Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognize.
The change in time is shown by x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Flashbacks are in Italics
The Malfoy Mystery
"Harry! Good to see you mate".
Moments after arriving at the Burrow in the ministry car, Harry was greeted by his overly enthusiastic friend with a loud thump in his back which made him tumble a bit. This, considering Ron's tall muscular frame, was no extraordinary feat.
"Sorry mate. Sometimes I forget you're so weak."
After regaining his balance, Harry turned around to face his smirking friend. Despite his embarrassing tumble, Harry was by no means weak. He still was a bit on the thin side but was no longer scrawny as he was at eleven. He'd grown up to be a tall 6' and years of Quidditch had earned him some decent muscles. While in his earlier years he was only popular for being the "Boy Who Lived", in recent years his good looks added to his reputation.
"Excuse me! I'm not weak. You're the troll." Ron was a total of three inches taller than Harry and slightly heavier and muscular as well, which was quite a sore point for the shorter boy. "And you caught me by surprise", he added.
Ron's still smirking face made it clear that he did not believe the other boy's justification. Harry would've added something more if Mrs. Weasley hadn't chosen to enter the room at that moment and begun her usual role as a mother hen.
"Harry. Welcome back. And look at you! Still so thin. You haven't been taking care of yourself, have you? We're going to have a long talk about your eating habits young man", she admonished. Before giving the poor boy a chance to reply she continued her with her tirade. "Are you hungry? I've prepared a decent meal for you. Come to the kitchen after you've washed up."
She then turned to glare at her son who was unsuccessfully trying to stifle his sniggers in his hand. "Ronald. Take Harry's trunk up to your room. And come down to the kitchen in ten minutes. It's almost dinner time."
Harry felt a surge of warmth spread through him at this familiar greeting. It never failed to surprise him how Mrs. Weasley treated him as if he were her own son. Unlike most other people she also seemed completely unfazed by his reputation as the-boy-who-lived. To her, he was only a boy in dire need of affection which she readily gave.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Mrs. Weasley kept Harry and Ron quite busy the next two days. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Ron, Harry and Ginny were the only ones staying at the Burrow as the other Weasley Children were busy with their own jobs. Bill worked in Egypt as a curse breaker and he had been promoted the previous year and Charlie was in Romania working with Dragons. Percy had been accepted at the ministry in the Foreign Relations Department and was rarely home as he had to travel a lot around the world. Fred and George, after graduating two years previous with three Newts each, had opened up a joke shop in partnership with their richer friend Lee Jordan and were now living in Diagon Alley in a small flat above the joke shop.
With so many absences this summer the Burrow seemed quite empty. The silence was not unwelcome, but it also meant more chores for the remaining ones. After Hermione arrived, she filled Harry, Ron and Ginny with the loads of information she had acquired during her vacation in Egypt (although the other three did not understand most of what she told them).
Ginny, it seemed, still had a crush on Harry. Normally an outspoken and smart young girl, she hardly spoke whenever Harry was around, a fact which did not go unnoticed by the other occupants of the Burrow. Also the colour of her cheeks would match her hair when he'd address her. Harry was well aware of her fascination with him and to avoid the discomfiture of the situation, he'd behave normally around her and try his best to involve her in conversations.
All of this was done to reduce the awkwardness between them, but unfortunately Ginny became more embarrassed with the whole thing. And to add to that, Harry received a card with a heart drawn in the cover for his birthday, among various other presents. Considering that Ginny fled the room as he opened it, it didn't take much to guess who'd sent the "anonymous" card, although no one except Hermione and Mrs. Weasley spoke to Ginny about it.
Ron, being the best friend that he was, teased a thoroughly embarrassed Harry mercilessly about his sister's crush on him. But amidst hysterical laughter he also assured his friend that he'd stay by him whatever his decision would be. Now, Ginny was quite an attractive young girl and Harry was well aware of this. He'd known about Ginny's infatuation with him for quite a long time and he'd even considered a possible relationship. But his friendship with Ron was far more important for him to take a risk. After Ron's assurance, he felt very much relieved and decided that he'd have a talk with Ginny in the near future.
But before all that, Harry wanted to get his apparition license now that he was legally of age. It was decided that Mr. Weasley would take Harry and Ron to the ministry with him the day after Harry's birthday- Hermione had gotten her license a month earlier on her birthday. Dumbledore, who'd come by for a little while for Harry's small birthday party gathering had informed the Hogwarts students that their letters for the supplies needed their next year at school would arrive the next day as well. So it was decided that after Harry and Ron got their license, they'd meet Hermione and Ginny in the leaky cauldron so that they could shop together.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Harry and Ron met the girls at the Leaky cauldron. The boys had left for the ministry before the school letters had arrived. So when they saw Hermione literally bouncing on her heels when she saw them, they were quite surprised to say the least.
"Ron! Harry! Guess what?" Hermione squealed running over to them.
Amused the boys looked at each other with their eyebrows raised before they turned to her and waited for the answer.
"Head Girl! I've been Made Head girl this year. Ooh, I'm so excited!"
"Yes we can see that Hermione", Harry chuckled at Ron's reply before the boys congratulated her.
As they made their way towards the shops in Diagon alley, Harry asked Hermione who was made the Head boy. At this Hermione's face fell and it was a blushing Ginny who answered.
"Draco Malfoy"
"Ah". Although not unexpected, this news was rather disappointing. None of the four liked the Slytherin and while they understood why he got to become the Head boy- he was one of the top students in their year, second only to Hermione- they didn't like the notion of him with power over other students.
"Only more chance for the snob to torture other students" Harry said, disgusted.
"And judging by the way he seems to have power over his own father nowadays, he'll be worse than ever I reckon", Ron added.
"And how do you know that?" The girls looked at Ron questioningly.
"Oh we saw him at the ministry earlier this morning", Harry was the one who replied. He then proceeded to tell the girls what they had seen………
Flashback-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
After arriving at the ministry, Mr. Weasley led the boys towards the Apparition offices. There already was a long queue and after fixing the time of their test, Harry and Ron bid Mr. Weasley good-bye and themselves walked towards the canteen area instead of waiting around before their time was due.
After walking through some corridors, they spotted Draco Malfoy round the bend. He was talking to someone and appeared to be quite miffed about something. His trademark Malfoy sneer was plastered in his face in all glory and when the boys walked a little closer they, they were quite baffled to see that the person Malfoy was directing his sneer at was his own father. Adding to their astonishment, they saw that Lucius Malfoy appeared to be afraid of his own son.
Harry and Ron looked at each other, their eyes mirroring the same confusion. Not only was Draco Malfoy sneering at the person he was believed to be most devoted to, he also seemed to have considerable power over the older man- the same man who influenced the decisions taken by the minister of magic Cornelius Fudge.
Not wishing to be found by the Malfoys, the boys hurriedly walked back to the apparition offices after a last glance at the pair. They saw Draco Malfoy smirking at the pallid older man- he'd probably gotten what he wanted………
End Flashback-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"Wow that was unexpected". Hermione seemed to be deep in thought. "Wonder what's going on?"
"Yeah. Why would a death eater wannabe have power over a long time death eater, even if the one in question is own father? Doesn't make much sense. But maybe we're looking too deep into things. Maybe it was just a small quarrel between father and son."
Harry didn't find out how wrong he was, until it was too late………
A/N: How did you like this chapter? I myself am not quite satisfied. I'll probably edit it in the future.
Any Comments? Criticisms? Questions? Please don't forget to review…
And Thanks to: AnimeHanyou39, Hurt Youself, fifespice and fudgebaby for your reviews.