* ~ The Eighth Year Universe Series ~ *

PART THREE

The Eighth Year

Chapter 26: Something Doesn't Add Up

The following week was hell on earth for the eight troublemakers. By the end of the week, they had cleaned the entire castle between them in spells of four hours every night. They had decided that they were either never going to sneak out again or that if they did, they would be much more careful about it.

Monday was a day of relief for most because the detention was finally over, and they could have a social life again, but it wasn't that way for everyone. Things between Dean and Tracey seemed strained; they hardly spoke to each other during breakfast, and as the day went on, they didn't seem as close as they usually were. When Daphne asked Tracey about it, she just shrugged and said Dean didn't seem himself today. However, Tracey didn't find out what was going on until much later that day.

"Dean, do you want to talk about it?" Tracey asked him gently in the common room that night.

Dean sighed but didn't look up, "What do you know about my parentage Tracey?"

The question threw Tracey, and she frowned, "Uh, not much, just that you're a Muggle-born. You were raised by your mother and step-father and that your father left when you were young."

Dean nodded; he took a deep breath, "It was 19 years ago today that he left."

Tracey frowned, "19 years...but that would mean..."

"I never met him," Dean finished with a nod, "He left when my mum was seven months pregnant with me."

Tracey frowned. She wasn't sure what to say, "Do you know why?"

Dean shook his head. He looked up and finally made eye contact with Tracey, "I don't know much about him," he admitted, "All my mum told me was that they were both 18, they met in April of 1979, and I was conceived in May. It was an accident, but they agreed they wanted a baby. It was a whirlwind romance, but she thought it was love. Then he started to disappear at night and make up excuses, and he stopped sleeping in the same bed as my mum and slept downstairs. She thought he was cheating on her because he was acting so strange. Then one night, he said he needed to leave to keep her and me safe, and she never saw him again."

Tracey's frown deepened as Dean's story continued; it was sad, but it also didn't quite add up. She had grown up with Death Eaters, so she knew the signs: the sneaking out in the middle of the night for the secret meetings, being afraid to be intimate because of the fear of your other half seeing the dark mark. It sounded very similar to her story, but Dean thought he was Muggle-born.

"Did your mother ever tell you his name?"

Dean nodded, "She said he was called Reginald Blacklaw, but everyone just called him Reg. I knew he was born in 1961, but I couldn't find any information about him in the census because my mum didn't know any more than that."

Dean's words had made Tracey even more uneasy, but she didn't let on. Instead, she smiled at Dean and said, "Well, your step-father was always there for you, so at least you had some kind of father figure. Mine was a workaholic who was never around, and my mother didn't like children. Nannies raised me."

"And your brothers were with…him, weren't they?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, they were a lot older than me," Tracey explained, "They started Hogwarts when I was three, so it was just the nannies and me most of the time. At least you had some semblance of a normal life."

Dean nodded thoughtfully, "Thanks, Tracey, you always make me appreciate the little things in life," he said as he leaned over, kissed her lightly on the lips and said goodnight.

Tracey smiled and bid him goodnight, but she knew it was going to be a restless night. Everything Dean had told her was swirling through her head, and something didn't seem right.

The next day Tracey decided that she needed to corner Daphne. The annoying thing was that it shouldn't have been hard to do, given that Daphne was her best friend. Lately, though, Tracey had been finding it hard to talk to Daphne without Harry also being around. She was happy that Daphne had finally found happiness with someone, but she missed her best friend too.

In Herbology, they were put into pairs, and she and Daphne ended up on opposite sides of the classroom. Still, they both had a free period after Herbology, so Tracey hurried to catch up with Daphne after class and found her walking with, surprise surprise, Harry.

"Daph, can we talk?" Tracey asked as she fell in line with them.

"Sure, walk with us," Daphne smiled.

Tracey sighed, "I meant in private Daph...no offence Harry."

"None taken," Harry said with a smile.

Daphne smiled at her friend, "Of course we can Trace. I'll see you during break, Harry," she said. She kissed him goodbye as he made his way to the library.

Daphne then turned to Tracey and asked, "Do you want to go up to the common room?"

Tracey nodded, and the girls made their way throughout the school, talking about mundane things like classes and homework. When they finally reached the common room, they sat down in a couple of comfy armchairs, and Daphne asked, "What's up, Trace?"

"Us," Tracey sighed, "We used to be as close as sisters Daph. Now look at us; I can't remember the last time we hung out, just the two of us. I'm happy for you and Harry, but you spend all of your time with him. You spend so much time with Harry and the others, and the thing is…I just feel left out because Dean isn't as big a part of the group as the others."

Daphne seemed shocked at this, Tracey knew she hadn't been shutting her out on purpose, but she had gotten so caught up in her new romance that she hadn't noticed what she was doing, "Tracey, Merlin...I'm so sorry. I never wanted to push you away. I swear I'll do whatever I can to make you and Dean a bigger part of the group. I'm so so sorry."

She walked over to the armchair and squeezed in next to Tracey to give her a proper hug. Tracey smiled; she knew she could always count on Daphne to be there, even if she needed to give her a bit of a kick before she realised it.

"So, how are things with you and Dean?" Daphne asked as she snuggled into her friend.

Tracey could have lied, but she was always honest with Daphne, so she told her the truth, "Well, yesterday it was 19 years to the day his father left, and something just doesn't add up."

Daphne was curious now; she sat up properly to look at Tracey, "Okay?"

Tracey continued, "His parents met in April 1979 when they were both 18, he was born at the start of February 1980, and his Father left in November 1979 when his mother was seven months pregnant."

"Was his father magical?" Daphne asked. Tracey could see the cogs in her head whirring.

"He doesn't know, if he was, he never told Deans mother. The thing is, it gets weirder because Deans dad started to sneak out at night and get jumpy. He stopped sleeping in the same bed as Deans mother," Tracey said; she watched Daphne's face as she came to the same conclusion that she had.

"That sounds like Draco in sixth year," Daphne said with a frown, "He stopped sleeping with me. He got defensive and jumpy. He would disappear for hours on end and not tell me where he had been."

Tracey nodded, "Exactly. It reminded me of my brothers, and it gets weirder. Deans father went by the name of Reginald Blacklaw."

Daphne's jaw dropped, "Is it just me, or does that sound very similar to Regulus Black?"

"It's not just you," Tracey said. She was glad that she and Daphne could still bounce ideas off of each other so quickly. Now that someone else agreed with her theory Tracey no longer doubted her sanity.

"Wow, I mean, whoa, should we tell Dean?" Daphne asked.

Tracey quickly shook her head, "No, not yet. We need proof first."

Daphne's frown deepened as she asked, "How are we going to get that?"

"Your boyfriend," Tracey realised with a jolt, "I mean, his godfather was Regulus's brother, right? Shouldn't we see what he knows?"

Daphne nodded and got to her feet, "He's in the library. I'll go do some recon."

Tracey laughed and stood up too, "While you're doing that, I'll see if I can find a way to prove that Regulus is Dean's father."

The two girls joked about being on a mission as they walked to the library together to get some answers. Once they reached the door, they split up, Tracey went to the research section at the back, and Daphne made her way over to Harry, who was sitting alone at a small table in a quiet corner of the library.

"Hey," Daphne greeted him as she sat down.

Harry looked up and smiled, "Hey, what was that about?"

Daphne shrugged, "Tracey and I grew up like sisters, but lately, I've been neglecting her ever since I got together with you and became friends with Hermione. I promised to integrate her and Dean into the group more, but does it make me a bad person that I didn't even realise I was pushing my closest friend away?"

Harry shook his head, "Of course it doesn't Daph, you're growing up, and in that process, you'll make mistakes. Your friendship circle has gotten bigger, but that doesn't mean you and Tracey's friendship is any less important. Just because you don't spend every minute of your day with someone, it doesn't mean you love them any less. Take Ron and me, we don't spend half as much time together as we used to, but it's not as bad as sixth year when he was always off snogging Lavender. The point is that our friendship doesn't change, regardless of how often we see each other."

Daphne smiled slightly, "You're right, Harry, thanks."

Harry chuckled, "No problem."

"I do need to talk to you about something, though," Daphne said; her voice took on a much more serious tone with those words.

"Go ahead," Harry said as he put his quill down and shut the book he was reading.

Daphne sighed and began to tell the story, "Tracey thinks Deans father might be Regulus Black. All Dean knows is that his parents met when they were both 18 in April 1979 and that his father left in November 1979 when his mother was seven months pregnant. Apparently, during the last few months, he snuck out at night and was jumpy. He also didn't sleep in the same bed as Deans mother. It all screams Death Eater trying to hide his identity to me, and Dean's father went by the name Reginald Blacklaw."

Once Daphne had finished, there was silence for a moment, apart from the scratching of quills and the flicking of book pages.

"That does sound very like Regulus," Harry agreed, "He was a Death Eater, but he turned against Voldemort and started the mission I finished, the mission to destroy all of Voldemort's Horcruxes. He stole a Horcrux in November 1979 but couldn't destroy it and was killed in the process by Inferi."

"So it's not a coincidence?" Daphne asked with wide eyes.

"I doubt it," Harry said as he tried to process all of this information, "There are too many similarities between Reginald Blacklaw and Regulus Black."

"So," Daphne said slowly, she waved Tracey over, "What do we do?"

"Tell Dean," Harry said immediately.

Daphne was about to say that it wasn't that easy when Tracey slid into a seat next to her and said, "I think I've found a way to get proof before we talk to Dean."

Daphne and Harry shared a glance then Harry asked what her proof was. Tracey smiled a little. She looked rather proud of herself, "Whenever a Witch or Wizard is born, they are registered in a magical book here at Hogwarts and a letter is automatically sent when the book detects their 11th birthday approaching. Like most things magical, it sees through all disguises so it will show Deans date of birth, his blood status, and it will list the name of his magical parent or parents."

"That's genius," Harry said in amazement.

Daphne nodded eagerly, but then Harry realised there was something Tracey had not told him, "How do we get access to this book?"

Daphne and Tracey shared a look that Harry didn't quite like the look of.

"It's in the restricted section."

"I have an invisibility cloak, that will be-"

"- in a locked room-"

"- protected by ten different enchantments-"

"- and sealed with 17 different locking charms."

Harry gaped at them for a moment, "Seriously?"

Tracey grinned, "Nah, it's in that little room off of the great hall."

Harry rolled his eyes but laughed, "You nearly had me there."

The two girls laughed, but Daphne then said, "We will need McGonagall's permission to see it, though."

"And you two aren't her favourite people right now, so I guess I should be the one to sweetly ask her," Tracey pointed out; McGonagall was still pissed off at Harry and the others for sneaking out before.

"Good luck!" Daphne and Harry called as Tracey walked out of the library with determination in her strides.

When Tracey approached the Headmistress at her desk in the circular room at the top of the Headmasters tower, she used every skill her mother had taught her on how to succeed in business. She greeted McGonagall with a polite smile and a handshake and took her seat opposite the woman.

"What can I do for you, Miss Davis?" McGonagall asked politely.

Tracey put on another sweet smile, "I'm not sure whether or not you are aware, but Dean and I have been dating since our return to school. I recently discovered something about his father, I believe he was a Wizard by the name of Regulus Black, and I'd like to be able to prove this before telling Dean."

McGonagall frowned and asked Tracey to elaborate, so she told the Headmistress precisely what she had told Harry and Daphne. McGonagall nodded and listened intently to the tale, she seemed intrigued by it, and when Tracey was finished, she remarked, "Yes, it does seem very likely that the younger Black sibling was Mr Thomas's father."

"I have a theory to prove it," Tracey said as she tried not to sound too eager, "But I need your help."

McGonagall gave the Slytherin a small smile, "You may view the book. Come with me."

Tracey was surprised by how easy it had been, but she didn't complain as she accompanied McGonagall through the school. They walked in comfortable silence through the empty corridors; most people were in class, Dean included. When they reached the great hall, McGonagall placed her hand on the doors to unlock them as the hall was always kept locked during classes.

As she walked through the hall with the Headmistress, Tracey was stunned. She had never seen it so quiet and empty, it made it seem so much bigger, and the walk from one end to the other seemed to take forever.

When they reached the door at the other end of the hall, McGonagall took out a set of keys and searched through them for a moment before unlocking the door and leading Tracey into the room. She had never seen it before, but it seemed to be used for storage now; it looked like it had once been a grand lounge at some point. There were portraits on the walls and boxes lying around the place that obviously hadn't been cleared since the battle.

McGonagall saw Tracey looking at the boxes, and she frowned for a moment as her eyes fell on them, "These boxes contain the possessions of students who died in the battle of Hogwarts. if they had family, they took them, but some of these children were the last of their families."

A lump caught in Tracey's throat, she swallowed it, and McGonagall got a little glassy-eyed, but she turned away to hide it. She walked over to a book on a golden stand, it was shining a little, and it was protected by a magical barrier that looked like glass but sparkled in a way that glass didn't. McGonagall performed a few spells and then said in a loud, clear voice, "Dean Thomas."

Tracey edged towards the book and frowned as the pages seemed to sparkle and light up, then a strange voice said, "No student by the name of Dean Thomas. Apologies, Headmistress."

McGonagall tried again, "Dean Black."

Immediately the book came to life, and the pages magically flew open then settled. McGonagall searched the entries, and at the same time, she and Tracey spotted Deans entry. It read, "Dean Black: half-blood. Mother: Ella Danfield (Muggle). Father: Regulus Arcturus Black (Wizard)."

"So, I was right," Tracey breathed, suspecting it had been one thing, but to see the proof with her own eyes was something entirely different. For the first time, she began to worry about breaking this news to Dean.

"Would you like a copy of the entry?" McGonagall asked kindly.

Tracey replied, "Yes, please."

She took out her wand again and mumbled a spell; it was extraordinary what happened next. The words on the page seemed to lift off and were sucked into McGonagall's wand. Then a small piece of parchment appeared at the tip of her wand and got larger until it was a scroll. She opened it and showed Tracey the copy; the Slytherin was amazed but grateful as she hurried off to find Daphne and Harry; they had their proof, now they just needed to figure out how to tell Dean.

When the others had left the common room, Harry, Daphne and Tracey tentatively approached Dean as he sat reading a book full of chess tips. He looked up at their anxious faces as they stood around him and joked, "Who died?"

They shared uneasy looks and sat down, Tracey next to Dean on the sofa and Harry and Daphne in nearby armchairs.

"We know something about your father."

Dean frowned and put his book down, "What do you mean?"

"He was a wizard," Tracey chose her words carefully.

"Really?" Dean asked. His eyes were wide and hopeful, but then he realised what his girlfriend had said, "Wait, what do you mean was?"

"He died in 1979," Harry said in an attempt to break the news gently, "A few days after he left your mum."

Dean seemed to be struggling to process this, but there was so much more to come, "So he's been dead all these years. That's why he's never come looking for me."

Daphne nodded, "Dean, your father died to save you and your mother from Voldemort."

There were so many questions in Dean's eyes, and the others could see he needed an explanation. Harry took the lead because he knew the most about the story and the man, "He was a Death Eater, and he came from a family that was very particular about what should be done to muggles and muggle-borns. He was the favourite son out of two, he had been a Slytherin like his parents had wanted, and his brother had become a Gryffindor and got himself disowned. He fell in love with your mum and, from what I gather, kept it a secret. His father was already dead by this time, and his mother was going insane. He decided all of a sudden to go against his Master and try to destroy him, I had no idea what could have pushed him to do that, but I think it was the fact your mum was pregnant."

"My father was a Death Eater?" Dean asked in disgust.

Tracey sighed, "Dean, he was a good man; he changed. You should be proud of your father."

Before a fight could break out, Harry spoke up again, "I'm sure by now you've read all about the Horcruxes?"

Dean nodded, and Harry continued, "Well, I destroyed most of them. Your dad stole one but couldn't destroy it. Voldemort needed a house-elf and asked your dad for his. He took the house-elf to test the defences on his Horcrux. Your dad then returned to the place with the elf, and to get to the Horcrux, he needed to drink a potion that made him insane, he ordered the elf to go back to his home, with or without him, and he was dragged into a lake by Inferi and killed."

There were tears in Dean's eyes as Harry reached the climax of the tale. There was silence around the group for a little while as Dean wiped his eyes and tried to steady his breathing, "Who was he?"

"He was called Regulus Black," Daphne informed Dean.

Harry added, "He was the brother of my godfather, Sirius."

Dean shook his head in disbelief. It was so much to take in, all in one night. He couldn't believe it, "So he was a good Death Eater, like Snape?"

The other three nodded. Towards the end of his life, Regulus had been a good person. All of a sudden, Harry had an idea and clicked his fingers. In an instant, Kreacher appeared and bowed to Harry, "Master Harry," he greeted.

Harry smiled at the house-elf, "Kreacher, I want you to meet someone," he said, "This is Dean; his Father was Regulus."

Kreacher raised his head to look at Dean with watery eyes. Kreacher then bowed extremely low to Dean, "Kreacher is at your service Master Dean."

Harry chuckled, "Technically he's your house-elf; I guess the house is kind of yours too, but Sirius left it to me in his will and Draco is supposed to be becoming the heir to the Black house, but you have a better claim-"

Dean shook his head and smiled, "I don't want it, I don't want any of it. Let Draco be the heir and keep your house-elf, Harry. As great as it is to have closure, finally. My dad will always be the man who raised me, my step-dad Daniel."

"I understand that," Harry said, smiling at Dean, who seemed to be brightening up now. Kreacher bowed once more to Dean, then Harry and vanished back to the kitchens.

"I'm going to head to bed… this has just overwhelmed me," Dean admitted, "But thank you for doing this for me," he said as he headed up the staircase towards his dorm room. Back in the common room, Harry, Daphne and Tracey could breathe a sigh of relief. They felt like they had done the right thing by giving Dean the closure that he needed.

Ron had been acting shifty, and he seemed to think that nobody had noticed, but his friends knew him better than he thought.

"What's gotten into Ron these last couple of days?" Hermione asked Harry in a whisper during Charms.

"I don't know," Harry whispered back, "But he's been acting jumpy."

"He does that when he's hiding something," Hermione pointed out.

"I know he does," Harry said. He narrowed his eyes at the back of Ron's head, "I think we should corner him tonight in the common room."

"Under threat of Veritaserum," Hermione joked.

Harry shot his best friend a grin, "Nice touch, I like it."

Hermione laughed, "I was joking," she whispered as Flitwick began to walk over to their table. They fell back into silence, but their plan had been hatched.

The common room emptied reasonably quickly that night, and when it was sufficiently empty, Harry and Hermione promptly sat down on either side of Ron on the sofa.

"What's going on, Ron?" Harry asked calmly.

"Yeah, Ron, what are you hiding?" Hermione agreed.

Ron's eyes went shifty again, "Hiding? I'm hiding nothing. Are you two bloody mad?"

"Ron, you're our best mate," Harry said in disbelief, "We know your hiding something, so you might as well cut to the chase and tell us."

"Or we'll have to use the veritaserum we stole from the potions store cupboard," Hermione added.

Ron paled slightly, "Nah, don't do that. It's just...well, don't get mad, alright?"

"That's never a good start to a sentence with you," Harry said cautiously.

Ron sighed, "I've been offered a job, alright? And I don't know whether I should take it or not."

"You mean, quit school?" Hermione frowned.

"As shocking an idea as that may seem to you, Hermione, yeah," Ron said bluntly, "I mean, it's a really good job."

"What is the job?" Harry asked curiously.

"Manager of the Hogsmeade branch of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes," Ron said, and excitement crept into his voice.

"It's opening for the December Hogsmeade visit, and George wants me to start pretty much immediately so we can stock the store and get the promotional stuff out there. I mean, how can I turn down a job at that level when I'm only 18?"

"You can't," Harry said eagerly, "That's a brilliant job, Ron! I mean, you'd be perfect at it. You'd love it."

"I know!" Ron said excitedly.

"But what about your N.E.W.T.'s?" Hermione asked in disbelief, "What about Auror training?"

"If I wanted to do it, I could," Ron shrugged, "I don't need N.E.W.T's. They said they would take on anyone who fought in the war. Harry's just getting his N.E.W.T's to prove himself."

"Exactly," Harry laughed, "And to have a bit of a year off."

"I get that," Ron said with a smile, "But the thing is, I don't want any more fighting, not really. I've never been sure if I wanted to do Auror training, but I do really want to take this job."

"Take it then, if it's what you want," Hermione said after a moment of silence.

Harry nodded, "It's a great opportunity, and it's not like you'd be far away, is it? We'd see you all of the time. We could even sneak you in for the odd party through Honeydukes."

"Sounds wicked," Ron grinned.

"If a little unethical," Hermione said sternly, but her smile gave her away.

Ron laughed, "Right, well, I'm glad you're both alright with it. I suppose I better get packing."

"I suppose you should," Hermione agreed as she got to her feet, "Don't go without saying goodbye, though, okay?"

"Alright, night Hermione," Ron said.

Harry nodded, "Yeah, night Hermione."

When she was gone, Harry and Ron made their way up to the dorm where their other dorm mates were asleep.

As Harry lay in his bed and Ron quietly packed, he asked his friend, "What does Lilly think about the whole thing?"

"She's a bit sad that I'm leaving," Ron said honestly, "But she also said she wanted a grounded, hardworking boyfriend and that she couldn't deny I was that."

Harry chuckled, "Well, it will be easy enough for you to see her at weekends, so I suppose it's not that bad."

"It's hardly long-distance," Ron added in amusement.

"I'll be a bit sad to see you go too, mate," Harry admitted, "This dormitory is getting quieter by the month..."

"Yeah, but you've got Nev and Dean, not to mention the Slytherins," Ron said with a shrug, "And don't get me wrong, I can get along with them well enough, but I'm never going to be best mates with Malfoy like you are."

"I know," Harry said, "And I get that. But that's not why you're leaving, is it?"

"Nah, I mean, maybe a part of it is that a lot has changed around here," Ron said, "But I can't turn down a job offer like this. It's never going to come again, you know? Maybe I could be Manager at a later time, but opening up a brand new store as Manager is just wicked."

"Yeah, it is," Harry agreed as he smiled at his best friend, "I'm proud of you, mate, and happy for you."

Ron returned Harry's smile at that, "Thanks, Harry, that means a lot," he said genuinely.

* ~ TBC ~ *