Veiled Identity
Disclaimer: In an AU, I would own it. Unfortunately, this is the actual universe. We moan and groan, but it is. Alas.
A/N: I know my Snape is OoC, but in my opinion, he's a very good actor and most of the snark is actually acting. Not all of it, of course, but most of it. I am also aware that Luna's a bit OoC, but we don't really know much about her, so I claim creative license! Please don't flame. On the other hand, I'm making brownies soon…
Chapter Three: Observation, in which we see quite a bit of Ashley's cousin the Boy-Who-Lived and are privy to some of Ashley's innermost thoughts.
Ashley was just leaving the Great Hall after the Halloween feast, arm-in-arm with Luna. The two were quietly discussing the latest issue of the Quibbler—special for Halloween—and exactly how Hagrid had managed to make his pumpkins grow so big. Ashley was holding onto her idea that they had been enlarged with a growth charm, and Luna was sure it was nothing but very good fertilizer made by garden gnomes and bowtruckles in top-secret underground laboratories. Ashley was just about to ask Luna how Hagrid knew about the underground labs when there was a sudden yell of "Enemies of the Heir, beware! You'll be next, Mudbloods!"
Ashley could recognize her brother's voice anywhere.
She swore inwardly. Something bad must have happened, or something had set her brother off, because he sounded almost genuinely crazed.
She pulled Luna along until they were in view of the grisly sight that was Mrs. Norris. She let out a strangled gasp, and Luna clutched her arm a little tighter. They saw Argus Filch the caretaker bustle through the crowd, getting as far out of the way as they could.
The girls watched with wide eyes and bated breath as Filch saw his cat and—there was no other word for it—freaked. He stared at her, demanding to know what had happened to her and who had done it.
His maddened shrieking could be likened to that of his cat when her tail was stepped on. Ashley had the…er…pleasure of accidentally treading on the appendage a few weeks earlier. The cat was quite well-known as the peevish caretaker's only friend with four legs—his only friend at all. It was likely quite a blow to find his beloved pet hanging stiff and cold from a post in the wall.
He turned his eyes on Harry Potter, his least favorite student at the scene of the crime. He accused him of murdering Mrs. Norris, only to be interrupted by the apparently omniscient, omnipresent headmaster. However sure Dumbledore appeared to be, there was little hope that Mrs. Norris was anything other than stone-cold dead.
Dumbledore took Mrs. Norris from the post and swept out of the hall, leaving silence in his wake, and many uneasy looks being thrown at the wall and at the Malfoy children. Many of the other teachers, including Lockhart, Severus, and McGonagall, followed Filch, Dumbledore, Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger as they headed for Lockhart's nearby office. Ashley lifted her chin to prove to herself as much as anyone else that she wasn't intimidated by the crowd or the lettering.
The crowd started to disperse. Ashley pulled her arm out of Luna's, telling her to go on ahead. "I'll catch up later. Save me a seat by the fire if you can, it's cold tonight." She had seen her brother in the shadows as he stared almost blankly at the macabre message written on the wall in foot-high red letters. THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE. She stepped into the shadows next to Draco, leaning on the wall and watching him. He didn't even glance in her direction before he started to speak, his voice cool and collected.
"It's written in blood," he commented, his eyes still fixed on the writing. Mrs. Norris had been removed from the scene, but the writing was no less repugnant. "Or at least that's what the writer wanted us to think."
"Who would do something like this?" Ashley agreed.
He finally turned cold, dead eyes on her. "Do you really have to ask? Who do we know who thinks Muggleborns are scum?"
"Ray…" She knew who he meant, but there was no way he was here.
"Don't 'Ray' me, Ashley. You know he has to be behind this somehow."
"Just watch your step." She pulled him out of the shadows. "You can't hide forever." She traced the letters with her eyes. "Who did it, do you think? Lucius couldn't get in without someone noticing."
"I don't know, but they need to stop," Draco muttered rebelliously. "It was only a cat this time. What's next? They could kill someone—they did last time the Chamber was opened, remember what Father said?" He sighed. "They're playing with fire. It has to be a student, there's no one else who could. But…"
"Father said the Dark Lord was the Heir of Slytherin," Ashley muttered calculatingly. "He said there wasn't anyone else that could be traced as clearly back to Slytherin."
"Well, there must be someone, because the Dark Lord's dead."
"But remember what Papà said? He said the Dark Lord might not be dead, just hiding or out somewhere trying to gather his strength. He said he tried to break in to the school and steal the Philosopher's Stone last year, and…well, that sounds like he's trying to get his power back."
"Father said He opened it last time," Draco agreed. "Maybe he's doing it again somehow? Didn't Uncle Sev say Quirrell was possessed by the Dark Lord last year?"
"It's complicated," Ashley observed. "Just—just keep your eyes open, okay? Be careful? People might think you—or me—they might think we're doing it after your little outburst."
Draco rolled his eyes. "I was just trying to warn the Muggleborns," he whispered.
"Not so obviously next time, okay?" Ashley hissed back. "There's a seat in Ravenclaw with my name on it, so I'm going. The walls have ears," she added. Draco flapped a hand at her, and she left the corridor.
Sliding into her seat next to Luna in front of the fire, she tried to give her best friend a smile. "Sorry about that. Had to talk to my brother about manners," she lied. Luna nodded as vaguely as ever and looked at the fire, the flames reflected in her faraway gray eyes. "They're all talking about it," the blonde informed her friend.
"They would," Ashley sighed. She looked around the common room, seeing about two dozen of her Housemates holding copies of Hogwarts, A History, probably reading up on the Chamber of Secrets. "Do you believe me when I say I don't know who did it?"
"Well, of course I do," Luna said as matter-of-factly as she could. "I trust you. And you'd probably know if it were your brother," she added reflectively. "You're probably supposed to be the scapegoats," she said sagely. "Like in the Hindenelf conspiracy against flying magical creatures," she added. "Blaming someone else means it won't be traced back to you."
Ashley grinned. "Thanks Luna. You're the best."
"Likewise," Luna smiled and winked. Ashley laughed. Who said Luna Lovegood didn't act normal? Who wanted to be normal, anyway?
BREAK
At the first Quidditch game of the season, Ashley excitedly clutched Luna's blue-gloved hand. The other hand was quickly turning red with cold, but the eleven-year-old girl didn't seem to notice. She was squeezing her friend's hand back. She looked almost as excited, a bright orange hat pulled over her yellow hair and a lime-green scarf wrapped around her neck over her bottle cap necklace.
"I've never been to a Quidditch match," she said conversationally. The sky was dark and the air muggy. There was promise of rain in the air, and Ashley sighed inwardly, looking excitedly at her best friend.
"Draco's been talking about playing on his House team since he was five," she told the other girl. "It's too bad Father didn't trust him to get in on his talent," she added in a low voice, "but he's not a shabby player. He's better as a Chaser, though, my Mamà and my godfather both say so." She watched the sky as the players took to their brooms. She used the binoculars hanging from her neck to watch as Draco yelled something at Potter, the other Seeker, and gasped as a Bludger nearly knocked the latter off his broom.
"Quidditch is such an exhilarating game, don't you think?" Luna asked as the Bludger, knocked off course by half of the Weasley twins, swerved back towards Potter. "It must be such a rush to almost get a concussion," she continued in a vague fashion that might have been thought honest. Ashley knew she was criticizing the game.
"Shh, Luna, watch the Bludger, it's acting strangely," Ashley urged her friend, watching as the Bludger kept hounding at the dark-haired Seeker. Slytherin scored four times before it started to rain, and another two afterwards. Luna put up an umbrella, trying to keep the two girls as dry as possible. Ashley followed Potter, still dogged by the Bludger, with her eyes as he dodged and swerved, helped along by his two identical redheaded shadows. One of the twins paused momentarily in their quest against the Bludger to signal their captain for time-out, which the referee quickly called.
The Slytherin team and part of the crowd jeered at the Gryffindor team as soon as they were clustered together, to all appearances discussing the Bludger. Ashley trained her eyes on the red-and-gold-clad team, wishing she could hear their conversation. She might not have been very Quidditch-savvy, but there was something off about that Bludger.
Eventually, Madam Hooch convinced the team to resume play, and they took to the leaden, crying sky, Potter without his shadows as he danced away from the Bludger. Draco shouted at his opposition again—not noticing the flash of gold hovering inches above his left ear. Ashley shook her head. No wonder he was better with the Quaffle—it was bigger. Potter hung there—it was obvious he'd seen the elusive little ball—just long enough for the crazed Bludger to find him.
Ashley was sure she could hear the wham and crack from where she was sitting, and she was pretty sure he had a broken arm. It wouldn't make much difference if it weren't the arm he used to catch the Snitch, but…
Unfortunately for him, it was his right arm.
He swerved away from the Bludger's persisting attack, straight towards Draco. Ashley fiddled with the zoom on her binoculars in time to see Draco's huge eyes and worried face as Potter's fingers closed around the Snitch, his broom held only between his legs.
Ashley didn't even realize she was holding her breath for the cousin who didn't know she existed. His broom took a sharp downward turn, its owner obviously having lost control of the broom. He hit the mud with a splatter and surprisingly rolled off his broom, hopefully relatively unhurt. She saw his lips move slightly, her binoculars still trained on him as she noticed a crowd of Gryffindors storming the field. A brunet boy in her class snapping picture after picture excitedly, his best friends…
And Professor Gilderoy Lockhart.
Great, was Ashley's thought. She shifted her gaze to the Weasley twins, watching them wrestle with the Bludger, which was putting up a tremendous struggle, apparently not happy to be put in its box. There was a glow from Potter's arm a few minutes later, and it went limp and flat as Ashley watched in horror.
Ashley closed her eyes in exasperation. The idiot had removed his bones.
BREAK
Two days after the match, the word was out. Someone—or something—had Petrified Colin Creevey, the camera-loving exuberant Gryffindor in Ashley's year. It was now (at least for the first years) considered safest to dash around the castle in tight groups. No one wanted to be the next victim, pureblood or not.
The Gryffindor first-years came to class with eyes wide with shock and grief, amazed and frightened that one of their own was gone. Ginny Weasley would come into classes crying, and was sometimes followed through the halls by her brothers the Weasley twins (covered in fur or boils) trying to cheer her up.
There was a flurry of Muggleborns and half-bloods buying "good luck" or "protection" charms to keep them safe from whatever—or whoever—was prowling the school. The purebloods mostly did their level best to stay away from anyone with Muggle heritage, not wanting to be thought blood-traitors or in some other way worthy of attention from the Heir or Slytherin's monster. Ashley and Luna were shepherded to and from classes by Padma Patil and her friend Lillian Shacklebolt, both of whom would look worriedly down each corridor to make sure nothing sneaked up on them unawares.
Perhaps the most entertaining part of those few weeks was the visit to Severus Snape after the Petrification of Colin Creevey.
"I swear, Ashley, if I have to listen to that puffed-up blond idiot tell us one more time how absolutely sure he is that the monster is a reasoning creature that simply needs to be taught a lesson…Or if he says one more time that he'll make sure Creevey and that blasted cat are awake by Christmas when he knows perfectly well the Mandrakes are still maturing and won't be done until spring…If he makes one more comment about his hair or his fame, I will break something!"
"On his head," Ashley had added helpfully, sipping from a cup of tea.
"Precisely!" the annoyed professor had ranted. "I can't for the life of me understand why that man hired him. He teaches you children nothing except not to become as self-satisfied as him—"
"It's a useful lesson for some of us," Draco had interrupted ruefully. "There are plenty of idiots who'd like nothing better than to be Gilderoy Lockhart."
Severus had rolled his eyes. "Thank heavens for you level-headed children."
Ashley was surprised to receive a letter from Lucius detailing that she was to remain at Hogwarts and stay out of trouble, or he would "be immediately informed". So, of course, when Flitwick (her Head of House) came around asking for names of those who'd be staying over the holidays, Ashley bemusedly signed the paper, grateful that Luna did as well.
"Daddy said he needs to go abroad for some research on Halley's Green Penguin Snatchers," she'd said coolly when Ashley asked if she wanted to return home for Christmas. "I do so hope he'll have pictures to show when I go home," she added with a smile.
Draco and Blaise were both staying (as were, unfortunately, Draco's thuggish, idiotic acquaintances Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle), and Ashley spent time with them studying in the library when Luna was busy with new (or old) editions of the Quibbler.
It was rather amusing to hear Draco's heated tale of how someone had blown up Goyle's cauldron and caused his nose to grow to epic proportions. He was positive Harry Potter had lobbed the firework into his cauldron, an attempt at sabotage. Ashley laughed and asked what his motive would be. Draco, unable to think of an answer, just huffed at his sister and went back to his essay.
In the last week before the holidays began, Lockhart decided to start a dueling club. Draco convinced Ashley to join, who in turn convinced Luna to join as well. Draco confided to Ashley that Severus was going to duel Lockhart as part of the club, which only made her more eager to join. Lockhart deserved to get his reputation taken down a notch.
BREAK
At the first meeting of the dueling club, Ashley enthusiastically pulled Luna into a place right up close to the golden stage in the Great Hall. Luna yawned as she looked around at the crowd and asked Ashley very coolly, "Do you think anyone will get hurt?"
"I hope Lockhart does," Padma Patil muttered from behind them. "He deserves to have his arse handed to him," she added maliciously. Ashley giggled.
Lockhart glided onto the stage in flamboyant robes of deep plum. Ashley raised an eyebrow. "Gather round, gather round!" he called. "Can everyone see me? Can you all hear me? Excellent!" Funny how he wished to be sure everyone could see him first, Ashley thought wryly of the vain blond professor.
"Now," he began, "Professor Dumbledore has granted me permission to start this little dueling club, to train you all in case you ever need to defend yourself as I myself have done on countless occasions." He winked. "For full details, see my published works." Since we all have a copy of them, he can tell us to read them whenever he wants, Ashley realized cynically. It's all a big PR stunt for him, isn't it?
"Let me introduce my assistant, Professor Snape," Lockhart said grandly, flashing a wide smile. "He tells me he knows a tiny little bit about dueling himself—" Ashley snorted "—and has sportingly agreed to help me with a short demonstration before we begin. Now, I don't want any of you youngsters to worry—you'll still have your Potions master when I'm through with him, never fear."
Ashley snorted again. "Will we have our Defense professor?" she whispered to Luna, who laughed. Severus gave Lockhart his best glare. Lockhart's manufactured smile didn't crack. They turned to face each other and bowed. Lockhart's extravagant bow (with much flourishing) was met with a curt nod from Severus and both brought their wands up. At least Lockhart knew procedure—Ashley would give that to him. Lockhart explained what was going on, and counted to three.
Before Lockhart could even throw a shield or some other sort of spell, Severus cried "Expelliarmus!" With a flash of red light, Lockhart was knocked off his feet and into the wall. Ashley giggled and gave Luna a triumphant glance, which she returned. They watched the man get unsteadily to his feet with a sort of unholy glee, noting the absence of his omnipresent hat and the way his hair was standing on end. He staggered back onto the platform.
"Well, there you have it! That was a Disarming Charm—as you see, I've lost my wand—" Ashley snorted again. Obviously, since he was no longer holding it. "—ah, thank you, Miss Brown—yes, an excellent idea to show them that, Professor Snape, but if you don't mind my saying so, it was very obvious what you were about to do. If I had wanted to stop you it would have been only too easy—however, I felt it would be instructive to let them see…" Lockhart let his false bravado trail off at Severus's murderous glare.
Ashley translated the look as "Stop talking, you imbecile, and do you what you were hired to do—teach!"
Lockhart seemed to be fluent in glares, as well, because he immediately said, "Enough demonstrating! I'm going to come amongst you now and put you all into pairs. Professor Snape, if you'd like to help me—"
They moved through the crowd, thankfully assigning Luna and Ashley together. But she heard her godfather assigning Potter to work with Draco and Granger to work with a girl named Millicent Bulstrode, who faintly resembled a troll.
Ashley faced Luna and both of them bowed, raising their wands. Lockhart counted to three again, but only reached two when spell-fire began to ring out. Ashley lost her wand to Luna and turned around to see her brother and Potter dueling much more seriously than just with Expelliarmus.
"Bloody Ray," she muttered. "But he wrecked Lockhart's lesson," she amended under her breath, causing Padma to laugh. Eventually, Severus set everything to rights with a Finite Incantatem. When the smoke lying around the Hall lifted, it revealed the slightly disastrous aftereffects of the duels.
Lockhart started a new lecture about blocking spells, calling up Neville Longbottom and Justin Finch-Fletchley, a Gryffindor and a Hufflepuff respectively. Severus disagreed, voice harsh, though, and called up Draco and Potter.
Lockhart tried to show Potter a way to block spells, but ended up dropping his wand. Severus whispered in Draco's ear, telling him what to do. Potter looked a little apprehensive.
Draco raised his wand when the countdown finished and yelled "Serpensortia!" maybe a little louder than necessary. A long black snake appeared and set its eyes on Potter. Lockhart, in yet another show of false bravado, flung the snake up ten feet and let it fall.
The snake, now furious, turned on Finch-Fletchley. Its fangs were bared, poised to strike, when suddenly Potter hissed something in Parseltongue—snake language.
The whole Hall went silent, and the snake went limp. Ashley reasoned that it must have been a call for the snake to stop, since nothing else would have had that same effect.
Finch-Fletchley didn't appear to agree, though, and yelled, "What do you think you're playing at?" before rushing out of the hall.
With that dramatic exit, the Hall broke out in whispers. "What do you think that was?" Padma muttered to Luna.
"He spoke Parseltongue," the girl stated. "He probably told the snake to leave off or something."
"Sure he did," Padma scoffed. Lillian Shacklebolt nodded.
"He was probably egging it on, trying to get it to bite that Hufflepuff. You know Salazar Slytherin was a Parseltongue."
"Well, yes, but so are other people," Luna reasoned. Lillian just shook her head.
"You just don't understand," she brushed the other girl off.
Ashley looked back up at the stage, a pensive look on her face as she watched the place where the snake had appeared and disappeared.
BREAK
Ashley was sitting in the library, finishing up some last-minute homework before the holidays after getting out of Defense Against the Dark Arts early. Lockhart had a hair malfunction that needed immediate attention. A crowd of Hufflepuff second-years bustled in, taking a seat at the back of the library. Ashley closed the Herbology text she was using to help her with an essay. The group wasn't working, but was talking rather loudly—loudly enough for Ashley to hear them.
"So anyway," Ernie Macmillan said pompously, "I told Justin to hide up in our dormitory. I mean to say, if Potter's marked him down as his next victim, it's best if he keeps a low profile for a while. Of course, Justin's been waiting for something like this to happen ever since he let slip to Potter that he was Muggleborn. Justin actually told him he'd been down for Eton. That's not the kind of thing you bandy about with Slytherin's heir on the loose, is it?" Ashley shook her head. When would these people realize that Potter's best friend Granger was a Muggleborn? They really were being obtuse.
"You definitely think it is Potter, then, Ernie?" a girl named Hannah Abbott piped up, her blonde pigtails quivering along with the rest of her.
"Hannah, he's a Parselmouth," Macmillan said very solemnly. "Everyone knows that's the mark of a Dark wizard." Because no one else wants to come out with it, or else they'll be thought Dark, Ashley reasoned. It's not like they're going to accept a good Parselmouth with open arms. "Have you ever heard of a decent one who could talk to snakes? They called Slytherin himself Serpent-tongue." And no one knows much about Slytherin anymore. He's just made out to be the estranged, Dark founder—there has to be another side to the story. Wait, why am I defending Slytherin—and Potter?
"Remember what was written on the wall? Enemies of the Heir, beware." Oh, as if they really needed the reminder. Everyone knew. "Potter had some sort of run-in with Filch. Next thing we know, Filch's cat's attacked. And that first year, Creevey, was annoying Potter at the Quidditch match, taking pictures of him while he was lying in the mud. Next thing we know—Creevey's been attacked."
Creevey annoyed a lot of people in his quest for his pictures. And no one likes Filch. Their conspiracy theories are worse than the Quibbler's…
"He always seems so nice, though," said Abbott unsurely, twisting a stray blonde hair around her finger, "and, well, he's the one who made You-Know-Who disappear. He can't be all bad, can he?"
Someone's showing some sense. Question his motive—why would Harry Potter want to kill Muggleborns? He hangs out with them. Ashley had forgotten her Herbology work, instead wanting to focus on this interesting "lets-lay-blame" session. Hufflepuffs could be as good with misconceptions as Slytherins and Ravenclaws.
"No one knows how survived that attack by You-Know-Who," Macmillan said in an overly-dramatic low voice. Ashley leaned a little closer, curious. "I mean to say, he was only a baby when it happened." We don't need a retelling of the story. "He should have been blasted into smithereens. Only a really powerful Dark wizard could have survived a curse like that." Ashley almost snorted. Potter, a Dark wizard? Macmillan had quite obviously never seen a true Dark wizard. Potter was altogether too straight-laced and open to be a Dark wizard. Macmillan's voice dropped again, to a near-whisper. Ashley leaned closer. "That's probably why You-Know-Who wanted to kill him in the first place. Didn't want another Dark Lord competing with him. I wonder what other powers Potter's been hiding?"
You think he knew he was a Parselmouth? Ashley shook her head. His shock at the dueling club when Finch-Fletchley had rushed off…that was not manufactured.
She stifled a laugh when Harry Potter himself appeared from behind a bookshelf, clearing his throat very loudly. "Hello," he said politely. "I'm looking for Justin Finch-Fletchley."
The Hufflepuffs all looked horrified at Macmillan.
"What do want with him?" he said in a quavering voice that was probably supposed to be confrontational.
"I wanted to tell him what really happened with that snake at the Dueling Club," Potter said, almost scolding.
"We were all there. We saw what happened."
"Then you noticed that after I spoke to it, the snake backed off?" Ashley nodded at Potter's back. Why could no one else see this?
"All I saw," a trembling Macmillan declared obstinately, "was you speaking Parseltongue and chasing the snake toward Justin." Their holier-than-thou act was getting very annoying. Ashley wished the pompous-faced, chubby Hufflepuff would shut his mouth.
"I didn't chase it at him!" Potter exclaimed angrily. "It didn't even touch him!" The "thank Merlin" on the end was heard but not said.
"It was a very near miss," said Macmillan nastily. "And, in case you're getting ideas," he added hurriedly, "I might tell you that you can trace my family back through nine generations of witches and warlocks and my blood's as pure as anyone, so—"
"I don't care what sort of blood you've got!" Potter interrupted, obviously seething. "Why would I want to attack Muggleborns?"
"I've heard you hate those Muggles you live with," Macmillan reasoned. Ashley raised an eyebrow. That was the best he could do? She hated Lucius, but that didn't mean she wanted to do away with purebloods. There are different kinds of Muggles just as there are different kinds of wizards.
"It's not possible to live with the Dursleys and not hate them," Potter returned. Ashley looked at him with interest. "I'd like to see you try it."
Fevered muttering arose from the Hufflepuff crowd as they watched Potter turn and leave. Ashley shook her head, took her books, and followed him out. She really didn't want to hear whatever they had to say now.
Idiocy in too large of quantities was annoying rather than amusing.
BREAK
It seemed the Malfoys, Luna, and Blaise were almost the only ones staying for Christmas. Of course, Crabbe and Goyle and the Golden Trio were staying, along with the Weasleys. But almost everyone else was heading home, spooked by the two attacks so far on unsuspecting student and cat.
This gave the Malfoys and Blaise time to talk to each other and spend time together without the pressures of normal school life. Severus would bring the three of them down to his quarters, where Blaise and Draco would play chess and Ashley would practice the piano. It was always amusing to listen to Severus's comments as he graded papers.
One such afternoon, on Christmas Eve, Draco turned to Severus and asked a question that had obviously been weighing on his mind. "Do you know much about the last time the Chamber was opened?" he asked. "I've only heard from Lucius that the Dark Lord is Slytherin's Heir, and the last time it was opened someone died."
"Well…since you asked…" Severus sighed and set aside the notes he had been working on. "You know it happened fifty years ago? Well, at that time, the Dark Lord was still a student here. The Chamber was opened and the beast within terrorized the school. They went so far as to suggest the school be shut down unless the attacks stopped. Rumor has it that Dippet talked to the Dark Lord—who lived at a Muggle orphanage at the time—and the boy asked to stay at Hogwarts for the summer. Dippet—he was the Headmaster at the time, and Dumbledore the Transfiguration teacher—apparently told the Dark Lord that he could not stay—and would be unable to return unless the attacks ceased. That very evening, Hagrid—a third-year at the time—was arrested and the attacks stopped."
"But there's no way Hagrid was the Heir of Slytherin," Blaise protested. "He's a true Gryffindor—a lion through and through. It couldn't have been Hagrid."
"He was a perfect scapegoat, though," Severus reasoned. "He apparently brought dangerous animals into the school on a regular basis. There's a rumor he even raised werewolf cubs under his bed. I suspect the true force behind the attacks thought he would be believed if he accused such a student." The man leaned back in his chair. "Dumbledore has always been certain that the attacks were perpetrated by one Tom Riddle Jr."
"The Dark Lord," Draco stated.
"Indeed," Severus agreed. "Tom Riddle handed Hagrid in, earning himself an award for Special Services to the school and a pass for the rest of his school days. Who would dare question the boy who had saved the school?" His voice was bitter.
"Sounds like Potter," Blaise muttered.
Ashley looked up from the letter she was writing to her mother. "I imagine no one even noticed the total…er…how unlikely it was, Hagrid being the heir. Except for Dumbledore," she amended, "and perhaps Hagrid's friends. The Gryffindors would have been outraged that one of their people was trotted off to Azkaban."
"Doubtless," Severus agreed. "However, Albus says he was able to talk them out of sentencing Hagrid too harshly. He was expelled and brought back to Hogwarts to work under the caretaker at the time until he was old enough to be given the post of gamekeeper."
"And no one ever listened to his side of the story, right?"
"Hagrid is a half-giant—don't let on that you know. No one would believe him. Not that he's known to tell the truth anyway." Severus shrugged eloquently. "I suppose it's over now, though. Ashley, tell your mother hello and happy Christmas from me." Ashley nodded, her quill scratching. A few minutes later, she closed the book.
"Papà?" she asked. "Would it be all right if I practiced?" The man smiled slightly and nodded. Draco took out one of Blaise's pawns with an evil grin. Ashley straightened Blaise's sweater as she passed him, taking a seat at the piano Severus kept in his quarters simply for his godchildren and Narcissa. He had no idea how to play.
A sort of peace had descended on the group these holidays. Under no particular pressure from Lucius, the two Malfoys were having possibly the best Christmas season they could remember. Severus was glad to spend time with his godchildren, and Blaise was just happy not to have to go home to his mother and husband number five. It was exactly the calm and quiet that made the Christmas season so enjoyable.
Severus watched as Ashley played, throwing a look over her shoulder to Blaise and her brother. She started to sing along with the song quietly, smiling to herself. She was most at peace with things that reminded her of her mother—either one—and her family—the caring ones. Severus sighed. Narcissa, Ashley, and Draco…such different people.
Narcissa was still in part the very cheerful girl he had gone to Hogwarts with. She loved to smile, and was rather talkative once she was comfortable with whoever she was talking to. She was only withdrawn around her husband and his cronies, really. She was quite obviously more Cissa Black than Narcissa Malfoy. Her welcoming personality was hiding under a thin veneer of scared, submissive pureblood wife. One just had to know how to bring it out to see it jump into action.
Ashley was quiet, pensive. She liked to think before she said anything, but that didn't keep her from speaking her mind once in a while. She was very caring—her whole life centered around her few true friends and her family, and she loved all of them. She could be a little too withdrawn. She often refused to speak about subjects that troubled her, causing her to bottle it up only to have it explode when she least expected it. She was truly frightened of most of the world. She had to gauge someone before she would trust them. Slowly, though, with the aid of her family and friends, and the continued contact with the Hogwarts student body, she was becoming more and more open and less and less a puppet manned by Lucius.
Draco was bitter. He was, and nothing would really change it. He was incredibly wary, but also incredibly good at playing his part. He walked, talked, and oozed old blood, old money, and ancient snobbery. He could be the ruthless leader his father wanted him to be. But the other side of Draco was tense with strangers, unsure of himself. He trusted no one to treat him right, only his mother, his sister, his godfather, and his best friend. He was closer to his sister than anyone else, with the exception, perhaps, of his mother, but he was sarcastic, cold, and sometimes rash. The care of his family in the face of Lucius's abuse only served to make him more harsh, knowing that he would never receive the same care from his father.
Severus turned back to his notes. They were his family—all that he had. His Muggle father, who had despised him anyway, had been killed by Voldemort, and his mother had been killed by his father. But no matter. He had a family.
True, a rather mismatched, dysfunctional family it was. A kidnapped daughter of a dead Auror and a convicted murderer, a pureblood heir with no desire for the title, a Death Eater's wife who had been best friends with two Muggleborns at Hogwarts, and a half-blood spy of a Death Eater. And, if he were to be fair, a pureblood son of a woman with four deceased husbands to date. One of them couldn't be with the rest of them very often, and another was almost a permanent resident at a house not his own.
Severus sighed inwardly. Sure, they were mismatched and often separated, but they were a family, and they stood strong in the face of all that come at them so far, and would continue to do so.
He scribbled something on his notes, listening to Blaise and Draco join Ashley's singing, still playing chess and absently joining in. Severus hummed as he thought about the experimental potion he was working on.
Life was as close to good as it had ever been.
BREAK
A/N 2: Betcha weren't expecting another update so soon. I'm on a roll! Oh, and anything you recognize isn't mine, it belongs to J.K.R. and it comes from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Double disclaimer, huh?
I was trying for some character development in that last bit. Review and tell me what you thought! E-brownies to all reviewers!
Much love,
LysPotter