Working Together
Feeling somebody poking her ribs, Avianna grunted and tried to swat the hand away. Burying her face further into her pillow, Avianna stopped moving. That wasn't a pillow. The memories from the night before flooded into her mind, and Avianna felt herself grinning. She wasn't burying her head into a pillow; she was burying her face deeper into Regulus's chest. Trying to get comfortable once more, Avianna was disappointed to feel somebody poking at her ribs again. Groaning out in annoyance she rolled over to hex whoever was disturbing her sleep. An amused Adreana was smiling down at her. Avianna could tell that Adreana just woke up as well.
"Go away," Avianna muttered, ready to go back to sleep.
"Nuh-uh," Adreana chuckled, "Draco's getting dressed right now. You didn't eat dinner last night, Avianna, and we all know how irritable you are without any food. The quicker we wake up and fill you up we can meet the others in the room. When Nott woke Draco and I up, he told us that James and Sirius are already in there. I guess they couldn't actually face Pettigrew this morning once Pettigrew shoved the Daily Prophet in Sirius's face, so they skipped breakfast and went straight to the room. Nott ran into them during a morning run."
Groaning, Regulus sat up. Rubbing his chest, which was numb from being used as a pillow all night, he looked up at the two. "At least Sirius's reaction is acceptable."
"I think Pettigrew and Voldemort were hoping for more damage though," Avianna sighed, standing up. "Something tells me that Pettigrew's going to keep pushing it until your brother hits you with a hex."
Adreana nodded her head in agreement. "Draco thinks so too. Seeing as how he met the slimy version of Pettigrew in his timeline, he admitted that this Pettigrew and that Pettigrew aren't that different at all."
"You know," Avianna chuckled, "You all took our news pretty well. I was expecting to have to show some sort of proof. You guys didn't argue against us once."
"We've all agreed that something was weird with the four of you for a while," Mulciber admitted from where he sat up on his own bed. "You would sometimes slip up and call Scorpius your brother, and we would see the way that Draco and Neville looked shocked at some of the things that you would do; if Neville was your brother he would have known how good you were with a wand. Not to mention Draco would sometimes look at you as if he was seeing someone else."
"And from seeing the others' reactions last night, I think it's safe to say that they all thought so too," Adreana added in agreement. "Besides, you four knew things about us that none of us told you guys. I know the Marauders seemed the most shocked though when you started spilling their secrets. Who knew that Lupin was a werewolf all these years?"
"I didn't even know that," Regulus chuckled, "Or that my own brother was an Animagus," shaking his laughter away, Regulus looked up at the two witches. "Meet you guys down in the common room?"
Nodding her head, Avianna smiled. "Okay."
Running back to their own room, Adreana and Avianna laughed. Jenny and Fiona were already gone, and so far it didn't look like they realized their two roommates were gone all night. With the way Fiona loved to gossip the entire school would already think that Adreana and Avianna were possibly engaged and pregnant with one of the boys in Slytherin. Gathering up all of their things, the two best friends decided that unless they wanted to fall asleep during their meeting they would need to take another shower. Listening to Adreana hum in the shower next to her, Avianna couldn't help but to feel better than from when she first arrived in this timeline. She no longer had to lie to Adreana about everything, and she could feel secure in this friendship. She allowed herself to get close to everybody, Adreana most of all, but she still felt guilty about keeping the truth hidden. It was only because of Dumbledore's order that Avianna didn't tell Adreana anything, and she knew that Neville felt guilty about lying to Alice. It was hard for Neville to become good friends with his mum and not be able to answer her questions about why he was identical to her fiancé, or had her eyes. It killed Neville to not be able to trust his mum with the truth, and it was torturing Draco to keep putting off Adreana's advances in fear and disgust about knowing the truth of who she was while she knew nothing. Scorpius felt guilty about working his way into the Marauders and seeing Snape every day while knowing what would one day happen to all of them. The 'family' all felt guilty, but now they could relax – everybody knew the truth now, and there were no more secrets between them.
Quickly throwing on a pair of green colored jean shorts with a yellow crop top, Avianna brushed her hair but didn't bother with tying it back. Using white and green striped knee high socks with her shoes, Avianna laughed when she saw Adreana grabbing out a pair of her blue jeans. Seeing Avianna's reaction, Adreana shrugged her shoulders and said that she just didn't feel like wearing a skirt or dress because she didn't trust herself to not fall asleep during the meeting. Once the two girls were dressed they grabbed their wands, and Avianna ended up grabbing her money pouch at the last minute. Seeing Adreana's confused look she only explained that she didn't want to leave it laying around. Draco's hair was tussled and reminded Avianna of when her dad would come home from a late night mission then sit at the table with a large cup of coffee in front of him and try his hardest to stay awake throughout breakfast. Giving Adreana and Draco a weird look, Avianna suddenly shuddered. She really did not want to know why they were both so tired when they supposedly fell asleep at the same time as everybody else.
Avianna could feel her heart beating exceedingly fast when Regulus reached his hand out to grab hers. "That hair," Draco muttered, shaking his head behind them. "I hope your children don't inherit that bloody Granger hair."
Smirking when she looked back at Draco who had his arm around Adreana's waist, Avianna replied in a voice identical to her mum's. "I hope to Merlin that you and Mum decide to have another child now that Scorp and I are gone. I can just imagine this bushy nest in a pale blonde color. Can't you?"
"Avianna!" squealed Adreana, the laughter obvious in her shaking voice. "I think you broke him. Draco? Draco?"
Laughing when he saw that Draco was now frozen in his spot, and looking as if he was going to be sick, Regulus pulled Avianna in closer to him. "I happen to like your bushy hair."
"No you don't," Avianna teasingly grinned, "But that's alright. Dad didn't like Mum's hair either and was constantly begging her to get it magically fixed."
"And I can't persuade you either?" Regulus grinned, knowing that Avianna saw through his blatant lie.
"Nope," Avianna shook her head, leading the small foursome into the Great Hall and laughing when Adreana had to drag Draco just to get him to move, "This is all I have left of my mum now."
Regulus shook his head fondly. "I thought as much."
The entire Great Hall fell into silence when the four friends stepped through the doors. All four houses were staring up at Regulus with fear in their eyes. Sensing Regulus's hesitation, Avianna gave his hand a gentle squeeze. She wondered if this moment was when he decided death was better. Was this the moment when Regulus Black thought it would be better to die as a coward than to live with the shame of his heritage? The professors seemed just as stunned as the students when they noticed the way Avianna and Regulus held each other's hands in a loving way. A few of them had noticed the way Regulus and the new girl had grown closer to one another, but they didn't expect them to form an actual relationship with one another – especially not on the same morning that the Daily Prophet listed Regulus Black as a Death Eater. They seemed just as stunned to see that Draco had finally given into Adreana's pursue of him.
"You would have been alone…" Avianna whispered more to herself in recognition. If she hadn't been here in this timeline, at this exact moment, Sirius would have pulled his wand on his brother, and even Adreana would have turned her back on her Death Eater cousin. Regulus would have lost the only family that he counted on for some sort of hidden moral support, and Regulus would have been completely alone from this moment on. The other sixth year boys, and the seventh year boys, wouldn't have been caught anywhere near him in public for fear that they would also be outted as a Death Eater. Regulus would have been completely and utterly alone in this world. He would have been made an outcast.
Moving onto Avianna's other side, Draco gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze and whispered, "But he's not, Avianna, he's got you."
"Us," Adreana corrected, "He's got us."
Sensing Avianna's thoughts, Regulus gave her hand a squeeze like she did to his earlier, and he smiled down at her. "C'mon," he nodded his head in the direction of their friends, "Flint's waving us over."
Nodding her head, Avianna sent a death filled glare to a group of Ravenclaws that backed away when they walked past them. "This was what they wanted," she whispered to Regulus. "They knew it would isolate you, so that's why they outted you. It was this moment that drove you to your death."
Sitting next to Nott, Regulus helped Avianna sit down next to him. "I think you're right," he whispered to her, watching the way that the Gryffindors all glared at him from across the Great Hall. "If you weren't here with me right now, I would have started planning my own death from the moment I stepped through those doors."
"Well, you're not," Adreana glared at her cousin for talking like that. "Avianna is here, and so am I. I admit that if I were not warned, nor if I knew the truth, I would have been one of the ones to turn my back on you. But that is of a different time, Reggie, and you're not alone now."
Making sure to pile a lot of scrambled eggs onto Avianna's plate, Rosier leaned forward, "Pettigrew's not too happy to see that Regulus's still got all of his friends."
"It's my brother," Regulus nodded his head, pouring syrup over his pancakes. "I don't think losing all of my friends would have been too much for me, because I'd still have your support in secret. It would have been the betrayal in my brother's face that would have done it."
Nibbling on an orange-berry scone, Avianna nodded her head in agreement. "If the four of us weren't here you would have been isolated. Can we stop talking about it now?"
"Yes," it was surprising when Snape was the one who nodded his head with what Avianna said. The girl looked up at him and the two could see that their reflections were identical, "Now is not the time."
Looking down at Avianna, Regulus could feel his stomach jump. The pain of his death was so evident in her eyes that he made a vow to not die at all this time. He would live a thousand years just to keep Avianna from being hurt. "Can you pass the water, Draco?"
Passing the water jug across the table to Regulus, Draco's eyes narrowed. When Regulus and Avianna turned around they saw the four seventh year girls standing behind them. With a sheepish look, Patricia handed the Daily Prophet to Avianna. "Do you remember what we talked about?"
Nodding her head, Avianna just slammed the paper down onto the table, not bothering to read it. "Yes," her eyes were narrowed as well.
Taking in a deep breath, Patricia lowered her voice. "My – my brother's a Death Eater too," fidgeting with her hair in a way that Pansy constantly did, Patricia looked down at Regulus. "He's cruel, and he practices curses on me for fun."
Draco's breath hitched. He knew all of this about Carl Parkinson – he, Blaise, and Theo was constantly healing Pansy after one of her father's torture sessions. They were only eight years old when he and Blaise managed to make a healing paste to cover some of the bruises that Theo couldn't. That was the reason why he wasn't shocked at all when he learned that Theo became a healer in their future timeline. What he didn't know though, was that Mr. Parkinson used to practice curses on his sister when they were still practically kids.
"What Patricia's trying to say," Spencer sighed, taking a step forward, "Is that we, the two of us, we know what it's like to be around Death Eaters. We've lived with them all our lives. You're different, Regulus."
Tabitha nodded her head in agreement. "You aren't cruel like the rest of them. We just want you to know that we don't believe the lies of the Daily Prophet."
Avianna's eyes grew huge. Regulus seemed to be just as shocked as she was. "T-Thank you," he stammered out.
Nodding her head at his thanks, Sylvia looked down at Avianna. "Remember what we told you, Avianna, we take care of our own. It's in moments like these that the Slytherin house needs to stay together."
Only nodding her head, Avianna managed to say, "Thanks."
Patricia nodded her head back, understanding that it was hard to really say anything to what was just said. "You did something, Avianna. I don't know what it was, but you changed this house. I once feared my own year mates, but I don't anymore. I would be careful if I were you; the Dark Lord may consider you to be a threat. There's a rat in Hogwarts trying to create problems, and they may try to hurt you."
The group of friends all stared at each other with wide eyes at Patricia's words. Draco and Adreana both stared at Avianna, scared at how true it was. Avianna made changes in Slytherin. It wasn't Draco who brought the changes; it was the girl who was always laughing and chose to keep peace with Gryffindor, even after the Quidditch match. Avianna brought life to the usually complicated Regulus Black, and it was Avianna who even had the estranged Black brothers sometimes putting up with each other's company. Avianna Lange was a name known around Hogwarts, and her dueling skills were just as widely known. Pettigrew most likely told his master all about the new girl in the school. They were too stunned realizing the new predicament to even laugh at the truth in Patricia's metaphor about a rat in Hogwarts.
Regulus was the first one to stand up. It was obvious by the vein pulsating in his neck that he was trying his hardest to keep his calm. "Now," he hissed out through clenched teeth. "We meet now!"
"Lupin just left the Great Hall with Lily," Snape also stood up, whispering.
Seeing Alice and Amelia slyly watching them, Adreana tried to keep a smile on her face, "I saw some lovely dress robes in Hogsmeade that I know Alice and Amelia would like," she stood up as well. "Avianna would you like to join us in Hogsmeade today?"
Knowing that Adreana was trying to make it seem less suspicious about having Alice and Amelia leave with them – everybody knew about Adreana and Avianna's formed friendship with Alice, Amelia, and Lily – Avianna shook her head. "I should probably talk to my brother and cousin about what the Daily Prophet said," turning to Regulus, she tried to calm him down. "I'll see you later in the common room?"
Regulus stiffly nodded his head. "Don't take too long."
Hearing the threat in Regulus's voice, Draco feared for Pettigrew's life. "I should probably be with her when she finally confronts them about you," he said, wrapping an arm around Avianna's shoulder.
Regulus nodded his head again. "I'll see you guys in the common room then."
"I'll go with you, Reg," Nott jumped up. "I should probably get started on the essay for McGonagall's class."
And it was like that that the members of Slytherin managed to fool even the two watching professors. None of Hogwarts was surprised when Alice and Amelia left to go shopping with Adreana, nor were they shocked when Nott, Flint, Lestrange, and Mucliber all went back to the common room with Regulus. It was nothing to be questioned when Snape, Rosier, Crabbe, and Goyle stood up a couple of minutes later claiming to be bored without anyone to tease, and aside from a few concerned stares when Avianna and Draco slowly approached the Gryffindor table, nobody even gave it a second thought when Avianna pleaded with her brother and cousin to at least hear her about her new relationship with the newly outted Death Eater. Dumbledore and McGonagall merely thought that Scorpius and Neville both felt betrayed by Avianna's sudden impulse to date Regulus without informing them beforehand, and Pettigrew shook his head saying that he didn't want to be anywhere near the family when Scorpius and Avianna pulled their wands out on each other in frustration. The group had played it off so good that nobody even suspected there was a secret room on the seventh corridor holding twenty people inside of it.
"I don't want to talk about it," Avianna announced once she entered the room. Everybody had looks of pity in their eyes, and Remus looked worried. After hearing what the four seventh year girls said, he suggested to Lily that they go and search for James and Sirius to see how they were doing. Pettigrew offered to stay back in the Great Hall with Neville and Scorpius, but they could see the worry in his eyes while he watched the scene across from him. "I'm fine, and Voldemort can't get to me. We just need to focus on getting the Horcruxes."
Regulus was standing and leaning against a wall. He remained silent and only watched the strong looking girl in front of him. When he looked at Scorpius he could see the fear in his eyes as well. "She's really had an effect on you hasn't she?" Sirius sighed, joining his brother at the wall. When Regulus said nothing, but simply nodded his head, Sirius banged his own against the wall. "She saved our relationship, and I'm going to save yours. Voldemort won't touch her, and you're not going to die."
"Are you bloody mental?" Scorpius shouted at his sister. "Honestly, Avianna! It's like you enjoy going out and doing stupid things! You find out that Voldemort considers you a threat and your main concern is finding the bloody Horcruxes? I have half a mind to use that sticking charm on you that Dad used when he found out you stole Teddy's broom. Do you remember what happened that time? Because I do – you were in a coma for THREE bloody days! And then when you woke up all you cared about was how the broom held up. I've never seen Teddy's hair turn to actual flames before. Everybody was scared you'd never wake up, and all you cared about was a bloody broom. A BROOM!"
"I felt guilty for breaking Teddy's broom," Avianna shrugged her shoulders, not backing down from her brother. "Aunt Andy just brought it for him."
"And yet you still wanted to ride the bloody thing!" Scorpius was seething, but nobody bothered to stop the ensuing argument. "This is just like that time in second year when you wanted to see if any werewolves lived in the Forbidden Forest. You are the only one I know who's stupid enough to actually want to find a werewolf! Just because Remus is a nice one doesn't mean they all are! And then that time that you somehow managed to steal a dragon from the reserve. I've never seen Uncle Charlie freak out so much before! How many times do you need to give me a heart attack before you're finally relieved to see me die! Honestly, Avianna Rose Weasley-Malfoy, you're only lucky that Mum and Dad aren't here to kill you themselves!"
"Are you done yet?" the intensity in Scorpius's face was the only thing that stopped the entire room from being impressed by the boredom in Avianna's voice. "Or is there more that I've done to somehow upset you?"
Scorpius released a frustrated shriek. "Agh! Even Lily doesn't put James and Albus through this much, and she's the daughter of Harry bleeding Potter! Why can't you just be a normal sister for once? Why can't you just run away in fear when you hear that Voldemort is threatened by you? You know what he does to people who he's threatened by – he kills them… KILLS THEM! And now you're on that list! I swear it Avianna Rose, if only we were in our own timeline right now…"
"Then what, Scorpius?" Avianna sneered. Pulling her arms out of their crossed stance, she stepped closer to him. Neither teen noticed the way that everybody else in the room instantly moved away from them. "What would you do if we were in our own timeline? Owl Mum and Dad? Owl Teddy and James? Run to Uncle Neville or Uncle Blaise or Uncle Dean? Run to Aunt Pansy? Would you run to Albus, Louis, and Lysander? Would you ask Lavender for advice on how to deal with me? Would you shout at me like you are right now? Turning me into other people, or shouting at me, has never stopped me before and it wouldn't stop me now! And I was never alone when I did those things. You, James, and Albus were always with me whenever I did anything foolish! It was you who managed to slow me down when I fell off of Teddy's broom in that storm, or I would have died at only ten years old. It was you who held my hand the entire time we searched the Forbidden Forest for a werewolf colony, and it was you who remembered to steal Uncle Charlie's gloves before grabbing the dragon out of the playpen. And now it's you that's here with me in a different timeline! I am the daughter of Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy, and you are the son of Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy… Ron and Astoria may share our blood, but our stupid bravery comes from our parents! I'm not backing away because Voldemort's suddenly threatened by me, and I know that I'll have my brother to hold my hand through this just like he always has!"
Scorpius scowled. "That's the thing, ain't it – I'm always having to hold your bloody hand through things."
"Then don't," Avianna told him, "Then let my hand go, Scorpius."
Scorpius's scowl immediately dropped. Everybody could see the confusion in his eyes. "Let your hand go?" he questioned. The thought sounded foreign to him.
Avianna nodded her head. "You're always complaining about how much of a hassle I am. I'm the most frustrating little sister in the world, right? I'm going to be the cause of your early grey hairs, just like I'm the reason for Dad's, and I'm the one who's always getting you into stupid situations, right? I mean not just you; I'm always dragging James, Albus, Louis, Lysander, Lavender, and Freddie into stupid things too, right? Isn't Shawn always getting yelled at by Aunt Pansy and Uncle Seamus because I convinced him to do something stupid again? We're sixteen now, Scorp, I'm a big girl now. Let my hand go."
"Bloody mental," Scorpius shook his head. "This is what I mean, Avianna! And if I do let your hand go, then what, eh? You get hit by a car crossing the street? You somehow manage to actually find a colony of werewolves? You do die by falling off a broom in the middle of a storm? Then what, eh, you get killed by Voldemort?"
Avianna narrowed her eyes. "Then stop complaining! Avianna this… Avianna that… Avianna did this again… Avianna's in trouble again… Avianna got into another fight… Avianna… Avianna… Avianna… blah blah blah… bloody Avianna… then stop already, Scorpius, because nobody forced you to always be there. Nobody told you that you had to stick by my side through everything!"
"But you're my sister!" he shouted at her. "It's my job to protect you from getting hurt. You've been my sister for all of our lives; even before our parents got married you've been my sister. If I wasn't there to protect you, who would have? It's my job as your older brother to protect you from everything!"
"Then stop bloody whining, and just deal with it already. You know me, and you know that I'm not changing my mind! We were brought here by some weird miracle so we could protect everybody in this room, and I'm following through with it! If Voldemort wants to kill me, oh bloody well – he wants to kill everybody in this room."
"Agh!" Scorpius pulled at his hair. "So bloody frustrating! I'm starting to think I was brought here only to keep your dumb arse alive!"
"Then follow through with that," Avianna smirked at her brother. "We are inseparable, Scorpius, our history shows that much. We both know for a fact that we were both brought here together because neither of us would have been able to survive being stuck in any timeline without each other. If you had stayed back while I was brought here you would have gone mental with the guilt of your last words to me. You wouldn't have been able to live with yourself knowing what you did to me, and everything would have reminded you of me. You would have seen me in everything until you lost your own mind and then Mum and Dad would have lost both of their children forever. We may not be with them anymore, but they'll know we're together and that'll give them enough hope to keep them sane. If only you were taken away, or if I showed up here without you, we both know I wouldn't have been able to save anybody. I would have been a walking shell constantly trying to find my way back home. We're siblings, Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, and you can complain about me all you want but you know for a bloody fact that without me in your life you wouldn't be complete."
The room was silent. Lily, Alice, Amelia, and Adreana were all tightly holding each other's hands. Sirius and Regulus had silent tears in their eyes while they thought of their own relationship, and Draco stared at the siblings with pride while Neville smiled and thought back to the Golden Trio – they fought all the time, but even they couldn't be separated. The Marauders and future Death Eaters all watched the scene in concern. Sighing, Scorpius scratched at his hair. "Do you always need to make me feel guilty?"
"Do you always need to shout at me?" Avianna retorted.
Shaking his head, Scorpius snorted. "Do you remember what happened when Dad placed the sticking charm on you after St. Mungos released you?"
"You refused to leave my side, and even threatened James into ordering Kreacher to place the same spell on Dad until he released me," Avianna smirked. "Are you letting go of my hand, Scorp?"
Shaking his head again, Scorpius reached out to grab Avianna's hand. "I promised you already, Avi, I'm never leaving your side. After all, like you said, we're still together in a different timeline. I'm never letting your hand go."
"Good," Avianna grinned, pulling her brother into a hug, "Because I don't think I'd survive knowing that you're not with me."
"Luckily for you I'm not going anywhere," Scorpius chuckled, running his hand through his sister's hair. "You're still the most frustrating sister in any timeline."
"Too bad," pulling away, Avianna stuck her tongue out at Scorpius. "Just be happy I'm not whiny like Lily."
The room finally fell into peals of laughter. Lily pouted at hearing her own name with the word whiny in front of it, and the two sets of siblings all gave each other a comforting look. Scorpius and Avianna would fight to the point where other people would fear for their safety, but in the end they still loved each other. All they did was prove to everybody else why they could have conversations without speaking aloud. Scorpius and Avianna had a bond that most siblings didn't have, proven by Sirius and Regulus. After hugging each other once more, and assuring the entire room that they were fine and usually fought like this from time to time in order to keep their sanity – and that sometimes Avianna was the one to shout at Scorpius – Scorpius gave Regulus a hardened stare that caused the Death Eater to try and shrink into the wall. No guy ever liked the idea of having to meet a girl's family, and older brothers seemed to be worst. Even if Scorpius was older than Avianna by only two months, Regulus was frightened by the idea of any girl having a brother in general… especially when the brother was as protective as Scorpius was of Avianna.
The tension in the room seemed to suddenly return as soon as it left though. Avianna left Scorpius's side and approached Regulus. She reached out her hand to grab onto his. Sirius still stood against the wall next to them and he took in the scene. It was in that moment that he made a promise. He wanted to reform a bond with his little brother. He wanted a relationship with Regulus like Avianna had with Scorpius. Sirius would work harder to make them inseparable once more. He owed Avianna everything. Avianna had to leave her entire family behind, bar Scorpius, and she still managed to keep a smile on her face, find love, save Regulus's reputation and life, save thousands of lives, turn future well feared Death Eaters into lovable blokes, and even mend his broken relationship with his brother – Sirius owed Avianna his life and more. When he looked at Scorpius, Sirius finally understood that what Avianna said was true. Scorpius was here merely just because the two couldn't be separated. If Scorpius wasn't in this timeline with her, Avianna wouldn't have made the changes that she did, and Scorpius would have wasted away into the ashes of guilty and loneliness nothing. Neville was here simply so he could have some sort of relationship with his parents, and Draco was here so he could witness the good in people – the good that he had never known until only an hour before he arrived here. But Avianna; Avianna was brought here because she was meant for this time. The look in the three boys' eyes showed that they finally understood as well… it was Avianna who would change the timeline, and they were chosen just to witness a better world.
"The Horcrux," Remus said once everybody was finally seated. Like the night before, the girls – sans Alice – all leaned against the male they felt some sort of pull to. And unlike the night before, Slytherins were mixed in with the Gryffindors. Snape and James looked as if they were best friends the way they sat next to each other, "You said you had an idea on how to get it last night, Lestrange?"
Lestrange nodded his head. "I'm going to grab it."
"What?" Amelia looked confused. "But how?"
"Did you guys forget who I am?" Lestrange asked with mock hurt. "I am Rabastan Lestrange. I'm not seventeen until September, so I still have access into the main vault. It's the only vault that I'm allowed to use, so Rod and Bellatrix won't think anything of it when I enter it. And as far as I know they don't even enter it, they always just tell the shops to bill their items to Gringotts."
"That's true," Draco gasped, "You could just walk right into the vault and grab the Horcrux."
With a grin, Lestrange nodded his head. "And nobody will even know."
"Are you sure you want to do this, Rabastan?" Alice asked with a worried look on her face. She was clutching onto Neville's free hand; the one that Amelia wasn't holding onto. "There's always the smallest chance that Bellatrix will go to check on it and see that it's gone."
Lestrange nodded his head again. Neville was the one who recognized the thirst in his eyes; it was the same thirst that he once had to prove that he was more than a chubby and blundering boy. "I'm sure," said Lestrange. "I know that it wasn't me, and we all know that if Avianna hadn't arrived when she did it would have been, but it was still me in a different timeline, and I still feel guilty for my actions. I know that everyone in this room does, including Draco, and this is my way to make it right. Hermione Granger may never know it, but I feel this is only a small way in how I can repay her for what I've done to her. And to the Alice Longbottom that lays in St. Mungos, forever lost to her family and friends. I will fight if it comes to it, but I will fight on the right side this time. And I will help in every way that I can."
"Thank you," Alice and Avianna both said at the same time. The two girls giggled in unison at their statement.
Neville also thanked Lestrange. "Hermione is a hard person, but she's always forgiving. I know that she would forgive you, Lestra – Rabastan – if she heard your words, she would accept your friendship the way she accepted Draco's. He may not have physically tortured her in that way that your other self has, but Draco's done quite a lot to her; including watching it happen. And she married him," Neville chuckled. "The Hermione that I know would forgive you."
"Thank you," Lestrange muttered, feeling a bit uncomfortable. "But Draco and I were different. I was a part of torturing her; I wanted to take part in the torturing of a young teenaged witch, whereas Avianna told us that every time Bellatrix would move the knife to carve over a vein, Hermione would see Draco lift his wand while muttering something; he was obviously making sure she didn't bleed out to the point of death, and he numbed her arm so that she wouldn't feel the pain. Draco tried to help her out the best that he could. He didn't just stand and watch; he actually tried to do something, even if it was in secret. I actually took part in the torture. And I enjoyed it."
Knowing that Lestrange didn't want anybody to contradict him or bring up how it wasn't technically him, Sirius clapped his former enemy on the back, "Well, we're changing that, Rab," it seemed too morbid to call him by his surname now that they all knew what 'Lestrange' meant in a future timeline. "We're going to stop it from happening."
Nodding his head in appreciation for Sirius's words, Lestrange cleared his throat. "I'll go into Hogsmeade tomorrow and I'll grab the Horcrux. What will we do with it once we grab it?"
"Well, I still say that we don't tell Dumbledore you guys know the truth until after Voldemort's destroyed," Avianna announced. She had her legs resting on Regulus's lap while she leaned against him. It felt so natural to her to be like this with him as if they've been in love for all of their lives. "And the only things known to destroy and Horcrux is Fiendfyre and basilisk poison…"
Seeing the way that Avianna began to chew on her bottom lip, Scorpius's eyes grew. "No! No, no, no, no… we just went over this, Avianna!"
"But, Scorpius, it's the only way."
"No," the blonde shook his head again, "Absolutely not, it's too dangerous!"
"We can't start Fiendfyre without killing ourselves like Crabbe did during the final battle. Fiendfyre is uncontrollable and unable to be put out," Avianna pointed out with a slight pout of her lips. Draco was once again reminded of Hermione when she was trying to convince Harry and Ron of something. Neville was reminded of the same thing as well. "The basilisk venom is the only way."
"Then we go to a potions' shop," Scorpius hissed out.
"Err…" Goyle interrupted, "You two wanna fill us in on what you're talking about? We aren't able to read your minds the way you can."
Scorpius shook his head, "Avianna wants to go into the Chamber of Secrets and kill the giant basilisk in order to get its venom."
"No!" Regulus shouted once the initial shock of what Avianna was suggesting wore off. "Definitely not! Harry only defeated it by luck and with the help from Fawkes."
James's eyes lit up at the idea of an adventure, and he could see Remus and Sirius looking just as excited. "But how would we even get in there? Neither of us are Parseltongues, and Harry could only get into it because the Horcrux inside of him."
"Uncle Harry lost the ability after Voldemort was destroyed," Avianna reminded them, "But he still remembered some of the correct hisses. And besides, Mum and Ron were able to get inside of the Chamber during the final battle because Ron went inside with Uncle Harry in their second year to save Aunt Ginny – Ron had extraordinary memory."
Scorpius groaned, "And that's one thing that Avianna took from him besides his Keeper skills, his appetite for food, freckles, and slight Weasley hair. Avianna, are you telling us that you remember all of the hissing sounds Uncle Harry told us?"
Blushing slightly, Avianna nodded her head. Flint's eyes widened when he saw Avianna's slight hesitation. "Have you been inside of the Chamber before, Avianna?" he questioned in a nervous tone, slightly scared of the answer.
Scorpius's hair stood up. "You did what!"
"Albus and Freddie wanted to see how big the basilisk was," Avianna shrugged her shoulders. "Uncle Harry definitely lied to us when he said it was small."
Groaning, Regulus rubbed both hands over his face. "You're going to be the death of me."
"Imagine how I feel," Scorpius bitterly muttered. "Avianna Rose, I cannot believe you did that. What the hell were Albus and Freddie thinking?"
Seeing the way that his brother and Scorpius both looked like they wanted to murder the slightly blushing girl, Sirius coughed. "Right, well, we'll decide on how to destroy the Horcruxes later. Let's just focus on how we're going to grab them first."
"I can get the diary," Draco spoke up. Pulling away from Adreana, Draco stood up. "But I'll have to confront my parents…" the room fell into a shocked silence. Draco scratched at his arm, a habit when he's nervous, but he held onto his determination. "I don't think my father's truly evil just yet, and while growing up I would sometimes hear him crying when he didn't think I was listening. I know enough to convince them that I am who I say I am, and you said it yourself, Avianna – he loves you."
"He only became okay towards Mum after she, Ron, and Uncle Harry prevented the two of you from being shoved into the veil in the Department of Mysteries," Scorpius reminded him. "If Grandpa Lucius and Grandmum Cissy don't believe you, we'll not only alert Voldemort to who we really are, but we'll all be killed quickly."
"It's the only way to get inside of Malfoy manor," Draco sighed. "It's either confront them with the truth and politely ask Father to hand over the Horcrux, or I'm going to have to sneak inside the manor. I know where it's hidden so I could grab it, but then-"
"No," everybody turned to Lily with wide eyes, "I believe that Lucius and Narcissa will help us. Narcissa isn't a Death Eater, and she only follows her family because she fears they'll disown her the way they did with Andromeda. As long as we can bring them into this room without the Aurors, Pettigrew, or the professors seeing them, I believe we can convince them."
James shared a look with his two best friends then sighed. "Who thinks we should bring Lucius and Narcissa in?" it took a couple of minutes, but finally everybody started to slowly raise their hands. "Then, Regulus do you think you could get them to come here? Owl them today and ask them to meet you inside of Hogsmeade tonight. I'll go with you to meet them, and we can sneak them inside of the castle. We can hide them with my invisibility cloak."
"You're sure?" Nott asked. "Once we get them here we can't take anything back."
Draco nodded his head. "I know this is selfish of me, but I want a relationship with them. Father wasn't exactly a father to me, and I still find it hard to believe he's a loving grandfather. Mother was nice to me, but she remained hardened because of Father. I want to believe that they both cared more about me than winning the war in the end, but it's hard to because where I'm from Father would use the Cruciatus Curse on me, while Mother would sneak in hours later to finally heal me. If we can change people, I want to change them. I want to give their future child a hope that I never had."
"Alright," Remus nodded his head, "Then we'll bring them in."
Alice nodded her head in agreement. "Neville has the chance to know me, and eventually Frank, and it's only fair that Draco has the same chance."
"If Grandpa Lucius was able to change in the future," Avianna sighed, "Then he should be able to still be a good guy in this time."
"I'll owl them once we leave this room," Regulus announced. "What am I telling them to bring them to Hogsmeade?"
"Tell Lucius that you want to meet up with him to talk about the Daily Prophet," Crabbe suggested, "And ask him to bring Narcissa because you don't want people to become suspicious. You could make it look like you're simply just meeting your cousin and her husband."
"That sounds reasonable," Regulus nodded his head. "And I know that we don't need to worry about them telling Rodolphous or Bella, because Narcissa doesn't really like her sister that much. She only tolerates her in fear of what Bella would do to her otherwise."
"Great," Snape said from where he sat. "Now, what are we going to do about the locket?"
Everybody gave Avianna side glances. "We can figure that one out later," Neville nervously muttered. "Let's just focus on these two for now. When Narcissa and Lucius arrive we could ask them if they'll be able to help us destroy the Horcruxes then we'll do the locket last."
"I'll go write to them now then," Regulus sighed standing up. "We've been in here for a while; it should be lunch by now."
James ended up using his map to help Adreana, Alice, and Amelia sneak out to Hogsmeade without being caught by anyone inside of Hogwarts, and everybody else separated; agreeing to meet back up right after dinner. James, Remus, Sirius, Neville, and Scorpius all went out to Hogsmeade with Lily to make it look like they were meeting up with the other three, and nobody questioned why Pettigrew wasn't with them – he would sometimes stay back to work on assignments while his friends left to Hogsmeade. The Slytherins all went back to their common room and Avianna worked on her homework while Regulus sent the owl to his cousin. By the time Regulus returned from the owlry he found Avianna sleeping on his bed with her Arithmancy homework in front of her. Chuckling to himself at the sight, Regulus closed up the inkwell before it could spill and make a mess then he put away all of the books and parchment. Carefully covering Avianna up with his blanket, Regulus closed the curtains around his bed then made his way into the Great Hall for lunch. He still had to show his face around the castle, and there was no sense in starving himself just because of some threatening stares.
After lunch, Regulus decided to go to the library with Snape. Keeping up their usual actions, the two friends worked on their homework together. The two friends were in separate years, but they were still able to work together and offer the other help where it was needed. After receiving a letter from Narcissa telling him that she and Lucius would meet him near the Shrieking Shack at seven, Regulus and Snape went back to the Slytherin common rooms. Draco and Adreana were already returned as well, and it seemed like Adreana had the same idea as her best friends. When Regulus returned to his room to wake Avianna up, he found the two girls curled together on his bed. Seeing Regulus's confusion as to why Adreana was there, Draco explained that Adreana said she was going to wake Avianna up so she could help her with her Defense homework, but it looked like Adreana had other plans.
Regulus and Draco both quickly came to the agreement that they would never wake the two girls up ever again. After crudely suggesting what Regulus could do to himself, Avianna tried to feel around for her wand to hex the two. Adreana started to kick at Draco, and the two witches continued to bury themselves further into Regulus's blanket. It wasn't until Draco announced that they would be late for dinner that Avianna and Adreana quickly jumped up with shrieking noises. Ignoring their amused boyfriends, the two friends made sure to grab their wands then ran down to the Great Hall as quickly as they could. Apologizing for sleeping through lunch and for the rest of the day, Avianna began to stuff her mouth with food as if she hadn't eaten for years. Neville and Scorpius didn't see her, but Draco frowned in disgust. "Apparently you didn't take either mine or your mum's eating eloquence," Draco muttered underneath his breath.
"It's time," Regulus stood up. "I'll see you guys later."
Nodding her head, Avianna stood up as well and yawned. "I'm going to take a shower then I'm going to knock out."
"You would think you didn't sleep all day," Mulciber rolled his eyes, "Which, by the way, you did."
"Yeah, yeah," Avianna yawned again, waving Mulciber away.
Regulus met James in a hidden alcove near the entrance of the school, and together they both hid underneath the invisibility cloak. It was the first time Regulus ever stood underneath it, and he could see the pride in James's face when he explained how it was passed down from generation to generation in the Potter family. Regulus already knew how this was an item of the Deathly Hallows because of what Avianna and Scorpius told them, but he allowed James to brag about while they made their way through the grounds of Hogwarts. Expecting it, but still stunned to witness it, Regulus watched as James carefully maneuvered his way around one of the Whomping Willow's vicious branches until he managed to press down on a knot at the bade of the tree. Throwing the cloak off once they made their way through the underground tunnels that led to a shack that Regulus truly believed to be haunted, James and Regulus made small talk to fill the awkward silence. James was the best friend to Sirius; the brother that Sirius always preferred over Regulus – they all knew it was true – and James spent most of his time torturing Regulus along with Sirius. They both made some sort of silent agreement to not mention it, and James was showing how much he trusted the younger boy by coming out with him to meet up with the Malfoys, and yet they could still feel the tension between them both.
"Cissy!" Regulus called out, walking out of the Shrieking Shack.
Jumping in fright when she heard her cousin's voice calling to her, Narcissa Malfoy turned around. Her eyes grew in shock, "Regulus, why are you walking out of the Shrieking Shack?"
"It isn't safe to talk out here," he shook his head at her. Kissing his older cousin on her cheek, Regulus nodded his head at Lucius. "Hullo, Lucius."
"Regulus," Lucius nodded his head in turn. "I must admit I was shocked to see your name in the paper. I didn't know you accepted the mark."
"Nobody did," Regulus assured Lucius. "It's sort of why I needed to talk to both of you. I need you to both follow me back to Hogwarts, and I'll explain everything then."
Seeing James step out from the Shrieking Shack, Narcissa looked between the Gryffindor and her cousin. "What's going on, Regulus?"
"Please, Cissy," he sighed. "I need you to trust me," looking up at Lucius, Regulus corrected himself, "I need you to both trust me. I can't explain anything yet, but James and I will fill you both in on very little while we walk back to the school. It's crucial that nobody sees us with you. My life is at stake here, and so are my friends'."
Lucius looked down at his wife. "It is up to you, Narcissa."
Narcissa gave her cousin a piercing stare. "Very well," she nodded her head, "I will trust you. But promise me that neither Lucius nor I will become injured."
"I promise," Regulus grinned.
Holding the door to the Shrieking Shack open, James stepped to the side so the Malfoys could enter. "Don't worry," he chuckled, "It's not haunted. It's a rumor that Dumbledore started."
"Why would Dumbledore feel the need to spread an untrue rumor?" questioned Lucius, keeping a firm hand on his wife's back, while looking around the damaged place.
James grinned, "Because there's a werewolf who uses this place once a month for his transformations. It keeps him locked in, and it keeps the villagers away from it when they hear the screams."
"A werewolf!" Narcissa gasped. Hearing her cousin sort of snicker from in front of her, Narcissa narrowed her eyes at him. "What is going on, Regulus, and how is this taking us to Hogwarts?"
"This is a secret tunnel that leads to the Whomping Willow," James informed the two Malfoys. Seeing them both tense up, he quickly shook his head. "Neither of us will get hurt by it; I managed to freeze the branches for now. Now, once we get to Hogwarts you'll both use my invisibility cloak. I can't be seen with Regulus, so he'll be under it with you. We need to make sure that nobody knows you're here; Dumbledore included. There's a secret room on the seventh floor that we're going to. It's called the Room of Requirements, and there are a lot of people waiting for us. That's all we can tell you for now."
After showering and dressing in day clothes, only to not insult the Malfoys at looking un-presentable, Avianna and Adreana made sure they had their wands before leaving the common room. Once again Avianna made sure she had her money pouch with her. By the time they reached the room they saw that they just made it in time. Before they could even sit down, the Malfoys and Regulus followed James inside. It was quite an odd sight to see Narcissa and Lucius Malfoys' heads pop up before their bodies slowly followed them. Scorpius and Avianna both stared at how young their grandparents looked, whereas Draco couldn't believe how happy they looked. Narcissa didn't have her nose stuck high up in the air, nor was her face lined with too early wrinkles caused from stress. Lucius also looked as if he liked to smile once in a while. They both held themselves up with pride, and were dressed in the finest robes, but they looked better than the parents that Draco grew up with.
Lucius's eyes fell on Draco, and he frowned. "Who are you?"
"Regulus," Narcissa also seemed to be frowning, "Why are Slytherins sitting amongst Gryffindors," she spotted Alice and Amelia, "And the other houses as well?"
"You remembered to make sure that nobody can hear inside the room?" Draco asked Sirius and Remus, who reached the room first. When they both nodded their heads, Draco took in a deep breath. "My name is Draco Lucius Malfoy," he announced while approaching the two confused adults, "I will be born on the fifth of June, in 1980. You are my parents. I'm from a separate timeline."
"Merlin's Beard!" Narcissa clutched at her heart and sat down next to Sirius. She gave Sirius an odd look, but nodded her head at him in acknowledgement anyway.
"A timeline…" Lucius looked thoughtful. "And you're my son?"
"Yes, sir," Draco nodded his head. The occupants in the room realized they would soon learn what kind of upbringing Draco had.
"I assume you're prepared to prove yourself," Lucius's eyebrow slanted.
"Yes, sir," Draco nodded his head again, "And I also know there are some things I'm going to use as my proof that you would prefer it not to be spoken aloud."
Nodding his head in understanding, Lucius motioned for Draco to follow him towards the far side of the room. Understanding the need for privacy, and knowing that neither Lucius nor Draco would want Remus to overhear it just because of his extra abilities, Avianna cast a silencing spell on the two blondes in the corner. Narcissa watched her from the corner of her eyes, and smirked at the slyness of the girl; nobody else noticed that she casted the spell. Trying to control her heart, Narcissa spotted the second blonde identical to her husband. She gave him a confused stare. Why did only one boy step up and admit he was their son, but not this one. Sirius gave his cousin a hopeful grin, which Narcissa slowly returned. Everybody that she knew all greeted her warmly, and she was confused. They all knew that she was the wife of a Death Eater – why were they acting friendly towards her?
"I believe him," Lucius announced, finally approaching them. Thanking Alice for moving, Lucius sat next to his wife. "And I believe that we have a long night ahead of us, Narcissa."
Narcissa nodded her head. If the boy managed to convince Lucius that he was their son, it was true. "My son…" she muttered to herself, staring at Draco. "You're born in only two years?"
"Yes," Draco nodded his head. "We can go over that at another time. We need to explain everything to the two of you. It took us nearly eight hours last night just to explain all of it to the others, so please forgive me if I seem rude."
"Very well," Lucius nodded his head. At least he raised his son up with manners.
"Before we begin, I'll introduce the three others that you don't know. Sitting next to Amelia Bones is Neville Longbottom. He is also born in two years, and he's the son of Alice and Frank Longbottom. We're both from the year 1996, but we're from two separate timelines. Our timelines are slightly altered by only a month."
"Slightly altered?" Narcissa questioned.
"As in his timeline I'm already a Death Eater," Draco nodded his head, "And in my timeline I was nearly killed for turning it down. It was only because of Severus – my godfather – that I was saved before my death."
Lucius tightly gripped the arm of the couch, while Narcissa gasped. She flew her hands to her mouth. "You promised me Lucius, you promised me that if we had children you would turn your back on the Death Eaters."
"You'll hear soon enough how it's impossible to turn your back on them," Avianna muttered bitterly.
Draco rolled his eyes. "And that is my daughter from another timeline."
"A daughter," Lucius was the one who gasped this time. "A female hasn't been born to the Malfoy line in over a hundred years."
"We know," Scorpius and Avianna groaned at the same time, hearing this for a million times.
"And that's my son," Draco chuckled. "Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, born in 2005. His mother is apparently Astoria Greengrass, which I still don't believe. Avianna was born to the son that Arthur and Molly Weasley will have in two years, and her mum is a muggle-born named Hermione Granger. In all three of our timelines it's hard to believe because of the relationship that Granger and I have, but when Ron Weasley was killed during an Auror mission that he and I were on, I started to comfort Granger. Avianna and Scorpius were only three at the time, and Avianna started to look to me as a father. When Astoria left us two years later, Granger started to take care of Scorpius and I the way that we took care of her and Avianna; we got married when our children were only seven years old. I'm sure Scorpius and Avianna would love to fill you in on your relationships later, but now that you know who we are, I'll allow Avianna to fill you both in on everything."
Lucius and Narcissa weren't even given the time to think about their son falling in love with a muggle-born witch then raising her half-blood daughter as his own. They barely got past the idea of this Weasley bearing their name, when Avianna started to tell them everything that would happen in only three years. The two Malfoy elders were shocked to learn that it's Snape who unknowingly started everything, and they were even more shocked to see that none of the Gryffindors were killing him yet. Lucius and Narcissa weren't given the time to ask questions or even gasp when hearing how some of their friends were already dead at this point in the story. Hearing what her sister and brother-in-law did to Alice, Narcissa quickly searched the room for the Hufflepuff. She opened her mouth to apologize, but Alice stopped her – giving her the same speech she gave to Lestrange. The room could see the way Lucius's eyes rose when he heard about the Horcrux-diary he gave to an eleven year old girl, allowing her to become possessed by Voldemort and nearly killed because of it, but he said nothing.
Avianna told them all about how Sirius was framed by Pettigrew, Remus was the werewolf that haunts the Shrieking Shack, and she could see the tears and disgust in Narcissa's eyes when Draco was the one who took over to explain about the Quidditch World Cup before their fourth year. The bitter hatred in his future son's voice shocked Lucius as he listened to Draco describe how he put on the Death Eater mask then joined the other Death Eaters in torturing a family of muggles; two of which were children. Avianna then continued to explain how Cedric was the first innocent to be killed in the beginning of the second wizarding war. Narcissa clutched her estranged cousin's hand as she heard about her own sister killing him, and she squeezed it to the point that Sirius had tears in his eyes. He was surprised to see his cousin cared so much, but it was nice to know that she didn't fully hate him.
Narcissa turned a light shade of green while hearing just how truly vicious her husband had turned out to be. Even Lucius couldn't look Draco in the eyes after hearing why his son became a Death Eater, and what his task was to do. By the time Avianna started to explain the Horcrux hunt and her mum's torture at Malfoy manor, Narcissa had drawn blood from Sirius's hand and Lucius looked like he was going to be sick at the idea of what he turns into. Breathing her first sigh of relief when she heard that she lied to Voldemort about Harry Potter being dead, Narcissa nodded her head in approval at the first noble thing she's heard about herself. It was obvious she loved her son enough to make Snape take an Unbreakable Vow in order to protect Draco, but she couldn't understand why she allowed it to get that far. Lucius was mixed between wishing he was killed in the war, and owing James Potter a thousand life debts for having a son who prevented him and his own son from being killed for their actions. Narcissa kept giving Remus odd looks at learning that he married her niece, who's only five, and she loudly started to sob when hearing that that very niece is killed by Bellatrix during the final battle.
"I'm sorry," Narcissa said once Avianna informed them that everything leading up from 1980 to 1998 was covered. "I am so sorry for everything that I've stood by and watched, and for my sister's actions."
"As am I," Lucius sighed. "When I married Narcissa I promised her that I would give up this life once we had a child. It seems, though, that it was a promise I could not keep. I apologize for everything I've participated in, and for the type of father I'd become."
"You can discuss your parenting at a later time," James said. Standing up, James walked across the room and clapped Lucius on the shoulder in a friendly gesture. "You, Narcissa, and Draco can talk privately about your personal life, but you should know that it was Draco who suggested we bring you both here to help us."
Seeing the head nod that Draco gave him, Lucius nodded his own in turn. "I have the Horcrux-diary in my home. When would you like me to bring it to you?"
"Just like that?" Flint chuckled. "Well, that was easy."
Smiling down at his young friend, Lucius also chuckled. "It seems I don't make a very good bad guy, so I am obviously joining you lot."
"Obviously…" Snape also chuckled.
"We could use a house-elf," Narcissa announced. "I don't like the idea of it, but we could use one of our house-elves to go into the cave and retrieve the locket. It would be the safest thing for us to do, and it would also give us two of the Horcruxes."
"Three," Lestrange shook his head, speaking up for the first time since seeing his in-laws. "Tomorrow I'm going down to Gringotts and I'm grabbing the goblet from my vault."
"Rabastan," Narcissa gasped, "That's too dangerous for you. Bella and Rod could find out."
Rabastan shrugged his shoulders. "Just like the Dark Lord could find out that you and Lucius have given up the diary. I was one of the people to take place in the actual torturing. I'm one of the most feared Death Eaters in their timelines. I never got married or had any children. I spent my life torturing people, rotting in Azkaban, and torturing more people. Unlike you and Lucius, I never had the chance to change my heart at the last minute. I was killed by a seventeen year old muggle-born witch that I tortured without any hesitation just because I believed I was better than her. If I'm caught, then I'd be killed as a hero. I can at least atone for my mistakes in this timeline."
Connecting her hand to the back of Lestrange's head, Avianna narrowed her eyes at him. "We've been over this, Rabastan. My mum would have forgiven you when she heard your apology. Stop talking stupidly. I swear you're just as impossible as Reg."
Seeing the light smirk on Lestrange's face, Narcissa finally looked back at her cousin Regulus for the first time. She noticed the way that he and Avianna held onto each other. "So, let me get this straight – you're my future granddaughter?"
"Yep," Avianna grinned.
Lucius's eyes narrowed as he took in the scene of Regulus and Avianna. "Oi!" he shouted. "Then why the bloody hell are you holding onto my granddaughter?"
"And that's the Grandpa Lucius that we know," Scorpius snickered.
"Oh, honestly, Regulus," frowned Narcissa, "You're my cousin. She's my granddaughter."
"Well, Adreana is Draco's godmum," Avianna whined, feeling Regulus start to pull away from her.
"Adreana!" Narcissa gasped.
Groaning, Lucius began to rub his forehead. Sitting back on the couch, he looked at everybody. "I have a feeling that a lot of things were left out. We'll meet up with Draco, Scorpius, and Avianna later, but tell us everything that happened once the four arrived."
It amused Scorpius to watch as Lucius nearly tried hexing Regulus a couple of times when it came to stories about him and Avianna, and it shocked Draco but gave him hope at the same time. This was the Lucius that came back to life after the war. If they managed to defeat Voldemort this time around, whatever child born to Lucius and Narcissa would be able to have a happy life. It's possible that this child would even become friends with Hermione Granger on the train, and not call her a Mudblood multiple times. Confused between feeling jealous for the future child and lucky to be able to witness this side of his parents, Draco realized he should feel blessed – he's part of the reason that this future Malfoy child will be loved. Lucius assured everybody that he didn't know Pettigrew was a Death Eater until they told him, and he admitted that he was appalled by the man he turned into. Lucius and Narcissa both began to make the same promises as the Death Eaters from the night before – they would never turn into their future selves from the other timeline.
"And I accept you?" Lucius asked Avianna while Narcissa cooed over how handsome her son and grandson were.
Avianna nodded her head. "Everybody was shocked. After the war you fixed your relationship with Dad, and you appreciated everything that Mum, Ron, and Uncle Harry did for you, but when it came to muggles and muggle-borns you were sort of neutral. You didn't hate them anymore, but you didn't like them either. Then when Ron died, Dad packed me a bag from my house and took me to you guys. He was going to give me to Astoria but she wasn't home, so when he was about to leave and drop me off with Aunt Andy, you shocked everyone by taking me from him. You told Dad to go back to my mum and to not worry about me. It was from that moment that we've been sort of inseparable. I think Grandpa Weasley's jealous of it, so that's why he's always taking Scorpius. But that's okay, everybody knows I'm the real Malfoy and he's the Weasley."
"Oi!" Scorpius shouted from where he and Draco were talking to Narcissa. "I can hear you, Avianna!"
"It's no secret," Avianna smirked, causing Lucius to look at her in shock, "I'm your favorite."
"That's not a lie…" Scorpius muttered underneath his breath.
Lucius started to laugh, earning a weird look from Neville and Draco. "And your mother accepts this, even after what I've done to her?"
"Mum's a very forgiving person," Avianna nodded her head. "It's proven just by her falling in love with Dad. He's called her a Mudblood every day between second and sixth year, and he hit her with hexes every chance he had. Mum prefers to see the good in everybody, and you showed her just how much of a good person you were when you showed up at Ron's funeral, apologized to his casket, then kissed my mum's forehead and told her that if she needed anything to just call you. Everybody sort of expected you to leave after that, but you then walked up to Grandpa and Grandmum Weasley and you hugged them both. You offered them your condolences and you asked if you could speak to everyone in honor of their son."
Lucius's eyes were wide. Draco and Neville gathered at this point too, along with everyone else. Avianna and Scorpius didn't tell them this part. "What did I say about him?"
Avianna laughed. "You stood at the front of the service and you spoke about a time before their second year started. You see, Ron gave you backtalk, and then Grandpa Weasley punched you – that was when you slipped the diary to Aunt Ginny – and so at the service you brought that up. You told everyone about how every time you saw the youngest Weasley son he was always talking up against you, challenging you to a duel with just his eyes alone, and as he grew older he would actually attack you with his wand. You talked about Ron being one of the bravest young men that you had the pleasure of meeting, and everybody could see that you meant what you said. You continued to talk about how Ron was never one to really back down from a challenge and then you admitted that although you and Ron have never been on best terms, nor did you get the chance to really know him, you knew for a fact he would have been proud of the way he was killed – he died protecting people; something he had always done."
"Wow," Neville's eyes were wide and his jaw dropped, "I would pay anything just to see that. Do either of you have the memory?"
Laughing, Scorpius shook his head. "And then I think what really did it for Mum was when Grandpa Lucius stepped down from the podium he was standing on, and grabbed Avianna from Aunt Ginny's arms so she could mourn her brother without holding a screaming child. Grandpa Lucius spent the rest of the funeral as a babysitter for all the Weasley/Potter/Granger children."
"Oh, Merlin," Lucius groaned in fear. "They have an army of children."
"That is not a lie," laughed Avianna. "It was from that moment on that you and everybody else actually dropped all of the tension between each other. I was constantly around because Dad was always trying to help Mum out of her depression. Uncle Harry couldn't help Mum because he had to help Aunt Ginny. Ron was her second brother to be killed. Uncle Fred was killed in the final battle, and losing Ron sort of sent Aunt Ginny into another depression."
"Then when Astoria left, Mum returned the favor," Scorpius grinned. "Avianna and I already thought we were real siblings by the time we were five, so it was nothing new to me to see Mum and Avianna around instead of Astoria. Avianna was already calling Dad 'Dad' and she already called you Grandpa Lucius."
"And Arthur Weasley?" Lucius asked, "How did the Weasleys feel about this?"
"I think they were shocked in the beginning, but when you would try to correct me that Draco was my uncle, and you weren't my grandfather, it was Grandmum Molly who stopped you. It hurt them to see me call anybody else 'Dad' but they knew that it wasn't anyone's fault. Ron had been killed when I was so young that I didn't know any better. But you and Dad always made sure that I knew the truth about my Weasley heritage – I think that made it easier for them to accept you guys. By the time Mum and Dad finally got married, none of the Weasleys were shocked. And Mum and Dad even left a place open by Mum. Mum had Uncle Harry standing right next to her, a blank space for Ron, and then Aunt Ginny. It was sort of a joke that Ron would kill Hermione for marrying Draco Malfoy after he left her, but that Ron would have been one of the people to stand by her if she married anyone other than him. It's ironic, and some people still frown about it, but they love each other and it's obvious."
Lucius nodded his head and smiled. "I'm glad my son married a muggle-born. It may not seem like it because of your other timelines, but I wasn't always prejudiced against muggle-borns."
"We know," Avianna and Scorpius said in unison, "You explained it to us. You explained it to Mum too. You should explain it to Draco later though."
Looking over at his conflicted looking future son, Lucius sighed. "We will talk at another time, Draco. Just you and I, is that alright with you?"
"Yes, sir," Draco nodded his head.
Smiling, Lucius turned back to Avianna. "So you and I, you're my favorite? How does that work?"
"Oh, Merlin," Scorpius groaned, throwing himself down onto the floor, "We'll never leave this room now."
Laughing, Avianna stuck her tongue out at her brother. "Don't be jealous, Scorp. You're looking like a Weasley."
"Grow up," Scorpius rolled his eyes, but laughed as well. "Well, from the time she was three, until Avianna turned thirteen, you would teach her as many curses and counter curses as you could. It was all in secret though, and we only found out when we were thirteen because Grandmum Cissy caught you. When Dad asked you about it you said that you felt your granddaughter should know how to handle herself in case she ever got into trouble. She was the daughter of two-thirds of the Golden Trio, the daughter of a Death Eater, and she was a beautiful young female – it only seemed to make sense that she knew how to protect herself."
Hearing all of the males in the room actually gulp in fear, especially Regulus, Avianna smirked and proudly nodded her head. "Yep, and then from that moment on I had Uncle Bill, Uncle Charlie, Uncle Harry, Uncle Blaise, Aunt Pansy, Aunt Fleur, and even Uncle Marcus teaching me how to defend myself."
"Fleur?" Neville gulped. "That's dangerous. She's part Veela."
"And her curses leave the most scars," sneered Avianna, "As Nott learned."
The Nott in the room turned red. "What?"
"Oh," Avianna laughed, "Your grandson – a horrible git he is."
"I like this girl," Lucius grinned approvingly. He turned to look at Scorpius, "And you, did I teach you as much as I taught your sister?"
"You didn't even teach Dad as much as you taught her," Scorpius replied with a shake of his head. "I don't care for Defense spells too much, so you would try to teach me some things, but I got bored too quickly so I stopped showing up. I'm better than Severus at Potions though."
"You – you got bored?"
"I'm just not one for Defense spells," Scorpius nodded his head, obviously amused by Lucius's reaction. "It's not a joke when we say that I'm more of a Weasley than Avianna is. Dad sometimes teases me for being Ron's son. I don't like Quidditch," Draco and Lucius nearly had heart attacks at that admission, "I get bored with Defense spells, and I suck at them, and I'd rather play pranks on people. Uncle George taught myself, Freddie, Albus, and Louis how to mix up all sorts of things for pranks. Uncle George and Uncle Fred were always compared to the Marauders when it came to pranks, but soon they surpassed the legends of Hogwarts. There's an actual shrine in Hogwarts dedicated to the Weasley twins, and Peeves even took orders from them."
The Marauders' jaws dropped while everyone else stared with fearful expressions. "We bow to the Weasley twins!" James, Remus, and Sirius all gawked in unison. "Teach us, Scorpius, teach us!"
"See," Scorpius chuckled, "You and Avianna have your things, but I'm more with the Weasleys."
Narcissa frowned. "Lucius, I feel like you're abandoning your grandson."
The entire room burst into laughter. "Narcissa, dear," Sirius chuckled, wrapping an arm around his cousin's shoulder, "It sounds to me like your grandson is abandoning your husband."
"That's alright," Avianna shrugged her shoulders, "It may sound like Scorpius is neglected by the Malfoys, or that I'm neglected by the Weasleys, but we really aren't."
Scorpius nodded his head in agreement. "Grandpa Lucius and I just don't have that much in common, whereas Avianna and the Weasleys don't really have much in common. We're all extremely close though, and the Weasleys have taken me as their blood just as much as the Malfoys take Avianna. It would take forever though to tell you every single story we have."
"Very well," Narcissa said with a brief nod of her head, "But we will hear more about the both of you."
"I want to see your wand in action," Lucius announced. Seeing the way that everybody in the room suddenly ran away, except for himself, his wife, and Avianna, Lucius smirked. "Now, I really want to see your wand in action."
"Will you be the one to challenge me?"
"Severus is better with a wand than I am," Lucius admitted.
"Nope, I'm not. Go ahead, Lucius," they could all hear the squeak in Snape's voice from a corner, but no one seemed able to see him.
Chuckling, Lucius stood up, "Alright then."
"Yay!" Avianna quickly jumped up, taking only a second to ask the room for a dueling floor. "I've been wanting to duel for a while, but nobody wants to duel with me."
There was a faint hint of fear in Lucius's eyes. "Right…"
"Will this be a real duel?" asked an innocent looking Avianna. "We do everything minus the three unforgivables?"
"Avianna!" Scorpius groaned from the corner. "This isn't our exact grandfather. This is a younger version from another timeline – you are not allowed to scar him. No dirty curses."
"I am a trained Death Eater," Lucius scoffed, pulling his sleeves up, "I will allow a real duel minus the three unforgivables."
"Come, Narcissa," Mulciber shouted, quickly pulling the nervous witch towards him. "Be sure to put a shield up to protect yourself."
As Mulciber spoke though, the room supplied a clear wall in front of all of them, protecting them from any future stray spells. "Those of us in seventh year hadn't seen Avianna actually duel," Sirius admitted, "But we're told she's fiercer than Lily."
Narcissa's eyes widened. She's seen the muggle-born perform a hex before. Turning to where her husband and future granddaughter were bowing to each other, Narcissa groaned. "I only hope Lucius doesn't hurt her."
"I've seen them both duel before," Scorpius shook his head. "Grandpa Lucius once lost it and actually hit Avianna with a slicing spell. I still haven't seen Grandpa Lucius win against her. He created a horrible beast when he taught Avianna everything he knew, and it only made her worse when everybody else started teaching her in secret."
Avianna bowed to the blonde in front of her. Looking at the wall protecting the others, she smirked at Lucius. He smirked back, and Avianna actually chuckled. He seemed to have no idea what he was getting himself into right now. Of course he didn't know that the future him taught her all of the Death Eaters' spells, nor did he realize that he's only twenty-two right now while she was only three years old when his fifty-two year old self taught her to cast her first hex to cover a person in boils. When Avianna was sent here, Grandpa Lucius was sixty-five years old and teaching her how to actually cause a person's hand to twist backwards. By the time she was ten, Avianna knew how to turn a person inside out. Grandpa Lucius didn't hold any type of spell back from her. He told her not to use it, and he made sure she knew what it meant to murder somebody, but he felt that were she ever attacked he would rather Avianna know how to skin a person with her mind instead of being killed because she only knew how to levitate something. It was gruesome, but Grandpa Lucius insisted his granddaughter should always know how to protect herself in case nobody else is there do it for her. "You won't always have your father or brother there for you, Anna," Grandpa Lucius once told her, using the nickname that he only used for her, "Your mum, uncles, aunt, and cousins won't be by your side, and you'll have to protect yourself. There are some horrible things out there. Things that I'd rather you didn't know about, but should the day ever come when you need it in order to survive I'm going to make sure you're able to use it with perfection," when she asked him if there would be a time when she wouldn't have him, Grandpa Lucius only smiled, "I'll be with you should you ever need to utter any one of the spells," he promised her. "I'll be the one giving you the strength to use it," Avianna wasn't going to use any of those spells right now… and hopefully never, in general, but it just amused her to think that the man facing her right now could be so clueless to how much he's taught her just to protect her from men like himself.
"Slugulus Eructo!" Lucius fired the first hex without hesitation.
Avianna dodged it without hesitation. "Alarte Ascendare!"
Lucius was caught off guard by how quickly Avianna reacted that he didn't recognize the spell coming his way until he flew through the air. Lying on the floor all the way across the room, Lucius was impressed. "Colovaria!"
"Finite! Ducklifors!"
"Finite! Densaugo!"
"Rictusempra!" watching as Lucius started to laugh uncontrollably while being tickled from the invisible spell, Avianna decided to take pity on him. It's no fun dueling against a laughing opponent. "Finite! Levicorpus!"
The Marauders and Snape all gasped as they watched Lucius fly high into the air, hanging upside down. "Klond Blue!" Lucius's eyes narrowed as the girl managed to dodge his spell and cause his hair to turn pink without even opening her mouth. "Wordless spells," he said in awe, still hanging upside down. Grunting when he finally fell on the ground, Lucius barely managed to roll out of the way of a bright blue beam coming his way. "Petrificus Totalum!"
"Overus Nudwick!"
The observers gasped as they watched a second patch of skin start to form over Lucius's wand hand. Lucius had only two seconds to react and move his wand to his other hand before the skin formed over his wand, proving it worthless. "Mimblewimble!"
"Tarantalus Ferugo!" Amelia squealed in disgust when three large spiders started to make their way towards Lucius. Lucius didn't have time to even utter a spell before Avianna shouted, "Fusion Serpentine!"
Lucius's eyes widened as a large snake appeared out of nowhere and started to merge with the three spiders. "Finite!"
"Slippus Cantatime!" Lucius slipped and fell to the floor.
"Sectum-"
"Finite! Petrificus Totalum! Mimblewimble!" Avianna watched as Lucius lay on the floor, petrified and unable to move, his tongue rolling into the back of his mouth. Watching as his eyes wiggled back and forth, Avianna grinned widely. "Finite Incantatem!" she shouted, waving her wand over him. Holding her hand out, Avianna helped a groaning Lucius up off the floor. "That was fun," she announced. "Sorry I was slow though, I'm tired. Next time I'll be a hundred percent."
"Slow?" Lucius shouted. "That was slow! Bloody hell, I'm sore all over the place."
"Lucius Abraxas Malfoy!" Narcissa hissed, running over to them. "You tried to cut her open."
"It was a duel," Lucius rolled his eyes at his wife. "And in case you haven't noticed, Narcissa, she pulled the hexes out first. She nearly enclosed my wand in a second layer of skin."
"And I blocked it before he could cut me up," Avianna chuckled, waving it off. Looking around, she saw all of her friends still standing against the wall. Most of the seventh years looked like they wanted to cry. "Hope you guys don't mind that I used your spell," she told the Marauders with a grin. "I didn't use it for evil though; just a friendly duel."
"Friendly…" scoffed Sirius, "She thinks that was friendly."
"That was friendly," Scorpius assured them approaching the duelers. "Are you alright, Lucius?"
Lucius was bent over and panting, but he nodded his head. "Just a bit tired."
"Don't worry," Avianna grinned, "You get better eventually."
Lucius shook his head, "At least I don't need to worry about Regulus."
Hearing the painful squeak from the far back of the room, Avianna saw Regulus standing in fear. Smiling at the scared boy, she turned back to Lucius. "Boys are the main reason you taught me how to use a wand. Let's use real spells next time though."
"Real spells?" Nott started to choke. "Were these spells just Childs' Play to you?"
Avianna nodded her head. "Yep," yawning, she smiled back up at Lucius. "I'm looking forward to dueling you again, Lucius."
"Err… yeah," Lucius scratched at his arm, causing Scorpius, Draco, Neville, and Avianna to chuckle. The others were too in shock to recognize Avianna, Draco, and Scorpius's own signal of being nervous, "That'll be great."
Narcissa smiled fondly at that. Giving her husband a kiss on his cheek, Narcissa looked at all of the students. "It's time that you all return to your rooms already. How will Lucius and I return home?"
"We'll take you," Sirius pointed to himself and Draco. "I know that Draco will want to spend more time with the both of you, and I have something I want to ask Lucius."
"We'll owl Regulus to see when the best time would be to bring the diary," Lucius nodded his head.
"Could you also find a way to get some basilisk venom?" Alice asked them. "I know that it's illegal, but our only other option is Avianna going into the Chamber of Secrets and killing the basilisk that lives in there. Regulus and Scorpius are pretty much against that."
"Why?" Lucius muttered, "As long as she has her wand she'll be fine…"
"Thank you," Avianna smirked to let Lucius know she heard him.
"I'll look around," Lucius sighed, "But I can't promise anything. If the Dark Lord knows I'm looking for basilisk venom, he'll become suspicious."
After Narcissa hugged everybody goodbye, James allowed the four of them to leave first. He didn't allow anyone else out of the room until they were inside of the Whomping Willow. He also checked to make sure that Pettigrew was in their room, and was pleased to see that he was sleeping. This time the sixth year Slytherins all left at once, taking Alice and Amelia back to their own houses before returning to the dungeons. Alice and Amelia couldn't stop talking about how amazing Avianna was, and they both kept asking if she could teach them some spells as well. Regulus, however, didn't seem all that impressed to be threatened by Lucius Malfoy before he left with Sirius, Draco, and Narcissa. It seemed like Lucius joining the light side also meant that Lucius would act like an overprotective grandfather to his future granddaughter from another timeline. Like the night before, Adreana and Avianna both took showers, claiming that they just couldn't readily fall asleep knowing they were unclean, and Avianna claimed she was sweaty and gross after dueling the way she did.
"So my cousin's granddaughter, eh?" Regulus chuckled once Avianna climbed into his bed.
Cuddling against Regulus, Avianna could feel her eyes shutting. "Please don't get technical with it; it's quite disgusting."
"I'm forty-four years older than you," Regulus pointed out, "That is quite disgusting."
"Yeah, yeah," Avianna yawned, "You're an old man, and I'm a child. Too bad we're the same age in this time, eh?"
Regulus chuckled, and they could hear Lestrange laughing from his bed next to them. "Well, actually, I'm already seventeen and you're still sixteen. When's your birthday?"
"July… now shush, I'm tired."
Yay! I just love a good Lucius! And I can totally picture him teaching his granddaughter all sorts of illegal and horrid spells, and saying something like "so, if a boy tries to touch you all you do is say this incantation and then he won't be able to touch anything ever again" I also like the idea of knowing that Lucius was able to sort of accept the idea of Ron being a hero, and that it was him who sort of gave Draco and Hermione the slight push to comfort each other. Some of the spells were made up with random words because my internet went down the day that I wrote out this chapter, and I couldn't find any more real spells so I just threw together random words… What do you guys think about Draco's relationship with his parents so far? Or how quick they were to just accept everything?
I just want to say thanks for the reviews I got from last chapter. They were all really lovely, and they made me smile(: please continue to review, they truly do make me complete!(:
Preview for next chapter:
"So…" Sirius smirked from where he was lying on the floor.
Looking up from her Herbology homework, Avianna cocked an eyebrow. "What?"
"The Chamber of Secrets, eh?"
Lestrange's head snapped up from his Defense essay. "What?"
James was playing with a snitch that the room supplied for him. "You don't have to go inside of it, Avianna, just tell us the correct hissing sound to make."
"You're daft, Potter," Avianna hissed out.
Lestrange released a sigh of relief. "For a minute there, Avianna, I thought you were-"
"You think I wouldn't go with you!"
"And I obviously spoke to soon," Lestrange muttered. "Avianna, are you mental?"
"Are you serious, Lange?" Sirius was sitting upright now.
"You're both too stupid to remember to avoid looking into the basilisk's eyes," Avianna snorted. "I'm not letting your deaths hang over my head. I'm here to apparently keep you guys alive, remember! Besides, I'm better at spells than you guys are."
"Well, I'm good at Transfiguration," James pouted while rubbing the back of his head.
Groaning, Lestrange started banging his head against the table he was working on. "Regulus is going to kill me."
