Burrow Buddies
Meanwhile, across the country, Harry is laughing his ass off.
“Ma! We weren’t trying to hurt the muggle because he’s a muggle,” Fred pleads
George nods beside his twin, “We were just dropping candy for a bullying git!”
Molly Wealsey starts to get a little too red in the face for comfort, even Mr. Wealsey takes a step back.
“You-You’re inventions! I’ve already banned them from my house! And you go behind my back and harm a muggle! Have you any idea what type of trouble this could get the two of you into?! You’re going to end up without work- or worse! In Azkaban! Is that where you want to be?!”
Harry swallows as his friends shake their heads, and he can see Ron begging with his eyes to leave the room with him and the girls, but Harry steps up, between the twins and their mother.
“Mrs. Weasley?” He begins in a small voice, “This is just as much my fault as it is theirs. They weren’t trying to be mean, I just told them a few things that Dudley and his parents have done to me and, well, you know Gryffindors….they don’t take well to their friends being bullied.”
She melts a little bit, the red leaving her face just enough to be a faint blush, “Harry, dear. I’m sure you didn’t force their hands. What could a couple of harmless muggles do to you?”
Before he can reply and assure her that it’s nothing too serious, his friends are speaking.
“Well, for starters they had him locked in a cupboard they called a room for most of his life” Fred began.
“Then there’s the fact that his cousin used him as a punching bag,” George continues.
Ron goes next, “He had to write to us for food at the beginning of the summer.”
“Not that starving him is a new thing, have you seen how thin he is at the beginning of each year?” Hermione asks.
“They told him his parents died in a car crash,” Ginny follows up.
“We’ve seen him with bruises-”
“I bet he has some hidden under that sweater-”
“They refuse to replace his glasses-”
“One time they made him dethorn roses without gloves-”
“The one we gave the candy to tried to push him down the stairs-”
“Okay! Okay!” Harry shouts, red in the face and wondering when they hell they learned about all that, “No need to tell her everything, the point is that they’re not good people- Mrs. Weasley?!”
To both his shock and horror, Mrs. Wealsey is looking at him with her hand over his mouth, tears streaming down her cheeks. She gathers Harry into her arms, nearly crushing him, all the while her children are giggling. He feels her look over his head at the twins.
“You’re sure the candy worked?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Good. Make more of them, we’ll send a Christmas basket.”
Harry laughs then, along with the rest of them. They all help get ready for dinner as they can’t really fit thirteen people at that small table inside. But outside there are two more redheads he hasn’t met yet, though he knows who they are thanks to Ron’s whispering.
“The one with the long hair? That’s Bill. The other one is Charlie, go make friends I’ve gotta go grab spoons.”
And with that Ron thrusts him towards the two men, running back into the house where his mother is screaming his name.
The small one, he looks a little like Percy if Harry’s being honest, is laughing with his brother, hair a little longer than Fred’s, he must be Charlie. Bill, the tall one, nearly stops Harry in his tracks. Being tall is just the tip of the iceberg, his hair is back in a long ponytail- fuck who knew red hair could look attractive?- he has a tattoo peeking out of his rolled up sleeves, not to mention the fucking earring?! They both turn towards him with big smiles, “Oi! You must be Harry, it’s great to meet you!”
Fuck, he’s in so much trouble.
Dinner passes quicker than he’d like it to, between listening in on different conversations and getting absolutely thrilled to talk about Quidditch.
A few hours later, after forcing himself to stop acting like a fucking girl around Bill because he is a grown man and also Ron’s fucking brother, he finds himself sitting on his and Ron’s bed, sharing sweets with the twins and Hermione while Ginny showers.
“So,” Ron asks, popping a licorice in his mouth, “Have you heard from Sirius yet?”
“Ron!” Hermione whispers, “Not in front of-”
“The twins?” George asks.
“What can’t you talk about in front of us?”
“We have no one to tell-”
“-except each other, of course.”
Harry rolls his eyes, but they’re not done yet.
“If it’s about the Malfoy thing-”
“-we already know.”
“Really, you all have been way too nice to him-”
“-plus we totally saw him and Harry on the map last year.”
Ron, Hermione, and Harry all gape at them, but it’s Hermione who asks, “You know?! And you’re…. okay with it?!”
The twins shrug, “Sure we’re okay with it, if you’re friends he can’t be as mean to you.”
“Plus, that means there might be hope for the Slytherins after all.”
No one knows what to say to that until Ginny walks in, still drying her hair. “What happened? Did Harry confess his love for Malfoy or did Ron and Hermione just announce their relationship while I was out of the room?”
“What?!”
“Herm and I are not-”
“There is nothing between us-”
“ Me and Draco?!”
Ginny grins with the evil twins beside her, “So it’s Draco, is it?”
Harry screams. Ron’s face matches his hair but it’s nothing compared to Hermione’s. The three of them glare at the others, but the three redheads are too busy laughing so hard they almost puke.
“Anyways,” Fred continues, drying his eyes.
“What can’t the twins know?”
“The twins can’t know something?” Ginny asks.
“They already know about Draco and the gang, we might as well tell them,” Ron suggests.
“The gang?” George asks.
“Great, Ron, now they’ know about everyone. Remember when Draco specifically asked us to keep it a secret?!”
“They’re my family! Family doesn’t keep things from family!”
“You lie to your mom all the time!”
“That’s….different.”
Fred pops a chocolate in his mouth, “Look, it’s their first lover’s spat.”
“Shut up Fred!”
“I’m George!”
“No you’re not!”
“And anyways, them knowing about the Slytherins is completely different from them knowing about this!”
“And what is ‘this’ exactly?” Ginny asks.
Ron opens his mouth but Hermione cuts him off and Harry’s really had enough of it all so he rolls his eyes and steps between his two best friends.
“My godfather is Sirius Black, don’t worry, he’s actually a good guy, and yes, there are three Slytherins that we’re friends with. It’s Draco, Blaise, and Pansy and if you tell anyone, I do mean anyone, I will never save you from your mother again.”
It’s the worst threat he can think of and from the looks on their faces, it works. Before they can ask questions he turns to Ginny, “How did you know?”
She shrugs, “Anyone with eyes can see that, plus Luna and I are friends, that girl notices everything. Like everything, it’s kinda scary.”
Harry rolls his eyes, “Look, it’s a long story, all of it.”
“Well, we’re already jumped up on candy,” Fred grins.
“I can’t think of a better way to pass the time, can you Fred?”
“No I can’t, George, what about you Gin?”
“Nope, look, I’m already in my comfy pants.”
Ron groans, “Merlin, you three are a nightmare together.”
“Nothing like ‘Mione and Pans together, though.”
Ron nods in agreement, Hermione actually looks complimented, and then Harry takes a seat and starts explaining, like all of it, third year laid out in plain sight for everyone involved. And no, he does not describe Draco in the way he wants to. No need to egg Ginny on, but fuck, now that he’s thinking about it Draco….
So, he’s a bit strange, and is definitely worse off than Harry in the parent department, but he’s also kind and unbelievably funny. Smart, like at least as smart as Hermione and athletic as hell...not to mention the weird feeling he has when he tells them about Draco leaning on Blaise’s shoulder like it was the most natural thing in the world. He can’t put words to it but it definitely didn’t feel good, and when he saw him hurt….Harry shakes his head, telling them about the letters between him and Sirius this past summer and how the man has become a weirdly important part of his life and then Hermione makes a sound and waves her wand, a few letter of her own appearing in her hand.
“That reminds me! Pans and I have been keeping up a correspondence this summer, I think you might want to read them, oh don’t pass them around, just read them out loud Harry.”
Harry rolls his eyes but accepts the letters, in order by date of course, and begins to read.
Dearest,
He raises an eyebrow at her, a habit he probably got from Draco if he’s honest. She flushes.
“What? We couldn’t write our names, could we?”
Ginny snickers across the room, Harry looks back at the paper.
Dearest,
Bear and I had tea with our Dragon’s mother, and our own, today, it went as horribly as you can imagine. She put Veritaserum in our teas, we were forced to out him about something, but rather than his dealings with our pottery friend-
“Really? Blaise gets to be Bear and Draco gets to be Dragon but I have to make plates?!”
The Weasleys all laugh, Hermione rolls her eyes, “Just read!”
-Bear told them about the abuse.
“Oh shit,” Ron whispers.
It was horrible. And if you thought it couldn’t get worse, Father Dragon came walking in, so of course Mother Dragon figured it all out. We were sent home without further explanation, but by Merlin am I worried about him.
Bear hasn’t written to me yet, and we’ve yet to hear from Dragon himself, and that can’t be a good thing, during the summers he writes twice a day...I’m scared, Dearest. I don’t know what’s happening to my friends, but my father hasn’t stopped asking me questions. Mother tries to deflect him, she knows it’s best not to incur the Dragon’s wrath, but I fear more for him than I do myself.
I’ll write as soon as I can,
P.
Ginny covers her mouth, “I know now is an awful time to laugh, but I really need to know if you addressed her Pretty.”
Hermione blushes, Ron glares. “It is none of your business, but for your information I did.”
Harry ignores their laughter and Ron’s annoyance in favor of starting the next letter.
Dearest,
We’ve been reunited with Dragon at his beach house, it’s beautiful here, on an island we can come and go as we please. He isn’t well...when we arrived he was sitting and staring at the ocean. I don’t think he knew who we were at first, the elves said he hadn’t moved since he got there, but Lu was watching over him, keeping him warm when blankets weren’t enough. Bear forced him to bathe, stood in the bathroom with him the whole time, and then we both forced him to eat. Got his lemon tarts as bribery in case the letter from his mother wasn’t enough. After, we three, and the cat, of course, piled into bed and cuddled until he was asleep.
Bear and I agree that it’s too much for him, and we have no idea how to help so I must ask you, though I doubt Dragon would mind at this point, I have to beg you not to tell anyone we don’t trust. You see, there is something very wrong with his father. His mind isn’t right, configured with some sort of mind curse. Would you mind looking into for me? Anything that replaces memories and gives someone control over the victim. I’m hoping he’ll be better in a few days, him and Bear and cuddled up next to me, the first time I’ve seen Dragon look blissed out in so long. Hopefully we’ll be enough for now.
Write soon,
P.
Harry does not, he absolutely does not fume at the idea of Blaise and Draco cuddling in bed with LuLu by their side.
“Seems like you might have competition, Harry.” Fred jokes.
“The cat likes me better!”
“So you’re jealous?”
“I am not!”
At least now he has a name for the emotion. He picks up the last letter.
Dearest,
So much has happened, you must fill in the boys so we don’t spend the whole train ride on our discoveries.
For starters, you were right about the Total Control curse-
“What’s the Total Control curse?” He pauses to ask.
Hermione looks like she could strangle him, “It’s a curse that gives the caster total control over a person’s mind, simultaneously filling their minds with memories while the victim is forced to do their bidding. They don’t know anything that’s happening until after they’ve already committed the crime.”
Fred and George lock eyes, “Oh.”
“This suddenly isn’t funny anymore.”
Harry glares at Ginny, “No shit.”
Although I am glad to give good news, this is still awful. All this means is that Father Dragon's torture had more than one meaning.
“Lucius was torturing him?!” George asks.
“Yes, didn’t you listen? Keep reading, Harry.”
Dragon is still sad, even his mother has caught onto that. But, more importantly, she’s on our side. Before we left, she sat us down and gave us a speech, she told us to distance ourselves from people who support….darker hobbies. I can’t tell you much, but I can quote her.
I believe the words were that she would not ‘allow’ her children ‘to be dragged into’ the mess her parents made. A small comfort to the shit Dragon will have to go through these next three weeks. I’m worried still, but now I know his mother’s true intentions. He’ll be safe, even when she leaves for her ‘work’ Father Dragon is too weak to do much. She’s helping others get into lighter ambitions, if you catch my meaning. I suspect he’ll be telling her the full truth soon. In the meantime, I hope you’ll continue to write to me, in these trying time I am-
“Okay! I’m gonna stop reading there!” Harry squeaks.
Hermione lurches to grab the papers from him before one of the twins can.
“Wait! What does it say?!”
“Nothing!”
“Then you would’ve read it!”
“She’s just happy to have someone there for her!” Hermione tries, face redder than Mrs. Weasley’s was when she was yelling at the twins.
“Bullshit!” Ginny calls, and she’d be right.
The paper definitely did not suggest that ‘friends’ were anywhere in their future, but who was he to tell them? Instead he slams his hand on his thighs to get their attention.
“Everyone shush! I have a few questions!”
“Oh, what is there to question?! I thought it was all fairly obvious? Lucius has been under mind control his whole time, yes he’s been abusing Draco you can put your hand down Gin, but she won’t go into details so I’m unsure of how badly he’s been affected. The important part is that Draco is safe and that Mrs. Malfoy is on our side. She’s recruiting people to fight with us if it comes to it so we, you know, children, won’t have to do all the heavy lifting. It means someone who’s been exposed to everything awful the world has can still be good, which is something we need.”
“You got all that from those letters?”
“All that I got was that you and Pansy are definitely gay for each other.”
“We are not!” Hermione moans, “We’re just friends!”
“Yeah, and Harry totally wasn’t jealous of Blaise for cuddling with Draco.”
“I wasn’t!”
“You so were!”
“Don’t we have something more important to talk about?!” Ron whines and because he probably won’t get a better segway, Harry snatches this one.
“My scar! Let’s talk about my scar!”
“Your scar?”
“Yes, it’s been hurting.”
“Scars can’t hurt! You’re just hiding from your feelings!”
“Will you shut up?!”
Draco has walked in on a lot of strange things, but seeing his mother up at three in the morning, waiting in the kitchens like she knew he’d be down here is fucking up there on the list.
“Um...Good evening, Mum?” He says, pausing with enough room to run and hide, just in case.
“Evening, Draco. Won’t you take a seat? I’ve had Sisily make snacks.”
He nears her area, “Of course, but might I ask what this is about?”
“Not yet, have a snack first?” They look innocent enough, not that he trusts them.
“Did you put Veritaserum in the marshmallows?”
“Don’t be silly,” She says as Draco decides it doesn’t really matter because she made his favorite hot chocolate and it tastes so fucking good. “So you question the marshmallows but not the coco?”
“You put it in the coco, didn’t you?”
“Naturally.”
Curse his sweet tooth. Curse it right into the ground.
“Now that that’s settled, I have a few questions.”
“I can’t believe you poisoned my coco.” Draco whines.
Narcissa rolls her eyes, “It’s not poisoned, it tastes the same as mine.”
“Did you taste it?”
“Of course not.”
“So it is poisoned.”
If her questions don’t kill him maybe she will. “Stop trying to distract me, you’re in trouble.”
A lie. If he were in trouble they wouldn’t be sitting with here making smores and drinking hot coco, he would’ve been accosted the second she got home.
“Ask away, mother.” He says right as LuLu hops onto the counter so she can try and steal a cracker.
“I already know most of it,” She says as she takes a bite of her smore, “I just need your confirmation.”
Draco swats LuLu away from the marshmallows, putting her in his lap so she’s safer. “Okay?”
“I’ve already silenced this room, so feel free to speak freely, and if you don’t believe me, let me tell you what I know.”
The way she calmly continues making her smores is starting to scare him, but LuLu is eyeing a cup of milk on the table so he guesses it can’t be that bad.
“See, I went to the Black ancestral home today, and while I was there I ran into an old friend of mine, two really. It seems they’re a pair, you remember my cousin Sirius Black and his boyfriend Remus Lupin, right?”
Draco’s stomach drops. LuLu is a filthy traitor. An absolute menace. A little white-
“Well. I had them explain, using my new favorite method of acquiring the truth, it works wonders, I suggest you try it. Oh, stop giving me that look we both know you do what has to be done. Anyways, I had them explain the truth behind last year, all of the truth, and I found out some pretty interesting things…...so tell me...how long have you been working with Harry Potter?”
He’s going to die. Narcissa is going to kill him. Draco would stake his bet on the chocolate being poisoned if she wasn’t eating it too. But something isn’t right here...why is she so calm? She doesn’t look like she wants to hurt him…
“What do you mean?”
“I know you and Potter are friends, and that you worked together to free Sirius last year. I’m not angry, Draco, but I will be if you don’t tell me the truth.”
“And how do I know you won’t hurt him? I know you’re on our side but-”
“Our side? Whose side are you on?”
Draco refuses to look at her, “I’m on the side of what I think is right.”
“And that side is?”
“The side that wants Riddle dead and the rest of the world freed. He’s a disgrace to high society, dangerous and driven mad with ambition. Not to mention that his tastes in literally everything are awful, he looks like he’s trying to copy off Severus but making everything look like a bad gothic story.”
Narcissa chuckles, “I think I once called that thing a ‘pig headed wannabe’ when I was younger.”
“Really?”
She nods, taking his hands in her and forcing their eyes to meet. “Darling you know I’m on your side, that I want to protect all the children from our parent’s mistakes, and if you are working, or even friends with Harry Potter I need to know so I can keep you safe. I need to know all of it, Draco. No more lies, no more secrets. If this is going to work, we both need to be completely honest with each other. I need to know who you trust, where your alliance is. Please.”
It’s the ‘please’ that breaks him. His mother doesn’t beg, he hasn’t heard her say please except to her elders, and yet here she is…
Draco takes a deep breath, hands petting LuLu just to stay calm. And then he tells her everything.