Harry and Hermione woke up early the next morning, still sleeping on the same armchair that they had fallen asleep in the previous day. Harry felt well-rested, even if his arms and legs were still a little sore from the Horcrux removal.

'Harry,' Hermione murmured sleepily.

'Hey, Hermione. Slept well?'

'Mmhm. You?'

'I'm still a little sore. Other than that, I feel great.' Harry left unvoiced the fact that he was suffering from a very uncomfortable morning issue that was no doubt exacerbated by a beautiful girl sitting in his lap.

'What's the time?'

Harry glanced down at his watch. 'Just past five. Nobody'll up yet, Sunday or not.'

'Did we finish all our homework?'

Harry chuckled. Of course the first thing Hermione would think about was homework.

'We did Friday night.'

'Oh, right. We do our homework so quickly now that we're…uh…doing school over again…that I feel like we never did it at all.'

'We know everything taught in class already,' Harry reminded her, 'We honestly don't even have to do homework.'

'Harry!' Hermione scolded, 'You can't just not do homework. If nothing else, it'll be really suspicious if you all of a sudden started skiving off all your work.'

'Right,' Harry murmured sheepishly. 'Do you want to go up to bed?'

Hermione shook her head. 'We're already wide awake. You woke me up.'

'What? I woke you up?'

'It's not very comfortable to sleep when your hard-on is pressed right into my arse.'

Harry felt his entire body burning. 'S-Sorry. I can't c-control it.'

Hermione turned to him and gave him a peck on the cheek. 'That's alright,' she whispered huskily, 'How about we head to the Room of Requirement and take care of it?'

It was a very sated Harry that left the Room of Requirement to go down to breakfast a few hours later. When they entered the Great Hall, Harry found that Ginny had not come down yet, so Harry and Hermione sat down next to Neville. He was waving his new wand excitedly, conjuring balloons and changing their colours.

'Classy,' Harry chortled when one of Neville's balloons tore and made a loud farting noise.

'It works really well for you,' Hermione said, ignoring Harry's immaturity.

'Yeah, it does!' Neville replied with a grin. 'Thirteen inches, cherry, unicorn hair. Sent my dad's back to Gran. Thanks, Harry!'

'It's nothing. As long as you do proper magic now.'

'I can! Luna was pretty impressed! Up until I accidentally cast an Engorgio at a spider and it grew to the size of a small dog.'

Harry and Hermione exchanged an amused look. Neville and Luna had gotten quite comfortable in the 'old timeline' in the years after the Third War had begun. Perhaps things could repeat themselves this time around, too?

'Had fun, then?'

Neville nodded. 'It was great. What about you? What did you do yesterday?'

Harry and Hermione filled them in on what happened at Gringotts, skipping over the Horcrux in Harry's scar. They would tell him later, when he had learned Occlumency. Neville's face positively lit up when he learned that Lucius Malfoy and Rodolphus Lestrange were now squibs.

'I need to tell Gran!' Neville said excitedly, 'Rodolphus…a squib. That serves him right…for…for…'

Hermione placed a hand on Neville's and he positively jumped. 'We know, Neville. About your parents. Sirius told us,' she lied.

'Y-You do?'

'Sirius was in the Order,' Harry backed Hermione up. 'He told us when he…when he called in the Vow. We won't tell anyone though, I swear.'

Neville swallowed, looking quite nervously pale, and nodded. 'Th-Thank you. It's not really that much a secret…it's just…I want to tell people myself…when I'm r-ready,' he stammered.

'Of course, we understand,' Hermione said gently.

'Rodolphus a squib…that leaves Bellatrix and Rabastan…' Neville muttered dreamily into space.

'You'll get your revenge, Neville,' Hermione promised in a confidence-inducing tone. 'You'll do your parents proud, Neville. Honestly, you already are.'

Neville shrugged and picked at his sausage and eggs. Harry leaned into Hermione's ear.

'Do you think we should bring Neville into our plan with Crouch?' he asked in a whisper. 'He deserves a chance to avenge his parents if he wants it.'

Hermione nibbled her lower lip. 'If he's good enough at Occlumency by June…we can let him Stun Crouch and take his blood…or something. But we can't let him kill Crouch. If he dies, then it'll be your word against Fudge's again for whether Riddle had returned.'

'We won't. Besides, there's always still Bellatrix and Rabastan.'

Hermione nodded. 'I like the idea of including Neville, but for us to bring him into our plans…it all hinges on the Occlumency and what we can tell him.'

'We'll keep reminding them at every meeting. Neville's probably the most motivated out of all of them. I mean…the "why" is obvious. He'll work hard at it. I know he will.'

Just then, a large, regal-looking owl swooped down in front of Harry.

Neville looked surprised. 'That's Gran's "business" owl! She never sends it to Hogwarts!' He removed the letter attached to its leg. 'It's for you, Harry,' he said, handing the letter over.

Harry opened it, and he held it out between himself and Hermione so they could read it together.

Dear Mr Potter,

Neville, my grandson, wrote to me yesterday, telling me how you sponsored him to purchase a new wand. On behalf of the entire House of Longbottom, I thank you for your faith in my grandson and your generosity.

I have also received word that the contents Lestrange Vaults at Gringotts had been confiscated due to a grave policy infraction, and the contents have been transferred to the Vaults of the wizard responsible for reporting the violation. As I received a two million Galleon transfer from the Potter accounts yesterday evening, I believe I may hazard a guess at who was responsible for the confiscation of the Lestranges' assets. Once again, I thank you for your incredible and uncommon generosity to our family.

Finally, as you have obviously gained control of the Potter properties, I assume that you have taken the title of the Head of the Potter Family. The Longbottom and Potter clans have historically had a close political and social alliance. I, as the Head of the House of Longbottom, would like to graciously invite you for a meeting and dinner at our manor, as is typical for greeting new Heads of allied Houses.

Please respond to this letter at your leisure with dates when you are available. I will work to excuse you and any guest you would like to bring from Hogwarts on that day. Your owl will know where to deliver your reply. If you have any questions, my grandson, Neville, will be fit to answer them. Thank you once again for your generosity and aid in favour of our family.

Sincerely,

Augusta Longbottom

Head of the House of Longbottom

Harry and Hermione exchanged an uncertain look. It was kind for Neville's grandmother to invite them, and it would certainly help in their plans for deposing Fudge and planting Bones into the Minister position, but they had next to no idea how a formal meeting between Heads of Houses should look like. What would happen if they embarrassed themselves? What would happen if they committed a faux pas?

They looked at Neville nervously, holding out the letter. He read it quickly.

'That's a great honour,' Neville said, looking up, a little awed. 'Gran almost never invents anyone to dinner. You should accept it. If you're trying to learn about how this entire Wizengamot thing works, there's no one better to ask than Gran.'

'We will,' Harry replied, 'We're just not sure about…how to act. Hermione and I were both raised by muggles. Neither of us has any idea of how this Head of House thing is supposed to work.'

Neville nodded in understanding. 'Well, it's not all that complicated. You show up at our house in formal robes, and then you have dinner and talk business or whatever else comes up. There's…uh…a few traditional greetings and practices, but they're not difficult. I can show you.'

Harry felt a surge of relief. 'Can you teach us? And are we expected to reply to this right now?'

Neville shook his head. 'If Gran says "respond at your leisure", then she means exactly that. You can reply at any time, though preferably within a month,' he explained. 'And I'd suggest you schedule your meeting after the New Year. The holidays are busy, a lot of formal events for the extended family and such. After the New Year, things will calm down and everyone involved will be a little less stressed. Besides, aren't you staying at school over Christmas Break? You have to attend the Yule Ball, don't you, Harry?'

Harry nodded. He did have to attend the Yule Ball, and he was quite happy to do it this time around since he was going with Hermione. Now that he was reminded, though, he had other plans over the Holidays, too, involving Hermione and her parents. He would have to speak to her about his ideas soon.

'I suggest you wait before responding then. Wait until after the holidays, then you can find a time that works best for you. Both of you. Generally, you're allowed to bring a guest.'

'Thank you, Neville,' Hermione said gratefully. 'We'll keep this in mind.'

It was with anticipation that Draco Malfoy waited for the morning post. His mother was due to send another package of sweets and cakes this morning. When the owl post arrived, though, he was disappointed. His eagle owl did not carry a heavy package of snacks, but rather a single, plain, envelope. He ripped the letter from the owl and shooed him away. He wondered what excuses his mother had this time for missing her usual care package.

Just as Draco was about to open his mother's letter, another owl arrived. Draco recognized it as belonging to Gringotts. He sneered over his breakfast. Why exactly were those long-fingered dwarves bothering him? All correspondences should go to his father. Did they not know that? Draco surmised that the animals did not. His internal grumblings aside, however, Draco Malfoy was not a complete idiot. To ignore a Gringotts letter was akin to willingly signing up for financial ruin.

He ripped open the envelope, and reading the first line, his jaw dropped.

Dear Mr Nameless,

Nameless? Cold sweat began to form on his back. How could he be nameless? He was a Malfoy, and that was akin to royalty! The filthy goblins must have made a mistake. He continued reading, knowing that he would find that the letter had been sent to the wrong person, and that this had all been a mistake that his father would extract damages from the goblins for in a few days.

Yesterday morning, your father, Lucius Malfoy, was found to have acted in violation to the Vow of Loyalty sworn to the Black Family upon marriage to Narcissa Black by swearing allegiance to Tom Riddle, also known as Lord Voldemort. Having discovered this breach of allegiance, the Head of the Black family has called in the consequences stipulated in your father's sworn Vow.

These consequences include: the dissolution of the marriage between Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Black, the return of the dowry of 3,700,000 Galleons to the Black Family Vaults, the loss of Lucius Malfoy's honour – he is now forbidden by magic itself to pass on the Malfoy name – as well as the loss of Lucius Malfoy's magic.

The effects for you are the following: as your father was found to have violated the Vow of Loyalty before your birth, you are hereby considered an illegitimate son due to you being considered to have been sired out of wedlock. Hence, you are considered neither a member of the House of Malfoy nor the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. Your legal name has been legally changed with your Ministry to 'Draco the Nameless' to reflect this. You have also been disowned from the Black Family and have no rights to the Malfoy Family due to your status as an illegitimate child of Lucius Malfoy.

Please note that this process is irreversible. As your father had knowingly and willingly breached his Vow of Loyalty, he must suffer the consequences that he himself had agreed to. There is no route for appeal, as the Vow is intrinsically tied to both wizard and goblin magic.

Your custody remains with your illegitimate father, Lucius Malfoy. Should he relinquish that custody, however, you will be made a ward of the Ministry of Magic.

Yours,

Ragnok

Chief Goblin of Gringotts

Draco…the Nameless gaped at the piece of parchment. As much as he hated the goblins, they never lied. If they had sent a letter with his name in it, informing him that he was now a bastard child of a dishonoured squib, then that he was.

He had not even begun to process what that meant when he opened the from his mother. There was no need to worry. She must have a solution to this problem. She always did.

Dear Draco,

You should have received a letter from Gringotts this morning. I am writing to tell you that everything in that letter is true. Your father is knutless and a squib. Gringotts knows that he is a sworn Death Eater. Our marriage is dissolved, and you have been magically disowned.

I cannot change this, neither can you father, neither can the Minister or anyone else. The consequences of breaking that Vow are enforced by magic itself. I repeatedly warned your father not to take the Dark Mark, but he would not listen and has suffered the consequences.

As I am once more a Black, my loyalty must lie with the Head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. Currently, the holder of that title is Sirius Black. I am prepared to seek out both him and my estranged sister, Andromeda, to beg for forgiveness. I urge you to do the same. Times are changing. You would do well to abandon any thought of 'pure-blood supremacy' and face the facts. With Sirius in the headship of the Black Family and Andromeda no doubt supporting him, the family's assets will be directed towards the causes that they see fit. Remember that the Black Family, when all of its illiquid assets and investment stakes are factored in, is the single wealthiest wizarding family in Britain. The Malfoy gold is gone, and your father is over three million Galleons in debt. Your father's faction in the Ministry will be left with less than half its financial and political capital while the Light alliance could very well double in its own. It is most prudent to amend your beliefs and allegiance before it is too late.

Unfortunately, asking you to see reason is all I can do to help you. If you reform sufficiently, I do not doubt that Sirius and Andromeda will both be forgiving. I ask you to see past your steadfast belief in your father's rightness. I implore you to re-evaluate your situation and do what is best for you and your future. That is all I can do.

Additionally, do not, under any circumstances, seek a confrontation with Harry Potter or any of his associates, especially not one Hermione Granger. Your provocation of him last week was incredibly foolish. You should realize that threats of an honour duel are not empty. If he says that he could destroy your life, then you must believe that he can. Furthermore, his bonded godfather is the same Sirius Black, Head of the House of Black. To provoke Potter will provoke Sirius, which will destroy any chance you may have of being accepted into the new House of Black, and you can be sure that you will not be granted forgiveness, nor will I be able to, in good conscience, ask for it, if you behave in such a foolhardy manner.

Please consider my advice carefully. I am only looking out for your best interest.

Your mother,

Narcissa

When Draco finished reading the letter, he was incredulous. He could not believe it. His own mother, going to the blood-traitors and begging them for forgiveness! She was a traitor herself, then. Draco had expected better of her, but now, he could see that he was wrong to hold out such hope. Mother had always clashed with Father over Father's actions. The seeds of her betrayal were sown long ago.

Her letter was worthless, then. Draco was not going to take the advice of someone who had betrayed his father, betrayed their entire family. He pulled out his wand and lit the letter on fire.

His mother was going soft, Draco thought. No doubt it was a result of planning to associate with the blood-traitors and that Mudblood husband of his aunt's. Not confront Potter? Did she expect him to sit around and let that filthy half-blood and his Mudblood whore destroy his life and not do anything about it?

His mother was right about one thing, though. He would need to take Potter seriously. That meant he would need to train. He would need to learn how to use the Unforgivable Curses. Potter definitely did not have anything in his arsenal to match. He relished in the mental image of Potter's horrified face when he cast the Cruciatus Curse on the Mudblood, and he was powerless to do anything about it.

He would need to write to his father. Even if he had lost his magic, he still knew more about proper wizarding values than his traitorous bitch of a mother. Besides, he was sure that Crabbe, Goyle, Nott, or Parkinson's families would be more than willing to help them pay off their debts and support them. He had nothing to worry about.

In the meantime, he would need to find a way to maintain his stranglehold on the Slytherin House. That meant fear. Draco…just Draco would need to plan and train.

Andromeda Tonks was at home, sipping tea, enjoying her Sunday morning before she had to go into work again the next day.

Suddenly, her doorbell rang. She quickly pulled a fleece coat over her shirt. She liked these pieces of muggle clothing. They really were the epitome of comfort.

She opened the door and was greeted by the most unexpected sight. Her younger sister that she had not seen in person for years and years was standing there, looking rather dishevelled and tired.

'Cissy?'

'Hello, Andie,' Narcissa greeted. Andromeda noticed that her voice was hoarse, like she had been shouting. 'May I come in?'

Andromeda was rightly suspicious. She had not seen Narcissa since years before had she married that Malfoy. She knew that Malfoy was a Death Eater, even if Fudge's hands were too greased to see that. Granted, Narcissa was not crazy like her older sister, Bellatrix, but Andromeda remembered that she held the same, rather unsavoury, views towards people like her husband as the rest of her family.

Narcissa pulled out her wand and handed it to her older sister. 'There. I'm not armed. I come in peace.'

'Very well,' Andromeda said with a sigh. 'Come on in and sit down.'

Andromeda led her younger sister into her home and bade her to sit down on an armchair. 'Tea?'

'Please?'

Andromeda took the pot, poured a cup of tea, and handed it to her before sitting down.

'Well, I haven't seen you for the better part of two decades, Cissy. What are you here for?'

'I want to ask for forgiveness.'

Andromeda's eyebrows shot up. 'Forgiveness?'

'I made a mistake, Andie,' Narcissa said quietly. 'I married that idiot Lucius because it was the right and proper thing to do. I didn't stop him when he joined up with the Death Eaters because a "good and gracious pure-blood wife" isn't supposed to oppose their husband. I let him mould my son in his image and he grew up to think that even his father's faeces glowed gold.'

'And what exactly brought about this change?' Andromeda demanded sceptically. 'If I remember correctly, not a few years ago, you were happily married and spouting the old family line. What made you come to seek me out, the sister you call a blood-traitor?'

'I saw things were changing, Andie. When Sirius got exonerated, I knew it was just a matter of time before it happened.'

'Before what happened?'

'You do know what is traditionally required for marriage into the Black Family?'

Andromeda tried to remember. 'There's traditionally been some sort of vow, isn't there? I'm not sure what exactly the wording was. I never had Ted take it.'

'You've never been traditional, Andie.' Andromeda did not know if this was just a comment or an insult. 'Well, to summarize, the Vow of Loyalty requires the swearing of utmost allegiance to the Head of the House of Black and by extension the House of Black, and no other party. That needs to be sworn on honour and magic.'

The gears clicked in Andromeda's head. 'Lucius broke the Vow by swearing allegiance to You-Know-Who and taking the Dark Mark.'

Narcissa nodded. 'You're as sharp as I remembered,' she said wistfully. 'Lucius has always been power-hungry. He swore the Black Vow to get an in into our family. That Vow is irreversible except by formal divorce, not that Lucius would have ever wanted to get out of it, anyway. It would mean losing his political clout. I told him repeatedly not to swear allegiance to the Dark Lord, but he was too stupid and short-sighted to understand. When Sirius eventually became the Head of the Family – '

And Andromeda understood. 'Sirius called in the terms of the Vow, didn't he? That would…uh, if I remember correctly, dissolve your marriage, return your dowry, and make Lucius a dishonoured squib.'

'You do remember correctly,' Narcissa affirmed, 'And that is exactly what happened. And it gets worse. Because Draco was born after Lucius took the Dark Mark…he's been magically disowned and made a bastard.'

'And that's what led you to come to me? Because you had nowhere else to go?'

Narcissa blanched, and Andromeda felt a twinge of pity for her younger sister. 'Things are going to change, Andie,' she said weakly. 'Lucius's faction holds no real power in the Ministry. Only him shoving mountains of gold at the Minister lets him get even a fraction of what he wants. Sirius is going to use his influence and the Black money to bolster his allies – Lucius's enemies. The Dark Lord is but a memory, and his methods are hardly going to win him any sympathy except from people like Lucius. The old "pure-blood" beliefs aren't going to last much longer.'

'And what do you think, Cissy?' Andromeda demanded. 'What do you think about people like my husband?'

Narcissa's hands were shaking now. 'Things that were taught to me from birth hardly come off overnight…'

'You cannot expect me to help you if you won't respect me and my family, Cissy,' Andromeda said, a little angrily.

'I don't expect that.' Narcissa was almost sobbing now. 'If you're willing to help me…I'll do anything I can…I'll do my best to…to change. I'll respect you, and your husband, and your daughter…I'm sorry, Andie.'

'You know that Sirius and I are both firmly against You-Know-Who and his old crowd, Cissy,' Andromeda said gently. 'If you want us to help you, if you want us to forgive you, then you need to swear that you will work with us and not against us. Sirius is convinced You-Know-Who will come back, Cissy. If he does, you need to swear that you will help us, even if that means going against our oldest sister and your old…acquaintances. And if you have to fight Bella…then you must. That is my condition, Cissy. I'm sure Sirius would demand the same.'

Narcissa swallowed hard. 'If I swear to it, will you help me?'

Andromeda smiled for the first time. 'You are my sister, Cissy. Even if we haven't spoken for almost twenty years, that doesn't change the fact. You've never been nasty to me like Bella was. If you truly want to change and earn our forgiveness, then of course I will help you.'

'I'll need my wand,' Narcissa whimpered, 'To make a magical vow.'

Andromeda handed her sister's back her wand. Narcissa raised it above her head.

'I, Narcissa Black, do solemnly swear on my honour, magic, and life, that I will be faithful in my allegiance to the Head of the House of Black, that I will be loyal to Andromeda Tonks and Sirius Black, that I will fight their sworn enemies and aid and respect their allies, even if the sworn enemy is another member of the family.'

Andromeda saw green and silver sparks fly out of the end of Narcissa's wand, sealing her magical vow.

'It's good to have you back, Cissy,' Andromeda said, feeling tears coming to her eyes.

'Thank you, Andie,' Narcissa sobbed. She rose, walked over to her sister, and hugged her. Andromeda returned the embrace, feeling for a moment like she was fifteen again, playing with her little sister, before she was unofficially disowned by her parents.

'You'll need to see Sirius,' Andromeda said, pulling back from her sister. 'He trusts me, but he's technically the head of the family. Tell him the same things you did to me. Make the magical vow. But beware, Sirius isn't as trusting or forgiving as I am.'

'I will soon, Andie, and I'll accept whatever he asks of me.'

Andromeda nodded. 'I can owl him to tell him that you're going to see him,' she offered. 'And do you have a place to stay?'

'Thank you, Andie, I'd like that. And I'm staying in a room at the Leaky Cauldron.'

'I'll ask Ted to see if he could allow you some houseroom. Or, if anything, Sirius would likely be willing to provide you a place to live once he's heard you out.'

'I think I should speak to Sirius first,' Narcissa replied. 'I also have something else to ask you. May I?'

'Go ahead, Cissy.'

'My son, Draco. Well…he's nameless now. I've written to him, told him that he needs to seriously consider changing his ways – '

'You want us to take your son into the family?' Andromeda asked, raising an eyebrow.

'No. Not unless he earns it,' Narcissa explained. 'He worships his father like a god. I hope seeing how Lucius ended up will make him see sense, but I don't know. He's been brought up with the belief that whatever his father says is right, other opinions be damned. I fear that what happened to his father would shock him into doing something stupid and landing in Azkaban, but there's nothing I can do for him anymore. He'll probably…probably consider me a "blood-traitor" just like he considers you. All I'd like to ask is that…if he decides to reform…would you be willing to take him in?'

Andromeda sighed. 'That's something you'll have to bring up with Sirius. You know very well that I can't make these decisions. But…off the record, yes, I'd be willing to take your son in if he reforms.'

'Thank you, Andie,' Narcissa sobbed. 'If you do…I'll owe you and Sirius such a huge debt…'

'It's nothing, Cissy. We're still family, after all,' Andromeda said resolutely. 'Would you like to stay for lunch? I fear I'm not great in the kitchen, but I could make some sandwiches…'

The two sisters spent the afternoon reacquainting over egg and cress and salmon cucumber sandwiches, reminiscing the times of innocence in their childhood.

A/N: A lot of Malfoy – or rather, ex-Malfoy – action in this chapter. Next chapter will return to the Harry/Hermione focus.

I think Narcissa Malfoy/Black is definitely a 'grey' character, but she does not seem as 'dark' as Lucius or even Draco in canon. I hardly believe that Lucius would, for instance, have chosen to save Harry in Deathly Hallows. I think it is realistic, then, that Narcissa would go to Andromeda and seek forgiveness and try to change her ways when she saw where Lucius's actions and beliefs landed him.

I think it is pretty clear though that I will not be attempting to 'redeem' Draco in this story. The loss of his father will only push him further into the 'dark'.