Remus threw up his breakfast. His hands were shaking and he felt faint. The morning paper had announced "Lord Black was Innocent: Peter Pettigrew Was the Real Traitor?" Sirius had been innocent and Remus didn't even have the decency to go and see him. He had left him in Azkaban, literally Hell on earth! He felt bile rise in his throat again. Throwing up for a second time, he was thankful it was a Saturday. He didn't think he'd be able to teach classes in his state. The full moon was a week away and he could feel how restless Moony was. Maybe his pack hadn't fallen apart? He still had the dog and his cub. Perhaps they could be happy together! Remus quickly squashed those thoughts. He didn't deserve to be happy after everything he had done. He didn't deserve any type of forgiveness from Sirius or his cub. Opening the bathroom stall, he saw Severus leaning casually against the wall.
"Done emptying your stomach, Lupin?" He sneered.
"Piss off, Snape."
"Oh my, someone's grumpy. Is it because your pet dog has gotten his freedom?" Remus had his wand in his hand in seconds.
"Don't call him that." He said quietly, his eyes showing the wolf within. Severus gave him a nasty look and said "Draco has been ranting about Black being in St. Mungo's. Perhaps you could visit him instead of wallowing in self pity."
"You wouldn't understand." Remus replied.
"I understand that you've always had a destructive habit of thinking the worst of yourself. Maybe you should talk to someone about that," Severus continued "go see Black. Get some closure." Remus never thought that Severus Snape would give him advice but that day had come.
Sirius couldn't believe he was free. The Ministry had paid him a large sum for his wrongful imprisonment and he was sent to St. Mungos. They had him taking potions for his health and he was seeing a mind healer. Turns out Dementors seemed to impact your mental growth if you were around them too young. Who knew. So he was trying to get his head on straight and not act rashly. It helped that Harry and tiny Malfoy kept sending him letters. Harry's were still short and to the point but he was just happy he was writing. Sirius grimaced as he thought of Malfoy's letters. The man had to read them in pieces because they were sickly sweet. He almost wanted to have the boy checked for Black Madness but he remembered Cissy courting Lucius. His cousin had once covered the other man's room in flowers for a week straight. He had reeked for days afterwards. So Sirius was content for the moment. He was working on not blaming himself for the Potters deaths and repairing his relationship with his godson. There was a knock on his door and it opened to reveal the Malfoys and the Tonks. Hearing that his two cousins had reconciled due to their children's actions had blown his mind. He remembered the horrible fall out that had occurred once Andy left the family.
"Hello Cousin Sirius! Have they decided if you're crazy or not?" Cissy said as she set a vase full of flowers in the room.
"Cissy, we're all crazy here. Well, except for maybe Ted!" Sirius gave a mock whisper "all the inbreeding!" Andy gave a loud laugh and leaned over to hug him.
"I've missed you, Siri! Nice to see even the dementors couldn't suck out your humor!" He gave a snort.
"I know I'm a little late but congratulations on having a metamorphmagus in the family. I bet Uncle was practically salivating at that particular trait reappearing" Sirius commented. Andy gave a mean smile and said "he was. Thank god the old bastard is dead." All three Blacks laughed at her words. The two husbands shared a look that said maybe it wasn't such a great idea for the last of the Black family to reunite. Someone knocked at the door and it opened to reveal Remus Lupin. He saw everyone inside and he said "I could come back" and turned to leave.
"Don't you dare leave, Moony!" Sirius barked out. His family slipped out of the room until it was just the two of them.
"You look like shit, Moony." Sirius said and it was true. The other man looked so worn down. Spending every full moon alone probably hadn't been easy.
"Right back at you, Padfoot." Remus shot back. His shoulders slumped before he said "I am so sorry. I know there is nothing I can do to make this right. I-"
"Oh shut up, Remus. I thought you were the traitor too" Sirius said. Remus hunched into himself and said "I know." Both men stared at each other before Sirius said "you know tiny Malfoy has been writing me books on how much he loves Harry? He's also been demanding I send him copies of my medical charts so he can see "how stable I am" and if I don't pass his inspection, he's going to have someone named Dobby murder me in my sleep." Sirius rambled on. Remus gave a slow smile and said "you should see them at school. The students have a bet on how long it'll take for Snape to throw himself down the stairs." Sirius started laughing. Everything wasn't suddenly okay between the two old friends. It would take time to heal their wounds but this was a good start.
Harry had been acting suspicious. Draco watched as he sent another letter to someone from the Hufflepuff table. He knew it wasn't Lord Black because he had Dobby keeping tabs on the other man. He wanted to respect Harry's privacy but he was so curious! They had just finished their last exams before the winter holidays. Harry was finally coming to Malfoy Manor for Yule and Draco could barely contain his excitement. The manor was always beautiful but it shone brightly during the holiday season. The Malfoy's would host a Winter Ball and he couldn't wait to dance with Harry all night. He gave a dreamy sigh.
"Merlin Draco, are you daydreaming of dancing with Harry again?" Greg said.
"Is that even a question, Greg? Course he is! I bet he can't wait to find some mistletoe!" Vince answered.
"Piss off! Just because you two will be lurking in a corner all night doesn't mean the rest of us have to!" Draco sneered. Both boys laughed before turning to their breakfast.
"I'm excited for the Ball this year, Draco! The ice sculptures last year were simply brilliant!" Daphne commented. Pansy leaned around her to say "and the food! I hope the elves make those tiny sandwiches again! To die for!" All of the Slytherin first years had been to at least one Malfoy Ball. It was the event of the season. He would be inviting some of the Gryffindors this year as well. His Vice-President had to come, of course. She would keep everything running smoothly so he could focus on Harry. He had just inducted Longbottom in his fan club. He had proven himself over the semester to be a worthy member. Surprisingly, Ron Weasley had also passed his test and was given a membership form. He was a wonderful friend to Harry and had persuaded most of Gryffindor to sign Herm's essay. Of course everyone in Slytherin House had signed it. Marcus Flint had the wonderful idea to send it to students that had already graduated and they got even more signatures. Draco had overheard Herm telling Neville that she was planning on networking at the Ball. The girl was an unstoppable force once she put her mind to something and she was going to cause all kinds of ruckus for the year Percy Weasley had started helping her with her campaign. He had to watch Marcus's awkward flirting attempts with the high maintenance Weasley. The twins had thought it was hilarious and purposely kept putting the two together.
"What are you thinking about?" He jumped as Harry's voice was suddenly right behind him.
"Just Flint trying to woo Weasley." He answered and saw Flint fall off the bench. Harry looked at Marcus before staring at Weasley and said "I think they'd be cute together." Draco gave a scoff and said "not as cute as we are!" Half of Slytherin groaned, including his Uncle.
"Are you already packed, Harry?"
"Yes! I had Dobby take all of the Yule presents." Harry said, reaching for Draco's hand. They both left the Great Hall and headed towards their dorms. Uncle had agreed to let them use his floo instead of taking the train back and they were leaving tomorrow.
"Draco, are you okay? You've been kind of quiet." Harry asked, his eyes full of worry. Draco had promised himself he would be a good husband and communicate his problems so he opened his mouth and said "who have you been writing to?" As soon as he said it, he regretted it. He sounded possessive and he didn't want Harry to think he had to know everything.
"Oh! I'm writing to Griphook!" Harry said easily. Draco stopped and looked at him.
"Who?"
"Griphook! He's the head manager of the Potter accounts." Harry replied.
"Oh." Draco was embarrassed that he had been jealous over Harry writing to his account manager.
"I didn't know you were doing that." Draco said, his voice full of curiosity.
"Yes! Griphook has been very patient in explaining my duties as Heir. I also needed his help with something." Harry said evasively. "It's for Yule," he added. Drac wondered what it could be but he would wait until Yule to find out. Herm had said that Harry had been very focused on getting everyone a heartfelt gift and Draco couldn't wait to see what he got.
"Are you excited about the Ball? Mother said she got our dress robes ready." Harry flushed before saying "yes, I think it's going to be loads of fun and we can practice dancing for the wedding." Draco couldn't stop the grin on his face as they wandered the castle together.
Harry had twenty minutes before he had to meet Draco in Mr. Snape's office. He had already swapped Yule gifts with his roommates. He had gotten everyone personalized satchels in their House colors along with cookies from Mr. Malfoy. He wandered into the common room and saw Cedric and Tonks sitting together.
"Harry! Come here" Tonks hollered out, her hair turning black to match his. He walked over and she pulled him between the two of them.
"Are you excited for Yule, Harry? Mum says we'll be stopping by to see everyone and Uncle Sirius!" Tonks said happily. Even though Sirius was technically her cousin, she had decided it would be easier to call him her uncle.
"Yes! I hope everyone likes my gifts. I've never been able to buy any before." Harry said. Tonks and Cedric shared a look over his head. Maybe once they got older, they could drag his muggle family into the Hufflepuff pit. Only third years and up knew about the pit so they'd have to wait until Harry got a little older to tell him the sworn secret of Helga Hufflepuff.
"I'm sure they'll love it, Harry! And if someone doesn't, tell me and we'll take care of it!" Cedric said loudly. He would not let anyone ruin his little buddy's holiday. He hoped everyone would like the scarves he had knitted them. Harry laughed and they talked about the Malfoy Ball. Cedric had been to the one two years ago and it had been spectacular! Malfoy Manor was beautiful and they even own winged horses. They had been roaming the ground when Cedric had arrived with his parents and he had fallen in love.
"I'm very excited to meet the peacocks." Harry said. He couldn't wait. Draco said he would introduce them all individually and Harry could even pet them! The entrance opened and Mr. Snape stuck his head through.
"Harry, Draco is wearing a hole in my carpet. Are you ready?" He didn't realize the time and quickly said goodbye to his friends. He joined Draco in Mr. Snape's office. Draco showed him how the floo worked before yelling out "Malfoy Manor!" He took a deep breath and followed him into the flames.
