FicWad

Chapter Four: Malfoy for a Minute

The forests of Albania projected the atmosphere of the terrifying unknown, even to the bravest of men. Peter Pettigrew was not the bravest of men, far from it but he had few other options given recent events. His cover as the pet rat for Percy Weasley had been blown and Peter was at a loss to determine exactly how this could have happened. He had the perfect plot, sit in with a Wizarding family and listen for news that might indicate the slightest hint that the Dark Lord would return.



Unfortunately, that plan was out the window, thanks to an odd looking six year old boy, who Peter assumed was Harry Potter. How or why a child could have deduced Peter's ruse was at a loss to the rat. The only thing that was certain is if Dumbledore would not have intervened and caused Potter to inadvertently drop the net he was in, it was highly likely that Wormtail would be rotting in a jail cell in Azkaban right now. Wormtail knew he would wilt fast under the effects of the Dementors, because they would torment him with the fact that his lack of bravery had caused him to sell the Potters out and thus have a role in their murders. The fact that he cowardly framed Sirius and blew up an entire street of Muggles added to the problems. Peter did not want to step into Azkaban but he couldn't help be morbidly curious about how young Harry could have known.



With these thoughts in mind, Wormtail cautiously traveled deeper and deeper into the forest, on a mission to find his master. He could move quickly in his form but at the same time, he only had a vague idea where the Dark Lord was located within the forest. It could be a few days before Wormtail could even guess remotely close to the location where the Dark Lord was. Of course, Wormtail didn't have a choice; he needed the Dark Lord to protect him now that his cover had been blown.



The Riverfront Hotel was a building that had been abandoned for years as far as the general public was concerned. In fact, few gave the building a second look because of the simple fact it looked run down from the outside. However, the look on the outside was just to keep unwanted intruders from snooping around. The inside upkeep on the hotel was above average, a complete opposite of what first impressions looked to be from outside of the establishment.



"I must say, Antonio, this is impressive, amazing what you can do without magic," said Harry calmly.



"Yes, it is rather impressive that magic does exist, although it explains a lot of the stranger things I've seen," said Antonio. "Also, you are saying that Dumbledore fellow put enchantments on your residence, to make sure no one found you."



"That's my guess, but to fair, Dumbledore hasn't said that, but he did say something about the blood wards shielding the house from anyone who is untrustworthy," said Harry. "Of course, he would think anyone who wanted to get me far away from that place would be untrustworthy."



"Just say the word, Harry, and we'll wipe Dumbledore out," said Antonio, who was rather appalled at the fact that someone would sent a child to a place where his guardian would force the child to live in a cupboard. Granted, he did some pretty underhanded things as a mobster, but never to children. It was mostly men who tried to flee without paying their gambling debts and rival mobsters, but innocent women and all children were considered to be off limits as far as Antonio was concerned. He had a feeling that Boss Evans was rolling over in his grave, because of the disgraceful actions of Petunia.



"Tempting, but no, well at least not yet," said Harry. "Dumbledore for all of his faults, can keep Voldemort in check somewhat. I've heard that Dumbledore is the only one that Voldemort ever feared but I'm counting on that to be true."



Antonio nodded reluctantly, Harry seemed to know more than he should have known but that wasn't his business. He was merely an advisor and his job description did not extend down to asking nosy questions.



"I must say, my new employees seemed rather pleased to meet me," continued Harry.



"We haven't had a steady boss since your grandfather died and we've just been moving around in circles, losing ground to Boss Zabini for all of these years," said Antonio. "I'm not really cut out to make big decisions, I'm just cut out to advise them, but while I am the most trusted advisor of Boss Evans, I didn't command quite the same respect he did. Rather close, but even with your relatively young age, it shouldn't be a problem."



"On another note, when can expect the project I requested you guys to complete to be done?" asked Harry.



"In a few weeks, maybe up to a month, month and a half," said Antonio. "A transmitter of that caliber will take state of the art parts and that isn't cheap."



"Cost doesn't matter to me," said Harry. "I need insurance that the Ministry of Magic will not try and make me a ward of the Ministry, prostituting my name to increase favorable public opinion. Once this transmitter gets completed, I'll have all the leverage I need to make sure the corrupt officials at the Ministry don't try and use me for their own gain. While I can't have you guys kill all of the Ministry employees, I can broadcast the existence of the magical world on every radio and television station throughout the United Kingdom. "



Harry took a deep breath.



"In time, we're going to take back the territory that Boss Zabini stole and then some," continued Harry. "I don't take too kindly to be the second best mob boss in Britain."



"Your grandfather wouldn't have either, Harry," said Antonio as two other mobsters walked down the hallway. "Ah, Victor, Gilbert, just the two men we were looking for. How is Mr. Black enjoying his stay here?"



"Quite well actually, considering he was a bit apprehensive about us earlier, which has passed when he heard that his godson would better protected under our watch. Still, after being in that horrible prison for five years, anyplace would be better but we have some urgent news for Boss Potter here," said Victor in a quickly. "It seems the paper that he subscribed to recently and had sent to a neutral location has some news that you might find interesting, Boss."



"Interesting news, hmm, it seems the Daily Prophet have picked up on the fact that I've left the Dursleys," said Harry as he quickly deepened his strides towards the room in the hotel that doubled as his office. Harry stepped inside the windowless room before moving towards the latest edition of the Daily Prophet sitting on his desk. Harry grabbed the Daily Prophet before sitting down slowly in a chair and reading the headline story about himself.



/Harry Potter Missing:/

/By Rita Skeeter/

/ /

Harry James Potter, the Boy Who Lived, has officially declared missing by the Ministry of Magic. The Ministry had no clue the boy had left the home of his relatives until about a day ago when Potter was spotted roaming around Diagon Alley without any supervision by respected pureblood Lucius Malfoy. This sighting raises the concern that the guardians of the Boy-Who-Lived, Vernon and Petunia Dursley, are neglectful and abandoned the boy in London, as many as three to four days ago. This theory gains credibility because of recent information that came to light. It seems as if Lily and James Potter never wanted their son to be sent to the Dursleys in the first place. The Dursleys have strong, anti-magic attitudes that are quite frankly medieval and close minded. They are the worse kind of Muggles imaginable, the classic type that attempted to burn our kind at the stake many times over the centuries(for further details of important witch burnings throughout history, see page nine).



So one would come to the conclusion that Harry Potter, the hero who brought down He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named would be ill fitted to be sent to such Muggles. Unfortunately, Albus Dumbledore did not come to that conclusion and did in fact step in and sent the boy to his magic hating Muggle relatives. It should be noted that there are many magical families that offered to take the Boy-Who-Lived in to their homes and raise him like a member of his family, but Dumbledore chose this option. This reporter strongly believes that the Dursleys should be investigated to disprove Dumbledore's opinion that the boy would be safest at their home. Dumbledore also should be chastised for condemning an innocent child to Muggles with these attitudes about magic. Dumbledore has been slipping for years but this latest incident shows that Dumbledore would be served from stepping down as Headmaster of Hogwarts and away from public life.



No matter what the reason, we must ask ourselves one question. Where is Harry Potter? Many pureblooded families who are well respected have offered to adopt Mr. Potter and educate him properly about our world. Lucius Malfoy looks to be the front runner and would be an admirable guardian for the Boy-Who-Lived, giving his outstanding contributions to charity. This reporter hopes that Harry Potter can be found, before it is too late.



Harry just set the paper down, with a thoughtful expression on his face.



"So, Lucius Malfoy wants to adopt me, eh," replied Harry. "Interesting."



"This Malfoy guy seems like the slippery type," supplied Gilbert. "I mean, Boss, all this donations to charity, sure, it's for a good cause, but it is also a way to keep the law off your back."



"Right, Harry, it's a common tactic in our world to donate to charity to keep out of jail and if Lucius Malfoy wants to adopt you, it could be trouble," said Antonio.



"Trouble for him," said Harry calmly which caused the mobsters to look at him strangely. "So Lucius wants to sink his claws into me and become my guardian. I have a large amount of gold. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what's going on but when life gives you lemons, take the lemons and squeeze the juice into someone's open wounds."



"So, instead of Malfoy taking you to the cleaners, you're going to turn the tables on him," said Victor.



"Yes, but I need someone as tricky and underhanded as Malfoy to get the job done," said Harry, thinking hard.



"Boss, we've got the perfect men for the job," said Victor. "These two gentlemen are devious and underhanded and have worked with us before. As long as the price is right and the check clears, they can put the screws to anyone."



"Excellent, how soon can we set up a meeting?" asked Harry.



"In a couple of hours, in fact," declared Victor.



"Good, set it up at the earliest possible time," said Harry calmly, cracking his knuckles. Lucius Malfoy had caused him trouble the first time around, but this time Harry would cut him off at the knees.



Inside an abandoned factory in one of the worst parts of London, Boss Edward Zabini sat in a storeroom, behind a box, with his eyes darting side to side in a paranoid fashion. His men had been gone for several hours, following a lead about a new mob boss in the rival faction. They had not returned for several hours and Boss Zabini had assumed that it was a false tip to have them ambushed by their rivals.



The door creaked open and Boss Zabini rose to his feet, with a baseball bat in one hand and a handgun in the other hand, pointing them shakily towards a door. He couldn't be too careful, it could be his wife to knock him off and claim his money, like she did to all of her previous husbands. The only reason that she had knocked him off was because he knocked her up but still, Boss Zabini was operating under the assumption that she could kill him at any time.



Zabini relaxed his arm as he saw it was just his employees stepping into the room.



"Boss, the rumors are true, Parzinno is stepping down and a descendent of Evans is taking over the family business," said one of the mobsters. "If you ask me, we don't have nothing to worry about."



"Why is that?" asked Zabini in a shaky voice. "Did my wife follow you here?"



"No, Boss Zabini, your old lady didn't follow us, you can put down the bat boss, she's not here," said one of the mobsters quickly.



"Can't be too careful?" muttered Zabini, his eyes darting over the shoulders of his men quickly.



"And to answer your question," continued the mobster. "The new mob boss is nothing but a little brat."



"Ice him right away!" snapped Zabini. "He might not seem like a problem now but I said the same thing about my wife and look where I am. Whoever this child mob boss is, kill him!"



"But Boss, I doubt that..." started another mobster but Zabini pointed his gun at him before shooting him right in the chest in cold blood. The mobster fell to the ground, as the others backed off. The man laid on the floor, bleeding to a painful death as Zabini looked up at the other members of his organization, who looked more paranoid then he did.



"Does anyone else wish to disagree with me?" asked Zabini in a lethal voice and all of the mobsters shook their heads frantically. "I didn't think so. Now seek out this new boss and put him out of commission. He could cause me to lose all of the territory that I gained and I can't have that. My wife is enough to worry about and make sure you double check to make sure she didn't follow me."



His employees nodded calmly before quickly moving on to check the parameter once more.



Zabini grabbed a glass of water, before pulling out his wand and scanning it for traces of poison. His wife might have snuck in here and laced his drink with something lethal we he was meeting with his mobsters. After he checked his glass, he spun around, before firing his gun at the shadows and watching a mouse scurry away quickly at the sounds of gunshots.



Harry walked up to an impressive looking building, just a couple of streets away from the entrance to Diagon Alley, with a half a dozen of his new associates. Sirius wanted to come but Harry had put the kibosh on that. It was too risky for Sirius to be seen out in public, even in his Animagus form. He looked up at the plaque on the building which read.



The Lawfirm of Boldface and Schyster:

No Case Too Outrageous



Harry stared at the plaque for a few seconds before the door was opened, allowing him entrance. A couple of his employees stood guard outside but the others including Antonio and his two bodyguards, Shoulders and Knuckles, followed Harry inside the building to a desk where a bored looking girl with stringy blond hair in her early twenties was sitting, absentmindedly doodling on a piece of paper.



"Good afternoon," said Antonio sharply. "Boss Potter is here for his appointment to see Mr. Boldface."



"Oh, just a second," said the girl, pushing the button to activate her intercom. "Mr. Boldface, a Boss Potter and his associates are here to see you."



"Send them in," declared a calm voice on the other end of the intercom.



"Well, you heard the man, you can go in now," said the girl waving them towards the door.



Harry walked towards the door, pushing it open and seeing a midget man that was maybe a few inches taller them him, smoking a cigar, while sitting on a stack of phonebooks so he can see over his desk.



"Ah Boss...HOLY SHIT YOU'RE HARRY POTTER!" yelled Boldface, his eyes briefly flickering over the lightning bolt scar on Harry's forehead.



"You won't be the first person to say that nor you would be the last," said Harry coolly.



"And besides, Boss Potter has legitimate business to attend to," said Antonio. "So, let's not waste a minute of time and if this goes through, you will get paid handsomely."



"Yes, and what I'm going to pay you is far from loose change, if everything goes according to plan," said Harry. "But, I'm curious, how exactly did you know who I am?"



"I am a squib Mr. Potter, which puts me in a rather unique position for my lawfirm," said Boldface. "Both Muggle and Magical clients pass through my lawfirm, but if the price is right, I don't complain. Still, I suspect you are here for legal protection against Dumbledore, to keep him from sending you back to your relatives."



"Not exactly, but I'm sure you've heard that Lucius Malfoy has petitioned the Ministry to become my guardian," said Harry.



"Trust me, Boss Potter, no matter who Malfoy hires to represent him in the court of law, I can chew them up and spit them out," said Boldface. "I've actually got the charges dropped against some people who had to be guilty of charges. Got, your grandfather out of a tight spot a couple of times and Malfoy's legal team is no match for me and my partner, Mr. Schyster."



"Actually, I was wondering if you could make this general outline into a solid legal document," said Harry, pushing a piece of parchment towards Boldface.



Boldface picked up the parchment, scanning it briefly before nodding.



"I should be able to draw you up something, Boss Potter," said Boldface. "Of course, you'd have to get Malfoy to actually sign it for your plan to work."



"Don't worry, he'll sign it," said Harry with a smirk. "By this time tomorrow, your bank account will be inflated several times. How's thirty five percent sound?"



"Thirty five percent of that much money!" exclaimed Boldface, who briefly thought that Harry Potter might have been overpaying him but he decided to put those petty thoughts to rest. "Mr. Potter, you have yourself a deal. Anything else?"



"Oh, and you might want to leak word to Lucius Malfoy, around noon tomorrow that Harry Potter was spotted at the Leaky Cauldron and was there as late as twenty minutes ago," said Harry calmly as Boldface nodded. "I'll come here at about a half an hour before then to collect the completed document."



"Good day then, Boss Potter, and I hope that our business concludes well," said Boldface, reaching over and shaking hands with Harry before Harry walked out of the room, with Antonio, Shoulders, and Knuckles following Harry from the building.



"Boss Potter, normally I don't question my superior, but it is my honest opinion you really overpaid him," said Antonio.



"Actually, I did that deliberately, so he doesn't double cross me," said Harry. "A little added incentive, to get something airtight with no loopholes that Malfoy or any of his other chums who talked their way out of prison by false tales of bewitchment can exploit. Plus..."



Harry stopped and saw two bumbling looking figures walking down the streets of London. Two very familiar bumbling looking figures, who once inadvertently let Harry into a Death Eater meeting place, without checking his identity. Harry managed to secure a lot of incriminating information on that day and managed to disable a good percentage of Voldemort's forces, even if it was too little, too late by then the first time around.



"I don't know how Potter could have given the slip Crabbe, my old chap, but Lucius will have our heads if we don't locate the boy," said Goyle as Crabbe stood, staring vacantly into space for a moment before talking. "Come forth and let us keep up with our search, he's just a mere six year old boy, he must be around this city somewhere."



Crabbe just looked at Goyle with a blank expression, his mouth open and drooling.



"Quite right, we'll check around, before reporting back to Diagon Alley," said Goyle as they approached the mobsters who were still outside of the Lawfirm of Schyster and Boldface. Crabbe and Goyle stopped, staring at Harry for a few moments. "Good day young man, could you help us find Harry Potter?"



"Harry Potter?" asked Harry in a disbelief, as Antonio, Knuckles, Shoulders, and the other mobsters barely held their snickers as Harry brushed the fringe of his hair over his scar to obscure it from view.



"Yes, of course, you're a Muggle, er you might not have heard of him," said Goyle. "He's a young boy, about six years old, with a lightning bolt scar on his forehead."



"Lighting bolt scar?" asked Harry giving a fake look of deep pondering. "Oh, yes, I saw a boy with a lightning bolt scar on his forehead a few minutes ago."



"Good, now could you please do us a favor, and be a kind lad and point out what direction he ran off to," said Goyle, as Crabbe gave a dim witted smile.



"He went that way," said Harry, pointing towards the general area of the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron. "Good luck in finding this Harry Potter!"



"I thank you, kind lad," said Goyle. "As does my associate or he would if he could speak. Have a nice day, young bean."



Crabbe and Goyle walked towards the Leaky Cauldron and when they were out of sight, the mobsters began to cackle madly at the stupidly of these two gentlemen.



At Hogwarts, Dumbledore sat in his office, looking at the latest edition of the Daily Prophet. Dumbledore could see his chances of sending Harry back to the Dursleys dwindling by the moment. While no one in the Magical World but Harry and Albus could find the house thanks to the blood wards within the house, the Headmaster could sense that the wards were getting weaker and weaker by each passing minute. Eventually they would be gone and then Ministry officials could get into the house to investigate the Dursleys and Dumbledore feared that they could be the first Muggles to ever take up residence in Azkaban.



Another thing was Potter breaking into the Weasley residence. What did he have to gain? Even more curious, he tried to steal a pet rat of all things. For the most part, Potter seemed like a scared six year old, but the final statement about Dumbledore ruining everything really shook him to the bone. Dumbledore wanted to consult someone who was an expert on the Dark Arts before he jumped to certain conclusions.



A knock on the door of the office interrupted Dumbledore's thoughts.



"Enter," said Dumbledore calmly and the door of the Headmaster's office pushed open and Snape walked inside the office, looking like he really didn't want to be there. He sat in the chair opposite of Dumbledore. "Ah good evening, Severus. I would like to ask your opinion on a very pressing issue regarding Harry Potter."



"I believe I have made my opinion on the brat, clear, Headmaster," said Snape coldly.



"Yes, I know, but it's not your personal opinion on the boy, but rather one about something could have happened on that night that Lord Voldemort fell," said Dumbledore with a grave expression on his face. "Harry seems a bit odd for a seven year old, as if there is a strange, much older, almost darker presence within him. Most of the time I spoke with him during our altercation, he seemed scared and confused, but when I attempted to stun him for his own good, he lashed out on me."



"I fail to see where you are heading with this, Headmaster," replied Snape calmly.



"Is it possible that some of Voldemort's soul could have leaked into Harry when his killing curse backfired," said Voldemort.



"Perhaps, but did you ever consider the possibility that something else other than a botched killing curse could have destroyed the Dark Lord's body?" asked Snape. "For instance, a Horcrux creation ritual if not done absolutely right could lead to a spectral existence much like the Dark Lord's. While he could have successfully placed a fragment of his soul into Potter, the effort could have destroyed his body but still not managed to kill him. I would strongly suggest executing Potter, because if he is running around with a piece of the Dark Lord's soul around, he could be dangerous to both himself and others."



"Now, Severus, there are ways to remove a soul fragment from the Horcrux without destroying the vessel and killing Harry might not be the answer," said Dumbledore.



"Headmaster, killing Potter would be more humane they removing the soul fragment from him," said Snape. "While, removing the soul fragment would allow you to destroy it, Potter would be left brain dead at the very worst. At the very best, he would have a few agonizing minutes before he dies a slow and quite painful death."



Dumbledore looked grave at that moment. If Harry did in fact have a piece of Voldemort's soul in him, there seemed to be little choice but to humanely put the poor child out of his misery. Nothing seemed to be going Dumbledore's way over the past couple of days.



The next day at the Leaky Cauldron, Harry Potter walked into the place, just a few minutes before Noon. He was wearing same oversized clothes that he left the Dursleys in a few days ago. They gave him quite the pathetic look, something that Harry needed to achieve to make Lucius believe that he could be easily manipulated for his own gains.



Harry spent some time just walking around the pub, wasting time before he saw Lucius Malfoy walk into the pub about five minutes after Noon, with a pair of wizards that Harry suspected were Ministry officials along with his wife Narcissa, who as usual looked as if she had something nasty under her nose. Of course, Harry would have the same look if he had to spend that much time around Lucius.



Lucius looked around, an informant had told him that Potter was spotted here recently and he had hoped Harry was still here. He craned his neck and spotted a boy that resembled a young James Potter, and the tell tale lightning bolt scar on his head. Lucius motioned for his wife and the Ministry officials to come forward with him, as they walked towards the boy, who looked lost and vulnerable in the shadows.



"Hello Harry," said Lucius in a completely phony kind voice.



"How did you know my name?" asked Harry in an equally phony, scared voice.



"Ah, Harry, I knew your parents," said Lucius calmly, which was true in a sense but not the way that a young six year old would interpret an innocent statement. "Such a shame they were killed at such a young age and left you with those Muggles. They would want you to get raised in a proper magical home."



"Muggles?" asked Harry, in quiet voice.



"Non-Magical people Harry, and yes magic does exist," said Lucius.



"My Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia said that all magical people should be burned at the stake, because they are evil," said Harry in an innocent voice.



"Harry, your Muggle relatives are close minded and ignorant, much like all Muggles are period," said Lucius. "While there are a few good muggleborns here and there, like your dearly departed mother for instance, most of them are ignorant and we could do without them. So, how did these Muggles treat you, Harry?"



Harry could see Lucius quietly taking adoption papers out so Harry silently used a switching spell to replace Malfoy's documents with his own documents once they were placed on the table. Much to Harry's glee, no one had noticed the switch.



"They made me live in a cupboard under the stairs," said Harry in a solemn, weak voice. "They said it was the best that a no good freak like myself could hope for."



"I think we have heard enough to make an accurate judgment of the case," said one of the Ministry officials in a sharp voice. "Mr. Potter, it is the belief of the Ministry of Magic that you were placed in an unfit home and as a result, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy will sign these adoption papers and they will be your guardians in the Magical World."



Harry nodded, as Lucius Malfoy took out a quill and signed the paper without reading what was written whatsoever. Narcissa did the same, as Lucius's eyes flickered through the door.



"Let's go before Dumbledore finds out about this and tries to make difficulties," muttered Lucius to Narcissa, who nodded calmly. Lucius turned to Harry. "Harry, you need to grab onto my arm, so I can Apparate you out of here and back to my Manor."



Harry reluctantly grabbed Lucius's arm, making a mental note to decontaminate his hand at the first possible opportunity. With a pop, Lucius and Harry disappeared towards Malfoy Manor, with Narcissa following closely behind.



Lucius wondered if he had forgotten to do something when he took Harry Potter to his house but if it was truly important, he reasoned he would have done it already.



Harry looked at Malfoy Manor, awed in spite himself. It was rather large and impressive. The perfect location for a shopping mall but Harry was in fact getting ahead of himself.



"Welcome to the Malfoy ancestral home, it has been in our family for twelve generations, Harry," drawled Lucius. "Five Hundred and Twelve Different Bedrooms are in this house, so you can take your pick other than the five bedrooms my son Draco has taken up residence in and of course, the bedroom Narcissa and I live in."



Harry nodded, remembering how that many bedrooms came in handy when this was a Death Eater meeting place. Many Death Eaters spent time here, healing various wounds or hiding out from the Ministry, until the Ministry completely failed.



"Lucius, we need to introduce Harry to Draco and then we need to teach the boy etiquette as he obviously didn't seem to learn any from those horrid Muggles," injected Narcissa in snooty voice.



"Where is Draco anyway, my dear?" asked Lucius.



"Dobby was watching him when we went out for the day," said Narcissa snidely. "He should be in one of his bedrooms."



Lucius, Narcissa, and Harry walked into Malfoy Manor and up the crystal stairway towards the upper level of the house.



"Draco!" commanded Lucius in a loud voice. "You are to come out here right now and meet your new brother."



A few seconds pause and small boy with white blond hair walked down the hallway, looking at Harry with a curious look, before spotting the lightning bolt scar.



"Father, that's Harry Potter," said Draco.



"Yes, Draco, we adopted him, rescuing him from Muggles and you will treat him like you would any other pureblood child in your age group," said Lucius in a warning voice. "Is that clear, Draco?"



"Yes, Father," said Draco.



"Good, I'll let you two get acquainted with each other," said Lucius, before turning to his wife. "Come, Narcissa."



The two elder Malfoys walked away, leaving Harry to have the misfortune of being in the presence of Draco. It was jarring, as the last time Harry had seen Malfoy, he was a murderous Death Eater and now he was a nearly innocent child.



"So, you lived with Muggles, Harry?" asked Draco. "What's that like?"



"Horrible," said Harry curtly.



"Father says the same thing about Muggles," said Draco. "He says that the world would be better off if all Muggles are put down like rabid dogs."



"Really, Draco, and what is your opinion?" asked Harry, which caused Draco to stare at him like he had grown two heads.



Harry's eyes flickered to a very familiar face with bat like ears, dressed in a pillowcase.



"What is that thing?" asked Harry in a panicked voice, pointing toward the shadows.



"Oh, that's Dobby, he's a house elf," replied Draco, surveying Harry's terrified expression. "Don't worry, it won't hurt you? In fact, you can order him to do anything you want and he can't argue it. After all, if Father adopted you, you are a Malfoy now and can do anything you want to the house elf"



"Does he play fetch?" asked Harry, a wicked idea forming in his head, slowly removing his shoes.



"I suspect so, you want me to get a ball and find out," said Draco.



"No, I believe these will do," said Harry, as he pulled his socks off of his feet. "Hey, Dobby, think fast!"



Harry tossed the socks towards the house elf, who caught them with a surprised look.



"Harry, do you realized what you just did?" asked Draco in a completely horrified voice.



"No, I don't realize, Draco, perhaps you could enlighten me," replied Harry.



"Young Master has given Dobby a sock, Dobby is free!" yelled the house elf in a triumphant voice. "Oh thank you Harry Potter, sir, it is a good thing that Master Lucius adopted you, because you have just freed Dobby!"



"You freed the house elf!" screamed Draco. "Now who will cook and clean. Just wait until I tell Father!"



"Just wait until I tell Father!" retorted Harry in a whiny, sing song voice. "No one likes a tattletale, Draco!"



"What is this racket?" asked Lucius who walked up the stairs to see Dobby dancing a merry jig with Harry's socks in his hand. "Who freed the house elf?"



"Me," said Harry, which caused Lucius to become absolutely enraged.



"I take you into my house and this is the thanks I get! Well I guess I'm going to have to deal with you like my father dealt with me when I foolishly stepped out of line!" yelled Lucius before pointing his wand at Harry. "CRUCIO!"



Harry managed to avoid the path of the curse but he had a calculating look on his face.



"Lucius you just broke our little contract," said Harry coolly.



"What contract boy?" asked Lucius threateningly.



"You would become my guardian, providing that you did not attack me at any time," said Harry coolly. "And if you did attack me, all of the gold in the Malfoy vault at Gringotts would revert over to me and since the goblins have their ways of knowing, all of your gold has been transferred to my vault right now."



"I signed no such contract," said Lucius in a disbelieving voice.



"Take out for copy of the adoption papers that you signed and read it," suggested Harry and Lucius removed the copy of the adoption papers and sure enough, exactly what Potter had said was in the contract.



"You tricked me you meddlesome little brat, playing innocent," said Lucius coldly while raising his wand again. "Well, that gold you swindled me out of won't do you any good right now. AVADA KE..."



"Sir, shall not harm Harry Potter!" screamed Dobby and Lucius found himself blasted down dozens of stairs by Dobby the house elf.



"Some things never change," remarked Harry in an off handed voice. "Dobby Two, Lucius Zero."



"Dobby would like to thank Harry Potter, sir but Dobby does wonder if there is anything that Dobby could do for him," said Dobby in a hyperactive voice, bouncing up in down.



"In fact Dobby, you can do something for me," said Harry. "Your old Master, had a diary that belonged to someone named T.M. Riddle. I need you to bring that to me"



"Of course, sir, Dobby will be back in a minute," said Dobby and Dobby disappeared before reappearing a moment later with the diary. "Dobby hopes this is the right one, sir"



Harry looked over the diary for a moment before nodding.



"It is Dobby, thank you," said Harry, pocketing the diary. "I hope we do meet again someday but I need to get out of here."



"Dobby understands sir," said the House Elf, nodding solemnly before Harry walked down the stairs, stepping on Lucius Malfoy, who laid at the bottom of the stairs moaning with several bone fractures.



"Malfoy, you really think you could pull one over me," said Harry in a calm voice. "I've arranged for the Ministry of Magic to come here momentarily on a tip that you are hiding several dark arts items underneath your drawing room floor. I'm sure you'll have a nice jail cell in Azkaban by the end of the day."



Harry bent down and picked up Lucius's fancy looking walking stick, taking it with him as a trophy before disappearing from Malfoy Manor.