So Much for No Strings Attached

Chapter 40 Party Gossip

 

‘Does that happen for every child?’ asked Harry hoping his voice didn’t shake.

 

‘Any family who still follows the old ways,’ the Dark Lord said and then gave Harry a piercing look. ‘Unless it was dangerous I would throw a celebration for any child of my line.’

 

‘As would I,’ agreed Lucius glancing warily at his father.

 

‘I still don’t understand why the Death Eaters are surprised that there is a feast to celebrate your return,’ Harry said.

 

‘The celebrations stopped after your father was taken,’ the Dark Lord explained.

 

Harry let it drop after that understanding the grief that his father had went through after his Dad was kidnapped. Harry knew that his father did not like talking about how his father had felt in those years. Never mind, Harry knew that this was not the time nor the place to talk to his father about his feelings.

 

Harry took a drink of pink lemonade while trying to find a way to change the topic of conversation away from the awkward one it had taken. Harry listened to the conversations going on about him. Barty Crouch and Sirius were discussing the possibility of Barty doing what Harry’s father had done and create a fake identity for him as well.

 

‘You’ll be the Head of the Crouch family now,’ Sirius was saying, ‘so you should be able to have the Family Tree edited.’

 

Barty nodded, ‘I assumed the Headship upon my father’s death.’

 

Harry noticed that Barty didn’t mention that his father had died at the wizard’s hands. From Sirius’s grimace the Animagus had noticed the same thing. Before his very Gryffindor godfather could put his foot in it Harry interrupted.

 

‘You should claim to be his illegitimate son,’ suggested Harry, ‘who was sent to be educated in America to hide the evidence of his affair from his wife.’

 

Barty snorted, ‘that’s exactly the kind of thing my father would do.’

 

‘And you came back to Britain as soon as possible considering you had loose ends to tie up,’ Harry said.

 

‘It shouldn’t involve much editing,’ Lucius contributed.

 

‘All you need to do is to add a line connecting your father to some random dead witch or wizard,’ Harry said. ‘Hell your mother could be a Muggle. Less questions would be asked as with the number of Muggles no one would question either not knowing your mother or knowing that she had a child.’