Castor Malfoy, born on October 12th, 1295, father to Nicholas Malfoy, was the one who had started this mess. It wasn't intentional, of course, but as Draco had once told her, he had brought it upon himself. As vengeance for killing her husband, a witch with an insidious agenda cursed him so that anyone who married into the Malfoy family would die shortly thereafter. It made sense then that Hermione and Draco would start with his journal, but to their dismay, it wasn't among the horde that had been taken from the Ministry.
"It's not surprising," Draco informed her. "Some of the practices we have with the journals now weren't always in place —like the charms. Before journals were kept in the Manor, our ancestors were often buried with them."
"Feel like digging up a grave?" Half-joking, half-serious, they decided to work with what they had and resort to grave robbery if the time came for it. Considering that Castor was Nicholas' father, Hermione decided to start with his journal —well, journals. He had three total and tiny handwriting. Hermione was already put off by the daunting task, but the end result would, hopefully, be worth it.
The 10th of November, 1338
Today is my sixteenth birthday. Among the many gifts that my father gave to me, one of them was this journal. Not one of the more coveted gifts, of course, but this was one of tradition. Every Malfoy gentleman receives a journal on his sixteenth birthday to record his thoughts and memories. While I do not foresee myself writing in this journal very often, I shall use it to its purpose when I am so inclined.
Until then I will leave this journal on my shelf. My childhood friend, also named Nicholas, is taking me to the village tonight —unbeknownst to my father. Nicholas is "older and wiser," so he consistently informs me. At nearly ten years my senior, I suppose I should agree. He declares that I am a man now, to which I would also agree, and that I should explore the nighttime. I expect debauchery at every turn that may or may not yield trouble by tomorrow.
N. C. Malfoy xx
The 14th of May, 1339
Another long and tedious night spent with my father in his workroom, however it was not without its rewards. I suppose that had I not had the same penchant for alchemy as my father that I would consider the time that we spend together working as a form of punishment. The idea must have crossed my father's mind over time, for he did ask me if I regretted not being sent away for school. He wondered if he had taken something away from me by hiring private tutors and by having me focus on his passions. I will admit that I have thought of what it would have been like to attend either Hogwarts of Durmstrang, but those moments were fleeting. My private education is coming to a close this summer, and I have a knowledge of alchemy and experimental magics that no one my age could fathom. I am very lucky.
N. C. Malfoy xx
The 25th of September, 1339
I just met the most beautiful witch. Her name is Avalene.
Is it too soon to think about marrying her?
N. C. Malfoy xx
The 12th of November, 1339
Nicholas has asked a lovely witch to marry him. I joked that she must have been mad to accept, however he chose not to disagree. They have decided on a simple ceremony to take place in the upcoming winter. As a friend of the family, my father has graciously offered to use Malfoy Manor for the ceremony. Naturally, Nicholas has accepted, but the troublemaker that he is added the condition that I must have Avalene accompany me or else he would have to choose another best man. He obviously sees no problem with the fact that she is presently occupied with another gentleman her family has introduced her to and boldly suggested slipping an incentive her way.
While Nicholas is a dear friend, he can sometimes treat magic as the answer to everything —no matter the wills it may break or the rules it may bend. Too many years under the tutelage of my father, I think. However caring he is towards myself and those he thinks highly of, Castor Malfoy has a vengeful side to him that makes the Malfoy family one to be feared. Vengeful, impulsive, and selfish. I have been told time and time again that I hold none of those traits and that I take after my mother —Merlin rest her soul. Gentle, studious, and even-tempered.
I have digressed. The point of the matter is no, I will not slip Avalene a Love Potion. I may, however, fashion some jewelry for her as a Christmas gift.
N. C. Malfoy xx
The 27th of February, 1340
Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Flamel.
It does have a significant flair. Avalene certainly seems to think so, at least.
No, I did not provide her a Love Potion. In the past few months, it appeared that her courting with the rather senior Augustus Nott ended abruptly. His behavior towards her and various family members had become appalling, thus forming an abrupt rupture. However pleased I am with this, I cannot help but think that other hands were involved in the matter. Regardless, my own hands have not been sullied, and I will accept the reward.
N. C. Malfoy xx
The 5th of October, 1341
Another long night in the workroom. There was a bit of arguing between Nicholas and my father, but while this was nothing new, this time was still different.
From the age that I could properly hold a vial without tipping it, I worked with my father during his experiments —Nicholas too. My father saw that Nicholas had a liking towards alchemy and experimentation and began teaching him as a teenager while I was a child. I used to help them by handing them ingredients and standing behind a conjured shield so I wouldn't get hurt. When I got older, I began adding those ingredients and creating potions and elixirs of my own.
Despite our friendship, as of late I cannot help but feel Nicholas has something against me. It only ever shows when we are working, but that would make sense. My father had taught Nicholas a great deal, but there were still things that he would not (and still will not) teach him. Those same forbidden teachings have been taught to me. "Some secrets should stay Malfoy secrets," my father would say. While those methods I have been sure not to perform in Nicholas' presence, I still have a way of moving about my father's workroom that mimic an expertise that Nicholas does not know. It was this that started a disagreement between he and my father.
I hope this does not mark the end of Nicholas' place in our workroom, home, or our lives. It would be a shame to lose him over a matter of jealousy and an inability to accept what is.
N. C. Malfoy xx
The 14th of January 1342
I have asked Avalene's hand in marriage. To my disbelief, she said yes.
Nicholas has yet to return to work with my father and I since October, although he still comes to the Manor to visit.
N. C. Malfoy xx
The 31st of August, 1342
I…am numb. My father has barely spoken a word and he refuses to look at me. I must be frank and say that I am glad he has chosen to keep to himself. My quiet and gentle soul has been shattered beyond repair, and now I have a rage to rival that of my father. That rage, however, is also accompanied by sadness and dread.
My father has made a mistake that will now affect his future generations. My father is in denial because, as he states, "No muggleborn can have such power to inflict families for years to come." How can he be so sure? Is he willing to test his assumption? It hardly matters, of course, and while my father is still youthful enough to marry again, he has long since vowed to never marry another witch after my mother. I, on the other hand, am slated to marry and to lose my beloved all due to my father's inability to control himself.
Vengeance is one thing, but vengeance in the hands of a woman is an entirely different notion. I do not know if I can subject Avalene to a future where she will only be a part of my life for a short time. How can I even tell her the danger she would be in? Do I… Do I even have to? I could end it. I could release her from a death sentence under the guise of another reason. Reasons that would break her heart, but ultimately save her life.
Damn my father.
N. C. Malfoy,
A man broken and in despair xx
The 21st of November, 1342
Avalene has sent yet another letter. As with the others, I cannot bear to open it. Nicholas has been trying to encourage me to reply. To tell her something to heal her distraught spirit. I asked him how could I do such a thing for her when I have not discovered a way to do that for myself?
My father, the indirect perpetrator of my fate, has become a recluse. He spends an unimaginable amount of time in his workroom. Part of me hopes he dies in there.
N. C. Malfoy xx
The 3rd of March, 1343
My father has slowly begun making his presence known to me over the past month and a half. Tonight, he has beckoned me to his workroom, and I now know what he has been doing all of this time. It was alchemy that we had been testing since I was an early teen, and I held it in my hands. He told me that it would keep Avalene alive by staving off the curse like medicine to a disease. My father went on to say that he was sorry, and he hoped that this would give me the confidence to make Avalene my wife.
I must admit that it has. The larger question remains as to whether she will take the chance.
N. C. Malfoy
The 30th of June 1343
It had taken some time, but Avalene has finally agreed to see me again. She had made me promise to divulge what it was that made me push her away, and by Merlin I did not want to tell her. However, to allow her to become my wife without telling her of the dangers would have been selfish and cruel, and so I did.
Avalene had been quiet through my speech. At the end of it all I could barely keep myself from shaking, but a hand over my own stilled me. She only had one thing to ask, "Have you found the witch?"
She was suggesting that I force the muggleborn to reverse what had been done, but it was a lost cause. The witch had been smart and fled shortly after her heinous act. My father had been too busy working to attempt to find her, and I had been too busy being broken to do anything about it either.
Was it weakness on my part to be so lost within that I had done nothing to rid my family of a doomed future? Cowardice, perhaps? There was certainly enough anger within me to avenge this monstrosity, but I had not taken the chance. Perhaps what my father had once told me was true —I am too much like my mother.
Regardless, Avalene has brought forth her conditions. She will still marry me, but only after I have put in an honest effort to find the woman who had cursed us. If nothing came of it, then she will drink the elixir my father has made.
I do not deserve a woman who loves me as much as she.
N. C. Malfoy xx
The 29th of September, 1343
Wealth is the answer to many things, however, it is not for everything. There is only so much I can do to track the wicked wench who has destroyed my family without drawing attention to myself. It is…unfortunate, and my heart aches for Avalene. I dread speaking with her every day for she looks at me with expectancy, waiting for me to tell her that I have spared her from a cruel fate.
I am so sorry.
N. C. Malfoy xx
The 9th of December, 1343
My darling Avalene has begun taking the elixir. We shall be married by early spring of the year to come.
N. C. Malfoy xx
The 15th of May, 1344
Nicholas was by my side at my wedding despite having not worked with me or my father in quite some time. At least I know that he is still my best friend.
Avalene made a beautiful bride, and somehow she seemed even more youthful than the day that I met her. May she continue to shine brightly as the new Mrs. Malfoy for many years to come.
N. C. Malfoy,
A blessed man indeed xx
The 18th of July, 1345
My son, Julius Nicholas Malfoy, has been born.
N. C. Malfoy xx
The 20th of April, 1346
Each day I see my wife I thank Merlin twenty times over. The curse upon my family has yet to come to fruition. Part of me believes that it is the elixir that keeps her from succumbing to death while sustaining her health and her beauty stilled in time. Another part me, the frightened part of me, believes that Avalene is still alive because the curse has yet to act. The curse never specified how long it would take to kill new wedded additions to the Malfoy family. I suppose that, too, is a curse within itself. The waiting. The wondering. The existential dread of the possibility that I may one day find my love on the floor, cold and lifeless. Merlin forbid my son to find her as such —the way that I had found my mother so long ago.
I pray that if she is to die that my son may not see. It is no memory a young boy should have to remember.
N. C. Malfoy xx
The 16th of October, 1346
Avalene has informed me that she is with child yet again. I am beyond euphoric at the news, but her fears have chilled me. No, I have not forgotten the curse. I never will. Yet somehow, I have pushed far from my remembrance that it is a generational curse. My children will suffer. Their children will suffer. It will be a never-ending cycle of marriages ending in spousal death. There is the matter of the elixir, yes, but what if it one day becomes impossible to make? What if ingredients become scarce? What if the Manor becomes engulfed in flames and everything —my father's notes, his ingredients, the elixir bottles —is destroyed and we are left without defense?
Time has passed, yes, but I believe that it is time to start my search yet again for the muggleborn. This time, however, I am not hindered by fear or cowardice. I am motivated by my family, and I will keep them safe by any means necessary.
N. C. Malfoy xx
The 24th of August, 1347
Uriel Castor Malfoy has spent three weeks upon this earth, and it is an infested world. I must, unfortunately, use the word "infested" in the literal sense. A disease has begun to ravage the country —a type of plague. A horrid affair that appears to be sparing witches and wizards, but decimating the muggle population. Knowing that I am safe, it makes what I intend to do that much easier.
I chose to be by my wife's side for the duration of her delicate condition, but now the time has come to do what I promised. While the plague is a horrible fate for any poor, unfortunate soul who becomes infected, it is opportune. The witch who cursed the Malfoy family has not been seen or heard of in years. It shall make my search even more difficult than it has been before, but that is no matter. Her family is still here. Her friends still roam the streets. At least one of them must know where she is, and if they do not, they shall still serve a purpose. As this curse has taught me, the prospect of death is a motivator like no other.
Muggle physicians would not know the difference between a person who had died of the plague or a few unsavory curses. One way or another, I will find her.
N. C. Malfoy xx
Author's note: The highlight of this chapter for me is the following: 1) a shallow Malfoy family tree so that I can invent who I'd like and in whatever timeframe I wish, and 2) the fact that Harry Potter Wikia states that Nicholas Malfoy may have killed an abundance of muggles during the Black Plague (and never punished for it). This bit of information provided a perfect leeway into his killing spree and the witch who cursed his family.
-WP :)