Not your usual Veela mate [Chapters 39-69]

Mail Call II [52]

Lucius watched with a bemused smile as Harry was lost in his own world, deaf to the happenings around him. Sitting opposite to him was Draco, who was getting increasingly annoyed at being ignored by his mate. Figuring it was time to step in before his son resorted to hexing, Lucius gracefully summoned the two boxes he had prepared earlier. Placing them before the oblivious Harry, Lucius stated, "I believe you are in need of something to do."
"

Huh? What? Did someone say something?" Harry asked, brought back to the here and now by a sharp kick from Draco. "Ouch, that bloody hurt!" he added with a snap, reaching forward to rub the offended spot.
"You only now noticed?" Draco asked with a drawl, doing his best to hide his annoyance, but by Salazar, he didn't like being ignored, particularly not when it was his mate that was doing the ignoring.
Harry lifted an eyebrow; not understanding what had thrown Draco into a snit.
"Salazar, Harry, what is the matter with you? You are sitting there, but you haven't heard a word anyone's said to you since you locked yourself away with my father. What the hell is going on?"
"Language, Dragon," Lucius said warningly, causing the boy to blush slightly, but he didn't back down.
Harry blinked, then he ducked his head and blushed, cursing himself for arousing the Veela's suspicions. Suddenly feeling very thankful for the distraction Lucius had provided him, Harry peeked inside the boxes, noting a large amount of what looked like envelopes.
"I'm sorry, Draco. I apologize, Severus and Lucius. I didn't mean to ignore you all like that. It's just..." Harry trailed off, not sure what to say. Taking a deep breath, he turned his attention fully to Draco, intent on doing some damage control. "It's just that I have come up with the perfect gift to give to you, Draco, only I need to do some plotting first. I truly am sorry for ignoring you that was never my intent. Can you forgive me?"
Draco huffed in annoyance, yet he couldn't help but smile tenderly at the sincere apology. And now he was being eaten up with curiosity, wondering what in the world Harry wanted to give to him that caused him to space out like that. "I forgive you, Harry. I guess I can understand wanting to make plans, but..."
"No buts," Harry said sternly, just knowing that the Veela was once again trying to tell him it wasn't necessary. "I want to do this. I want to surprise you, and show you just how much you mean to me. Please, Draco, please let me do this?" Harry pleaded, unconsciously sending a very potent puppy-dog look at him.
Draco caved immediately. How could he not when faced with that look? Leaning forward, the blond captured one of Harry's hands, giving it a light squeeze. "Plot and plan as many surprises as you wish, love," the Veela said with a tender smile.
"Good! 'Cause I plan to, whether you like it or not," Harry stated with a triumphant smirk, giving the hand holding his a gentle squeeze in reply. "So, what is all this?" he asked, turning his attention to the boxes, not letting go of Draco's hand.
"The large box is filled with letters from people who are supporting you," Lucius replied, indicating the box in question. "I have spent the time waiting for you to get back from the detention to go through your mail. Most were rubbish; nothing but marriage proposals, offers of carrying your child, or attempts to beg you for money. I have dealt with them accordingly," Lucius added, giving Draco a pointed look.
Draco received the hidden message and backed off on the tantrum he was about to throw.
"However, there was a surprising amount of letters from wizards and witches who merely wanted to offer you their support. For one reason or another, they do not agree with the current uproar, and they wished for you to know this. My suggestion to you is to write them a nice letter back, thanking them for their gesture," Lucius said, sitting back in his chair, watching the two boys expectantly.
Harry frowned, looking down at the pile of letters. Randomly picking one of the envelopes up, Harry opened it and scanned the letter swiftly. He then re-read it more slowly, carefully contemplating what it said.
Handing it over to Draco, Harry turned his attention back to the older Malfoy. "I take it that I am doing this for another reason other than just being nice?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow.
Severus snorted and Lucius smiled a small, proud smile. "Yes. Although I had not believed you capable of picking up on that fact," Lucius admitted, sharing a glance with his mate. "No matter what you wish to do in the future, it would not hurt you to have the support of the people. Fudge will have a harder time discrediting you if the members of the wizarding world realised who you are. Up till now, you have been this mystic entity. You have been the Boy Who Lived, and the people have glorified you accordingly, but you have not been a real person to them. Which would explain why they have been so swift to turn their backs on you in the past," Lucius explained.
Harry's frown deepened. "But... nothing has truly changed... Has it?" he asked uncertainly.
"You are still the Boy Who Lived; the one who defeated You Know Who when you were a baby," Lucius said with a small nod. "However, you are beginning to grow up. And your recent actions have proved that you are capable of thinking for yourself. That you aren't just blindly following others. Also, you have proved that you are prepared to stand up for what you believe in, and that you will not allow yourself to be swayed by others, or be pushed around.
"You are still their hero, their saviour, their hope. But now you are beginning to be so much more. You are beginning to prove yourself to be a person they are willing to stand up for, and maybe even follow."
"All that from the fact that I designed my own clothes?" Harry asked, not truly believing his ears. And people accused him for being mental. By the sound of it, he was the only one sane!
The three Slytherins chuckled, their eyes shining with amusement. "There are a few other factors involved, but people are slowly beginning to realise that you are your own person, and that that person just might be worth following," Lucius said with a drawl.
"But... I don't want followers," Harry protested, still feeling bewildered.
"And that is why people are willing to follow you," Severus stated, ending up making Harry even more confused.
Shaking his head, Harry decided that he would try and figure out what was going on at a later time. Maybe after he had read the letters things would make more sense. "So, what's in the other box?" he asked, not sure he wanted to know.
"Those are the letters written to you by your friends and business associates. I have checked them for spells, curses, and dangerous substances. However, I have not read them."
"Thank you," Harry said, giving Lucius a grateful look. "Would you mind if I went through the letters from my friends?" he asked, glancing around at the others.
"No, we don't mind, go ahead," Severus said, overruling whatever Draco had been about to say. "Would you mind if I worked on translating Longbottom's journal? Or would you rather I retired to my own chambers?"
"No, stay, please, I don't mind having you here," Harry said, sending the Potions master a shy smile. Then the smile turned decidedly mischievous. "I'm sure Lucius is sharing my sentiment."
"Brat," Severus said, amusement shining from his black eyes.
"Maybe so, but you both know that I am right," Harry said somewhat smugly, causing Draco to snigger.
Lucius merely lifted an eyebrow at his errant son, causing him to laugh harder.
Shaking his head with amusement, Harry picked a letter and settled down to read.
Dearest Harrikins,
I hope you aren't holding our not so dear brother's stupidity against us.
I do not know what has gotten into Ron these days, but this is not how we Weasleys are taught to review family.
And that is what you are, Harry, whether you want to be or not.
Yep, once you are made a Weasley, you will never be free from us! (evil cackle)
You have to excuse my brother, Harry, I believe he has gotten into our 'I'm-a-dangerous- Dark-Lord-wanna-be-so-what-are-you-gong-to-do-about-it?' candy again. It doesn't mimic You Know Who's looks, because, frankly, who would want to look like that? But it does cause the eater to cackle madly and think up dastardly plots that will never be executed properly.
Do not listen to that brother of mine. When you are in need of kicking some ass, who better to channel than You Know Who?
Anyway, what we wanted to tell you is this,
We do not agree with Ron.
In fact, we think he is a silly prat, who needs a good, hard kick in the backside!
We have already sent him one prank letter. We will send him many more, and we pledge to you not to stop until he has learned his lesson.
Who cares how you are dressed? And who cares about who you fall in love with? As long as you are happy that is all we care about.
If you should ever need any help with any pranks, don't hesitate to call on our expertise. Though, from what we've been hearing, you are doing pretty well on your own
Your brothers of love, if not by blood
Gred and Forge
P.S. Can we use the prank you used on Pansy? I think it could be a great hit, changing yourself or others into cute, fluffy stuffed animals. What do you say? Pretty please? We will worship you forever if you say yes.
And should you ever decide to become a Dark Lord, we will become your most devoted followers, pranking anyone who does not meet with your approval. Should be loads of fun! So, what do you say?
Harry blinked, then he sniggered. Fred and George was their usual, brilliant if somewhat confusing selves. "I say that you are two nutty prats," he stated aloud, shaking his head at the letter, missing the confusing looks he was given.
"Harry?" Draco asked, wondering if he should be worried or not.
"Just a letter from the twins," Harry said, already busy picking up the next letter. "They are confirming their support of me, in their own, unique way," he added, absentmindedly holding the letter out for Draco to pursue.
Draco grabbed it and was soon laughing heartily.
Harry looked up from his reading, enjoying the sound of true amusement, loving the open and carefree look on Draco's face. Promising himself to do everything within his powers to make sure the Veela had plenty of stuff to laugh about in the future, Harry went back to his letter.
Dear Harry,
I know we don't know each other very well. I have heard a lot about you from Ron and the twins, but you and I have never truly interacted. Since I have spent most of my time in Egypt the past few years, it is rather understandable.
Still, I liked the things I have heard about you. And the few times we have met, you impressed me with your intelligence, your integrity, and your resilience. Then there is the fact that if it wasn't for you, Ginny would most probably be dead now. Which means that the Weasley family owes you a Wizards debt, and Ginny owes you a Life debt. I don't know if anyone has approached you and talked to you about it, but I for one take such debts very seriously.
But Harry, even if those debts did not exist, I would still honour the fact that you have been made an honorary Weasley. I don't know what my mother's problem is, but I am not prepared to turn my back on my love brother. That is not how we Weasleys were raised, Percy non withstanding.
I for one will proudly stand at your side, no matter what the future brings. You have time and again proven yourself to be a fine young man, worthy of my loyalty. Even if you do have begun to associate closely with the Malfoys. And yes, there is a reason there is such... dislike between our families, but I believe that should be discussed in person. Perhaps the four of us could meet sometime soon and talk? I really would like to see you again, Harry, and hopefully get to know my youngest brother a bit better.
Yours truly,
William Weasley.
Harry stared dumbly at the letter, his mind reeling. Life debt? Did Ginny really owe him a Life debt for what had happened in the Chamber of Secrets? What did that mean, exactly? Glancing over at Lucius, Harry hesitated to ask him. They had never truly discussed the diary, and he was loathed to bring up what had be a sensitive subject. Still, he desperately needed to know if this changed anything.
"Harry? Is something wrong?" Lucius asked, having noted Harry's growing agitation, silently promising himself to hunt down and hurt whoever had upset the brunet.
"Umm, I'm not sure," Harry admitted, and after a brief hesitation, handed over the letter with an apologetic look.
Lucius read through it, his jaw clenching when he came to the end. With measured movements, the blond put the letter down and turned his full attention to Harry. "Which part is it that worries you?" he asked, not about to jump to conclusions.
"Umm, what Bill said about debts. Is it true? And if it is, what does it mean?" Harry asked timidly.
Hearing Harry's question, Draco abandoned his sketching and came to sit next to Harry, wrapping his arms around the Elf, offering love and support. Harry gratefully snuggled into Draco's chest, pretty sure he would not like what he was about to hear.
"Yes, it is true that there is a life debt between you and Ginny Weasley. I take it that no one has talked to you about this?" Lucius asked, already knowing the answer.
"No," Harry said with a sigh, shaking his head. "As a matter of fact, no one has ever talked to me about that night since then. I just figured that no one wanted to remember how close Ginny was to dying, and well..."
"You didn't mentioned it because you didn't want to bring up a subject that was clearly sensitive to them," Draco said knowingly.
Harry merely nodded his head.
Lucius and Severus both shook their heads. Sweeping an unpleasant matter under the carpet was not the way to go about it. No matter how much the Weasleys wanted to forget, the debt still existed and it would not go away until Harry declared that payment had been meted out in full. Was this more of Dumbledore's meddling? If so, what was he hoping to gain by it?
"Harry, you saved the youngest Weasley's life. In payment for that act you could demand just about anything. If you so wished, she would have to marry you, or become your mistress. You could demand her first born child, or even insist that she carried your child," Severus said, ignoring the angry hiss coming from his godson.
"As for the other Weasleys, they owe you a debt of gratitude. Normally the Head of the family would be the one dealing with this issue, but it has happened that the matter has been settled with other members of the family. And it should have been decided long before now what the payment should be. It is rare that a debt of gratitude is left unvoiced for as long as this one has been left hanging."
"Maybe Mr. Weasley was waiting for me to turn sixteen?" Harry tentatively asked, not wanting to badmouth the man, but not knowing enough to truly defend him.
All three Slytherins shook their heads.
"Harry," Lucius said, taking up the explaining once more. "A debt of gratitude is always settled right away. The terms of the agreement might take years to be fulfilled, but the issue itself is always addressed right away. The life debt on the other hand can not be addressed until Miss Weasley has turned sixteen, since she is the one who has to repay you, and she has to be an adult to be able to do so."
"What a bloody mess!" Harry said with a heavy sigh, snuggling in deeper against Draco. "Wait a minute!" Harry suddenly exclaimed, looking a bit green. "Does this mean that I owe Severus a life debt? I mean," he added, gulping slightly, looking over at the Potions master, "you did save me in my first year, when Quirrell jinxed my broom. And... there has been several other occasions as well, hasn't there?" Harry said timidly.
Severus sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, this was not how he had envisioned this discussion. Albus had forbidden him to approach Harry until after the final battle, forcing a wizard's oath out of him before he was satisfied, and Severus had spent many nights coming up with interesting ways he would ruin the brats life. But mostly, he had just put it out of his mind, filing it as yet another right being denied him.
However, circumstances had changed. Harry had turned out to be the mate of Draco. Moreover, Potter was not the spoilt brat Severus had always taken him to be, so the plans no longer held any appeal to him whatsoever.
"Yes, Harry, there is a Life debt between us. However, Albus made me swear a wizard's oath that I would not bring it up with you until after the Dark Lord had been defeated," Severus said evenly, keeping his face blank.
Harry growled angrily. "Fuck Dumbledore and his oaths. You are not bringing the matter up, I am! This is what I am going to do; I am going to find out everything I can about different wizarding debts, because clearly, I am woefully ignorant - not that that is anything new.
"Then, we will be sitting down, you and I. Hmm, I suppose Draco and Lucius should be there as well, after all, this concerns them too in a way. And then you and I are going to sit down and discuss everything, and we will keep at it until we have come to an agreement both of us can live with," Harry said, folding his arms across his chest, daring Severus to contradict him.
Severus, being Severus, did just that. "Harry, in a few days time you will save my life by removing the Dark Mark. Furthermore, you will free Lucius, allowing us to bond with each other, as we should have done almost seventeen years ago. Any debts owned by you, will be wiped clean by those acts," Severus said softly, his face softening, a rare smile playing on his lips.
"Hmph, we'll see," was all Harry said, putting on his most mulish look. Making sure Snape couldn't try and discuss the matter further, Harry turned his attention to the box, picking up a suspiciously thick envelope. Running his fingers lightly all around hit, Harry looked over at Lucius and asked, "You are sure it is alright to open it?"
"Yes. It appears to be a book, but I can find no traces of anything dangerous or Dark."
Knowing that Lucius wouldn't let anything dangerous come even close to him, Harry trusted the blond's words and tore the package apart. A book along with a folded up parchment fell out onto the table. Picking up the paper first, Harry swiftly scanned the surprisingly long letter.
Dear Sweetie,
What a dear you are, Harry Potter, worrying about an old woman like that. But don't you worry none about me! I knew exactly what I was doing selling those trunks to you. And at that price
You see, my great-grandfather was a bit of a Seer. Yes, I know, most unusual, since Seers are usually women, but there are a few males out there as well. Anyway, he sometimes got glimpses of the future, mostly when he was in the process of looking for finds at auctions and estate sales.
Now and then he would come home whit a trunk that he immediately hid away in the attic. The rest of the family was furious with him, especially when he had paid a lot of money for one of those trunks, but he remained tight-lipped and refused to explain himself, or to allow the trunks to be examined or sold.
Then one day, when he was getting on in years and was no longer able to keep working in the shop, he pulled me aside and showed me the trunks he had gathered together. "One day," he said, "One day a young man, dressed in leather and extremely polite will walk into the shop, and he will ask to buy all the books we have. He will have black hair and the greenest of eyes, and he will have an unusual scar on his forehead. You will sell him the books, and you will sell him the trunks gathered up here, charging only fifteen Galleons a trunk. It will be my contribution to building a better world."
He had a faraway look in his eyes when he told me that last, and I just knew he was seeing something I couldn't. I remembered his words, and for a long time I checked each and every customer closely, but none of them matched my great-grandfather's description. To tell you the truth, I had all but forgotten his words when you showed up, and when I did remember, I could understand his words and actions a bit better. So you see, Sweetie, you do not owe me anything more for those trunks.
Sadly my great-grandfather died some years ago, but he left me his diaries. I think you will find this one interesting. He always kept detailed notes on the things that he bought, writing down how big a profit he made, and if what he saw ever came true or not. He kept a special journal that he kept well hidden and bespelled so that his relatives couldn't find out that way what he had brought home. I have never tried to break the spells on this journal, and I find that I don't want to know what is written inside, but maybe you are the one meant to read the words my great-grandfather wrote down...
Anyway, good luck to you. I hope the things in the trunks will be of some small assistance to you.
All my love,
Abigail Sweetwater.
"Bloody fucking hell!" Harry exclaimed, staring down at the innocent looking journal as if it was about to come to life and bite him at any second.
"Harry?" Lucius asked in alarm, not taking the time to chide him for his language. By the looks on the teen's face, things were most definitely not well.
Still staring in disbelief at the book, Harry opened his mouth, then closed it again, not sure how to explain what he was feeling. Mutely, he held the letter out to Lucius, quietly asking him to read it aloud.
Allowing the older Malfoy's voice to wash over him, Harry turned away from the bloody book and buried his face in Draco's neck. Could his life get anymore bizarre? And who the hell had decided that his entire life should be mapped out in advance? What about his free will? Wasn't anyone taking that into account? Or didn't his will matter for some reason?
Lucius finished the letter and fell silent. For several long moments no one spoke, all three Slytherins staring at the journal with varying looks of disbelief on their faces. Then Draco whooped, startling them all.
"This is sooo cool. Are you going to try and read it now?"
"No!" Harry said curtly, still buried in Draco's neck.
"Why ever not? Aren't you curious to find out just what other finds he made? Maybe he even left us some hints on what will happen in the near future. I can't wait to find out. Aren't you even the smallest bit curious?"
Harry removed himself from Draco's neck and just stared at the Veela in amazement. Did Draco even listen to what he was saying? Didn't he realise what this implied? But no, Harry realised, his mood darkening drastically. Draco doesn't know what it is like to have your whole life dictated by some bloody prophecy. He doesn't know what it feels like to know that you are stuck, forced with a duty you do not want. That you never asked for.
"Go to hell!" Harry hissed, jerkily sliding off Draco's lap. Grabbing hold of the journal, Harry marched into his bedroom, slamming the door shut behind him as hard as he could.
Draco blinked in confusion. "What did I say?" he asked, completely baffled, not understanding why Harry was so angry, or why he wasn't more thrilled by the journal.
Severus didn't even try to explain; he merely rose to his feet and made his way over to the bedroom, carefully cracking the door open before sliding inside.
"Father?" Draco asked, watching as Lucius just shook his head and run a hand through his hair.
"Draco, you might find this situation fascinating. I must confess, I do too some extent. However, Harry has already been informed that his life is ruled by a prophecy. I imagine that he is not thrilled by the thought of others making his decisions for him," Lucius said somewhat dryly.
"Shit!" Draco cursed, suddenly understanding only too well, and he scrambled out of his chair, running for his mate, anxious to mend the hurt he had unwittingly caused.