AN: Another chapter up! As always, let me know what you think!
Thanks so much to my best friend and beta, mammamiaitsthalia! She's currently editing and re-posting her Next Gen Harry Potter fic, so definitely go check it out!
UPDATED: Fixed the years, which I had accidentally calculated wrong. Thanks to reader, Toraach, for pointing the errors out to me!
24 August 1992
"Father, I want to go with you and Draco." Vega said, blocking her father's exit out of the room.
"It's too dangerous, and you know it. Someone could see you." Lucius said, moving his cane towards her to usher her out of way.
Vega didn't move, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'll wear a cloak and keep the hood up."
Lucius sighed. "Yes, and at the faintest breeze it will blow off, exposing you."
"Then I'll take some polyjuice." She shrugged.
He raised an eyebrow at her. "And where are you going to get some?"
Vega smirked. "I know where you keep your stores."
Lucius was inwardly approving. She would have done well in Slytherin, he thought. "Be my guest then, my dear. And when someone recognizes you in your disguised persona, don't expect me to get you out of that dilemma." He paused. "Why must you go to Diagon Alley so badly?"
"I want to see what it is like. I've never seen England's Wizarding World. It's not fair that I only get to see the Wizarding World's in other countries. I should get to see the one that is part of my history." Vega replied passionately.
This was only a half truth. Yes, Vega wanted to see Diagon Alley. However, she wasn't intensely interested in it. Rather, she knew that her mother wasn't going on this outing with Draco and her father. As the older sibling, it was definitely her job to protect the younger one, even if that meant protecting him from her own father. She knew that her Father wouldn't hit Draco in public, but she could distract him from the verbal abuse he was sure to inflict upon the boy.
"You would risk your entire life, just to see some old bricks for a couple hours?" Lucius asked.
Vega nodded vigorously. Lucius revised his previous thought. Maybe she wouldn't have made it in Slytherin, seeing as the girl was acting more and more like a brash Gryffindor each day. He shuddered imperceptibly. A Malfoy, in Gryffindor? Not bloody likely.
"Fine, fine. I will disillusion you. You will stay by my side at all times. And you will not alert Draco to your presence. The boy would give you away with one glance."
Vega's face lit up and she clapped her hands together happily. "Thank you so much, father! I'll go fetch my cloak quickly."
"Make sure you do. Draco and I are leaving soon." Lucius replied, then watched his daughter practically run out the door of the room.
Vega watched Draco tear a page out of a book and walk down the stairs. He began snarling at three other children his age. But Vega was confused why he tore the page out of the book. Not only did he know better than to ruin a piece of literature, he was as fond of books as she was and would never commit such an atrocity anyways. She'd confront him about it later. She was quite positive he already knew she was here anyways, despite her father wishing to keep him in the dark. She turned her attention back to the group in front of her.
Vega recognized the three Gryffindors immediately. Ronald Weasley's ginger hair and obviously hand-me-down robes immediately clued her in to his surname. Having studied the family trees of all of the Sacred Twenty-Eight gave her the knowledge that he was the youngest son. Hermione Granger's big bushy hair and the fact that she constantly held Draco's attention from the second he recognized her in the shop was a dead giveaway. Harry Potter was, of course, the most obvious. His messy hair barely covered his scar, and his round spectacles had been the topic of many of Draco's insults over the summer.
In all honesty, she couldn't see what was so wrong with the group. They seemed fine enough to her, although she knew that her father had supported the Dark Lord during the Wizarding War. She understood the worries of Pureblood families. With muggleborns "invading" the Wizarding World, their old traditions would die out. They would all be in danger, and no one wanted another Salem Witch Trials. But she really didn't think it was that big of a deal. The magic world really needed some of the muggle world's advancements. Electricity seemed pretty handy, if you asked her.
Her father suddenly appeared and she shrunk back a little, even though she was still disillusioned. She had disobeyed him by not staying by his side as he said. He couldn't have reasonably expected her to follow that order, however that wouldn't matter to him. He'd still punish her. Although he was always more lenient with her than he was with Draco. Arthur Weasley and a young girl who must be his daughter also joined the group.
Vega didn't listen to what was being said, she focused more on the actions that were happening. She watched her father pick up the young girl's books from a bucket she carried. He examined them momentarily with disgust on his face, and then she watched as he discreetly added another book to his hands before dropping them back into her bucket with a sneer. It was so subtle that Vega doubted anyone else noticed. She expected the only reason she even noticed was due to the fact that she was watching every action in the group, rather than listening to what words were being exchanged. The groups departed and she followed closely behind her father.
"I've heard some interesting news, Draco. Care to hear what I've learned?" Vega said, walking up to the table he was sitting at..
She had found Draco in the library, at their table. This was where they would usually find each other. It was one of the only places where they could be alone. Not to mention, they'd managed to convince their personal house elves to put some warding on the space to block intruders from listening in and alert them when someone was near. Vega was quite sure that their parents, or at least their mother, knew of the enchantments. Thankfully, they'd never questioned them about it, and seemed fine with their small bubble of privacy.
"What are you talking about?" Draco said, barely looking up from The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2.
Vega sat down in front of him, and pulled the book towards her.
"I heard that you vandalized a poor, defenseless book at Flourish and Blotts." She said, smirking at him.
Fear flit across Draco's face for only a second before he quickly appeared nonchalant. Vega was proud, he was getting better at it. She'd always be able to read him though, that was just something that came with being siblings.
"I have no idea what you're talking about. Where did you hear that?" He replied, trying to take his book back.
Vega threw her hand down heavily on top of it to stop him. She gave him a maniacal grin, baring her teeth.
"I'll tell you mine, if you tell me yours."
Draco gulped, and narrowed his eyes at her. Vega smiled a little smaller.
"You know the rules: nothing leaves our bubble." She reminded him reassuringly.
Draco nodded, and swallowed thickly before speaking. "Father has done something, Vega. I don't know everything about it, only what I heard when he was taking a floo call with someone and his office door was cracked open. I don't know who he was talking to and I was hiding around the corner. He said that he was sending a book to Hogwarts this year, and that it's cursed. Vega, this book is going to cause the Chamber of Secrets to open again." His brow furrowed and he looked worried.
"Are you sure? Are you absolutely certain, Draco?" Vega asked.
"Yes. I should have told you sooner, as soon as I overheard the conversation. I wanted to do more research on the beast that lives within the Chamber." Draco replied sheepishly.
"Well? What did you find then?" She asked, temporarily ignoring that he had hidden this from her.
"Nothing concrete, to be honest. But, there are stories that suggest that Salazar Slytherin once owned a Basilisk. The page I tore out was about Basilisks, from a very old text on magical creatures. He left the creature in the Chamber, and only he or his descendants would be able to control it. I've been researching his family tree to find out who at the school might be able to control it, but I haven't had much luck. The records here at home seem to be incomplete. I should think the records at Hogwarts would be a little better, seeing as he's one of the founders." Draco finished.
"Alright. Let me know what you find out either way though. If you can't find anything else out, I may be able to convince Father to find me some texts. We wouldn't want him to suspect anything though, so that will be a last resort." She paused. "The last time the Chamber was opened, a muggleborn died. I expect it will be something similar this time around as well. Which means you should have nothing to worry about. But you know not to look it in the eyes, yes?"
"Yes, although if it were to catch me off guard, I wouldn't stand a chance." Draco replied.
"We've still got some time before you leave for Hogwarts. We'll come up with some ways to avoid it." Vega answered, already trying to think of possibilities.
"Anyways. I've told you mine. Now tell me yours." Draco smirked.
Vega let out a breath. "Okay." She paused, and then whispered even though no one else could hear her. "I was at Flourish and Blotts today. Father disillusioned me. I saw the whole thing." She mirrored Draco's smirk.
"I knew it!" Draco shouted. "I thought you were there! But I never thought Father would actually let you go! So you saw me tear the page from the book?"
Vega nodded. "And I actually saw Father place an extra book in the Weasley girl's bucket. That must be the book you heard him talking about."
Draco seemed to relax a little bit. "That's a relief. I had been worried that I was going to have to transport the book into the school and do something with it."
"You'll want to try and watch her, figure out what she does with it and how it's actually cursed. Obviously, don't let anyone catch you watching."
Draco nodded.
"Show me the books you were researching Slytherin in, and then let's keep looking a bit. We'll make sure there really isn't anything here before you leave." Vega said, standing and watching him expectantly.
19 June 1993
"I still can't believe you told her that she'd be next." Vega said exasperatedly. She moved a chess piece on the board. They were in their corner of the library.
"I've already heard it from mum, Vega. I don't need to hear it from you, too. Besides, I was right, wasn't I?" Draco sneered. He responded, not noticing that he had left his king open.
Vega sighed. "I'm just saying that your intolerance and disdain don't have to be quite so apparent. If people think you're so opposed to the 'mudbloods' then you won't get very far. Our name and our vaults can get you far, but they aren't inexhaustible." She moved her piece. "Check." She leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest, and giving her brother a smirk.
Draco snarled. "Ugh, you're just like her." He knocked a few of the pieces to the ground as he stood up and began moving to the door.
"Don't throw a tantrum with me because the women in your life are all superior to you." Vega said, a wicked gleam in her eyes.
Draco stilled immediately, and whipped back around. "Hermione Granger is not, as you put it, 'a woman in my life.'"
"You certainly seem to talk about her enough in your letters to me, and even more so when you're actually home. Just don't let father hear about this little crush you have." Vega replied smugly.
"I do not have a crush on Hermione Granger!" Draco yelled, his voice raising in pitch.
"Would you be quiet?!" Vega hissed, looking towards the book stacks nervously. They may have powerful house elf magic on their side, but that didn't mean they shouldn't still be wary. Then she spoke a little louder. "You doth protest too much, methinks."
Draco sneered. "Don't let father hear about you reading the work of a muggle playwright." He said, mimicking her earlier sentiment.
"And how, dear brother, would you know that it is the work of a muggle?" Vega replied, raising an eyebrow at him.
Draco rolled his eyes at her.
"We both know that you don't hate them as much as you pretend. It's all a ruse to keep Father happy. And I wholeheartedly agree that it's what you need to do. But maybe you shouldn't be quite so vocal about it. One day, you'll be free to ask the Granger girl out on a date, but she's going to hate you too much to even consider it." Vega smirked at him, and then picked up the pieces he had knocked over earlier. When Draco moved to retort, she cut him off. "Anyways, we've gotten off topic. So Granger was petrified because she made eye contact through the mirror. Do you know how she figured out that it was a Basilisk?"
Draco smiled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck, and refusing to make eye contact with her. "I may have confronted her in the library and practically shoved that page from Flourish and Blotts in her face?"
Vega snorted. "Are you asking me if that's what happened, or telling me?"
"That's what happened." Draco nodded, still refusing to look at her.
"And what do you mean by 'confronted her?' What exactly did you do?" Vega asked curiously.
"I definitely taunted her about being a mudblood, as usual. I believe I said something along the lines of 'you should avoid eye contact with everyone, both parties might end up petrified in horror,' and then tossed the page down at her and left before she could reply again." Draco said quietly.
Vega shook her head at him. "Oh, Draco." She paused and stared at him for a moment. "I think next year, you shouldn't try to taunt her so much. Don't seek her out and just try to ignore her if you can only insult her like that. She isn't the only muggleborn there, you don't have to focus on her." Vega hoped he would listen to her request. He was going to create an enemy in Hermione Granger if he didn't. And she didn't think she'd be able to help him if it came to that. "So then that is when Potter and Weasley went down to the Chamber?"
"Yes. Like I told you, I don't know what's true and what's gossip. But I heard that they made Lockhart go with them. He took Weasley's broken wand and it backfired on him. That's why he's in the Janus Thickey ward now. Apparently, he's lied about all of the stories he's written about. He's taken the credit of other people's accomplishments and modified their memories. I mean, I knew he was a tosser before, but that's ridiculous." They started to set the pieces back up for another game.
"I was reading a piece by Rita Skeeter that said about the same thing. I was wondering how much of it was true." Vega voiced her thoughts.
"Anyways, apparently a version of the Dark Lord was placed within that book Father gave to the Weaslette. It used to be the Dark Lord's diary. Weaslette was talking to him all year, crying to him about all her boy troubles and whatnot. He gained energy from the interactions enough to convince her to go into the chamber and then he back to suck away her life to try and restore himself. Potter somehow managed to kill the Basilisk and he destroyed the diary. And I'm sure you heard that he managed to free Dobby." Draco continued.
"Oh, yes. He came home that day and was cursing up a storm. I'm sure he would have physically been cursing things had Mother not gotten to him first. He ended up drinking in his office the rest of the day." Vega paused. "I'm glad he's be freed though. Father was quite cruel to him, and he didn't deserve that."
Draco nodded. "Vega, what kind of curse was on that book? How could it have been bringing the Dark Lord back to life? And was it really him? Or just something that appeared to be him? Do you think there are more?" He prattled nervously.
Vega's brow furrowed as she looked at Draco. "I don't know. But it's probably one of the darkest forms of magic that exists. Maybe I'll see if I can subtly ask Father during my next lesson with him." She moved a pawn, starting another game. "Be careful this summer, Draco. Without his personal house elf to abuse, I expect Father will be much easier to irritate."
Draco moved his own pawn and nodded his head at her. "Don't worry, I will."