I will be quite busy this month, I am sorry if I take too long before posting the next chapter. Thanks for the reviews and faves everyone C:
Chapter Two.-
Draco Malfoy was in a shock. Was he just going to apparate from Hogwarts? Wasn't that impossible? You know, the non-apparating-ward nonsense? He felt Potter tighten the hold on his waist before he felt the familiar pull of apparition. He blinked, and when he opened his eyes he was already standing on a steady floor.
What he still didn't understood, of course, was why the hell was he not reacting. Maybe he was in shock. After all, it was not an everyday thing to gain the loyalty of the most influential person in the Wizard World, who just happened to be your lifelong enemy. Lucky?
Yeah, he didn't think so.
"What is it, Malfoy? You are not missing any part, are you?"
Potter's voice was enough to wake him. He looked at him warily, thinking about the question he had made.
"You are not telling me this was your first apparition, right?"
"Er, actually..."
Draco glared at him and quickly scanned himself. After some seconds of checking that he was, indeed, complete, he sighed in relief.
"You are stupid, Potter, what if I really missed some parts?"
"You know, that's an interesting question."
He glared at Potter. Suddenly he recalled the situation they were in.
"I own you, Potter, don't make me mad."
Potter dropped his act and turned to look at Malfoy with a calculating gaze. After a few minutes he nodded.
"You are right, Malfoy, I still need to tell you everything-" he was interrupted by a large bang from the door.
"Why, isn't he our dearest little Harry!"
"And Malfoy, of course, why did I forget that they always apparate here?!"
"Are you crazy, Gred? They ALWAYS come here in a Tuesday afternoon, just right after lunch!"
"So sorry, it seems my memory is a failure."
"And that is why you should take the new pois- I mean potion for memory recovery! The one we just accidentally invented! Here, my brother, drink that."
"Ooohh, such a pretty mud colour, makes me want to drink it now! Ok then, let me see if my memory ca-" Another bang exploded, right in the middle of the classroom and Fred Weasley disappeared, leaving a green smoke. George, as if it was a daily occurrence, took out a notebook and wrote down the results.
"Tsk tsk, that was not supposed to happen. Oh well." He turned to look straight at the pair, with a happy smile lighting up his face. "My dear Harry, welcome to the –uh.. storage number... 4! Yes, 4. So, do tell me the reason of your lovely presence here with none other than Draco Malfoy."
"Well, you see, that's a long story."
George looked at Malfoy with a calculating stare. "I can see that Harrykins, but no worries! We have the entire day to talk about it!"
Harry gave a sad smile. "Sorry George, I am in a hurry now, could you and Fred please erase any trace of our presence here?"
George saw the smile and put on a serious face. "Of course Harry, don't worry. Oi, Fred! Get outta there."
The sound of fabric was heard and after some seconds Fred appeared, behind of what it seemed to be a curtain with the same colour as the wall. He let the piece of fabric fall tot he floor and went to stand next to his twin.
"Damn, I was supposed to announce this invention next but I guess that doesn't matter right now."
"Thank you so much, guys, this means a lot to me. Oh yes, please don't tell anyone, even Ron or Dumbledore, where I went." Harry grabbed Malfoy's wrist and started pulling him through the door.
"The first right corner of the third door, the one marked with an 'XP' Harry!" Yelled one of the twins, giving directions so that they wouldn't get lost in their little labyrinth.
"Thanks again!!"
The small bell at the shop's door rang, indicating that the pair had left the twin's territory. They looked at each other and nodded. It was better to start erasing the traces soon.
Draco Malfoy followed Harry through the streets in Diagon Alley, turning corners out of nowhere. He was wondering where the hell were they going now and suddenly crashed against Potter's back when he stopped out of the blue.
"Fucking hell, Potter, is your brain damaged or something?" but Harry was not answering. They had stopped in front of a dirty wall of what it seemed to be an old bookshop. He put one hand on the wall and started to feel all of it, looking for something. After a few seconds he yelped and removed the hand. In the place where it had been was a small, almost invisible pin, with blood on it. It seemed that he had pinched his hand with that.
Harry looked at the pin for a moment before taking it and writing in the wall "Harry James Potter and Draco Abraxas Malfoy request entrance." He dropped the pin when he was finished and the pin disappeared. Soon after, the wall started to change, pieces of wood and glass making their way through the bricks. After it finished moving, the wall had a small door with a sign.
"Welcome.. to the library of the Dark Fountain?"
Harry smiled and nodded. "Ever heard of it?"
Draco glared. Of course he had heard of it! It was a secret place where very few people knew about and it was used to have secret gatherings, as it provided the best secrecy and discretion. What was really surprising, though, was that Potter had heard of it, even know where was the location. It changed places frequently and for someone to find it a membership was needed. His father had one, but that membership would not extend to him.
"Of course Potter, what I don't know is just how the hell did you find it."
"Ah, that is part of the story, so I guess you will have to wait until the end to hear it." He opened the door and entered, being followed by a grumbling Malfoy. The place was dark and it led to a tunnel, lighten by a few torches. He kept walking and reached, at the end of the tunnel to a desk where a goblin sat reading a big book. Said goblin raised his head and looked at the visitors and after confirming the true identities he threw a key to Harry, and went back to read the book.
Harry looked at the key and the room number that was inscripted in it. Behing the goblin laid a large chain of tunnels, all of them with a different number on the arc. He went to the one that said 16 and passed through it. He looked at Malfoy to see that he was keeping his pace and kept walking. Once he reached the end of it he found himself standing on a floor with several trapdoors, also with numbers. He found the one he wanted and a pin appeared. He took the pin and pricked his finger, letting a drop of blood fall on the trapdoor. A keyhole appeared. He used the key he was given and opened the trapdoor.
"You first Malfoy."
Draco jumped and fell on a soft big pillow. He moved to a side to let Potter fall.
Harry fell, hearing the sound of the trapdoor closing, and felt the pillow. He stood up and looked around the room.
"Ok, I think a table, two armchairs, thick carpet, fireplace warm colours and two glasses of wine will do."
The room started to change according to what Harry wanted, surprising Malfoy who leapt to his feet. After a few seconds the change had finished, leaving a small and cosy room with a thick soft carpet, a fireplace, two armchairs facing the fire and a tall round table stood between the armchairs.
Harry nodded in satisfaction and sat on one of the chairs and took a glass of wine from the table, taking a small sip.
"Come on then, Malfoy, the story is rather long and boring and I need some alcohol to tell it."
Draco shook his head and sat down in the other chair. He took the glass of wine and tasted it.
"Good choice."
"I try."
"Ok then, don't beat around the bush. Care to tell me what the fuck is going on? I feel like everything's been like a dream or something."
Harry looked at the fireplace and took another sip. "What would you do if everything you have ever believed in suddenly turns out to be fake?"
Draco looked confused. "I guess I would create my own beliefs, so that no one else but me knows what are they. I would stop trusting people."
Harry chuckled. "That's very fitting of you, but in this case I don't think I could've done that."
"Potter, I don't understand what you are getting at."
Harry suddenly left the armchair and instead laid down on the carpet, close to the fireplace, leaving the glass of wine in the table. He faced the fire and closed his eyes, basking in the warmth it gave. For some minutes he laid there, silent, as if he were sleeping.
"Potter-"
"It all started years ago." Harry started. "When we were in our fourth year. By that time I used to go to Dumbledore's office to talk to him about useless things. He seemed to be interested in my well being, and I was happy he cared for me so I somehow developed some sort of admiration and respect towards him. Even when I fought with Ron over the fact that I had or not cheated in the tournament thing he was the one I would go to because Hermione would only listen to Ron and I had no other real close friends. Dumbledore was always there for me and he was like the grandfather I never had. Anyways, one day I got early in the office and he wasn't there yet so I started to wander around the room. I was quite familiar with it after so many times going there so I was surprised when a portrait suddenly called me. I looked for it and found the voice was from a mermaid. She called me again and I answered her. She said that she was happy to meet me and that it was finally time to tell me something. I thought it was a joke, since all of the portraits always made fun of me. She pointed me at Fawkes' golden perch. I went there and found that Fawkes had just passed through its rebirth. However, what really confused me was that inside the mountain of ashes was a key. Before I could ask the mermaid of it I heard Dumbledore's steps and I went back to the chair." He stopped talking and opened his eyes, finding that somehow over the story Malfoy had left the armchair and was sitting next to the fireplace. He was staring at Harry with an unreadable look in his eyes.
"Well? Go on Potter. I am listening."
Harry snorted and closed his eyes again. "Well, after that meeting I tried to talk to the mermaid again and find the secret about the key. After many meetings I discovered that the Headmaster disappeared on the 15th of every month. So, those days, I would sneak in while the gargoyles were sleeping and talk with the mermaid. She said that the key was to open her portrait and in one of those nights I took the key from Fawkes perch, who disappeared with Dumbledore, and asked the mermaid to let me open it. I found... I found tiles of vials, all of them with a silvery shiny liquid inside. I recognized them as pensieves memories. They were numbered so I took the first one, and used Dumbledore's pensieve to look at it. The memories... they were the ones who told me everything about my life." He looked at Malfoy who had already emptied the glass.
"What do you mean?"
"The first vial held a weird memory. It was inside a small living room. Dumbledore was there, talking to a tall woman with long black hair. He said that he needed a baby to save the Wizard World, and that she was going to give hers. She screamed, something about Dumbledore being insane and started running to the door. I think the door was locked, since she couldn't move it. The thing is, Dumbledore killed her, and then took the bundle in her arms off her and destroyed the house. I was confused, why would Dumbledore kill someone? Over the days, I continued watching all of Dumbledore's memories, and once I came to the end of the vials, I was already acknowledging my past: I was that woman's baby, she was my mother, and Dumbledore had killed her for the sake of protecting Neville from the damned prophecy."
"Wait, What? Neville? What prophecy?"
"You see, there was this prophecy about Voldemort..." Harry stared at Malfoy, not finishing his sentence.
"...So?? What about him?"
Harry smiled, shaking his head at the same time. "You are not afraid of his name, that's good. Anyways, the prophecy says that someone born in the end of July, by parents that challenged the Dark Lord thrice will be marked as equal by him and they will be enemies and none of them will live if the other one lives. So, its a kill-or-be-killed situation. I was the one marked by Voldemort. But, you see, My real mother was someone else, hell, I would guess that even my exact birth date is different. Dumbledore knew this, and it seems that he couldn't risk Neville, the real Chosen One, so he took me, placed me with the Potters and waited. Fucking waited. So, here I am, trying to find my past, destroy Dumbledore and Voldemort and avenge my family."
Draco narrowed his eyes. "You know, this is very interesting and all and I am glad you hate the old coot but that doesn't really explain this-" he waved his hand around the space between them "thing."
Harry laughed, a delightful sound that erased the tension between them. "Thanks Malfoy, I wouldn't have known what to do if you suddenly pitied me! So, you see, Dumbledore decided that since his idea of prophecy didn't work out the way he wanted to, he should control me. Before I pledged my alliance to you, I had one with Dumbledore. Although made unwillingly (would you call willing a 2-years-old child?) I had the need to believe in him, distrust those he didn't trust and act in certain ways. I created a mask in the year I found the vials to hide my real self from Dumbledore. I started noting things around me, the way my friends treated me." He looked at Malfoy "Malfoy, I no longer trust anybody. I had to create a stronger bond with someone else to be free from Dumbledore."
"And you choose me because..."
Harry smiled "That was a very funny part. Since fourth grade I started making a list of those I could trust to free me. None of the Gryffindors were available, as the teachers. Sirius was out of the list once he... disappeared and I could never find Remus when I needed him. Hagrid was too gullible, Ginny was a Weasley, my aunt and uncle were definitely out. Everyone I knew were unacceptable. So, I was left with you."
"Gee, thanks Potter, I know you love me and all but there was no need, seriously."
Harry Potter stood up and walked to Malfoy, reaching hand to raise his chin. "No Malfoy, I trust you more than I would trust anyone. You have complete control of my life and I would wish for nothing more." He released Malfoy "Now though, we need to investigate about my family. This is what you got into when you accepted my bond. You can order me to stop this nonsense and go back to Hogwarts. You could even tell me to go straight to Voldemort with a tutu and dance with him and I would. Just let me finish my revenge. Let me discover my real self. What do you say, Malfoy? Up to a little travelling around the world?"
Malfoy raised his eyes and Harry could see the fierce light reflecting his silver irises. He smiled, and slowly stood up. "Well, come on then, Hero, where to first?"
Harry offered his hand to Malfoy. He was nervous as hell, but didn't show it. He finally had this chance to do what he had waited so long to do. It was better to start as friends.
"Friends?" He said with a smirk.
Malfoy looked at the hand and did nothing for long and painful minutes. Finally, he raised his hand and firmly clasped it with Potter's.
"You wish." Said Draco, returning the smirk.