What did you do to my girlfriend? Harry wanted to retort angrily, but he held himself back. With a perfectly straight face and occlumency shields on full, Harry answered, "I saved his life. If you don't like that, I can put him back where I found him."
Lucius stepped in with the next question. "What do you mean when you say you 'saved his life,' Mr. Potter?"
"I mean I found him on the forest floor, passed out, with no wand. We revived him for a while but he couldn't make it back here, so Hermione levitated him the rest of the way."
"And where in the forest did you find him?" Lucius was keeping his voice level, not betraying any emotion. Harry couldn't tell if he was angry or scared that his only son had nearly died.
"Fairly deep inside... Hermione? How far do you think it was? I don't know the distance, but I remember a few landmarks, like the really big oak trees and the acromantula colony..." As expected, all the adults gasped when he mentioned acromantulas.
"They're magestine oaks, Harry. You can see them from any of the castle towers. They kind of stick out above the rest of the forest," Hermione corrected him. By now, the auror had returned with a few other professors who were dining in the Great Hall, including Pomfrey and Moody. The nurse immediately cast a basic medical scanning spell on Draco.
"You expect us to believe you fought off acromantulas to save your nemesis?" Snape snapped at Harry.
"Alright, first off, he's not my nemesis, he's just a fool who can't seem to stop losing his wand," Harry said, watching Lucius out of the corner of his eye. The senior Malfoy's lips tightened at Harry's insult, but he knew his son was too arrogant for his own good. "Secondly, I never said I fought off acromantulas. I just said it wasn't too far from their colony."
"How would you know where their colony is, then?" the auror asked.
"Oh, that's easy. I visited them in second year," Harry said nonchalantly.
"You expect us to believe you just waltzed into an acromantula colony and waltzed back out? Stop wasting our time, Potter," Snape sneered at him.
"Well, it was the same year I killed a basilisk." Harry had to admit his own life was crazier than a carnival. He couldn't make up lies this good if he hadn't actually experienced them.
"And if it was that far, how did you find him? You probably attacked him and left him in the forest yourself," Snape accused Harry.
"Moody's been teaching us tracking skills. Useful for combat and hunting down rogue Death Eaters," Harry drawled out, staring Snape down as he said it. He also noticed Lucius's eyes narrow at him as he said it, but neither would dare push further in Moody's presence.
"Aye, that I have," Moody said. "And he's the best of the lot I've had. Almost as good as the prodigy who's graduating from the academy this year, Nymphie Tonks."
Madam Pomfrey had finished her scans and was taking Draco inside. Lucius followed her, leaving Harry to Snape and the aurors. At least Moody was still there to back him up. "And you were arrogant enough to think you had to rescue him yourself? You should have told a professor first. Your luck is the only thing that saved you from falling into an acromantula web, despite having the intelligence of an insect."
Harry glared at Snape. "And would you like to go in there and feed then giant bats? Chalk it up to habit. The only way things get done around here is when I do it myself. Don't even try to pretend that you would have listened to me for one second, Snape. A rat like you is only good for helping your little rat friends escape," Harry was getting angrier at Snape, remembering the man's second-worst intrusion on his life, forcing Sirius to remain in hiding and costing him his godfather.
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Snape snarled.
"You know what I mean. You let a Death Eater escape last year. All you're good for is getting in the way of justice."
Snape nearly drew his wand in anger, but suddenly found Moody's wand at his neck. The auror was completely confused, but seeing the legendary, retired auror point his wand at the professor, he followed suit.
"So, you let your old comrade go, did you? I was wondering how Sirius Black was sneaking into Hogwarts last year... heard they almost had him, but he escaped at the last second, and you were the one who found the empty room." Harry was torn between seeing Snape writhe under Moody's asymmetrical stare and trying to vindicate his godfather. He decided to keep quiet about it- he still didn't have any evidence on hand, after all. He'd have to capture Pettigrew for that.
"Uh... sir... Mr. Snape was acquitted in a trial..." the auror piped up meekly.
"You've a lot to learn, rookie. You were still in Academy when the war ended. The only thing you can trust a Death Eater to do is lie through his teeth. Better keep your eye on the Malfoys while they're here, too." He waved Harry and Hermione away while he continued to grill Snape. The two of them left eagerly, away from more suspicious eyes and towards big plates of food in the Great Hall.
They found Lucius Malfoy waiting for them just outside the Great Hall after dinner, bodyguards at his side. Harry immediately readied his wand holster but approached the man anyways. Hopefully Malfoy Sr. would be smarter than his son and not risk attacking Harry with so many witnesses around... and Harry didn't think he stood a chance against three adult wizards anyways.
"It appears you have saved my son's life, Mr. Potter," he drawled out slowly. "And he will make a full recovery quickly." He held out a gloved hand. "It appears the house of Malfoy owes Mr. Potter some thanks."
Just as Harry was about to shake the man's hand, Hermione stopped him. "I think the house of Malfoy owes Harry a little more than just thanks," she said with a devilish grin.
Lucius stiffly pulled his hand back as he glared at Hermione disdainfully. "Very well... Miss...?"
"Granger."
"I'm not sure what a... muggle-born... such as yourself knows of ancient magics of blood and family..." Lucius began, clearly trying to avoid the upcoming discussion.
Hermione knew exactly what she was talking about, though. "Harry's the last heir to his house. We went into the forest to save Draco, at the risk of being attacked by acromantulas, centaurs, wolves, trolls, hippogriffs, and who knows what else. Could it be any clearer?"
Lucius was hiding his fury well when he knew he'd been trapped. "Very well, Miss Granger. Let's discuss this somewhere more... private." They led Lucius to an empty classroom, and Lucius motioned for his bodyguards to wait outside. He continued the conversation once he cast a silencing charm. "Mr. Potter, it appears that the Noble House of Malfoy owes the Ancient and Noble House of Potter a life debt," he admitted, bowing ever so slightly. "Would you like to settle this debt quickly? Would ten thousand galleons suffice?"
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