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Third year
Harry asked the man for his paper and started reading. A prisoner on the loose. Just a way to start the year.
“He’s a nasty one, kiddo,” The man said, leaning on the glass and crossing one of his. Harry looked up and wondered how did he do to keep the balance.
“You know him?”
“Personally? Nah.” He spits through the window, disgusting. “But I know what he did, wonder why don’tcha, boy.”
“Muggle raise.”
“You seem the kind, yes.” He leaned near him, resting his weight on his knees. “He, boy, is the man that killed the Potters!” He laughed hysterically.
Harry was not sure if it was because the bus was shrunken or because of the thing the man told him, but he felt like he was about to vomit.
***
“I cannot believe this is where you are staying,” Draco said, sitting on the wonky bed, bouncing twice. “Thousands of galleons on your vault and this is the best you could do?”
“Well, it was either this or Azkaban, sweetie.” Said Mrs. Malfoy also entering the room. Well, both of them looked so out of place in the little room that the Ministry had given him. Both of them dressed to the nines in their wonderful robes, surrounded by dust and grime. “My husband wants to talk to you, Mr Potter.” She said, after a moment.
Harry nodded and walked outside.
“Thank you, sir,” he said once he closed the door behind his back. He didn't add anything else, but both of them knew that it was Malfoy the one that took the ministry out of his back.
“Do you know what will you do until the classes start?”
“Think I will take your daughter's word and take a detour to Gringotts and start all the necessary paperwork for the emancipation.” There wasn’t much time until they had to go back to Hogwarts, a week tops. “I still needed to buy everything for this year,” Harry added too.
“Very well,” he hummed. “While you are at it, ask for Goiskoigs, he’ll help you sort the paperwork out, and if you want to make some investment then he will not say no to it. Goblins, you'll be pleased to find out, are very open to new investment when money comes around.”
“Thank you very much, Mr. Malfoy.”
The man nodded and passed next to him. “Cissy, Draco, we are going back home.”
“And what about ‘Arry, Daddy?”
“He knows what to do. You’ll see each other on the train. Now let's go.”
***
He realised it had been quite a mistake to tell the others about the incident with Marge. So he tried to concentrate on the newspaper, not that it had anything else but this and that about the man who had escaped from Azkaban.
“And you just blew her up?” Zabaini asked, laughing, the prick. Harry zipped his mouth with a hex.
“It was an accident.”
“I think it’s been aeons since the last time someone had done accidental magic at our age,” Draco said, passing the pages of her newspaper, only to lean into Parkinson and point something at it.
“Oh, shut up, all of you.”
***
He groaned as he sat up. Well, he was no longer on the train but the infirmary, such a way to start the year, really.
“Oh, you are alright!” Cried Draco as she climbed into his side. “For a moment I thought that–”
“Hush Dray, I’m alright, only a headache.” He groaned, hugging her.
“That was most certainly not just a headache, Mr. Potter.” Madam Pomfrey said, entering the section where they were. “And, although I’m not inclined to believe in Mrs Malfoy's theatrics, in this one I would need to agree. Off that bed, young lady,” she said, taking Draco from the collar of her robe and off his side. The nurse immediately started taking his vitals. The woman did really not like Draco at all. “You and Mr Longbottom, always doing foolish things, really!”
“But I didn’t do anything.”
“He’s telling the truth!”
“Shush now, Miss Malfoy, or I’ll have to ask you to step out.” The woman shut her up, again. Miraculously she did.
“I think I’m good enough to go to my dorm now.” He started to sit up, only to be stopped by Draco’s hand over his chest.
“You must certainly not.”
“Look.” He said, frowning at the woman. “I’m sure Draco would be a way much better nurse than you are right now, at least a tad less condescending. If you are not in the mood to treat me, then don’t. But don’t treat my friends like that just because.”
The woman only stormed out, fuming in rage, and Draco found her way back in his bed. Draco started telling what the fuck had happened on the train with a soft voice. And he might have fallen asleep again if, moments later, a new adult walked into the room.
“Oh, I see you are awake now,” The man said, pushing a chair to sit at the end of the bed. He looked for something in the old coat that he wore, and when he found it, he offered it to them. “Chocolate?”
“No, thank you,” Harry said. “Look, if you are here to yell at us, please don’t. Enough, I had with Pomfrey and what happened at the train.”
“Yes, you, Mr. Potter, and Mr. Longbottom have had quite a rough trip. If that charming lady next to you shouldn't have come to look for help… well, it would have been quite a different story.” His smile was slightly crooked. Harry only hugged Draco tighter as if the man would take Draco off his side. “Well, I just came to say hello, you have the rest of the day clear. Miss Malfoy, I hope to see you this afternoon in class.”
“Yes sir.” She answered. And once they were both alone in the room again, she talked. “That’s Mr. Lupin, the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor.”
“How many days have I lost?”
“It's Tuesday morning already. You slept through the feast and all night.” She said. “I’ll have to go to classes later, though. I’ll visit you in my free time, alright?”
“I’m not a baby, Dray.”
“I know, but it doesn't seem to be your year.”
“Weird, huh?”
***
The class of Care of Magical Creatures was not a really good time for none of the Slytherin.
It was a bad keep secret, Draco’s fear of birds. But Harry would give her some points as she tried to stay as far as possible; but of course, the class had to continue after Longbottom's demonstration on how to ride one, and when it was their time to approach the bird… well… Draco was not one to bow to anyone, forget a hippogriff.
The bird did push her to the floor, and poor Lady Malfoy had now a broken arm. Harry had to carry her to the infirmary once he saw that Hagrid was petrified in front of all of the students.
Unlucky bird who would have to deal with the Malfoy's wrath and unlucky Slytherins that now had to suffer Draco’s whines.
“Why are so good with animals, I could never understand.” She said, throwing herself back on her bed dramatically. Madam Pomfrey had been fed up with all of them fussing over her and had them kicked them out. Draco included.
“You are jealous because Potter was able to pet the bird,” Pansy said, as she peeled her another apple.
“Potter, you’ll be playing this year?” Asked Nott, ignoring completely the girls. “Rumour says that the younger Weasley is going to go into the team.”
“Ron Weasley? As if.” he laughed.
“No, no, the She-Weasley.” And then Harry remembered, that Weasley had a sister that had been taken to the Chamber last year, true. “Rumour says that she plays well.”
“I would like to see that.”
***
The year they have a normal and peaceful Halloween, Harry would think that it was a weird one. It was as if it was the norm for something to happen on that date.
Now the madman who had escaped Azkaban was inside the castle. Just what he needed.
And now they were all in the great hall, even if the other houses weren’t under attack.
A sleepover , the headmaster had said. Bullshit , had muttered Draco as she received her sleeping bag from professor Snape.
“I don’t understand,” Draco said, turning to him. The lights had been turned off by the headmaster not so long ago, and from time to time there was a professor walking around the students. “Why would he go to the Gryffindor house?, you are not a Gryffindor.”
“Why would he want to have something with me?” Harry grunted.
“Because he’s your Godfather?” Draco said as if he was talking about the bad weather.
“My what?” He said, but was then quickly hushed by other students.
“Oh, I thought Daddy told you that time at the–well never mind, he clearly didn’t.” She sighed and got even closer to him, Harry did the same. “He was your parent's best friend, I think Lupin too, I’m not sure. He doesn’t show any privilege to you, so I might be wrong.”
“Oh, blessed the day Draco Malfoy admitted she was wrong.”
“I say that I might , not that I was,” she giggled. “So–why would he go to the Gryffindor tower?”
“Maybe there is something he needs there.”
“Well, duh.” She turned to watch the enchanted roof. “But what? You think he might try to kill you with the Gryffindor sword?”
“I don’t know, Dray, let’s sleep.” He threw an arm over her chest to shut her up. “Tomorrow we’ll see.”
***
Harry knocked on the door and waited for a second, when the blonde opened the door she had a pretty frown that quickly went away. “ ‘Arry just in time!” She took his hand and pushed him inside her room. Parkinson was on her bed reading a magazine and only acknowledged him with a hum. “Look what mummy got me!” She said, jumping onto her bed.
“A deck?”
“A new one! I think daddy got it at an auction. It’s rumoured that it was used to belong to a famous fortune-teller in Rumania, a clever old woman.”
“You really believe in that?” They were taking divination together, and Harry thought that it was quite stupid. Like those palm-readers at the fairs, that told everyone the same.
“It’s an art, ‘Arry.”
“And to do it right, you need to know the person, or it will be too ambiguous.” Added Parkinson.
“So? Do you want to try?”
And she looked so excited to try. So he accepted. Draco smiled and quickly closed the curtains of her canopy. She cast a quick muffliato around them and with a smile, she started shuffling the cards.
Once she was satisfied, she started putting them on a pyramid. “The first one represents you, your core. The next three are the things that will happen to you. And the last row is possible situations going around you.”
“Alright.” He nodded.
Draco turned the first card up. And there was a man, seated on a throne. “He looks like me,” Harry said, taking the card. The man had string green eyes and held the word tighter, but did not move much. His crown was a little bit crooked to the side and dressed a striking red cape over his shoulders.
“They are enchanted to do so.” She said taking it back. “That’s the emperor, of course, you would have that one.”
“Meaning?”
“You are the person in control. The first one that takes action when something happens.”
She turned to the next row. First, there was a woman blindfolded by a withe cloth holding a sword in one hand and a scale. On the next one, there was a lake with the reflection of a full moon. And on the last one was an old-looking tower that had pieces falling down.
“What do they mean?”
“They are Justice, the Moon and the Tower.” She pointed to each. “There will be a sudden change, mostly an unwanted one, and also a secret that will be revealed. However, the people who did it will get what they deserve. But you don’t have to believe everything you see or hear.”
“You think it’s related to Black?”
“Maybe.” She turned the other cards.
“All of them equal 36, which is nine. Nine is a strong, powerful number.” She explained. “Six of Cups, usually means something from your childhood.” Harry thought of his parents. “Seven of Swords is about a betrayal; watch out ‘Arry.” She said, looking at him now. “The other two, the queen and the king, can be interpreted as The Lovers too. A powerful couple, this combination. A woman with her feet on the ground might bring fortune with her,” she pointed at the gold coin that was floating over the queen's hand. “This one acts with bravery, maybe a little bit on a whim, but passion.”
“Who do they refer to as those last cards?”
“General, might be related to you or not. Mostly it is.”
“You think it has something to do with Black?”
“I told you that I didn’t know Harry.”
“Oh alright.” He took the emperor card, and the man frowned at him, again. “What did you get on the first one?”
“The wizard.” She said proudly.
“What does that mean?”
She took the deck and started looking for a card. When she found it, Draco showed him the card. A long black-haired woman stood in the middle of the card, a staff in one hand and a ball of light in the other. Half of her face was covered by the hood of the robe, but the eyes were unmistakable grey. Just like Draco's.
“It represents the knowledge and the ability to create something new. And also the flow of magic.”
“Is that good?”
“ I think it’s fitting.” She shrugged. “You don’t?”
“Think you got more of an empress vibe than anything, but if you like, then I do too.”
***
Lupin's classes were fun and easy to understand. And he had a “hand to the matter” approach. Which was nice most of the time with other spells, like shields or other simpler attack spells.
But not every day was a sunny one.
“ I will not expose myself in front of anyone,” Draco said, and she didn’t move from her seat. They’ve been into a back-and-forth with Professor Lupin since he introduced today’s topic and asked her to do it.
“Come on, Miss Malfoy.”
“Choose another student.” She insisted. “I know how to cast the spell well enough.”
“Oh, very well,” he gave up, and started looking around. “Who would like to step… Mr Potter, maybe?”
“Alright, sir.” Everyone made a passage for him to walk.
Harry was not so sure what his most feared thing was, unlike Draco and most probably all the other students. And so he told Professor Lupin. He only laughed and patted his back.
“Will see then. This is a safe space, after all. Just think of something funny in the meantime.”
And with a swift of his hand, the door of the cupboard opened, and a grey mist came flying to him. Seconds later, the room went cold, and the mist transformed into a Dementor.
Oh well, nothing better than the representation of fear to be afraid of. So fitting.
Lupin stepped in front of him, and the dementor changed into a moon. The rest of the class was the other students confronting their fears. He just sat next to Draco eating her secret stash of chocolate. "You know," she murmured, breaking off another piece, "I could have done it better."
"Shut up, Dray,"
***
That afternoon after practice, Peeves came floating to him with a message from Loony Loopy Lupin.
He told Draco, who only hummed and said that he would have to tell her everything that the man said to him later. In the meantime, she would be at the library looking for a book for Snape.
Lupin’s office was messy. There were books sprawled around, and he was pretty sure that the professor did sleep on the couch there.
“You know you can talk to me, right?” Lupin said, turning to go and heat a kettle with water.
“With all due respect, sir, I don’t know who you are.” Harry sat on the only chair that was filled with either clothes or books.
“Well, it’s always nice to have a willing ear, right?” He smiled sat over his desk and poured two cups of tea. “Look, I don’t know how much Severus had told you about your parents, but–”
“He hasn’t. Why would he?” He interrupted him. Harry took the cup but did not drink from it.
“Oh…” he said, covering his mouth with his hand. “Jesus Christ, alright, listen to me, Harry. You know all this about Black running around?” He nodded. “And you do know about him being your godfather?” He nodded again. “Alright, alright. Did you also know that he was your father’s best friend? That I was too?”
“What does it have to do with everything.”
“Harry, he betrayed your parents. He betrayed our trust.”
“Professor, what does it have to do with me?”
“Harry, you are aware that you are the one who defeated Voldemort as a baby, right?” He did, Draco had told him everything back in first year. It didn’t matter, he was not interested in saving no one.
(Maybe Draco and himself if the occasion arose)
. “Harry, he was the one who told Voldemort about where your parents were.”
The new piece of information sank into his stomach like a rock.
***
“You were looking at her !” Draco yelled at him. Harry only dodged the cushion that she threw him. “That’s why you fell, that’s why you lost the match. Do you like her , now? She’s a Weasel!”
“I do not, Dray.” He said for the thousandth time.
“I saw you!”
“How?” He retorted. “I could even see something with the rain, forget seeing some stupid little girl.”
She stood from the infirmary chair and walked out.
Harry thought it better not to mention that he’d seen his mother's eyes under the faceless hood of the Dementors. Or how he’d heard his father’s footsteps walking out of the little nursery to go and open the door.
If she wanted to be mad at him, he would let her.
***
She didn’t ask for forgiveness, nor did Harry.
But she asked the house-elves to prepare him a Treacle Tart. And Harry bought those Spanish chocolates that she liked so much.
***
There were a few times that Harry saw Professor Snape walking outside his dorms to really practise his authority as the Head of House. Tonight it was one of them.
“Do not mingle outside, tonight, kids.” He told everyone, as he carried a stash full of potions out of where his lab was. “There is a full moon.” His dark robes floated around him, and that would never stop Harry from giggling.
He leant into Draco and murmured: “So what?”
Both were on the common tables, Draco finishing the essay for Herbology, and Harry was just waiting for her to finish while building a house of cards. “Didn’t you pay attention last class? Werewolf, ‘Arry.” she dipped the feather into the ink and continued writing. “He’s warning us about werewolves.”
“But they are in the forest?”
“Maybe. Or Maybe a professor is one. Who knows?”
“You do.”
“Indeed.” He smiled cheekily and then came back to her essay.
***
“You are not coming?” She asked, on the verge of tears. And he was tempted to tell her that, yes. That she only needed to wait a second for him to go catch his invisibility cloak, and he would be with her.
But… he really didn’t want to go. He was not really in the mood. “I didn’t get my permit signed, Dray,” he said instead. “I cannot go, as much as it hurts me.”
“Liar, you only don’t want to come shopping with me.” A single tear rolled throw her red cheek.
“Well, that too.” Harry sighed and tried to go and hug her, only to end up blocking one of her jinxes. She was getting quicker each time. “I do need to talk to the twins also, they said that they’ve got something for me.”
“You’ll show me later?”
“I will. Now go before you froze or Parkinson burns me alive.”
“See you later, then” she cleaned her cheeks with her globes, “I’ll show you the things I bought!” She said, running to the carriage. Harry only hummed.
That afternoon he got a nice new piece of parchment that showed the entire castle, and later in the afternoon a runaway show of each and every single piece of clothing that she’d bought.
***
Snow looked beautiful on Draco. Her new enchanted cloak floated around her and made her look like a fairy, and her cheeks were flushed on a pretty pink.
Unfortunately, the snow did not look that good on his face.
“You didn’t.” He said, taking the snow off his face only to see Draco with a smile and another ball of snow on her gloved hand. “Don’t you dare!”
But, of course, she did.
Pansy and Vincent joined the fight not much time later, joining up on Draco’s side. And so did Greg and Theo. Zabini did not like the snow, and had decided to return home for the winter holidays. So he was alone on his side.
Soon it became a proper fight. He still won, when a well-cast spell threw Draco’s tower off, allowing him to enter the fortress and overthrow her from the throne/rock she had claimed hers.
***
He ignored the big black dog that stood out in the middle of the white snow.
***
“And we need your best memory. Your happiest one.” Professor Lupin kept saying, going on and on. It was supposed to be a class for him to learn how to defend himself in the case that Black wanted to attack him, but Lupin has been tasked also with instructing Longbottom on how to protect himself from the Dementors so now it was a united class.
If before it was a slow class, now it was even slower.
Now, Harry was more interested in playing with Draco’s hair. She was asleep on the desk next to him, recently she’d been in a lot of pain and sleeping even more.
“Mr Potter, have you paid attention?”
“Wand straight, a happy memory, Expecto Patronum.” He answered in a light voice. “Can we start now? Dray’s been in a mood and quite tired.”
“I did tell you to come alone, didn’t I?”
“Well… yes… but she’s not been feeling alright lately. And the other time we had divination, seems that she’s pretty good at it, said that bad things were coming. A bad omen or something like that in my cup of tea.”
“Oh, Professor Trelawney said the same to me.” Neville stepped into the conversation. Harry hummed and left his place next to the blonde.
“Shall we?” he said, pointing at the chest. Lupin nodded and waited for Longbottom to stand next to him.
***
Draco, as much as she loved animals, she never had a hand for them. Millicent’s cat despised her; Nott’s owl liked to pick her hair when flying out after breakfast; even Zabini’s lizard hated her. The only two animals that liked were her sweet Morgana and Hedwig (which was more cold towards her, but she broke easily when Draco gave her one of the expensive treats). And it’s a consensus between them to ignore the Hippogriff Accident.
So late at night when Harry saw the creature that came out of his wand, well he knew that he must show her first. He was sure that this would not try to hurt her.
Harry shook Draco from her sleep. Her curtains had been tight shut, but nothing that a simple spell couldn’t do. “Dray, come on, I have to show you something.”
“It’s late ‘Arry.” She groaned and turned away, her blonde hair spilling over her pillow in waves.
“Come one, you’ll like this.” He shook her again and only then did she move.
After she put on her cloak over her sleeping dress and Harry hid them under his invisibility one; he walked them to the castle’s backyard.
“Look at this, Dray.” He said, then he turned and cast. Seconds later, and after concentrating on the memory, a big dark cat appeared from his wand. Even the silver silvery gloss could barely conceal the beast’s sleek muscles and dark short fur, and when it finally landed, it stood almost waist-high next to Draco.
She gasped, her hand instinctively reaching out to touch the creature. “Sweet Merlin.” She whispered. Extending her hand to let it smell her. The panther purred lowly, pressing its massive head into her palm before knocking her to the ground, sending her into a fit of soft laughter. “Aren’t you a cutie? How did you get a lion , ‘Arry?” Harry shrugged. “Most importantly, how did you get a corporeal one? This is advanced magic.”
“You thought I couldn’t do it?”
“I know that even Daddy sometimes struggles with this spell.” She petted the panther even more. “He’s beautiful.”
“You like it?”
“I love it.” She hugged the panther by the neck and rubbed her head on it. “Thank you for showing me.”
***
The big dog kept following around.
***
“If you could, how would you do it?” Harry said, throwing a rock on the lake and making it bounce three times. “Escape from Azkaban, I mean.”
“I would never end up there.” She answered, making hers bounce five. “But, if I did and I could, I would transform and then walk out.”
“Transform? Like Polyjuice?”
“You could always try, but Dementors don’t see, they sense . That’s because it’s hard to fool them, but,” she said, throwing another rock, making it bounce seven times (Harry was sure she was using magic). “They feel humans if you could transform into something else…”
“And you can?”
“You can always try for an animagus form, but I think it needs a potion to prepare first.”
“Should we try it?” Harry said then.
“Escape from Azkaban?”
“No. The animal thing you said. I wonder what you would be…”
“A dragon, for sure.” She answered, and Harry simply pushed into the water. “Oh, you are so dead, ‘Arry.” She said, taking her wand.
Harry started running then.
***
Granted, they were not doing much. Draco had decided that it was a good afternoon to go and pick chamomile for her little experiments, as she was running out of it. Harry had been on the ground, picking up and showing her the flowers when the Trio came up to them.
“What are you two doing here?” Asked Weasley quite rudely. “Why are you both outside?”
“Can’t we appreciate a good view now?” Draco said, turning to them. Harry only hummed, seconding her. He didn’t stop his job of picking flowers.
“Both of you are sick!” Granger said. “I cannot believe that you are here watching Buckebeak’s…”
“Oh, the bird's execution was today?” Draco answered smiling. “Must have slipped my mind, after Daddy said that he would take care of it I–”
And then she shut up. Granger had landed a swift punch over her pretty nose. Harry wondered if it would be now a little bit crooked, it would look nice on her.
When Harry looked up, he saw the blonde’s eyes go wet, as the upcoming storm, and a thin thread of blood went down her nose. He resisted a chuckle, she wouldn’t appreciate it. Not now, not ever. She might later even threaten to erase his memories of that, which: as if.
He walked behind her steps, watching her run and probably cry. She didn’t really deserve it, but she should learn from one way or another to not let her mouth run faster than her mind (at least not when Harry was not ready to receive an attack).
Harry stopped at the small building where Draco had entered the castle, and he looked back. It was almost time to get the bird executed… but something was off. Harry looked at the small window and saw the reflection.
He sighed and walked to where the two people were. He leaned on the stone wall and coughed to get their attention. “Good punch, Granger.”
“Oh, thank you!” She said, smiling and turning to see him. Only then did she realise.
“Next time, Granger, do try to be more discreet. I think half of Slytherin knows that you had a time-turner.” He lied. He’d had his suspicions almost all year, but he’d never been able to prove anything as he couldn't be at two places at once. And he didn’t think that an adult would be so careless to hand a time turner to a kid. Once more, the professors of this school proved him wrong. “Longbottom, have a nice afternoon.”
And then he walked to find his blonde.
***
The headmaster looked so out of place in the dungeons. “Mr. Potter, there is someone who would like to talk with you.”
“Now?” It was too early in the morning, the moon had barely gone down an hour ago, but the sky was still dark.
“Yes.”
“Can’t it be later? Like, after breakfast?” He said, pointing at Draco, who was sleeping soundly on his shoulder. After dinner, they’d gone to Professor Snape to give her a potion to numb the pain, but he wasn't there, so they had to walk to the infirmary only to be discharged by the nurse with nothing else but a huff. The woman was clearly more interested in Weasley’s broken leg than them.
So they decided only to go back to the common room and sleep it off.
“I’m afraid not.”
Harry looked at Snape who looked as if he had tasted a lemon, but nonetheless nodded, and he sighed.
“Dray, I need a second,” he muttered, trying to get himself off her grasp. She only groaned. “I need to go, it will be a second.”
“I’m cold,” she muttered.
“I know. I’ll be back. Just a sec.” And he stood.
***
The first thing he saw when he walked out of the Common Room was Professor Lupin, looking as if a truck had gone over him quite a few times. He sat on the floor heavily, breathing, and munching over a piece of chocolate.
Then there was the other man. Which he recognised instantly as if there hadn’t been thousands of posters around everywhere. He was pacing in the hallway and looked like he really did need a bath. His hair was all greasy, and his clothes had seen better days. Harry didn’t walk closer and kept his wand within easy reach, just in case.
“Harry,” the man said when he turned to look at him. “You are just like your father.”
“I like to think that I look more like Lily.” He answered, and he heard Professor Lupin chuckle, only to be followed up by a cough. Draco had shown him photos of his parents, they were on some old tapestries and some heritage books. “What do you want?”
“I’m… Sirius.” The man said, only making Harry huff.
“That’s very much obvious. But you are not answering my questions. What do you want?”
“Nothing!” He quickly said, stepping further. Harry stepped back.
“Then you are wasting my time.” If the man was not there to kill him, then there was nothing else he needed from the man.
“I just wanted to know how you were!” The man suddenly moved and took him by the shoulders
“You’ve been watching me all year,” Harry said, shoving the hands off his shoulders.
“I—I… you knew?”
“Told you, Sirius,” muttered Lupin, “he’s not much like James.”
“I had to distract Dray quite a few times so she wouldn’t notice you.”
“So is it true, then, you are a Slytherin.”
“I am.”
“And I suppose you— I suppose that you would not like to come live with me?”
“No.” He answered truthfully. “I don’t want to live with my parent’s murder.”
“It wasn’t me!”
“That’s not what the law says.” Maybe Dumbledore trusted him (clearly Snape did not, but whatever) but Harry did not.
“It was Peter!”
“You could say it was Jesus Christ and I still wouldn't believe you. You don’t have any proof to convince me. Look, I don’t know what you are doing here, but if you are done—”
“ ‘Arry?” Draco’s voice made him turn. She was wearing one of his cloaks and was barefoot. Silly girl. “Why are you yelling?”
“It’s nothing, go back inside, it’s freezing.”
“I know. You were gone.” She said walking to him. Harry took off his shoes and let her step on them. “Oh, hi cousin.” She said, blinking at the man.
“He’s your cousin?” Harry brought her closer to him, if only to warm her up a little. She rested her head over his shoulder.
“Mum’s a Black.” She yawned. “I showed you my Family Tree.”
“That’s sacred!” Sirius shouted. Harry took his wand only to zip his lips.
“Let’s go inside, there is nothing else for me here.”
“Are you sure? He’s your godfather.”
“And he’s been gone all my life. He might as well be a stranger. Let’s go.” He took Draco’s hand and guided them inside the common room. After seeing Draco enter, he turned to Black, and was still petrified there. “Goodnight, professor.” He said, only receiving a shaky wave.
“Good night, Harry.” He heard Lupin mutter. And Harry went inside.
***
“You think I did wrong?” Harry asked her, as he watched her thing go inside her trunk.
“About what?”
“Not listening to him,” Harry answered plainly. Draco then turned to him.
“I think you should’ve.”
“But he’s my parent's killer.”
“You should give him the benefit of the doubt. Professor Lupin obviously trusts him. And even though he’s a werewolf—”
“He is?” He interrupted. She only hummed and continued to make her things float to the truck. “What do you think I should do?”
“Why don’t you start by writing to him? Let him explain himself.”
***
He did, and he received a long answer back. Maybe that was better than anything.
***
Harry heard the fireplace roar, and soon, Draco was walking into the empty living room. It had taken quite a bit for him to get Vernon to sign the paper that stated that he was not under their charge any longer. But he did it in the end.
All that was left now was to furnish this. Baby steps.
“You like it?” Harry asked, looking at her.
“Which one is? The one near the station or the one with a view?”
Harry took her by the hand and pushed her inside the flat to a particular room. There the blinds were open and Draco let a gasp.
He knew she would like it.
“This room is wonderful.” She said looking around and walking around. She stopped in front of a wall and put her fingers on them. “This is a magical home, right?”
“According to the Goblins, it is.”
“And you already put your magic on her? To let it recognise you as the master?”
“No, I didn’t know it was possible.”
“Come here.” Harry walked to where she was, and she simply took his worst and made him touch the wall completely with his palm. “Concentrate your magic on your hand. Let her-”
Harry didn’t need more instructions as the house started sucking his magic like a thirsty vampire. Once it was over, something felt different on it.
“She’ll be loyal to you know.” Draco chuckled. And they took another look at the wall. “This room wall would be perfect for a family tree.”
“You think so?”
“Try to ask her.” Draco encouraged. And Harry did.
Soon in the middle of the wall, his name appeared, and above him, two branches appeared: Lily & James .
“It can’t go further?”
“It can’t do what you don’t know. You only need to learn about your ancestors, and slowly they will appear.”
“Thank you, Dray.”
“No problem.” She giggled. “Now, do you know how to decorate this?”
“I was hoping you could help me.”
“What would you do without me, ‘Arry?”
“I would have ended up in Gryffindor for sure.” The girl scrunched her nose in rejection. Harry only laughed. “Fortunately, I’m not.”