Only one chapter today, because I like where it ends /grin/.

Do be aware, when I wrote this there was no information on the Malfoy family beyond the parents. I know now that Lucius' father was not a nice person and named Abraxis, but I didn't know that when the stories were originally written. So ignore anything you know about the past of the Malfoy family.

I disclaim Harry Potter! I heart Xikum! I feel silly!

Mythic Alliance

by Jendra

Harry approached the small inn warily. He hadn't been able to get any more information about Draco's visitor and that worried him. He trusted Draco, well, mostly, but his hand was still on his wand as he walked up to the innkeeper and asked for the other boy's whereabouts. Being led to one of the private rooms didn't help his paranoia.

Madam Rosemerta had already turned and headed back to the main bar. A Hogsmeade weekend was not the time to leave it unattended. Several minutes later, Harry was still staring at the door as his professor walked up behind him.

"Are you just going to stand there like an idiot or are you going in?"

Harry flashed a grin at him, "What are my options again?"

Snape shook his head with a slight smile before reaching forward and opening the door. Harry took a deep breath and entered. Upon looking up, he came to a complete stop.

"You!"

Lucius Malfoy looked back calmly. "Mr. Potter," he said silkily.

"What are you doing here?" Harry spat out.

"I believe I could ask the same question of you. Draco? Would you care to explain?"

Draco stepped forward almost hesitantly. Snape was glaring at him, probably for springing this on him without warning, but it was Harry's reaction he was really worried about. "We need him."

"Did you even check and make sure that Professor Snape was right?"

"Of course I did."

"And I suppose you're just going to take his word for it?" Harry snarled, his glare barely moving away from the older man.

"He wouldn't lie to me," Draco was getting annoyed.

"He can't be trusted."

"He's my father!"

"He hurt you," Harry was practically growling by this point.

Lucius had been watching this all with interest, but there was no way he was going to let that go. "I have never hurt my son!"

"He's never hurt me!" Draco said at the same time, his voice every bit as outraged as his fathers.

Harry's eyes narrowed and he stalked forward, grabbing Draco's arm and dragging him into a corner. Once there, he quickly set up a privacy shield.

Draco turned on him as soon as they were alone. "How could you say that my father would ever hurt me?"

"Well someone certainly did!" Harry hissed back. "I saw your eyes that very first day. You don't get scared like that without a reason."

"So you thought it was my father?"

"Hey, the times I've met him have given me that impression, yes."

"My father loves me and has never laid a hand on me," Draco growled back, still angry.

"Then who did?"

Draco just looked at him for a long moment. "Lord Malfoy," he finally answered, looking away.

Harry rolled his eyes. "You do know that your father *is* Lord Malfoy," he said, semi-patiently. He was worried though. What if Draco was... what was it called? Disassociating?

"He is *now*," Draco answered, rolling his eyes as well. "You obviously haven't considered one of the pitfalls of long life. Many generations in one house. In this case, it was my great-grandfather, but I was never allowed to call him anything but Lord Malfoy."

"He must have been old."

Draco scoffed. "He was less than half the age of the Headmaster."

That brought Harry up short. He certainly didn't think Dumbledore's age would stop him from doing anything he wished to do.

"Well than, why didn't your father stop him, if he loves you so much?"

Draco stalked forward, his eyes narrowed. "I would suggest," he said in a low, but dangerous voice, "that you stop insulting my father. I will *not* put up with it. Do you understand?"

Harry nodded. Draco was looking more dangerous than he'd ever seen him. It wouldn't stop him from trying to protect him if he needed it, though.

"He couldn't stop it," Draco explained. "I was the future heir. Legally, Lord Malfoy had more right to my custody than my own father did. And if father fought him... well, let's just say it was an interesting *coincidence* that my grandfather died mysteriously just days after I was born. Lord Malfoy was never happy with him as an heir. Truthfully, I'm not sure my father would have survived long if I had had a child before Lord Malfoy died. Father did what he could, though Lord Malfoy sent him away on business trips a lot while I was growing up. He'd protect me whenever he was there and heal me up."

"He yelled a lot?"

Draco shook his head, a far away look in his eyes. "His voice would get quieter the more angry he got."

"But you're scared of yelling," Harry pushed.

"With my mother, it's best to be. When she gets angry she starts yelling and throwing things. Bottles, cups, hexes, curses, house elves," he quirked his mouth into a parody of a smile. "I try my best to stay out of her way. It's not hard. I was the price she had to pay to receive the riches and worship of the Malfoy name, nothing more."

Harry stared at him for a long, long moment. "I'll give him the benefit of the doubt if it means so much to you," he finally said. "But don't expect me to trust him anytime soon."

"I asked Severus to bring Veritaserum," Draco murmured.

Harry's fake smile turned into a real grin. "Good to see I'm not the only one who's paranoid."

"Hey, I might trust him, but I'm not stupid," Draco answered. "I trust him with my life, but I *don't* know for sure how he feels about Vol... Tom. And I won't risk your life, or Severus' or our chance to finally get rid of that monster, on my beliefs."

"Okay, so maybe you have actually thought this through," Harry replied. However, that didn't mean he was going to let his guard down. This man had already risked the lives of students at Hogwarts; he was not someone that Harry was going to trust anytime soon. He put down the privacy barrier, and they walked back into the room.

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~

Lucius pulled out his wand as soon as the barrier went up.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Severus suggested.

"And why not? He certainly can not be trusted in there with my son," Lucius argued. He threw a spell to take down the barrier, only to get himself shocked.

Severus manfully kept from laughing at the sight of his friend's mane standing straight up from the electricity. "Because Harry tends to booby-trap his privacy spells," he explained, just a bit too late. "He got tired of his friends ignoring his wish for privacy. It could be worse," he brought out his own wand to smooth down the blonde's hair, "last time Madam Pomfrey, Flitwick and myself all worked on changing the trespasser's skin back from purple and were not able to manage it. Potter never would tell us what spell he used and it took almost a week to wear off."

"Why is he here, Severus?" Lucius asked, still glaring at the screen. "For that matter, why are you here? All Draco would say was that there was something he needed to speak to me about, in private."

"Although I can't say for sure why you are here, I believe both Potter and I are here because Draco trusts us."

"You're telling me that my son *trusts* Harry Potter? I was under the impression that the two of them could not stand each other."

"Up until the beginning of this year, that was true. Now however, if they were in the same House they would be inseparable."

"And you approve?" Lucius glared at the dark-haired man.

"You don't?"

"Certainly not! Potter is on the top of the Dark Lord's most wanted list and he's putting Draco on the firing line. If you're not going to put a stop to this, I most certainly am."

"That wouldn't be a good idea."

"You might not care if Draco gets hurt because of Potter, but I do and I will not allow it!"

Before Severus could argue with that, the privacy shield came down and the two boys walked back out, obviously having come to agreeable terms.

Lucius opened his mouth and Severus prepared himself to argue with whatever he was going to say. What he did say however, was a complete surprise.

"Potter? Why do you have a tail?"

Everyone's eyes went to the back of Harry's robes where a hole had unexpectedly appeared. Sure enough, there was a black furred and tufted tipped tail whipping easily back and forth.