Chapter Six
After the welcoming feast, Harry and the others followed the rest of the Gryffindor house up to the Fat Lady's portrait, through the porthole and into the common room. The older students had already claimed most of the good seats, so Harry led the others to a corner and they all claimed small poufs as the rest of the first years retired for the night.
'I'm tired,' Neville said with a yawn, looking longingly towards the door that led to the boy's dormitories.
'We should all go to bed,' Hermione said bossily. 'We don't want to be too tired for lessons tomorrow.'
'Certainly not,' Ron commented sarcastically. Hermione shot him a disapproving look, as if he was leading them all down a very bad path and she wouldn't stand for it.
'We can all go to bed soon,' Harry cut in smoothly with practiced ease, 'I just thought we could all have a little chat first. What do you guys think of Hogwarts so far?'
'It is amazing, isn't it?' Hermione said, looking all around. 'I wondered what it would be like, but it's beyond even my wildest imaginings.'
'My brothers told me all about it, so I wasn't that surprised,' Ron said.
'Well, from what I've seen, I think it's the best place ever, right Harry?' Lily opined, giving Harry a knowing grin.
'It certainly is,' Harry agreed.
'Look George, ickle Ronnikins has found some friends.'
'How sweet!'
'Shut up!' Ron snapped at his twin brothers as they appeared either side of him and leant in to pinch his cheeks. He shrugged them away in embarrassment.
'Actually, we wanted to introduce ourselves to Harry,' George said, offering a hand. Harry shook it and then Fred's.
'I'm Fred and this is George,' Fred said, motioning to his identical twin. 'Nice to meet you.'
'You too,' Harry returned.
'Well Ron, don't say up too late now,' Fred said in a false motherly tone, giving everyone else a friendly grin.
'Shut up!' Ron repeated, hunching his shoulders.
'Later Harry,' Fred and George said at the same time as they departed.
'Bye,' Harry said.
'They seem nice,' Lily observed.
'They're okay,' Ron mumbled grouchily, still embarrassed.
'I'm going to bed now,' Hermione announced, standing up abruptly, 'it's late and I want to get up early so I don't miss anything. You should all get to bed as well, don't you think? Night.'
'Suppose I'll go with you,' Lily said, getting up as well. 'Night everyone.'
'Night,' Neville said, watching them leave.
'I wish that bossy girl wasn't in Gryffindor,' Ron said once Hermione had left, 'isn't she a pain in the ass?'
'I thought she seemed nice enough,' Neville said.
'She's way too much like my mother,' Ron said, as if that settled things.
'What do you think Harry?' Neville asked.
'I think she'll lighten up if we give her a shot,' Harry said.
'Must we?' Ron asked. Harry gave him a look and Ron nodded. 'Fine, we'll give her a shot, but I still thinks she's annoying and I don't think she'll change.'
With that said, the trio of boys left the common room and headed for the first year dormitory. They found Draco Malfoy arguing with Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan.
'What did you call me?' Dean was yelling, standing face to face with Malfoy, fists balled and ready for a fight.
'I called you a stinking Mudblood,' Malfoy shot back, not backing down.
'Why don't you back off,' Seamus interjected, getting in the way, 'before I tell him exactly what that means and he pummels you into mush.'
'I'd like to see him try,' Malfoy snarled.
'Why don't you all give it up,' Harry announced himself, stepping forward. 'It's late and I don't fancy having to spend the rest of the night explaining all this to Professor McGonagall. She doesn't strike me as a lenient person and I don't want to find out what she'll do if this goes any further.'
'Who made you boss?' Malfoy snapped.
'No one,' Harry said, 'but I'm not going to sit back and watch you two fight. Why don't you just calm down and take a breather and then go to bed. This can at least wait until morning. What do you say?'
'I say I can't wait until my father gets me out of this lousy house,' Malfoy declared, pushing past Harry, Ron and Neville on his way out. The door slammed behind him.
'There goes another one I wish wasn't in Gryffindor,' Ron said, finally moving into the room. Neville followed him.
'Here, here,' Seamus agreed.
'My dad told me all about the Malfoy family,' Ron said, launching into the story of the Malfoy history. Everyone but Harry was listening closely, and so they didn't notice when he slipped out of the room and followed the enraged platinum haired youngster.
Malfoy had taken over the seats they had just departed and was currently straightening out a rolled up piece of parchment, his quill in his mouth. He looked up as Harry approached, eyes narrowing instantly. 'What do you want?' he demanded sharply.
'What are you doing?' Harry asked, ignoring the question.
'Writing to my father,' Malfoy said, not wasting anytime getting started on writing his letter, 'he'll soon sort this mess out.'
'You really think that?' Harry took a seat. 'It just seems to me that he won't be very thrilled that his son was chosen for Gryffindor, if he's anything like his reputation.'
'He's my father,' Malfoy defended, though he didn't sound all that convincing, 'he knows where I belong and so do I.'
'The sorting hat must have put you here for a reason, don't you want to know why?'
'I already know,' Malfoy said, 'it was a gigantic mistake, an unexplainable error, and that's all. It'll be fixed quicker than you can say Quidditch, count on it.'
'Is it so bad being a Gryffindor?'
'Are you kidding?' Malfoy finally looked up from his parchment. 'I won't survive in this house. I'll go insane. Surrounded by blood traitors, Mudbloods and bleeding heart sentimentalists. You can't tell me you're happy about being in this house?'
'Seems fine to me,' Harry replied.
Malfoy regarded him closely. 'I told you I'd help you fit in with the right sort,' he said, 'and this isn't them.'
'Maybe I'll be the one helping you fit in with the right sort,' Harry observed.
Malfoy scowled. 'Don't count on it.'
'Look…'
'I don't care,' Malfoy interrupted. 'Just get lost, will you? I've got a letter to write.' Harry sighed. 'I'll talk to you tomorrow.'
'Whatever.'
Harry tossed and turned all night, his mind a whirling mess of thoughts. He couldn't help but think about Hermione, sleeping not that far away, and all he wanted to do was crawl into bed with her and wrap his arms around her. Okay, maybe a little more than that, but he didn't allow himself to think those thoughts. It was just too strange to think about her that way while she was still an eleven-year-old girl.
Then there was Draco Malfoy. Harry knew when he asked Dumbledore to intervene on his behalf and place Malfoy in Gryffindor that it wouldn't be a smooth transition, but he figured he would find some way to help his rival. How? He had no idea. All he could to was keep trying to form a bond with the Slytherin hearted boy and try to break through the brainwashing he had been put through by his father.
It was nearing six in the morning when Harry finally got up from his fitful sleep and decided to head downstairs to the common room. He hadn't heard Malfoy come up to bed, so he assumed the other boy would be down there, and at least he could try and make some progress with him. With that decided, he pulled on his Hogwarts robes and headed down.
Malfoy was indeed in the common room. He had fallen asleep on one of the couches, his arm hanging off the side, snoring softly. Harry shook his head and claimed the seat opposite. He wouldn't wake Malfoy, but he'd be there if the boy woke up.
He was still sitting there when Lily came downstairs. She was as alert as ever, the morning hours seemingly not affecting her in the slightest. She sat on the seat next to him.
'Morning,' she said in way of greeting. 'I thought you'd be up.'
'Oh?'
'A lot on your mind, right?'
'What about you?' Harry asked.
'Me too,' Lily agreed, 'but I never lived this before. It must be… weird.'
'Very.'
'Why are you trying to help him?' Harry didn't need to ask whom she was talking about - he already knew.
'Because he deserves a second chance, I think,' Harry replied thoughtfully. 'No. Not a second chance. He never got a first chance.'
Lily gave him a look of puzzlement.
'I believe that Malfoy was indoctrinated into being the person that eventually died at the hands of Voldemort,' Harry explained. 'From a very young age he was raised to believe in pureblood supremacy. He never had a chance to come to his own conclusions. He was always his father's puppet. It's not just about saving him from Voldemort, Lily; I want to save his life - all of it. I think he can be a good person, if given the chance. It might be cruel, but it's right… I think.'
'But don't you hate him?' Lily was genuinely puzzled.
'I hate what he was made into,' Harry replied after a short consideration. 'Anyway, I'm sure you have much more pressing concerns than Draco Malfoy.'
'Yeah, I do,' Lily said, as if just remembering all the questions she had. 'How come you never told me that you and Uncle Ron didn't get along with mum when you first met her?'
'Well, we probably would have told you,' Harry began, 'but with Voldemort and everything, we didn't exactly have a lot of time for nostalgic stories when you were younger.'
'Tell me now then,' Lily said.
'Okay.' Harry took a breath and began.
Lily listened with rapt attention, getting lost in the adventurous tale of her fathers first year at Hogwarts. When he was finished, she was smiling with happiness, romanticising her young mother and father's friendship into youthful love.
'Mum loved you even then, didn't she?' Lily asked, though she already believed it to be completely true.
'I don't know,' Harry answered honestly. 'I think we were too young to know, but we definitely shared a special bond. When I look back at my first few years at Hogwarts, I can't believe how ignorant of her I was. It's one of my many regrets, that I didn't realise sooner how much I loved her.'
'I think she loved you,' Lily said with certainty. 'Liked at least. Are you going to ask her to be your girlfriend?'
'Now?' Harry was shocked at the idea.
'Yeah, why not?' Lily didn't think the idea was in anyway a thing to be shocked about. It just seemed obvious to her, there was no other way it could go.
'I think I'll wait at least a little before I ask her,' Harry said, smiling at his daughter's romantic naivety. 'Don't be overly familiar with her, Lily. I think we already freaked her out on the train. If you want to be close with her, become her friend, but don't adore her like you adore your mother. You understand don't you? We won't be able to tell her the truth about us for a long time - years and years yet, if at all.'
'You don't want to tell mum?' Lily was outraged.
'I'm not sure,' Harry said, frowning. 'I do want to tell her. It's just… her reaction is what I'm worried about. I can't imagine how I'd feel if someone revealed to me that they had travelled back in time and in that future we were married and had a daughter. It's a little hard to get your head around, don't you think? Especially for an eleven year old, even your mother.'
'I s'pose,' Lily agreed, frowning with him. She thought for a moment. 'I'll do what you said, then. I'll be her friend. Her best friend.'
'That'll be good for her,' Harry said. 'She's going to find things hard for a while; it'll be good for her to have a friend.'
'Mum does seem a little snobbish,' Lily mused.
'She'll lighten up if we give her a chance,' Harry said, 'so don't worry about that. Just encourage her as gently as you can, but don't alienate her.'
'Doesn't it feel wrong to you? Like we're manipulating everything?'
'Yeah, that's true,' Harry shrugged. 'We have no choice. Our being here has already significantly altered the world. I don't want things to go too wrong. Without the Troll to bring Hermione and Ron together, we're going to have to do it the hard way. Not that the Troll was easy, but you know what I mean. I'm doing my best to keep everything together and to make things right, you know that.'
'I do,' Lily agreed.
'I just hope I don't do more harm than good,' Harry mumbled, leaning back against the back of the couch. Lily nodded understandingly.
The week began with Harry settling back into the rhythm of life at school. It felt strange; to be so relaxed, when for all intents and purposes he was still at war with Voldemort. It was just that mostly no one else knew it. He was uncomfortably aware that he was significantly more skilled at magic than everyone else. Although he had the proportional magical strength of his eleven-year-old body, he still retrained the knowledge of how to do the magic, so it was interesting to be the best in every class. He tried not to be so obvious about it, but most of the Professors seemed to pick up on it. Harry was unsure whether Dumbledore had confided his real identity to them. With everything that needed to be covered over what was left of the summer, much had been left unspoken, but he had no way to know how Dumbledore had viewed matters.
Harry and Lily continued to try and form friendships with the rest of the "gang". Ron and Neville quickly became Harry's near constant companions, while Lily tried her best to befriend Hermione.
On the matter of Draco Malfoy, things were proceeding as Harry had predicted they would. He felt sympathy for his old enemy, but ultimately his goal was more important than the boy's current happiness. Unfortunately, Malfoy had tried to approach his friends in Slytherin the first morning at Hogwarts, only to be scornfully mocked by them and then dismissed. His face blotched red with anger and embarrassment; Malfoy had stormed out of the Great Hall to a chorus of laughter from the Slytherin table and some scattered chuckles throughout the rest of the Hall. Most kids from wizarding families knew all about the Malfoy's, so sympathy wasn't going to be very forthcoming from them.
'That's so cruel,' Lily observed at the Gryffindor table, giving Harry a discreet look.
'Don't worry, he deserves it,' Ron replied.
'No one deserves that,' Lily argued.
'Why does he deserve it?' Hermione asked curiously.
'The Malfoy family are the darkest of the dark,' Ron said, 'everybody knows that. They were some of You-Know-Who's most loyal followers, though they deny it now.'
'But just because his family supported You-Know-Who doesn't mean he does,' Hermione pointed out argumentatively.
'Figures you'd say that,' Ron shot back, glaring at her.
'What's that supposed to mean?' Hermione nearly shrieked.
'It means…'
As Ron and Hermione degenerated into another argument, Lily cast a sidelong look at Harry, shaking her head in exasperation.
It was a Wednesday morning when Harry encountered Draco Malfoy in the Owlry. He was on his way to send a letter Sirius when he heard aggressive sounding yells coming from the top of the tower. When he opened the door, he found Malfoy hunched over, torn remains of parchment at his feet, his head buried in his hands. Harry closed the door with a little extra force to announce his presence. Malfoy looked up, startled, his eyes faintly red from crying. He hastily wiped at them, his every move angry.
'What do you want now?' Malfoy demanded.
'What happened?' Harry asked, ignoring Malfoy's heated demand.
'Like you care,' Malfoy said, getting up and kicking at the remains of the parchment.
'I do,' Harry assured him.
Malfoy glared at him. 'It's none of your business.'
'It could be my business,' Harry said. 'Just tell me what's wrong.'
'Why?' Malfoy pointed a finger at him ruthlessly. 'We're not friends! Got that? I'm not even sure I like you. You seem way too laid back about being a Gryffindor. I know I said that I could… but you… you don't agree with me do you? I don't get it. Why do you even bother? You're a Gryffindor through and through, so why do you care what I think or what I'm going through? No one else does. You know I should be a Slytherin. I want to be a Slytherin. So why do you care? Why?'
'Because you're not a Slytherin,' Harry replied. 'You are a Gryffindor, whether you like it or not, and I don't want you to spend the rest of the your time at Hogwarts as a social outcast amongst your own house. Does that satisfy you?'
'Not even close,' Malfoy said, 'but I can see I'm not going to get any more from you.'
'Let me put it this way,' Harry said. 'Do you remember on the train, what you said? I'll refresh your memory. You asked me if I wanted to make you my enemy. Well, now I say the same to you. Do you want to make me your enemy? Or should I say - do you want to reject the only person who is offering you friendship? Think about it.'
While Harry sent Hedwig off with his letter to Sirius, Malfoy was silent, staring out to the horizon. He turned as Harry made to leave, but only spoke when Harry placed his hand on the doorknob.
'I wasn't crying,' Malfoy lied.
'Fair enough,' Harry said, not turning around. He went to open the door again, but Malfoy went on.
'My father disowned me.'
Harry let his hand fall from the door and turned around to face the other boy, but he made no effort to reply. He only regarded Malfoy with patience. Malfoy met his eyes, waiting, but when Harry didn't go on, he turned his back and spoke again.
'He said he was embarrassed by me and that he could no longer recognise me as his heir,' Malfoy said with clenched teeth. 'I don't want to be a Gryffindor, I told him that in my letter, but he didn't care. What am I supposed to do now? My father won't recognise me and I can't leave this damn place and support myself so I'm screwed. I have to stay. It's not fair. I didn't want this! How can he do this to me? I'm his son!' Malfoy's volume gained with every word, so that he was practically shouting this last.
'It's an extreme reaction,' Harry said at last, 'but are you really surprised? From what I've heard about your father, he doesn't seem to play by the rules that the rest of us follow.'
'That's true,' Malfoy admitted, still with his back turned. It seemed he couldn't force himself to have this conversation with Harry face to face. 'I just… everyone has rejected me. All the people I counted on, all my friends, even my family. What am I supposed to do in this situation?'
'Malfoy, this might be hard to accept, but I'll say it because I think you need to hear it,' Harry began. 'If your "friends" ever really were your friends, then they would never have abandoned you. The same goes for your family. If they truly cared about you, it wouldn't matter what house you ended up in.'
'You don't understand,' Malfoy replied, 'I betrayed them. I embarrassed them. I would have done the same. Probably. So how can I be mad at them?'
'You're not mad at them?' Harry asked, gesturing to the strewn about pieces of parchment, even though Malfoy couldn't see this gesture.
'I'm not mad at them,' he repeated, 'I'm mad at myself - for getting into this mess in the first place. How could that stupid hat put me in Gryffindor? I'm Draco Malfoy. I'm a Slytherin!'
'I don't know what to say to that,' Harry said, 'only that you shouldn't blame yourself. It isn't your fault. The fault lies with them, not you. Don't give up on yourself because they no longer recognise you. Forget about the past. Look into the future.'
'People are shaped by their pasts,' Malfoy commented.
'Yeah,' Harry agreed, 'but yours has been wiped clean. You can shape your own past now. Don't waste it.'
'What's that supposed to mean?'
'It means whatever you make of it,' Harry said. 'I can do no more than that, besides offer you my hand in friendship.'
In a direct reversal of the train, Harry extended his hand. Malfoy finally turned to recognise it, but he declined to shake it.
'Let's not get carried away,' he said, brushing past Harry. He opened the door of the Owlry. 'See you.'
'Yeah,' Harry said, listening to the sound of Malfoy descending the stone steps. He'd done the best he could without giving himself away. It was a start at least.