Unveiling Secrets: A New Path for Harry Potter

It was two nights later before Harry was able to visit Pansy once again. As soon as he appeared, he took her in his arms and kissed her deeply.

Pulling away, she said, "Not that I don't appreciate the enthusiasm, but what's got you in such a good mood?"

"I missed you. I didn't really get to spend any time with you in the alley, other than trying to shock your mother and the Malfoys."

"Well, you definitely succeeded in that at least. Mother was almost pleasant for the rest of the day because she couldn't seem to get her head around the idea that the Dark Lord was actually the son of a muggle."

"Sorry I didn't tell you that I was planning on revealing it in public. I went over and over it in my head before deciding whether to tell people. The thing is, I know that Dumbledore has known that truth for years, so why hasn't he ever told anyone?"

"I have no idea. The headmaster may be getting too old. A lot of his decisions lately don't make much sense. Why did he hide a philosopher's stone in a school full of children as part of a trap for the Dark Lord? Shouldn't he at least try to act like he cares about student safety?" Pansy sighed in annoyance. "Why didn't you warn me though?"

"Well, once I realized that there was no good reason to keep it a secret, it was close to the time I knew we'd be going to the alley, and I figured that if I did say something about it that it would be best if you didn't have to fake surprise. Even though you already knew the secret, me telling your mother in public should have been shocking enough to give you cover at such a revelation. Besides, the chance to see how the wives of two Death Eaters would take it was too intriguing to pass up. Plus, I knew it would aggravate Draco."

"Maybe you should have been in Slytherin, Potter," Pansy chuckled. "You certainly made Malfoy look like a fool."

"In front of his mother too," Harry answered with a laugh of his own. "Her slapping him was one of the funniest things I've ever seen."

"It was amusing to see you flirting with his mother right in front of him while he just fumed."

"I thought it would infuriate him and boy was I right."

"Yes, it was surely infuriating."

Harry might have missed her annoyed tone at first, but he quickly caught on.

"I hope I wasn't making you angry too," he said looking away and feeling a bit ashamed.

"You were more than just faking courtesy. It isn't good manners to flirt with another woman right in front of your girlfriend, you know?"

"I'm sorry." Harry turned and kneeled before her, kissing her hands and looking up at Pansy with his most repentant expression. "Forgive me?"

"I suppose I will this time," she said with a huff. "I'm honestly surprised that you were able to be so pleasant to her considering her family."

"Well, there was something about her that..."

"That what?"

Harry looked uncomfortable and said, "... that reminded me of you."

"What?"

"I imagined that maybe she was what you could end up like if you were trapped in an arranged marriage to some bastard like Malfoy. She certainly didn't seem to be too happy with either her husband or son, which also made me think of you. I hate the thought of you ending up trapped like that, and it made me pity her a bit. Despite the Malfoy wealth, she didn't seem particularly happy with her life."

"That could be because of her husband's humiliation this summer."

"Maybe, but it seemed a bit deeper than that to me. Anyway, it made me more determined to get you away from your parents. Your father hasn't miraculously died by any chance has he?"

"No, and he will apparently be making an appearance the day before we go back to school. No doubt to lecture me about how I should behave this coming year. Needless to say, I'm not looking forward to it."

"Damn. Well, I haven't really been able to practice the confundus charm anyway. I did get a betrothal agreement written up by my solicitor just in case though."

"You did?" Pansy said with a pleasant jolt. Harry's willingness to rescue her still amazed the insecurity deep inside her.

"Of course I did," he answered with a smile. "He seemed amused by my eagerness, once he confirmed that I wasn't under the influence of a love potion or spell of some sort. He also insisted that I had a way to opt out of the arrangement if I changed my mind but I made sure that your parents would not have such an option. He found that funny; apparently there are a lot of people that would kill to get me as a son-in-law. He wasn't thinking that there would be people that would kill me as a son-in-law as well."

Pansy snorted, "You might want to get a better lawyer then."

"No, I think Sam's generally pretty insightful. He's been good about taking down the people making money off me."

"I did hear about the Harry Potter books all being pulled off the shelves."

"Yes, that was a priority for me. I fucking hate those things," Harry snarled. Pansy already had some ideas about his awful childhood and understood why he was so angry that people thought he lived some fairy tale existence. She gave him a quick but deep kiss.

"Congratulations then." Harry calmed as she kept her hands around his neck. "Did you get much financial compensation from the authors?"

"That is still in the works, but it looks good. And more money will certainly help in our future schemes."

"Indeed." Pansy pulled him closer and their lips met. They stumbled over towards her bed. "To future scheming..." she purred.

Four days later, her father returned.

Edmund Parkinson stormed through the entry hallway of the Parkinson manor over to his private study. He set aside his briefcase full of business papers and yelled for his house-elf. Leddy appeared at once and bowed deeply as she had learned the hard way not to get on his bad side.

"How soon will dinner be ready?"

"Half an hour master."

"Good. Tell Dahlia and Pansy not to be late. Go!" The little elf disappeared while he went through several drawers at his desk. After a few minutes, he called for Leddy again and told her to pack two more outfits as he would be leaving later that evening. He quickly got several documents in order and poured himself a drink. While he loathed muggles in general, they did have their uses- the wide variety of alcohol they created was one of them. He walked back into the hall and shrunk his briefcase down and put it inside the small suitcase Leddy had packed for him before striding over to the formal dining room. Taking his seat at the head of the table, one would almost think that his brusque manner suggested that he didn't enjoy spending time with his family. The truth was that neither of the female Parkinsons mattered much to him at all. After Pansy's little brother had been still born nearly a decade previously, Dahlia had been unable to bear any further children. That made her useless to her husband.

Pansy, on the other hand, could still be profitable to him if he found the proper match for her and she was able to control her husband. Even better if her father-in-law could be removed from the equation, leaving him as the family patriarch. The Malfoys were now the obvious match, as Lucius proved to be no longer untouchable and his son had shown to be a blustering fool.

Pansy and Dahlia entered moments later and greeted him respectfully. He knew both of them feared him and trusted that he would not have to remind them why, although Pansy had always been more willful than her mother. Dahlia had lost what little spine she had after the stillbirth. His daughter still needed the occasional warning not to disobey him.

The meal was eaten with no more than minor conversation. Once they were finishing, Dahlia spoke up.

"We had an interesting encounter at Diagon Alley last week. Narcissa and Draco were there, as well as the young Lord Potter."

"So the boy had his ring then?"

"Indeed."

"Tell me of him."

"He was better dressed and more respectful than I had expected. It seems someone had finally taught him some of the ways of the world." Pansy had to repress a smirk at that comment. "He also seemed to find muggles a bit distasteful; apparently, he was raised among them."

"That would be just like Dumbledore to hide the boy away from our world."

"We met him at the bookstore. He is apparently taking the same electives as our daughter."

"I expect you to study him," he ordered Pansy with a harsh look. "I want to know more of this boy. It seemed Lucius already made the mistake of underestimating him. I will not make the same error."

"Yes father," Pansy said with her head bowed. She had to keep looking down for a few moments as a part of her mind nearly betrayed her. She planned to study Harry Potter a great deal over the coming school year, but definitely not in a way that her father would approve of.

"That wasn't the most intriguing thing about the boy though," Dahlia continued. "Narcissa helped pry a great deal out of him. Apparently she had heard from Lucius some of what had happened last year at the school. Potter supposedly discovered who the Heir of Slytherin was and killed his monster. He did not say what the creature was, but according to him the heir was a Slytherin Head Boy from fifty years ago named Tom Riddle."

Pansy looked up as her mother paused. She wondered if her mother would tell her father the rest of what Harry had revealed, and if she did, she feared how her father might respond. She did not realize that she was holding her breath.

"That name sounds vaguely familiar," her father said. He looked intensely at her mother, pressing her to continue.

"The boy claimed that Riddle was the real name of the Dark Lord."

A tense silence hung in the air. Pansy cautiously glanced at both her parents. Her mother must have had a fair amount of wine with dinner to become this chatty.

"He also claimed that Riddle's father was a muggle." Pansy felt goose bumps begin to form.

"Did he now? What else did the boy have to say?" Her father's tone was unmistakably fierce.

"He also insinuated that the attacks on the students had something to do with Lucius, that it would take someone with his wealth and influence to keep a full investigation from occurring."

"So the boy is smarter than rumors have said."

"Narcissa certainly seemed to find him charming," Dahlia said with a grin. "He seemed to enjoy flirting with her and it definitely offended young Draco."

"I've heard that they are something like rivals at Hogwarts."

Pansy thought to herself that only in Draco's wildest fantasies could he consider himself being in Harry's league, let alone his rival.

"Regardless," her father continued, "Pansy, this year you are to become more familiar with Draco. He is a likely match, and with the recent troubles of Lucius, there may never be a better time to come to an arrangement between our families."

"Father, how am I to study Potter without Draco interfering?" Pansy asked and found herself becoming infuriated with her father's orders. She thought that she might have hate enough in her now to cast the killing curse. 'I will die before I become Mrs. Malfoy' she thought darkly.

"Use your cunning little mind; I know I've raised you better than the Malfoy brat."

"And yet you want me to marry the Malfoy brat!" Pansy's anger got the better of her and she exclaimed this before she could stop herself. Her father rose from his seat and stepped towards her. She saw his wand in his hand and knew that it was too late.

"Crucio!"

She was held under the spell for only a couple of seconds, but she found herself on the floor gasping for breath. It had felt like every muscle in her body was screaming, every inch of her skin on fire. Pansy was unable to look up at her father and the hate that would have been in her eyes would have only increased her pain.

"If I thought that you were capable enough, I might have considered the Zabinis instead. A ruthless daughter, a daughter I could look on with pride, would be able to control the son while I dealt with the mother. But all I have to work with is a disappointment."

Pansy felt his shadow looming over her and involuntarily flinched.

"You should reconsider your attitude. If not, you will receive further discipline.

"I suggest you remind your daughter of her place in this house," he told her mother and Pansy heard him walking out before slamming the front door. A louder than usual crack told her that he had apparated away.

"I thought that you knew better than to question your father's authority by now," her mother complained. "Leddy!'

"Yes mistress?" The house-elf appeared, and now that Pansy could look up, she saw that the little creature was distraught at what she saw.

"Take Pansy up to her room. She will need plenty of rest before tomorrow. We leave at 9 AM."

Harry enjoyed an early dinner with the Brightwells that evening before returning to the top flat and packing for the return to Hogwarts. Shortly after finishing, he felt a stabbing pain coming from his ring and he instinctively shouted for Dobby. His small friend appeared with concern on his face.

"Something is wrong," he groaned. "Go find Pansy, see what has happened to her."

"Yes master Harry!" Dobby shouted and left with a crack. Harry felt worse than since he'd been bitten by the basilisk. He looked down at the scar on his forearm and forced himself to stand. He grabbed his wand from the table and retrieved his cloak from the trunk.

Dobby re-appeared with tears in his eyes. "Miss Pansy is hurt," he cried.

"Take me to her."

With a crack, they appeared in Pansy's bedroom. Leddy was shaking on the floor and Harry looked over, hearing Pansy moan from her bed. He immediately ran to her.

"Pansy?" He leaned down over her. She was pale and curled into a ball. Her eyes fluttered open at his voice.

"Harry? Are you really here?" There were tears in her eyes. She grabbed him desperately and pulled him onto the bed.

"I'm here." She was crying into his chest and he wrapped his arms around her, then kissed the top of her head. Harry had never felt so helpless. He was supposed to save her. He had failed.

"What happened?"

Pansy was still crying. Leddy answered in a quivering voice, "Master punished young mistress."

"Dobby, I need a potion for pain, the strongest you can find." The male elf left and Harry turned to look at Leddy. "Is your master still here?"

"No miss Pansy's Harry. Master goes away for work. Master goes away for work a lot."

"What about Pansy's mother?"

"Mistress is in her room."

"Does she know I'm here?"

"Leddy put up quiet magic on miss Pansy's room. Leddy knew miss Pansy's Harry would come."

"Thank you Leddy." Dobby returned holding a large flask.

"Master Harry sir, this is the best pain potion that Dobby knows of. Miss Pansy should take two swallows now." Pansy was still shaking in his lap and Harry worried that she wasn't hearing what was going on around her. He leaned down right next to her ear.

"Pansy, sweetheart, can you sit up?" he whispered to her. She turned a bit and looked up at him.

"Help me Harry."

He shifted his arms and, as delicately he could, helped raise her up. "Two swallows, okay?"

She nodded and Harry tipped the potion to her mouth. She coughed a bit after she drank and lay back down in his lap.

"The potion will help miss Pansy better after she sleeps for a bit master Harry."

"Alright Dobby. Can you help me?"

"Don't go," Pansy whimpered.

"I'm not going anywhere. Dobby's just going to help us get a bit more comfortable so you can rest." Leddy joined Dobby and soon they had their humans floating up above the bed. Harry's shoes were removed and they were under the covers in just a few moments. "Dobby, hand me my wand. Leddy, can you let us know if anyone comes to Pansy's room?"

"Leddy can."

"Thank you Leddy." Harry was reclining in the bed and Pansy was lying mostly on top of him. He had both arms around her, but he still held onto his wand. Pansy was burrowing her face down into his shirt and her hands were still clenching him tightly. "It's alright now Pansy. I'm here. Try to sleep; you'll feel better."

"Harry," she muttered. "Don't leave."

"I'll never leave you Pansy."

"Promise?"

"I promise." She settled against his chest and he felt her hands relax. After a minute or two, he could tell she had fallen asleep. Her breathing had softened. He looked down at her face and saw that, despite tear tracks, she looked at peace now. Over the last three months, he'd seen her angry, laughing, happy, and even afraid, but never before had he seen her weak. That her own father had done this to her made him furious. Edmund Parkinson was a dead man.

But Harry also was angry with himself. How many times had he said that he would protect her, that he would do whatever it took to get her away from her family? When she needed him, he wasn't there. He should have kidnapped her weeks ago.

As his mind raced with recriminations and all sorts of thoughts of what he should have done, Harry at first didn't feel his own tears falling. He had failed her. But he swore to himself that he would never fail her again.

'I'm going to learn the Imperius curse,' he thought to himself. 'I'll force her father to sign the betrothal right before I kill him.'

Harry didn't realize he had tensed up till he felt Pansy shift against him. He took a deep breath to calm himself. In twelve hours, they would be on the train back to Hogwarts. 'Then we'll have a completely different set of problems.'

Harry focused on thoughts of the coming school year. He could have Dobby keep an eye on Pansy when they were apart. They should have roughly half their classes together. He assumed he'd have Potions with her as they had been with the Slytherins both years so far. It would be interesting to see Snape's reaction to them pairing up in the class- he would certainly not like that.

He went through all the classes in his mind. Herbology he found to be a chore, far too reminiscent of being forced to work in Petunia's gardens. He doubted Pansy would enjoy the class either, although he wasn't sure why. They had never discussed it before. History of Magic could be fun with her. The class was such a joke that they would have plenty of time for anything else, even if it was as simple as taking a nap together. That reminded him of where he was, with his girl sleeping in his arms, and despite the reason why, Harry smiled to himself.

Transfiguration and Charms would both be good to have together. They could get the spells down quickly before having time for other pursuits. Scheming together, as Pansy would say. Charms would probably be better though, as Flitwick was much less stern than McGonagall.

That brought him to Defense Against the Dark Arts, the class that he really had no idea what it would be like this coming year. He had little hope of anyone competent teaching the class. After all the dangers he constantly faced, Harry had bought several extra books about defense and magic to use in combat, both against creatures as well as other wizards. If nothing else, he would teach himself. Pansy would probably want to learn whatever he found most useful as well and he would definitely want to help her. Still, it would be nice to have a good teacher in the class for a change. But Harry was not going to get his hopes up.

Finally, he came to Astronomy. He wasn't sure what the point of the class was really. Learning about the planets in the night sky didn't really seem to have much purpose. Maybe it could have been related to Divination or rituals of some sort, but so far, it seemed like nothing more than a poor reason to lose sleep once or twice a week. He supposed it could be nice to watch the stars in the sky with Pansy- romantic even- but not so much in a class setting. Especially with people like Malfoy there.

Going over them all, Harry figured that History and Charms would probably be the most enjoyable to share with Pansy.

Suddenly, it dawned on Harry how little he'd been thinking about Hermione and Ron lately. How were they going to deal with his new girlfriend? Ron was going to be a problem, but maybe Harry could get him to come around. At least he hoped so. He shook his head and just put Ron aside. Hermione shouldn't be too much of an issue, although she would absolutely want to know everything about their relationship. That's just how she was. Harry was going to have to start drawing some boundaries with her. His and Pansy's privacy would require stopping Hermione before she worked up a head of steam. Still, he wasn't worried about her reaction. At least not until Pansy insulted her, which Harry recognized would happen sooner or later. Hermione was still too much of a stickler for authority and believing everything she read in books- the fiasco of Lockhart's classes last year proved that as she fawned over the buffoon all year long. As much as he liked her, Hermione was too stubborn and narrow-minded. It had been obvious that Lockhart was a fraud for months, but Hermione refused to see reason.

It was sad, really, that his friend who was supposedly so brilliant and logical could be so easily fooled by a smile. If Voldemort came back as handsome as the teenage Tom Riddle had been, Hermione would be doomed.

As Harry stifled a chuckle at this thought, he felt Pansy stirring against him.

"What time is it?" she mumbled.

"Almost midnight," he answered as he checked his watch.

"You stayed."

"I promised I would."

"Yes, you did." He felt her hands pull away from under his sides as she climbed up towards him. He set his wand down as she kissed him. "Thank you."

"I'm sorry."

"Why?"

"I should have done more. I should have kidnapped you weeks ago."

"Shh. Tonight wasn't your fault, Harry," Pansy said, taking his face in her hands. She forced him to look at her, "I knew better than to argue with my father, I just lost my temper."

"If I had stolen you away from here-"

"They would have come after me and it could have been even worse."

"Do you... do you want to tell me what happened?"

"Father told me to become more familiar with Draco as I was bound to end up with him. I argued with him.

"He used the Cruciatus curse on me." She looked away from him with tears in her eyes, and Harry felt his heart break. Edmund Parkinson wasn't just a dead man- Harry was going to torture the bastard for hurting Pansy.

"I'm so sorry," he said as he kissed her forehead.

"It wasn't the first time. I didn't take his orders before starting school seriously enough and he made sure that I remembered how I was supposed to act. When I leave here in the morning, I'm never coming back."

"Good, I didn't want to let you come back here anyway."

"Well I guess it's a good thing we agree," she said with a chuckle. "I need to get up."

"Are you sure you feel alright?"

"I need to do a few things before leaving. I'm going to raid this place."

"What can I do to help?"

"Grab the trunk from the right side of my closet." Harry got up to do what she asked. "Leddy?"

"Yes, miss Pansy? Are you alright?"

"Much better now. Is my mother asleep?"

"Yes."

"My father hasn't come home either?"

"No miss Pansy."

"Good. Thank you for all your help this summer. We're going to do some packing. Can you come tell me if my mother wakes up?"

"Yes miss. Miss Pansy isn't coming back is she?"

"No Leddy, I'm not."

"Leddy will miss her Pansy," the little elf hugged her legs and wept softly.

"I'll miss you too. But I have to go."

"Leddy understands," she said, and as she looked up, Pansy saw love in her eyes, not unlike the way Dobby looked at Harry. "If miss Pansy needs help, Leddy will come to miss if she can."

"Thank you Leddy. I hope mother treats you better once I'm gone."

Leddy disappeared and a thought came to Harry. "Could you free her by giving her clothes?"

"No. While she belongs to my family, my parents are her owners. Children are unable to free house-elves. That much power is only given to adults."

"Oh, that's too bad."

"What were you thinking?"

"If you could free her, then I could bond her to me and have her watch over you."

Pansy nodded, "Too bad that won't work." She found her wand and cast muffling charms on their feet. Harry noticed her wince a bit and grabbed the potion.

"Have another swallow."

"I didn't know you were a healer," she said, as her attempt at a laugh turned into a cough. Harry wrapped one arm around her waist and lifted the potion towards her face. She reached up and took a swallow. "I am feeling better, you don't have to look after me."

"I'll take care of you tonight anyway," he said as she leaned against him. "It will make me feel better if you'll let me."

She murmured an agreement into his chest and Harry realized that he did feel better as she held onto him.

"When I am well, maybe we can play Healer Patient."

Harry laughed and said, "That sounds fun but only if you don't dress like Madame Pomfrey." Pansy laughed in response.

"What would you have me wear then?"

"Well, in the muggle world there is the idea of a sexy nurse outfit."

"And would you like to see your girlfriend wearing one of these sexy nurse outfits?"

"God yes!" Harry looked down and saw a smile on her face.

"Well, maybe if you continue taking such good care of me, you'll need to be rewarded by a grateful girlfriend." She gave him a brief kiss. "Bring the trunk and follow me. Our little criminal enterprise has work to do tonight."

Harry followed her down the hall with the trunk floating ahead of him. She led him into a library and told him to open the third compartment then quickly began floating books over to him. The trunk thankfully automatically sorted them, so all Harry had to do was drop them in, which was good as Pansy was quickly sending him books by the dozens. Half an hour later, roughly a quarter of the library shelves were empty and they moved to another room.

Over the next hour, Pansy led him through the house taking all sorts of things. She liberated a hidden safe full of gold from one room and a different hidden safe full of a variety of magical items from another. They raided the family potion supply. Harry was nervous when she led him to her mother's room but she just asked to borrow his cloak and wait in the hall for her. After a couple of tense minutes, she returned with a bag full of jewelry. When they returned to her room, she explained that her mother wore a couple of pieces daily but what Pansy took was hidden deep in a drawer and only came out for formal events.

Most of what they were taking would not be missed for some time. Harry asked about the library and Pansy responded that her mother had her own library downstairs that was full of 'plebian fiction for bored wives' and only she and her father frequented the upstairs library. With luck, he might be away on business for weeks or months more before finding their handiwork. Dobby was a great help as they stripped most of her room and closet of belongings. He took the filled trunk away, leaving little more than her outfit she planned to wear in the morning, her school trunk, and her bed. Pansy suggested they even have Dobby take the bed itself after she left in the morning, and as large and comfortable as it was, Harry agreed. They were clearing out everything of Pansy's anyway; her parents would notice her room being stripped of most of her belongings so they might as well take the furniture as well.

Dobby told Harry that he would not have room in either bedroom for the bed, but Harry just told him to put it in the living room of the flat till they could go there and start arranging things. There was a chance that they might not even decide to stay there. He had mostly chosen that property for his summer as he hoped that it would be the most discreet place. If people (i.e. Dumbledore) had tried to track him down that summer, Harry figured they would start with the known Potter properties. His paranoia at being found this summer had mostly waned, but the attack on Pansy made him want to be damn sure that wherever they stayed in the future would be as hard as possible for the Parkinsons to be able to find. He was going to have to figure out what all wards and defenses he could have set up for their future home also.

Eventually, Pansy finished up everything she wanted to accomplish and climbed back into her bed. Dobby handed Harry a potion and he quickly downed it.

"Now what potion is my healer taking right before bed?"

"An energy potion. I told you I'm going to watch over you tonight. I meant it." He climbed into her bed, but sat up next to her, with his wand in hand.

"Harry, you don't have to do that," she said as she cuddled into his left side.

He kissed her forehead and replied, "Yes, I do. Get some sleep."

"You need to rest too."

"Maybe I'll get a nap on the train. If not, I'll just call it an early night after the feast."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. Good night, Pansy."

"It is now," she murmured as she lay her head down, using his stomach as a pillow.

"Sweet dreams."