Season of Change by: Elsbeth There were only a few things in Harry Potter's life that never changed, he was the son of Lily and James Potter and that he was born a male. What happens when he discovers the truth.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, all of it belong to J.K Rowling, I am just playing in her sandbox for a while.

Authors Note: AU: Its not my first fanfic but its my first Harry Potter, so I hope you enjoy it. The story starts at the end of the 5th Book.

Draco Malfoy tried not to fidget as his mother straightened his robes. Drilled into him since he was a young child, he understood the need to look his best when meeting with Alya Black. Obviously, his mother also wanted him to make a good impression; however, he didn't remember her being this nervous since he was brought before the Dark Lord for the first time. Suddenly, Draco didn't feel so well.

"Mother?"

"Yes, sweetheart." Narcissa nodded, finally happy with how her son looked. Now if he could just do something about that hair.

"What happened to Aunt Bellatrix?" According to his mother, Professor Snape had come out of the encounter unharmed. However, she didn't say anything about her sister's fate.

Narcissa frowned, and then smiled. "Don't worry dear; Aunt Bellatrix will not be able to harm you anymore. Are you ready?"

Little did the two of them know that Narcissa's misunderstanding of her son's concerns would have great impact on his life.

"Milady Black, let me introduce my son Draco." Narcissa gave a small curtsey before nodding towards her son.

Draco placed his foot forward giving a half bow, his hand over his heart as he was taught. "Milady Black."

The young man couldn't say anything else, getting a view of the beautiful but mysterious head of House Black for the first time. Standing on a veranda overlooking the English Channel, the young woman's grace and poise resembled most of the pureblood females he had come across; however, something about her eyes gave him pause. She was looking at him, almost as if weighing his worth, that look made him want to shiver. It simply didn't help that the young woman also resembled a younger version of his Aunt Bellatrix.

On the other side of the veranda, Alya couldn't believe she actually had to deal with Draco with less than a full night's sleep. All she wanted right now was to sneak off for a bit of a kip. Try as she might to contain it, that irritability inevitably caused her magical aura to flare outwards.

"A pleasure to meet you, Master Malfoy; please take a seat, you and I have a few things to discuss." Pulling out a small chair in front of a small round table, Alya nodded to Narcissa who smiled at her son before stepping back into the house.

Surprised his mother simply left, Draco found his chair before asking in a demanding tone. "Why am I here?"

"Really, who in the world immediately acts belligerent upon meeting a Head of House?" Alya thought to herself, not fooled in the least as Draco tried to be his normal pompous ass self. Not for the first time, she wondered how in the world Malfoy actually ended up in Slytherin.

Trying not sigh, she placed a cup of tea in front of her cousin before pointing to a plate full of warm scones. "Perhaps coffee or juice is more to your liking?"

Cringing at himself for his own lack of etiquette, Draco replied. "Tea is fine, thank you, Milady Black."

"Excellent, I have become rather fond of Aunt Andi's tattie scones as of late, although the ones on the plate filled with currants are quite lovely with the tea. So you asked why you are here." Pouring a cup of tea for herself and Draco, Alya paused for a moment. "At one time, I might have said because the Malfoys and Blacks were stanch supports of one another, now, because Aunt Narcissa asked for my help."

"My mother asked you to kidnap me?"

Alya smiled, as she added some crème to her teacup. "We hardly kidnap you, cousin; we were all deeply concerned for your well being, so she brought you here."

"As you say, for my own good. Still, I don't have a wand and I cannot leave." Draco scoffed.

"You're not a prisoner, if you want to leave, I will be more than happy to provide you access to the floo. However, I believe your mother would be severely disappointed if you don't listen to what I have to say first."

Mentioning Narcissa appeared to be the key, reaching for a scone, he almost whined. "Fine, obviously you and my mother have already made plans for me, so now what?"

Unbelievably, Alya couldn't help but watch as Malfoy picked at the currants acting like some small child pouting because he couldn't get his way.

"If you agree, we wish to send you someplace safe, away from the violence that currently plagues our country."

Alya wasn't sure what she saw in Draco's eyes, hope perhaps for a moment but it was quickly squashed. Raising his nose in the air, the spoiled child was replaced by the pompous ass as he proclaimed. "I cannot simply leave, honor demands that I help my father."

"That honor you are talking about Mr. Malfoy will most likely put you in the ground before the end of the school year. " Alya said a little more forcefully then she intended. "Let us not have any misunderstandings between us. Although I have not made anything official, House Black finds Lucius Malfoy in part responsible for the death of my father."

"Your father?" Draco frowned, trying to understand what she meant by official. The thought of having to face this formidable looking Witch in some honor duel, a Witch who apparently had simply dealt with Bellatrix Lestrange, made him a little sick to his stomach.

"Sirius Black."

"That blood -"Malfoy started to sneer but didn't complete his sentence, shocked at the glowing wand pointing directly at his face. However, it wasn't just the wand that gave him pause but her ice-cold look.

"I suggest that you do not complete that sentence." Alya voice had gone flat. Setting down her wand in front of her, she continued. "As you might have surmised, your mother has asked my House for sanctuary. That offer, if agreeable, would also apply to you."

"What happens if I say yes?"

"You become a ward of House Black." Alya gave a small smile. "At first your mother thought to send you to a different school in Europe but I am not convinced that you would be safe. Instead, you will be enrolled in the Salem Institute of Magic."

"I thought only Witches were allowed?"

Alya almost laughed, wondering how Draco would cope with a gender change. "When the school was called the Salem Witches' Institute however, it hasn't been called that for almost twenty years; Wizards attend now as well."

"I see."

"Unfortunately, you will no longer have access to the Malfoy vaults at Gringotts." Raising her hand to halt Draco's objections, she continued. "However, you will be given, like all children from the House of Black, your own trust vault, plus a generous monthly stipend so you can continue to live in the standard you have been accustomed to."

"What about my mother?"

Alya didn't miss Draco's eyes lighting up at the mention of the stipend. Pushing a little harder, she said. "She has made plans to stay here, however I have given her an apartment to use in Manhattan so you may visit her over the Christmas hols."

Nodding thoughtfully, he asked. "And what if I refuse?"

Shrugging her shoulders, as if not caring either way, Alya said. "We cast a memory charm on you, like we did with Snape and dump you someplace in Diagon Alley. I imagine you could make your way back to Malfoy manor afterwards."

"When do I have to make my decision?"

Alya looked up as Narcissa stepped onto the veranda. "Fairly soon, I will leave the two of you to discuss things."

Stetting back inside, Alya walked through the home to find a comfortable spot in the front parlor. Setting down a book, the other occupant grinned at her. "So how did it go?"

"I feel like I need a bath." Alya gave a small smile, as she closed her eyes.

Tonks shook her head. "Silly moo, you should have postponed this until tonight."

"No, we need to get this out of the way as soon as possible. Hopefully, Aunt Cissy will be able to get him to make a choice one way or another."

"What do you think he will do?"

"Truthfully, if you asked me last year I would have said he would already be on his way back to Malfoy manor. After speaking with him just now, I'm not sure."

Suddenly in the center of the room, Kreacher appeared. "Mistress, you are needed on the veranda."

"Well that was quick." Tonks said as she gave a sympathetic smile. "Once more into the breach."

An hour later, a handful of people stood around a large mahogany table in the center of the front parlor. As a goblin stood in front of the table setting down several parchments, Draco looked about the room. In the back, stood two rather large Muggles, or at least Wizards dressed in that fashion. When he caught the eye of one, the man simply nodded. To his left quietly talking to his mother were two people introduced to as his Aunt Andromeda and Uncle Tonks.

"So, why are you here?" Draco almost sneered at the pink haired Auror.

"I am Milady's Custos." Nymphadora tried not to roll her eyes at the surprised look on Draco's face.

"Bogrod, how are we doing?" Alya stepped into room, looking down at the parchments. While reading over the forms, she absent mindlessly spun her wand around in her hand. "Everything looks to be in order."

The goblin nodded before holding aloft a quill for the blonde haired Slytherin to take. "Sign please."

"That's a blood quill." Draco frowned.

"Of course it is." The goblin grumbled at the stupidly of the remark.

Seeing the hesitation in her son's eyes, Narcissa took the quill in hand. "I will sign first, Bogrod."

Nodding, the goblin pointed to the spots needing her signature before Narcissa passed the quill to Alya, who signed the documents without comment.

"Baby." Tonks whispered in Draco's ear.

Raising his head, he gave the pink haired Auror a sneer before grabbing the quill and quickly signed his name.

"Excellent, I will send official copies to you later today." Bogrod gathered up the documents before passed a folder to Ted, and then a large sealed envelope to Alya. "That should take care of our business."

After the goblin disappeared through the green flames of the floo, Alya said. "All we need now is the oath."

Draco couldn't help but feel a little off at how everything had progressed since he left the manor the day before. When he awoken the other morning, he was the heir of House Malfoy and now, he was the ward of the House of Black. Realizing even if Milady Black and his mother had forced him into this position, he had already gone too far to refuse to take the oath.

Narcissa placed her hand on her sons shoulder as the light of the oath faded from the room. "You have done well, Draco. I assure you this is for the best."

"I hope so."

Alya nodded towards the two men who had been standing on the other side of the room. "Draco, I know this is sudden but these two men are going to be your escorts to America."

"I'm leaving today?" Draco looked around the room shocked.

"It's for the best." Narcissa said. "The soonest we get you out of the country the better."

"Exactly." Passing the sealed envelope to one of the Wizards, she introduced them to the room. "To my left is Adrian Fortescue and to my right is his brother Richard."

"Mrs. Malfoy, now don't you be worrying about your son none. Milady Black saved our father and helped him along with our mum to get out of the country. It's the least we can do for your son." Richard, the taller of the two men, said with a smile.

"Righto." Adrian Fortescue opened the envelope and with an approving nod, he pulled out several official looking documents. "Goblins might be greedy bastards but they do good work."

"You should find Draco's passport along with his tickets for tonight's flight to Logan airport in the States." Alya passed another envelope. "This is some spending money for the three of you as well. I ordered a Limousine to take you to the airport, so it should be here within the hour."

"Nice." Adrian smiled as he slipped it into his coat. "You'll be staying with our cousin Amanda. She and her sprogs are spending the summer hols on the beach right outside Quincy."

"Don't worry dear; I will be joining you at the end of the week. I have a meeting with the Headmaster of your new school and afterwards the two of us will go into Salem to gather your supplies." Narcissa gave her son a warm smile.

Although Draco couldn't help but feel as if his life was completely out of control, he only managed to squeak. "Wait, I'm traveling as a Muggle?"

"It's the safest way." Tonks commented. "I'll also be escorting you to the airport. I assume Aunt Cissy that you still plan on joining us?"

"Of course, Dora." Taking the stunned young man by the arm, Narcissa led him off towards the stairs. "Come Draco, we both need to change if we are going to pretend to be Muggles."

As they watched Narcissa literally drag her son upstairs, Nymphadora leaned over to whisper to her Head of House. "I don't imagine that you're going to lose any sleep knowing that you and Aunt Cissy have more than likely just destroyed the House of Malfoy without lifting a wand?"

Alya's reply was a simple feral smile.