Discovering Love and Lost Memories

[This chapter has been slightly rewritten and expaneded on.]

The sky was dark purple when Harry Potter stepped into the old building that was Malfoy Manor. He, along with twelve other Aurors, was searching the place for any Death Eaters who might be hiding out there. So far there was no sign of anyone.

He had wandered alone into a room filled with pictures, many of which showed a moving version of the young Draco Malfoy, causing trouble, practicing magic, making a potion with Severus Snape. Several other photos caught his eye too, but since he couldn’t place names to the other Malfoy family members’ pictures, besides those of Draco’s mother and father, he moved on.

It wasn’t long before he found the stairs and slowly made his way up them, his wand drawn, his eyes scanning for any disturbances in the dust on the long deserted floor. At the top of the staircase he noticed what he was looking for.

Thankfully the house-elves hadn’t been doing their jobs. The dust on the floor indicated that someone had apperated in. There were also bloodstains and shuffle marks, which indicated the person had been, or was, hurt. The trail led off to a room off to the left side and down a large and elaborate hallway.

Harry stopped a bit away from the door that he had been led to by the blood and dust disturbed trail. He silently activated the beacon, telling the other Aurors to meet him at that place, and waited as they popped into the area around him.

He held his finger to his lips to tell them to stay silent, and pointed down at the trail as it ended at the door. When he was sure they understood that he meant to open the door and wanted them to provide backup for what could surely be a trap, he put his hand on the door handle and turned it.

The room inside the door was dusty, dark, and thankfully, empty. It appeared to be a good sized sitting room, complete with several couches and chairs, and a fireplace that had recently been used - red coals smoldered brightly in the dim light.

Harry sighed inwardly. Though he loved the thrills and dangers of being an Auror, he had begun to value the days when he didn’t end his shift in Saint Mungo’s with severe burns or broken bones. Death Eaters, when cornered, had a tendency to be nastier then before even.

He watched as the other Aurors, including Tonks, poked here and there at objects in the room, looking for any clues. He was just about to start doing the same thing himself, after noting Tonks over by the fireplace kneeling beside a spot of what appeared to be blood on the expensive looking rug, when he noticed the door to the left of the fireplace, mostly hidden by a hanging tapestry with images of snakes curling around each other on it.

Surely Tonks had to of seen it. He gestured to it, speaking quietly. “Tonks, did you see this door over here behind this snake tapestry?” It seemed to sparkle slightly, which Harry knew only happened to things that were magically hidden. Ever since he had gotten his vision corrected – as a requirement to be an Auror – he knew he could see things most other people couldn’t. Things that had been hidden using magic.

The pink haired woman shook her head and joined Harry beside the tapestry. “There was nothing there when I scanned that wall a minute ago.” She said softly, watching as the brunette young man beside her reached out a hand to trace the path of the slight tingle of magic he saw traveling through the snakes bodies in the tapestry. As he went, the snakes started to move, hissing and uncoiling the tight knot they had been twisted up in. When he had finished tracing the path, the remaining snake in the center, whose body was still a complicated knot hissed at him, asking what he wanted.

Stopping to think for a moment, Harry noticed he was closely surrounded by the rest of the Aurors. They all stared at him or the wall hanging, waiting to see what he would do next. While he hated being the center of attention, and felt embarrassment flush his face again for the millionth time in his life, he turned his attention back to the hissing snake. “Open the door.” He hissed back at it, grateful when that last snake began to uncoil its knotted body.

Suddenly a click sounded in the quiet sitting room and the door behind the tapestry shimmered into the view of the rest of the Aurors - several gasping at the sight. Harry pulled the tapestry away from the door, reaching for the doorknob and turning it, surprised when the door opened easily.

It was a bedroom that Harry stepped into; done up in Slytherin colors, though the deep Mahogany wood furniture made the room look inviting. He moved forward, taking in the fact that someone must have done a cleaning spell on this room, because it wasn’t dusty or bloody. There was a school trunk at the foot of a very large canopy bed, which Harry thought he had seen before, though he couldn’t place quite where.

He moved around to the trunk, pressing his hand against the carved snake symbol on that as well, before looking up to take in the grand bed. The green, airy curtains were partially closed, and he had to pull the closest one aside a bit to get a better view of the inside of the bed. When he did see in, he gasped.
Lying on the bed was a young blond man, around Harry’s age. He lay curled into himself, sleeping softly.

As Harry stepped forward, entranced by the sight in front of him, the other Aurors spread through the room, checking for any signs of ambush. When they were sure they were safe, the Aurors stood back as Harry gently touched the young man’s arm.

Startled, the young man shot up, his wand pointed at Harry and his other hand protectively over the large bulge of his stomach he came out of his fog of sleep. His eyes focused, and he smiled as he saw Harry.
“I told her you’d come back for me!” He frowned as several other Aurors stepped into view. “Why did you bring them?”

Harry’s eyes widened in surprise. Malfoy was talking to him like they were friends…the tone in his voice had suggested even more.

“Um…who exactly did you tell that to?”

“Mother of course.” Malfoy stared at the brunette man before him, his face moving into an expression of understanding.

“You don’t remember what happened, do you Harry?”

“Happened when?” Harry asked, feeling a little afraid to ask.

“About five months ago when you were captured by Death Eaters and taken to Voldemort. When we met in that dungeon? When you helped to cause this?” Draco asked, his hands moving to his obviously pregnant stomach as he spoke the last part.

“Malfoy, you’re crazy. I don’t remember anything of when I was captured until I woke up in Saint Mungo’s.” He backed away from the blond on the bed slowly. “And I certainly didn’t help create whatever that is.” He said, staring pointedly at Draco’s stomach.

Draco’s face dropped. “Father told me you’d do this to me. You don’t care about anyone but yourself, Potter. My babies and I don’t need you.” He tried to hold his head up defiantly, but his body drooped with sorrow.

Harry fled the room.