I do not own Harry Potter.

Harry groaned as he woke up. Everything hurt, and, not for the first time, he cursed Dumbledore under his breath. He still didn't understand why he had to come back to the Dursleys to be treated like a slave. He glanced at the clock. 3:02 am.

By now, he had learned that going back to bed wasn't really an option. His 'dear' Aunt Petunia would wake him up at four thirty, or five if he was lucky, and it had become increasingly difficult to fall asleep, even when everything was quiet. He couldn't distract himself with writing to Ron or Hermione, because neither was answering his letters. Harry felt alone, abandoned, in a way he had never felt before, even when he grew up with his hateful relatives.

He was going to start his sixth year, and, to be honest, he just wanted to die right now.

Around 3 pm, Harry and his aunt were startled (Harry was surprised while his aunt shrieked, of course) when a red-tailed hawk flew into the kitchen, with a letter addressed to him. He decided to ignore, for the first time, the threat of a pan, and took the letter, quickly leaving the house. He didn't recognize the handwriting, but it was way better than his chicken scrawls, that was for sure.

It was from Draco Malfoy, or at least from a Malfoy, judging by the seal pressed into the gas. Odd. He frowned, but instead of burning it right away, curiosity took the better of him, and opened it quickly.

'Lord Potter-Black,

We have never been close, and we have insulted each other on a daily basis, maybe me more than you, but I have no one else to turn to. My family is in danger. Voldemort is not happy with how my father has worked. Or, better said, failed him. Believe it or not, none of us wanted him back, and all my father wanted was our safety. During the first war, his solution was taking the Mark. As you can probably guess, it did not turn out well. I cannot promise we will fight for your side. We still do not agree with several things your side has done and we want wizarding traditions to remain, but maybe we can discuss that at a later moment. We need protection against him, and with you being Lord Potter-Black, I thought you could provide that protection. My mother is Narcissa Malfoy née Black, and she still belongs to the family.

I have no right to ask this from you, I am well aware, but you are currently the only one with the power to save us. I do not wish to be forced to take the Mark. If we do not leave in time, Voldemort will kill us all when he finds out that our allegiances do not lie with him anymore. We are willing to do anything you ask from us, at least to the extent that it does not result in a situation similar to which we could have with him.

Please, answer as soon as you are able,

Draco Malfoy

Heir to the Most Noble and Ancient House of Malfoy

P.S. Attach your response to Frois, she will wait for it unless you tell her you will not answer'

Harry frowned at the letter, but decided to help. Call it his hero complex, but Malfoy seemed scared about what could happen to his family. There was also the issue about how he addressed him. Lord Potter-Black. When had he become a Lord?

He darted into the house, ignoring his aunt and her threats once again, and, to his not-surprise, Frois had made herself comfortable in Hedwig's perch. Hedwig, much to his pain, had tried to help in the fight at the Department of Mysteries, and, along with Sirius, had gone into the veil. He didn't even know how she had managed to get into the Ministry.

'Malfoy (or Heir Malfoy),

I'm not totally sure about how to address you. I've never been addressed as a Lord before, and your letter was terribly formal due to my title. It sounds odd, to be honest, and if I'll help you, I would prefer it if you just called me 'Harry'.

About your request, I honestly have no reason to decline, seeing as how I'm sure you exhausted all other options before asking for my help. If you want, call it my hero complex Remus talks so much about. Your family will be safe, and I could provide the protection you need, only I would need you to tell me exactly what power I have for doing so. I can't invite you to my house. I live with my muggle Aunt and Uncle and my cousin, and they hate magic with a passion. I'm aware that Sirius left me Grimmauld Place so I could go live there, but apparently it does not have the blood wards Dumbledore swears are protecting me from Voldemort, so it's currently unused. If you explain how I can fix my situation, I'll be glad to have you and your family living with me there.

I would expect the insulting to stop. I have not participated much, especially since fourth year, because, as you can probably guess, I've had other things on my mind, mainly trying to survive. If the animosity stops, I'm sure we can become friends. The hat did want to put me in Slytherin.

I will be expecting your answer,

Harry Potter

(I'm not sure yet about the Lordship thing)

P.S. My owl, Hedwig, died at the Department of Mysteries. She was caught in the crossfire. I'm afraid I'll need you to keep communicating with me through Frois. She's beautiful, by the way. I didn't know we could use hawks as messengers as well'

"Hey, Frois. What do you like? I have some dry bacon over here", Harry said, feeding the hawk, who happily took the strip, "Are you feeling good enough to deliver this to Draco?", the hawk screeched softly, looking at the envelope, and doing some sort of nod to indicate that she was fit for flying again. Frois finally took the envelope, and took off.

His uncle beat him with Dudley, because Petunia had, of course, complained about how Harry had avoided his chores and her threats to his physical integrity. He took it as he always did. Silently.

His answer came the next day.

'Harry,

Thank you for your kindness. We are all aware we are indebted to you, as we have never done anything that would deserve your favor, individually or as a family.

My father is rather concerned about your lack of knowledge about your Lordship on both Most Noble and Ancient Houses of Potter and Black. My mother suggested we meet at Gringotts to look into it. This approach will also be useful so you can decide for yourself if we are trustworthy, since we will be in public, instead of you just trusting my word. We can meet tomorrow in Diagon Alley at Florean Fortescue's, at eight o'clock in the morning. It will be a long day, so being early will be necessary.

I am sorry about your owl. I saw her several times, and she was beautiful. You will need to get a new one. This is not because owls do not matter, but because having a messenger familiar is important for a wizard, especially a Lord. My parents and I are willing to help you choose one. It could be a different breed, so as to not bring bad memories back, if you want, or even a different species. You mentioned that you did not know about wizards being able to use hawks. We can also use eagles, and, as a matter of fact, my family has owls, hawks and eagles. If you want, you can see them before making a decision on which species you will choose from.

If Frois needs to rest, I will send Talik, a golden eagle, so do not be surprised by him.

Thank you again, and we will await you answer,

Draco Malfoy

Heir to the Most Noble and Ancient House of Malfoy'

Harry scribbled his response quickly, and with the best handwriting he could make.

'I'll be there tomorrow, and thank you

Harry'

SOOOO... hey there! I'm back. This year has been a bit of a rollercoaster. Had to increase some doses for medication (doctor's orders!). Everything's fine for now. And just about two months ago we found out my mom has cancer in her thyroid, but aside from the initial worry, we've been okay and she's having the thyroid removed in a couple of weeks, and it's supposed to end there (of course she will have to take hormones and have check-ups, but that really is the least of our problems with all this).

Anyway, I will confess I started this fic nearly a year ago, and I finally got around actually dividing it in chapters and uploading it. And, well, finishing it. I've been changing some details, but the upload of the entire thing should be done in a couple of days. I actually do not have a beta, so I do all my reviewing, all mistakes are mine. I did this for my own amusement, but I hope whoever is reading this enjoys it! . The only characters that are mine will appear later on, and it will be rather obvious.