Spoiler Warning: This story is a sixth year fic that follows on from the events of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. As a conseqeunce this story contains *major* spoilers for book 5. You have been warned.
Revised Version Posted 22nd June 2003
SNAKE HEALER: THE MALFOY MUGGLE LOVER
CHAPTER 6: RUNNING
"Malfoy!" Remus cried out of disbelief once Harry had finished explaining what he heard learnt from Lucius, "Lilly had an affair with Lucius Malfoy!" Harry thought that Remus had taken the news surprisingly well, whilst he was a lot calmer than the rather hot-headed Sirius, they were talking about one of the werewolf's best friends, but then Harry wondered whether maybe the older man was in shock.
Truthfully, Remus was in shock but not for the reasons that Harry would have thought. He was trying to get his head around the fact that Lilly's son was a Malfoy, a concept that was as improbable as it was horrible especially when the boy's personality was taken into account. He'd always known that Harry wasn't James', he and Lilly had hardly been on speaking terms, let alone likely to be making babies between the explosive argument of Good Friday 1979 that nearly destroyed their relationship and March 1980, when James had finally remembered why exactly he had loved Lilly so much in the first place. He broke out of his reverie when he noticed Harry was looking at him with concern, presumably waiting for a reaction.
Remus smiled slightly at his friend's son, reassuring him that he was still sane and bore no grudges against Harry as a result of the news, "I'm not angry, just shocked. I mean you a Malfoy…" He didn't get to finish the sentence as he was interrupted by a strangled cry from Harry, who had not missed his inference that Malfoy not James was his father. Remus reached out to comfort the boy, as he had promised Sirius he would in such times. The boy's parentage didn't matter, as far as he was concerned the only thing that mattered was that he was Lilly's son, the boy that had kept one of his best friends sane during many a long night in Azkaban.
Harry meanwhile had gone into shock; unwelcome thoughts flinging around inside his skull, the moment Remus had uttered the word 'Malfoy'. The first and foremost thought had been one of denial, that the werewolf must have been mistaken. He was not evil and nothing like the Malfoys, besides why would Remus know that he was a bastard child, when his own father (James Potter, he would never call a dark wizard father, especially one as evil as Malfoy) didn't know. All of which led to exactly why Remus could had made such a ridiculous accusation, after all, he was nothing like the Malfoys. He wasn't like them and by extension couldn't be related to them. Shock and horror were turned into anger, as the man who had lied to him reached down to comfort him. Harry pushed him away, ignoring the look of hurt etched on the werewolf's face. He was too angry and too hurt to care.
"Don't you dare try to comfort me, you lying bastard." Harry snapped angrily at the former DADA professor before getting up and walking away along the edge of the forest, "You had me fooled. I thought you loved me but it turns out you're just pretending. So why don't you clear off and go somewhere where you're wanted."
Remus sat there for there a few moments, stunned at the angry reaction, guilt at having failed James and Lilly coursing through his veins, but above all he felt guilty for failing Sirius, for breaking the promise he had made Harry's godfather. Despair clawed at him, as tears began to flow gently down his cheeks, mourning the angry expression that Harry had sent his way.
No! He would not let himself fall to despair, when Lilly's son needed him. Harry needed someone to talk to, to sort through his feelings and he had promised Sirius that he, Remus Lupin, would be that man. He began to stride purposefully after Harry determined to fulfil the duties Sirius had passed on to him.
Then a thought struck and he remembered why exactly Harry had run off in the first place: Malfoy, the bastard who had taken advantage Lily when she had been depressed. It was bad enough that the death eater had been her boss at the Ministry, but to have an affair was unforgivable. Harry could wait for another time; he had bigger fish to fry. Breaking into a run, Remus headed across the grounds towards the manor intent on confronting Lucius Malfoy about what Harry had told him.
"Leo," the aristocratic voice yelled across the grounds of Malfoy Manor. Harry stumbled slightly at the use of the fake name Janus had made for him during his time at his mother's cousin's home. Only the four of them knew of that name, as he'd never had the chance to use, not even Lucius knew of it and certainly not Draco. For that was whose voice had called him, unless it was someone else whose accent was unsurprisingly similar, despite the differing attitudes of their respective fathers. But, no, it couldn't be, Lucas Malfoy was dead he had seen him die in front of him and done nothing to stop it. Or had he? He had seen someone disguised as himself die, not Lucas. Of course he had assumed it was Lucas as that was the plan, but he had no proof. Something could have happened at the last moment to change their plans; Lucas could have swapped with someone. Hope surged through him momentarily, until it was crushed by the realisation that someone had still died pretending to be him, when it should have been him and the possibility of it being a complete stranger made the guilt ten times worse.
Harry glanced behind him towards where the shout had come from, Draco Malfoy was slowly walking back to the Manor away from the spot where Remus had ended up banishing him to, so he wasn't the one who had spoken, but he couldn't see anyone else who could have said it either. Remus, himself, was currently racing across the grounds using all his extra werewolf speed, much to Harry's annoyance as he'd been unknowingly hoping that the werewolf cared about him enough to try and comfort him and win him back over. Even if Sirius hadn't been around much, he already missed having a father figure to fall back on. However, it seemed to Harry that his angry accusation was indeed true, disheartening Harry and increasing his anger even more.
"Wait there, Leo," the voice shouted again from somewhere above where he had been looking. Harry looked up to see a hooded figure riding a broomstick along the edge of the forest directly towards Harry. Whoever it was - he refused to believe it was Lucas - must have been boiling hot with the cloak, even if he was flying. Harry waited, he was a Gryffindor and Gryffindor's weren't known for running away from confrontations.
The flyer landed directly in front of Harry and took his cloak off, revealing a platinum blond haired sixth year, with a pale pointed face and vivid green eyes that were almost identical to Harry's. The newcomer soon found himself with a holly and phoenix feather wand pointed at him by an extremely irate Boy-who-lived who was convinced that the new arrival was a death eater.
"Who are you?" Harry asked knowing the answer he would get, an answer that he believed to be a lie.
"Surely you recognise unadulterated physical beauty when you see it dear cousin," Lucas replied with a winning smirk. There was a sadness to the boy's tone that hadn't been there the previous evening, "It takes a lot more than a dark Lord to kill someone as perfect as I." Harry had to admit that the highly conceited and extremely annoying reply without actually answering the question was typical of his second cousin, but it certainly didn't help in confirming the identity of the boy standing in front of him.
"For once in your life answer the damn question," Harry snapped irritably, he was far too angry to put up with Lucas' games.
"I am perfection incarnate," Lucas replied sweetly, "Although mere mortals such as yourself know me by the name of Lucas Malfoy."
"You sick bastard," Harry roared, barely resisting the urge to hex the boy in front of him. Fortunately Draco and Remus were too far away to hear him, "How dare you impersonate a dead man. Lucas Malfoy is dead, I saw him die with my own eyes."
"Did you? Are you sure it was me?" Lucas asked mysteriously, a moment of doubt swept across Harry's face. It was there only there for an instant, but it was long enough for Lucas to notice, "I thought not. You remember that the person who you thought was me was disguised as you, yet you have no proof it was me."
"It was you, you said it would be you," Harry hissed, "It was part of the plan, the plan which only the Malfoys and I knew."
"Perfection requires luck, dear cousin," Lucas replied, "In this instance it came in the form of an unknown boy disguised as yourself arrived through the fireplace and demanded that he take my place, claiming that he would be able to survive the killing curse."
"Can't you come up with a better story then that, death eater?" Harry snapped in reply, channelling his anger towards the boy who had described what seemed to be an extremely unlikely story.
Lucas' reply was a punch in the face, "Do not ever, ever, call me a death eater ever again," he hissed extremely fiercely, his glare stronger than any Harry had ever seen on Draco's face, "I would never bow before that pathetic creature. I am a Malfoy," he continued angrily, pompously sticking his nose in the air, "scion of the finest family in the whole of England. I will not demean myself by serving a glorified mass murderer with a grudge against his own father, especially when that man murdered my own father." Harry could tell that the anger wasn't faked, but that of course did not resolve the issue of Lucas' identity. The anger also surprised him, a death eater would not be able to fake such a reaction, while Harry hadn't seen the real Lucas angry during his stay with his second cousin, even after Harry had pulled the ferret fudge prank on him.
"Your lies don't answer the question." Harry stated fiercely. He was thoroughly annoyed by the punch and was glaring fiercer then ever, matching the intensity of Lucas' gaze.
"That is because I was not lying. I am Lucas Malfoy, son of the martyr Janus Malfoy and most firmly a light wizard." Lucas stated seriously, his tone as hard as diamond and cold as ice. It was a voice whose forcefulness did not beg questions or ask for responses. Harry wasn't sure whether it was the tone of voice that made him believe the boy in front of him, or the intense, ice cold look of determination and suppressed anger that was visible in his green eyes. But whichever it was, his gaze softened slightly, and he gave a startled gasp.
"It really is you," Harry gasped, momentarily forgetting his bad mood and lowering his wand, "But how? You're supposed to be dead! Surely you can't expect me to believe the stupid story you came up with?"
Lucas smirked at him, "Indeed I do. It is I who has the superior mental faculties and therefore has a better chance of interpreting what happened last night."
"I suppose it was nothing to do with the fact that you were the only who knows anything about the person who pretended to be me in front of Voldemort." Harry retorted firmly. He wasn't in the mood to deal with Lucas' ego, not after being lied to and abandoned by one of his parent's best friends.
Lucas smirk began enigmatic, "That is irrelevant, as the man who take my place gave few clues as to his identity," he said cheerily, in a tone that was obviously designed to annoy Harry. As usual it worked perfectly, "Although he did say something about being your brother."
"But I don't have a brother." Harry replied his voice a little shaky as a rouge thought that Draco was his brother, popped into his head. This thought was quickly suppressed by angry denial.
"There is no need to inform a Malfoy of the obvious, we are known for our intelligence," Lucas replied with a knowing smile that made Harry doubt his parentage even more, "Although I was forced to confirm that with my mother."
"You've seen Maria?" Harry asked sounding slightly concerned. Not only was her disappearance annoying because it was the reason for his stay at Malfoy Manor, but it also had worried him. He hoped desperately that the death eaters hadn't done anything to her, "Is she alright?"
"My mother is a Malfoy, as such she is perfect health, if a little depressed at my father's death," Lucas explained, "She is also a little concerned about how you are doing at Malfoy Manor. That's why I came here."
"If she's so concerned about my welfare then why the hell did she disappear the moment I left to get help?" Harry asked angrily, venting his annoyance at his mother's cousin's actions, "Surely she must have known that I would end up here."
Lucas gave another enigmatic smirk, "Of course, she is a Malfoy even if only by marriage."
"But why then did she let me be sent here, to the home of a death eater?" Harry asked, his tone both pleading and irritated.
"It was part of the plan," Lucas replied off-handily, his lack of concern infuriating Harry.
"What!" Harry yelled, "Why on earth would your father agree to send me here for Lucius Malfoy to work his evil way with me? The man's a death eater, even if the ministry seem to have forgotten it!"
Lucas remained unaffected by Harry's wrath, "You would not comprehend the thought processes of a Malfoy, they are superior to those of a Potter."
"Malfoy superior!" Harry exclaimed with a bitter laugh, "Don't you mean more evil. Everyone knows that the Malfoys are evil."
Smack! Lucas had punched him in the face again, "Do not ever insult my father ever again. I don't care what the rest of my family are like, but my father was a good man, a great man who died defying Voldemort. How is that evil?" he hissed angrily. Harry glared back at Lucas, annoyed at being hit; he did have to admit though that his look-alike was right in this instance.
"He's the exception that proves the rule." Harry acknowledged grudging, his tone bitter and a little angry. He was met by another sharp glare from Lucas who clearly objected to being described as evil.
"All pranksters are evil, especially ones as arrogant as you." He argued in response to the glare, which softened slightly at Harry's words.
"I had at least believed that you could appreciate a well formed prank even if you could comprehend my innate superiority, but it appears such a belief was painfully misguided," Lucas stated harshly. Harry couldn't tell whether the anger was serious or not, "Pranks are no more evil than chess or exploding snap, and your failure to comprehend my attitude is not my problem."
"Of course I understand your attitude," Harry retorted quickly, "You're a Malfoy and like the rest of your family you're an arrogant, conceited git that thinks your family is somehow superior to everyone else. A troll could work that out."
"Comprehension of my attitude requires knowledge of the reasons why Malfoys are the greatest family in the world, even allowing our penchant for grovelling before Dark Lords." Lucas explained snobbishly.
"And that is why I am not a Malfoy, unlike what some people have been saying," Harry stated far more confidently than he actually felt. He wasn't actually responding to Lucas' explanation but was instead trying to calm his fears about his parentage. Lucas raised an eyebrow at this, but made no comment nor did his expression change from one of calm detachment. It was a reaction that both calmed and worried Harry at the same time, tearing him between thinking that Lucas did not believe he was a Malfoy and the fear that Lucas was hiding something that was relevant to the subject. He didn't push the older boy though, he was too afraid of what he might find out.
"It's what Remus said when I told him that my mother had an affair with Lucius." Harry explained bitterly, angry with both the werewolf for his lies and lack of concern and his mother for having the affair in the first place.
"He's probably lying," Lucas responded, sounding a little morose at this assessment, "If you were a Malfoy you would have sought out Lucius and asked him whether the news was true by now. Instead it falls to me to suggest such a course of action."
Harry mentally rolled his eyes at Lucas' over-high assessment of his family's capabilities. Familiarity had meant that he no longer reacted badly to such comments. He didn't respond to the suggestion; that was an open invitation for Lucas to make more egoistic remarks. Comments that he could do without in his current situation, instead he put on a brave face and turned towards Malfoy Manor and went to find the man Remus thought was his father, intent on finding the truth. Not even the distraction of Lucas' jokes and egoism could distract him from the multitude of worst case scenarios that played themselves out in his mind and played on his extreme nervousness as he trudged towards the dreadful truth that awaited him in the ancient manor house.
Surprise! Lucas' survival was part of the plan all along as he has a role to play later on. I said previously that he's only be appearing in three chapters, but for him to play his role properly he'll appear in a few more chapters yet. So. He won't appear after Harry returns to Hogwarts though. Some of you may think he's being a little too cheery for a boy whose father has just died, but he's still in shock. Remember this chapter is set just ten hours after the attack.
I also want to make clear that the person who pretended to be Harry in chapter four is not a blood relation of Harry's even if he tells Lucas that he is Harry's brother. Not that such a description in unreasonable, for reasons which will be explained in the next few chapters.
Thank You to all those who reviewed chapter five, your reviews were most appreciated. If you want me to e-mail you when I update this fic leave your e-mail address in your review.