Trigger warning: Mention of suicide attempt

A Life Destroyed

Or Is It A Life Saved?

Happy Sixteen Harry Potter

Harry Potter sat by the window of his prison, counting down the minutes to midnight. It was the eve of his sixteenth birthday, not that the youth took any pleasure from that knowledge.

He was utterly and achingly alone.

Sirius was dead - killed because of Harry's stupidity.

Hedwig was dead - killed in malicious glee by his loving 'family'. A punishment for being a freak who refused to die no matter what was thrown at him.

None of his friends had written to him.

None of the adults in his life had contacted him either, leaving him isolated on this little island of hell. Maybe he wouldn't survive the summer. His misery would end then, wouldn't it?

Sighing gustily, Harry stared at the alarm clock, silently counting down the minutes even though he no longer knew why he bothered.

At fifteen to midnight, Harry was startled out of his dark thoughts by the approach of an owl.

"Hello there, you got a letter for me?" Harry asked in surprise when the bird landed next to him and stuck its leg out.

A surge of hope erupted in the teen's chest and he removed the letter with trembling fingers, never noticing that the owl didn't leave but merely dissolved into a small pile of leaves and twigs.

Reading his name on the envelope, Harry couldn't help but frown when he didn't recognise the writing. The frown deepened when he turned it over and noted that the seal in the wax simply said The Ministry.

What did the Ministry want with him now? Another threat to have him expelled?

Harry's first impulse was to throw the letter aside, unread.

But then he sighed and broke the seal. This was the first letter he had received in weeks. If nothing else, it would help break the monotony that now was his life.

.

Dear Mr Potter,

We at the Department of Legal Inheritance wishes to congratulate you on reaching your sixteenth birthday.

As is customary, we send you a copy of your birth certificate. It will be needed when you visit Gringotts to prove your identity so that you can claim your fathers' inheritance.

Best wishes,

The Department of Legal Inheritances.

.

Harry frowned at the letter. This was not what he had expected. Shrugging fatalistically, Harry tossed the letter aside and glanced at the birth certificate.

One glance was all it took to shatter his life forever.

For there, in bold letters, were not the names he expected. No, written on this innocent document was his worst nightmare.

.

Name: Lucien Severin Malfoy

Date of Birth: July 31, 1980

Father: Lucius Abraxas Malfoy

Father: Severus Snape

.

The parchment fell from numb fingers.

He wasn't Harry Potter?

He wasn't the son of James Potter? Of Lily Evans?

How...

How had this happened?

Shutting his eyes tight, Harry felt the tears trail down his cheeks. His whole life was a lie. He wasn't Harry Potter. Did this mean that James and Lily Potter was alive somewhere? That he had been used as a decoy? To cover up the fate of the real Boy Who Lived?

Or had the real Harry Potter died and he had been forced to fill his shoes so that the wizarding world still had their hero?

It didn't matter. None of it did.

All that mattered was that his friends would hate him now. They would not tolerate that he was the son of Malfoy and Snape.

And Malfoy and Snape would never accept him. They hated him for what he represented. For what he had done.

The only positive thing Harry could think of was that Sirius was dead. It meant that his godfather didn't have to hate him for not being the son of his best friend.

He was alone.

He had no one.

No one at all.

As if in a trance, Harry moved from the window and all but crawled over to his desk. To the broken nail that protruded from one of the desk legs. The very nail that always, always, scratched him whenever he sat there to do his homework.

He had a use of that nail tonight.

Taking a deep breath, Harry ran his wrist across the nail, hissing in pain and frustration when all he managed to do was give himself a stinging scratch.

Gritting his teeth, Harry ran his wrist across that nail again and again, ignoring the pain, ignoring his tears. His life would end tonight.

When he finally managed to puncture a vein, Harry at first couldn't believe it. But the spurting blood soon convinced him of his success. Laughing weakly in glee, the teen collapsed to the floor.

Tears of relief poured down his cheeks as green eyes avidly watched as more and more blood left his body. Soon it would all be over and he would never hurt again. If there was any justice in the afterlife, he would finally found the peace he had been denied all his life.

Suddenly feeling tired beyond belief, Harry closed his eyes for the last time as he fell unconscious. He never felt tender fingers run through his hair. He never heard the softly whispered, "I'm so sorry, child. Rest now, just rest. I will take care of you."

He never saw the swirls of magic that came to life as the clock struck midnight and he officially turned sixteen.

.

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oOo

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Righting A Wrong

Father Time watched with a mixture of sadness and glee as Harry James Potter disappeared forever. In his place appeared a small child, a few days old at the most. He had the trademark Malfoy blond hair and the trademark Prince midnight coloured eyes. His features was a perfect blend of the two families, making him a stunningly beautiful child.

Once the magic had stopped working on the boy, Time picked him up and cradled him gently to his chest. He was just about to leave when a furious shout caused him to pause.

"Father?!"

"Daughters," Time intoned, staring disapprovingly at his children.

"What... what are you doing?! You aren't allowed to change the fate of a mortal like that!" Fate screeched furiously.

"Daughter, do you remember what I said the last time I found you playing with the fate of a mortal?" Time asked coldly.

"But..." Fate spluttered incredulously.

"Do you remember?!" Time roared furiously.

"...Yes," Fate replied sulkily.

"And yet you played around with this mortal's fate for your own amusement. Do not think that I am not aware of the betting pool you and the others are running."

Fate shared an uneasy glance with her sister, but then she shrugged and said, "It wasn't as if anyone cared."

"It was your duty to ensure his wellbeing," Time thundered, unable to believe his ears. His daughter actually tried to defend her actions?

"I gave the mortals plenty of opportunity. They never made use of them," Fate retorted sullenly. But the smirk she shared with Destiny spoke volumes.

"I see. So you figured this would be a grand opportunity to re-open your betting arena, having some fun at your charge's expense," Time stated stonily, his very being radiating disapproval.

"Calm yourself, Father, the boy would have fulfilled his destiny," Destiny said soothingly.

"So his sufferings meant nothing to you? What about the fact he killed himself tonight?" Time asked with a disapproving frown.

The girls shrugged their shoulders. "This isn't the first time the silly boy has died, Father. But don't worry, we have a deal with the Grim Reaper. He will remove the memory from the boy and life will go on as scheduled," Fate said carelessly. Then she frowned. "It will be a bit difficult to fix this latest mess, though, what with you changing him and everything. Why did you do that, by the way? Why did you mess with the life of our charge? You never do that."

"It seems I need to have a talk with the Grim Reaper once I've dealt with you, my daughters."

"Dealt with us?" Fate and Destiny chorused incredulously.

"Yes. I meant every word I spoke the last time I found you messing with one of your mortal charges. Clearly you didn't believe me. Or thought that I would forget about it.

"I haven't. As of this moment you are both stripped of all your powers and birthrights," Time stated sternly, ignoring the way his daughters screamed as they were stripped of their powers.

Afterwards they huddled on the floor, clinging tightly to each other and crying tears of fear and self-pity.

"How could you do this to us? We are your daughters," Fate screamed at her father.

"Yes you are. Favoured daughters at that. Daughters I loved so much that I gave each of you an important job, showing everyone the faith I held in you.

"Yet you failed me. You grew vain and selfish. You stopped caring for your charges and instead you began to make trouble for them, all for sports.

"Well, I hope the fun was worth it, daughters. For every action there is a consequence. I have yet to decide what to do with you, but do not worry, I will make sure it is something... fitting," Time said, a sinister smile on his lips, causing his daughters to start wailing again.

Sighing tiredly, Time encased Fate and Destiny in two crystals, sending them to his home.

"Never have daughters, child, they are nothing but trouble," Time sighed to the sleeping baby in his arms.

"Now, what to do with the mess my children caused? Your fate and destiny is already changed, a change caused by your own actions and beliefs. Actions you were driven to by others. Don't worry, child, they will all pay for what they did, this I promise you," Time whispered, pressing a kiss to the unmarred forehead.

Taking a last glance at the home of Harry Potter he left, leaving everything behind, everything but Lucien Severin Malfoy.

.

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oOo

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A Prank Taken Too Far

Albus Dumbledore was startled awake when an alarm went off. Rolling out of bed, the aged wizard stumbled into his office, searching for the cause of the alarm.

What he saw caused him to pale and scramble to gather his most trusted followers before making his way to Privet Drive, the home of one Harry Potter.

Bursting into the small room that housed the Boy-Who-Lived, Albus came to an abrupt halt when he saw the blood.

"No," he whispered, brokenly. "No. Harry... Where is Harry?" he asked urgently, tearing the room apart.

"Albus... I think you need to see this," a strangled voice stated.

"What? Have you found Harry?" Albus asked, turning eagerly towards his Potions master, noting but not truly seeing the strange look on the younger man's face.

Accepting the papers held out to him, Albus scanned the parchments before scoffing and throwing them aside. "Those are pure nonsense, Severus, why would you want me to see them? We need to find Harry, that is the only thing that matters right now."

"I know those papers are nonsense, Albus. You know that as well, but does Potter?" Severus asked, his face still ashen and pale.

"Harry? Why would he think those papers authentic? There is no such thing as the Department of Legal Inheritance, Severus. They certainly do not send out birth certificates willy-nilly to everyone turning sixteen," Albus scoffed.

"I know that, but my question is does Potter know that?" Severus snapped, still reeling with shock.

"I..." Albus paused as he truly pondered the question. "I don't know, but I would think so. Besides, why would he believe that he is the son of you and Lucius Malfoy?" Albus scoffed going back to his search.

But Severus could only stare down at the blood, remembering the unexpected visit he'd received thirteen years ago.

.

"Severus? What are you doing here?" Lucius asked, stepping into his study, bewildered to find that the intruder who had disturbed his sleep at four o'clock in the morning was the godfather of his son.

"Lucius? What am I doing here?" Severus asked at the same time in confusion. He had been in bed, asleep, hadn't he?

"My apologies, gentlemen, but I needed to talk to the both of you," a voice spoke from thin air.

"And this couldn't happen at a descent hour?" Lucius drawled, grasping his wand firmly, ready to start firing off curses if needed, noting with pleasure that Severus had moved to cover his back.

"I come in peace, gentlemen," the speaker said with a chuckle, slowly fading into view.

"Who are you?" Lucius asked with frown, all but overwhelmed by the power emitting from his 'guest'.

"I am Father Time. It would seem my daughters have been misbehaving, causing this young man a lot of unnecessary hardship and strife," Time replied, giving the boy in his arms a sad smile.

"Who is he?" Severus asked, stepping closer, gasping in shock when he saw the child's features for the first time.

"Now he is Lucien Severin Malfoy. Who he used to be... is of no importance. Just know that he was alone and depressed, having just witnessed the death of a loved one.

"Those who claimed to love him abandoned him, leaving him alone, bereft, and disheartened. On the eve of his sixteenth birthday a letter arrived. Here is a copy of it," Time said, producing two parchments from thin air.

Lucius grasped the papers and scanned the first one swiftly, noting with amusement that the name of the recipient was blurred before scoffing derisively as he read the brief missive. He then scanned the 'birth certificate' noting immediately that it lacked everything that made it authentic and legal.

"This is a hoax," the blond declared with authority, handing the parchments over to Severus.

"Yes, it is. But the boy didn't know that. He believed it was true. All the poor thing knew was what he had been told about himself was a lie. He knew that his friends would never stand by him. That his 'parents' would not welcome him.

"So he ended his own life just as the clock struck midnight," Time explained sadly.

"Wait... You said this happened on the eve of his sixteenth birthday?" Severus asked, looking down at the birth certificate with a dawning, horrifying, understanding.

"Severus?" Lucius asked with a frown.

Severus closed his eyes as he fought to compose himself. "It is not well known, but it is possible to change a child's parentage without aid of potions and rituals. All you have to do is convince them, and I do mean convince them that they are the child of so and so instead of their real parents.

"There have even been a few recorded instances during our history when a child intently caused a change by willing it hard enough on their sixteenth birthday."

Lucius frowned. "I've never heard of this before."

Time chuckled. "My daughters made sure the knowledge was hidden and forgotten. But they are not infallible."

"It was mentioned in the personal journal of an old Potions master. He accidentally changed his parentage by wishing hard enough that his grandfather was his father so that he would never have to deal with his abusive father ever again.

"When he realised what had happened, he began to research ways to help abused children get new parents in hope to get them awayfrom their abusers," Severus explained distractedly, his mind on the birth certificate and the poor, abused thing who had believed the lie.

"He tried to kill himself, didn't he?" Severus asked sadly

Lucius blinked, unsure who Severus was talking about, but then it clicked and he stepped closer to the child protectively.

"Yes he did. He felt he had no other option left to him," Time sighed softly.

"What happens to him now?" Lucius asked, reaching for the boy, for his son.

Time handed the child over with a knowing smile.

"Now the two of you will have to decide if you acknowledge him or not. If you do, I will leave him here for you to rise. Know that I will keep a close eye on him and if he is ever mistreated by either of you, I will remove him and care for him myself."

"No! I don't care who he used to be. He is my son now and I shall cherish him forever," Severus vowed, wrapping himself protectively around his son, and Lucius since the blond was holding the baby.

"I share Severus' feelings," Lucius swore sombrely.

Time watched the two men for long moments before nodding his head once. "Good. I will still be watching over him, gentlemen.

"Ah, yes, to ensure that your thoughts and your actions are your own..." Time mused, placing a glowing hand on each mortal, removing all traces of compulsions placed on them.

Gone was the Dark Mark. Gone was the binds on their cores. Gone was the compulsions Dumbledore had placed on them. Gone was the conditions binding Lucius due to his wedding contract.

Both men took a deep, shaky breath, free for the first time in decades.

"What did you do?" Lucius asked, lightheaded from the sudden changes to his magic.

"Freed you. Use your freedom wisely, my children. If you have any question, or if you need advice, or just someone to talk to, feel free to contact me, I will always have time for the fathers of my charge," Time said, disappearing with a merry chuckle, leaving a book behind.

"Huh. Looks like we have son, Lucius," Severus said dazedly, sinking down onto the floor when his legs refused to hold him anymore.

Chuckling weakly, Lucius followed him down to the floor, clutching their son protectively.

"What do we do now?" the blond asked, glancing around his study as if he expected an answer to leap at him.

Feeling a soft caress against his forehead, Severus chuckled at the answer suddenly filling his mind. "Now we decide on a date of birth for our son. We figure out a story to tell Narcissa and everyone else, and then we pick up our lives and live happily ever after."

Lucius gave his friend an unimpressed look.

"Hey, don't look at me, that came directly from Father Time," Severus replied with an amused smile. "By the way, he will not remember anything from his previous life, he is a blank slate for us to fill."

Lucius huffed. "What date is it today?"

"Um... September 23. The equinox... how fitting," Severus mused after a swift Tempus check.

"Then that shall be Lucien's new date of birth," Lucius declared. Seeing his friend's arched eyebrow the blond elaborated. "It seems fitting, doesn't it? After all, today is the start of Lucien's new life.

"...Do you think we will ever find out who he used to be?"

"Perhaps. But does it really matter?" Severus asked, stroking the soft cheek of his new son.

Lucius considered the question before shaking his head no. "No. He is ours now. He could have been the son of the Dark Lord for all I care. Or the son of Albus bloody Dumbledore. He is ours now and ours he shall remain," Lucius declared, clutching his son possessively.

Neither man noticed when the fake birth certificate began to glow, turning into an official, legal, document.

.

Still reeling in shock, Severus could only stare at the pool of blood. His son used to be Harry Potter.

Frowning, Severus tasted the words of his thoughts.

Lucien used to be Harry Potter.

Severus's frown deepened. No matter how many times he told himself this, it simply did not matter. Lucien might have been Harry Potter, but he wasn't any more. Lucien never had been. He was the son of Severus and Lucius, nothing more, nothing less.

But that didn't absolve the ones who had caused this tragedy.

Summoning the fake letter, Severus clutched the parchments tightly and stormed from the room, intent on hunting down a pair of twins who, apparently, had no sense, and no sense of shame.

"Severus...? Where are you going? We need to find Harry," Albus called after his retreating spy.

"Harry Potter is dead, Albus. I'm going to hunt down the ones responsible," Severus snarled, sending a mental complaint at Father Time for not leaving a fake body behind when he removed Potter from existence.

He almost immediately received an apology and a promise to correct this oversight.

Severus nodded his head in approval and smiled grimly as a wail rent the air behind him. It would seem that Albus had had his memories altered by the way he was grieving the loss of the Chosen One.

oOo

"You wanted to see my sons, Severus?" Arthur asked in confusion once his entire family was gathered around the kitchen table. Well, the ones staying at Headquarters at any rate.

"Yes, I need to ask Fred and George if they sent this abomination to Harry Potter tonight," Severus snarled, throwing the mangled letter onto the tabletop.

George picked it up and scanned it with his brother, immediately starting to snicker.

"Did you send it?" Severus snapped, not at all pleased with the twins' reactions.

"Yeah. We knew the Order would come and get him today and we wanted to watch Harry's reactions. He panicked right?" Fred asked with a disturbing amount of glee.

"But wait, how do you know about the letter? Don't tell me, Harry wrote to you?!" George gasped before doubling over with laughter. This prank was getting better and better.

"What did the boys do?" Arthur asked with some dread. He didn't think he had ever seen the Potions master this angry before.

"Did the two of you know what those two... idiots were planning?" Severus asked the two youngest Weasley children.

"Yes, we knew," Ginny replied when it became clear that Ron was too busy sniggering to actually answer.

"And neither of you thought it was a good idea to write Potter and tell him of the prank?" Severus asked silkily, for the first time ever feeling sorry for the Boy-Who-Lived. With friends like that, who needed enemies?

"Fred and George promised us ten Galleons each if we kept silent about it," Ginny replied with a shrug.

"And what about Potter's feelings?" Severus asked disgustedly.

"Oi, it's just a prank, a joke," Fred protested indignantly.

"Yeah, I mean, it's not like anyone will take the letter seriously," George protested.

"Yeah, it's not like we used a Department that actually exist," Fred added petulantly.

"And does Potter know that the department you used is a fake?" Severus snarled, infuriated by the lack of remorse and empathy the idiotic children was showing.

"Why do you care? You don't even like Harry," Ron snorted.

"No, I do not like Harry Potter, but not even I would be this cruel to the boy."

"Cruel? It's just a prank. If Harry was stupid enough to believe the letter, then he will arrive full of angst and stuff. It will be hilarious to see the look on his face when he realise it was just a bit of fun," George snickered setting off his twin again.

"What did my boys do?" Arthur asked for a second time, a sense of dread taking root in his stomach.

Wordlessly Severus handed the letter over.

Arthur read the words, unable to grasp that his sons had done something so despicable just for a laugh.

"I thought better of you," he said in a low, dangerous voice.

"Dad?" Fred asked in confusion.

"You and your brother sent a fake ministry letter. Have you any idea of the legal ramifications this can cause?" Arthur asked angrily, throwing the letter onto the table in disgust, where his wife scooped it up.

"Legal ramifications? Come on, Dad, it's just a prank. Everyone knows it is a fake," George scoffed, seeing nothing wrong with what he and Fred had done.

"It doesn't matter that you did this as a prank. You sent a letter pretending it was from the Ministry of Magic. It doesn't matter that the department you used doesn't exist. It doesn't matter that the letter and the birth certificate are fakes. You could be sentenced to a year in Azkaban for this stunt!" Arthur roared, slamming his fist down onto the tabletop.

"But..." Fred spluttered.

"No, not another word. You will apologise, sincerely, to Harry. I will then talk to him and ask him if he wishes to press charges against you. If he does, there will be nothing I can do to save you," Arthur growled angrily.

"But Dad...!" George yelped incredulously.

Arthur merely glared at him.

"Fine," the twins sulked. "We'll apologise to Harry. But there is no need to tell him about Azkaban," Fred added hopefully.

"There is every need for you to learn that there is consequences for everything you do," Arthur growled angrily, furious with his sons.

"Arthur, dear, I think our boys has learned their lesson," Molly soothed. "Yes, they need to apologise to Harry, but there is no need to threaten them with legal actions, is there? They have their entire future before them."

"I'm afraid that the twins will be unable to apologise to Mr Potter," Severus snapped.

"What? Why not? Are the Order taking him someplace else?" the twins asked in confusion.

Placing his clenched fists on the table, Severus leaned forward and glared furiously at the twins. "Harry Potter is dead, killed by his own hand," he snarled.

"What? Why?!" Molly shrieked in dismay.

"I don't know what kind of reaction you expected from Potter, but the boy didn't know the letter was a fake. He thought the birth certificate was authentic."

"But... that doesn't mean he would kill himself because of it," the twins protested weakly.

"No? Potter had spent the summer alone and isolated. I know Albus... encouraged you not to write to him. He was left alone with his grief and his regrets. How did you think he would take it when he finds out that he is the son of Lucius Malfoy and myself? That he would jump with joy? Laugh until he cried? Rant and rail against the fates?

"No, Potter thought you would reject him for being my son. For being Lucius Malfoy's son. Without his friends he would have had no one. I can only guess that he believed that Lucius and I would not accept him because he was Harry bloody Potter, or rather, had been.

"So here we have a depressed teenager who has watched his godfather die before his very eyes. Died because he had been tricked by the Dark Lord and had walked into a trap.

"And now he finds out that his entire life has been a lie, and you expect him to laugh? You are both morons, and inconsiderate ones at that.

"Arthur, I suggest you take the twins and run. Find someplace to hide them, unless you wish to throw them before the wolves in hopes that it will spare the rest of your family.

"Once the magical world finds out that Potter is dead they will be out for blood," Severus snapped, storming from the kitchen, leaving a devastated family behind.

oOo

"Severus? What's wrong?" Lucius asked, finally daring to approach his friend now that he had spent his anger on the training dummies.

"I found out who Lucien used to be," Severus replied softly, refusing to meet his friend's gaze.

"Will you tell me?" Lucius asked after a moment of thought.

"Do you really want to know?" Severus asked in return.

"I don't know," Lucius replied honestly.

"Then I won't tell you. Merlin knows I don't want to know," Severus confessed with a sob, remembering the pool of blood he'd found in Potter's room. Having no difficulties at all to envision the despair, the anguish the boy must have felt as he decided that death was his only option.

To know that his beautiful, wonderful, gifted son had felt that crushing desolation... It was just too much. To painful to even imagine, and now it was all Severus could think about.

"Then forget, my child, let not the memories disturb you further," Father Time whispered, appearing next to the grieving wizard, remodelling his memories so that no connections between Harry and Lucien remained.

Lucius watched them silently and then put his exhausted friend to bed. He never again asked about of his second son's origin. Considering Severus' extreme reaction, that was a decision Lucius was happy with.

Not that it was difficult to guess who Lucien had once been what with the outcry in the papers when the death of Harry Potter was announced.

But Lucius had spoken the truth that night that Lucien was given to them. He didn't care who his son was born as. All that mattered was that he is Lucius' son, a true Malfoy, and the heir to the Prince legacy.

Family first.

That was all that mattered, now and forever.

Birth certificate:

Name: Lucien Severin Malfoy

Date of Birth: September 23 1983

Carrier: Severus Tobias Snape

Father: Lucius Abraxas Malfoy