Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter – it's all J.K. Rowling. I do however own this here story's plot.
Chapter 4
Knowledge is Power
A couple of days passed by at Snape Manor without any big surprises. While Harry seemed to be getting accustomed to the home, Snape, Draco and Hermione would try to help him retrieve his memories – even if it was just one piece out of many.
They would talk about his many adventures – although this seemed to intrigue Harry more than to help him remember what he had gone through.
"During your first year, you were always defiant, Harry. Always glaring at me with those green eyes." Severus mused, looking amusedly at the Gryffindor. "You know, you have –"
"My mother's eyes." Harry ended, smirking at the potions master.
"Yes, but other than that –"
"I'm like a replica of my father." Harry supplied, grinning widely at the annoyed potions master who frowned when he was unable to finish any of his sentences.
"First year, we or more specifically, you Harry dealt with You-Know-Who and the Philosopher's Stone." Hermione said.
"You-Know-Who?" Harry asked, wondering whom they were referring to.
"The Dark Lord." Snape said.
"Doesn't he have a real name?"
"No one uses it." Draco said from next to him. Harry nodded his head.
"Well after that, during our second year was the Chamber of Secrets and the basilisk. Third year was with Sirius and Dementors. Fourth year you did the Triwizard Tournament. And last year you went to the Ministry to fight You-Know-Who as well as dealing the pink pug."
"I hope you're not talking about Pansy." Draco said, raising an eyebrow at the brunette Gryffindor.
"Wait, why would I fight him if he's helping me now?" Harry asked, confused by the sudden turn of events.
"Well, we've seen that he's not the real enemy here. Dumbledore's been telling us lies. The old fool's been at it since he's heard the prophecy before you've been born." Snape said, irritated that the old man had played him.
"Okay, but there's a couple of things I still need explaining. What is a Basilisk, Chamber of Secrets, Triwizard Tournament, Ministry and who is the pink pug?"
"Okay, so the Chamber of Secrets was located in the third floor girl's lavatory. Apparently within it is a Basilisk, which is a serpent that Dark Wizards used. A direct look into its eyes can kill the victim, but through a reflection can only stun the victim into paralysis." Hermione explained.
"The Triwizard Tournament deals with student between three different schools: Durmstrang, Hogwarts and Beauxbatons. The first task dealt with retrieving a dragon's egg from a dragon, rescuing someone close to you from mermaids' grasp underwater and finally surviving through a maze – the prize being the Triwizard Tournament cup and the title of becoming the Triwizard Tournament Champion." Hermione continued.
"A dragon? I thought those were mythical beings." Harry said, surprised.
"They are, but they're real. After all, they're being bred in Romania and other parts of the world." Draco said, amused with Harry's surprise.
"Well, there's the Ministry of Magic. Like the muggle world, there's also a sort of government for wizards and witches. The pink pug is that horrid women Dolores Umbridge." Hermione said, hissing at the mention of the god-awful woman that she had met.
"What made her so horrible?" Harry asked.
"Look at your hand." Hermione said.
Harry looked, turning his hand over and saw a light scar across the back of his hand. He rubbed his thumb over the scars lightly before looking up at the others.
"Did she do this?"
"She made you use a blood quill. Illegal with normal uses other than signing a contract." Hermione said.
"Not only was it illegal, but the blood quill used your blood and scratched, 'I will not tell lies' across your hand, during your detentions with her." Hermione growled.
Draco frowned at the newfound information he received and looked at the Gryffindor besides him. He didn't think Harry had undergone such harsh punishments every time he had detention with Umbridge. And to think she was a member of the Ministry of Magic as well.
"So why did someone like her end up in a school like Hogwarts?"
"People believed that Dumbledore was inapt at being the Headmaster of Hogwarts. Therefore, they tried to relieve him of his position but he disappeared. After that, the Minister of Magic got Dolores as a teacher and eventually made her as the Headmaster. In the end, she was carried away by centaurs in the Forbidden Forest." Hermione said, with an wicked grin on her face.
Surprised by the expression the Gryffindor was given, Snape felt a shiver run down his spine – nothing he was scared about, but something that made his nether regions pool with increasing warmth.
Draco wore an amused expression on his face, while Harry looked around confused at everyone.
Hogwarts seem like an interesting place. He finally concluded.
Yes it is. After all, you had many adventures throughout the school years you've been at Hogwarts. Draco's voice echoed in his mind.
Snorting at the response from the blond, he nudged Draco a little bit before reorganizing his thoughts. So apparently he was given the main points of his school years. Nodding his head, he reminded himself that he should ask them about the details of his life sometime later on.
Eventually, the group moved onto spells and Hogwarts's course load, seeing as how the new school semester was only a month and a half away.
.
.
.
.
.
"Wingardium Leviosa." Harry said, swishing his wand. The three watched as he slowly levitated an empty can off the dining table. It was a bit wobbly, but it was indeed floating into the air. Draco could only give a quiet chuckle as he saw Harry's concentrated face: furrowed eyebrows, a determined look in his eyes with a tongue sticking out of his month.
"Good, now let's move onto transfiguration." Snape said. Harry barely spared a glance at the potions master. Instead, he gently levitated the can back onto the table before smiling at his work in progress.
"I'm getting it, Draco!" he smiled, jumping the blond.
Catching the Gryffindor, Draco smiled and patted his head. "Yes you are. Now let's try to catch you up to speed alright?"
Nodding his head, Harry turned back to the potions master to give his full attention. While Snape would teach Harry Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts, Hermione taught him History of Magic, Charms, and Transfiguration. Draco taught him Arithmancy, Ancient Runes and would occasionally take Harry out to teach him how to fly on a broomstick.
"You know, we won't be able to teach him enough with just the three of us?" Hermione stated, one day when they decided to take a lunch break.
"Well, we can't exactly tell anyone that the Chosen One has lost his memories and that he'd have to retake all his classes within two months. That and the fact that he has quite a couple of years to catch up on his studies." Draco said, leaning against the settee.
He truly understood why his godfather was how he was during the school semester. Just dealing with Harry was a bit tiring – although Harry was a fast learner. The work to prepare, prep and test Harry was taxing enough without having to teach the boy.
Noticing how the three were tired, Harry got up from besides Draco and headed off towards the kitchen. He fixed everyone a couple of tea before setting it down in front of everyone.
Nodding their thanks, Harry took his place besides Draco once more with a smile on his face – happy to be of help to those who were working so hard to get him to remember everything before the school year started up once more.
"Well Hermione, do you know of anyone that you and Harry would trust?" Snape asked.
Snape and Hermione were familiar with each other – enough to call each other by their first names, but not friendly enough to have a relaxed conversation that did not wander away from the school's course work. Though, that would be on Hermione since she loved to learn more and new things.
"Well, there's Luna Lovegood, Neville Longbottom and quite a few I can name off the tip of my mind, Severus."
"Good, send an owl to them. I want their reply back in no later than a day's time."
"Severus, you can't be serious."
"Draco now's not the time to choose between our allies and enemies. Don't you want what's best for Harry?" Snape chided.
Draco fumed on the inside. Of course he wanted what's best for Harry. He just didn't want others to occupy his attention anymore. It was enough that Hermione and Snape were taking their time to teach him, but Looney Lovegood and Longbottom were going to take even more time away from him too? It just didn't make him happy.
Draco? Are you alright?
The Slytherin turned to face the Gryffindor besides him – noticing the worried look in those emerald eyes. Smiling at him, Draco assured Harry that he was indeed alright and that he'll get right on the letters soon. Glad with the addition of more people in the house soon, Harry beamed at Draco before returning to his tea.
.
.
.
.
.
Receiving a positive reply from the two, Luna would be teaching Harry Divination and Astronomy while Neville would be teaching Harry Herbology and Ancient Runes. The Ravenclaw and Gryffindor arrived at Snape Manor with their suitcase.
"Professor Snape?"
"Welcome to my manor Mister Longbottom, Miss Lovegood."
"We received a letter from Harry. Why did the portkey bring us here?"
Draco stepped into the foyer with Harry beside him, followed by Hermione. The Gryffindor looked shocked to see Harry holding hands with the prince of Slytherin, not to mention that Hermione was there as well. Luna didn't look at all surprised. In fact, she gave them a bright smile.
"You are here to teach Harry the course load from Hogwarts. He needs to be caught up to speed."
"What are you talking about?" Neville asked, hand itching towards his wand.
"I suggest you don't touch your wand Mister Longbottom. They have come unarmed and I doubt you would want to start a duel here."
Neville turned to look at Snape before looking at Hermione. Seeing her nod her head at him and realizing that she came on her own free will and not under the imperious curse, Neville relaxed.
"Neville, this hasn't been told to anyone yet, but Harry's got amnesia."
"What? How?"
"Those lumps of a relative he calls hurt him." Draco said icily. His eyes flashed a dangerous silver before it softened when Harry turned to look up at him. Smiling to Harry, he turned back to look at the visitors.
"Longbottom – "
"Neville, Draco. Call him that."
Frowning at Harry, he turned back to face the Gryffindor before taking a deep breath. He seemed to be having an inner struggle with himself – half of him wanted to continue calling the Gryffindor Longbottom, shouting at himself that he wasn't worth the time. The other half of him told him to do as Harry had said – wanting to help the emerald-eyed boy as much as he could.
"Neville," he struggled out. "We would like for you to teach Harry Herbology and Ancient Runes. Luna, you would be teaching Harry Astronomy and Divination."
Neville seemed reluctant to believe that Harry had gotten amnesia, but Luna insisted that he did through a dazed look on her face. "Fine, we'll do it. After all, Harry's our best mate."
Clapping his hands, Harry walked up to greet them, Draco hanging onto his waist by an arm. Noting this and filing it away to ask Harry later, Neville stiffly shook Draco's hand, while Luna just smiled and waved.
"So where do we put our bags?"
.
.
.
.
.
"This is a young mandrake, Harry. One scream can knock a person out unconscious. However, the fully grown mandrake's scream can be fatal." Neville said.
The group was currently in the greenhouse behind Snape's manor. Harry seemed to be eager to learn everything and anything these days.
"Now, before you pull it out, you must first – HARRY! WAIT – NO!"
Harry had yanked out the young mandrake from the soil, eliciting a high pitched shrieking, the sound vibrated through the greenhouse, The group watched as Harry's eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fell onto the ground unconscious.
Neville quickly removed the young mandrake from Harry's grasp before dumping it into an empty flowerpot and piled it high with soil, silencing the piercing shrieking. Removing their earmuffs, Draco made a beeline towards Neville, gripping his robes, snarling.
"Why didn't you tell him to put his earmuffs on first Longbottom?"
"Draco please, tend to Harry before you go off on a spiral." Snape said, as he crouched down next to the unconscious boy.
Shooting a glare back at the Gryffindor, Draco headed towards Harry and picked him up off the floor.
"Class is over. I'll be taking him to his room now." He said, leaving the group behind.
.
.
.
.
.
Luna's teaching session was in a dark room, dimly lit by floating candles. She had hoped to create a mysterious atmosphere, but Harry was slightly nervous with the candles just lighting up bits and pieces of the room.
Luna was waiting in the middle of the room, standing besides a circular table draped with a huge tablecloth. In the middle of the table was a crystal ball and above the table were several glittering stars.
"Come Harry, please sit." Luna said, beckoning the Gryffindor to step closer to the table. Harry slowly walked towards her warily, eyes shifting back in forth trying to see into the darkness. Once he reached the table, he sat down as a chair appeared besides it.
"Now Harry, look into the crystal ball and tell me what you see."
Luna's voice drifted close to Harry's ears as he tried to concentrate hard on the object in front of him.
"I- I don't see anything. All I see is my reflection and yours from the other side of the crystal ball."
"Try harder." Luna encouraged, with a calm expression on her face.
So, Harry tried harder. His brows furrowed, and his eyes narrowed, glaring into the crystal ball. After a few seconds, he gave up. "Am I doing something wrong?"
"No, no Harry. You are not doing anything wrong. Divination comes to those who believe in the stars. Which is why, we will be moving onto Astronomy now." Luna said, skipping out of the room.
Leaving Harry a bit baffled at her sudden exit, he turned to look at the group standing around behind him. As she left, the fires lit from the candles flickered off and the lights turned back on in the room.
"Is she – " he began.
"Yes." They all said, and with that they left the room.
.
.
.
.
.
The next lesson was from Hermione. Harry sat erect with attention at the desk, which only had a rat in the middle of the desk.
Hermione stood before the table and started rattling off details and facts about transfiguration. Harry could only stare at the board with a blank look on his face. Draco could tell he could barely process the information.
"Now Harry, try to transfigure this rat into a goblet."
Harry blinked several times before he realized Hermione had finished teaching him. Then he looked around to see that everyone had already turned to look at him, either with amused expressions or surprised expressions that he had dared to block out Hermione's teaching.
Harry looked at Hermione when he processed her order to change a rat into a goblet. He looked at her like she had grown another head, several eyes and extra limbs. He then looked back at the rat sitting in front of him on the desk before he turned back to look at her.
"It's impossible." He said bluntly.
"Nothing is impossible Harry. Just give it a go." Hermione said, frowning when she realized that he hadn't been paying attention at all.
Heaving a sigh, Harry straightened up his posture like Draco had always reminded him to before he gave his wand a swish and a flick. Instantly the rat before him turned into a white goblet.
"That's brilliant Harry. Nice try. Now, let's move onto something else."
Eagerly, Harry began to absorb everything that Hermione taught him when he realized he could change a rat into a goblet.
I wonder what else I could transfigure.
.
.
.
.
.
The next tutor was Severus. As Severus led the small group into the Malfoy Manor's potions lab, he flicked his wand several times to open the ingredients cabinet, the storage doors and bring out several cauldrons.
"Now Mister Potter." Snape drawled from in front of his cauldron.
"I hope I don't expect another incident like the one in the greenhouse to occur here today while you're learning potions. Is that clear?" Snape seemed to have gone back into professor mode.
Harry flinched when he felt Snape's cool gaze on him. That and the fact that he remembered what had happened during his Herbology lesson with Neville. The shy Gryffindor had apologized profusely to him when he awoke in bed, a worried Draco hovering over him.
Waving away his apology, Harry returned an apology of his own, stating that he should've waited for Neville's instructions before pulling the young mandrake from the soil.
If this is what he's like teaching me, I can't imagine what he's like teaching a whole class. Harry shuddered, before he turned to look at the ingredients placed on the table next to the cauldron.
Trust me, he's way worse to Gryffindors during the school year. He favors Slytherin. After all, he is the Head of Slytherin.
Scowling at the blond, he turned his attention back to Snape, who seemed to notice that his attention had drifted away.
"You will follow these steps carefully. Read before doing anything, double check before adding. Follow these directions down to the very last detail."
Nodding his head, Harry reached for the ingredient closest to him and lifted it above the cauldron, turning to read the directions in the potions textbook next to him.
"Harry don't! That's Fluxweed!"
Turning his head to the voice, his hand opened up, dropping the Fluxweed into the cauldron. Feeling something impact him from the side, he was crushed against the floor before an explosion sounded a couple of feet away.
Peeking out from under blond hair, Harry saw the cauldron smoking, although it's erupted contents were caught with the quick flick of Snape's wand.
"Professor Snape, perhaps it would be better to explain to Harry what they ingredients are before we teach him potions."
"Yes, I think that would best." Snape said, eyeing disdainfully at the remains of the cauldron. "Harry, here's what you'll be doing instead. You will be organizing the ingredients in my storage. Alphabetically." He ordered, before turning around to head towards the stock room, robes billowing behind him.
Looking down, disappointed at himself, Harry whispered an apology to Draco. A soft look in his eyes, Draco patted Harry before encouraging him to follow Snape. Pulling him back before Harry could take a step away, Draco gave Harry a light peck on the cheek before releasing the blushing Gryffindor from his grasp.
Don't worry about it Harry. This is just the beginning. You'll get better. The blonde encouraged.
.
.
.
.
.
It was a nice day outside, and so Draco thought it would be the perfect day to teach Harry how to fly with a broomstick. He dragged the protesting Gryffindor out of the confines of their bed, Ah, our bed. Draco thought, and headed towards the Quidditch field they owned.
He accioed his broomstick to him, placed it on the ground and did the same for Harry's Firebolt.
"Stand next to your broom, stick our your hand and say up." Draco instructed.
Harry looked at the broomstick that they had told belonged to him – a Firebolt, supposedly the fastest broom currently in the Wizarding World. Looking at the Slytherin warily, Harry had a look of doubt in his eyes.
"Just do it."
Sighing to himself, Harry raised his arm and said, "Up." Instantly, the broom shot up towards his open hand and he grasped his fingers around it. His eyes widened at the sudden response from his broomstick, and a grin appeared on his face.
"Good, now climb on it, and kick up off the ground. Hover for a few seconds and then tilt your broomstick forward to come back down to the ground."
Something in Harry's mind started to nag at him. He could have sworn he'd heard those words somewhere before, but where? Draco looked at the Gryffindor as Harry's face contorted into a look of concentration and somewhat confusion at hearing the words. Thinking Harry would be able to regain his memories quickly this way, Draco had decided to use Madam Hooch's words when she first taught the class how to fly on a broomstick.
The Gryffindor shook his head and focused on the task at hand. Harry adjusted himself on the broomstick, kicked off and was soon not hovering a couple of inches off the ground but in fact had soared several feet into the air. Hands tightly around the broomstick in a vice grip, Harry could only look around frantically as everything became smaller and smaller.
"Draco!" he shouted, his voice shaky and laced with fear.
He heard laughter somewhere near him. Then Harry felt something zoom past him before he opened his eyes to see the blond Slytherin hovering beside him smirking.
"Really Harry. Did you have to show off?"
"Get me down from here!" he said, in a high-pitched voice.
"Come on, follow me." Draco said, tilting his broom forward.
Following Draco's lead, Harry tilted his broom forward before a vision passed before his eyes.
The sky was filled with dark, foreboding clouds. The weather was terrible; the rain pelted down on the audience and the Quidditch players. Harry was already having a hard time seeing through the weather, even though Hermione had spelled his glasses to be rain proof.
He had just looked away from a cloud that had looked like a skull with a serpent slithering from it's gaping mouth when he saw his glasses freeze over with the sudden change in freezing weather.
A dark hooded figure hovered in front of him, its mouth open wide, seeming to be sucking the happiness out of him. All of a sudden, he couldn't breathe, couldn't hear.
And the next thing he knew, Harry had lost conscious and was free falling towards the ground.
.
.
.
.
.
"…rry…"
"..arry…"
"Harry."
Eyelids opened up revealing green orbs with pupils dilated. Readjusting his vision accordingly, Harry slowly looked around the room to see a worried and frantic Draco.
He looked further down and saw Hermione sitting with her shoulders wrapped with Neville's arm in comfort. Luna was sitting at the foot of his bed, openly humming a soft tune. Severus was at the doorway of the room, arms crossed across his chest, leaning against the wall – something Draco rarely saw from his godfather.
Closing his eyes and reopening them to respond to the blond, Harry found that he couldn't speak, and his eyes started to fill with fear.
"It's alright. Just think it." Draco said, calming him down.
Draco? What happened?
You fell from your broom. And I should be asking you that. Draco gave a weak laugh. What happened there?
I-I don't know. I saw something before I lost conscious. I think.
What was it?
Something dark.. it was flying in front of me. It felt cold all around and I felt myself becoming sad. Like .. Like it was sucking the happiness right out of me.
Draco looked at him with a grim look on his face, before Snape appeared besides him. Giving him a full body scan, Snape gave him several potions before he was able to sit up.
"Draco, could you tell me what I saw?" Harry croaked.
The others looked confused at Harry's request, before turning to look at the Slytherin. Draco looked at everyone before turning to look at Harry.
"You saw Dementors. During your quidditch match back in your third year of Hogwarts."
"Dementors…"
"Things that suck the happiness out of you, and eventually your soul from your body, leaving you lifeless." Hermione supplied.
The room grew silent as Harry began to organize everything in his mind.
"Oh, Hermione. You mentioned something about it correct? During our third year? And something else.. Oh. Who's this Sirius person?"
"Sirius is your godfather Harry. You actually met one of your father's friends, Remus Lupin, on the Hogwarts Express to school. He saved you from one of those Dementors when the train stopped."
"Yes, Sirius, Potter, Pettigrew and Lupin called themselves The Marauders. Obnoxious group there were back when I was in school." Snape drawled, when he remembered the times he and Potter fought, and Sirius had pranked him several times.
"Well, at least you're getting back your memories. That's a good thing." Luna said happily from the foot of his bed.
Harry brightened up at that and agreed, thus the gloomy situation was pushed aside.
.
.
.
.
.
To make things even better, Lucius arrived at Snape Manor a couple of days later after they had sent the owls to the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor.
Of course, learning about Harry's circumstances shook the two up quite a bit, but they held steadfast to their decisions and taught Harry everything from first year up until their current year. They swore they would never tell a soul about Harry's amnesia, stating that they were loyal to only Harry – which confused the boy quite so, but gave Hermione, Draco and Snape relief to hear them say so.
When Lucius arrived, the blonde announced to him that the Dark Lord will be seeing him soon – a couple of days after Harry had requested an audience with him. Beaming with gratefulness, Harry thanked the older blonde with a hug – surprising Lucius with such an act.
Watching his father stutter made Draco realize that his father was capable of human emotions, other than the usual cold and indifferent mask that he wore. Knowing that Harry was changing his life, Draco thought he wouldn't want to change it any other way.
.
.
.
.
.
"Draco, are you awake?"
Scratch that thought. Although I wouldn't want my life to change in any other way, I don't appreciate my beauty sleep being taken away. Draco thought groggily.
I heard that.
The blonde grumbled in his sleep before burying his face into the pillow. Turning his head a fraction off the pillow, his left eye opened looking up at the emerald-eyed boy lying next to him.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm just excited for this meeting you know. By the way, I apologize for taking away your beauty sleep." Harry teased.
"That's a first. You never liked attention, interviews, meetings, anything of that sort. Even if the spotlight weren't put on you, you'd shy away from social events. And I don't mind. If it's you, I'm just waking up to see a whole different type of beauty." Draco replied, turning his face to give Harry his full attention – or at least the amount of attention he currently had.
Harry flushed as much as he could in the darkness, looking down at his pillow in silence.
"You're really that excited to meet the Dark Lord?"
"Tom Riddle."
"What?"
"His name is not the Dark Lord. It's Tom Riddle."
"Harry really. Are we going to argue about what the Dark Lord's name is or isn't at a time like this?" Draco yawned. "What is the time anyway?" He answered his own question by casting the Tempus charm.
"Really Harry? It's 3 am in the morning." The silver eyes showed a gleam of annoyance before a sign of acceptance.
"You know, if you don't get enough rest, you'll get cranky in the morning."
"I can't help it. I don't know who he is or what he's like. Only that he punishes Snape when he gets the wrong information and that he'll help me. He seems like a nice guy though. I don't understand why you all seem to be afraid of him."
Draco sighed before sitting up, accepting that he would not be sleeping anytime soon with an anxious Harry in bed with him. Harry got up as well and sat cross-legged, facing Draco.
"Well, out with it. What do you want to know? I'm afraid I won't be able to tell you much since I don't really know much about him."
Harry thought for a bit. "Oh, I've got one. How does he know about me?"
Draco thought about how he should answer the question. He watched as Harry looked up at him, waiting for his answer.
I can't exactly say, Oh Harry. Why that's such an easy question. He was aiming to kill you as a child so you wouldn't get in his way of having a muggle born free world. But that backfired because of your mother's love.
Sighing, he looked at Harry. "You want the truth?" He received a nod and a smile from the dark haired boy.
"Alright. The truth is, the Dark Lord had a vision – to rid all the muggle born from the world – both the wizarding world and the regular world." He looked straight into Harry's eyes, watching him process the information.
"But, because of a prophecy that Dumbledore had heard, he was to kill you. That's because you stood in his way." The expression on Harry's face did not change – even when he was told that he would have been killed as a child.
"But, when he did go to your house to do the deed, your mother's love protected you from any harm. The killing curse reflected off of you and killed him instead." Draco finished and continued to watch Harry take in all the information, waiting for him to wrap it around his head.
"But he's alive now correct?"
"Yes. He regained his power each year and finally he obtained a body last year. During the Tri-Wizarding Tournament – when you were entered."
Nodding his head, Harry looked up. "Muggle born?"
"Children born from non-magical parents."
"Is there anything else I should know about blood statuses then?"
"There's muggle born, half-bloods and pure bloods."
"Let me guess. You're a pure blood."
"Yes, and you are a half-blood."
"One parent's magical and the other is muggle born?"
"Correct. You catch on fast."
"Well, I'm not an idiot." Harry said, rolling his eyes. Yawning, he caught Draco casting the Tempus charm once more before seeing that it was almost 4 am in the morning.
"Story time's over. Time to get to bed, again."
Harry nodded and assented to Draco's caring of him. Lying back down on the bed, Harry watched as Draco pulled the duvet up over them before he scooted over and rested his head on Draco's chest.
"You're getting comfortable aren't you?"
"Stop smirking, you git." Harry grumbled, with-holding the blush from his cheeks.
"Well, at least I know you're getting used to your new life here." Draco said, running his fingers through Harry's hair. He received a soft hum as a reply before he saw that Harry had fallen asleep already.
Adjusting himself without moving Harry in the slightest, Draco settled down into the mattress before falling asleep himself.
.
.
.
.
.
"Oh, I can't wait!" Harry gushed, as he hopped from foot to foot besides Draco. The blond could only look on as the Gryffindor exuded happiness.
"Harry please, you'll mess up your hair. I've worked hard on it." Draco scolded, holding Harry in place before flattening his hair once more.
"It's a waste of time. His hair is naturally messy." Hermione said, as she walked into the room.
"Granger? What are you doing here?"
"You didn't think I was going to let Harry enter a house full of Slytherins are you? We Gryffindor have to stick together." She said, cocking her hips.
"She looks just like Pansy when she does that." Draco muttered, scowling.
"And you didn't think we'd let just two Gryffindors alone in that house did you?"
The three turned to see Neville and Luna enter in, one right after the other.
Harry beamed at Hermione then turned to smile at Neville and Luna, before grabbing hold of Draco's hand. It seemed to be the usual routine for them – holding each other's hand whenever they had the time to.
Draco squeezed his hand and Harry returned the gesture. After a couple of more seconds of bouncing around, Harry grew impatient.
"Merlin, where are Snape and Lucius?"
"Don't be impatient Harry. I'm sure they'll arrive soon."
"Correct you are, Miss Granger."
The five youths turned to find their potions master making his way through the archway. Snape stood before them and extended an arm out.
"Now, take hold of my arm. I'll apparate us there."
"Where's Lucius?" Harry asked.
Draco took hold of Snape's arm and wrapped his free arm around Harry's waist earning a small squeak from the blushing Gryffindor. Grinning in satisfaction, he smiled at the emerald-eyed boy before he nodded to his godfather, telling him they were ready.
"He's waiting at the manor. We'll be meeting him there." Snape answered. He turned to look at the last female remaining Gryffindor standing inches away from them.
"Well Miss Granger? Are you waiting for an invitation?"
"Sir, I'm not sure a young woman like me should be taking your – ah!"
Snape grabbed Hermione around the waist, surprising the five teenagers.
"Unhand me Professor Snape! Let me go! This is unbefitting of someone of your status!" Hermione screeched, as she wriggled around in Snape's grasp.
"I don't have time to talk about whether or not this sort of behavior is well enough to accommodate you or not, Miss Granger." Snape drawled, looking down at the brunette.
"Unhand me! Unhand me Severus Snape!" she screamed, hitting his chest with her fists.
Rolling his eyes, he held her tighter against him before he turned to look at Longbottom and Lovegood.
"Well?"
They looked at each other, shrugged and gripped onto his sleeve before Snape apparated them to Malfoy Manor.
.
.
.
.
.
The small group arrived at Malfoy Manor's foyer. Clearing his throat, Draco stepped towards the house before a huge group of hooded people ran out surrounding the small group.
Whipping out their wands, Hermione, Neville and Luna stood still, eyeing the strangers warily. Harry only looked on curiously in Draco's arms. Snape glared a good couple of seconds before he barked at them to leave.
"Harry Potter is to meet with the Dark Lord. If you do not wish to feel the Lord's anger, I suggest you disperse." He hissed dangerously.
The strangers ran back into the manor, leaving the group to stare after them in silence. Turning to look at Snape, they waited for him to make a move before anyone dared to twitch a muscle.
"Let's go." He said, walking towards the entrance with his ropes billowing around behind him.
The teenagers looked at one another before they followed behind. Draco had to keep a hold of Harry's hand – not that he wasn't happy about it. In fact, he quite enjoyed the look on Harry's face when he saw something that interested in Draco's home. Looking behind them, he saw Hermione and Neville with their wands still out while Luna had hers withdrawn.
"There's no need to fear. The Dark Lord has invited us here.. to my.. house.." he said, ending awkwardly.
"No, he invited Harry Potter, not Harry Potter and his band of Gryffindors which include a Ravenclaw." Hermione clarified, with her wand still out.
"Either way, you're all safe with me." Snape said.
"The Dark Lord wouldn't like it if Harry's friends were to be hurt once they stepped foot inside the manor."
Slowly withdrawing their wands, Luna walked up to the two wary Gryffindors before patting their shoulders.
"It's alright. I believe Tom has a something to talk about with us today. That is all. No violence will occur, unless something calls for it." She said dreamily. Nodding their heads, they walked on, looking around the manor in which Draco had grown up during his childhood.
Walking down several corridors and past several doors, they finally saw Lucius at the end of the hallway. Eyeing the small group, Lucius only raised an eyebrow before motioning for them to enter with the words, "He awaits."
Stopping the three who were not allowed in, Harry stopped as well – in which he stopped Draco.
Harry?
Why aren't they coming with us?
The Dark Lord only wanted to see you, as you requested.
But, shouldn't they enter as well?
Sensing the inner turmoil of her best friend, Hermione only smiled before giving Harry a small push on the back.
"Go on." She encouraged.
"We'll be out here waiting for you."
Looking at Neville and Luna, they nodded their heads as well. Nodding his own head, Harry turned back to enter the room in which the doors have already been opened and was currently being held open by Snape.
Taking a deep breath, Harry gave Draco's hand a light squeeze before he entered the room, the doors slowly closing behind the trio left outside.
.
.
.
.
.
Harry looked around the room before him. Sensing his curiosity and knowing that the Dark Lord did not like to be kept waiting, Draco gave Harry's arm a slight tug to get him moving. Snape had already gone on ahead towards the other end of the room, talking to someone sitting on the dais.
Draco stopped a few feet away before withdrawing his hand. Harry looked at him questioningly, frowning. Draco motioned him forward with the tilt of his head, giving Harry a small smile. Nodding his head, Harry left Draco there and walked towards Snape and who he assumed to be Mr. Tom Riddle.
"Ah, Harry James Potter. How nice to finally meet you."
Harry drew even closer to the dais before stopping a couple of feet away from the stranger. Looking at the boy who seemed no older than eighteen years old, he turned his emerald gaze towards his potions master, before turning back to look at the teenager sitting there.
"Hello, Mr. Tom Riddle? It's nice to meet your acquaintance. I'm Harry Potter."
"There's no need for formalities Harry. Just call me Tom."
"Should I also call you the Dark Lord?"
A throaty laugh erupted from Tom's mouth while the other two Slytherins stood silently in the room – a bit uncomfortable as to what the Dark Lord was planning on doing after Harry's little quip. Harry watched Tom end his laughter with a slight smile before his attention refocused on himself.
"Ah, quite the little jokester aren't you Harry? Well, either one's fine. I'd prefer it if you'd call me Tom though." He said smiling at Harry.
"I've heard things about you Tom, though you don't seem like the type to punish anyone. You're quite nice." Harry commented, glancing to the side as Draco sided up against him.
"Oh? Do pray tell who has been telling you about me." Tom said, leaning forward on his throne. His eyes were twinkling with laughter. Harry recalled seeing those eyes somewhere, eyes that looked quite familiar to him.
Eyes just like..
Harry clutched his head in pain. His eyes tightly clenched shut while his breathing turned labored. His head was throbbing, feeling as if it would burst open from the pain.
"Harry? Are you alright?"
Harry heard concern in Draco's voice, but his voice seemed so far away. In his vision, he saw an elderly man, one who was wearing a silver shining robe, with a silver hat to match, which was etched with silver shining stars. He also wore spectacles to match.
W-Who is he..?
The old man had been to his home, back when he was still living with his relatives. And always, always, right after the elderly man had met with his uncle, he would receive a beating and be sent to his cupboard right afterwards. His aunt would try to tend to his injuries, but she would only be able to heal those that appeared on his skin, rather than the broken bones from within.
"…arry.."
"Harry!"
Harry opened his eyes and looked around dazedly, searching for that voice that soothed his worries. Locating the voice, Harry turned his head just a fraction before he looked into worried silver orbs. Furrowing his brows, he opened his mouth to speak, but Draco shushed him.
Are you alright? Did it happen again?
Harry nodded his head before he turned back into Draco's chest where the blond held him tightly. He could hear Draco conversing with Tom and Severus, but he could only catch a few words here and there. Draco soon became rigid in his posture as Harry felt a cool hand touch his face.
Turning his head, Harry turned to see Tom looking at him with an unreadable expression on his face. Snape was frowning, though worry showed in his eyes.
"Harry? Are you alright? What happened?"
"It's nothing. I just saw something." He murmured as he tried to sit up properly.
Shaking his head, Tom kept him against Draco's chest before he stepped away.
"Perhaps, we can talk again another time. Might I suggest you start to live here for the rest of the summer. I hear Narcissa's been quite worried about you Draco, so Draco can return to his home. Of course Severus would be joining us, wouldn't you?"
The three of them turned to face the potions master who was still standing on the dais, before receiving a nod from him. Tom then turned around and continued speaking to the Gryffindor.
"You friends can join as well, if they don't mind living in the Malfoy estate. I will do anything in my power to assist in the recovery of your memories."
Smiling up at Tom, Harry nodded his head before Tom returned his approval with a smile of his own.
"Now Draco, please take Harry to your quarters. I expect you to take care of our guests."
"Yes My Lord."
Draco got up off the ground and with Harry up in his arms bridle style, before leaving the Dark Lord and his godfather alone in the room.
.
.
.
.
.
"Severus, would you care to explain about the boy's situation?" Tom asked, as he watched the doors close behind the two teenagers.
"My Lord, it seems that the boy is having flashes of his memories. It happens when he or more specifically, his body experiences the same, well experience as he once did."
"Ah. And, does this happen quite often?" he questioned.
"Yes My Lord. It happened just twice within the last couple of days. This will be the third time this has happened to him."
Severus remained quiet as the Dark Lord pondered on the acquired information.
"Well, I do suppose I made the right decision. With the boy here, it would be easier to gain his trust."
Severus could only nod.
"Very well. Send in the next group for the meeting and make sure the group has been seen to their rooms."
"Yes My Lord."
Snape bowed before the Dark Lord before exiting the room.
Voldemort smiled before his glamour was dropped. Everything was going according to plan.
.
.
.
.
.
Upon exiting the room, he was soon bombarded with questions concerning Harry's health, when they saw the boy resting against him.
"What happened in there?!"
"What did you do to him?" Hermione shouted, her wand and Neville's raised.
Draco looked at them with a cool gaze before sneering at them.
"I suggest you allow him to rest up. He's had a taxing day." He snapped, worried about Harry and unwilling to spend any more time on the three.
Draco brushed past him and walked a couple of feet away before he stopped. Hermione, Neville and Luna looked at him curiously, wondering why the blond didn't seem to be moving.
Stiffly, the blond turned around slowly. Facing them, he grumbled out an apology for snapping at them before Harry's hand reached for his face and gently patted his face before placing it back down in his lap.
Draco quickly turned back around with a blush in his cheeks and swiftly walked down the corridor, yelling out behind him, "Well, come on then. What are you waiting for?"
They all looked at each other before running after the blond, wondering where he was going to be taking them.
They followed Draco down several corridors, past several rooms and up a large spiral staircase. Then Draco stopped in front of a room, turning around he titled his head.
"This will be Gran – This will be Hermione's room." He corrected, with a scowl on his face looking down at the boy in his arms. Harry only gave a small smile in response.
Draco tilted his head in the other direction and deemed the guest room to be Luna's room. He walked further down, leaving the girls alone with Neville following behind him. Stopping in front of a door, he turned to face the last remaining Gryffindor.
"This room is mine." He said, indicating the door to his left. "The room across is yours." He said, indicating the door to his right.
"If you need any help at all, just call for me." He stated, as he entered his room and shut it with a click, leaving the three teenagers bewildered at the sudden change in plans.
.
.
.
.
.
Draco placed the Gryffindor on his bed and covered him with his Slytherin green duvet. Brushing aside his bangs, Draco leaned down to kiss Harry on his forehead. As he pulled away, he saw an intense green look staring back at him.
"You alright?"
The teen nodded his head. Draco sighed relieved before he sat down next to Harry.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Harry gingerly sat up on the bed, Draco quickly fluffing up the pillow behind him so he could sit back against the headboard. Harry played with his fingers for awhile before he saw a pale hand reach over and clasped his hands.
Intertwining his fingers with Draco's, Harry began to talk – although with a shaky voice.
"I saw.. this old man. I've seen him several times before, you know. When I was living with my rel-"
"They don't deserve to be called your relatives. Who would abuse their own flesh and blood like that? For the past 16 years at that." Draco hissed, eyes glowing in anger.
Harry cupped Draco's face with his palm and rubbed his thumb across the blond's cheek.
"You have nice facial features." He whispered.
Draco blushed at the random compliment before taking a gentle hold of Harry's hand.
"Thank you, but we're not going to switch conversations that easily."
Smiling, Harry gave a small chuckle before heaving a large sigh.
"Well, as I said already. I saw this elderly man. He was wearing a hat, which was slightly bent at the middle. He had this grand and long white beard…"
As Harry continued on with the description, Draco began piecing together an image of the man whom Harry was describing and he finally knew who Harry was talking about once the Gryffindor mentioned that the old man's eyes twinkled every time he looked at Harry.
That old coot. I knew something wasn't right with him.
Harry watched Draco's face contort into what looked like a snarl, before he saw the blond control himself enough to turn back to Harry without an expression on his face. Nodding his head, Draco told Harry to continue on with his story and so Harry did.
"Well, I've seen him plenty of times where – you know. And well, after he'd talk to my uncle, I'd always get .. let's say reprimanded."
"No, you mean abused." Draco corrected, noticing the slight hesitation in Harry's story.
Nodding his head with a grimace, Harry continued on. "Well, after he .. beat me, he's throw me into the cupboard. But you know, Aunt Petunia would always come to clean my bruises. Though, it was always during the evening. I'm pretty sure she's known about his abusive nature. I've only seen him slap – "
Harry winced when he saw Draco pin him with a look that said, "pause, rewind and start all over."
"I've only ever seen him backhand Dudley once." He finished, with a frown on his face, unhappy that Draco had caught him once again, switching up his story to make it seem like Vernon's actions weren't as bad as they seemed.
"Don't worry about that anymore Harry. You're here with me, your friends, everyone and anyone that cares about you is now with you. By your side. So forget all about them and live a happier life." Draco said, patting his head.
Nodding his head, he quickly leaned in the peck Draco on the lips before diving underneath the duvet, muttering, "Good night."
Draco was left staring eyes wide open at the sudden turn of events, before he snapped out of his stupor. Gently lifting the duvet off of Harry's head, he kissed the Gryffindor once more on the forehead before getting in besides him for a nap.
.
.
.
.
.
After being left in front of what Draco had announced was their rooms for the rest of the summer, Hermione, Neville and Luna just entered Hermione's room to converse about the sudden change of plans for their break.
Opening the door, Hermione gasped when she saw the that the floor was marble tiled, although the door way had a nice and soft fur mat – not to mention that the entire area around the magenta colored, mahogany wooded canopy bed with dark brown curtains, was too, as well as the area in front of the fireplace.
Looking around the room, she saw that besides the canopy bed was a bedside table, accompanied with a bedside lamp. Next to it was a nice refurbished desk, with a seat, which looked to be unused yet had no dust on it. A couple of feet away was another door, which led to an empty walk-in closet, grand in size.
On the other side of the bed stood a large bookcase, filled with books to the brim. Neville and Luna could feel Hermione buzzing with excitement at having a room with books to read and more knowledge to learn. Neville only shook his head in laughter when he saw Hermione's eyes glowing brightly as its gaze was strictly for the books sitting on the bookcase.
A couple of feet away from the bed and in front of the desk were large windows, although the one in front of the desk was without curtains. Across the walk-in closet was a nice, large fireplace. Directly in front was a nice sitting area – big enough for a small group of at least ten people. And around the dark oak coffee table were cushions.
The fireplace instantly lit once the three walked close to its proximity. With a tap on her shoulder, Hermione turned to see Neville pointing at Luna, who was already hovering at the door a couple of feet away from the bed.
The two teens made their way to Luna and Hermione opened the door, gasping even more so than she did when she opened the room to the bedroom. Inside was a bathroom, marble tiled as well. A nice large bathtub was placed in the middle – split right down the middle, so one side was a bath, while the other was a Jacuzzi.
Turning her head to the right, Hermione eyed a separate shower stall and to her left, she saw the sink, a full body length mirror and several racks to place her personal daily necessities.
Leaving the bathroom, Hermione, Neville and Luna didn't know what to think. They plopped down in front of the fireplace on top of the cushions. If this is what Hermione's room looked like, Neville's room and Luna's room couldn't be anymore different. In fact, it might as well be the same, considering how big and grand Malfoy Manor was.
"Well, aren't they living extravagantly." Hermione said, breaking the silence.
"Yes, much more grander than any house I would be living in." Luna supplied, going back into her dreamy-like state.
"Well, the Malfoys have been part of a long and well – you know." Neville said.
Nodding her head, Hermione still couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that she would be living in such a luxurious place for the rest of her summer break. Shaking her head, she told herself to focus.
No Hermione. It's time to talk about what's going to happen the rest of the summer. We must find out a faster way to speed up Harry's recovery. He must be able to remember more before we head back to Hogwarts.
"How's Ron by the way?" Luna ask, breaking the Gryffindor from her thoughts.
"Oh, well actually. I haven't had the time to owl him. It's been quite busy around here – well, at Professor Snape's Manor." Hermione said.
"That reminds me. You called him Severus before he apparated us here. What was that all about?" Neville said, remembering the incident where Snape had grabbed Hermione.
"Well, we thought it would be best to call each other our first names, seeing as how we're all working together to help Harry regain his memories. Not to mention the fact that we're teaching him."
"There's nothing wrong with a little crush." Luna said randomly.
Hermione's eyes grew wide before her cheeks started glowing and her voice started stuttering.
"C-Crush?! Y-You think me – a-and Severus?!" she squeaked.
"Well, you didn't think I meant Ronald did you?" Luna answered.
Neville watched the two witches battle it out, although it seemed to him that the outcome was as clear as day – Hermione had a crush on the potions master, and Luna was definitely winning.
"Well alright then, I'll stop with this whole topic." Luna conceded, after a couple of minutes of teasing the Gryffindor.
Neville could only laugh and his laugh only grew louder, eliciting bewildered looks in his direction.
"Oh, what a better way to get out of our awkward slump than a good, old fashioned laugh?" He said, wiping the tears away from his eyes.
"Why Neville. You seem more confident in yourself now." Hermione said, noting that the Gryffindor boy was stripped of his baby fat, and now had a nice somewhat feminine look about him – although he was tall and built in physique.
"Yes, when you've spent several years – or more like a lifetime living with my Grams, it'll do that to you. It does help that some of your friends are a part of the Golden Trio." He said, smiling at her.
"Now that we've managed to break out of this 'slump', let's get down to business shall we?" Luna asked, her face looking quite serious.
Nodding their heads, Hermione and Neville agreed, and they began to plan out the rest of their summer break.
"So, I was thinking. We should set up scenarios that happened in Hogwarts, to happen here. While we're teaching Harry of course."
"But Hermione, don't you think that would a tad difficult? Only you have been Harry as much as Ron has. And only Ron has been around Harry more than you have, considering you don't enter the Boy's Dormitories." Neville stated.
"Well, we don't have to create scenarios that revolve around his studies. We've been with him outside of class before." Luna added.
"Luna's right. We've practically been living with him during our school years at Hogwarts. I don't think it would be hard to create scenarios around him."
"But Draco hasn't been, he's in Slytherin."
"If houses were to be put into account, that takes me out too. I'm in Ravenclaw and you two are in Gryffindor."
"This is rather difficult isn't it?"
"Nothing is difficult if you put your mind to it." Hermione said.
After a couple of more hours of talking, they finally reached a conclusion in their conversation. They would definitely try to create scenarios around Harry, as much as they could to the best of their abilities and with their memories of spending time around the Gryffindor.
With that, Neville and Luna left Hermione's room to return to their own quarters before Hermione flopped backwards onto the bed, exhausted. Promising herself that she would just take a quick, small nap, Hermione slowly closed her eyes and drifted to sleep.
.
.
.
.
.
Snape made his way through the manor, stopping directly in front of Lucius's study. Knocking on the door three times, he received a muffled, "Come in." before he entered the room.
Walking up towards the blond sitting at his desk, he waited a couple of seconds before he looked around. Lucius spared him a glance before returning to the task at hand.
After a couple of minutes, Lucius finally looked up from his work, neatly putting it away in a neat stack before giving the potions master his full attention.
"Please Severus, take a seat."
"Where's Narcissa?" the potions master inquired, taking a seat. Lucius only sneered at the question.
"Off to play, perhaps. Roaming the streets like the rat she is." Lucius said, knowing his wife was off playing the perfect Lady Malfoy with her tea party circle.
"Does she stay at home?"
"She rarely stays. Always off the minute I step out of the room, or whenever Draco's left." Lucius murmured, flicking his wand at his wine cabinet.
"Firewhisky?" he asked, before pouring two glasses half full, floating the extra one over to Snape. The potions master thanked him for the drink.
Taking a sip himself, Snape placed the cup down afterwards watching Lucius slowly take in more alcohol. He inwardly sighed. It was that time again. He thought as he took another sip of Firewhisky.
After a couple of rounds, Lucius had gone a little drunk – much to Snape's displeasure. The blond would always rattle off on some topic, which was always the same topic. But because Lucius was his old colleague and school friend, he would listen silently and put in his own thoughts here and there.
"SSSSeverruss.." Lucius slurred, head down on his desk.
"Yes Lucius?"
"Have you –" he hiccups, "Do you think I made the wrong decision?"
"About?"
"Black! Who else?" the blond growled.
"I never liked him, but I'd rather prefer him over Narcissa, if that's what you're implying." Snape answered truthfully.
Lucius nodded his head, eyelids half closed, muttering something under his breath. His eyebrows were furrowed together before he frowned and hiccupped once more. Lucius takes another swig of Firewhisky before Snape deems he's had enough.
"Nooo.." he whined, reaching forward to grab the cup, though missing as his vision has been altered quite a bit.
"Lucius, I expect this behavior from Draco or any other Slytherins, but from you – someone who holds himself with grace, you are the epitome of a drunk in your drunken state." Snape said, before hauling the blond up on his feet.
Stumbling whilst carrying Lucius towards his quarters, he dropped the blond gracelessly onto the bed before flicking his wand several times to get him into more comfortable clothes. He then accioed a pepper up potion and placed it on Lucius's bedside table.
"For the morning." He said, before he left the room.
.
.
.
.
.
I hoped you enjoy this chapter (: I'll try to update as often as possible! Reviews, comments, questions, private messages are acceptable and welcome (: