Fatally Alluring -- Chapter Two
Title: Fatally Alluring (2/?)
Rating: Mature
Pairing: Draco/Harry, Neville/Ginny, Hermione/Ron
Warnings: Suicide attempt, angst
Disclaimer: I do not own or know JK Rowling personally and these characters are all based upon her creation. I am taking them and playing with them a bit!
Summary: Before starting Hogwarts, Harry was rescued by someone he never knew existed. Escaping the Durley's so early, allowed Harry to finally have a family and a place he belonged to. But as always, The Dark Lord has other plans for Harry. When everything changes, Harry will find its not that easy to just walk away.
A/N: Any feedback is welcome! It fuels the fire :)
Other stories/chapters can be found in the Fiction Index
Harry pressed his forehead against the window of the Hogwarts Express, trying to cool the burning of his scar. For the first time, in a very long time, he felt alone. He closed his eyes, willing sleep to take him until the train arrived at the gates of Hogwarts. Behind him, the car doors slid open, and he turned to see who was at the door.
“Sorry…” Draco Malfoy stood in the doorway, holding open the door. Harry glanced up to see Draco’s knuckles were stark white, as if he were gripping the door like his life depended on it. Maybe it did.
“Get out.” Harry turned away from him, knots twisting in his stomach.
“I don’t have a choice Harry, you know that…”
“Bullshit! There is always a choice, Draco!” Harry hissed at him, catching his eyes’ reflection in the glass. “You sold me out.”
“You know how my parents are! Would you have said no to them? Would you have said no to him?” Draco’s blue eyes looked pained, and Harry watched as he blinked them a few times. A pang of sadness washed over him, making him want to grab Draco’s hand and push him into the seat across from him. They could order pumpkin pasties and play Wizard’s Chess like they did every year. A sharp pain made him wince as it cut across his scar and anger replaced the sadness.
“Yes, I would have. Because unlike you, Draco? I value my friends.”
“He would have killed me.” Draco’s voice was barely whisper, but Harry heard him perfectly. In the back of his mind, he knew. He knew everything that Voldemort was capable of, the power he held over his followers and over the people who were afraid of him. He knew the situation Draco Malfoy, his best friend, had been put in. He knew, but today he didn’t care.
“I should have known the moment I heard about your family from Sirius, Malfoy’s don’t have friends. They have means to an end.” He said, meeting Draco’s eyes.
“Fuck you, Potter.” Draco hissed, slamming the train door shut.
Harry exhaled a breath he didn’t remember holding and fought the urge to jump up and follow Draco. There was nothing that was going to fix this… Draco, whatever his reasons and excuses were, had taken the Dark Mark. When Harry had told Sirius, he thought his Godfather was going to march over to the Malfoy Manner and rip Draco’s head off…
“He did what?” Sirius roared, jumping up from the kitchen table. Somewhere down the hallway, Sirius’s mother’s portrait started yelling and throwing insults at her son for waking her up. “I told you Harry! I told you when you came home that first Christmas that the Malfoy’s were bad news. I can’t believe I allowed you to be friends with him! How long has he been feeding information to his parents and to Voldemort? Does he know where we live? Goddamn it Harry!”
“No… you were very strict that I wasn’t allowed at the Malfoy Manner and vice versa…” Harry looked down at his hands. “I thought he would be different…”
“Different? Harry, he’s a Malfoy! First Dumbledore allows you to be sorted into Slytherin…” Sirius trailed off before a look of horror came over his face. “You can’t go back, Harry. Half of the families in Slytherin are Death Eaters, more current than not!”
“Sirius, you can’t do that!” Harry jumped up quickly, shaking his head. “I can’t not go back to school! I will… I’ll be more careful!”
“You’re James’ son. Careful isn’t in your vocabulary.” Sirius closed his eyes and shook his head. “I need to think. We will continue this conversation tonight.” Harry nodded and watched his Godfather move around the table to leave the kitchen. “And Harry?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m sorry your friend turned out to be so shitty…”
The train door opening again brought Harry back from his memory. “I told you to leave!”
“No, mate, how about you get out and go join your broody Slytherin friends? This is the only train car left and we are taking it over.” A boy with flaming red hair pushed his way into the cart, scowling at Harry as he stepped over his extended legs.
“I’m not leaving.” Harry replied, turning back towards the window.
“Suit yourself.” The boy shrugged as he flung himself into the opposite seat, resting his back against the window.
“Ron…” A girl said slowly, and Harry could feel her eyes on his back. “We can just go join Fred and George…”
“Hermione.” The boy reached forward, grabbing her hand gently. “He is one Slytherin, he isn’t going to bite. Are you mate?” The boy fired towards him.
“Depends.” Harry replied looking at them quickly.
“Harry… right?” The girl asked lowering herself into the seat beside Ron. “Why…. Um, well, why aren’t you sitting with Malfoy and the other guys from your house?”
“Maybe he finally realized what a load of garbage they all are.” Ron said, digging through his bag. “Then, he would have to realize what a load of garbage he is too…”
“Are you always so charming?” Harry sneered, watching as Ron fished out a few squished sandwiches and handed one to Hermione.
“You have to admit,” Hermione started, lowering the sandwich to her lap, still staring at Harry intently. “Slytherin’s have never exactly been the nicest to us. You have been there to watch Malfoy and the rest of them torment many different people.” Harry looked up at her, watching her carefully. “And just because you don’t join in on the tormenting… saying and doing nothing makes you just as bad.”
“Right.” Harry replied shortly, adjusting himself on the seat so he could face the door. A slow roil of shame fired through his stomach as he realized Hermione was right.
“Do…. You want a sandwich?” Hermione asked, leaning forward to get his attention.
“Hermione!” Ron hissed at her. “We are not in here to be friends with him!”
“Oh Ron.” She muttered, cheeks turning red as she shrunk back into the chair. “I was just being nice.”
“To the enemy!” Ron said, taking a bite of his sandwich.
“I am hardly your enemy.” Harry muttered, looking down at his hands. Harry closed his eyes again, listening to the two of them talking quietly back and forth about their upcoming class loads and Ron chewing loudly on his sandwich. Every once in a while he would hear Hermione giggle at something Ron said. Soon the door slid open again and a witch pushing a trolley stepped forward.
“Any snacks from the cart dears?” She asked, waving her hands over her display.
“Yeah, we will have two chocolate frogs…” Ron said, fishing around in the pocket of his robes for his money. Harry opened an eye and watched him count out the coins. “Er, make that one.”
“Three frogs please.” Harry swung his legs off the bench and reached for his coin purse. He fished out the proper coin and pressed it into the Witch’s hand. She nodded thanks and handed him the frogs. He tossed two at Ron and Hermione who caught them and stared at him. “This is the part where you say, Thanks Harry!”
“I didn’t ask you to do that.” Ron said, reaching forward to press his money into Harry’s hand.
“You don’t need to give me that.” Harry tried to return the coins but Ron ignored his outstretched hand. “I was just trying to be nice.”
“Thank you, Harry.” Hermione smiled at him, then bit her lower lip. “I am confused though… Why aren’t you sitting with Malfoy and your house?”
Harry shrugged and ripped open the chocolate frog box. “I am not sure it’s my house anymore.”
“You can’t change houses.” Hermione replied, “In Hogwarts a History is very clearly defines the way that the magic of the Sorting Hat works and when it places you in a house, it’s never wrong!”
“And what if I made the choice myself?” Harry asked, glancing over at her.
“I… Well…” She trailed off, picking at the corner of her chocolate frog.
“No one gets to decide.” Ron said, “And why would you want to switch houses anyways? Aren’t you a perfect fit for Slytherin? You snuck into that Twi-wizard Tournament last year, you have a butt load of money at your fingertips, and you employ the company of every Pure Blood family around.”
“It’s not that simple.” Harry replied. “You guys don’t actually care about what’s going on with me, so I’ll just keep it short. As Dumbledore told everyone last year, Voldemort is back.” Hermione shrieked and dropped her frog, while Ron stared at him, his face pale. “I almost didn’t return to Hogwarts, but Dumbledore said that there would be some changes implemented.”
“You can’t… You said…” Hermione swallowed hard and reached down for her frog. “Well,” She said after collecting herself. “I wish you luck, Harry.”
Harry nodded at her and returned to opening up his frog. For the rest of the car ride, there was complete silence. From the corner of his eye, Harry could see Ron staring out the window, a hard look on his face. Hermione had gotten a quill and parchment out of her bag and was scribbling notes from one of the new Herbology text books. For a moment, Harry contemplated asking her why she had already started studying, but bit back the urge to refrain from starting another conversation.
Ron was right, they weren’t in this cart to be his friend. He sighed staring up at the ceiling. If Hermione was right, and he couldn’t be resorted into another house, he had no idea what Dumbledore’s plan was. That night Harry told Sirius about Draco, Sirius had gone straight to Dumbledore’s office to demand Harry’s transfer to another school. From his bedroom, he convinced Phineas Nigellus Black to let him know what was going on a few times, before the conversation got ‘too good’ to leave the Headmaster’s Office again. When Sirius had come back, he wasn’t impressed with Dumbledore, but had agreed to allow Harry to return to Hogwarts in the Fall as long as he would be able to be in a different house.
Harry wasn’t sure if Dumbledore and The Sorting Hat spoke at all, other than the Sorting Ceremony night… but on his Sorting, the Hat had given him the choice of Slytherin or Gryffindor. If he hadn’t met Draco on the train on the way to Hogwarts, he may have even chosen Gryffindor. But at the time, he had one friend and really only one choice.
“We’re here.” Hermione broke the silence as she stood and pulled her cloak over her robes and put her hat onto her head. Harry and Ron silently followed suit and trailed behind her out of the train.
“Fir’ Years!” Harry could hear Hagrid, the grounds keeper, yelling at the front of the train, collecting the first year students to take across the lake.
“Well, see you Harry.” Hermione said smiling at him before turning around to catch up with Ron. Harry watched them walk away and contemplated, not for the first time, getting back onto the train and having Sirius pick him up at King’s Cross.
“Move it, Potter.” A familiar sneer came up behind him, and he spun as Draco slammed hard into his shoulder. He was flocked by Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle who Harry was sure, were all to happy to be at Draco’s side instead of him. Draco glanced over his shoulder quickly, meeting Harry’s eyes in an almost apologetic way, before laughing alongside his new friends and continuing forward.
“Harry.” A soft hand touched his shoulder and he turned to luck up at Dumbledore. “We have a matter to attend to before the feast.” Harry signed and nodded, turning to follow Dumbledore to the castle. “Would you like to talk about these changes, Harry?” He asked as they reached the Gargoyle Statue guarding his office.
“Not really that much to talk about, Professor. Voldemort is a poison that leaks into every corner of my life. But, like I told Sirius, I am no safer at Grimmuald Place than I am here.” Dumbledore nodded carefully and waved Harry up the stairs into his office.
“Well, Harry, Sirius was very against you coming back to Hogwarts. That being said, it has been and always will be a safe place against Voldemort. I do however agree that removing you from a house where information about you may be leaked, is in your best interest.” Dumbledore glanced over at the Sorting Hat before looking back at Harry. “Should you try it on and see what our old friend has to say?”
“The first time…. The Hat told me I would be great in Gryffindor… but I had chosen and wanted to be in Slytherin.” Dumbledore nodded. “So… would I be better suited in Gryffindor?”
“Without a doubt.” Dumbledore replied and lifted his wand from its place on his desk. He waved it once before placing it back down. “There. Your attire has been changed to your correct house and your things have been moved from your old Dormitory to your new. You will have to ask your fellow Gryffindor’s to help you locate the entrance to the Common Room. The password tonight is Newt Scamander. I have a feeling The Fat Lady took a liking to our new portrait in the library over the summer…. Nonetheless, lets head down to the feast.”
Dumbledore and Harry rose together. “And Harry?” Dumbledore started, “Sometimes a second chance is not a happy ending, but it is another shot to end things right.” He pushed past Harry and started down the stairs, leaving Harry in the stairwell to ponder what he had meant.
Chapter Three
Rating: Mature
Pairing: Draco/Harry, Neville/Ginny, Hermione/Ron
Warnings: Suicide attempt, angst
Disclaimer: I do not own or know JK Rowling personally and these characters are all based upon her creation. I am taking them and playing with them a bit!
Summary: Before starting Hogwarts, Harry was rescued by someone he never knew existed. Escaping the Durley's so early, allowed Harry to finally have a family and a place he belonged to. But as always, The Dark Lord has other plans for Harry. When everything changes, Harry will find its not that easy to just walk away.
A/N: Any feedback is welcome! It fuels the fire :)
Other stories/chapters can be found in the Fiction Index
Harry pressed his forehead against the window of the Hogwarts Express, trying to cool the burning of his scar. For the first time, in a very long time, he felt alone. He closed his eyes, willing sleep to take him until the train arrived at the gates of Hogwarts. Behind him, the car doors slid open, and he turned to see who was at the door.
“Sorry…” Draco Malfoy stood in the doorway, holding open the door. Harry glanced up to see Draco’s knuckles were stark white, as if he were gripping the door like his life depended on it. Maybe it did.
“Get out.” Harry turned away from him, knots twisting in his stomach.
“I don’t have a choice Harry, you know that…”
“Bullshit! There is always a choice, Draco!” Harry hissed at him, catching his eyes’ reflection in the glass. “You sold me out.”
“You know how my parents are! Would you have said no to them? Would you have said no to him?” Draco’s blue eyes looked pained, and Harry watched as he blinked them a few times. A pang of sadness washed over him, making him want to grab Draco’s hand and push him into the seat across from him. They could order pumpkin pasties and play Wizard’s Chess like they did every year. A sharp pain made him wince as it cut across his scar and anger replaced the sadness.
“Yes, I would have. Because unlike you, Draco? I value my friends.”
“He would have killed me.” Draco’s voice was barely whisper, but Harry heard him perfectly. In the back of his mind, he knew. He knew everything that Voldemort was capable of, the power he held over his followers and over the people who were afraid of him. He knew the situation Draco Malfoy, his best friend, had been put in. He knew, but today he didn’t care.
“I should have known the moment I heard about your family from Sirius, Malfoy’s don’t have friends. They have means to an end.” He said, meeting Draco’s eyes.
“Fuck you, Potter.” Draco hissed, slamming the train door shut.
Harry exhaled a breath he didn’t remember holding and fought the urge to jump up and follow Draco. There was nothing that was going to fix this… Draco, whatever his reasons and excuses were, had taken the Dark Mark. When Harry had told Sirius, he thought his Godfather was going to march over to the Malfoy Manner and rip Draco’s head off…
“He did what?” Sirius roared, jumping up from the kitchen table. Somewhere down the hallway, Sirius’s mother’s portrait started yelling and throwing insults at her son for waking her up. “I told you Harry! I told you when you came home that first Christmas that the Malfoy’s were bad news. I can’t believe I allowed you to be friends with him! How long has he been feeding information to his parents and to Voldemort? Does he know where we live? Goddamn it Harry!”
“No… you were very strict that I wasn’t allowed at the Malfoy Manner and vice versa…” Harry looked down at his hands. “I thought he would be different…”
“Different? Harry, he’s a Malfoy! First Dumbledore allows you to be sorted into Slytherin…” Sirius trailed off before a look of horror came over his face. “You can’t go back, Harry. Half of the families in Slytherin are Death Eaters, more current than not!”
“Sirius, you can’t do that!” Harry jumped up quickly, shaking his head. “I can’t not go back to school! I will… I’ll be more careful!”
“You’re James’ son. Careful isn’t in your vocabulary.” Sirius closed his eyes and shook his head. “I need to think. We will continue this conversation tonight.” Harry nodded and watched his Godfather move around the table to leave the kitchen. “And Harry?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m sorry your friend turned out to be so shitty…”
The train door opening again brought Harry back from his memory. “I told you to leave!”
“No, mate, how about you get out and go join your broody Slytherin friends? This is the only train car left and we are taking it over.” A boy with flaming red hair pushed his way into the cart, scowling at Harry as he stepped over his extended legs.
“I’m not leaving.” Harry replied, turning back towards the window.
“Suit yourself.” The boy shrugged as he flung himself into the opposite seat, resting his back against the window.
“Ron…” A girl said slowly, and Harry could feel her eyes on his back. “We can just go join Fred and George…”
“Hermione.” The boy reached forward, grabbing her hand gently. “He is one Slytherin, he isn’t going to bite. Are you mate?” The boy fired towards him.
“Depends.” Harry replied looking at them quickly.
“Harry… right?” The girl asked lowering herself into the seat beside Ron. “Why…. Um, well, why aren’t you sitting with Malfoy and the other guys from your house?”
“Maybe he finally realized what a load of garbage they all are.” Ron said, digging through his bag. “Then, he would have to realize what a load of garbage he is too…”
“Are you always so charming?” Harry sneered, watching as Ron fished out a few squished sandwiches and handed one to Hermione.
“You have to admit,” Hermione started, lowering the sandwich to her lap, still staring at Harry intently. “Slytherin’s have never exactly been the nicest to us. You have been there to watch Malfoy and the rest of them torment many different people.” Harry looked up at her, watching her carefully. “And just because you don’t join in on the tormenting… saying and doing nothing makes you just as bad.”
“Right.” Harry replied shortly, adjusting himself on the seat so he could face the door. A slow roil of shame fired through his stomach as he realized Hermione was right.
“Do…. You want a sandwich?” Hermione asked, leaning forward to get his attention.
“Hermione!” Ron hissed at her. “We are not in here to be friends with him!”
“Oh Ron.” She muttered, cheeks turning red as she shrunk back into the chair. “I was just being nice.”
“To the enemy!” Ron said, taking a bite of his sandwich.
“I am hardly your enemy.” Harry muttered, looking down at his hands. Harry closed his eyes again, listening to the two of them talking quietly back and forth about their upcoming class loads and Ron chewing loudly on his sandwich. Every once in a while he would hear Hermione giggle at something Ron said. Soon the door slid open again and a witch pushing a trolley stepped forward.
“Any snacks from the cart dears?” She asked, waving her hands over her display.
“Yeah, we will have two chocolate frogs…” Ron said, fishing around in the pocket of his robes for his money. Harry opened an eye and watched him count out the coins. “Er, make that one.”
“Three frogs please.” Harry swung his legs off the bench and reached for his coin purse. He fished out the proper coin and pressed it into the Witch’s hand. She nodded thanks and handed him the frogs. He tossed two at Ron and Hermione who caught them and stared at him. “This is the part where you say, Thanks Harry!”
“I didn’t ask you to do that.” Ron said, reaching forward to press his money into Harry’s hand.
“You don’t need to give me that.” Harry tried to return the coins but Ron ignored his outstretched hand. “I was just trying to be nice.”
“Thank you, Harry.” Hermione smiled at him, then bit her lower lip. “I am confused though… Why aren’t you sitting with Malfoy and your house?”
Harry shrugged and ripped open the chocolate frog box. “I am not sure it’s my house anymore.”
“You can’t change houses.” Hermione replied, “In Hogwarts a History is very clearly defines the way that the magic of the Sorting Hat works and when it places you in a house, it’s never wrong!”
“And what if I made the choice myself?” Harry asked, glancing over at her.
“I… Well…” She trailed off, picking at the corner of her chocolate frog.
“No one gets to decide.” Ron said, “And why would you want to switch houses anyways? Aren’t you a perfect fit for Slytherin? You snuck into that Twi-wizard Tournament last year, you have a butt load of money at your fingertips, and you employ the company of every Pure Blood family around.”
“It’s not that simple.” Harry replied. “You guys don’t actually care about what’s going on with me, so I’ll just keep it short. As Dumbledore told everyone last year, Voldemort is back.” Hermione shrieked and dropped her frog, while Ron stared at him, his face pale. “I almost didn’t return to Hogwarts, but Dumbledore said that there would be some changes implemented.”
“You can’t… You said…” Hermione swallowed hard and reached down for her frog. “Well,” She said after collecting herself. “I wish you luck, Harry.”
Harry nodded at her and returned to opening up his frog. For the rest of the car ride, there was complete silence. From the corner of his eye, Harry could see Ron staring out the window, a hard look on his face. Hermione had gotten a quill and parchment out of her bag and was scribbling notes from one of the new Herbology text books. For a moment, Harry contemplated asking her why she had already started studying, but bit back the urge to refrain from starting another conversation.
Ron was right, they weren’t in this cart to be his friend. He sighed staring up at the ceiling. If Hermione was right, and he couldn’t be resorted into another house, he had no idea what Dumbledore’s plan was. That night Harry told Sirius about Draco, Sirius had gone straight to Dumbledore’s office to demand Harry’s transfer to another school. From his bedroom, he convinced Phineas Nigellus Black to let him know what was going on a few times, before the conversation got ‘too good’ to leave the Headmaster’s Office again. When Sirius had come back, he wasn’t impressed with Dumbledore, but had agreed to allow Harry to return to Hogwarts in the Fall as long as he would be able to be in a different house.
Harry wasn’t sure if Dumbledore and The Sorting Hat spoke at all, other than the Sorting Ceremony night… but on his Sorting, the Hat had given him the choice of Slytherin or Gryffindor. If he hadn’t met Draco on the train on the way to Hogwarts, he may have even chosen Gryffindor. But at the time, he had one friend and really only one choice.
“We’re here.” Hermione broke the silence as she stood and pulled her cloak over her robes and put her hat onto her head. Harry and Ron silently followed suit and trailed behind her out of the train.
“Fir’ Years!” Harry could hear Hagrid, the grounds keeper, yelling at the front of the train, collecting the first year students to take across the lake.
“Well, see you Harry.” Hermione said smiling at him before turning around to catch up with Ron. Harry watched them walk away and contemplated, not for the first time, getting back onto the train and having Sirius pick him up at King’s Cross.
“Move it, Potter.” A familiar sneer came up behind him, and he spun as Draco slammed hard into his shoulder. He was flocked by Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle who Harry was sure, were all to happy to be at Draco’s side instead of him. Draco glanced over his shoulder quickly, meeting Harry’s eyes in an almost apologetic way, before laughing alongside his new friends and continuing forward.
“Harry.” A soft hand touched his shoulder and he turned to luck up at Dumbledore. “We have a matter to attend to before the feast.” Harry signed and nodded, turning to follow Dumbledore to the castle. “Would you like to talk about these changes, Harry?” He asked as they reached the Gargoyle Statue guarding his office.
“Not really that much to talk about, Professor. Voldemort is a poison that leaks into every corner of my life. But, like I told Sirius, I am no safer at Grimmuald Place than I am here.” Dumbledore nodded carefully and waved Harry up the stairs into his office.
“Well, Harry, Sirius was very against you coming back to Hogwarts. That being said, it has been and always will be a safe place against Voldemort. I do however agree that removing you from a house where information about you may be leaked, is in your best interest.” Dumbledore glanced over at the Sorting Hat before looking back at Harry. “Should you try it on and see what our old friend has to say?”
“The first time…. The Hat told me I would be great in Gryffindor… but I had chosen and wanted to be in Slytherin.” Dumbledore nodded. “So… would I be better suited in Gryffindor?”
“Without a doubt.” Dumbledore replied and lifted his wand from its place on his desk. He waved it once before placing it back down. “There. Your attire has been changed to your correct house and your things have been moved from your old Dormitory to your new. You will have to ask your fellow Gryffindor’s to help you locate the entrance to the Common Room. The password tonight is Newt Scamander. I have a feeling The Fat Lady took a liking to our new portrait in the library over the summer…. Nonetheless, lets head down to the feast.”
Dumbledore and Harry rose together. “And Harry?” Dumbledore started, “Sometimes a second chance is not a happy ending, but it is another shot to end things right.” He pushed past Harry and started down the stairs, leaving Harry in the stairwell to ponder what he had meant.
Chapter Three