The Deceit of Man

Letters From A Friend?

Harry sighed as he handed the plain envelope to the black eagle owl he had picked up from the emporium in Diagon Alley. Even though he still had his beloved snowy owl, she was too noticeable. Hedwig got sent to the more obvious of places whereas Hades, as he had named his owl, was sent to the places it would be best for people not to know who the orders were for. It was the reason he'd made a large supply of Polyjuice. After all, Potions was a passive magic unlike Charms or Transfiguration. It didn't involve his wand and therefore couldn't be detected. It also allowed him the ability to shop in Knockturn Alley, or just shop in general, without drawing too much attention to himself. He had picked up a catalog for books from The Raven's Quill, Knockturn Alley's number one bookstore for the Dark Arts. He'd also picked up a new trunk from Pandora's Box. It had six compartments that held different items. There were two sections for books (both Dark and Light), he put his potion ingredients and equipment in the one made specifically for that, his newly acquired clothes went in another along with his school uniforms that he'd gotten new, his Firebolt went into the fifth with a brand-new polishing and care kit, the final section he had for his letter writing supplies. He had made a stop in at Embers and Ashes for his new clothing, making sure that the colors wouldn't clash with his natural coloring. Harry had let his Polyjuice run out for the time he was in the clothing store alone. After that, he downed another dose and left as he had arrived. One thing that could be said for Knockturn Alley: for all that they sold Darker items; they were also very discreet. Their higher prices ensured their silence and Harry found himself taking full advantage of it. He'd also managed to pick up a secondary wand from The Phoenix Feather, Knockturn Alley's very own private wand shop. They charged more for their wands, Harry had found, but they made the wand on the spot. Each piece was chosen with the buyer in store. Harry's new wand was a solid thirteen inches long and made of cherry wood with a black Phoenix feather and a dragon heart scale core. True, cherry wasn't a normal choice, but it had fit Harry. The wand was meant for a powerful wizard and Harry was that and more. He also picked up two wand holsters made of basilisk hide. That way he could safely keep both wands on him and seeing that basilisk hide was impervious to magic, he didn't have to worry about being disarmed like he had that night at the graveyard. The wandmaker had also show him how to inscribe runes into the holsters so the wands would always return there no matter what. The wizard had said it was best that Harry do it himself so as to imbue the runes with his magic easier. There would be no other magical signatures to corrupt the runes and weaken them that way.

The best part of the entire thing was that his new wand didn't have the Trace on it like his Holly one did. He had learned a lot about wand lore in the time he had been waiting for his new cherry wand to be finished. Amazing what just asking questions could do and the doors it opened. One of the most important being that the Trace is on each and every one of Ollivander's wands. It was really how Dumbledore kept track of all the incoming students, mostly the Muggleborns. The nonsense about the Ministry not detecting it in a magical household was just that as the Trace is triggered by a specific wand's usage. Harry had been confused with that fact as Dobby had gotten him in trouble during his second year. It was then the wandmaker had explained that house elf magic always made Ollivander's wands screwy. Something to do with the fact that Ollivander pre-made his wands so they weren't as in tune to the user's magic. Harry had written the man off as just as insane as Ollivander, but he had been using his new wand for a couple of weeks now to really practice his spell work and hadn't gotten in trouble so there had to be a slight amount of truth to the man's words. He also found the magic was coming to him easier now that he had a wand powerful enough to handle his magic.

Now, he was writing to his best friend's biggest rival. Sure, it had been a shock to get a letter from Draco in the first place but now Harry was used to seeing Draco's dark colored owl flying to his window. It was a natural feeling when he opened a letter from Draco. He was almost giddy from the excitement with every letter he read. He had wanted to just shred the letters when he got them but there was a part of him that stopped him, the part that was angry that his friends were ignoring him. Draco had apologized for the way he had behaved since Harry had rejected his hand in their first year. He explained that he was under pressure from his father to make friends with Harry but when it failed he was punished harshly for it and had turned his pain on Harry. He truly didn't like Ron and Hermione but even Harry could understand Draco's reluctance there. Hermione always thought she knew best and refused to listen to anything anyone else might have to offer. She couldn't accept that others wanted to learn and get help in class as well, that others might know something. Harry was surprised to learn that it had nothing to do with her blood status at all. Ron was easily angered and got jealous over the stupidest things, as Harry had learned last year. Draco also briefly mentioned a broken marriage contract that had hurt his family and sparked a feud. Harry still couldn't believe that Ron believed in the slightest Harry wanted anything to do with the Triwizard Tournament. Then again, he could. Ron had always been the kind to complain about everything that Harry got that was better than his. Like the sweater his mom had knitted for Harry their First Year. Or the dress robes he had and his Firebolt.

Draco was different though. Draco saw Harry for who he was and saw past the 'Boy-Who-Lived' title. Not to mention, he didn't care at all about Harry's wealth. Harry had come to realize that when they weren't hexing each other, they got along marvelously. Harry knew more about Draco than he ever imagined knowing. He knew that Draco believed him about Voldemort (the Mark on his father's arm made that clear), and that Draco wanted nothing to do with the man. He knew a lot of Draco's favorites from his favorite color (the green of Harry's eyes) to his favorite food (some French dish that Harry always had trouble pronouncing). Draco was quickly becoming closer to him than Ron and Hermione ever were for the simple fact that they never bothered to try to understand him. Draco responded every time to every letter that Harry sent and gave his opinion on the matters enclosed in every one of them. Harry was able to tell him about the abuse he suffered at the hands of his relatives, how unfair it was that Sirius suffered as a wanted fugitive because of Peter Pettigrew's escape in their third year. Draco told him about methods to protect himself and gave him offers of solicitors' names that would represent Sirius in a trial. Solicitors that would be chomping at the bit to do so once they heard why Harry was contacting them.

He was certain that this letter was the one containing the names and so opened it quite willingly. The contents were not as expected though as in shaky hand, Draco asked to stay with Harry for the next little while. Draco didn't go into great detail in his letter and Harry didn't bother asking a bunch of questions. There was no doubt that Draco needed a place to stay, his handwriting made that clear. Draco was nothing if not a perfection so shaky writing was abnormal and set Harry on high alert. Harry also wasn't worried that it was a trap. Draco had used their code phrase to ensure his authenticity. Harry was ready to agree to letting Draco stay with him; he just didn't know how to get him to Privet Drive without setting off the Underage Magic alarms around his relatives' house. Harry also wasn't worried about his relatives as they were still afraid of Sirius even if they'd never met the man. Harry was sure he could get them to go along with anything he wanted by using Sirius as a threat.

Suddenly, the answer came to him as he remembered his own method of travel the summer before his third year after blowing up Vernon's sister. The Knight Bus wouldn't have any troubles crossing the wards as there wouldn't be anyone aboard that would mean Harry harm (at least that was the hope) and Draco could arrive safely. Scribbling a quick note back to Draco, he sent the owl back on its' way and began to straighten up his room. There wasn't a lot of space in the smallest bedroom of Privet Drive where Harry stayed but there was definitely enough for two people. After Harry was satisfied with the way the room looked and that there was a fair amount of space in his dresser and closet for Draco's belongings, he went downstairs to work on his relatives.

"I have a friend coming over tomorrow who needs a place to stay for a little while. My godfather likes to know that I'm socializing and that I'm helping a friend in need. I would hate to have to tell him that you have forbidden me from doing so." As expected, his aunt and uncle's faces paled when they heard his words and quickly agreed to allowing Draco to stay with them. It just made Harry glad that he was able to get to Sirius in time to free him from the Minister's clutches. Nothing like having a supposed mass murderer for a godfather to keep his relatives in line. Back in his room, Harry quickly fell asleep planning the next few days with Draco in his head. He knew he would have to add another bed in his room or at the very least, increase the size of the one he was currently sleeping on. He also knew there was a spell to increase the size of the room that he would need to perform. Beyond that, he was too tired to think of much else and sleep dragged him under quickly.