Changed (Drarry)

Chapter 20

Harry was awake when Lily and James made it to Malfoy Manor, and was eating a plate of crisps, sitting next to Draco who also helped himself to the crisps, a comfortable silence filling the room, except for eating noises. Hermione had gone home before this conversation. She may be somewhat friends with Harry, but she wasn't close enough for this conversation.

"Hello, did you two manage to do what you wanted to?" Narcissa asked, looking up at them as they came in.

"More or less." Lily said with a shrug, taking a seat a little heavily.

She looked more tired than she did immediately after the trial, and her eyes were noticeably red too, but she didn't mention it, and neither did anyone else. Anyone who knew her during her time at Hogwarts likely already figured out what was going on, Harry wasn't one to pry, and Draco's curiosity hadn't been triggered.

"We should talk about what Dumbledore claimed about Harry." Lucius said, leaning slightly further forwards, and sitting more upright, Draco copying his posture.

'What did he say about me?' Harry signed, looking between everyone. He hadn't been told about the trial, in fact they didn't talk much since he woke up, no more than offering him food, but he hadn't been awake long.

"Dumbledore told the Weasleys you were a horcrux, and Ginny Weasley told everyone what he said." Draco said, nudging Harry slightly.

'What's that?' Harry asked, never having heard the word before, so there was no chance of him being able to finger spell it.

"It's a type of very strong dark magic. After you do something atrocious that splits the soul, you do magic that encases a piece of that soul into something else, usually an object with meaning to the person. It can be something living, but it's risky, living things can die, and when it dies so does the horcrux." Lucius explained, Harry feeling a little cold.

"But if death makes the horcrux die, then wouldn't that mean that Harry can't be one anymore even if he was made one when the Dark Lord attacked him?" Draco asked, looking between the adults.

"Not necessarily, the phoenix part of us will revive everything that's seen as self, if Harry is a horcrux, if he accepts it as a part of him his phoenix will save it too. What will becoming a horcrux do to the person?" James turned back to the Malfoys, it was a conversation Harry, and by association Draco, needed to hear all of, but it wasn't something that they could really contribute much to.

"It depends on the amount of the dark wix's soul is in them, but usually they gain some of that person's power, and it will work hard, sometimes even harder than their magic, to keep them alive, because otherwise it will be destroyed and remorse becomes impossible." Narcissa said, by now she was sure that Harry was a horcrux, she only hoped it wouldn't cause him any problems.

"Does Parseltongue run in the Potter family?" Lucius asked.

"Not that I'm aware of, but we are related to most of the Hogwarts founders, so I would hardly be surprised." James said, he had never found it especially odd that Harry had a snake familiar until now, but he didn't know of any relatives who had that ability.

'So if I stop being one of them will I not be able to talk to P-R-E-D-A-W-N anymore?' Harry signed, looking panicked, the snake in question was around Harry's ankles, Sirius having brought them to the Manor while waiting for Harry to wake up and Lily and James to get there.

"No, I don't know about all snakes, but you two are bonded, last year and this year have proven that without a shadow of a doubt, so you'll at least be able to communicate with them." Sirius said, trying to comfort Harry who was looking scared.

"Is there any way to check if Harry is a horcrux?" Draco asked, holding Harry's arm tightly, almost seeming afraid that Harry might disappear.

"Not for us, but the Dark lord will be able to if he wants to. That's hardly a safe option though." Lucius pinched the top of his nose by his eyebrows, rubbing small circles as he tried to think of a solution.

"Is there any harm that can come to Harry from being a horcrux?" Remus asked, Draco looking at him and immediately starting to nod in agreement.

"It shouldn't affect Harry's health, but if it gets stronger it might be able to possess him if it becomes strong enough. It's also dark magic, so it might harm Harry's relationships." Narcissa looked at the two boys with sad eyes.

"How long would it take for that to happen?" Lily asked, her voice quiet as she looked at her tightly clasped hands, trying not to let them shake.

"Who knows?" Narcissa shrugged.

"There hasn't been more research into them than we've told you, especially not a living horcrux, or a human one." Lucius explained. "They're difficult to make, and most of our information is based on what happens to animals."

"What is a horcrux supposed to do?" Draco asked, Narcissa and Lucius being the only people who knew about them.

"They're used to prevent someone from properly dying. If they have a horcrux their soul is still tethered to the world still, they're something between a ghost and a living person. If they can get a body then they're just as alive as anyone again, except for their broken soul." Narcissa said.

'What does a broken soul cause?' Harry asked.

"It depends on how it's broken, but with the Dark Lord's case, he killed people to break his soul, so it probably damaged his admittedly warped morality, as well as the physical changes he went through. The Dark Lord doesn't like being the same as other people, and he thinks that wixes should be above death, which might also be the cause of some of the changes he went through with the horcruxes." Lucius sighed, leaning back in a way that was unlike him, but he was with people he trusted, so it wasn't as odd as it would be if this was in front of the ministry.

"Is it possible to put your soul back together?" Draco asked, looking between his parents, nervous.

"With remorse," Lily said, surprising Harry and Draco, they didn't realise she knew anything about horcruxes. "I don't know what happens with the horcrux part, but if you feel remorse over what you did that splits your soul, it will become whole.