Draco stared stoically at the parchment in his hand as he reread the letter for the third time that evening.
Dear Draco-
I hope this letter finds you well and that you are enjoying your first month at Hogwarts. Your mother and I were so proud to learn that you had been sorted into Slytherin, and it is my hope you are doing our family name proud and applying yourself to your studies in a satisfactory manner.
The second reason I am writing to you, however, is that word has reached my ear that you are fraternizing with Harry Potter; while I applaud the making of such a valuable relationship, word has also reached me that you also are associating with blood traitors and mudbloods. Word has further reached me that you are conducting 'debates' with Potter and his ilk about dangerous ideas that would be better left alone. The Malfoy name is one that has garnered respect for almost five hundred years, and I will not have you sullying it by associating with those of lesser blood. As such, you are to have no further contact with Harry Potter so long as he, in turn, chooses to associate with those who are beneath both his noble house and ours.
I remain, as ever, your loving father-
Lucius Malfoy.
Draco sneered angrily as he crumpled up the parchment and threw it into the fireplace before resting his hands on the arms of the chair he sat and watched the parchment burn.
He finally had friends, REAL friends, not the obsequious ass-kissers who only followed him because of his name, but rather, people who actually wanted to spend time with him and hear his point of view because of who HE was, not who his father was.
Now, his father wanted to take those friends away from him, all because Draco chose to hold an academically inclined conversation regarding Purebloods and Muggles. As Draco pinched the bridge of his nose and shut his eyes tight in thought, he realized he didn't know what to do.
On the one hand, Draco enjoyed spending time with Harry and the few friends that he had made while at Hogwarts; on the other, Draco knew he had a duty to his family name to not associate with those of 'lesser value' than his own. He knew his father would never disown him; he was the only male heir, after all. His older sister Rhea couldn't take the Malfoy name as she would be wed one day and take her husband's name, but Lucius could still make Draco's life at Hogwarts difficult if Draco pushed him to it.
Draco sat in the Slytherin common room staring at the fireplace, lost in thought for a long time after burning his father's letter, and when he finally went to bed, he still had no idea what to do.
XXXX
Harry walked down the hallway, lost in thought; he had just returned from an enjoyable afternoon spent with Hagrid, who wanted to hear all about Harry's first month at Hogwarts, much to Harry's surprise. Hagrid, it seemed, had been good friends with Harry's birth parents and had sent word to Harry that if he ever wanted to hear a few stories about James or Lily Potter's school years, Harry was welcome to come by; naturally, this was an offer that Harry couldn't pass up. Harry's first thoughts about Hagrid had been that the giant was terrifying, but those thoughts were quickly disabused after only ten minutes with the man, as Harry quickly discovered him to be kind and boisterous. Unfortunately, Hermione and Ron had not been able to come as Hermione had devoted herself to helping Ron beat his dyslexia, and Ron (to the amazement of Harry) seemed equally determined to as well. Hence, both were currently up in the Gryffindor common room studying.
But Hagrid wasn't what drew Harry's thoughts at this moment; that was something else entirely, something that had happened only four days ago and yet still haunted Harry when he looked back at it.
Harry had been studying in the library with Draco, Hermione, and Ron when they realized how late it was getting. As they made their way back to their respective common rooms, Peeves attacked them with water balloons, forcing them to run or get soaked, only to have Peeves follow them and repeatedly pelt them from above.
Unsure of how to escape the menace, the four had run down to the end of the corridor, where they slammed into a door, and it was locked. Behind them, they could hear Peeves cackling madly as he searched for them.
"We're trapped!" Ron howled angrily, "That damn poltergeist is going to soak us! And if we return wet library books to Madam Pince, she'll kill us!" Those words seemed to resonate with Hermione more than anything else, for she promptly snarled for them to move as she whipped out her wand.
"Alohomora!"
The lock clicked, and the door swung open; they piled through it, shut it quickly, and pressed their ears against it, listening.
"Oh, ickle firsties!" Peeves sang from the other side of the door, "Where did you go?"
A moment later, they heard cursing as Peeves flew away, unable to find his quarry, and the four breathed a sigh of relief.
"He thinks this door is locked," Harry whispered. "I think we'll be okay. Get off, Draco!" Draco had been tugging on the sleeve of Harry's robe for the last minute. "What?"
Harry turned around and saw, quite clearly, what. For a moment, he was sure he'd walked into a nightmare; this was too much, on top of everything that had happened so far.
They weren't in a room, as he had supposed. Instead, they were in a corridor. The forbidden corridor on the third floor. And now they knew why it was forbidden.
They were looking straight into the eyes of a monstrous dog, a dog that filled the whole space between ceiling and floor. It had three heads. Three pairs of rolling, angry eyes; three noses, twitching and quivering in their direction; three drooling mouths, saliva hanging in slippery ropes from yellowish fangs.
It was standing quite still, all six eyes staring at them, and Harry knew that the only reason they weren't already dead was that their sudden appearance had taken it by surprise, but it was quickly getting over that; there was no mistaking what those thunderous growls meant.
Harry groped for the doorknob; between Peeves and being torn apart by a giant monster, Harry would take Peeves.
They fell backward, Harry slammed the door shut, and they ran, almost flew, back down the corridor. Peeves must have hurried off to look for them elsewhere because they didn't see him anywhere, but they hardly cared; all they wanted to do was put as much space as possible between them and that monster. They didn't stop running until they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady on the seventh floor. Draco, realizing that he had come to the wrong common room, had blushed scarlet and told them he would see them tomorrow at breakfast before hurrying back the way they had come to the dungeons.
"What the bloody hell do they think they're on about?!" Ron thundered when they had gotten into their common room and collapsed onto the couch, "Keeping something like that locked up in a school!"
"You don't use your eyes, do you?" Hermione asked as she tried to catch her breath, "Didn't you see what it was standing on?"
"I wasn't looking at its feet! I was a bit preoccupied with its head! Or maybe you didn't notice; there were three of them!"
"It was standing on a trapdoor, which means it wasn't there by accident!" Hermione huffed, "It's guarding something!"
The words had made both Harry and Ron go silent as they realized that Hermione was right and that they had possibly found what Bill had written them about.
"Well, whatever that beast is guarding is no concern of mine!" Harry said quickly, "I never want to see it again!"
Both Ron and Hermione nodded their agreement before the trio made their way to bed; yet, even as Harry said he wasn't interested in what the dog was guarding, he couldn't stop thinking about what would be so valuable that they would have a monster like that stand guard over it.
So lost in thought was he that Harry didn't realize that he had taken a wrong turn until he heard a cry coming from a nearby door, followed almost immediately by another.
Making his way to the door, Harry gently pulled it open to see an empty classroom, but that wasn't what made his eyes go wide in horror; pinned against the far wall was an older blonde-haired Slytherin girl who was trying desperately to shove a black-haired Slytherin boy off of her. The Slytherin boy had her pressed against the wall and had apparently ripped her robe off of her, as it was hanging loosely from one shoulder, and was attempting to do the same to her shirt as she fought him tooth and nail.
"GET OFF ME!" The blonde Slytherin girl yelled angrily, making the boy laugh for a moment,
"Aw, don't be like that, Rhea! I know you want this as much as I do!"
"I DON'T WANT THIS! LET GO! MY FATHER WILL HEAR ABOUT THIS AND DESTROY YOUR FAMILY IF YOU DON'T LET GO!"
"I'm not afraid of your father!" The boy sneered, "You Malfoy's have walked around this school for too long pretending you're better than everyone else! It's about time someone put you in your place!"
With that, the boy ripped the girl's shirt open, showing her black bra and making the girl scream in terror; Harry went incandescent with rage and burst through the door, a moment later issuing a roar of challenge that would have made the lion of his house proud.
The boy turned in sudden fear at the noise and quickly released the girl, who slid to the floor in a sobbing mess.
Before the boy could react further, Harry tackled the boy around the middle, and the two crashed into the nearby desk; a moment later, the boy violently shoved Harry off of him and attempted to draw his wand as Harry did the same.
A sudden kick to Harry's chest sent the poor boy sprawling as the Slytherin climbed to his feet and drew his wand; before he could use it, however, Harry delivered a powerful kick to the boy's knee, making the Slytherin scream in pain as he once again fell to the floor. Harry jumped to his feet, fumbling as he drew his wand before leveling it at the boy who leaned against the desk, holding his injured knee.
As the two boys breathed heavily, the Slytherin's face turned red with anger at having been bested by a first-year, and with a cry of rage, the boy lunged for his wand only to be blasted back hard against the desk by the Slytherin girl that Harry had just saved; the boy slowly slid down the desk as he fell unconscious and Harry turned to the girl to offer thanks when he saw her crumple to the floor and begin sobbing.
Quickly stowing his wand, Harry approached the girl, only to stop when she violently flinched away from him,
"I'm not going to hurt you," Harry said softly as he raised his hands in peace, "Are you okay?"
The girl said nothing, simply sobbing harder, and Harry slowly pulled his robe off of himself before gently wrapping it around the girl who looked up warily at Harry, who was smiling reassuringly at her. As he got closer to the girl, Harry realized that she was stunningly pretty; her long blonde hair was almost white and hung braided down her back, and her eyes were sapphire blue, though now they were tinged red from crying.
"My name is Harry Weasley. What's yours?" Harry asked softly as he stepped back and let the girl wrap herself in his robe to cover herself.
"Rhea," the girl mumbled after a moment, "Rhea Malfoy."
"Malfoy?" Harry said, surprised, "Any relation to Draco?"
The girl nodded slowly as she rubbed her eyes, "He's my little brother."
Harry's eyes widened in surprise at the words before he managed to control himself, and he extended his hand to her,
"Draco is a good friend of mine; he would be most displeased with me if I didn't make sure his sister was okay. So how about I help you to the hospital wing?"
For a moment, Rhea said nothing, simply stared at Harry's extended hand, and bit her lip in indecision before finally reaching out and accepting the offer as Harry gently pulled Rhea to her feet.
Before they exited the classroom, Rhea turned back to the unconscious Slytherin boy who lay on the floor, raising her wand; Rhea said something, and ropes wrapped around the boy, ensuring he would not be able to awaken and escape.
Twenty minutes later, Harry and Rhea sat on a nearby bed while Madam Pomfrey fussed over the pair. Harry tried to leave after Rhea had informed Madam Pomfrey what had occurred, but Rhea had gripped Harry's hand in a vice grip and almost pleaded for him to stay, to which he had acquiesced.
A moment later, the doors of the Hospital Wing banged open as Professors McGonagall, and Snape quickly made their way in, both looking angrier than Harry had ever seen the two, and Harry hoped that anger wasn't directed at him.
"Madam Pomfrey informed us what happened, Ms. Malfoy," Professor McGonagall said softly, taking a seat and resting a hand on the girl's knee, "But I'd like to hear it from you if that's all right?"
Rhea took a shuddering breath before replying,
"I was making my way back from the library when I was accosted by Theodore Buchannan; he got it into his head somehow that I was interested in him and has been stalking me since last year. I've tried to tell him that I had no interest, but the bastard refused to listen! So instead, he dragged me into an empty classroom and tried to…. He tried to…."
Rhea found she couldn't keep talking and instead dissolved into quiet sobbing as Professor McGonagall gently rubbed her back while Snape looked murderous.
"Where is Buchannan, now?" Snape demanded,
"I tied him up and left him in the classroom down the hall from Charms," Rhea replied, "He should still be there."
Snape nodded quickly and turned, leaving so fast that Harry almost thought he apparated,
"Mr. Weasley saved me," Rhea added a moment later, "If it weren't for him…."
Professor McGonagall looked at Harry as though she couldn't be more proud, and Harry shuffled his shoes in embarrassment,
"Very well done, then, Mr. Weasley. I think one hundred points to Gryffindor for your heroic actions is due."
Harry's mouth dropped open at the words, and he quickly raised his hands in objection,
"Professor, I didn't do it for the points!"
"I know you didn't, Harry," McGonagall said proudly, "But you deserve them all the same."
Harry was about to object further when he felt Rhea grip his hand and looked down to see her smiling at him; sighing wearily at the prospect of how much more fame winning his house a hundred points would bring, Harry, nodded his head.
"Now, if the two of you will excuse me," McGonagall said as she rose from her seat and turned to leave, "I must see Professor Dumbledore to ensure that Mr. Buchannan is properly punished for his disgusting behavior."
After she had left, Rhea and Harry sat silently next to one another as Rhea gently held Harry's hand in her own; then, to Harry's surprise, Rhea leaned over and gently kissed Harry on the cheek,
"Thank you, Harry," Rhea whispered as Harry brought his hand to his face in shock, his hair turning bright pink as his face turned crimson and making Rhea laugh softly.
XXXX
By dinner, the whole school had somehow discovered what had occurred, and Harry's back was beginning to grow sore from the innumerable number of people who had slapped him and offered their congratulations for showing such bravery in defending Rhea Malfoy's honor. Draco had come and silently shaken Harry's hand, unable to say anything else, but Harry understood and nodded at his friend.
As Gryffindor settled down to eat, Professor Dumbledore slowly rose to his feet, and the hall went silent,
"By now, I am sure word has spread of what occurred this afternoon, and it is my unhappy duty to report its veracity," Dumbledore called out, his voice echoing in the silent hall.
"This afternoon, Mr. Buchannan attempted a truly despicable act against another student but was stopped by Mr. Harry Weasley. As such, Mr. Buchannan has been expelled, and it is my sad duty to take three hundred points from Slytherin house for his actions."
To Harry's surprise, the Slytherins didn't object to this but nodded their heads as though they expected nothing less and seemed to shuffle closer to Rhea, who was looking down at the table.
"Now, let us forget such unhappy thoughts and enjoy our dinner," Dumbledore concluded as he clapped his hands and food appeared. Almost instantly, the hall began to buzz as conversations began about how Harry had saved Rhea from being raped, and Harry felt his face burn with embarrassment as almost everyone in the hall looked over at him more than once.
Harry suddenly found himself in a tight embrace, and it took him a second to realize that his attacker was Dora, who quickly let go and took her place next to him, a massive smile on her face.
"I'm so proud of you, little brother!" Dora said happily,
"Why?" Harry asked, bemused as he began pulling food onto his plate, "I just did what anyone would have."
"Ah, don't be so sure!" Dora said warmly, "The Buchannan's are a very wealthy family. Not many would have attacked the heir to such a family."
"It doesn't matter how wealthy they are," Harry sneered, "No one has the right to do that to a girl."
Unnoticed to Harry, several girls who had been listening blushed scarlet and were looking at Harry in a strange manner, while the boys snorted at seeing the girl's reaction; Dora, however, looked like she couldn't be more proud of her little brother and quickly gave him another bone-crushing hug.
"You truly are an amazing kid, Harry," Dora whispered softly as she hugged Harry while the hall watched,
"Dora, get off! You're embarrassing me!" Harry called piteously, making Dora laugh,
"Never! If they got a problem with me hugging my little brother, that's their problem!"
The table echoed with laughter, and Harry began to, unable to help himself.
XXXX
The following day, Harry received an owl from both his parents and Sirius, much to his surprise; both had written that Dumbledore had told them what Harry had done and that they were so proud of him. Sirius added that he planned an extraordinary Christmas gift to reward Harry's bravery and chivalry in defending a girl's honor, and Harry couldn't help but wonder what it might be.
XXXX
A week after the incident, Harry was called into Dumbledore's office and was surprised to see that he was not the only one there. Standing next to Dumbledore's desk were Sirius, Molly, Arthur, Lucius Malfoy, and a beautiful blonde woman whom Harry did not recognize but who promptly pulled Harry into a hug when he approached.
"You saved my little girl's honor," the blonde woman said softly, making Harry's eyes widen as he realized that this must be Draco and Rhea's mother, "I will forever be grateful for that, Mr. Weasley."
Lucius coughed slightly, and the woman released her hold on Harry before backing away to stand next to her husband again,
"I share Narcissa's view, Mr. Pot…Mr. Weasley," Lucius said quickly, "The Malfoy family are indebted to you for your actions."
"Please, sir," Harry mumbled as he shuffled nervously, "I didn't do it for any reward or praise. I did it because it was the right thing to do."
Molly smiled with tears in her eyes as though she couldn't be prouder, a sentiment shared by almost everyone in the room, save Lucius, who looked at the boy as though sizing him up.
"Nevertheless," Lucius said haughtily, "A reward is due, I think. Ask what you will, and it will be done."
Sirius looked at Lucius as though he couldn't believe what he was hearing as Molly and Arthur's mouths dropped open in surprise; Harry simply stared at the floor, unsure what to do or ask for.
"I have nothing to ask for, sir," Harry said simply, blushing with embarrassment, "But thank you, anyway."
Lucius seemed irritated by Harry's response and opened his mouth to reply when his wife beat him to it,
"You come from a noble house, do you not, Harry?"
Harry looked up at the Malfoy Matriarch in confusion for a moment before Sirius spoke for him,
"He does; his father was the last head of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter."
Lady Malfoy nodded her head sharply at the words, turning to speak with Sirius, while Harry watched in sudden surprise at the revelation.
"And yet he has not received any formal training on how to properly act like the future head of a house, has he not?" Narcissa asked, making Sirius pale slightly,
"He is too young," Sirius said simply, "I was planning to begin his formal training this summer,"
"By my count, you are actually quite late in his training," Narcissa sniffed, "He should have begun learning years ago, cousin."
Sirius seemed to pale even further with anger and simply stared at Narcissa for a moment before answering,
"I had other duties that required my attention, cousin, as I'm sure you're well aware. I may be at fault for not starting Harry's training sooner, but that is hardly my fault."
Narcissa raised an eyebrow at her cousin's words, and Sirius opened his mouth to retort when Narcissa cut him off,
"Then that is the reward that the Malfoy family will give Harry. I shall personally oversee his training in how to properly lead as the head of a noble family. That is if his family agrees, of course."
Narcissa turned to Molly and Arthur at this, and both were staring at the Malfoy matriarch in shock to the point of silence; finally, Molly seemed to regain her composure first and said in a soft voice,
"Harry will have to learn these things eventually, I suppose. And I would rather he learn them sooner than later so as to avoid being taken advantage of by others, so I have no problem with it. So long as none of your Pureblood mania is a part of the curriculum."
Lucius colored angrily at the insult as Sirius chuckled slightly; Narcissa's lips seemed to tremble slightly as though she were fighting not to smile.
"Now, see here, Weasley!" Lucius began before his wife cut him off,
"I will be sure to keep my own personal opinions to myself. Is that agreeable?"
Molly and Arthur nodded quickly, and after a moment of sullen silence, Sirius did as well, making Narcissa smile warmly as she turned back to Harry, who had watched the events with shock.
"Very well, then," Narcissa said warmly, "Then I shall come to Hogwarts once a week, and you and I shall begin turning you into someone who can properly lead a house one day. I will confer with Dumbledore about the specifics. Is that agreeable to you, headmaster?"
Dumbledore, who had been silent throughout the entire conversation, smiled warmly as Narcissa turned to face him,
"Yes, I'm sure we can find some way to facilitate your requested training with Mr. Weasley."
"Very good. Now, if there is nothing else, we really must be going," Lucius said haughtily as he made his way to the door of Dumbledore's office; Narcissa nodded warmly at Harry before she followed her husband, and the two were gone.
"What…. what just happened?" Harry asked, making the room laugh softly.
"What just happened, Harry," Dumbledore said warmly, "Is that Narcissa Malfoy has agreed to train you on how to act like a noble so that you will one day be able to lead your own house in the Wizengamot one day."
"I have a house?" Harry asked, bemused, "But I live at the Burrow. How can I have a house if I live somewhere else?"
The office echoed with laughter again before Sirius kneeled down and placed his hands on Harry's shoulders,
"Not that kind of house, pup. More like a powerful seat in our government that will be led one day by you and your heir."
Harry's eyes widened at the words, and Sirius had to catch him as Harry's legs suddenly gave out on him.
"But we can discuss that more later," Dumbledore chirped as Sirius helped hold Harry upright, "The reason I called you here, Harry was to inform you that your uncle's trial has ended. He was found guilty of assault on a magical child and attempted murder of a lord of the Wizengamot. And as this was his second strike against you, he has been sentenced to the Dementors Kiss."
"That's all?" Harry asked in anger, "After what he's done, all he has to do is receive a kiss from someone?! That's not fair!"
The adults shared a dark look, and the office seemed to grow colder for a moment before Sirius turned Harry to face him again,
"Pup, the Dementor's Kiss is the worst punishment a person can receive. The victim has their soul sucked out of their body and are rendered catatonic for the remainder of their lives. It's a fate that is far worse than death."
Harry shivered involuntarily at the words, and Sirius pulled him into a hug that soon became a group hug as Molly and Arthur joined in while Dumbledore watched sadly.
After a moment of this, Harry was released and stood trembling as Sirius rested his hand on the boy's shoulder,
"It's quite late, Harry," Dumbledore said softly, "Why don't you have Sirius walk you back to your dormitory so you can get ready for bed? I'm looking forward to seeing your first Quidditch match, and I'm sure you'll do wonderfully."
Sirius laughed joyfully at the words, clapping a hand on Harry's shoulder and making a smile across the boy's face.
"I have no doubt he will!" Sirius barked, "And I, for one, can't wait to see it!"
Harry looked up at his godfather with surprise,
"You'll be there?"
"Of course, pup. You thought I'd miss your first game?" Sirius asked with a wink.
"We'll be there as well, Harry," Molly said with a smile, "We come to all our children's first games, after all."
Harry smiled at that, happier than he could express, and quickly blinked away the tears he felt in his eyes before Sirius began to lead him out of the office.
XXXX
Vernon Dursley was cold; he had been since those freaks had locked him in this cell after that farce of a trial he had received. Worse than that, however, was that he had been deprived of alcohol for quite some time now and was suffering from withdrawal.
He didn't know what a Dementor was, but if all he had to do was give it a kiss, then he had gotten off light, as far as he was concerned; and once he was free, he would track down that little brat again and this time kill him properly.
As his thoughts ran wild with everything he would do to the little freak once he was free, Vernon failed to notice how cold the temperature had dropped until he saw his breath, and his attention was brought back to the present. He suddenly felt unbearably depressed and shuddered as memories of things long thought forgotten began to bombard him.
As Vernon rubbed his hands over his arms in an attempt to warm himself and tried to push the memories away, a sudden sound hit his ears that terrified him to his core. It sounded like breathing, more like gurgling than breathing, to be honest, and as the thing making the noise suddenly came around the corner and approached his cell, Vernon knew true fear for the first time in his life.
It looked like the grim reaper, tall and terrifying and wearing a dirty black cloak that hid its face; when it raised its hand and the cell door sprang open, Vernon saw, to his horror, that the hand looked like dead flesh and Vernon quickly jumped back until his back was touching the wall behind him.
"S-stay back! Ke-keep away from me!" Vernon said in terror as the thing entered his cell and slowly stalked towards him.
"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" Vernon shouted, "HELP! HELP ME! SOMEBODY!"
The thing slowly lowered its hood, and Vernon pissed himself as he saw what was underneath before screaming incoherently in terror as the Dementor roughly grabbed Vernon's shoulders and pulled him close.
Outside the cells, the other prisoners listened with horror as the muggle screamed and cried before going silent a moment later.