Daddy’s Boy

Life Debts

Dinner that day included a lot of gossip. Although nobody had seen the incident, nor, so it seemed, the way they all reached the hospital wing, everybody seemed to know the basic facts and the rumors were adding much more interest to the event, that by itself was quite frightening. Before they finished dinner, a house elf popped near Harry and Hermione. "The headmaster asks for your presence in his office once you are finished eating. Both of you."

It was useless to ask the elf for more information, yet Harry wondered what the headmaster wanted. They'd both been thoroughly interrogated while at the hospital wing and they really had nothing to add. They still walked together to the meeting. As they opened the door, they were surprised to find Lucius Malfoy there. Remembering their previous meeting, Harry turned quite apprehensive.

Dumbledore invited the children to sit down, as he did, yet Lucius kept standing. He didn't seem happy at all when he turned to Harry and Hermione.

"Scion Potter, Miss Granger, let me thank you for acting swiftly and saving my son and his friends from a fate worse than death. House Malfoy now owes you a life debt, as do house Crabble and house Goyle. We're willing to pay you as much as you want to settle this life debt."

Harry could feel Hermione's surprise, just as she could feel his, but even without talking, it was evident what they were going to say. "Lord Malfoy, house Potter doesn't need more money and doesn't want any payment in gold. What my friend and I want is for the scions of the houses you mentioned, as well as their lords, to stop acting against us, against my family and my friends. If you do that, we'll consider the life debt paid."

Lucius grimaced. He certainly expected to buy the debt with gold, considering such young children unable to phrase their request in a way that would strip him of much. This request, though, was much more problematic. It meant stopping to badmouth half-bloods and muggle-borns, it meant stopping his long-time crusade for the pureblood dominance, it meant a profound change in his and his family's life, alienating his current allies and forcing him to seek the company of his long time enemies. He doubted he could do this, yet failing... He didn't even want to think about that possibility. He wondered if he could negotiate better terms.

"Scion Potter, that request may be a bit hard on us. Maybe we could..."

Hermione stopped him. "Lord Malfoy, this is non-negotiable. Even if you manage to persuade Harry, I will not give up on this request. I severely doubt Harry will either."

Harry thought he could give in just a bit. "If you accept this form of repayment, I promise to try and teach Draco the Patronus charm. I can't guarantee success, though."

Lucius knew he had no choice, really. Once Goyle had acknowledged the life-debt, there was no going back. The two children didn't even need to put that condition, as the life debt would act to prohibit such acts until it was fulfilled. He knew he was defeated. "Very well, I'll make sure that my son and his friends, along with their parents, know of this. You may expect to get a letter from each of the two lords, or maybe even a personal visit to that effect."

Harry and Hermione nodded their acknowledgement. "Now, if you don't mind, I need to tell my son about this and try to persuade the Minister to remove the Dementors. Goodnight to you all."

With that, Lucius hurried out of the room, barely controlling his rage. That i***t minister put Dementors near a school full of children, many of whom were pureblood. Could he not see that they would pose a real danger? Now, because of that idiocy, three respectable pureblood families had to change practically everything about their lives. He conveniently forgot that he was the one who had suggested using the Dementors to start with.

Dumbledore waited until he was sure that Lucius left the tower before speaking. "Do you understand the meaning of this life debt?"

Harry shrugged. "My guardians talked about this a few times, but not in great detail. Can you enlighten us?"

The headmaster sighed. "It was very wise of you not to accept money, nor any material compensation for the debt. The way you chose will force these three families to never act along with the dark families. They may not turn light, but they have no choice but oppose any action against halfbloods or muggle-born. As Malfoy has been the prime mover in that direction, this change may turn extremely significant."

Harry knew most of it. James had taught him and Hermione well. He still shrugged. "Whatever. As long as Draco Malfoy leaves us alone, it's a good thing."

Dumbledore smiled. "It's much more than that, but maybe you need to grow up a bit before you can comprehend all the implications. I think you should now return to your dorms, as we're close to curfew. Goodnight."

They walked back hand in hand, until they reached the owlery. Hermione took some parchment and quill from her bag as they both wrote a letter to James. A short while later, they arrived at the common room just before curfew time.

The common room seemed more in turmoil than usual. Ron was the first who spotted them coming. "Why did you bother to save Malfoy? We'd all have been much better without him," he said furiously.

"He's been quite a nuisance since first year, but even that is not reason enough to let him get a Dementor's kiss. Besides, that may prove smarter in the long run," Harry answered.

Ron didn't seem to agree, yet Neville, as well as a few older students, gasped, clearly becoming aware of the implications. "He now owes you a life debt, doesn't he?" Neville asked.

Harry only nodded and smiled. This didn't make the common room any quieter. Many more conversations started, raising the noise level even higher.

Neville approached the two. "Did you ask for any compensation? I hope you didn't, as that's even better to keep Malfoy at bay."

Harry smiled. "We only asked him to stop acting against us and our friends. I think he would have liked to pay some money and forget about it, as he seemed quite worried about our request."

Neville smiled back. "That was really smart of you, as that request is in line with what the life debt forces, and as it can never be fully repaid, unless you put a time limit, he'll have to change his ways, or suffer the consequences."

"What can the consequences be?" Hermione asked.

"That depends. A minor infringement may make one ill. Severe ones may cost one his magic or even his life. Nobody in his right mind would knowingly act that way."

Harry shrugged. "Well, let's wait and see if they have any mind at all."

The next morning, Draco and his cronies seemed to sit alone at the Slytherin table. Not even Pansy sat near them. Harry wondered what caused that

It didn't become much clearer when Draco finished eating and approached the Gryffindor table, looking like he was doing this against his better judgement. He stood in front of Harry and said stiffly, "Scion Potter, Miss Granger, I thank you both for saving me and my friends from the Dementors. My father explained to me that this has created a life debt and the way I need to act due to it. He didn't tell me for how long, though. Can you tell me?"

Harry smiled. "There's no time limit."

Draco frowned. "What do you mean by 'no time limit'?"

Harry's smile widened. "It means you'll have to respect muggleborn and halfblood wizards and witches for the rest of your life. I thought that was self evident."

Draco grimaced at that. He was evidently furious, barely controlling his actions, yet he dared not say anything that would go against the life debt. Harry was sure that Draco knew even better than him what the penalties could be. Still, he thought he should make it a bit easier for the blond ponce. "I'm not sure if your father told you, but I promised to try and teach you the Patronus charm. I think you may need another day or two to come to terms with what happened, and then we may set some times for these training sessions, if you like."

Draco nodded, as if he already knew. "Very well. We shall talk later."

He left the Great Hall quickly, almost forcing his body guards to run. Harry didn't know why.

It started turning clearer later, as the gossip reached him. It seemed like the Slytherin house was not too fond of Draco to start with, and once it became known that house Malfoy was now having a life debt to house Potter, disabling it from acting the way it had been acting for many years, Draco lost all of his influence there. Instead, many considered him a mindless bully so stupidly creating a life debt. Many wondered why he had even been sorted to Slytherin, the house of the cunning. He was practically ostracised in his house.

Harry didn't really mind. The life debt was disabling Draco and his cronies from acting against him and Hermione, and the other Slytherin had never seemed too interested in them, one way or the other.

It also looked like Lucius Malfoy did as he had promised and succeeded in persuading the minister to remove the Dementors from Hogwarts. That evening. Dumbledore was glad to announce at dinner: "As of this morning, all the Dementors were moved away from Hogwarts and no longer pose a threat to the students. I'm glad that the minister has finally agreed that these foul creatures shouldn't be anywhere near a school. I hope that without their depressing proximity, you shall all be able to put more effort into your studies."

Harry started teaching Draco the Patronus charm a few days later. While Draco had no problem learning the pronunciation and the wand movement, he seemed unable to recall any happy memory to power his Patronus.

"Try to recall something that made you happy. It may be some time spent with your parents or your friends, or an unexpected success. Just try to recall such a memory."

Draco seemed to concentrate, and then sat down, looking defeated. "Damn it, Potter! I cannot recall any happy memory! I'm not sure I even have any."

"But your parents love you. Can't you find something happy with them?"

Draco shook his head. "Mom has no say in my life. I can't even remember her giving me a goodnight kiss, ever. My father forbade it. He wanted me to grow up strong and tough. He rarely praised me, and it was usually mixed with rebuke, so it never was a happy experience."

"You surely have some friends..."

"None! I have allies and I have servants, like the two bookends that follow me, presumably to keep me safe. My classmates only listened to me due to my father. Now, with this life debt, they lost all respect to me and my family."

Harry was at loss. He never suspected that the Slytherin prince had such unhappy life, yet lacking happy memories, it was impossible for him to cast a Patronus. This made him think.

"You know, if that's the way your father raised you, maybe it's time to get out of his shadow and start acting on your own? Everyone needs friends and people who really care for him and people he cares for, although some may consider it a weakness. I'm sure you can make friendships, if you really want to. You may need to let go of many of your father's teachings to achieve that, but I'm sure you'll like the trade-off."

"How can I make friends?" Draco asked, sounding quite lost.

Harry wasn't so sure what to say, and he doubted Draco would listen to Hermione. Maybe some time later, after learning a few basic emotional skills, but not at the moment. He tried to think what Hermione would say, and then it came to him, as if she was speaking in his mind. "Well, I suggest you start by listening to people and trying to understand how they feel. You'll have to be quite attentive and pay special attention to nuances in voice and posture, but it will become natural after a while."

"Why should I do that?"

"Because friendship is based on feelings, not on interests, just like happiness. Material things can't make you happy; they can make you content, at most. Real happiness comes form immaterial things, like love, friendship, care..."

"Father never mentioned them, except as weaknesses."

"Well, I told you some people may regard them as weaknesses, but they are what can give one happiness, what makes life worth living. Otherwise, we're not much better than mere animals, no matter how powerful we are."

Draco sighed. "I'll have to think of this." He then thought for another moment and smiled bitterly. "If that's what it takes to cast a Patronus, no wonder my father never mastered it either."

"That may really be the cause," Harry responded.

The rest of the year passed eventlessly. Harry enjoyed his DADA lessons the most, and Professor Lupin was even able to cover quite a few topics they should have learned the previous two years, despite being ill a few days every four weeks. Some boys snickered that he acted like a woman getting her period regularly. Some more observant students noticed that the days of illness coincided with the full moon. A few even suspected that he was a werewolf, but as he was a good teacher and a very kind person, nobody tried to make a fuss about it. Malfoy, who had always been the one to stir trouble, kept his mouth shut this time, as he'd noticed how close Harry and Hermione were with this man. He wouldn't risk activating some obscure punishment due to his life debt.

Draco was improving, though. As his house mates ignored him, he started spending some time with people from other houses. He couldn't make the Gryffindor students accept him, but the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students were willing enough to give him a chance.

Both Harry and Hermione were disappointed to hear that Moony decided not to keep teaching. "Some parents were becoming very worried about a werewolf teaching their children, and I can't honestly say that they have no justification for their worries. If ever I forget to take the Wolfsbane on time… Well, it could get quite messy."

"But you are the best teacher we had on DADA!" Hermione said.

"Well, if everything goes according to plan, your next teacher should be even better. Just wait and see..." Remus told them with a wink. It was clear he wouldn't tell them anything more.