Little Phoenix (Harry Potter Fanfiction)

92. Alternate Timeline Number One

"Why am I here?" Tyriq snapped, glaring at Draco.

"To tell off your brother-in-law," he retorted, knocking on the door. Entering the house, Draco said, "I can't stay long. I won't need long."

"How can I help?" Harry replied coldly.

"I'm not here to antagonize you," Draco began, "But my son is in tears and I am his father so I am here to ask why you would keep apart two good friends."

"Actually dido on that," Tyriq added. "Zeph is very irritated he can't hang out with his two best friends at the same time."

"I'm not keeping them apart," Harry lied.

"You've changed school timetables, you've threatened both teachers and Albus himself and Zephaniah. Why?" Draco retorted.

"What?" Tyriq snapped sharply. "He threatened my son?!"

"I meant to tell you before," Draco admitted. "Scorpius told me that Potter, here, told him that if he did anything to try and get the two together, he'd ruin any chances he had of being an auror."

"Seriously?" Tyriq snapped, scoffing. "Your own nephew?"

"I have to protect my son," Harry retorted in a ringing voice.

"From Scorpius?" Draco scoffed.

"Bane told me he sensed a darkness around my son. Near my son."

"What are you implying, Potter?" Draco snapped coldly.

"Are you sure...are you really sure he's yours, Draco?" Harry asked.

"You take that back, right now," Draco warned lowly, his jaw clenched.

Draco raised his wand before Tyriq sighed, "Guys, this isn't necessary."

"You don't want to do this," Harry said, ignoring Tyriq.

"Yes, I do," Draco retorted.

"Guys-"

"I don't want to hurt you, Draco," Harry warned.

"How interesting, because I do want to hurt you," Draco said coldly. Tyriq sighed in annoyance as the two began to duel before Harry threw a chair at Draco. With a lazy wave of his wand, Tyriq stopped the chair in the air before it fell with a crash.

"I only left three minutes ago!" Ginny shouted irritably. "What did I miss?"

"Oh, you mean other than your husband threatening my son?!" Tyriq snapped angrily.

"Harry, you didn't," Ginny warned. "Zephaniah is your nephew for Merlin's sake!"

"Why are you even listening to him?!" Harry shouted, gesturing at Tyriq. "He's not even apart of the family any more!"

"He's the father of your nephew!" Ginny retorted, crossing her arms and glaring dangerously.

"Whatever," Harry scoffed, pushing past her and walking further into the house.

With a sigh, Ginny said, "I'm sorry, Tyriq, I'll try and talk to him. I didn't know. If I had I wouldn't have allowed it." Turning to the stairs, Ginny shouted, "Harry get back down here!" Huffing, he appeared a few minutes later.

"Sorry about your kitchen, Ginny," Draco said.

"Oh, it's not my kitchen," Ginny countered, "Harry does most of the cooking."

"I can't talk to him either. Scorpius," Draco admitted. "Especially since - Astoria has gone. I can't even talk about how losing her has affected him. As hard as I try, I can't reach him. You can't talk to Albus. I can't talk to Scorpius. That's what this is about. Not about my son being evil. Because as much as you might take the word of a haughty centaur, you know the power of friendship."

"What is this a muggle kid's movie?" Tyriq joked, although he couldn't bring himself to smile.

"Draco, whatever you may think..." Harry began.

"I always envied you and them, you know," Draco admitted. "Weasley, Granger, and Nicole. I had-"

"Crabbe and Goyle," Ginny finished with a small smirk.

"Two lunks who wouldn't know one end of a broomstick from another. You - the other three of you - you shone, you know? You liked each other. You had fun. I envied you those friendships more than anything else."

"I envied them too," Ginny admitted, causing Harry to look up at her in shock.

"I need to protect him-" Harry began.

"Zeph is going through enough without you threatening him," Tyriq retorted. "He has this crazy idea that they all are from a different timeline."

"What?" Harry asked. "What was it like really different?"

"Well for starters, you weren't such an ass," Tyriq said blandly. "Nic and I were still together. I used to be a Death Eater. Zeph has a twin sister named Hadassah. And all three of our kids were in Slytherin together."

"That's quite a story," Draco remarked.

"And apparently we're best friends," Tyriq added, looking at Draco.

"Us?" Draco clarified, his eyebrows shooting up in shock.

"Zeph said that while I was supposedly a Death Eater, you and I got close and became best friends."

"Look, this is not the point," Harry snapped. "I need to protect Albus."

"My father thought he was protecting me," Draco remarked. "Most of the time. I think you have to make a choice - at a certain point - of the man you want to be. And I tell you that at that time you need a parent or a friend. And if you've learnt to hate your parent by then and you have no friend...then you're all alone. And being alone - that's so hard. I was alone, and it sent me to a truly dark place. For a long time. Tom Riddle was also a lonely child. You may not understand that, Harry, but I do - and I think Ginny does too."

"He's right," Ginny admitted.

"Tom Riddle didn't emerge from his dark place, and so Tom Riddle became Lord Voldemort. Maybe the black cloud Bane saw was Albus' loneliness. His pain. His hatred. Don't lose the boy. You'll regret it, and so will he. Because he needs you, and Scorpius, whether or not he knows it."

"Damn, Draco," Tyriq said, getting to his feet.

"Where are you going?" Ginny asked.

"To see my son," Tyriq replied. Once he had found him studying in the library, Tyriq took him out into the hall and said, "Zeph, it doesn't make much sense, but...I believe you."

"You do?" Zeph exclaimed in shock.

"I'm trying to," Tyriq clarified. "You're my son and I love you and if I really do have a daughter, I want to meet her and...I want your mum back."

"That's bloody brilliant, Dad," Zeph assured, "but I need to go try and fix all this. I'll see you later, okay?" Tyriq nodded and his son disappeared.