Unveiling Secrets: A New Path for Harry Potter

"You scared the crap out of me." The adrenaline still burning in him kept him from either yelling at her in anger or sobbing in relief.

"I had it all planned out. You just call in this life debt I now owe you and Father can go to hell."

"How can you be so calm?"

"I had faith in you."

"I'm glad one of us did."

"Listen quickly before we land and Sprout can hear us."

Professor Sprout had led them to the hospital wing. Madame Pomfrey then treated the bumps and bruises and forced Pansy to take a calming draught, which Harry realized that he probably needed a lot more than Pansy. It both thrilled and terrified him to know the amount of faith she had placed in him. Unfortunately, he had more work to do.

The two teens quietly pretended not to observe as Sprout took a potion to calm herself as well. When she left to fetch their heads of house, Harry told her that Lord Parkinson would need to be contacted immediately as well. He missed the look she gave the two of them, but Pansy did not.

Pomfrey remained nearby, so they had no chance to rehearse what would happen next, but Harry had thoroughly studied life debts and felt he had the situation in hand. He was more than a little surprised when Dumbledore didn't arrive with the three heads of house. McGonagall looked quite a bit upset; Snape had his usual sneer of contempt. Before the conversation could truly begin, an angry dark haired man strode into the hospital wing. Harry had never seen him before but knew immediately who this monster was- now he just had to keep his temper in check. He wondered briefly how Mr. Parkinson had arrived there so quickly.

"What is going on here?" Pansy's father demanded.

"Your daughter leapt off the Astronomy Tower. If not for Mr. Potter's reactions, she would have died," Professor Sprout answered.

"You did what?" He looked at Pansy with rage in his eyes. Harry was now even more sure that this bastard needed to pay for how he had treated her.

"Professor Sprout," Harry interrupted before the father could start, "though you witnessed the event, it may be simplest to check to see that a life debt now exists between House Potter and House Parkinson."

Snape and McGonagall were both surprised by Harry's statement but Sprout used her wand to verify for all to see that Pansy definitely did owe him her life. He forced himself to look directly at Edmund Parkinson, trying to hide as much of his contempt and hatred as possible.

"Do you acknowledge this life debt owed to House Potter, Lord Parkinson?"

"What do you want boy?"

"In payment, I claim the life I've saved. Pansy shall serve House Potter." The Hogwarts staff all gasped. Harry Potter, of all people, calling in a life debt in such a manner was not what they expected. Parkinson's eyes seethed with fury.

"This isn't over." He sharply looked to Pansy, then turned and stormed off.

'You're damn right this isn't over' Harry thought to himself.

"Do you realize what you've done, Mr. Potter?" McGonagall asked. She looked concerned but also displeased with him.

"As Pansy now belongs to House Potter, she is now my responsibility. She will reside with me. I assume there will be some paperwork that I will need to go over with you as well." Harry saw Snape fuming at him and could easily imagine his inner monologue about his arrogance. 'No way in hell am I leaving her in your clutches, you slime.'

"That is true." McGonagall's usual stern demeanor returned. "We will need to discuss a few things, I suggest we meet Saturday afternoon. I should have everything ready by then.

"Dinner is already served. Why don't the two of you head to the Great Hall? I will have a house-elf move her things to your quarters, Lord Potter."

"Thank you Professor."

Once they had turned down an empty corridor, Harry let out a sigh of relief.

"You know, the hard part is still to come." He turned to her.

"Saving your life then staring down your father were the easy parts?"

"Yes," she said with a look of worry. "Now you have to deal with how everyone will respond to this. The boy who lived taking an innocent pureblood heiress as a slave is going to shock people."

Harry laughed. "Are you seriously calling yourself innocent? Regardless of what you said on the train, you were the one who robbed your parents."

"Well, since you still haven't paid for the lap rental, you technically robbed me of a couple of galleons."

"I'll pay you when we get back to my quarters." Harry chuckled to himself. "I guess they're our quarters now."

"Aren't you even a bit worried?"

"After everything I had to deal with last year, I find it hard to care about how people see me."

"Well, I'll need for them to see you as strong, powerful."

"To make sure you're protected, you mean?"

"I am now your property. They must respect you enough to not try to interfere with House Potter's affairs."

"Or fear me. That's how they acted last year, after all. Maybe I should get a pet snake?"

"We'll have to figure out how we want to deal with all of this."

"Let's wait to scheme till later. This life debt business has left me pretty hungry."

"Please don't make me sit by Weasley."

"As long as you're a good girl."

"I'll show you just how good later." She gave him a lecherous grin. They were nearing the entrance to the Great Hall. "Alright, Lord Potter, are you ready to deal with the stares of the unwashed masses?"

Harry schooled his features as best as he could. "How's this?"

"Not bad, although you could be a bit more arrogant."

"I was going for casually haughty."

"I'll have to teach you a better haughty later."

They entered the Great Hall together. This was what she had fantasized about just a few months ago. Her Slytherin classmates stared at them, even the few that did have a bit of cunning like Greengrass. It was just too strange, the savior with the daughter of a Death Eater. Oh, how she wanted to laugh at them. Harry strode down the aisle more confidently than she had expected. She noticed the empty place near Weasley and Granger where he was headed and inwardly groaned. This was going to be the hard part for her- putting up with his friends. At least getting rid of the weasel shouldn't be too hard.

"What's she doing here?" Said weasel was already being annoying. Harry moved to sit down, and thankfully Weasley would be on the other side of Granger and Harry from her.

"She's with me. Pansy," Harry said as he turned to her and offered her his hand.

"My Lord," she answered more formally than really needed, but she wanted to try to get through the thick Gryffindor skulls around her.

"Why is she with you? There's more than you would tell us on the train, isn't there?" Granger asked.

"And why isn't she sitting with the rest of the snakes?"

"You only have to sit at your house table during feasts and whatnot, Ron. I'd also like to know about that room you went into last night. You told us earlier you would explain things, Harry."

"Let me eat something first Hermione. Besides, I might want to speak about my private life later. Perhaps in a more private setting."

Harry easily ignored the stares and mutterings, and Pansy felt quite amused. She wished she could read minds, to know some of the things people must be thinking of seeing her of all people with Harry. She briefly remembered that there was a type of magic that dealt with that sort of thing, but she couldn't remember what it was called. It was something for her to research later. She was surprised at how much she ate as well. Escaping her father's control had pulled a weight from her chest. Harry staring her father down and claiming her had left her hungry in more ways than one.

The group made their way upstairs after eating. Pansy at first was worried that Harry might be leading them to the special room they had discovered together, but they eventually veered off towards the Gryffindor tower. Harry stopped and led them into an empty classroom nearby. Granger looked ready to burst and Pansy rolled her eyes as she turned away and found a place to sit down.

"What's going on Harry?"

"Well, to start with, let me show you my ring." He held his hand out and Pansy waited as his friends looked at it- she could get a better look later.

"That's the Potter family ring, right?"

"Exactly Ron. Hermione, since you and I didn't grow up in the magical world, we wouldn't know about them. In fact, I didn't know anything about this until just a few months ago. As the last of my family, I am now formally Lord Potter, head of House Potter."

"But aren't you too young?" Pansy smirked as she knew that Granger would have a thousand questions. Hopefully, Harry wouldn't take too long. She wanted to get him alone as soon as possible.

"Normally, I would be. However, as the last of my line, I should have claimed my family ring when I turned eleven. No one told me anything about this. Regardless, there are apparently a number of laws on the books to protect old magical families. There have been feuds and bloodshed over the years that have left others in similar situations to mine. The Potters are a very old family, and pure bloods have always protected their power and influence as much as possible."

"So, what does that mean exactly?"

"A number of things. I am effectively emancipated. I have the rights and responsibilities of an adult. This is one of the reasons I now have a solicitor. There are a lot of legal issues I will need to deal with."

"So now I'm supposed to call you Lord Potter?" Weasley's jealousy was no surprise and Pansy had to force herself not to laugh. Getting rid of this buffoon might be even easier than she thought.

"Well Ron, only if you expect me to call you Mr. Weasley. In other words, it would be used in particularly formal settings."

"Does this mean you are nobility, Harry?"

"No, Hermione. The head of any pureblood family would be called Lord. It doesn't mean you own land or anything like that. I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do with the non-magical world either."

"That's right," Pansy jumped in, just to try to get this wrapped up quicker. "It only had to do with the magical families. It is patriarchal, passed down from father to eldest son. For instance, in the Parkinson family, my father is the Lord. His uncle is not because he was the younger brother. When my grandfather died, it passed to my father. Weasley's father would not be a Lord either as there are so many of them."

"Is that right, Ron?"

"Yeah, Hermione. I think one of my great uncles is the head of the family. I never really paid much attention to that stuff. It's not like I'll ever be the head anyway."

"So, what else does this mean?"

"Well, it is the reason why I have my own room. Apparently, the head of a family has to have their own quarters. I didn't know that either, not till we arrived last night. I'm not going to complain though; now I don't have to listen to Ron's snoring."

"Hey!"

"Or Neville's for that matter."

"That explains the room, but what is going on with you and Pansy?"

"He is my Lord." Granger looked at her oddly.

"Wouldn't that be your father?"

"Not anymore."

"Why not?"

"Because she owed me a life debt. Which I collected by claiming her for House Potter."

"What do you mean claiming her?"

"I am now a servant of House Potter." Granger looked horrified, which was so amusing to Pansy.

"She's your slave!" Pansy snorted but was unheard over Granger's yelling. "How could you do that, Harry?"

"Oh no." The weasel paled and Pansy smirked at his realization. "You aren't going to claim Ginny, are you?"

"I wasn't planning on it," Harry said with a laugh.

"Harry James Potter! This is no laughing matter!"

"Hermione something Granger! Yes it is."

"My middle name is Jean, just so you know." Granger gave Harry a look that she must have thought was furious, but it only made Pansy chuckle to herself. 'What a silly, bossy little girl.'

"Then, Ginny would owe you a life debt because you rescued her from the Chamber. Does that mean I owe you one too?"

"For the troll, you mean?" Harry looked thoughtful for a moment. "Probably."

"But I saved you too. At the quidditch match."

"That might have canceled it out."

"It wouldn't," Pansy interjected. "Granger was in no danger and even if you would have fallen, at that height, and with the enchantments on the quidditch pitch, you would have survived."

"Oh."

"So Hermione owes me one too!"

"No she doesn't." The weasel looked angrily at Harry.

"Why not? I saved her."

"Two reasons Ron. I was the one who jumped on the troll. You were not in serious danger like I was."

"But-"

"Also, why was Hermione there in the first place?" Weasley went red and Pansy wondered at what Harry was talking about. He'd told her about saving Granger from the troll, but not why she was in the bathroom.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Granger looked a bit embarrassed, which made Pansy even more interested.

"You were in that bathroom because of Ron."

"I know, but what does that have to do with a life debt?"

"If someone is in danger because of something you've done, saving them does not put them in your debt. It just balances things out, so to speak." Harry looked briefly over at her and Pansy knew that he was still a bit upset about earlier.

"There is a spell we could use, if you really wanted to check," Pansy offered. Harry wasn't the only one who had studied life debts intensively.

"Yes, please." At least Granger could be polite. Pansy thought she might be able to stand her if she could just learn that Harry wasn't her responsibility, especially not anymore.

Pansy cast the spell, which revealed that Granger did owe Harry a life debt.

"Don't worry about it Hermione," he said reassuringly.

"How can I not worry about it? You just claimed this poor girl as your slave." Pansy snorted again. "Why is that funny to you?"

"You're supposed to be a smart girl, Granger. Figure it out for yourself. Can we wrap this up? I'd like to get my things sorted."

"Sounds good to me. Any more questions Hermione?"

"I guess not. For now at least. Besides, I need to start working on the Transfiguration assignment."

"But that's not due for a week." The weasel whined as if it mattered that Granger was obsessed with schoolwork. Pansy just got up, shaking her head.

"Shall we go my Lord?" She ignored the two bickering behind her.

"We shall."

Harry led her to the Gryffindor common room, where there were even more surprised faces staring at her as she walked in behind him. She was thankful that Harry wasn't in the mood to socialize. He said good night to Granger and Weasley and Pansy followed him in through the door that led to his personal quarters.

More than a little gossip started that night.

Pansy looked around the sitting room as Harry flopped down on the couch. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "What should we do now, my Lord?"

"Come here," he said as he pulled her onto the couch with him. She laughed, then reached down to take her shoes off. "You don't have to keep calling me that you know."

"Maybe I like it." He kissed her neck and she moaned, "I like that too." She sat up and looked at him. "Besides, you need to get used to it. We both do. In public, we'll need to make people see what we want them to see. I belong to you, everyone needs to know it. And they need to see you looking powerful. That you know you own me and that that is how things should be."

"So you're going to train me to be more arrogant?"

"If I need to, yes." Harry groaned. "Don't you think I'm worth it?"

"Of course, you're worth it."

"Then what's the problem?"

"I was taught to be the exact opposite of arrogant when I was growing up. It's going to be a bit hard to change, I guess."

Pansy leaned down and kissed him. "I'm sure I can make it worth your while."

Several minutes of snogging later...

"As much fun as this is, we should probably make sure we're ready for tomorrow. You did say you needed to get your things sorted. Assuming you weren't just trying to get away from my friends." Pansy growled into his chest but sat up.

"You're being a bad influence on me with all this responsibility."

"Hey, I'm the one who is now responsible for you. Legally or whatever. So I probably should be a bad influence on you, at least a bit."

"I wonder where my things are." The answer came with a pop, as Dobby appeared.

"Dobby made sure all miss Pansy's things are here. The Hogwartsies elves put your chest in the second bedroom, but Dobby made sure to check that nothing was missing."

"Thank you Dobby." Pansy got up and followed him into a bedroom on the opposite wall from a door that she assumed was Harry's room. "Harry, can you come here please?"

"What's wrong?" he said as he came in behind her.

"I've noticed a little problem."

"What?"

"Someone seems to think I need my own bedroom," she answered with a smile.

"There's more room for your things at least."

"True."

"So, tomorrow we have Potions and Defense together. After that, though..."

"Don't worry, Harry. I looked up the rules for this sort of thing. My schedule will be changed so I'll have all my classes with you."

"Oh. That's good. Less work for Dobby at least."

"Master Harry sir?" The little elf looked despondent at this thought.

"Don't worry Dobby, I'm sure we'll be able to find plenty of other things for you to do. I just won't need for you to follow Pansy around protecting her as often since she'll be with me all the time."

"Are you sure you won't get sick of me?"

"I can't imagine that I would. Let's hope you don't get sick of me either."

"No chance, my Lord," she answered, throwing her arms around his neck and drawing Harry in for another kiss. They stood there in quiet for a moment, just resting in the comfort of being together. Harry finally broke it.

"I could use a shower."

"Yes, you could," she agreed with a laugh.

"Forgive me for working up a sweat saving your life, milady."

"You're forgiven, just this once."

"How kind of you."

"There's one good thing about the extra room- a bathroom of my own. Go on, Harry. I'll see you in awhile when we both feel refreshed."

Harry had to spend a bit of extra time in the shower as he kept thinking about Pansy being in the other bathroom. Eventually, he put on some pyjama bottoms and waited on the couch. It was still warm enough that he could skip a shirt or socks, so he felt like taking advantage of it for the short time he could. He started getting uncomfortable as he thought of what Pansy must be doing as she took quite a bit longer getting ready for bed. She finally came out wrapped in a thick bath robe but looking grumpier than he expected.

Pansy sat down next to him and leaned against his shoulder with a groan.

"What's wrong?"

"Cramps."

"Huh?"

"My time of the month seems to be coming a bit early."

"Oh." This was not how Harry was expecting the night to end. What was he supposed to say? He knew he should have read more about women this summer. "I'm sorry."

"The timing sucks."

"Yeah, it does." So many thoughts of what they could have been doing were quickly disappearing from his mind. 'Dammit!' Thankfully, Harry's instincts were more noble than just his hormones would have been. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Let's just go to bed. Tomorrow's going to be challenging enough, dealing with people without also being tired."

"I'm kind of worn out from the last few days anyway." This was true, and it helped soothe his hormones a bit.

"It's been a stressful few days for both of us. I think that's why I'm feeling like crap right now."

Harry stood and held out his hand to help Pansy up.

"Your room or mine, Harry?"

"Lady's choice."

"Yours then." She led him to the bedroom and removed her robe. Harry tried not to stare at the nightgown she wore, but everything about her was sexy to him. He climbed into bed and she crawled over next to him. She soon felt his excitement pressing into her thigh. "I could take care of that for you."

"No."

"No?"

"I'd rather wait till we can both enjoy things. Besides, even if you did, I'm pretty sure I'd just end up poking you again with it later tonight."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." Pansy turned away from him, but reached back with one hand.

"Snuggle up behind me." Harry did as she asked, moving to spoon against her back. She placed his hand against her stomach then chuckled when he reacted, pressing even a bit more against her.

"Sorry."

"Don't be. I'd probably be insulted if you were less excited about sleeping with me. But leave your hand right there. It feels nice."

"Okay." Harry moved a little closer and kissed the back of her neck. "Good night Pansy."