Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and settings belong to J.K. Rowling.

"Is anything else bothering you?" Narcissa asked after a moment of holding her youngest.

After a moment of wavering, he shared his concerns. "What are Ron and Hermione going to say about all this? What if they don't want to be my friends anymore?" Dread filled him at the thought. He couldn't lose Ron and Hermione!

"Why wouldn't they?" Lucius asked.

"Well," Harry fidgeted. "I'm not a Potter, I'm a Malfoy."

"And now your family is evil," Draco said sarcastically.

"I know you're not. At least now I do. It's just, I was told -" Harry paused, looking at his parents uncertainly.

"We need to get this out in the open," Narcissa said gently. "What were you told?"

"That there's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin," Harry said, feeling guilty for saying it.

"That's not true," Lucius said firmly. "Slytherin does have a bad reputation, I admit. And of course, it doesn't help that the dark lord was a Slytherin."

"If he had been in Hufflepuff, then people would think any Hufflepuff was automatically evil," Narcissa added.

Harry and Draco stared at her for a moment before bursting into laughter. "Oh Merlin," Draco said through his laughter. "A Hufflepuff."

"Beware the evil badgers," Harry giggled.

Lucius shook his head, a small smile on his face. It was a pretty funny thought. "Merlin was a Slytherin and he wasn't evil." He pointed out.

"My sister Andromeda was a Slytherin and she's a sweetheart," Narcissa added. "She married a muggle-born, which did upset our parents. But she's happy."

"The Slytherins didn't seem to like me," Harry said, glancing at Draco. "And Professor Snape hates me -"

"He does not hate you," Lucius said quickly. He knew Severus felt horrible for how he had treated Hadrian and hoped to win his trust over time.

"Just because he finds out I'm not a Potter?" Harry shook his head. "I'm still the same person I was."

"Yes," Narcissa agreed. "You are. But you see, Severus didn't allow himself to see you for who you are. He only let himself see James Potter. Give him a chance. Please?"

"I'll try," Harry said with a sigh.

"As for your friends, if they care about you then they will be happy for you," Lucius said.

/

"It's going to be strange at school, isn't it? Now that we're brothers? Everyone is going to go mental," Harry said that night as they each got into their beds

"It will be brilliant," Draco said confidently, pulling back his covers. "I just wish we were in the same House. And we were always brothers, we just didn't know it." He added.

"True. Hey, you could transfer to Gryffindor," Harry suggested with a straight face as he slid into his bed.

Draco narrowed his eyes. "Or you could transfer to Slytherin." He countered.

"Touche," Harry smirked.

"But you and I will be best friends," Draco said. "Even though we have other friends in our houses. Right?" Vulnerability showed in his eyes.

"Of course," Harry assured him. "We just have to get along with each other's friends so that it is not awkward or anything. Like, no calling Ron a weasel," he said pointedly.

"He started it. He laughed at my name!" Draco defended himself.

Did he? Harry tried to remember. He did remember Ron snickering. "Oh. Okay, that wasn't nice of him." He agreed he settled back against his pillow. "But he's been a brilliant friend to me. So has Hermione. They risked their lives going after the stone with me."

"You could have died, and I wouldn't have known you were my brother," Draco said softly. He gave Harry a serious look from across the room. "No more going after stones. Or dragons. Or trolls."

"I'll do my best," Harry quipped.

Draco grinned. "And if you do come across any, take me with you!"

Harry laughed.

/

Harry had written to both Ron and Hermione, telling them everything that had happened, and he was anxiously awaiting their responses a couple of days later. He and Draco were flying in the backyard, which was huge and perfect for tossing a quaffle ball back and forth. They had been talking and joking while they flew and then Harry mentioned again how anxious he was to hear from his friends.

"Why do you care so much what they think?" Draco asked in an irritated voice as he flew next to Harry. He was jealous, he could admit that. At least, he could admit it to himself. Harry was his brother! Not Weasley's or Granger's!

"They're my best friends," Harry said. "I don't want them to hate me now."

"Hate you for finding your family?" Draco scoffed.

Harry paused, considering that. He didn't think they would but considering who his family now was…it was hard not to be nervous.

"If they really are your friends, they will be happy for you right?" Draco persisted.

Harry nodded slowly. "It's just, I never had friends before. Before Hogwarts, I mean." He admitted.

"Never?"

Harry shook his head. "Dudley would beat up anyone nice to me, so it didn't take long for kids to learn to stay far away from me."

Draco was silent for a moment. He wished he could have just five minutes with this Dudley person. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Harry asked in surprise.

"For how you were treated by those muggles. And for how I treated you this past year," Draco said, guilt and regret in his eyes. "I was a prat."

True, Harry thought with some amusement. "I had some prat moments myself. I'm sorry too." He said instead as he tossed his brother the quaffle.

"You're pretty forgiving," Draco observed. "I mean, I'm glad of it. I wouldn't blame you if you still hated me."

"I've always wanted a real family," Harry said slowly. "And although it's still weird that it's you guys, I want this. I want parents and I've always wanted a brother."

"I'll be a good one, I promise," Draco said earnestly.

"I will too," Harry promised.

/

A day later, Hedwig returned with two letters, flying through the boys' window and dropping them in Harry's lap.

"Thanks, Hedwig," Harry said, petting her. "I left out some treats for you."

Hedwig hooted appreciatively and then flew to her perch.

Harry opened the letter from Hermione first, not noticing Draco enter the room.

Dear Harry… or Hadrian?

I couldn't believe it when I received your letter! You must be feeling so much confusion, but I hope you're happy too. You have a family now! I know we haven't got on with Draco but now that you know he's your twin, hopefully you two can get along together. What are your parents like? Are they being nice to you? Maybe you, me, and Ron can get together this summer. And Draco too, of course. I really want to see what you look like now. Write back when you can!

Love,

Hermione

"Huh, she didn't bad mouth me," Draco said as he read the letter over Harry's shoulder.

"Hey!" Harry scowled slightly but couldn't stay that mad as Draco gave him a lopsided smile. He sighed. "Hermione isn't like that," he told him.

"What about Weasley's letter?" Draco said, picking up the other envelope.

"Gee, want to read it together?" Harry asked sarcastically.

"Okay!" Draco ripped open the envelope.

"Draco!" Harry protested.

"Well, Weasley's quite rude," Draco said with a huff as his eyes scanned the letter.

Harry snatched the letter. "If you don't mind letting me read my letter," he said with an eye roll.

Harry,

I wouldn't trust the Malfoys; this whole thing is probably a lie and a setup! They obviously want control over you so they can get away with killing you! Malfoy is a git and his whole family is evil! Mum and Dad contacted Dumbledore and he confirmed everything, so they say you're okay and it's all true about you being a Malfoy, but I don't think so. They probably faked everything and even changed your looks! I'm going to help you, along with the twins. Don't worry Harry, help is on the way! Until then, stay safe, and do not trust the Malfoys!

Your friend,

Ron

Harry sighed as he finished reading. He supposed it made sense for Ron to not believe it. Harry wouldn't have either if he hadn't seen the potion made with his own eyes or heard Tipsey tell the truth and remove his glamour. "I just need to talk to him in person," he said finally. "It was hard to explain everything in the letter."

"We're not evil," Draco said. "We wouldn't hurt you," he insisted, clearly upset.

"I know that," Harry assured him. "Ron just needs time, that's all." He hesitated. "What will your friends say?"

"Crabbe and Goyle just roll with things, so they'll be fine about it," Draco said with a shrug. "Parkinson and Nott are gits and I think their parents are still followers of the dark lord. Zabini and Greengrass are fine, they should be nice to you. Even if you are a Gryffindor." he teased.

"I have another question. When is our birthday?" Harry asked suddenly. He couldn't believe he hadn't asked before now.

"It was June fifth," Draco said. "But Mother and Father said we would celebrate when I get home. Now we can both celebrate!" he said happily.

"Wow, so I'm already twelve," Harry mused. "Huh, then I think I was in the infirmary for my birthday."

"You mean after the stone incident?"

"Yeah."

"Merlin. It's a good thing you have me to look after you now." Draco said, feeling a flare of fear that he could have lost his brother without ever even knowing the truth.

Dobby popped into the room. "Master Lucius and Mistress Narcissa request you come downstairs."

"You didn't do anything wrong already did you?" Draco teased Harry as they walked downstairs.

"No. At least I don't think so," Harry laughed.

/

"So, we wanted to talk to you more about your first year at Hogwarts," Lucius said as they all sat down in the living room.

Harry tenses slightly. "Um, okay," he said slowly. Maybe he was in trouble after all.

"We heard it was quite an eventful year," Narcissa said in a light voice, not wanting to upset him.

"Yeah, it was," Harry said.

"We heard about the flying lesson incident, the dragon, and the troll," Lucius said. "You also ran into that creature Fluffy?"

"That was an accident," Harry said quickly. "The first time, anyway," he added in a lower voice.

"Was being out after curfew an accident?" Lucius asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, no," Harry said reluctantly.

"Why were you?"

Harry glanced at Draco for a brief moment. "My friends and I were just...uh, exploring."

"You're lying," Narcissa frowned. "You do not need to lie to us. We're not going to punish you for this past year, we just want to talk about it." She told him.

"I'm sorry."

"He and Weasley were there to meet me and Crabbe for a midnight duel," Draco spoke up. He wasn't going to let his brother cover for him.

"What?" Narcissa's eyes widened in shock.

"We argued and I challenged him to a duel," Draco admitted. "But I never went out that night. I never planned to." He looked at Harry guiltily.

"You let Filch know that a student would be out after curfew," Harry said knowingly.

"Yeah. I'm really sorry."

"It's fine. He didn't catch us," Harry grinned. His grin faded when he saw their parents watching them with stern expressions.

"A duel? You challenged him to a duel?" Lucius glared at Draco.

"And you accepted? Exactly what spells were you planning to do?" Narcissa asked Harry.

"I don't know, I just didn't want to be the one to back down," Harry said sheepishly.

"I was jealous that Harry had been put on the Quidditch team," Draco said in a small voice. "I was angry too; Uncle Severus wouldn't let me be on our team! I challenged him thinking he would say no and then I could make fun of him. But he accepted so I sent a tip to Filch that a student would be out after curfew. I thought he would be expelled or something." He looked at Harry warily as if afraid he would be angry.

"Ron and I figured that," Harry said dryly. He grinned. "Seeing the expression on your face when nothing happened to us made our day."

Draco rolled his eyes, a small smile on his face.

"Perhaps I need a calming draught to hear more," Narcissa murmured, rubbing her temples.

"A glass of Firewhisky would be better," Lucius said dryly.

"What is Firewhisky?" Harry asked curiously.

"Something you won't drink until you're thirty," Narcissa told him. "Either of you."

Lucius hid a grin and focused on Harry. "Now, tell us from the beginning how you first heard about the stone."

/

"You and your friends should not have gone after that Stone," Lucius said once Harry had finished telling him everything. "You know that, right?"

"But we knew someone was after it," Harry argued. "And McGonagall wouldn't believe us, so we had to do something!"

"Harry, Quirrell had no way of getting that Stone," Narcissa gently said. "Only someone who wanted it but not to use it could retrieve it."

"I know that but…" Harry's face fell and he felt stupid. Quirrell had almost gotten the stone because of him! "I didn't know that then." he finished lamely.

"It was a situation for adults to handle, not children," Lucius said firmly. "It was not your responsibility to stop Quirrell."

"I didn't know it was Quirrell, I thought it was Snape," Harry murmured.

"You thought Uncle Severus wanted the stone?" Draco asked incredulously.

Harry shrugged sheepishly. "He seemed, you know, evil. He hated me, was mean, and had been seen muttering when my broom was trying to throw me off. And after Hermione set his robes on fire, my broom righted itself so naturally we assumed -"

"Your friend set Severus's robe on fire?" Lucius asked incredulously. He heard a snort of laughter and gave his wife a frown. "It's not funny."

Narcissa shook a bit from trying to hold in her laughter. "I know, but Severus was so upset about that and if he knew a first-year did it…" she giggled.

"Narcissa," Lucius started to admonish his wife but her giggles were infectious he soon began chuckling.

Harry and Draco joined their parents in their laughter, all imagining Snape's rage at finding out a first-year had set him on fire.

Their talk continued, including one about rules and consequences.

"We expect you to be respectful, if you don't agree with a rule or decision of ours, then you may speak to us about it but respectfully. Tantrums won't end well for you," Lucius warned. "You may be sent to the corner or your room as a consequence. Lying will not be tolerated by us, you may be put on restriction which would include no flying. A few swats to your backside may happen as well," he warned. "And no putting yourself in danger. We will not tolerate that. That could get you a full spanking, especially if it is because you deliberately broke rules put into place for your safety."

Harry's eyes widened slightly. He would have earned all those consequences this past year!

"Neither of us would ever truly hurt you," Narcissa said, squeezing Harry's hand. She had noticed the alarm on his face. "We would not beat you, ever. Or lock you up or starve you. Not ever."

"The most you would feel is a good sting on your bottom that would fade a couple of hours later," Lucius promised. "I only use my hand. Consider the smacking an exclamation point to the blistering lecture you would receive first," he said lightly, not wanting to scare Hadrian but wanting him to know he was serious.

Harry gave a small smile and nodded his understanding. Actually, a lot of their rules and consequences sounded like what Ron had told him he faced at home.

"We expect you to keep up on your studying and homework," Narcissa continued. "We don't ask for perfection, only that you do your best. If you are having trouble in any of your subjects, you can write to us or ask Severus for help."

Harry made a face at the thought of asking Snape for help.

"Please give your godfather a chance," Narcissa said softly. "I promise, things will be different."

"Is there any class you struggle in?" Lucius asked.

"History of Magic because it's so boring," Harry said. "Potions…" He trailed off and shrugged. "Transfiguration is sometimes difficult. I got an E but only because Hermione helped me with my homework all year." He admitted.

Suddenly Dobby popped into the room. "Dinner is ready, Master Lucius."

Lucius nodded and stood. "We can continue our conversation over dinner," he put his arm around Harry and guided him to the dining room, Narcissa and Draco following.

/

The family sat down to a delicious dinner of Beef Wellington, roast potatoes, arugula salad, and fluffy biscuits. Harry couldn't believe the good food he now got to eat. He had prepared himself for a summer of barely any food and now he had more than enough.

"So, what is your favorite subject in school?" Lucius asked as they ate.

"Defense," Harry answered. He made a face. "But I hope this year we get a teacher that won't, you know, try to kill me."

"Have you heard who will be replacing Quirrell?" Narcissa asked Lucius after taking a moment to hold in her anger at the danger her son had been in.

"No, I have not heard anything," Lucius replied. "I assume the headmaster is going through candidates."

"What in Merlin's name -" Narcissa suddenly gasped as they were finishing up dinner, looking out the window, dropping her fork onto her plate in shock.

"What is it?" Lucius followed her gaze. "Is that...a flying car?" He asked in disbelief.

TBC: