "Actually, Harry, he is a Slytherin. But I think it best if he explained everything to you himself. For now, though, there is something you must know. The four Hogwarts Founders— Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin, Helga Hufflepuff and Rowena Rvenclaw— had secret magical powers. Nobody knew about it, until a manuscript written by Salazar Slytherin himself was discovered. By Voldemort."

Harry was about to ask how he knew Voldemort had found that manuscript, but Dumbledore held a hand to silence him. "No, Harry, I cannot tell you how I know of this. Anyway, the thing is, only the true heir of the Hogwarts Founders can inherit these powers, by doing a ritual described in Slytherin's manuscript. Then, the Founder's heirs, with their new magical abilities, would be very powerful."

He paused for a moment, looking at Harry and Alex who were gaping at him.

"And the Heirs, should they unite their forces and fight together, would be able to defeat the Dark Lord himself."

a/n: Hi all!! Did you like this chappy?? I hope you did! Review, review, review!! Flames are accepted, it's getting cold here. And leave your email adress if you wanna be on my update list !