Can You Hear Me Now

Can You Hear Me Now by Pseudonymous Entity

Summary: Harry doesn't save Ginny in the chamber. Instead he tries to befriend the spirit of the Dark lord and as a result learns things he never would have known and stumbles upon a secret that changes everything he thought was true. Includes witty vampires, car chases, moral dilemmas, a gunfight, torture, traitors and dramatic Malfoys. Blacks are also dramatic. Horror Parody.

Warnings: This is a HORROR PARODY. If you have made it to this point you ought to know what you're in for. Also? I laugh in the face of canon.

Characters: Harry Potter/Grimm. The Malfoys. The Weasleys. Sirius Black. Magical Creatures. Neville Longbottom. and ?

AN: It always amazes me how many of you are still around when I post an update for this story. I am trying to get this story finished for you this year if I can. At least the main storyline.

ANx2: There is a lot of ground to cover, and unfortunate plot twists coming for our little Harry that he is not ready for. This is gonna be a bumpy ride. Someone should give him a hug. You guys might need one or two yourselves before this is all said and done.

Ever Yours,

-Pseu (Still good looking and reasonably talented)

"And it can't be outfought, it can't be outdone - It can't be outmatched, it can't be outrun, no!

And when I close my eyes tonight to symphonies for blinding light

...like memories in cold decay, transmissions echoing away

Far from the world of you and I, where oceans bleed into the sky..."

-The Catalyst

As soon as Lord Malfoy was gone Harry spun and looked between Draco and Marcel.

"How does he know that? What did he mean? Does he know her? My mum?" Harry asked, the words tumbling out of his mouth and dragging his heart along with them right over his tongue and through his teeth and straight onto the floor. "Did he know her Draco?"

Draco frowned. "I...well yes. A lot of people knew her, Harry. Not well or anything but her family did have a lot of social functions at their main estate and she was very involved with creature politics later on. Father would have been just a little older than her. Most of us get to know other witches and wizards about our age just so we have someone other than our parents to be with. It makes the balls and ministry functions a bit easier to bear. And then, of course, some of us go on to the same schools..." He trailed off.

So," said Harry. His voice came out strained. He cleared it. "So was he one of the ones who knew her well? Did they go to school together?"

Draco shook his head. "Prima was homeschooled I think. She never went to Hogwarts her family forbade it. I don't know why, father wouldn't tell me. I think...I think they were friends. Your mother and my father. Our families have a history and-"

Draco stopped and took a deep breath. He gave Harry an apologetic smile. "It's easy to forget that you don't know these things. We're all taught about our family histories growing up. Your family and mine our allies of a sort. Not the Potters, the Grimms. I don't know if they were close friends but they should have known one another well. And she helped me when I was sick and I know father didn't have to make a deal to do it. She did it because it was father asking. So they must have at least gotten along. Liked one another." Draco offered. His eyes were unfocused like he was trying to search through his memories for anything else to do with her.

A hand squeezed Harry's shoulder. He looked up to see Marcel standing beside him.

"Hang on. You knew her? You knew my mum?" Harry asked.

Draco blinked. "What?"

He stepped forward, Marcel's hand slipping from his shoulder. "You said she helped you when you were sick. But she's been at that place since we were babies."

"It happened before then." Said Draco, quietly. "I was very sick as a baby. I almost died. Would have died. That was a long time ago, Harry. I'm sorry I don't remember anything about her I was too little."

Harry chewed his lip. It was quiet in the hallway, like a waiting room. "What about what he said about her disguises. Why would she need disguises? How did he know her well enough that he knew what she would choose for them?"

The blonde shrugged helplessly. "Maybe they were good friends. Maybe they went to functions together and went to one another's houses for dinner. Harry, I don't know, I'm sorry."

It was irrational to take his anger out on Draco. He wasn't old enough to be keeping the secrets and information that Harry needed. That lay with people like Lord Malfoy. People who kept that to themselves instead of telling Harry. Was that an adult prerequisite? Keeping information from the very people who deserved to know it just because they were younger than you? Was there a special adult orientation when you hit seventeen where all the adults in your life told everything they'd ever kept from you? If that were the case seventeen couldn't come swiftly enough.

"You chose the mask your mother always wore."

He spun around in surprise.

Marcel stood there with his eyes on the ground. "When she came down to the festivals and later when she snuck around the creature vendors, that is what she wore. The one you chose." He looked up and made a vague motion toward Harry's face where he still wore the snake mask.

Harry swallowed. "How can you possibly know that? You're not old enough to remember something like that. Your brother isn't even old enough."

Marcel's blacks eyes flicked to the side for a moment. "It is a well-known thing. Among our kind. The moment I saw you, your eyes, I knew you had to be related. A member of the Grimms certainly. It wasn't until you chose that mask and put it on that I knew you must be her son. You look just like her."

He frowned. "But I don't look anything like her. She has hair like well like him." He pointed at Draco. "Like snow. And she's got eyes like yellow gold. Her skin is tan too, much darker than mine."

"Before she turned thirteen she had hair as dark as yours and eyes just as green. She received a magic blessing on her birthday. It a tradition with her family and those close to it. But when she came to the alleys she used a glamour charm of some kind. It turned her hair dark and her eyes green. Just the way she looked before her thirteenth birthday. She came down at night and danced with us. Helped in the clinic or with books. Creatures haven't got a lot of options you know and we had even less then."

"She wandered the alleys alone at thirteen?" Asked Draco. "Guess you and your mother have even more in common."

Harry sighed. "Are you never going to let that go? I said sorry. Next time I'll bring you with me. Promise."

"She wasn't alone." Interrupted Marcel. "She always brought a friend. Always the same friend. Your father."

"So...very close then." Said Draco, weakly.

Harry turned to him. "Why wouldn't your father tell me?"

"None of knew she was your mum until recently Harry. And there's been a lot going on since then. We found out Prima was in that awful muggle place and we found your uncles. Maybe he didn't think it was a good time to bring it up." Draco pointed out.

The blonde looked around the hall then walked up to one of the doors and opened and, motioning them inside. "Maybe we shouldn't have this conversation where anyone could hear. Father said a lot of people were going to be in and out for a while. If they were people we could talk freely around he would have called them by name." He waited for Harry and Marcel to step inside then shut the door behind them.

Harry sat in the nearest chair, curling his knees up and throwing his small arms around them. He rested his chin on his knees and stared at the carpet. "What about your hair?"

"What about it?" Draco frowned. He was leaning against the wall by the window.

"Marcel said the hair and odd eye colour came from some magic blessing ritual. But you've always had the hair." Said Harry, looking up at Draco.

Draco blinked. "Well yeah. I told you how your mum helped me right? When I was little? She did it by performing the ritual early. She did some special magic and then the blessing. It gives you a sort of boost. Makes you stronger. She gave it to me so I wouldn't get sick anymore. I was dying Harry. Would have, if she hadn't done what she did. That's why my hair is like this. Why my eyes are silver."

He tilted his head, thinking. "So your father. Did he get the blessing too? When he was thirteen like my mum?"

Draco shook his head. "No, he had it from birth. His father, my grandfather, was a special friend to the Grimms. He did something for them, something important. He saved someone's life. So to repay him he was given the blessing as an adult. And then later when he was trying to have an heir the Grimms helped him through magic have a child. My father. When he was born the Grimms gave him the magic blessing to ensure his safety and to help repay their debt to my grandfather."

"You were right." Said, Harry. "I guess our families have been close."

"We are too. Now." Said Draco. "Harry? Harry!"

Harry could hear Draco's shoes on the carpet as he came to him, but he couldn't lift his head to look. He could feel fat hot tears sliding down his cheeks and he was embarrassed. He was angry and he was confused and he just wishes he knew more. He wanted everyone to stop keeping this from him. He wished he'd known about the Grimms growing up. Would he and Draco have spent time together at balls and ministry events? Would their parents have been good friends? Would they have arranged playdates between them? Would he have grown up with friends? He had more questions than answers and Harry was just so sick of it.

"I wish I could tell you more Harry." Whispered Draco, distraught. "All I can say is that Sirius Black is your Godfather. Prima was one of three parents in the will and she would have to agree to him being your Godfather. That means...well...she probably knew him, didn't she? Really well. So. So if anyone knows how all of this happened it's him."

Harry supposed that was true. He wiped a hand across his face and looked up.

"You can ask him about it when he's done helping father." Said Draco, when Harry didn't say anything. "Until then we really do have a short window of time until your birthday. Let's focus on that for now, okay? And leave the heavy stuff to the grown-ups for now. Everything is going to work out Harry, you'll see. Father promised."

Harry nodded and gave Draco a small smile. When Draco moved away to whisper with Marcel, Harry scribbled in his diary. Something short telling Tom that he was safe and that he and Marcel were with Draco at his manor. Hopefully, Tom and Elia were okay. He knew Draco was right. He really ought to let the adults handle this. It was hard though to trust people to help you and take care of things when they never saw fit to do so before. None of the other adults in his life had anyway. Not Aunt Petunia, or Uncle Vernon, or McGonagall or Lockhart or anyone.

Why should he trust adults now just because they were different ones? All of them were hiding things from him. Some of them were the reason he didn't know he somehow had three parents, that one of them was alive. They were the reason she was stuck in a horrible place for so long and he grew up with muggles. It was their fault! Why should he trust anyone at all?

Arms went around him and he jumped. Harry looked up from where he'd been studying the floor. It was Draco squeezing him tightly. Marcel was behind him with a reassuring if concerned smile on his face. "It's all going to work out Harry." Draco murmured into his ear. "I promise."

Harry blinked. Then he was hugging Draco back.

Maybe he couldn't trust the adults. Not yet. But he wasn't alone.

Not anymore.

PseudonymousEntity

2019

Thoughts, questions, theories and limericks always welcome.

NOTES:

Harry's is slowly realizing there's a lot more being kept from him than he thought. Unfortunately for him the readers know more than he does at the moment. Don't worry Harry, you'll find out some of it soon. There's a lot that happened in the past and life can be complicated and difficult to explain. If only he could just see it all through the eyes of people who were there...

ANx1: There's a price to pay for the information Harry thinks he wants. It's going to bring other secrets along with it and he may wish he'd left well enough alone. But much like Pandora's Box, once these secrets come out there's no going back.

ANx2: Anything in particular you can't wait to find out about? Or a certain character you're interested in seeing?

-Pseu