Complementary

Title: Complementary
Author: rotschopf
Type: FPS
Pairing: Lucius Malfoy/ Harry Potter
Disclaimer: nope, still not mine; pity, though...
WARNING: If you haven\'t read Book 5 this story is not for you.
Note: Please review. It\'s my first HP story and I want to know if I do a good job or not.
Note2: Since I don\'t know when they got their OWL results I\'m just assuming they did.
Review notes:

@bogan: I don\'t know if the chapters will get longer. I still feel my way around in the story, so, I really don\'t know. There\'s a fari chance, though.
@Hyperbole: Patience, luv, is a virtue (: But I\'ll hurry, and that\'s a promise
@Rena: You know, you gave me some funny ideas with your reviews... Keep them going, they help a lot and do give me great ideas how to work certain things into the story. And I\'m glad you\'re still not disappointed. I hope, it stays that way.

But now... On with the story...


~o0o~

Chapter 5: And so it begins...

~o0o~

All Harry wanted to do when they finally returned from from Diagon Alley was to fall into his bed and sleep. After they had stumbled into Malfoy and Snape they had went to visit Fred and George in their \'Weasleys\' Wizarding Wheezes\' - shop and had spent all afternoon there, testing all sorts of sweets, fireworks and other pranks like the Portable Swamp. And now he had to start packing for tomorrow. He wouldn\'t have time to do it in the morning, so, sleep was out of option for now. While he packed his things into the trunk he found Lucius\' letter again. He hadn\'t thought of it all the time he had spent with his friends, and he hadn\'t written a reply, yet. He shrugged. Lucius also had taken his time to answer his note. He was quite sure the owl hadn\'t took long to find him. And he just hadn\'t the time now to write back. He stuffed the letter into his schoolbag and decided to write Lucius tomorrow night when he was back at Hogwarts.

Hogwarts... All the years before he had looked forward to returning to school. Now, he dreaded it. He didn\'t want to see Dumbledore again. Too much has happened between them and the destinct sense of betrayal had never left Harry. He wouldn\'t be able to trust Dumbledore again for a long time and this thought made him sad.

A book fell into his hands. \'Hogwarts - A History\'. Hermione had given it to him for his 16th birthday. She obviously was fed up with explaining over and over again that one can\'t apparate into Hogwarts. His birthday... It had been a quiet get-together. They all had respected his wish to mourn Sirius properly before he went on with life. Even the twins had kept their puns at bay. Something, Harry very much appreciated.

He finished packing when Ron came upstairs. The red-head stared at Harry incredulously. \"Finished already?\"

\"Yeah. I hadn\'t quite unpacked, now, had I?\"

\"Guess so.\" Ron shuffled his feet. \"Look, I really don\'t want to pry...\"

\"Then don\'t, Ron,\" Harry said good-naturedly. \"I won\'t tell you who sent the letter.\"

\"But you\'ve never kept secrets from me. Or Hermione. Not as far as I know,\" he added quietly.

\"I have my reasons. And when I decide to tell you you will understand why.\"

\"But Harry...\"

\"Please, can we just drop the subject? I\'m tired as hell anwon\won\'t tell you anyway.\"

\"Fine,\" Ron snapped. \"Then keep your bloody secret.\" Without another word Ron began packing his things. Smashing his things into the trunk would have been more precise, though.

\"Ron...\"

\"No, Harry. Whatever it is - I don\'t want to hear it.\"

\"Fine!\"

Harry flung himself on the bed and turned his back to Ron. If his friend wanted to play this childish and silly game he could have it that way. He listend to Ron\'s furious movements, thinking of Lucius and the letter again. Somehow, the letter didn\'t sound like written by a Malfoy. It didn\'t remind him of the arrogant, aloof wizard he had met on severaly occasions. It had more the touch of a kind and caring man and Harry knew that Lucius Malfoy was anything but kind and caring. And still... Harry had seen what solitude could do to a human being; he had seen it happening to Sirius.

Malfoys weren\'t bred for solitude. They were bred for power, for company, for ruling. They lived their life for appearances, not caring if the shell behind the perfect mask was empty or not. And Lucius Malfoy had been deprived of all those things. The power, the company, the ruling, the appearance, his wand. He had been almost reduced to one of those he despised so much. Left without being able to do magic that required a wand. Oh, yes. He could definitely see how those realisations could do funny things to Malfoy\'s sanity. The picture had something comical, though, imagining Malfoy sitting on a hill, pondering about the great misteries of humanity. Harry snickered quietly, but Ron heard it anyway.

\"Great, now your laughing at me.\"

Harry turned around and glared at Ron. \"Come off it, Ron. I am not laughing at you. I thought of something funny.\" He sighed. \"Look, just don\'t take all this personal, right? It\'s not.\"

\"Then tell me what it is if *not* personal?\" Ron snarled. \"I thought you were my friend...\"

\"Now, that\'s enough!\" Harry finally shouted, completely losing his patience with the red-head in front of him. \"As I very well remember a certain witch and a certain wizard who *I* considered to be my friends kept secrets from me and information, mind you, the whole summer before this. Because you have been asked to!\"

\"That\'s different!\"

\"Enlighten me because I simply can\'t see how this situation differs so much from the other one.\"

\"We tried to protect you...\"

\"And I try to protect someone else,\" Harry concluded, then shook his head. He hadn\'t meant to say this. He so wasn\'t trying to protect Lucius Malfoy. No way. \"Lookwillwill share. Just not now, \'k?\"

\"\'K.\"

\"I\'ll sleep now. G\'Night, Ron.\"

\"\'Night, Harry.\"

\"Try to make not too much noise,\" he added with a smirk.

\"Right... As if,\" Ron murmured, but Harry already was drifting into sleep.

~o0o~

\"Ron? Harry? Are you awake?\" Hermione asked cheerfully and loud enough to wake the dead.

Ron sat upright in his bed, while Harry just groaned and put the cushion over his ears. \"Sweet Merlin, \'Mione... Couldn\'t you wake us in a more subtle way?\"

\"No, I couldn\'t. I know that it wouldn\'t work.\"

\"Who told you so?\"

\"Your mum. - Now, get up. We\'re leaving in an hour.\"

After Hermione had left, Ron fell back into the sheets. \"Harry?\"

\"Mhm...\"

\"Are all girls like Hermione?\"

Harry stuffed the cushion back under his head. \"Don\'t know. Don\'t care.\"

\"What do you mean, you don\'t care? Are you gay or something?\" Ron sounded almost horrified, but it made Harry laugh.

\"And what if?\"

Ron paled. \"Harry, please, tell me you\'re not gay? Pretty please?\"

\"Why would it be so bad if I\'m gay?\"

\"\'Cause I wouldn\'t have anyone to talk about girls?\" Ron replied, quirking his ey-brows at Harry.

Harry grinned. \"I\'m not gay, Ron. Well, not as far as I know. \'K, I\'ve been checking out some men, but I still find girls attractive.\"

\"Sure?\"

\"Yes, Ron, very sure.\"

\"Good.\" He swung himself out of bed. Sleepily he got dressed. He glanced at Harry who was still in bed. \"Get up, git. Or do you want us to be as late as in second year?\"

That did the trick. Harry hastely got up and dressed. He opened Hedwig\'s cage to let the snowy owl out. She would find her way to Hogwart\'s and Harry didn\'t fancy to keep her in the cage for the train ride; the short-eared owl followed her friend. He heaved his trunk down the stairs, his schoolbag flung over his shoulder. After a quick breakfast they left for London.

~o0o~

The trio hadn\'t settled completely into one compartment yet when Dean, Seamus and Neville came to join them.

\"Hey, guys. \'Mione,\" Seamus said along with a bow, which made Hermione giggle. \"A wonderful day to return to Hogwarts, don\'t you think?\"

\"Seamus, are you quite right in your brain or something?\" Harry laughed. \"What\'s gotten into you?\"

\"Why, well, my OWLs got into my brain. Can\'t be the other way \'round.\"

\"How many did you get?\" Ron asked.

\"All I took. All! Even DADA. Thanks to Harry.\" He bowed again. \"And you?\"

\"Did good enough to join the classes I have to do to become an Auror.\"

\"Blimey, Harry.\" Seamus plopped into seat next to Ron. \"You really want to become one of those?\"

\"Yeah, why not?\"

\"\'Cause you would make an excellent Quidditch professional, that\'s why.\" Dean grinned. \"You could join Oliver and his team. What was it again?\"

\"Pudlemere United, git. Honestly Harry, do you really want to join the Ministry?\"

\"I think so. Look, if I don\'t want to I can join Pudlemere, then.\"

\"I\'m just happy I don\'t have to take Advanced Potions,\" Neville muttered under his breath. \"Another year with Snape would\'ve done the job for Voldemort.\"

Everyone except Hermione and Harry flinched at the Dark Lord\'s name. \"Don\'t. Say. His. Name,\" Ron said slowly and deliberately.

\"Oh, get off it, Ron,\" Hermione said angrily. \"Get used to his name.\"

\"I don\'t want to get used to his name. I want him gone.\"

Harry nodded and smiled reassuringly at his friend. \"So do we, Ron. So do we.\"

~o0o~

The feast was over and Harry had made an early leave from the common room to the dorms. He sat on the windowsill, one leg outside, the other inside, a piece of parchment in front of him, along with a bottle of ink and his quill. A candle provided him with only enough light to write and read. He re-read the letter he had written as an answer to Lucius.

xxx

Dear Lucius,

if you\'d told me that I\'d write you a note *and* answer your letter before the summer holidays - I would\'ve said your mad. I don\'t know why I did and do so. Just accept it as a matter of fact for the moment given.

I have to say, you\'re wrong. I know exactly what happend. I was there. I dreamt it. I\'d rather not re-tell what I\'ven. In. I\'ll tell you if you want me to. But one thing I can tell you - and no, I don\'t know why I tell you - Voldemort let you go because you have a role to play, yet. He didn\'t say anything more, so, don\'t ask me. I don\'t know.

One question that was buggering me was why you\'ve killed Bellatrix Lestrange. I\'ve come up with the vaguest of ideas, but I want to hear it from you. Why?

I haven\'t told my friends about anything you\'ve told me in your letter. And I don\'t mean to do so in the near future. I also don\'t know if I can keep your son from harm of his own house. But I\'ll try. Just for the fun of it.

You seem changed. Thoughtful, I dare say. I don\'t deny the comical note of that. You, sitting on a green hill, contemplating the world. Sorry, Lucius, this seems quite unlikely to me. But I dare you to prove otherwise.

I\'m very well aware of your attitude, of your ambitions and goals. But you might reconsider. I\'m not suggesting that you join the good side. I know you will never do this. I\'ve read a muggle epos once, Dragonlance. There\'re three different kind of mages. White Robes, Red Robes, Black Robes. Perhaps you think about becoming a Red Robe. Think about it, Lucius. Think about it carefully.

I have to go to bed, now. Double Advanced Potions tomorrow, and I so don\'t want Snape getting angry with me in his first lesson. I think, it pains him enough that he\'ll have me in his class \'till I graduate. Shall I live that long.

Perhaps I\'ll here from you again...

Yours,
Harry

xxx

As an afterthought Harry added a post scriptum: Do you still have a wand?

He called the short-eared owl to him he had conviniently brought with him to the dorms. He hadn\'t wanted to run into Filch tonight sending letters to ex-Death Eaters who were on the run form both the Ministry and the Dark Lord. \"I think you know who this is for, don\'t you?\" The owl hooted softly, stretching out her leg to have the role of parchment tied to it. \"Go and see him. And nag him if he doesn\'t want to send his answer faster this time.\" He let the owl go and watched it flying into the night air. \"And so it begins...\"

~o0o~

tbc...