Harry Potter The Long Lost Malfoy

"And he wanted you to keep it a secret from us."

Harry nodded, but kept quiet. He didn't think that he needed to say anything else, at this point. Father was repeating those words because he had to, because he would probably curse someone otherwise.

Mother, meanwhile, sat in the middle of the private room that the Silver Swan had provided for them again with one arm around Harry and one around Father. She hadn't moved much since Harry had told them the story. But Harry had looked into her eyes and seen such cold, focused fury burning there that he didn't think for one moment she was less angry than Father. Only someone foolish would underestimate her.

"And you saw this Remus Lupin threatening him as well, Healer Letham?"

Healer Letham nodded. She had taken up a stance near the fireplace, seeming comfortable standing even though it had been nearly an hour now since they'd arrived. "However, I will need Harry's permission to speak further about it."

"You can tell them," Harry said. "One thing I don't understand is why Lupin thought he could persuade me to take the training, when I'd refused Dumbledore and Lupin still didn't even admit he had a connection to me when I was a baby."

"A stolen connection," Mother whispered. "A forced connection."

Harry nodded, but didn't comment. That was true. He just didn't see the point of delving into it right now.

"This is only my speculation," said Healer Letham, finally shifting a little. She was looking at Harry as she spoke, not Father. "But I think both the Headmaster and Lupin are desperate. They believe that Harry will die unless the Order of the Phoenix trains him, either because Voldemort will kill him or because you will sacrifice him to your master, Mr. Malfoy."

Father flinched, but said nothing.

"I would call it a combination of genuine fear for a boy who might die and worry over losing someone they think is their best chance of defeating Voldemort in the long run." Healer Letham shook her head. "Perhaps Lupin was intending to reveal his connection to your kidnappers in this conversation, Harry, and count on that to persuade you. Perhaps he even thought that you might pay attention to his advice for the opportunity to learn more about them."

"They were monsters," Mother said flatly, and clutched Harry a little closer.

"I am not disputing that," Healer Letham said in the most neutral voice of all, the one she used when Harry's accidental magic got out of control during their sessions. "I am only attempting to answer Harry's question about what they might have hoped to achieve."

"Lupin seemed shocked when I asked why he thought I was on their side of the war," Harry said quietly. "No, horrified. So maybe they thought they could save me from being evil and corrupted, too."

"I want you out of Hogwarts," whispered Mother. "Back at the Manor."

"No!"

"Henry," Mother said, and her hand trailed gently through his hair, so much tamer than it used to be. "Hogwarts isn't safe. If Dumbledore and Lupin really are as desperate as the Healer suggests, they might decide that methods like mind-controlling you with the Imperius are acceptable. You could be Memory Charmed, or laid under compulsion. I want you home."

Harry swallowed and looked desperately at Healer Letham. She was really his only hope. He knew that most people wouldn't think he was in danger if his parents just took him home, and now that he had parents, no one could legally interfere, either.

"That would be the wrong decision, Mrs. Malfoy."

"Don't tell me how to keep my son safe!"

"I will," said Healer Letham, and now she was looking at Mrs. Malfoy as if she was a dueling opponent, "when you are prioritizing his physical safety over his mental health."

Harry thought Mrs. Malfoy was going to snatch him up and storm out of the room for a second. Mr. Malfoy had gone still. But Mrs. Malfoy managed to make herself sit back and close her eyes, shuddering, before she gave a stiff nod.

"All right, Healer. Tell me why."

"Harry shouldn't have to give up the comforts of Hogwarts, his place in Gryffindor Tower and his friends and regular contact with a variety of different people, because the Headmaster made an inadvisable decision and one of his professors is rather forward about trying to forge a personal connection with him." Healer Letham spread her hands a little. "We cannot yield the ground to them. They should be the ones made to back off, not Harry—"

"Stop calling him that! His kidnappers called him that!"

"I work for him, and not you. And he is living between the names, right now. If you want him to cling to his past, if you want to drive your son into the Headmaster's arms, by all means insist that Harry do exactly what you wish him to."

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