Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.
Web of Lies: Revelations.
Alec woke up fairly early the next morning, and, supposing that his grandfather and Snape would still be sleeping, he just went to the kitchen, not sure if he was allowed to return to the common room yet. After the ghost's and Snape's visit, he had been able to fall back into a peaceful rest until about an hour ago when a nightmare had woken him up. Luckily he hadn't disturbed anyone, but he had decided to just get up since there was no sense in risking another unpleasant nightmare.
He was just sipping at his warm cup of tea when the door to the kitchen opened and his grandfather entered, still buttoning up his robes. The old man seemed surprised to see him up already, no doubt Snape had told him about his supposed nightmare. Harry tried to ignore the feelings of guilt for lying to both men but he really didn't think he could tell them the truth.
"You're up early."
Alec nodded lightly and watched as the headmaster served himself a cup of tea from the same batch he had just made.
"Are you feeling alright?"
The teen looked up a bit surprised but then nodded again. "I'm fine, Granddad, but I woke up again and couldn't go back to sleep."
Dumbledore frowned. "Another nightmare?"
Alec didn't even answer that question and just focused on the empty cup in front of him. He saw that Dumbledore was about to ask him another question when Snape entered the kitchen. The teen smiled a bit at the man, trying to hide the relieved feeling that ran through his body. If the headmaster noticed, he didn't mention it, and instead turned to his professor.
"Another early raiser; you both really should rest more now that you have the chance."
Snape glared at him slightly. "That's rich coming from you, Albus."
The old man raised an eyebrow. "I already told you I had a meeting, Severus."
Alec frowned lightly; he had secretly been hoping that he would be allowed to spend the morning with his grandfather. It had been a while since they had been able to just sit down and chat a bit. This time, the old man noticed the expression on the teen's face and stood up to hug the boy from behind.
"I'm sorry, Alec; I know it's been a while since we had the chance to spend some time together."
The teen shook his head and tried to smile up at the old man. "It's ok, Granddad, I know you're very busy."
Dumbledore sighed, but let the matter rest; he couldn't do anything about it anyway. Even so, he promised himself he would make some time for the child during the week. For a moment, he considered telling Alec that, but the fact remained that it might not be possible and it would hurt the boy even more. Seeing that it was getting late, Dumbledore moved from behind Harry after squeezing his shoulders gently and left the kitchen after nodding goodbye to Severus.
Once the headmaster left the room, Alec turned to watch his professor. The man smiled lightly at him, waiting for him to speak.
"Uncle Severus..."
The man nodded to him. "Yes?"
"Am I allowed back to the common room?"
The man shook his head lightly and sipped at his cup of tea. "I haven't seen much of you this past week; I thought you would like to come with me to the dungeons and play a game of chess or brew a potion."
Harry's face cleared instantly, and he smiled brightly. He knew that going with Snape probably would mean that he would be unable to get the book Lady Ravenclaw wanted, but she would have to understand.
The two of them made their way to the dungeons with Harry keeping close to the Potions Master. It was still early, so to Harry's relief they didn't meet any of the Slytherin students.
Once in Severus' room, the man called a house-elf to fetch him some cookies and hot chocolate while Harry set up the game. They played silently for the most part, with the Potions Master asking questions about school from time to time. The time flew by and before Harry noticed, they were heading to the Great Hall for lunch. After biding his professor goodbye, Harry headed to his own seat at the Ravenclaw table. Everyone looked at him intently, making him extremely uncomfortable, but luckily, Lan latched onto him and distracted him with her chatter and her questions.
Lunch flew by quicker than he had expected, and after they finished, Harry left with Lan and two other first years. He didn't know if his uncle had wanted him to go back to the dungeons with him, but he decided that it was time for him to look for that book Rowena had talked about. One of the older students insisted they should go see the library since they hadn't had the chance to do that yet, and Alec just went with them, an amused smile playing on his lips. Once there, Alec quickly parted ways with the other Ravenclaw first years, saying he already knew where everything was and that he would go get one of the books and wait for them at a table. The others seemed to accept it and left to explore the huge library.
On his part, Alec paused for a moment, considering where the book might be. Finally, he reluctantly went to the divination part of the library. Looking through the shelves, he sighed heavily; it didn't seem like it was going to be easy to find the book, and he couldn't even go and ask Madam Pince about it. With a frown, Harry was about to go to another section when his gaze fell on the farthest corner. There were several old, dusty books standing there and to his pleasure he found they talked about the mind. Having located the right section, it was a matter of minutes before he had located the correct book. Using his wandless magic, he changed the covers so the title suggested the book was about potions, and he moved back to the main part of the library. Once there, he settled down with his book and opened it carefully.
He had been absorbed in the first chapter of the book, which just spoke of the different kinds of mental arts, when he felt someone stop besides him. Looking up from his book, he had to bit back a groan when he saw Malfoy standing next to him, an obviously forced smile on his lips.
"Hello there, Kid."
Forcing back the urge to hex the boy, he smiled a bit. "Hello."
His mind kept reminding that if he had been able to be nice to Snape, he could manage to do the same to Malfoy. The other boy cocked his head a bit and tried to force his smile a bit more. "I'm sorry about what happened the other day in the train; my friends and I didn't mean to upset you."
If he wasn't so sure that the other boy wanted something from him, he might have fallen over with shock. Instead of that, he returned his gaze to the book and shook his head lightly. "It wasn't your fault; no need to apologise."
From the corner of his eyes, he saw Malfoy's stance relax a bit and the smile become a bit more natural. "Do you mind if I sit with you?"
Alec shrugged, even if inside he was longing to tell him to go to hell. The other teen took the small gesture as an invitation and plopped down on the seat in front of him. Trying to ignore the Slytherin, Harry went back to his reading, only to be interrupted by the boy's voice.
"You don't seem to have many friends; I would have thought that Dumbledore's grandson would always be surrounded by people."
Alec didn't bother to look up. "I prefer to be on my own, and I don't need many friends as long as the ones I have are true friends."
The Ravenclaw heard the other teen snort. "You would consider the Creevy girl a true friend? She's just a mudblood."
This time Harry didn't raise his head, not because he wanted to ignore the other boy, but because he didn't want him to see the anger radiating from his eyes. Even in his anger, he kept his voice calm and soft; he had been well trained through the last few months. "I don't see what that has to do with being a good friend."
When the blonde teen didn't answer, he finally looked up and locked his bright blue eyes with the other's grey ones. Before he could ask what was going on, the Slytherin sighed as if exasperated.
"Surely your grandfather has told you that mudbloods are inferior to us, that they're just a waste of time and place. We should get rid of them before they weaken us."
For a second, Harry had the urge to give up his facade and curse Malfoy to hell, but he quickly brought himself under control and decided on another course of action. Putting on his sweetest expression, he looked intently to the other teen. "Really? You would really do everything in your power to get rid of them?"
Alec saw the pleased smirk on the other teens face and had to control his own laughter. The Slytherin nodded seriously. "Yes, I would do everything."
Alec grinned happily while inside he was laughing his head off. "That's wonderful! I'll tell granddad that you want to help him kill You-Know-Who; after all, he is the leader of the mudbloods, isn't he?"
Alec's sweet smile changed to a mischievous one as the blonde clenched his teeth. "No, Voldemort fights for the supremacy of pure-bloods."
Alec plastered a confused look on his face. "But why would he do that when he's a mudblood himself? I don't understand."
Harry watched in delight as Draco's face drained of colour and the blonde looked confused for a second before scowling down at him. "That's a lie! Who told you such nonsense?"
Alec blinked, his mind racing. "Granddad told me; he said he taught You- Know-Who when he went to Hogwarts. He said he was really called Tom Riddle and that he had to stay at an orphanage because his mother had died at childbirth, and his father had abandoned them when he found out his mother was a witch."
Harry could see how Draco tightened the hand that had gone to his wand and wondered if the other boy was going to attack him. Deep within a small part of Harry, Harry hoped he would, knowing that Dumbledore would take harsh actions for trying to hurt him. Another side of him kept reminding him that Draco could still change sides, as impossible as it sounded. Luckily, he never found out what would have happened, because just then Professor Snape appeared at their side. Shooting a fleeting glance down to Harry, he focused his attention on his student. "Mr. Malfoy, if you could come with me, please, there's a few matters I need to talk to you and the other prefects about."
Draco unclenched his fist and nodded stiffly at the man. After shooting a last glare at Alec, he left the library. Severus frowned, wondering what that all had been about. Looking down at his protégé, he saw he was once again deep in his book. Sighing, he assumed he could get his answers out of Draco, and with a gentle pat on the younger teen's head he left the large room.
As soon as he was sure that Snape had left, Harry looked up, a smirk firm in place. That had been fun; he just hoped Malfoy would leave him alone from then on, else he would have to do something a bit more... drastic.
With that thought in mind, he stood up, and, after warning Lan that he was leaving, he went up to the common room. It was time for him to start with his lessons with Lady Ravenclaw.
To be continued...
A/N: Thanks for all reviews and thanks to my beta reader, Vinnie.
Web of Lies: Revelations.
Alec woke up fairly early the next morning, and, supposing that his grandfather and Snape would still be sleeping, he just went to the kitchen, not sure if he was allowed to return to the common room yet. After the ghost's and Snape's visit, he had been able to fall back into a peaceful rest until about an hour ago when a nightmare had woken him up. Luckily he hadn't disturbed anyone, but he had decided to just get up since there was no sense in risking another unpleasant nightmare.
He was just sipping at his warm cup of tea when the door to the kitchen opened and his grandfather entered, still buttoning up his robes. The old man seemed surprised to see him up already, no doubt Snape had told him about his supposed nightmare. Harry tried to ignore the feelings of guilt for lying to both men but he really didn't think he could tell them the truth.
"You're up early."
Alec nodded lightly and watched as the headmaster served himself a cup of tea from the same batch he had just made.
"Are you feeling alright?"
The teen looked up a bit surprised but then nodded again. "I'm fine, Granddad, but I woke up again and couldn't go back to sleep."
Dumbledore frowned. "Another nightmare?"
Alec didn't even answer that question and just focused on the empty cup in front of him. He saw that Dumbledore was about to ask him another question when Snape entered the kitchen. The teen smiled a bit at the man, trying to hide the relieved feeling that ran through his body. If the headmaster noticed, he didn't mention it, and instead turned to his professor.
"Another early raiser; you both really should rest more now that you have the chance."
Snape glared at him slightly. "That's rich coming from you, Albus."
The old man raised an eyebrow. "I already told you I had a meeting, Severus."
Alec frowned lightly; he had secretly been hoping that he would be allowed to spend the morning with his grandfather. It had been a while since they had been able to just sit down and chat a bit. This time, the old man noticed the expression on the teen's face and stood up to hug the boy from behind.
"I'm sorry, Alec; I know it's been a while since we had the chance to spend some time together."
The teen shook his head and tried to smile up at the old man. "It's ok, Granddad, I know you're very busy."
Dumbledore sighed, but let the matter rest; he couldn't do anything about it anyway. Even so, he promised himself he would make some time for the child during the week. For a moment, he considered telling Alec that, but the fact remained that it might not be possible and it would hurt the boy even more. Seeing that it was getting late, Dumbledore moved from behind Harry after squeezing his shoulders gently and left the kitchen after nodding goodbye to Severus.
Once the headmaster left the room, Alec turned to watch his professor. The man smiled lightly at him, waiting for him to speak.
"Uncle Severus..."
The man nodded to him. "Yes?"
"Am I allowed back to the common room?"
The man shook his head lightly and sipped at his cup of tea. "I haven't seen much of you this past week; I thought you would like to come with me to the dungeons and play a game of chess or brew a potion."
Harry's face cleared instantly, and he smiled brightly. He knew that going with Snape probably would mean that he would be unable to get the book Lady Ravenclaw wanted, but she would have to understand.
The two of them made their way to the dungeons with Harry keeping close to the Potions Master. It was still early, so to Harry's relief they didn't meet any of the Slytherin students.
Once in Severus' room, the man called a house-elf to fetch him some cookies and hot chocolate while Harry set up the game. They played silently for the most part, with the Potions Master asking questions about school from time to time. The time flew by and before Harry noticed, they were heading to the Great Hall for lunch. After biding his professor goodbye, Harry headed to his own seat at the Ravenclaw table. Everyone looked at him intently, making him extremely uncomfortable, but luckily, Lan latched onto him and distracted him with her chatter and her questions.
Lunch flew by quicker than he had expected, and after they finished, Harry left with Lan and two other first years. He didn't know if his uncle had wanted him to go back to the dungeons with him, but he decided that it was time for him to look for that book Rowena had talked about. One of the older students insisted they should go see the library since they hadn't had the chance to do that yet, and Alec just went with them, an amused smile playing on his lips. Once there, Alec quickly parted ways with the other Ravenclaw first years, saying he already knew where everything was and that he would go get one of the books and wait for them at a table. The others seemed to accept it and left to explore the huge library.
On his part, Alec paused for a moment, considering where the book might be. Finally, he reluctantly went to the divination part of the library. Looking through the shelves, he sighed heavily; it didn't seem like it was going to be easy to find the book, and he couldn't even go and ask Madam Pince about it. With a frown, Harry was about to go to another section when his gaze fell on the farthest corner. There were several old, dusty books standing there and to his pleasure he found they talked about the mind. Having located the right section, it was a matter of minutes before he had located the correct book. Using his wandless magic, he changed the covers so the title suggested the book was about potions, and he moved back to the main part of the library. Once there, he settled down with his book and opened it carefully.
He had been absorbed in the first chapter of the book, which just spoke of the different kinds of mental arts, when he felt someone stop besides him. Looking up from his book, he had to bit back a groan when he saw Malfoy standing next to him, an obviously forced smile on his lips.
"Hello there, Kid."
Forcing back the urge to hex the boy, he smiled a bit. "Hello."
His mind kept reminding that if he had been able to be nice to Snape, he could manage to do the same to Malfoy. The other boy cocked his head a bit and tried to force his smile a bit more. "I'm sorry about what happened the other day in the train; my friends and I didn't mean to upset you."
If he wasn't so sure that the other boy wanted something from him, he might have fallen over with shock. Instead of that, he returned his gaze to the book and shook his head lightly. "It wasn't your fault; no need to apologise."
From the corner of his eyes, he saw Malfoy's stance relax a bit and the smile become a bit more natural. "Do you mind if I sit with you?"
Alec shrugged, even if inside he was longing to tell him to go to hell. The other teen took the small gesture as an invitation and plopped down on the seat in front of him. Trying to ignore the Slytherin, Harry went back to his reading, only to be interrupted by the boy's voice.
"You don't seem to have many friends; I would have thought that Dumbledore's grandson would always be surrounded by people."
Alec didn't bother to look up. "I prefer to be on my own, and I don't need many friends as long as the ones I have are true friends."
The Ravenclaw heard the other teen snort. "You would consider the Creevy girl a true friend? She's just a mudblood."
This time Harry didn't raise his head, not because he wanted to ignore the other boy, but because he didn't want him to see the anger radiating from his eyes. Even in his anger, he kept his voice calm and soft; he had been well trained through the last few months. "I don't see what that has to do with being a good friend."
When the blonde teen didn't answer, he finally looked up and locked his bright blue eyes with the other's grey ones. Before he could ask what was going on, the Slytherin sighed as if exasperated.
"Surely your grandfather has told you that mudbloods are inferior to us, that they're just a waste of time and place. We should get rid of them before they weaken us."
For a second, Harry had the urge to give up his facade and curse Malfoy to hell, but he quickly brought himself under control and decided on another course of action. Putting on his sweetest expression, he looked intently to the other teen. "Really? You would really do everything in your power to get rid of them?"
Alec saw the pleased smirk on the other teens face and had to control his own laughter. The Slytherin nodded seriously. "Yes, I would do everything."
Alec grinned happily while inside he was laughing his head off. "That's wonderful! I'll tell granddad that you want to help him kill You-Know-Who; after all, he is the leader of the mudbloods, isn't he?"
Alec's sweet smile changed to a mischievous one as the blonde clenched his teeth. "No, Voldemort fights for the supremacy of pure-bloods."
Alec plastered a confused look on his face. "But why would he do that when he's a mudblood himself? I don't understand."
Harry watched in delight as Draco's face drained of colour and the blonde looked confused for a second before scowling down at him. "That's a lie! Who told you such nonsense?"
Alec blinked, his mind racing. "Granddad told me; he said he taught You- Know-Who when he went to Hogwarts. He said he was really called Tom Riddle and that he had to stay at an orphanage because his mother had died at childbirth, and his father had abandoned them when he found out his mother was a witch."
Harry could see how Draco tightened the hand that had gone to his wand and wondered if the other boy was going to attack him. Deep within a small part of Harry, Harry hoped he would, knowing that Dumbledore would take harsh actions for trying to hurt him. Another side of him kept reminding him that Draco could still change sides, as impossible as it sounded. Luckily, he never found out what would have happened, because just then Professor Snape appeared at their side. Shooting a fleeting glance down to Harry, he focused his attention on his student. "Mr. Malfoy, if you could come with me, please, there's a few matters I need to talk to you and the other prefects about."
Draco unclenched his fist and nodded stiffly at the man. After shooting a last glare at Alec, he left the library. Severus frowned, wondering what that all had been about. Looking down at his protégé, he saw he was once again deep in his book. Sighing, he assumed he could get his answers out of Draco, and with a gentle pat on the younger teen's head he left the large room.
As soon as he was sure that Snape had left, Harry looked up, a smirk firm in place. That had been fun; he just hoped Malfoy would leave him alone from then on, else he would have to do something a bit more... drastic.
With that thought in mind, he stood up, and, after warning Lan that he was leaving, he went up to the common room. It was time for him to start with his lessons with Lady Ravenclaw.
To be continued...
A/N: Thanks for all reviews and thanks to my beta reader, Vinnie.