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.
SNAKE HEALER: THE MALFOY MUGGLE LOVER
CHAPTER 10: RESULTS
Lunch was a surprisingly tense affair, during which Draco spent most of his sulking and refusing to acknowledge the presence of neither his father nor Harry nor Lucas, who had quietly observed all of the events in Lucius' Office. The teenaged Slytherin didn't even react when Lucas left the table half way through the meal looking as if he was on the verge of tears. Not that Lucius made much reaction either, except for a sympathetic glance, but that was reaction enough in itself for normally he would never have allowed anyone to leave the table during the course of a meal. Narcissa seemed similarly sympathetic to Lucas' plight, although she expressed her feelings in words not looks. This was because Lucius' wife spent the whole meal engaged in small talk with Harry, a course of action which did not entirely please her son, who kept on shooting her evil glares, that screamed of betrayal, throughout the meal. Draco's opinion of his mother further plummeted when she reacted to Harry's worries about getting lost by finding a map of the manor for him, upon which all of the major rooms, including Harry's bedroom, were all clearly labelled.
All in all, Harry left lunch feeling somewhat calmer than when he had begun it, even if the confusion and disorientation that his circumstances had generated only increased. He wasn't stupid enough to mistake Narcissa's polite conversation for genuine warmth. It did mean though that she was willing to play the role of the passive wife when it came to Harry and adhere to her husband's wishes, but until he knew what Lucius really wanted with him he had no idea whether this was a good or bad thing. At least though it was the behaviour he had expected from her, unlike the distinctly weird and unnerving way Lucius was acting or Draco's rather shocking hostility towards his father. Then to add towards the already substantial confusion created by the two Malfoy men was the behaviour of Professor Dumbledore and what he had learnt about his parents, his father – James, especially.
He was grateful, therefore, for the opportunity to find a breathing space away from the confines of the ancient manor house that served as the ancestral home of the Malfoy Family, and to take stock of what had happened amidst the gentle rolling downlands of the Wiltshire countryside. Narcissa, who had surprised Harry by saying that she was a keen rider with a great love for horses, had recommended a few short walks along some of the many bridleways and footpaths that dotted the area around the manor. He even took up one of her suggested routes that led up onto and along an ancient earthwork known as the Wansdyke, thoroughly enjoying the whole experience, especially the good views looking into the Vale of Pewsy. Even better was that with the exception of a middle-aged couple out for a walk, the ridge was blissfully devoid of people, both muggle and wizard, allowing Harry to gather his wits and organise his thoughts on that morning's chaotic allowing him to come to two conclusions, one of which only fuelled his anger, the other of which suggested a potential course of action.
That both James Potter and Lucius Malfoy were complete bastards, who deserved to rot in hell, was painfully obvious. Whilst he had no idea for how long James cheated on his mother, Lucius' assessment that it would have been straight after his marriage fitted what little he knew about the man who he had once proudly called his father. Besides of anyone was to understand the way the mind of a serial philanderer such as James Potter then be someone who was equally as bad, like Lucius. Then, after Harry's mother found out about her adultery Lucius had taken advantage of her while she had been vulnerable and manipulated her into having affair with him. What he didn't know, however, was how everything had ended, except that at some point his mother had got back together with her husband after some woman named Aranel had run off with James' illegitimate son.
All this, however, was meaningless compared to the question of what Lucius intended to do with him. That he needed to find out the intentions of the Malfoy patriarch was beyond question. Whilst he was sure that Lucius, or Draco for that matter, wouldn't try anything blatantly illegal whilst being watched by the ministry, that only increased the danger for Harry, because he was far less likely to spot a more subtle threat before it was too late. He had even spent an extremely long time trying to come up with a way to read Lucius' mind and find out his real father's intentions, before he had suddenly realised that it was possible for him to do it literally using Legilimency provided, of course, that he learned how to do it first.
The tranquillity of his isolation didn't last, for as much as it pained him he had to descend from the ancient earthwork and walk through the small village of Alton Magis, back to his temporary place of residence. The village itself was nothing exceptional, as it had the look of a place that could have been situated anywhere in England. There was a small, village church, a small primary school and a pub, which, much to Harry's disgust, was named the Malfoy Arms. The most notable thing about the whole place was the tall elfin-looking teenager, wearing wizards robes, sitting on a bench outside the village shop and it was only the fact that the boy spoke to him that made Harry give him anything more than a curious passing glance.
"Hey, Harry," the boy said warmly as Harry passed, his tanned face breaking into a grin at the sight of the pale, blond teenager who he knew he knew to be the boy-who-lived, "How are you, mate?"
"Not too bad, thank you. It could be worse, especially now that I'm staying with the Malfoys," Harry replied politely, stopping to respond to the question. He didn't even occur to him to question the fact that the longhaired boy had recognised him and called out his real name, even though he looked nothing like his normal appearance.
He was met with a grimace of sympathy. "Bad luck, mate," the strange wizard said in a melodic voice that sounded annoying reminiscent to that of someone that Harry knew. Who it reminded him of he had no idea. "But you'll survive; it can't be much worse than living at the Dursley's and you survived with them for fourteen years," The facial expression changed again, back to a reassuring grin that clearly mocked and tried to calm the doubtful expression on Harry's face. His vocal expression was slightly less carefree now though and a lot more serious, "Yeah I know that they're all death eaters, but do you seriously think that Malfoy is going to try something with the ministry watching him. He's only just managed to worm his way out of Azkaban, so I don't think he's going to anything that will send him straight back. He may be evil but he's not stupid."
"It's alright for you to say that you're not the one living with them," Harry complained in reply, sounding extremely put out by the horror he was currently experiencing.
Not that the other boy blamed him; he would rather have died than live with the Malfoy's, even for one night. As it was he had his own problems, ones that he hoped would lighten up the other boy. "At least the Malfoy's aren't stalking you," The strange boy quipped, his light-heartedness a thin veil for his true feelings of bitterness for his parents, both birth and adopted, "Unlike my evil git of a father, who abandoned me when I was born, but suddenly turned at the doorstep this summer claiming that he actually gives a damn about me. As if that cold-hearted bastard could care for anyone!" He exclaimed passionately, with a venom that would have worked, if the boy's sentiments hadn't echoed some of the more positive thoughts Harry had been having about Lucius Malfoy, "To him I'm just another way to win popularity."
"So you think your father doesn't care for you, big deal," Harry sneered angrily, feeling less than sympathetic towards the boy, who returned the attitude with an angry scowl, which not even Harry's continuation failed to removed, "At least he's not evil like my father, who I just found out happens to be Lucius Malfoy."
"Well that explains why you're suddenly acting like such a cold-hearted git. That must be your precious father's influence," The other boy yelled back, feeling extremely annoyed by the blunt and uncaring dismissal that his complaints had received. He was far too angry to actually comprehend and fully understand the magnitude of what his friend had just said, that wouldn't happen until his anger at the Boy-Who-lived had subsided. Whether such comprehension would have altered the other boy's reaction was a moot point; he had a fierce hatred of the Malfoy Family, which he had inherited from his adopted father.
Harry's reaction to the dark haired boy's comments was far more predictable: He was absolutely furious. His anger before far exceeded what he had felt just a few minutes previously, but then the only thing likely to have offended him more was an insult against one of the dark lord's victims, his mother especially. Despite that he did manage to retain his self-control and stop himself from actually attacking the stranger – just, that is if shouting insults at the top of you voice can be described as acting in a controlled manner.
That was until he found himself suddenly cut off, in mid sentence, by a stray silencing charm, which he hadn't seen coming. Harry was far too annoyed to notice that rather than relaxing the stranger started scowling even more upon seeing the person who had cast the charm. Besides, Harry was far too busy glaring at the dark haired man who had cast the charm in the first place. He was a fairly tall man with the same elfin complexion as the boy Harry had been speaking to. He had jet-black hair too, albeit of a significantly shorter length. The most unusual thing about him though were his ears; they were pointed like those of an elf. His facial expression, however, was completely unlike the cheerful demeanour that was normally associated with the Elven kind. Instead he eyed the two boys with a mixture of disgust, hatred and contempt that made Harry hate him instantly.
"What did I tell you about associating with Malfoy Scum?" the man sneered, the disgust in his voice completely strangling its melodic tone. Harry clenched his fists in fury trying desperately to avoid pummelling the man to pieces especially in the middle of the street. He didn't yell out a reply either, as he was too angry to talk.
"Him? Malfoy Scum?" The man's son mocked, heartening Harry slightly, "How can he be? He's a Gryffindor not a Slytherin," He couldn't see the boy eyeing his father warily, but he could certainly the gaze crawling past him. Even if it wasn't aimed it him, it still made him feel extremely uncomfortable.
"In name maybe," the man replied contemptuously, "But in spirit he's probably already one of them. His mother was a weak minded fool who would always fall for the games and manipulations of evil men. I bet that he's already the same. Don't be fooled, son, he may act like Harry Potter, but underneath he's probably a typical Malfoy; as evil as you and I are good and proud that his family are Voldemort's leading lapdogs."
That was the final straw. Harry's control snapped. He lunged for the man, punching him in the face and dragging him to the ground before anyone could react. As unpalatable as it sounded, he could just about tolerate being called a Malfoy. It was the truth after all. However, he would not allow anyone to insult his mother, nor would he contemplate accusations that he was evil. The first was an abhorrent to him, the second as offensive as it was ludicrous.
The man was taken completely by surprise. He had not expected Evans' son to do something as stupid as attacking him: A fully-grown adult with a significant height and weight advantage. Not that this advantage really mattered, by the time he had recovered from his surprise it was too late: he was beaten and winded, with his attacker striding away, paying him no more than a passing glance of contempt. That small glance was more attention than his son gave him, though. For the boy had disappeared while he had been distracted and was no where to be seen.
After the encounter with the strange boy, who seemed oddly familiar and his arrogant and overbearing father, Harry made his way back to Malfoy Manor at a brisk pace, hoping that he could walk off some of his dark mood. Fortunately, for them and him, he encountered no-one, not even one of the Malfoys, as he made his way up to his new room, intent on staying there for the rest of the day and being left to brood in peace. He wasn't left entirely on his own, but after initially snapping at the house elf who disturbed him, he found out that the interruption, being for dinner, was a welcome one and than flattered the poor creature by proceeding to apologise profusely for his ill temper.
He did make his way to breakfast the next morning, rather than choosing to have it in his own room. This was because he felt he ought to put in an appearance, if only to show the Malfoy's that he was still around, thus preventing them from disturbing him in his room. As it turned out he was glad that he put in an appearance as the receipt of his and especially Draco's OWL results provided considerable entertainment.
The moment he saw them, Harry had guessed the contents of the two identical envelopes carried by a pair of official looking barn owls. With everything that had been going on he had all but forgotten about his exam results, but the nerves came rushing back the moment he realised that this was the day he would receive them. Draco had obviously realised the same thing for the blond boy, even if he refused to show any nerves, was warily tracking the path of the owl that came towards him, treating it as if it were holding dynamite. This attitude changed the moment the owl released the fateful letter, as he hastily grabbed it out of the air and tore it open without thinking, all before Harry had even touched his letter. The reaction was instantaneous: his face fell, disappointment and then anger replacing the predatory watchfulness and hurried eagerness.
Harry felt like grinning when he saw his archrival's expression. He knew it was childish but he couldn't help but feel a little happy about the fact that the Slytherin had done badly; the arrogant git did deserve it after all. This was tempered, however, by the knowledge that if Malfoy had badly then he might well have done so to, especially if Malfoy's poor results were down to something like harsh marking. This only increased his nerves making him hesitant of opening the envelope for fear that it contained bad news.
He opened it though, hurriedly, in a similar fashion to his rival so as to get it and over done with that little bit quicker. He then impatiently unfolded the piece of parchment inside and scanned the list of subjects and their accompanying grades from 'Astronomy – Average (A)' to 'Potions – Average (A)' then he grinned, the results weren't bad actually. Not that any of the Malfoys noticed, they were all paying far too much attention to Draco's temper tantrum. In fact the results were pretty good, at least for Harry they were. He had been a little surprised to see two 'Outstandings' among the results. He had been expecting one in Defence, but even so, to actually see it on the results statement was a pleasant surprise. The Outstanding for Care of Magical Creatures on the other hand was a complete surprise, he had always had pretty good grades in Hagrid's classes and in Professor Grubbly-Plank's classes too, but they'd never really been that good. Another subject where he had exceeded his own doom-laden expectations was potions which he had actually managed to pass, although not with a high enough grade to actually continue the subject. Which, although disappointing, had always been his expectation. He had completely failed Divination, achieving a 'D', but then he didn't care how well he did in that subject.
One man who certainly cared about every subject was Lucius, who was currently reading his heir's results and looking both positively furious and personally offended by them.
"This is completely unacceptable. You will have to retake them," The Malfoy Patriarch exclaimed coldly, as he threw the results parchment onto the dinning table. There was a stunned silence.
"No. I will not allow you to humiliate me or our family name, just because some mudblood examiner decided to award me the wrong grades," Draco stated firmly his eyes blazing with a cold fury that matched his father's anger. It was a reply that surprised Harry. He had expected his rival to protest like a whiny little boy, not make a flat out refusal.
"You will do as I say, Draco," Lucius replied, his voice even firmer then that of his son. It also expressed a finality that would have once caused Draco to back down, but not anymore; he was no longer a little boy.
"No," Draco repeated his tone and voice as firm as before, "I will not let you." This was a battle of wills similar to that between Harry and Lucius the previous day, both men had their eyes locked in a fierce glare filled with contempt, betrayal and anger, neither would willingly admit defeat and break their gaze. There was no hatred between these two men, but that was the only sign that this was a battle of wills between father and son.
"Then I will shall have to force you," Lucius stated matter of factly, his voice still as cold as an arctic winter and held only promise not threat.
"You can say what you like, Lucius, but it won't happen. That I can guarantee you," Draco sneered in reply as he stood up and stepped away from the dinning table, all without breaking the staring contest between him and his father.
"Now if you'll excuse I've got a lot to do today and several people too meet and I really ought to get going," He continued his voice suddenly changing to a polite, business like tone, which he accompanied with a predatory smirk. "Not that you would know, but moving out is such a long and tiresome business and I would really like to be at Aunt Bella's by nightfall." He leaned over and kissed his mother on the cheek before picking up his exam results and striding out of the room, leaving his shocked parents behind him.
Apologies for taking so long in writing this chapter but I have been incredibly busy over the past few weeks and have had little time to write, my life is significantly quieter now though, so expect quicker updates.
The two 'new' characters are significant and the antagonism between is quite important tpp. Prepare for a few surprise with those two, especially the younger one who is actually a cannon character in a similar situation to Harry. (Harry will find that out in the next chapter, he won't find out who though)
Don't worry Draco fans, your man will return soon. Whilst things haven't reached their nadir for him, the worst event of all is fast approaching and Harry will be on hand to see the fall out. His latest setback is a combination of bad luck and Lucius overreacting. His exam results aren't that bad, as he did get 4 Average's (In Charms, DADA, Transfiguration and Herbology) and an Exceeds Expectations in Potions, the later of which might or might not be upgraded to Outstanding on appeal (presuming of course that Draco gets to speak to his potions professor before Lucius has a chance to oder Severus to deny a request for an appeal).
Harry's exam results are however, significantly better. The two Os (DADA and CoMC) and the two As (Potions and Astronomy) are mentionned in the chapter, as is the D for Divination. He also failed History, getting a Poor. He got Exceeds Expectations for the rest.