CW: prejudice, complicated relationships, conditional alliance, broken families, mentions of the First Wizarding War, complex characters, discussion of consent, government/media, microaggressions
:SEVENTY-THREE:
Remus was the first one to say anything.
"Harry," He walked up and hugged him. "Is this Draco then?"
"Yes," Harry said nervously. "Draco, this is my papa, Remus."
Draco, who was attempting to hide his nervousness but not doing it very well, extended his hand to shake.
Remus took it politely, attempting a small smile. "Would you give us a moment, Draco?"
Draco nodded, seeming perfectly happy to walk away from the situation. He almost ran to greet his family a few feet away from where they had gotten off.
"Harry James…" Sirius growled. "When you said you had a surprise, this is not what I imagined."
Harry's eyes widened - he was used to Remus being the bad cop, not Sirius.
"I know," He said quickly, his hands shaking slightly. "But you don't understand the whole situation. Please, can I explain it first?"
Sirius nodded stiffly, so Harry rambled through all of the major events and details. How Draco had approached him and changed, how Ex-Death Eaters were being killed in droves, how the Malfoys had agreed to meet with them to discuss how this alliance might work.
"Harry," Sirius said very lowly. "Narcissa and I have a past, even before the war happened. You volunteered our help and forgiveness without asking first. Do you understand that?"
Harry nodded miserably, looking down at the floor.
"Draco is innocent in all of this, Sirius." Remus said quietly. "The way Harry went about it was wrong, but his intentions were right."
Sirius looked from the both of them to Draco, who looked so small standing next to his parents. Taking a very deep breath, he finally nodded.
"You are grounded indefinitely, kiddo." Sirius said, coming over and hugging Harry close.
"Okay," Harry nodded, holding Sirius tightly. "I'm sorry, dad."
Sirius sighed, pulling away again. "Right, well. Let's get this family reunion started then."
It was a very quiet walk to The Three Broomsticks. The Malfoys looked intensely uncomfortable and paranoid, while Remus looked uncertain and Sirius looked murderous. While the adults walked along in silence, the two boys kept looking at each other as though to say 'what now?'
They finally entered the pub, taking seats near the back so that they would have some privacy. Lucius insisted on ordering the drinks for everyone, only slightly contemptuous when Sirius and Remus just ordered butterbeers like the kids. When he returned, everyone sat looking at each other, as though waiting for some sign that they ought to begin.
Finally, Harry cleared his throat.
"Well," He began, trying not to look too nervous. "We all know why we're here already. But, um, Draco and I were unsure of the details, so we thought it would be best to all meet together and discuss them."
Draco nodded. "Potter - sorry, Harry, - has done an excellent job at school. Everyone knows now that we are friends."
"Thank you." Narcissa said quietly, the first she had spoken since Harry had met her in Diagon Alley second year. "For protecting our Draco."
"We would like to continue that protection over the summer holidays." Lucius finally spoke up. "We were hoping, Harry, that you would join us at Malfoy manor for a time."
"Out of the question." Sirius replied immediately.
"You would both be welcome as well." Lucius continued, only a faint twitch of his nose showing his disdain.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Malfoy," Remus interjected, placing a hand on Sirius' arm. "But Harry has other family members, ones who only get to see him during the summer holidays."
The disdain was more difficult to conceal this time. "Ah, yes. His muggle relatives."
"Do you have a problem with that, Lucius?" Sirius asked in a threatening tone.
"No," Narcissa cut across them both. "We don't."
"But, perhaps it would be best to meet in a middle ground? Perhaps we could go to a summer cottage - our family has several properties."
Remus nodded cordially. "That might work, certainly."
"I'm failing to understand." Sirius said, his voice constricted as he tried to maintain control. "How this in any way benefits our family. We have been trying to keep Harry's private life away from prying eyes, and now you want us to give that all up for your sakes?"
Lucius sighed. "Whether you like it or not, Harry is a public figure. You waste his potential to influence the wizarding community by keeping him separate."
"He's a child." Sirius growled, clenching his fists.
"You all have been hiding from the wizarding world, when Harry's reputation could make your lives so much easier!"
"What do you mean?" Harry's voice silenced everyone else's at the table.
Lucius looked at him shrewdly. "Your influence could change public opinion, shape laws potentially. Remus' condition, your families' lifestyle choices…"
Harry flushed angrily, but nodded. "And you can help with that as well, can't you?"
Lucius blinked, sharing a quick glance with his son before nodding. "Yes, I have a great deal of influence at the Ministry - I can help you."
"It's not an option!" Sirius shook his head vehemently. "Harry, you do not have to do any of this."
"I know that, dad." Harry turned to face Sirius. "But I want to. And not just for our family, but all the other ones who are too scared to be themselves. It's wrong, dad, and I can do something about it!"
"Remus," Sirius turned to him. "What do you think about all of this?"
Remus' brow was furrowed in thought. He agreed with Sirius, but he could also see from Harry's perspective. While they had tried to shield him from their troubles and real-world issues, Harry had seen them all. He had realized that when Harry begged him not to teach at Hogwarts last year.
"I think…" He said quietly. "That we should support Harry, in whatever way he chooses. There's no point in trying to talk him down now, Sirius. He's simply too much like us - too much like James."
Sirius looked blankly at Remus for a moment, then stood up and walked out of the pub.
Remus and Harry started to get up to go after him, but Narcissa held up her hand. "Allow me."
She stood up gracefully, walking out of the pub and finding Sirius around the corner. He was staring unseeingly at the wall, though he tensed as she approached.
"Sirius." She said quietly, standing beside him.
"I don't know how you can stand there, as if nothing has changed." Sirius muttered.
"Everything has changed." Narcissa laughed, shaking her head. "Look at me, Sirius."
Sirius, begrudgingly, looked at his cousin.
"The last time you saw me, you were sixteen years old." She said, looking back into his eyes. "I was just a child, too."
"I won't pretend to know what you've been through, so don't pretend to know what I've been through."
She leaned on the wall, keeping eye contact with Sirius as she continued talking.
"After you left...our family put even more pressure on my sisters and I to find a match and carry on the Black legacy. Of the three, I am the only one to have done so. Andy was disowned after she married a muggleborn wizard, while Bella…"
Her voice broke, and she looked away for the first time.
"I told her not to get involved." She whispered. "Told her to either follow after Andy's example or marry one of the men our father chose. But she was...entranced by the Dark Lord."
"She brought him into our lives...into our homes."
Her voice quavered, and she looked back into Sirius' eyes. "I was pregnant with Draco, and I love Lucius. Tell me - what would you do to protect Remus and Harry?"
"You can act high-and-mighty all you wish, but you will never understand the choices I had to make or the pain I have endured. And I believe in second chances - I have to."
There was a pause, as Sirius looked carefully back at Narcissa. For the very first time, he saw the adult woman in front of him instead of the child cousin he had been cut off from as a teenager. Age and fear had created lines on her face that he recognized on his own, for all her beauty softened them.
"Maybe…" Sirius said finally, kicking the snow in front of himself. "Maybe we could do a trial run over the Christmas holidays?"
Narcissa's eyes widened in surprise, but she slowly nodded. "Okay."
They went back inside shortly after that. In their absence, Remus and Lucius had come up with a strategy. It would be Lucius' job to show his merit with the Ministry by pushing to remove the discriminatory laws about werewolves, to introduce wizarding marriage equality, and to set up an interview for Harry to speak with a reporter. Harry had also added on the task of apologizing to Dobby.
That had been a difficult one for Lucius to swallow, but he really had no choice if he was to protect his family. So, he simply nodded and left with Narcissa shortly afterwards. She told Sirius that she would send an owl for when their 'trail run' could take place, as both families wouldn't have their boys home for the holidays.
"We'll see you tomorrow," Remus assured Harry, holding him close. "Sirius just needs some space to process all of this."
Harry nodded, then followed Draco back out of the Three Broomsticks and up to the castle.
"Well," Draco shrugged. "That could have gone a lot worse, right?"
Notes:
If this in any way comes across as apologist, then I will rewrite it. Though I think these characters are complex and I'm trying to show that now, I do not condone or excuse the prejudice or the hatred they were involved in. Right now, Lucius and Narcissa are acting purely to save themselves, which isn't the same as actively changing the way they think. Draco is on that path though, so we will see if his parents can follow suite.
Happy Reading!