A/N: Same warnings and notes as before.

Any comments would be gladly appreciated, as I have been working on this fic almost as long as Finding Harry, and had I not been publishing FH, it might have been done much sooner. If you would like to email me, my address is elfflame at hotmail dot com.

Thank you to so many people who helped me with this story. The first is Foodie, who read large chunks of this story for character purposes, and is always a doll when it comes to encouraging me to write. The second is to Dark Angel, who was particularly a major influence on the Lucius in this story. Without her, this Lucius would have been much wimpier. And the final thank you goes to my lovely Turtle Avenger, who tells me that she'd read the phone book if I wrote it. :D Love you, hon.

To my reviewers:

Darkangelgep: Yes. But there is more to come. :D

ATadObsessive46: Thank you. Glad you liked.

AloraBraken: I promise that Harry and Draco have a happy ending. After all, they deserve it.

Fifespice: Ah, but if Lucius isn't in control, he hates it. ;)

Faded Glitter: How about I just promise that Harry and Draco will be happy at the end of the story? Will that do?

NayNymic: I'm totally with you, believe me. :D

Disclaimer: The characters are not mine. They belong to a lovely lady who seems to enjoy making us suffer. Hopefully the ending will turn out this nice… ;)

I hope you all enjoy.

What's Done Is Done

By Elf Flame

5 Finding Out the Truth

Lucius was quick to turn on his son once the Parkinsons were gone. "What have you done now, boy?" he growled.

Draco laughed. "I simply told her what she could expect from a marriage to me, father. Did you want me to lie to her?"

Lucius stalked towards his son, his eyes blazing with rage. "If you have cost us this Manor…"

"Lucius." Narcissa's voice was quiet, but it seemed to ring through the room. Lucius turned slowly towards his wife, and took a calming breath. "Draco had every right to tell Pansy whatever he liked, as long as he was agreeing to the marriage. It was what you wished. I don't believe he refused to marry her, which would be the only reason you could have to berate him." She looked coldly at her husband for a moment before continuing. "It seems to me he's being far more honest with her than many of his predecessors, Lucius."

Draco was curious as to what this could mean, but he was even more startled at the angry flush that flooded his father's face, and was utterly astonished when his father turned away without another word and stormed towards the liquor cabinet. Narcissa turned to Draco, and smiled softly at him. "Perhaps you and…Harry would like a private supper up in your room, Draco? I don't think your father will be very good company this evening."

Draco smiled cautiously. "That would be lovely, mother. Thank you."

Narcissa nodded. "I'll have the house-elves set up a table in your room momentarily." Then she turned away and exited the room.

They'd barely left the room themselves when Snape caught up with them. "Hardly the most intelligent thing you've ever done, Draco."

Draco looked at his godfather for several minutes before he responded. "I wasn't so much worried about being intelligent at this point, Severus. All I really want to be is free of this little commitment father has orchestrated for me. But I don't seem to be having much luck at that."

"You're far more like your father than you'd like to think, Draco. But even he had to marry eventually. Surely you could survive it as well?"

Draco snorted. "Pansy Parkinson is nothing like my mother. If she were, there might be some slight chance, but…"

"Draco, do you honestly think your mother was always the way she is now? Or that your father honestly saw her then as you see her now? Everything changes. Perhaps you would do well to go do a bit of studying of your family's history." With that, he turned and moved up the stairs and off to his room.

Draco glowered after him. "Does he think I'm still a child?"

Harry snorted, and Draco turned to glower at him. "Honestly, Draco. You'd think he was telling you to shut up and marry her. I never heard him say that once. Perhaps he's honestly trying to help you. Though…coming from Snape…" Harry looked worriedly after their former teacher. Finally, he shrugged, unsure how to have taken the man's actions. "Well, maybe we should?"

Draco took a deep breath and sighed. "Perhaps after dinner. Terrifying Pansy has left me rather famished." He smirked, then made his way up the stairs, Harry following closely behind.

What with one thing and another, they never made it to the library that night. But the following morning, after breakfast and a leisurely bath, the two took themselves to the Manor's library. Harry goggled a bit at the size of the place, which was only slightly smaller than the Hogwarts library, but Draco walked straight to the far side of the room, and began to pull out books.

"Lucius, grandfather Magnus…"

This caught Harry's attention. "You're named for your grandfather?"

Draco snorted. "Among other things..." He continued to pull down books. "Grandmother Leena…Family history… Well, that should do for now. If we don't find anything in there, we can always go talk to grandmother's portrait. Grandfather was always close-mouthed." He handed Harry his grandfather's book and sat down with Lucius's opening it to about half-way. "Whatever we need would be towards the end. Grandfather died shortly after I was born."

Harry looked at the book he was holding. It was a large leather journal with the name 'Magnus Leeland Severus Malfoy' written on the cover. He ran his fingers over the third name. "Severus?"

Draco sighed and looked up. "We're never going to get anywhere if you keep asking questions, Harry. Yes, he's a very distant cousin. And yes, he was named after grandfather. It was one of the reasons father insisted he be my godfather. Now, can we get back to this?"

"But, Draco, what are these books?"

"They're personal history books. All the old-blood families have them. One for each family member, and one for the family as a whole. They update as major events happen to the family." He smirked, and leaned towards Harry. "Mine would have updated quite a bit in the last few days…"

Harry's eyes widened. "You mean…"

"Well, not the sex… But we did bond. And there's a new heir on the way, after all. Those are important family facts, you know. They might be needed some day."

"Okay… So, these would have some mention of Lucius's engagement to your mother, you think?"

"Of course there would be. And of my conception. Among other things…" He began flipping through the pages, a picture here and there catching his attention.

Harry opened the book he held and began to do the same, but his eyes were quickly caught by a large photo that took up the entirety of one page. The legend read, "Malfoy family: Magnus, Leena, Lucius, and friend. The picture was slightly faded, and the boy, a good deal younger than Lucius, at least six years younger, was looking at him more than the camera. Lucius smiled down at him. Lucius looked in his early twenties, but the boy did not even seem to be out of his teens yet. But it was the neat fall of dark hair that really caught his attention.

"Sirius?"

His soft whisper caught Draco's attention. "What?" He leaned over to see what Harry was looking at so raptly. "Oh, that's not cousin Sirius. That's his little brother. Regulus. He came to visit the summer his brother ran away from home, and apparently he and father got on quite well."

"Regulus? Sirius told me about him. Wasn't he…" He tore his gaze from the photo. "Didn't he die in the first war?"

"Yes, it was a shame. Father said it was such a waste. But he simply couldn't handle everything any more, and panicked. Father says he tried to help him, but Regulus just lost his head… A pity, really. I think I would have liked to have met him. Mother tells me I look a great deal like him. That I take more after her side of the family than father's." He smiled. "Of course, she only says that out of father's hearing…"

He began to flip through his father's book once more, stopping at another picture. This one of the two young men alone. "See? Here's another. Regulus must have just finished Hogwarts here…" Harry leaned over and was about to comment when in the photo, Lucius leaned towards Regulus and caught him in a passionate kiss. The two watched wide-eyed as the two men kissed.

"Draco…"

"I…I had no idea. I thought father… I mean, he's married…" He looked up at Harry. "You don't think…"

Harry shrugged. "It looks like it to me."

Draco frowned, but began to scan the pages more carefully now. If his father had been involved with another man… The text was quite dry, but Draco forced himself to keep going. These magical texts weren't particularly exciting to read, as they really only recorded facts, but if there was something in here—and there had to be, as why else would Severus have suggested he look here—then he would find it. Finally, on the page following the picture, he found what he was looking for.

"Lucius Malfoy, at twenty-four, was unwittingly claimed by his chosen mate in a moment of passion. That mate, Regulus Black, was killed later that same night, and left Lucius to look desperately for a wife to raise their child."

Draco could only stare at the passage for a moment. Their child? Had he had an older brother or sister? Why had Lucius never told him? But as he thought more about it, that seemed wrong. After all, he'd been conceived that same year. Surely that wasn't simply coincidence, was it? He read on, in hope of further enlightenment. The next passage spoke of his whirlwind courtship of Narcissa Black, cousin of his dead lover. And a short passage describing the marriage only a month later. November. Eight months before his birth.

Draco swallowed, trying to comprehend what he'd been reading. Lucius had…carried him? But that meant that Regulus Black was his father. And Narcissa just a substitute. A mask for the perfect family that Lucius wanted to present to the world. And after all, who better than a Black to replace a Black? Had he been born with Regulus's hair, it still would have meant nothing. He sat back, stunned.

"Draco?" Harry was looking over his shoulder still, and had obviously read the same passages. Draco slammed the book closed.

"What?" he asked crossly.

"Are you…"

"I'm fine, Potter. Leave be, all right?"

Harry looked at him warily. "Maybe…"

"Potter, I said leave be." He stood abruptly. "I think I'm going to go for a walk. I'll see you in a bit, all right?" Harry nodded, and Draco turned and left the room.

His thoughts still whirled. What did this mean? What, exactly, did Severus want him to find? Had he been referring to something else, perhaps? But no, he had been referring to Lucius's choices when he had been faced with the same problems. Well, certainly they hadn't been the same problems. They were quite different, in fact. His lover had just died, and he'd obviously wanted to be assured that no one would know the truth. So he'd seduced the closest thing he could to Regulus in female form. Draco shuddered. He supposed it might have been worse. He might have had Bellatrix as his mother.

And as for the pregnancy, once he had married Narcissa, the pregnancy itself was probably fairly easy to disguise. He and Narcissa must have had corresponding glamours the entire time he'd carried Draco.

Draco was startled to find himself in front of his father's study, and tamped down the urge to run the other way. There were still things he didn't know, couldn't understand, and he wanted those answers now. He rapped on the door, and waited for Lucius's sharp, "Come in," before opening the door.

"Hello, father."

Lucius looked wary, and had Draco not been in a state already, he might have managed to smirk at this. Instead he moved to the chair in front of his father's desk. Looking him straight in the eye, he said, "Why didn't you tell me?"

Lucius was silent for a long minute, and Draco wondered what story he'd come up with to absolve himself this time. Finally, he turned towards the fire. "I figured there would be plenty of time to tell you when you were older. It just never came up."

Draco let out a disbelieving laugh. "Never came up? Every time anyone mentioned him in this house, you became cold, angry and…You always made sure the subject changed as soon as possible."

Lucius's eyes shot back to his son's. "Who are you talking about, Draco? I thought this was about the contract." He seemed honestly puzzled, and it was this initial response, more than anything else, that convinced Draco he truly didn't realize what his son now knew.

"Severus sent me to the family library this morning. Well…last night, but Harry and I decided to go through the family journals after we'd broken our fast. I was trying to understand why you did this to me. But I certainly wasn't expecting what I found."

Lucius had paled slightly at the mention of the family journals. And when Draco had stopped speaking, he seemed unable to even ask what it was that Draco had found. When he finally managed to speak, his voice was low, just above a whisper. "Severus should not have done that. He should have sent you to me."

Draco laughed humourlessly. "To have you lie to my face? Not even telling me who I am? Let alone that I've been engaged my entire life! I'm amazed you even informed me of my Veela heritage!"

"Draco, I did what I thought best. None of it was meant to hurt you…"

"No, just to disguise certain facts from most of the world. Have you had male lovers for your entire married life, or only him? I highly doubt you abstained from sex at all, but I'd always thought that you at least slightly cared for mother…" Draco stopped, realizing what he'd said. "But she isn't my mother, is she?" All colour drained from Lucius's face at this comment, his suspicions confirmed. "Why didn't you tell me?" Draco repeated.

Lucius stood, and Draco jumped to his feet, and moved to his side to prevent him from leaving. "Don't avoid this. You've been avoiding it for over eighteen years. Almost nineteen. Why didn't you tell me about him?" and there was a pleading tone to his voice now, but he felt so lost. "Please, father…"

Lucius's eyes closed, and he swayed for a moment before folding back down into his chair. "I tried to forget. I tried to make others forget. I…" He looked up at his son, whose grey eyes were not washed with blue as Lucius's were, but a true, silvery grey that came only from the Black bloodline. "Draco…when I lost him, I…" He sighed. "I was looking through my family journal the night after he died. I hadn't even realized what had happened. And when I read it, I knew." His lip curled. "I felt so useless, Draco. You can't possibly understand. Regulus's death drove Severus to Dumbledore. But it broke me. All I could do was try to pick up the pieces." He reached out a hand to try to stroke Draco's cheek, but Draco recoiled.

"He died… You told me once that it was his own fault. Do you really believe that?" he asked in a choked voice.

"I wish I could reassure you, Draco. That time…" He took a deep breath. "You should understand, Draco. Last time…The Dark Lord's power had been so weakened by his time spent bodiless that he was barely sane when he returned. He was nothing to what he had been before. Then, he was powerful. So powerful. To go against him was insanity. Especially if you were his. You did what he asked, and if you could not, he disposed of you. Weakness was simply not tolerated."

"And?" Draco could feel his throat closing, sure he knew what his father was going to say, but hoping that somehow he was wrong. He'd never seen Lucius look so lost before. And if it terrified Lucius…

Lucius's eyes closed for a moment. "Regulus wanted to leave. Kept begging me to come with him. That we didn't have to live this way, that it was wrong." Lucius's eyes opened, and he met his son's gaze steadily. "That afternoon, my Lord called me to him. Told me he had a little test for me…"

Draco pulled back. "You…you…"

Lucius's teeth were clenched. "I had no choice, Draco. If I had not, I would have died too. Don't you see?"

"You killed him?"

"Draco, please…"

But Draco couldn't listen any longer, and turned and ran from the room. He had no idea where he was headed until he found himself in his own room, and huddled onto his bed, trying not to break into sobs. It was several minutes before he realized that he was not alone on the bed. It took him a moment to recognize the hand on his back, and the low, soothing voice murmuring at him to calm down, and that things would be all right. He pushed himself into Harry's lap, still choking on his sobs.

"He…He killed him." He looked up into Harry's worried face, his own streaked with tears. "How could he do that?"

But Harry was not the one who answered.

"He had no choice, Draco. Had he not done so, he would have died. And you would not be here now."

Draco turned to look at his godfather, who stood near the fireplace. "Does that mean I'm supposed to forgive him it?" he asked wildly.

"I should think it would at least give you cause to wonder why he has protected you from this for eighteen years, Draco. And why he kept you from the Dark Lord after raising you to believe in his cause since you were small."

"He is simply nothing more than a hypocrite," Draco growled. "He wishes to make me feel guilty for his own actions. It won't work. I hate that girl, and if I can help it, I certainly will not marry her."

"Do you honestly think, Draco, that this was just about marriage?"

Draco snorted. "Of course it is, Severus. He simply wishes to keep me under his finger…under his control forever. Just like everyone else."

"He was trying to protect you, Draco."

Draco snorted again. "Protect me? From what? It hardly protected me from him!"

"Draco, as much as you are Lucius's son, you are even more Regulus's. You have his flair for the dramatic, and his…emotional demeanor. All of the Blacks of his family were overly emotional. Even Potter could tell you that."

"So, I'm emotional. What has that to do with anything?"

"You did not wonder why your father switched sides? Why he insisted you not take the Mark?"

Draco sighed, annoyed. "Of course I wondered, but when it concerns father, I rarely get an answer when it comes to those sorts of things, so I didn't let it bother me."

"Draco, he was worried that you would meet the same fate as Regulus. That he himself would be forced to kill you." Silence met this declaration, and Draco felt Harry's arms tighten around him. "He wanted to save you from that. Even if it killed him. He was willing to put his own life on the line to spare you yours."

"Then why couldn't he let me live it the way I wish? Why this horrible contract with the Parkinsons?"

Snape frowned. "Your grandfather was not a kind man, Draco. He insisted upon propriety above all things. And men of Lucius's station were required to marry, and have heirs. He chose as well as he could be expected to do, and thought it done. After all, Narcissa Black was highly respectable, and a perfect disguise for his relationship with Regulus. But when Magnus found out that you were on your way, and exactly whose son you were, he insisted that Lucius prevent you from making the same mistake he had. He forced your father to find a proper marriage for you. Insisted it be done before you were even a month old. Parkinson were the only family Magnus approved of who had a daughter your age, so he was the one to whom the offer was made. Had Lucius refused any of Parkinson's requests, he would have refused the contract, and your grandfather would have disowned Lucius entirely."

Draco stared at Severus for several long minutes. "So, he was forced to do this to me? Then why isn't he helping me get out of this? Why is he so angry that I want to choose my own path?"

Severus's mouth twisted into a sad grimace. "We hate seeing the people we love getting what they wish when we were denied the same, Draco."

Draco was startled by this. "He's jealous of me?"

"Not in so many words. But he does wish that things had turned out a bit differently. For both of you." He glanced at Harry, who, though silent, had been holding Draco tightly the entire time. "Nor is he pleased with the idea that his blood will be diluted by Potter's."

"Far better than diluting it with Pansy's! She has no tact or taste, and her magic is a joke. I'm amazed she was even invited to attend Hogwarts!"

"Draco, don't be so disingenuous. She can be quite clever when she wishes…"

"She's scheming, manipulative, and ruthless!"

"You mean she's a Slytherin?" Harry asked from behind him.

Draco turned to glare at him. "Are you going to turn on me, too?" he asked plaintively.

"Of course not. But you can't deny that those are all very Slytherin traits."

"Does that mean I have to like her?"

"God, no," Harry smiled at him. "In fact, I can't wait until we figure out a way to get rid of her, so we can get on with other things…"

Draco returned his smile with a smirk. "Yes…"

"Please, do restrain yourselves at least until I have left the room," Severus growled from where he still stood.

Draco turned back towards his godfather. "Sorry, Severus. I'd forgotten you were there."

Severus scowled. "Hm…yes. I had noticed." He examined the two young men on the bed for a moment, then said, "Just try to understand, Draco, none of this was done to hurt you. He cares for you very much. Perhaps you could find some way to forgive him?"

Draco drew a deep breath. "I will think about it, Severus. It's a lot to take in, really."

"I know. Time will help. Get some rest. I will tell your mother you weren't feeling particularly well. I'd imagine she'd like a visit at some point…"

Draco swallowed. He wondered how that would go. If she knew he was aware that they were not mother and son, would she want to have anything to do with him ever again? He nodded at his godfather to acknowledge what he'd said.

"Get some rest. It's been an emotional few days."

"Thank you, Severus. I'll try to do that."

But once Severus had left the room, Draco turned to Harry. "You knew Sirius. Did he tell you much about Regulus at all?"

Harry shook his head. "Not really. Mostly that his younger brother was the 'good son,' and always lorded the fact over him. I don't think they got on much. He did seem rather sad that they'd never managed to become friends before Regulus died, though. Not that he ever said as much, but he seemed to only have two modes when he talked about Regulus the few times he did: angry and sad."

Draco nodded. "Family's a confusing thing," he managed through a yawn, before snuggling deep into Harry's arms, and falling asleep.

TBC