Sold-Chapter 3-Origins

By Marmalade Fever

A.N. I bumped up the rating because of your suggestions. Please read my note in my profile for details.

Draco stood, crouched, behind the dungeon door. If they thought he wouldn't eavesdrop, they were both fools. Lily Potter, eh? So in whatever dream this boy came from, Potter had married and produced a daughter. He tried not to focus on the fact that he had also married Hermione Granger. Every way he looked at it, it just didn't make sense. Granted, he still didn't know all the details. He didn't know who this boy was, if he were real or no, how he had come to be… There seemed no explanation, under any circumstances, that would prompt him to marry the mudblood. Was his parallel self at all like him? How many aspects of his life did he share?

There was one thing that bothered him a great deal. The date on the wedding photograph had revealed that they had been wed at the age of twenty-five. Draco had also married at that age. His wife had left him a widower only a year after they had married. Antoine had always been a fool. She was much too wrapped up in herbology to recognize the joys of being a pure-blood in a Dark Lord-ruled society.

Draco had not had any real inclination to marry when he did. Rather, he had been forced into it. According to some old document that his father had produced, he had no other choice than to marry an English witch of his own age. There had been a handful of candidates. The random killings that had been occurring since that Dark Lord gained power had limited his choices. In the end his father had made the choice for him. If he concentrated, it seemed as if Granger's name might have been on the list of candidates as well.

Draco couldn't help but to wonder if his alter ego had also faced the Malfoy Marriage Contract. It was feasible, considering their ages. Unfortunately, there was no way to prove it. If this boy were truly a Malfoy, then his parents would not have been allowed to tell him of the Contract until he came of age at twenty-five. If that were true, then would he suffer from the consequences if he told the boy about the Contract… as a parent? There was really no way of knowing.

Assuming that the other Draco Malfoy had been under the restraint of the Marriage Contract, what would have compelled him to marry mudblood Hermione Granger? Had he been a goody-two-shoes, or something as unthinkable as that? The very idea caused him to shudder. Even had Granger been the only candidate that fit the requirements, Draco doubted whether he would have been able to produce a child with her, unless he had been extremely anxious to continue the family line… Every thought was an abomination.

Draco pressed his ear harder against the door. Granger had just asked the boy what his name was. He had been curious to find out ever since he had encountered the boy. Perhaps… perhaps he wouldn't even say that his name was Malfoy. No… that would be an impossibility. The wedding photograph had the name on it, and the paternity test proved everything.

"It's… it's Evander Gwydion Malfoy…" Draco heard the boy say. His skin crawled. It was a very smooth flowing sort of name, not overly prestigious so that it felt unnatural to call a boy by it, but not so common that the name Malfoy didn't carry any weight with it. Evander… He had never heard the name before, to his knowledge, but he instantly liked it. Gwydion, obviously, dated back to England during the days of Merlin and Camelot. Some scholars claimed that it had been the name that Arthur had been christened at birth, because of his blond hair. Even Lancelot had originally been named Galahad. Lancelot was a name meaning Elf-arrow… "…and you're not my Mum, are you?"

"No… at least, not in this lifetime." There was silence and Draco began to wonder if it would damage the boy if he were to make his entrance.

"We aren't at Malfoy Manor anymore. This is our house," Evander commented, postponing Draco's entrance. "I used to play down here all the time. You… my mum never liked it, of course. She couldn't make heads or tails why we even have a dungeon. I couldn't really figure it out either… 'til now."

"What do you mean?"

"My parents have been fairly honest with me. They told me all about how poorly they got along at school. I know that Grandfather Malfoy is, or at least was, a Death-eater. Dad was never especially thrilled that he was released. I still catch Dad and Uncle Harry staring daggers at one another… I wonder… I wonder what this place is. Maybe this is what life would have been like had Voldemort won the final battle."

Draco's eyes widened in horror. The boy… the boy had dared to utter the Dark Lord's name. If he listened closely, he could make out the intake of breath that Granger had taken in her own surprise. "You… you said his name!" she said, in a shocked voice.

"Well… I'm still not sure what exactly's going on, but you have to understand. I was born ten years after his fall, and raised by very… you know. You, I mean, my mum always taught me that fear of a name increases the fear of the thing itself. Why should I be afraid of some freak that's been dead all this time?"

"Evander, please! Be very careful what you say! This… this world is dangerous. Take Harry, for instance… he… he's been missing for years. We aren't even sure if he's alive or dead. And look at me! I was bought at an auction! A world of anguish and slavery! That's what you've stumbled onto!" Draco could hear muffled sobs coming through the door. He never thought that he would live to see the day that Hermione Granger actually broke down and cried after all of these years. The effort, on her part, was amazing. He knew what sort of physical condition she was in. He was surprised her body was hydrated enough to permit tears.

"I'm sorry! Please don't cry!" Evander continued to make hushing sounds. "Here, I'll change the subject… Um… Cats! How's… no, I suppose you wouldn't know how Marmalade is… Oh, Marmalade is our cat. Dad gave him to you for Christmas before you got married."

The sobs ceased. "He gave me a cat?" Draco too was a little interested in the subject. He had never bought a cat in his life, nevertheless for a woman.

"Mmhmm, he knew that you liked them. I can't tell you how many stories I've heard about old Crookshanks. So he got you an orange kitten."

"What else can you tell me about how they got together?" Draco's ears perked up, wondering whether his theory about the Contract were true.

"Um, let's see. Dad had just had his twenty-fifth birthday, and for some reason he invited you to dinner. You went to his birthday party. A week later, he asked you to marry him." Evander's voice sounded temporarily puzzled. "I think he kissed you a week after that. Later you two went to the Ministry's annual ball. You… broke up… on Christmas night. Then dad was engaged to Antoine." Draco's brow furrowed. "Then, on Valentine's Day, he realized he loved you. He ended up leaving Antoine at the altar. Then the two of you eloped. Grandfather wasn't too pleased… Then you had a big ceremony at the Manor."

Draco's brain spun with the new information. Yes, this other time-line most definitely did have a Malfoy Marriage Contract, judging by the hasty engagement after his birthday. But what was this about Antoine? He had realized that he loved the Mudblood and left a perfectly good pureblood at the altar? How bizarre and twisted could this other timeline get?

"We… they only dated a week before they got engaged?" Granger asked, oblivious to the information that was whirling in Draco's head.

"Yeah… I don't get that either. They told me they'd explain it more clearly when I'm older. But who knows if that day will ever come? How am I even to get back?"

There was a large sigh from Granger. "Tell me exactly what happened before you got here."

"Well… I was crossing the lawn at Hogwarts to, er, talk to Lily…"

"How old is she?"

"Thirteen." Draco smirked to himself.

"Hmm… go on."

"I said something like 'Hi,' and then I said something stupid about the clouds… That's when I saw this weird thing in the sky. It was like… a ball. Er, how do I describe it? It looked as if it were made of pure energy. It was sort of electric looking, with lightning dancing through it. I just had enough time to warn her and push her to the ground. The next thing I knew, I was at my Grandparents' manor and my Dad was walking down the hall, looking as if he were about to kill."

"I see… Do you think you could handle talking to him? I don't think he'll hurt you…"

"We really do need to go help Lily. I'm afraid she's in trouble… I can feel it."

"I know… but we don't know where she is. She's been here for a week now, I'm sure a few more minutes won't hurt her." Draco doubted the sincerity in the woman's words. They were words of comfort, not truth. "I think you should come in now, Malfoy." Draco was startled by her invitation, but opened the door and entered the dimly lit dungeon. He saw Granger sitting on the floor, looking exhausted. The boy, Evander, was standing before him. For the first time in a week, he saw those brown eyes of his that were so much like hers. They were almost too warm to be a Malfoy's, but they complimented him well. "I assume you've been listening?" Granger asked, breaking the intense silence.

"Only naturally, Miss Granger. Now, I have a few things to discuss with you… but the boy must go."

"Why?" Evander asked, putting on a brave face and straightening himself to his full height. Oh yes, this boy was certainly a Malfoy.

"I don't believe it concerns you…"

"I can tell when you're lying… Your left nostril twitches."

"Then you should also know when I'm in a dangerous mood… I am no one to be trifled with." Draco snapped his fingers and the two house elves arrived. "Take the boy to the bedroom I showed you and lock the doors. Petrificus totallus," he muttered, aiming at the boy, who went rigid and fell into the arms of the house elves.

A.N. You must be really impatient with me. My chapters are so short. But I really just can't force myself to write that much in a single chapter. Congrats to those of you who have managed to figure out what's going on.