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Two Roads Diverged	By : Beldaran1 Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 2274 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Title: Two Roads Diverged

Author: Beldaran1

Pairing: Harry/Draco

Rating: NC-17

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations
created and owned by JK Rowling, no money is being made and no copyright or
trademark infringement is intended. Also,
the poetry preceding the story is from Robert Frost�s The Road Not Taken.

Spoilers: HP Books 1-4

Genre: This is a Slash (this means boy/boy loving)
story so be warned!!!

Summary: What if something happened that changed the course
for Harry and Draco? What if there was
more to the enemy than first appeared?
What if there were other outside forces that were to play a part in the
conflict between Light and Dark? Hmm.

Author's Notes: I just wanted to state that while there
shouldn�t be any spoilers from OOTP, I have read the book and some things in
this story may be colored by that knowledge.
However, I will attempt to post warnings where this issue may occur.

Quick Timeline Note:
This will now pick up at the beginning of the summer holiday following the end
of 4^th year.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

Two roads diverged
in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could
not travel both

And be one
traveler, long I stood

And looked down
one as far as I could

To where it bent
in the undergrowth;

~~*~~*~~

Part I:
Summer of Change

Chapter 1

Draco Malfoy stared resolutely out of the dormered windows
under the south gable of his room. His
silvered eyes roamed slowly over the beautiful lush gardens of the Malfoy
estate until they were drawn like a magnet to the calm reflective waters of the
southern lake. The crystalline blue
waters rippled gently in the breeze, beguiling the unwary to respite on its
shores; the deceptive dangers lurking within its depths lying hidden and
coiled, ready to strike at the least suspected moment. Much like my family.

Maybe this was why he had always been so enamored of the
beautiful deadly lake; as it so utterly reflected the hidden dangers of his
family. The world looked upon them and
saw beauty, aristocracy; the quintessential wealthy pure-blooded family. Indeed, the Malfoys
were the cr�me de la cr�me of all the pure-blooded families. However, what nobody appeared to see or
understand was that it was all a fa�ade.
A fa�ade that he himself had long since perfected, wearing the cold
arrogant air and disdainful sneer that was the signature of a true Malfoy like
armor that none could penetrate.

At this particular moment however, the poised arrogant air
he had perfected belied the torment within; for Draco Malfoy was terrified and
it galled him to admit such to himself.
His whole life, it seemed, he�d struggled to maintain a delicate balance
between the embittered camps of his parents.
On one side was his mother, warm kind and loving, his safe harbor and
closest friend; and on the other his father, cold calculating and demanding,
his insistence on perfection and compliance never-ending and rigidly
enforced. For as long as he could
remember, he had struggled under the need to please both his parents and
thereby maintain a semblance of family unity; had felt that it was his duty to do so. And now, with his return, he could feel that delicate balance slipping away.

Therein lay the source of his terror.

He feared the destruction of his family was close at
hand. He could feel it in the air around
him, he�d seen it in the barely contained glee in his father�s eyes and in the
imperceptible lines of strain around his mother�s mouth; and the realization
that there was naught he could do about it shook him to the very core of his
being. Something was going to happen soon,
something that would perhaps force him to choose a side and take a stand for
better or worse; whether he was ready to make such a decision or not.

�Draco darling, it�s so good to have you home.�

His mother�s words penetrated his thoughts, and turning he
graced her with one of his rare genuine smiles, �Mum, it�s good to see
you.� Walking swiftly across his room he
pulled Narcissa into a quick hug and briefly reveled
in the maternal warmth and love that he had sorely missed throughout the past
school year.

�It is good to be
home Mum and I�ve much to tell you, but first how are you?� Pulling back from
the embrace, Draco allowed his eyes to quickly sweep over his mother, from the
perfect drape of her white-blonde hair to the stylish slippers that graced her
feet. To his dismay however, he could
detect even more minute traces of strain and distress that threatened to break
through her veneer of cool poise. �What
is it Mum?� His silver eyes locked onto
her troubled blue ones, �What�s wrong?�

�Oh love,� Narcissa sighed and
pulled her little Draco into another quick hug before continuing, �I had hoped
that there would be more time before I would have to tell you of the past, but
events have occurred that do not allow for such dawdling and I fear that I may
no longer be able to protect you.�

�Tell me what Mum?
Protect me? I don�t
understand.� Draco began to question her
as his imagination ran wild with speculation and supposition.

�Shh Little Dragon,� Narcissa halted his flow of words by placing a finger
against Draco�s mouth, �Come with me down to my salon and I will explain
everything, I promise.�

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry Potter quietly contemplated the passing scenery
outside the passenger window of his Uncle Vernon�s car, the fact that it was
his Aunt Petunia driving and not his Uncle was throwing him into a bit of a
quandary. Not that he minded really, in
fact he was more than willing to throw himself into this little mystery as long
as it kept his mind off of other more
troublesome things. Like killing Cedric. His
traitorous mind whispered to him.

Shuddering, Harry forced himself not to follow that line of
thought down into the quagmire of guilt and self-reproach that had been plaguing
him since that awful event. Though try
as he might, his mind insisted on going over and over the events that had led
to Cedric�s death and Voldemort�s return. He knew there must have been something he could have done to stop it,
but he couldn�t for the life of him think of what that may be.

Merlin how he hated this helpless feeling and he was just
plain tired of it all.

Tired of all the pain and suffering, the uncertainty and
fear; and most of all he hated that because of him more people were going to
die. Harry clenched his fists and
struggled not to start screaming and yelling as a sudden rage momentarily swept
away the depressing thoughts that had been consuming him. Oh how he wished that he was once again
standing before that evil thing,
except this time he would kill the beast�with his bare hands if necessary.

Only, that would truly make him a murderer; a monster no
better than the evil slain.

With that thought, all of his rage fled and he once again
found himself slipping into a dark suffocating depression. His shoulders slumped in defeat and his hands
rested limply in his lap. I�m so tired. He couldn�t remember a time when he had felt
so completely and utterly drained, even breathing felt like a laborious
chore.

He was so engrossed in his own problems that Harry failed to
notice the concerned and worried looks his Aunt kept shooting in his
direction. Even if he had noticed he
would have only put it off as his Aunt�s typical fear of wizards, especially
since she was alone with one and his Uncle wasn�t there to protect her. As it was, he didn�t notice and probably
would have remained oblivious, except his Aunt Petunia decided to breach the
leaden silence that permeated the car and speak.

�Harry, you�re probably wondering why I picked you up
instead of Vernon.� Petunia spoke softly, the worry she felt for
her nephew putting an unintended edge to her words. She was terribly afraid for Harry, and the
dejected and depressed air that surrounded him only added to that fear.

When it became obvious that he hadn�t heard a world she�d
said and wasn�t going to answer her, Petunia raised her voice and again
attempted to get her nephew�s attention, �Harry!�

�What!� Startled,
Harry jerked around in his seat and stared at his Aunt. He unconsciously pressed his hand to his
chest as the suddenness of her intrusion into his thoughts caused his heart to
race. �W-w-what,� he repeated in a
befuddled manner.

�Oh Harry, I�m sorry.
I didn�t mean to startle you.�
Petunia apologized. She felt perfectly
awful seeing her nephew in such a state and knowing that she was the cause.

�Huh?� Harry managed
to get out after several attempts of opening and closing his mouth in utter
confusion. His Aunt apologized to him, appeared
to be worried about him, and was looking at him with remorse clearly reflected
in her eyes. This was the same woman who
rarely if ever spoke to him with
anything but complete and utter disdain and who was one of the key factors in
the misery that was his non-existent childhood.
�Huh?�

Petunia sighed and turned back to face the road as she
approached the turnoff to Privet Drive, she quickly reviewed and rejected
several ways to go about doing what she must before finally taking the bull by
the horn and getting on with it.

�Harry,� she began softly, �I know that you�re confused by
what must seem like a sudden change in my attitude towards you, but there is a
lot that you don�t know and if you�ll only give me a chance I promise to
explain everything.� Petunia paused a
moment as she turned into #4 and put the car in park.

Turning to face her nephew, she took in the closed wary
expression on his face and had to repress the urge to reach out to him as she
continued, �I arranged for Vernon and Dudley to be away for the summer because
their presence would only be a hindrance and would more than likely be a source
of danger to you; especially now that Voldemort has
returned.�

At Harry�s shocked gasp she gave in to the urge and reached
over to gently grasp his hand in her own, �Yes Harry, I know about the Dark
Lord, I�ve always known.�

�B-b-but you�and magic�and�and�� Harry struggled to wrap his
mind around the maelstrom of thoughts and emotions that were overwhelming his
exhausted ability to cope.

�This is a lot take in Harry,� Petunia gave his hand a
sympathetic squeeze, �so why don�t we go in and I�ll make us a pitcher of
lemonade and we�ll go out back to the garden and I�ll tell you about your mom
and dad and the destruction of a friendship that led to death and betrayal.�

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

�Come, sit with me Draco.�

Draco paused a moment inside the entrance to his mother�s
Solarium and let the warmth of the sunny room wash over him before complying
with her wishes and taking his customary seat next to her on the winged-back
sofa. This was his favorite place in all
of Malfoy Manor, he had spent many a day in this room letting his imagination
take wondrous flights of fancy as he listened to Narcissa
tell one story of courageous heroes after another; he�d especially loved the
ones about dragons. Here was also the
place were he�d share his deepest dreams and wishes and his darkest fears and
uncertainties.

He could always count on his mother to listen to him with an
open mind and without judgment. And now
he would do no less for her. �I�m ready
Mum, for whatever you have to tell me.�

Narcissa carefully regarded her
son and couldn�t help but feel proud of the young man sitting beside her, she
knew he was afraid of what their talk may reveal; and yet here he was waiting
patiently for her to begin however she chose.
Reaching over she took a hold of one of his hands and momentarily wished
he was still the little boy who used to lay with his head in her lap and listen
for hours as she spun fairytales for him, before shaking off such wistful
thoughts. �It began many years ago my
Little Dragon, when I was just a little girl, six to be exact. I meet these two wonderful little girls who
were to become the greatest friends I would ever hope to have.�

Reaching over with her free hand, Narcissa
picked up one of the framed photographs she had brought out for this occasion
and passed it over to her son. �See,
this picture was taken of us a few years after we meet. They had come to visit me at your Great
Grandmother Black�s estate and she had this photograph commissioned.�

Taking the picture, Draco turned it over so that he could
see it. In the photo three little girls
were sitting in a green meadow looking down at the handful of yellow flowers
the little girl in the middle was holding and all that you could see were the
tops of their heads. The little girl on
the left had long shimmering white-blond hair and Draco assumed that this was
his mother, the little girl in the middle had glossy curly brown hair, and the
little girl on the right had wavy flaming red hair. After admiring the yellow flowers the three
little girls looked up into the camera and smiled brilliantly before the brown
haired girl threw the flowers up into the air and the three fell back onto the
ground in a giggling tangle of arms and legs before sitting up in their
original position as the picture repeated itself.

Stunned, Draco watched the photo repeat itself and once again
when the little girls smiled into camera he felt like he�d been pole-axed. It wasn�t the crystal blue eyes of his mother
or the warm brown eyes of the little girl in the middle that was the cause of
his reaction; it was the brilliant green eyes of the red headed girl that made
him feel like he had been gobsmacked. He knew of only one other person that had
such brilliant entrancing green eyes, his nemesis Harry Potter.

�Mum?� Draco tore his
eyes away from the photograph and looked at his mother, all of the questions he
was having a hard time articulating clearly reflected in his silver eyes.

�Yes love, that�s Lily Evans and her little sister Petunia;
and from the moment we met we were inseparable.� Narcissa gently
took the photograph back from her son and smiled fondly at the three innocent
little girls forever cavorting in the east meadow of her Grandmother�s
estate. �Lil
and Tuni were more like sisters to me than friends,
especially since your Aunt Bella rarely had time for me and absolutely refused
to spend the summers with Grandmother Black and your Aunt Meda,
well, she was always lost in her own world.�

�And oh the trouble the three of us would get into,� Narcissa�s smile grew as she reminisced about the happier
times of her childhood, �especially during the summer when Sirius was also
staying with Grandmother along with his rowdy little prankster friends James, Remus, Lucius, and Severus.� Here she
paused as Draco�s gasp of shock brought her out of her reflections of the past.

�No, no, that�s impossible!�
Draco shook his head in denial.
There was no way his father had ever
been friends with Black, Lupin, and Potter, no way in
hell! Lucius
was forever condemning the three Gryffindors as
scoundrels and muggle lovers of the worst sort.

�No Draco, not impossible,� Narcissa
grinned as she thought about some of the escapades they had gotten into, �those
five boys were just as inseparable as we three girls were; indeed, they even
called themselves the Brotherhood of Marauding Boys. And Merlin didn�t they try their level best
to drive us nutters!�

Chuckling softly, Narcissa picked
up the two remaining photos she had brought down and handed one to Draco. �You see, this photograph was taken at the
Leaky Cauldron right before we attended Hogwart�s for
the first time, except for Tuni of course as she
wasn�t a witch like Lil. Still, we always made sure to include her in
all of our gatherings and special occasions; she was one of us and that was all
that mattered.�

Draco took the photo, and there before his eyes was the
proof that his mind still shouted was impossible. His father stood smiling brightly into the
camera with one arm flung around Potter�s shoulders and the other flung around
Black�s, next to Potter stood Professor Snape with a goofy grin on his face,
and on the other side of Black was a smiling Professor Lupin. Sitting in front of the guys was his mother,
the girl he now recognized as Petunia, and Lily Evans, they too were smiling
excitedly into the camera.

�This is just incredible Mum.� Draco whispered as he carefully reached out
his hand and traced the happy smiling faces gazing up at him. He couldn�t help but wonder what had gone
wrong to turn these happy children into bitter enemies. �What happened to them? What caused them to stop being friends and
hate each other?�

�I could tell you that we grew up Little Dragon,� Narcissa sadly looked down at the last remaining photograph
before handing it over to Draco, �that we let silly House rivalries and
opposing political views pull us apart, but that wouldn�t really be the truth.�

Draco regarded this last photograph and could instantly see
the difference. Whereas you could almost
feel the happiness and camaraderie in the previous photo, in this one you could
almost cut the tension with a knife.
They were all sitting around a table in what looked to be the Leaky
Cauldron and none of them were smiling.
Professor Lupin sat at one end of the table
and next to him was Black and then Potter, next to Potter was Lily and he had
arm around her waist, next to Lily was Petunia who was holding her hand and on
the other side of Petunia was his mother who was also holding one of Petunia�s
hands. Next to his mother sat his father
who had his arm looped thru hers, and on the other side of his father sat
Professor Snape. They were all glaring
into the camera except for his mother, Petunia, and Lily who had sad worried
expressions on their faces.

�What is the truth
then Mum, what happened?� Looking up
from the photo Draco watched in alarm as a single tear slid down his mother�s
face, �Mum?�

�Shh love, don�t worry about
me.� Narcissa
quickly wiped away the evidence of the single tear and smiled gently at her
worried son, �It�s just that it�s hard to remember how happy we once were
knowing how awful it all turned out, and looking at that photograph really
brings it all home. We were sixteen, Tuni fourteen, when that photograph was taken; and that was
the last time we would all be together with any semblance of friendship among
us.�

�And to answer your question Draco, Tom Riddle is what
happened.�

To Be Continued�

The next part will be posted on Sunday.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

LPhoenix: Thanks!

Death in a Pink Boa: Hmm�the answer
to your question is coming up.

Nekohime:
Thank you so much! I�m glad you are enjoying this story!!!

Helia: Let�s see my favorite cookies are chocolate chip J!

Thrnbrooke: Thanks! I hope you enjoy this new part!

Madness: Yikes! I missed your deadline,
however, I hope this next part made up for it!
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Two Roads Diverged