Wow! I'd like to thank all of you that have responded so well to the beginning of this fic. It is going to be a long one so get comfortable. I will try to continue posting regularly but, as you all know, writers can't always control their muses.

This chapter doesn't seem quite as dark as the last but 'real life' means fluctuating moods. So this fic will have a lot of ups and downs. Let me know if the roller coaster gets too bumpy, though.

For those requesting more 'Fate, Love and Parenthood', please be patient. I am desperately trying to get the next chapter finished.

Part 2

Harry gathered his wits about him and made his way back to his bedroom. Glad that he had not impulsively destroyed the letter, he pulled it out once more to read it again. Just as he finished a thought occurred to him.

He had resumed his subscription to the Daily Profit earlier that summer and one issue in particular had originally caused him no small amount of distress. Now, however, the news acted as a balm upon the impotent rage coursing though him. Lucius Malfoy had been released from Azkaban only one week ago.

Harry was sure that the man, by now, had recovered from his short stay at the wizarding prison. He only wondered what the aristocrat's reaction would be at receiving a letter from The Boy Who Lived. Shrugging off the likelihood that he would be thoroughly rebuffed, Harry settled at his desk with parchment, quill and ink to compose his first letter to his father.

While Harry scratched away on the paper, a tentative knock sounded at the door to his room. Grunting shortly at the disturbance, he stood and opened the door to reveal his cousin. 'No. . . not my cousin. No relation at all, even.' He snorted in amusement at that thought. 'Wait till Petunia and Vernon find out they've been had!'

"What do you want, Dudley," he said to the rotund boy. "I'm busy and I really don't feel like telling you any more about my school."

"S-sorry for disturbing you, Ha-Harry," Dudley stammered. "Mum just wanted me to te-tell you that breakfast is ready. Do y-you want me to bring you up a plate? I don't mind. Really!"

Harry closed his eyes briefly and begged the gods for patience. "No thanks. I'll be down in a few minutes. You go ahead and start without me."

"S-sure, Harry! I'll be sure to save you some extra bacon, alright?" With that, Dudley Dursley raced back downstairs as fast as his legs could carry him.

The young wizard sighed as he closed the door and sat back down. Quickly, he finished his letter and sealed it, along with his Dad's, in an envelope.

"Hedwig, are you well enough to deliver this for me?" he asked his faithful pet. "Have you recuperated enough?"

The snowy owl hooted indignantly as if to say 'of course I have you silly boy!' and hopped off her perch and stuck out her leg for the letter.

Harry watched her soar off into the morning sky with a small smile on is face. However, unlike in past years, it was not a smile of joy or happiness. In fact, if anyone who knew him had seen The Boy Who Lived at that moment, they would have shivered in anticipatory fright.

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

Lucius Malfoy lazily sipped his tea before resting on the bedside table. He'd spent most of the last week in bed in order to rebuild his strength after his month-long stay in Azkaban. Thankful that he had not been there longer, he sighed as the memories he'd been forced to relive resurfaced in his mind.

The Malfoy patriarch had worked very hard all those years ago to suppress the pain of betrayal and the Dementors had reveled in bringing it all back to the surface. He'd known long before now what his reaction to the soulless monsters would be but as hard as it had been to be forced to think only of the end of their relationship, Lucius was almost glad that it now enabled him to remember the four years before his world had crumbled around him.

The blonde recalled the look of utter rapture in those beautiful hazel eyes as they'd made love under the stars by the lake shortly before their graduation from Hogwarts. He thought of the smooth skin his fingers had caressed in this very bed while his parents were away one night the summer before their sixth year. Lucius smiled briefly at that memory. It had been the first time they had spent the entire night in each other's arms.

The wizard was interrupted from his musings by the sound of a post owl flying through his bedroom window and landing next to him atop the duvet. Curious as to the late arrival, Lucius ran a manicured hand over the bird's head.

"You're no ordinary post owl are you? No, you are much to lovely for that menial job," he murmured to the snowy owl. At the sight of her proudly ruffling her feathers, Lucius laughed. "Yes, you are most definitely someone's devoted friend. Well. . . let's see what you have for me."

Carefully removing the letter from the owl, the blonde motioned toward a perch and water dish on the other side of the room. As soon as she was free of her burden, the bird flew over and drank gratefully.

Having deftly plucked the pages of parchment from the envelope, the eldest Malfoy arched a delicate eyebrow at the condition of half of the letter. Correctly guessing the neatly folded page would hold an explanation, Lucius opened it and began to read.

Dear Mr. Malfoy,

No doubt, I am the last person in the world that you would expect or want to hear from. . .and for good reason. However, as your eyes scan down to the bottom of this page and see my name, I must beg you to withhold your initial reaction and continue to read what I have to say.

At this, Lucius was already glancing toward the end to learn the identity of the sender. When he saw the name 'Harry Potter', the man nearly lost control. Here was a missive from the one person he hated above all others. He was about to grab his wand to cast a well-aimed incendio on the parchment but at the last moment refrained.

The thought occurred to him that there might be something held within that could be brought to the Dark Lord's attention. Any little bit of knowledge that could help bring the insolent whelp to his doom would be rewarded greatly.

With that in mind, Lucius buried, once more, the grief and humiliation the mere mention of the boy brought forth and continued to read.

Last night, before I went to sleep, my owl returned from a weeklong flight with a letter charmed to be delivered the night before my sixteenth birthday. The envelope had been severely damaged along with the letter it contained.

The information within was, to say the very least, quite a shock. Once you read it (as I have enclosed it) you will understand my reason from writing to you today. To be honest, until this morning I thought it was some great hoax. Not being raised in a wizarding home, I was unaware that what it suggested was even possible. I actually laughed at the whole thing and wondered who thought I'd be stupid enough to believe what was written. The validity was right in front of me as, moments ago, I stood before a mirror.

At this point I am sure you feel you are wasting your time as I have told you nothing of true consequence. My reason for this is to let the other page speak for itself. The words it holds has freed me from a sixteen-year- old lie. I have faith that it will do the same for you.

Once you have read it, please send back a reply with Hedwig. I would like to meet with you as soon as possible.

Yours, Harry Potter

Lucius snort in disgust at the word 'Yours'. He was impressed, however, that nothing the boy had written could be used against him in any way. Everything he'd read, so far, was common knowledge to the entire wizarding world. He hoped that the damaged page held something useful, though. If not, he surely will have only wasted his time.

Dropping the note from Potter, the blonde picked up the other piece of parchment and carefully unfolded it. He had only to see the salutation to know who had written it. As many years that had passed, Lucius still remembered what his dead ex-lover's handwriting looked like.

Not really wanting to see James' confession of an illicit affair to his son, Lucius forced himself to read.

When he'd finished, his thoughts were, unsurprisingly, similar to Harry's earlier that morning. Lucius Malfoy would make sure that Dumbledore paid for his transgressions.

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

Harry had just finished repacking his trunk when Hedwig returned. He was anxious to leave the prison of his youth and fully intended to be gone within the next few minutes. Sitting down on his bed and running a hand through his newly blonde hair, Harry removed Lucius' reply and began to read.

Harry,

You were correct that your letter was received with no small amount of irritation. My first thought was to burn it to ash immediately. However, your plea for me to read its contents and, admittedly, the possibility of using your words to further Lord Voldemort's cause managed to stay my hand.

Now, for the first time in my memory, I find myself at a loss for words. To have been able to read the words written by James was a gift for which I am truly grateful. To learn that he did not betray me, as I have believed these many years, has caused a veritable shock to my heart. To know that our love was strong enough to produce a child together brought a regretful smile to my lips.

My shame, Harry, is that I have allowed myself to become exactly what Dumbledore assumed I already was merely because of that assumption. I should not have been so blinded in my fury. I should have gone to your Father and demanded the truth. I actually might have, had I known the truth was not as it seemed. Dumbledore, however, did an excellent job in his deception.

Know this. . . I loved your Father with everything I was, Harry. And while you and I have only shared animosity in the past, I find myself longing to know the son created out of the only love I have ever known. Please give me that chance.

I will, of course, meet with you. To keep from ending up on the front page of the Daily Prophet, I suggest we convene in a private setting. I will be at the Leaky Cauldron in room twenty-seven this evening at 8pm. When you arrive, please come straight to my door. The longer you are in public, the longer you are in danger. Both from Voldemort and from Dumbledore.

I look forward to seeing you.

Your Father,

Lucius Malfoy

Harry felt, for the first time in over a month, the beginnings of a true smile upon his face. Perhaps the future was not as grim as he had once imagined.

After pocketing the letter, Harry dragged his trunk out of the room and down the stairs. It was time to say his good-byes to the Dursleys. As many times as he had imagined leaving this house forever, now that the day had come, the young wizard found himself a little nervous.

He knew the truth of Dumbledore's betrayal would be met with more ire than he had ever witnessed from the family. The old man had caused more harm to all the members of this household than should have been allowed. The Dursleys should never have had a wizard in their home. They should never have been forced to live in fear as they had. While Harry knew there was never anything for them to be afraid of, they had not seen it that way.

Harry left his belongings by the front door and strode confidently into the living room where Vernon, Petunia and Dudley had joined to watch late afternoon television. Stepping directly in front of the television, the boy ensured that he had captured their attention.

Vernon, who had ignored Harry from the moment he'd stepped through the door when the summer began, immediately made to get up and leave the room. The man had no intention of even reprimanding Harry for interrupting his time with his wife and son.

Harry, however, caring not what the Ministry's regulations stated about the use of magic by an underage wizard anymore, waved his hand lazily and smirked as the room's only door slammed shut. He'd already made his choice regarding his future and it did not include Hogwarts at all. Besides. . . Harry was sure he'd be gone before the letter even arrived informing him of the impending inquiry.

"Sit down, Vernon," he said with no humor in his voice. "I need to speak with you and your family."

Finally breaking his resolve to pretend the boy didn't exist, the portly man became red-faced in his anger.

"Now you listen here, you freak," he snarled as he stalked toward Harry. "I may have to accept your presence in my home but I will NOT tolerate any- "

Whatever he was about to say was lost as Harry cast a silencing spell on the man. By now, Petunia was near frantic but refrained from verbally attacking him, as was her habit. Dudley, though, appeared to be delighted that he was witnessing magic. No longer did he run and hide or cover his rear in fright. Currently, he was bouncing on the couch in excitement. Harry had to force himself not to laugh at the sight of Petunia as she was almost pitched off the sofa because of her son.

"Pardon the interruption please, but there is something that I must say and it is imperative that I have a moment of your time," Harry began. "First of all, I'd like to apologize to you all. Not for my own actions, as I have never done anything against you intentionally, but for a lie that was told to you years ago.

"You took in a child that had been left on your door step with nothing more than a note. And while you never made me feel welcome in your home, I am grateful to have been provided with food, shelter and clothing. I am fully aware that it would not have hurt your precious bank account to have made me a bit more comfortable but comfort is not what was requested of you when you took me in.

"It has been brought to my attention, just this morning, that we never should have come into each other's lives. As I am sure you have noticed, my appearance has changed a bit since last night. I feel it's safe to assume that you chose to ignore the difference as more proof of my freakish nature." Harry smirked at the mute nods from Vernon and Petunia and the rigorous denial from Dudley.

"You should know that I am leaving this house as soon as I have finished speaking to you and will only return should you request it. But it is important that you know the truth before I leave.

"Petunia," Harry focused his attention solely on the woman he had called 'Aunt' for fifteen years. "Lily Evans Potter never had any children. She married my father as a favor to Albus Dumbledore to facilitate a scheme to hide my true parentage. I will not tell you the details behind it since I know you truly couldn't care less and I don't feel it is any of your concern.

"But when your sister and my father died, instead of coming clean or hiding me in the wizarding world, Dumbledore continued with the story and left me with you. He has claimed, since that night, that this was necessary as it was supposedly my blood connection to you that has kept me safe from those that would kill me. I have not yet found out what is truly the source of that protection but it obviously was not through blood relation.

"I would like to apologize to you for his duplicitous actions and assure you that you will be duly compensated for your troubles. As I said, I will be leaving in a few moments. I, however, will leave you with a choice. Either I will make sure you are repaid monetarily or I will make arrangements to provide a charm that will wipe your memories of my existence.

"Think very carefully on this, all of you. You may have only one option for the entire family. Should you choose the money, you will most likely continue to live with the fear of magic and if the day ever comes that we cross paths on the street, you will wonder if I will acknowledge you as the family I once had. But if you choose the charm, you will be consciously aware that a fully trained wizard will be allowed to erase a large portion of your past. Every detail that once included me would be altered so that it was like I was never here."

Harry checked his watched and nodded to himself. He needed to get going.

"The choice is yours. In my room, you will find two slips of paper. On one is the word money. On the other, memory. There is also a small tin containing a pinch of powder. When you have decided, bring that corresponding paper downstairs and light a fire in your hearth. Toss that powder in and shout out the name 'Harry Potter Malfoy', then throw in the paper. Your decision will reach me and you will have results within three days."

It was a last second notion to add 'Malfoy' to his instructions but he felt natural in his new identity. Harry knew his Dad would be happy. Taking one last cursory glance around at his surroundings, he cancelled the silencing charm on Vernon and walked out the door. A moment later, the stunned and speechless Dursleys heard the front door close.

Harry Potter was gone.

TBC