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Harry Potter And The Twists Of Fate | ||||||
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Category: Alternate Universe Characters:All, All Genres: Action/Adventure, Drama, Fluff, Humor Warnings: Extreme Language, Sexual Situations, Violence Story is Complete Rating: PG-13 Reviews: 475 Summary: What if the fates let Harry's parents live that night he got his scar, plus gave him a younger sister and become friends with the Weasleys, especially Ron earlier. What would be different? Hitcount: Story Total: 324145; Chapter Total: 9379 |
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Chapter 21: Befriending a Malfoy In the silence that followed the sorting of a Malfoy into Gryffindor, you could hear a pin drop. No one moved, most especially the boy on the sorting stool, the boy named Tiberius Augustus Malfoy. Finally, McGonagall removed the Sorting Hat from the blonde boy’s head and pushed him not too gently in the direction of his new House’s table. Harry noted that the assistant headmistress’ mouth was set tightly into a thin line. Tiberius walked slowly to the Gryffindor table like someone walking down Death Row. Everyone stared at him. Harry felt a wave of sympathy for the boy, remembering how it felt when the other students had stared at him during his own sorting. Tiberius finally reached the end of the Gryffindor table, his apprehension and nervousness apparent on his face. The students sitting at that end moved over, leaving a wide space where Tiberius finally sat down in. A good five feet separated him from the other students. Harry looked over at the Slytherin table. Draco looked furious and was openly glaring at the new Gryffindor, who looked back with fear in his eyes. Professor McGonagall resumed the sorting, which ended with “Warren, Irma” being sorted into Ravenclaw. Dumbledore then stood up and smiled. “Welcome to another year at Hogwarts.” Dumbledore began, “I’m sure the returning students are looking forward to another year of fun learning and experiencing. For the new first years, I hope you will find learning here fascinating and exciting.” “Now a few announcements, we have two new additions to our staff this year. First, we have a new Defense against the Dark Arts professor, Remus J. Lupin, who I enticed away from the Ministry for the position.” Remus stood up and acknowledged the applause, which was loudest coming from the Gryffindor table. The Weasley twins cheered wildly and whistled. “Thank you for your enthusiasm and good luck, Professor Lupin,” Dumbledore said, beaming, “Now, Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures professor decided to retire after he had that accident with the flesh-eating slugs at the end of the last term. So, I am pleased to say that our own Rubeus Hagrid has agreed to take the position. Good luck to you, professor.” Wild applause again greeted this announcement, especially from Harry and his friends. Rose and Ginny joined Fred and George in their whistling. Even Percy was applauding. Hagrid grinned as he stood up to acknowledge the applause, shaking the Head table and knocking several glasses on their sides. However, Harry noticed that Malfoy and several other Slytherins didn’t applaud, which he felt did not bode well for his large friend. “Thank you again,” Dumbledore said, “Now, on to other announcements.” He gave the usual speech about the Forbidden Forest and Filch. Finally, he said, “Tuck in.” Food immediately appeared on the tables and the students started eating. Harry exchanged a look with Rose. Then the siblings got up and moved towards Tiberius Malfoy who looked uncertain and uneasy. The blonde boy’s eyes widened as he looked at Harry and probably saw his scar. He moved back in the bench away from Harry. Harry inwardly sighed but put a smile on his face and stuck out his hand. “Hi, welcome to Gryffindor,” he said, “Your name’s Tiberius, right? I’m Harry Potter.” Tiberius looked at Harry’s hand warily and slowly took it in his own and shook it once. “Yes, Tiberius Augustus Malfoy,” he said, his voice lacking the arrogant tone that was always in Draco’s voice, “I know who you are. Draco’s been ranting about you since you two first met. He hates your guts.” Harry shook his head as he sat down beside the younger boy, “Well, I guess the feeling is mutual. But, I won't let that affect what I think of you, at least until we get to know each other. You’re his brother, then?” Tiberius sighed, “Yeah, his younger brother.” “You don’t seem too fond of that,” Rose said, sitting down on the opposite side of the blonde boy. “Oh,” Harry said to Tiberius, smiling, “this is my annoying yet lovable younger sister, Rose Lily. Rose, this is Tiberius Augustus Malfoy.” Rose scowled at Harry, then smiled sweetly before shaking hands with Tiberius. Harry noticed that Tiberius had smiled slightly at this. “Well,” he said, looking at Rose, “I’m not fond of being Draco’s younger brother. He’s always teased me and pushed me around, just because I’m don’t like the things Father talks about, you know, all the pureblood and anti-muggle nonsense.” Harry never thought he’d see the day he’d hear a Malfoy call their underlying beliefs ‘nonsense’. He could like this boy. “Well,” Rose said, “you don’t have to worry about that here. You’re a Gryffindor now. Your brother wouldn’t dare try something, especially with us around. Come on, let’s not let this feast go to waste.” She turned around and starting piling food on her plate. Harry saw Tiberius stare at her for a while and then he followed her example and began placing food on his plate. Harry also began to eat. After a while, Harry looked back to where he had been sitting and at his friends. Hermione looked back at him and nodded. Ron, on the other hand, had a scowl on his face as he stuffed food into his mouth. When Harry looked at Ginny, he could feel pride and understanding coming from her as she smiled at him. Harry smiled back and then went back to eating and talking with Tiberius. He found out that Tiberius loved Quidditch and was a fairly good player of Wizard Chess. Tiberius was also looking forward to attending Hogwarts, though he had been apprehensive of being in Slytherin. At the end of the feast, Tiberius said, shyly, “Thanks, Harry. I thought I’d be ignored and picked on in Gryffindor because of my family. “You’re welcome, Tiberius,” Harry said, “I’m glad you don’t have the same beliefs as your family.” “So am I, Harry,” Tiberius said, “You can call me ‘Ti’. I think Tiberius is just too formal. I never actually liked it.” Harry smiled, “Sure, Ti. I think that people will like you once they find out you’re nothing like your brother. You know, I think Sirius would love to meet you. I’m sure he’d be thrilled to know someone else in his family isn’t attracted to the Dark side.” Rose giggled, “You’re right, Harry. Uncle Sirius will definitely enjoy meeting Ti.” Ti’s eyes widened, “You mean Sirius Black, the Auror? I’ve heard a bit about him over the years. I know he’s my mother’s cousin. Do you think I can meet him?” Harry smiled, “I think that can be arranged. I’ll ask Professor Dumbledore about it. You better go and join the other first years, Ti, or you may get lost on the way to our common room.” Ti smiled and joined the other first years as they were led to their common rooms. Harry saw his friends standing off to one side of the staircase to Gryffindor Tower, waiting for him and Rose. Ron was still scowling. Harry sighed but smiled when he saw Ginny smiling at him. “Hey, guys,” Harry said, “Thanks for waiting up, but I don’t think we would have gotten lost.” Fred and George laughed, “That’s quite funny, Harry,” they said. The New Marauders headed for Gryffindor Tower. Just as they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, Ron stopped and turned to face Harry. “Why’d you do that, Harry?” Ron asked, “Why’d you talk to that little git? He’s a Malfoy.” “His name is Tiberius, Ron,” Rose said, “He may be a Malfoy but he’s no Draco.” “Rose is right, Ron,” Harry said, “He’s nothing like his brother.” “How do you know that, Harry,” Ron asked, now glaring at Harry, “from just talking to him one time.” “For one thing,” Hermione interrupted, “he’s a Gryffindor now.” “That doesn’t prove anything,” Ron insisted, “He pulled off some trick or something on that Hat, maybe used some Dark Magic.” “Ronald,” Hermione said, “you can’t trick the Sorting Hat and you can’t cast Dark magic here with Professor Dumbledore right there in front.” “Well, he did something, Hermione,” Ron said, “there’s no way a Malfoy can end up in Gryffindor.” “Why not, Ron?” Harry said, “I almost ended up in Slytherin.” The others except for Rose and Ginny looked at Harry in shock. “You’re just saying that, Harry,” Ron said, his voice shaking a bit. “No, Ron,” Harry said, “the Sorting Hat tried to put me in Slytherin, but placed me in Gryffindor because I asked it not to put me in Slytherin.” “I didn’t realize you can tell the Sorting Hat where to put you,” Hermione said. “No, Hermione,” Rose said, “you can’t tell it where to place you but just where you don’t want to be.” Hermione and Ron looked at Rose. “It tried to place you in Slytherin, too, didn’t it?” Hermione asked. Rose nodded, “Yeah, it was about to, but I said no way was I going there. So it placed me in Gryffindor. I guess it thought I was brave for daring to contradict it.” “Maybe that’s why it placed Ti in Gryffindor,” Harry said, “he may have asked it not to put him with his brother.” “Ti?” Fred asked. Harry smiled sheepishly, “It’s what he wants to be called. He thinks Tiberius is too formal.” Fred and George exchanged glances, “We like this kid. Maybe he’ll be willing to join us and prank his brother.” “I’d like to see that, too,” Neville said, grinning. Ron glared at them, “No way! I don’t think so. There’s no way he’s joining us.” “That’s not your decision, Ron,” Ginny said, “It’s Harry’s. Remember that we chose him as leader of our merry band.” “Fine,” Ron said, “You lot go on and be a friend to a bloody Malfoy. I’m going to bed.” He said the password (Proud Leos) to the Fat Lady and practically ran into the common room and up the stairs to the Boy’s Dormitory. Harry sighed and entered the Common Room, which was almost empty of students. He said good night to the others and followed Ron up to their dorm. Later that night, Ginny was brushing her hair just before going to bed. She was also going through the events of the day. She felt proud of Harry and his willingness to give Ti Malfoy a chance, without any influence of his feelings toward Draco. She had been able to hear bits of Harry’s conversation with Ti whenever she looked at Harry and concentrated. She had been mortified at first when she realized she could feel what Harry was feeling and could read some of his thoughts, especially if she concentrated hard enough. Lately, she had been more accepting of this strange ability. She found it also strange that it was only Harry that she could read. She felt a bit guilty when she used it against him whenever they sparred against each other in martial arts. As she was musing over this, Rose came up to her. “Hey, Gin,” she whispered, “I think we need to talk.” Ginny raised an eyebrow but Rose raised a hand in warning before Ginny could say anything. Ginny allowed herself to be led to Rose’s bed. She waited while Rose drew the curtains shut and cast a silencing charm like the one Harry had cast earlier on the train. “Now, Gin,” Rose began, “back there on the train, when I told the three of you about Uncle Remus being a werewolf, you weren’t really shocked or surprised. I’d like to know why.” Ginny’s mind desperately searched for an suitable lie while she intelligently said, “Um, well, ah” “I think you knew he was a werewolf because you read Harry’s mind,” Rose said. Ginny’s eyes widened. How did she know that? “But, how, err, how did you…?” To Ginny’s surprise, Rose giggled. “I guessed that was how you knew. I bet you can feel what he feels, too.” Ginny felt her face heat up as she looked down at the bed sheets. Rose patted her hand, “Don’t worry, Gin. I won’t tell anyone for now. So, when did you first find out about this?” Ginny looked thoughtful for a moment, “Well, looking back, I think I first felt something that morning I woke up in the Hospital wing. I felt happier than I thought I would, you know, after all that happened that night. I was a bit upset with it. Then I realized that it wasn’t really my feelings. Then, during the summer, when I was coming over to your place, I’d occasionally get flashes of annoyance or irritation. They’d get stronger if I happened to glance up at Harry’s window.” “Hmm,” Rose said, “that’s interesting. I did notice you glancing at his window once in a while when we were in the back. I thought you were looking for a glimpse of him, but kept myself from asking you.” Ginny blushed, “Well, I did feel sorry for him. I mean, he saves my bloody life and gets grounded for two weeks. I thought it quite unfair.” “Yeah, I thought so, too,” Rose said, “but Mum and Dad said they grounded him only because he didn’t try hard enough to get an adult to help. Anyway, Gin, what happened when Harry was let loose? Did you get better at feeling him?” “It was random at first,” Ginny said, “I couldn’t control it. One minute I felt only my own emotions, then, bang, I’d feel a whole set of different emotions. After a while, I got better at feeling him. If I concentrated hard enough I could even feel him while I was home. Then, when we started with the muggle martial arts, I started getting more than emotions, like random thoughts. After a few days, I could actually tell what he was going to do.” “That’s how you were able to intercept the quaffle so well when we played on Harry’s birthday,” Rose said, “How about when the two of you were partnered during our sparring sessions? Were you also reading his thoughts?” Ginny nodded, a small smirk on her face, “I’d say I gave him something to think about, didn’t I? I don’t want him to join my brothers in the ‘protect Ginny since she’s made of glass’ crowd. I don’t need another overbearing protective brother.” “Oh, I’m sure you did, Gin,” Rose said, smiling. Ginny wasn’t sure why she was smiling but didn’t dare ask. “We’d better get some sleep, Rose. We don’t want to be late for classes tomorrow. We can talk some more about this some other time.” “All right,” Rose nodded, still smiling at Ginny. Shaking her head, Ginny got off Rose’s bed and went to her own, pulling the covers over her and was soon fast asleep. Much later that night, Harry was slowly moving through the corridors of Hogwarts, headed for the Owlery, hidden under his invisibility cloak. He had written a letter to Sirius about Ti and couldn’t wait to get it to his godfather. As he reached the steps up to the Owlery, Harry heard the sound of movement coming from inside. He carefully climbed the steps, trying to be silent. When he reached the top, he saw another student tying a letter to a magnificent-looking eagle owl, his back turned to Harry. He noticed the student was male and had platinum blonde hair. Harry stepped into the shadows as the other boy released the large owl, who flew off immediately. The boy turned around and Harry saw his face — Draco. Draco looked around then headed out the door of the Owlery. Harry watched him go down the steps and disappear. Harry waited for several minutes, making sure the Slytherin boy didn’t come back, before he removed his cloak and called Hedwig. After attaching his letter to Hedwig and instructing her to go to Sirius, he sent her off. Then he threw his cloak back on and headed back to Gryffindor Tower, wondering all the way there as to why Draco had sent a message out in the middle of the night. The next day, as Harry entered the Great Hall for breakfast, he noticed with sadness that Ti was sitting at the far end of the Gryffindor table, separated from the rest of the first years by several feet. Harry said hello to Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Rose, who were already sitting down in their usual places. Then, ignoring Ron’s scowl, Harry moved down the table and sat beside Ti. “Hi, Ti,” Harry said, “Mind if I sit here? I need the company.” Ti nodded, with a shy smile on his face. Harry sat down on the end of the bench, forcing Ti to move closer to the other first years. Then, Rose and Ginny sat down on Ti’s other side, with Rose next to a brown haired first year boy. “Hi,” Rose said to the boy, “I’m Rose Potter. You’re Albert Dowley, right?” She’d paid more attention to the sorting than her brother. The boy’s eyes widened for a while, and then he said in a low voice, “Yes, that’s right.” “Pleased to meet you, Albert,” Rose said. She stuck out her hand which Albert took gingerly and shook. Then Rose waved one hand at Ginny, “This is Ginny Weasley,” she said. The boy shook hands with her, too. “Oh, the boy on Ginny’s other side is Tiberius Malfoy. I’m sure you met him last night since he’s a first year like you. I’m sure he won’t mind if you call him ‘Ti’ since you’ll be roommates for the next seven years.” Rose said, smiling at Albert all the while. Albert looked warily at Ti before nodding and saying, “Hi, Ti. Um, pleased to meet you.” The other three Gryffindor first year boys had stopped eating as they watched the interaction between Rose, Ti and Albert. Rose asked them their names and then introduced Ti to them, making sure they at least greeted Ti. Harry then introduced himself. Two of the boys, Albert and Paul Longshore had stunned looks on their faces as their eyes traveled for a second to Harry’s scar. Harry ignored their stares and began talking to them, occasionally drawing Ti into the conversation. Through the topics Harry used to talk to them, they found out that Albert and Paul were halfbloods, whose fathers worked for the Ministry, which meant that they had heard of the Malfoys. Albert’s father was Deputy Minister for International Games and Sports while Paul’s father was an auror. The other two boys, Jake Stone and Bradley Martin were muggleborns. However, Albert and Paul had told them a bit about the Malfoys the previous night, which made them nervous being near Ti. By the end of breakfast, Harry, Rose and Ginny had made the four boys less wary of Ti, by showing him to be a shy and good natured boy. The three older students were glad when the five boys walked together to their first class, Ti among them. Harry knew without looking at Ginny that she shared his pleasure at helping Ti with his dorm mates. However, Ron didn’t share that sentiment, scowling at Harry and leaving the Great Hall without so much as a hello, Hermione shook her head at the redhead’s attitude. Just as he and Hermione were about to leave the Great Hall, Harry heard a voice calling him. He turned around to see Remus Lupin hurrying towards him. Harry told Hermione to go on ahead, while he talked to the new professor. When the older man reached him, Harry grinned and said “Good morning, Professor. Are you ready for your first day on the job?” Remus grinned back, “Oh, I think so. The question is, are you ready for what I have in store for you?” Harry laughed, “Oh, I hope so.” “Harry, I saw what you did, with the younger Malfoy. That was very kind of you, considering the animosity your fathers share.” “I know, Professor. I just felt it was the right thing to do. Mum once told me that you shouldn’t judge a child for what his parent does. I decided I would judge him on his own merits.” “That’s very good, Harry. Lily would be proud of you.” Harry grinned. “Oh, by the way, I thought that Sirius would want to meet Ti. That’s the nickname he wants to be called by. What do you think? I already sent him a letter by owl.” Remus looked thoughtful for a moment, then he smiled. “Hmm. That’s a good idea, Harry. Being Narcissa’s son, Sirius would be an uncle to Ti. Knowing each other may be good for the two of them. Let me know what Sirius says, okay?” Harry smiled, “Sure thing, professor.” “You better head for class, Harry. I wouldn’t want to make you late. As to Ti, I think you should go on making friends with him.” “Of course, professor,” Harry said, “See you.” Over the next few days, as Professor Lupin advised, Harry, Rose, Ginny, Hermione and Neville would make it a point to greet Ti and the other Gryffindor first years and talk to them for a while. Ron, however, refused to do that. On Monday afternoon, as the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff third years came into the Entrance Hall on their way in from Herbology, Harry saw the back of a man with long silver hair, dressed in stylish robes and holding a stylish cane — Lucius Malfoy. He seemed headed for the headmaster’s office. Harry had a bad feeling as to the reason why the elder Malfoy was at Hogwarts. Sure enough, at dinner, McGonagall approached Ti at the Gryffindor table, her lips a thin line on her face. “Mister Malfoy,” their head of house said, “please follow me to the Headmaster’s office.” Ti gulped, stood up and followed McGonagall out of the Great Hall. Harry and his friends, except Ron exchanged worried glances. Harry glanced over at the Slytherin table and noted that Draco had a smirk on his face. Finally, unable to withstand the suspense, Harry got up and headed for the doors. He wasn’t surprised when Hermione, Rose, Ginny and Neville joined him as he reached main staircase. When they reached the gargoyle guarding the stairs to Dumbledore’s office, Harry suddenly remembered that none of them knew the password. Just then, the stairs started to move. Harry and the others just had time to stand aside when Lucius Malfoy came striding out, a furious expression on his face. The man glared at Harry and his friends. “You had something to do with this, Potter,” he said, his face reddening, “This isn’t over. No son of mine will be a filthy Gryffindor.” He stalked off at a furious pace. Harry and the others watched him leave then turned back to the stairs which had started moving again. This time, McGonagall and Ti were the ones on it. Harry and his friends breathed a sigh of relief. McGonagall raised an eyebrow when she saw the students at the base of the stairs. “Well, Mr. Malfoy, I think your fellow Gryffindors can help you back to the common room.” With that she left them. Harry turned to Ti and was surprised to see him with tears in his eyes. “Hey,” he said, softly, placing an arm gently on Ti’s shoulder, “what’s wrong? What happened?” “Please, I don’t want to talk about it,” Ti said, “I want to go to bed.” He then started walking rapidly. The others exchanged worried glances again but no one said anything. They hurried to catch up to Ti and the group walked up to Gryffindor Tower in silence. As soon as they entered the Common Room, Ti rushed up the stairs to his dormitory, leaving the others bewildered and confused. “Wow,” Rose said, “what ever happened in Dumbledore’s office must have been really bad.” “Maybe we should leave him alone for now,” Hermione suggested. “Maybe,” Harry said, “at any rate, I’m going to find out what happened tomorrow from McGonagall or Dumbledore.” The others agreed, though Hermione did with reluctance and they went their separate ways to their dormitory. Harry found Ron already asleep when he got to his bed. He was glad for that as he didn’t want to face Ron’s anger over being concerned for a Malfoy. The next day, Harry hurriedly ate his breakfast so he would have time to approach McGonagall or Dumbledore about Ti. He noticed that the younger Malfoy was only picking his food, barely eating anything. Harry rushed over to the Teacher’s table as soon as he had finished. He spotted Dumbledore and McGonagall there. As soon as he was near the table, McGonagall saw him. “Yes, Mr. Potter?” she asked, “What is it?” “Well, professors,” he began, “we’re concerned about Ti. He looked terrible last night after coming from Professor Dumbledore’s office. Me and my friends assumed his father had a talk with him and the headmaster. Mr. Malfoy looked very angry when he came down from the office. He even thought we had something to do with Ti being in Gryffindor.” “Ti?” Dumbledore asked, “Oh, I see. Interesting nickname he has chosen. It’s better and warmer than Tiberius.” There was that characteristic twinkle in his eye.” “Sir, what happened in your office that upset Ti?” Harry asked. “Ah, Harry,” Dumbledore, “I’m afraid I can’t tell you without Ti’s permission. It is his story to tell, though I can tell you that Lucius was not pleased that his younger son was not in Slytherin with his brother.” Harry could sense a slight amusement in Dumbledore’s voice. “I suggest you give him time to overcome his feelings, Harry. Then, maybe he’ll tell you. For now, just be as supportive of him as you and your friends have been the past few days.” Harry’s eyebrows rose up a few inches in surprise as to the headmaster’s recognition of the efforts of his group in befriending Ti. “All right, sir,” Harry said, “we’ll do that.” Later, Harry’s mood was improved when Hedwig delivered a letter from Sirius. His godfather was happy to hear about a Malfoy who wasn’t arrogant and obsessed with being pureblood. Sirius was willing to meet Ti as soon as he had a break from his duties as an auror. Harry smiled. He hoped this good news would cheer up Ti. |
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