Hello, my dear reviewers and readers!
Whew, the last week as been crazy for me! I moved into my new flat in the UK (being originally from Norway, this was quite the move!), and have been without internet till tonight, actually! Though being without internet sure gives you plenty of time to write, so here you get a really long chapter filled with some angst, some character development and a slight twist at the end!
Hope you all like it! Now, I'm off to read the ton of emails I've not been able to catch up on *sweat drop*
Though Harry was certainly just as interested in brooms, flying kits and souvenirs from the Top Five Quidditch Teams in the country, he found himself outdone by the zealous way Draco inspected each and every object in the show. The blond was apparently trying to ascertain whether or not said item could be either used to bribe less favoured individuals than himself, or if the item was worth more than that, which meant that Draco intended to keep it for himself. Mostly, he would use it to show off. Obviously.
After the young Malfoy had picked up the same broom manual for the third time, Harry tapped his shoulder. "I'm going outside for a bit of ice cream. Want some?"
"I'll be there in a second. Just go ahead and I'll finish up here." However, the way Draco abstractedly looked at a book on correct flying postures, seemed to indicate that him joining Harry at Florean's could take a while.
With a shrug, Harry walked back out into the busy street of the Alley, his nose leading him towards the famous ice cream booth, where he promptly ordered a salted caramel and chocolate ice cream cone, and then sat down on one of the provided seats. Licking contentedly at the sweet treat, he never noticed a pair of red eyes watching him intently from a small alcove across the street.
After a good twenty minutes, Draco finally appeared with a satisfied air surrounding him. When Harry asked what had put him in such a good mood, the boy stuck his nose up slightly, not out of contempt, but mostly out of old habit, and explained.
"You ask me what has me in such a good mood, my dear Harry? Why, I will tell you." Then he proceeded to drag two shimmering miniature brooms from his bag. "These are exact replicas of the Mjølnir 1500, the broom that's supposed to be released next year. It's been the main topic of conversation lately and I'm sure Blaise will turn green with envy at these!"
Harry laughed slightly. "It's so much like you to buy something simply to make other people covet what you have and become jealous of you."
Instead of being offended, Draco smiled slyly. "Well, I'm both a Slytherin and a Malfoy. I have to live up to public expectation, you know?"
They both laughed, and Draco bought himself some ice cream, while Harry watched the people trickle by. Suddenly, he was struck with an uncomfortable feeling that he was being watched. Quickly looking around him, he saw nothing that aroused suspicion, but the feeling was still there. Sensing this sudden change of mood, Draco frowned.
"Harry, what is it? Did something happen?"
"I don't know… It's just this feeling I've got, it feels like someone is watching us." He was still looking around, unconsciously biting his lower lip. With two big bites, Draco finished his ice cream, and rose.
"Come on. Let's find father and the Dark Lord. I'm sure they'd like to know about this." Nodding, Harry followed, but they had only walked a couple of metres when a loud, familiar voice made Harry spin around to face two rather angry-looking redheads.
"Now look what we've got here. Seems like betraying the Light wasn't so hard for you, Potter? Eating ice cream with the son of a Death Eater should hardly be counted as a decent spare time activity, but it seems you didn't get that memo." Ron's face was twisted by the disgusted sneer on his lips, which was mirrored on the face of his younger sister.
Draco stepped forward and eyed Ron from top to toe. "Well, I'm not sure having a piss poor, muggle loving twat of a father is much better. After all, it seems like you have failed where I haven't." At Ron's confused facial expression, Draco continued on. "While you decided to abandon your so-called best friend the moment you heard something that you didn't like about him, I'm not so shallow. I'm not going to behave like a grumpy kid who got his favourite toy stolen from him, if Harry decides to do something which I disapproved of. But you, instead of discussion the matter with Harry, decided to make your own assumptions as to the state of things." With a haughty look over his shoulder, Draco grabbed Harry's arm and the two began walking in the opposite direction of the Weasleys.
To Harry, the next thing that happened seemed to pass by in a blur. The sound of footsteps running after them made the two young boys turn around, Ron running full speed towards them with his face twisted in anger. However, before they had time to fully react, let alone defend themselves, a black shadow appeared from seemingly nowhere, and stood in front of Draco and Harry, wand pointed threateningly at the youngest Weasley boy.
"I do believe that it would be in your best interest to stay far away from my fiancée, Weasley." The voice of the Dark Lord seemed to freeze the air around them, and Ron seemed to visibly shrink before them.
Walking slowly towards the two redheads, Voldemort continued. "If I ever see you two as much as looking at him again, I will make sure that the Weasley family will suddenly find itself missing two members. I have some rather useful dungeons in my manor, where I would find nothing more worth my time than torture you for what you have made Harry go through."
Ginny looked like she wanted to say something, but her brother shot her an at once furious and terrified look, before grabbing her arm and running towards the Leaky Cauldron. Voldemort watched their retreating backs with a small hiss of amusement. However, Harry was less than pleased.
"You didn't have to do that! I know how to handle Ron, he used to be my best friend and he's just upset because he doesn't know everything y-" he didn't get further, because Voldemort had spun around and cut him off.
"Doesn't know everything, you say? Harry, that boy was not trying to convince you to come back to the Light side. You might choose to continue living in your fantasy world where everyone is nice all the time, but the Weasley kid is fully in Dumbledore's palm. There was murder in his eyes when he ran after you."
Harry couldn't think of a fitting retort, and resorted to try to stare the Dark Lord down. Green eyes flashed with hurt, anger and a little of something that was impossible to analyse, while red eyes stared determinedly back. Harry found that he had to break the eye contact first, and he turned away from Voldemort with a rather petulant air.
"Well, I'm sorry for trusting people then. Maybe I should become a cold, cynical person, just like how you are behaving at the moment." He replied, before grabbing Draco, leaving Voldemort fuming behind them.
'So much for saving the kid's life, such an ungrateful little whelp!' he almost spat out, but thought the better of it. His first impulse had been to wash his hands of everything, to let Harry do whatever the hell he wanted from now on, but he quickly changed his mind. After all, the Weasley boy had been Harry's best friend up to this point, and as such, Harry could be forgiven, nay, it was entirely understandable even, that he would trust him and hope that the redhead had forgiven him or thought about things on his own rather than accept whatever lie Dumbledore told him. With a sigh, Voldemort started to follow his young fiancée, though at a much slower pace than they had taken off at. He trusted even Harry not to get into too much trouble in the span of five minutes. Now, he needed a way to make it up to Harry without actually apologizing. If there was one thing a Dark Lord simply did not do, it was to apologize for anything, even if he himself could see that he was in the wrong.
'Let's see… What about a gift? After all, this is the courting period, so gifts are in order.' With a rather satisfied look on his face, Voldemort went after Harry, while the image of the perfect gift formed in his head. Oh yes, Harry would be very pleased with this, of that he was sure.
Meanwhile, Harry had stopped, panting from running, outside the large bookshop. Draco was standing beside him looking rather upset.
"What the hell are you thinking, Harry? Running away from the Dark Lord like that? Have you gone completely mad?!" the blond was clearly angry, but whispered the whole tirade so that no one could overhear them.
"No, Draco, I'm not mad, but you have to understand. I just can't deal with the way he just comes in and is controlling and mean, telling me what I can and can't do. It just makes me want to lash out!"
A softer expression appeared on Draco's face, and he put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Harry, he's not doing that because he wants to control you. I think it's his way of trying to protect you. Though I can understand that you find it over-protective and controlling."
"Protect me? From what?" Harry scoffed "If he was afraid Ron would hurt me, I needn't fear. I can deal with Ron without a problem, after all, this isn't the first time we've fought."
"Perhaps not, but it's the first time Dumbledore has consciously put him against you and now the only thing on his mind is that you are a traitor and needs to be put down. Preferably before you do anything for the Dark side that could get in the way of the headmaster's plans.
Harry sighed and plopped down in a nearby chair. "Oh, I don't know anymore, Draco. Ron used to be my best friend and now he seems to have turned into this mindless robot of Dumbledore's. It just confuses me." He drew his hand over his eyes, and Draco was hit by how old this gesture made Harry seem, like the boy had been forced to experience and witness things no twelve year old would, or should, ever see. He sat down next to the raven-haired boy and drew him into a half-hug.
"Oi, cheer up, little one. We're in Diagon Alley, let's find something fun, why don't we?" Despite himself, Harry had to laugh at the very transparent effort to make him forget the whole thing with Ron, and he nodded.
"Yeah, you're right." He didn't continue, because Lucius had appeared and beckoned for the two to come over.
Hurrying up to the older blond, Lucius turned without saying a word, but looked over his shoulder to indicate that he expected them to follow. Sharing a confused look with Draco, Harry followed until the reached a rather shady-looking alley. The sign on the wall leading into it read 'Knockturn Alley', written in thin, spidery letters. Looking over at Draco for an explanation, he could see the excited, though also slightly apprehensive, expression on his friend's face and he knew that this was no ordinary alley.
"Harry, the Dark Lord has deemed it necessary for you to obtain an untraceable wand. This is because of obvious reasons, I'm sure you understand. We wouldn't want the Ministry being able to trace your whereabouts though your wand."
At Harry's mightily confused expression, Draco sighed and explained. "The Ministry puts a trace on every underage wizard or witch's wand to make sure that any magic performed outside of school will be picked up and reported. They can also find out what the last three spells your wand cast were, in case they have any suspicion as to the nature of the magic the wizard or witch has been using. Essentially, an untraceable wand is a way of going incognito, to disappear from the records of the Ministry where they can't pick up where you are or what kind of magic you are performing."
Deeming that this sounded mighty useful, Harry once more turned to the older Malfoy. "So what is this place, then? It certainly looks like the place you would go to avoid any Ministry officials."
Lucius smirked a little and nodded. "Yes, Knockturn is rather known for its more… shady dealings. Here you will find things that the Ministry would give their best Aurors to obtain." With that, Lucius turned and walked into the darkening streets of the Alley, Draco and Harry scrambling to keep up. Though neither of them would admit so out loud, the back of the Malfoy patriarch seemed to be something to stay close to at all costs, as there were shadows moving along the walls and strange, hissing noises coming from hidden doorways.
Finally, they found themselves standing outside a dingy shop, a large storefront window displaying human heads and arms in various states of decomposition. Harry instantly looked away and tried to quell the nauseous feeling that suddenly appeared in the pit of his stomach.
The inside of the shop was hardly better, but the man behind the counter drew his attention at once. His age seemed impossible to pinpoint, he could be anywhere between forty and seventy-five, with long, black hair that was a little grey at the temples, and piercing yellow eyes, like those of a hawk. He had been busy cleaning what seemed to be human nails when they entered, but quickly put them aside when he saw the older Malfoy.
"To what do I owe this pleasure, Mr Malfoy?" his voice was surprisingly melodious and Harry couldn't help but feel intrigued.
"I want two untraceable wands, Hans. One for my son and one for Mr Potter." When his name was mentioned, those yellow eyes locked on Harry and he seemed to share a knowing look with Lucius.
"I understand. Orders from the top, I gather?" Lucius nodded curtly and Hans disappeared behind some stained curtains covering a doorway behind the counter.
Draco was obviously excited about the prospect of getting an untraceable wand himself, but kept quiet as he suspected any loud exclamations of joy would not go over well with his father. However, that didn't keep him from looking at Harry and making various faces at him, trying to convey his feelings soundlessly. Harry, unable to not feel smitten by the blond's enthusiasm, grinned back.
The sound of the bell above the door to the shop made them all turn their heads, just in time to see Voldemort walk in with his usual air of superiority and nonchalance. Harry wondered slightly why the man had chosen to come here, as Lucius had obviously been out in charge of sorting out the issue with the wands.
'Is he just following me? He must've been watching Draco and me outside of Florean's since he was so quick to stop Ron from attacking us. Has he been watching me all this time?' That thought made him turn away from the Dark Lord in anger, but also with a twinge of hurt. Didn't the man trust him enough to let him walk anywhere without someone to follow him and watch his movements? Or was this some part of a larger plot Voldemort had, to track Harry's every move and later use that knowledge to bind him to something the man had planned. Was this it, then? Just another person who would happily use him as a pawn for their own twisted purposes? He angrily pushed the thought out of his head, but the sense of betrayal still lingered.
Hans came back out from the storage space behind the counter, saw Voldemort, and bowed deeply. "My Lord, what an honour to have you here in my humble shop."
Voldemort didn't reply, just nodded in acknowledgement. Instead, he walked over to Harry, seemingly oblivious to the boy's mood, and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Finding a wand shouldn't take too long. Hans is highly competent in finding wands that are perfectly suited to the one you already own." As if on cue, Hans had pulled out a slender, darkly coloured wand from the five or six boxes he had brought back.
"Here, Mr Potter. This should do the trick, I'm sure." Harry used the pretence of taking the wand to slip away from the weight of Voldemort's hand. The moment his fingers wrapped around the wand, he could feel a slight tingling in his fingers that continued through his arm and into his body. The sensation was so similar to when he had first held his own wand at Ollivander's that he nodded determinedly.
"This is it, I can feel it." Hans nodded with something of a satisfied look on his face, before turning his attention to Draco, who by now was almost bouncing off the walls in excitement.
"I'm just going outside for a bit of fresh air." Harry excused himself with, as the pressure of being so close to Voldemort, while doubting the man's motives, had become too much for him and he felt he needed a break. Lucius shot him a strange look, but Harry disappeared out the door before any of them could say anything.
Back outside, Harry took a deep breath to calm himself and slowly walked in the direction leading towards Diagon Alley. Could it really be true, that Voldemort was no better than Dumbledore and that he was being used again? Was he really that naïve, to think that Voldemort could truly want him just as he was? He knew that the man was attracted to the power he had sensed in Harry, but could there possibly be something else? The scene at the ball, when the Dark Lord had fixed his eyesight, came to mind and Harry couldn't help but think that at least that moment had been true. There was no way anyone could fake the look of tender affection Voldemort had had in his eyes.
Suddenly, a sound made Harry look up, just in time to see two burly men run towards him. Instinct took over, and he spun around and started running in the opposite direction, dodging people left and right. Why didn't any of them help him? Instead, they all watched him get chased down the alley with looks of amusement in their eyes, like this was a hunt they could sit back and enjoy without even the slightest twinge of bad conscience.
His flight ended abruptly when he crashed into the chest of someone, and he almost started to panic, before a well-known voice calmed him.
"Good thing I decided to follow you, Harry. You have a certain knack for getting into trouble." Looking up, red eyes met his and Harry forgot the previous troubled thoughts that had plagued him. Relief flooded him and he quickly hid behind Voldemort's back as the sound of running footsteps came closer and the two men came dashing around the corner, only to freeze when met with the burning red eyes of the Dark Lord.
"You dare go after what is mine, vermin?" his voice was soft, but there was a slight hiss to it that made the hairs on Harry's neck stand on edge. Before any of the two had a chance to say anything to their defence, Voldemort flicked his wand, and they both fell to the ground without a sound.
"W-what did you do?" Harry stammered, his eyes glued to the unconscious forms.
"Don't worry, I haven't killed them. Though they had certainly deserved that. They will wake up in a few hours, albeit they will wish they had stayed unconscious." Harry chose not to ask why that was, and instead gathered his courage. He needed answers and now was a good a time as any.
"Are you just using me as Dumbledore was? Treating me as a pawn to meet your own goals? You've been following me ever since we entered Diagon Alley. Am I not trustworthy enough for you?" Surprisingly, Harry could feel himself get more courageous as he talked and he met Voldemort's red stare without a flinch.
"Using you? Of course I'm not using you." Voldemort scoffed and Harry couldn't help but feel relief flooding through him. "And as for not trusting you, it's rather the other way around. I don't trust anyone who is around you. I think I'm fairly correct in my assumption that you wouldn't break my trust in you?"
Harry hadn't been prepared for the question and could only stammer out a "Of course you can trust me." The slight smirk on Voldemort's lips made him feel stupid and juvenile next to this man, which in turn made his anger flash up again.
"But why are you following me everywhere? And while I remember it, what happened back at the manor with Dumbledore? Did you do anything to me to make my magic behave like that?"
Voldemort sighed. "Let's go back to the others and I will answer your questions at a more opportune moment." With that, he placed a hand on Harry's shoulder again, and led him back to the shop where Draco ran to him the moment they were within sight.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, running around Knockturn?! You're hopeless, Harry. From now on, you're not straying one step from me, you understand?" Despite the furious look on the blond's face, Harry couldn't help but laugh.
"Understood, mother." He grinned and Draco only huffed in annoyance.
"Lucius, take Draco and go back to the manor. I have a few errands I want to attend to first and I would like Harry to accompany me."
The older Malfoy nodded, ignored his son's feeble protests, and disapparated. Voldemort turned once more to Harry.
"Come, Harry. There is something I'd like to show you." Without any more explanation, they walked back into the light of Diagon Alley, and Voldemort led him towards the Menagerie, where he the year before had seen Hedwig for the first time. Once inside, Voldemort walked over to a small glass cage and motioned for Harry to follow him. Looking into the cage, Harry discovered a small snake, not longer than his underarm, lying curled up in one of the corners. Its scales shimmered in a glorious shade of silver, with small, scattered specks of red and black.
"She's gorgeous." Harry whispered, deeply fascinated by the way the snake seemed to watch them both with attentive, golden eyes.
"I'm happy you like her. From now on, she's yours."
Harry gaped and turned to Voldemort with an incredulous look. "What do you mean she's mine?" he stammered bewildered.
"I mean that I'm buying her for you. You will find that snakes are excellent and highly intelligent companions." With what seemed like an afterthought, he added "and isn't this what couples do when they've fought? Give each other gifts?"
The meaning behind those words hit Harry almost physically. Could it be that the famous, the unfeeling Dark Lord was apologizing to him? Then he blushed when he realized that the man had referred to them as a 'couple'.
"Thank you." He said, so low that it was almost a whisper, but Voldemort heard him and inclined his head just a bit.
Ten minutes later, they both re-emerged from the shop, Harry with a tight grip on the large basket containing Medusa, his new snake. Without saying anything, a mutual agreement to go back to the Manor was reached, and Voldemort held Harry close to him with one arm as he disapparated them both.
A few hours later, Harry was sitting in Lucius' study, the only other person there was Lucius Malfoy himself.
"So what did you want to talk about, Harry?" the man asked in a surprisingly friendly tone. Before Harry had time to answer, the door opened and Narcissa walked in with a small stack of papers she handed to her husband. Then she walked over to Harry and sat down next to him.
"What is it, dear? You look upset."
Feeling reassured by this display of worried affection, Harry decided to ask them both what had been nagging at him since returning to the Manor.
"Why does he keep following me around, giving me gifts, being all overprotective all the time?" he asked and instantly felt stupid for the way he phrased his question. However, neither Narcissa nor Lucius seemed to care. Instead, they smiled at each other, before Narcissa turned back to Harry.
"Oh dear, you might not believe it, but he does care a great deal for you. What you might see as being 'overprotective' is his way of making sure you're not in danger. Also, since the courting period has started, so has the merging of your magical cores. As the dominant partner, he will want to be close to you at all times, to make sure he can protect you if you're ever in danger." She giggled and Harry turned towards her, slightly shocked that this usually stoic aristocratic woman was capable of such a sound.
"You know, it was the same for Lucius and I. He would never let me in peace, but kept insisting on joining me when I was going to one of my friends' houses for some female heart-to-heart. Poor man, he was forced to sit through hours and hours of it, but he still went." The last sentences were directed at Lucius, who smiled fondly at the memories.
"And you know perfectly well, Cissa, that I wouldn't want to change that even if I had the chance."
Harry blushed and coughed, to show that he was still in the room, which made both the Malfoys laugh a little.
"I'm sorry, Harry. We didn't mean to embarrass you." Narcissa said and smiled reassuringly at him. She opened her mouth to say something more, but the door opened and Draco appeared, looking like he had run through the manor as fast as he could which he probably had.
"Mother, father. There's someone here you need to see." Before Draco had time to explain who this mysterious guest was, a dishevelled-looking Sirius Black forced his way past the blond and walked directly towards Harry. Both Narcissa and Lucius sprung up, wands at the ready, but Sirius ignored them and, to Harry's surprise, fell to his knees and hugged him around the waist.
"I'm so, so sorry, Harry. I should've believed you from the start." He sobbed, his face pressed into the folds of Harry's t-shirt. "Dumbledore is a fraud, a manipulative old bastard. I heard him myself. I was waiting for him in his office, out of sight, and when he came back he was clearly angry about something. In his rage, he was talking out loud and what he said was enough for me. I'm never going back to that filthy traitor again."
Looking up at Harry, Sirius' eyes were bloodshot and his face was dirty from a life on the run, but the look on his face was entirely honest. "Can you forgive me, Harry? For the words I said to you?"
Without a word, Harry sank down on his knees and wrapped his arms around his godfather as tight as he could, ignoring the faint smell of wet dog that clung to the man. "Of course, Sirius. You're family and family always forgive each other."
Awww, I personally love the last scene! Sirius is back, everyone's favourite mutt!
It was also fun writing Narcissa and Lucius together, those two are just one of the most interesting couples in the canon, in my opinion. So cold in public, but so protective of their family. It's truly heartwarming. :)
Please leave a review!
