You Shouldn't Have Lied

#17

The day after the full moon, Faolan was still in the Hospital Wing. When Harry went to see them, they were asleep, having been up much of the night.
"Mr Potter, I had a feeling I would be seeing you here instead of breakfast," Madame Pomfrey said to him, as he walked past her doing paperwork.
"Is Faolan okay?" He asked looking to his friend.
"They should be better today. But I'll be keeping them here for at least today," she replied, smiling at him, before continuing, "I am advising that you go to the Great Hall for breakfast."
"And if I don't?"
"Then I will send you there. I will tell Byrne that you came to see them, but they will likely be asleep for most of the morning. Last night was hard on them."
"Okay, but-"
"Harry, go."
"Okay," he relented, not about to argue with the nurse.
"Good. I assume I'll be seeing you later?"
"Can I?"
"I will give you permission to come back with your friends and eat lunch with Faolan if they are awake and willing."
"Thank you!" he told her, leaving to join his roommate in the Great Hall. Draco grinned at him, confused.
"I thought you were going to be with Faolan this morning," he said as Harry sat down, grabbing a bacon sandwich.
"They're sleeping. Apparently they should be better today. Madame Pomfrey sent me away. She said we can come and eat lunch in there again today. If Faolan says we can."
"Great. And then they'll be okay, right?"
"Pardon?"
"They'll be okay after today?"
"I don't know. But they'll definitely be better."
"Is it always like this?"
"Not always. Most of the time it isn't this bad."
"But there's always a chance it is?"
"You should talk about it with them."
"I know. I should have known they were ill."
"You think their parents should have told you? Because a) they wouldn't, even I could tell you that about purebloods and their views on, quote unquote, imperfections. And b) you don't have the right to know anything about them, even if they're your betrothed."
"No, don't worry, I know. I'm not quite the stuck up prick I was before, they taught me that. I blame myself. When we were kids, I should have got to know them."
"Faolan actively avoided you. Plus, you were a dick. They wouldn't have told you shit."
"No they would not, but I could have cared enough to try."
"My Dad always says, you can't change the past, but the future is still to be shaped."
"Your Dad says that?"
"My family have alot of past regrets. Plus, he's an author who's dramatic as hell."
"Thanks. I needed that."

"How much do you know about the Byrnes?" Draco asked after a few moments of silence.
"A bit, but Faolan doesn't talk about their family much," Harry replied.
"They're about as pureblood as it gets. They bought the seats off all the other Irish families in the Wizengamot because they had been consorting with supposedly dirty blood. They're one of the most powerful families, when they properly rejoined the British pureblood society in after Faolan was born, every family with a male heir was fighting for a marriage contract. My family were rich and powerful enough to make the cut."
"As a Malfoy?"
"As a Black. Your Dad and Uncle gave up part of their Black inheritance. It was given to my mother, who will pass it onto me. It's mostly Wizengamot seats, that's what money is to Purebloods, less than gold. The Byrne's own all the Irish pureblood seats, which is around an eighth of the Wizengamot, as Ireland owns a quarter of the seats, and half of all seats are for elected representatives. My parents own alot too, but nowhere near as much them. That's why there's so much pressure on Faolan. The fact they let them out the house to see you is incredible."
"It's why they never tell anyone about them being sick."
"Tiarna Byrne doesn't want people to see Faolan as weak. It would plummet their worth.""Wouldn't it just?" Pansy interrupted, sliding up next to Draco, "You know, it would be a shame if someone leaked Oihdre Byrne's illness to the Daily Prophet."Draco's expression turned cold. The immediate switch scared Harry a little, but it didn't shock him. He had seen his Uncle do it many times, even his Dad on occasion. Faolan had done it once infront of him, but had never mentioned it again. Even so, to see Draco fall back on instinct, he looked away, not wanting to see his friend like this.
"Pansy, it would also be an immense shame if the Daily Prophet found out about your family's secret bank account in Germany that you use to reduce your taxes." Draco's voice was quiet, but threatening. The message was clear, for Parkinson to back off his life and his betrothed. Pansy froze, before walking away wordlessly.
"There was originally a plan for us to get married," Draco explained to Harry, not quite dropping his cold exterior, "before Faolan. The Parkinsons have been somewhat bitter about it ever since. But one of the first things you learn as a pureblood, always have the upperhand over your opponents."
"Your fellow purebloods are opponents?"
"For us, life is like a game of chess. We're all trying to take each others pieces and sacrifice some. There's an image of solidarity we portray, courteousness to each other, but were actually all trying to gain each other's power. Always come out on top."
"That's a messed up way at looking at life."
"It's all I've ever been taught."