Chapter 3: Wands

I haven't a clue why he did it, I don't think I'd ever know the real reason or even understand it, but he did it and here we were. Sitting before me was Scarhead…Potter…Harry. The person I had hated for much of my childhood and the one person I had hoped never to see again. I truly thought I had been rid of him, from the fame of the Chosen-One and the Golden Trio. But of course that wasn't how life worked you know? I was almost ready to spend my life behind bars or exiled or even purged of my memories...but yet none of those things happened and now I was seated in front of Harry fucking Potter. Despite being behind bars for months I still looked better than he did, Merlin he was a mess.

Hair much wilder and untamed than I have ever seen it, he had grown a beard too, sheesh I guess we are growing up. Some beards make a man look dignified or older, but for Potter it only made him look even more exhausted than he already looked. I doubt he was sleeping much, he had dark bags under his eyes and the rim of his glasses hid them only slightly. He wore a creased suit, looked second-hand or just very weather worn. It wouldn't be a suit I'd be caught dead in to put it bluntly, looked muggle made, probably was knowing him. I assumed it was a hot day outside, he hadn't worn a jacket and was only wearing the collared shirt and tie, and it was Slytherin green oddly.

"You're serious?" I asked him, unable to hide the disbelief in my voice.

"Yes, yes I am."

"...One question Potter."

"Shoot."

"What in the fuck happened to you?"

Potter smirked and leaned back in his chair. Suddenly his entire personality changed and he wasn't the same exhausted-looking man that had strolled into the room with his hands in his pockets and his head down. Beside me, Theo glanced my way with a raised eyebrow while on my right, Astoria simply watched as the Boy-Who-Lived rose from his chair and called out a name. The door opened and a small, impish-looking man with large glasses appeared and handed over several wrapped parcels. The man was dressed in a fine looking suit, he looked like a money man to me, I had seen enough of them. He took the parcels, thanked the man by giving him a nod and a pat on the shoulder, and then turned to us with a strange glint in his eye.

And by the way...there were more than just the three of us. Pansy Parkinson, Daphne Greengrass, and Blaise joined us in the small, cramped room. It had been some time since I had seen them all and longer still since we had all been together. I had missed them very much.

"Theodore Nott..." he read the name off of the parcel and handed it to Theo before doing the same for the rest of us. Eventually all of the parcels were handed out and Harry took his seat again. I, however, did not receive on. Odd how he looked at me as he spoke, was he testing me? "...you'll find they have been unharmed and polished for you. I ask, well the Minister asked me to remind you all that you have been found guilty of your crimes and this is simply parole. I'm sorry to say that I was unable to get your pardoned in full immediately, but maybe in a few months you will if all goes well."

"So what does that mean?" Blaise asked Potter daringly. He seemed on edge, Blaise, I could not blame him too much but this was an opportunity for us all.

"Basically..." his eyes narrowed behind his glasses and we saw Blaise look away."...don't fuck this up or I won't stick my neck out for you again."

Astoria unrolled her parcel, none of us having done so before. "Our wands! You got our wands back?"

The room we sat in was hot and humid. The air was dry, the feel of summer reaching in. We were dressed in simple pants and shirts with numbers on the back, they were thin but yet we were all roasting. We smelled bad that's for sure, the room was tight, our moods had been horrible to say the least. But now, oh well now we were beaming and smiling and holding our wands to our hearts like lost puppies returned to us...except for me. I sat with a fake grin as Astoria showed me her wand for the first time in several months. Where was mine?

"Yes I did."

"Why?" Pansy asked Potter quietly, holding the wand close to her heart. She dared not look at him, I assume it was due to last time she had spoken to him.

"Why not?" he countered.

"I could think of several reasons why not to give our wands back."

Potter glanced at Pansy and shrugged. "I don't really care."

"Okay..." she responded uncertainly but thankful nonetheless, still not looking at him as she held her wand.

"Does anyone have any other questions?"

Astoria raised her hand slowly.

"You can just talk," Potter laughed.

She laughed nervously along with him, the rest of us were silent as he laughed. Frankly I was weirded out by this new Potter just as much as she clearly was. "So what about our families? Our homes and money."

"Your father and mother are currently holidaying in South Africa, Blaise your mother is refurbishing a villa in Sicily, and Parkinson your father was arrested and already sentenced, he will not be pardoned. Your fortune was stripped and donated to Hogwarts to rebuild the school. Your mother is living in Dublin, doing quite well too the last time I spoke to her. That was probably last week."

"You spoke to my mother?" Pansy croaked. She was close to her mother, despite her being a Death Eater, her mother was a decent enough woman albeit with some roughness of course. Pansy had said many times how much she had missed her.

"Yes, how do you think she got away?" Potter stated as if it was common knowledge.

I held up my hands, not able to believe any more of this story. This was just one outrageous moment too far. "Hold up, Potter. You're telling me you willingly helped a Death Eater escape? Escape the law and prison?"

"I did more than that. I bought her a flat, nice flat too. Moving on however, the Greengrass sisters your family is perfectly fine and your father is doing quite well in the Muggle courts. I kept the heat off of him while he worked out some way to erase all mention of himself in the Wizarding World and become someone new. I have all the information with Smithies outside, you can trust him. And Draco, your mother has been pardoned and given a lump sum of muggle money by a private investor, me, and she has taken the chance to visit a family friend in France."

"...When did you do all this?"

Potter ran a hand through his hair. "Over the course of several sleepless nights. But that doesn't matter. What does is you can leave so go. Smithies is waiting, he'll take you to a private location where you can escape the press for a time behind before deciding where you want to go. Your fortunes and family money have been taken by the Ministry so I have established several accounts in your name, in muggle London, for you and deposited ten thousand pounds in each account for you to get your footing. After that it's up to you. Don't think you can just disappear however, Smithies and I will be visiting every now and then to check up on you. If you need help or assistance I will be your contact. Remember one thing, no one is giving you a chance but me and my accountant Smithies. So go."

"How noble of you Potter. I didn't ask for your help and I don't want your money."

He turned to Nott, studied him for a moment, and then whispered a name.

"Kreacher is here master," said the small elf.

"Please inform the Minister that Theodore Nott is no longer apart of the deal. He'll be returning to Azkaban momentarily-"

"No wait, wait! I-I'm sorry Potter, I'm sorry! Don't make me go back."

Potter stood from his chair in a rush and looked down upon my friend with a fierce gaze. His hands rested on the table-top and he all but hissed his next words. "I told you Nott. Don't fuck this up."

Kreacher left, Smithies returned, and my friends left with him without another word spoken between us. Potter held a hand out for me to remain and I wasn't surprised when Astoria stayed as well. He glanced at her briefly before closing the door with a sure movement. I went to speak before he pulled a wand out of an arm holster. Instincts kicked in and I dived to the right, knocking Astoria away from the line of fire. As she screamed for help I covered her with my body but then we heard laughing and the both of us glanced upwards to see fucking Potter kneeling beside us.

"A genuine Knight in Shining Armor huh?"

He held out the wand and that is when I realized that the wand he held out was in fact my wand, the wand that had been like an extension of my arm for so many years. Potter stood back up, cleared his throat, and placed the wand on the table. It made a small noise as it rolled to the right before he put a finger down to stop it. His emerald eyes, tired and bloodshot, looked upon me and he spoke in a gentle tone. Everything about this was strange.

"Your wand works better for you than me," Potter explained.

As I took my wand he bent down and helped Astoria up from her knees. While I examined my wand for defects or issues, really just admiring it for the first time in many months, Potter had handed her wand back to her, to which she smiled unsurely at him. To feel my wand again was a pure moment of joy followed by a question that popped up in my head as Potter began to exit the room. When I asked my question the overly-sure of himself man was replaced once more by the tired and exhausted hero, skinny and in need of a shave. He was a mystery as ever.

"What did you give up for all of us going free?"

He did not answer immediately.

"A lot."