Key of Darkness: Just a note, this is set in Harry's sixth year as I started writing this before I read book six. However, I will retain elements of the latest book in this story, what with Ron and Lavender and the Weasley Wizards Wheezes and what not.

Justin: Hi/waves/

"I also apologize for leaving this story for so long, but I am now going into my sixth month of glandular fever and everything is slow at this point. So bear with me.

HP

Remus sighed. "Take this as good news or bad news, we have a resident."

"So I gathered. Why?" Harry rubbed his hands over his face. This day was really not going well.

"He's not as bad as you think Harry." The girl said quietly.

"OH YEAH? HE BULLIED ME, HE TORMENTED ME, HE WAS DOWN RIGHT CRULE TO ME FROM DAY ONE, AND YOU'RE TELLING ME THAT HE ISN'T ALL THAT BAD?" Harry was on his feet, the chair lying on its side on the floor. "HOW THE HELL DO YOU KNOW WHAT HE'S LIKE?"

"I'm his cousin, Angel Malfoy-Black. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

HD

.Harry was stunned. Here, a girl with flaming red, frizzy hair was claiming to be Draco Malfoys cousin.

"That's not possible." He stammered.

She smiled quietly. "Well, I'm not exactly his cousin, but through blood and power, it would seem I am. Really Harry, you barely know half of the story with Dray, he's really not that bad."

Harry leaned back in his chair, narrowing his eyes. "I'm listening."

"Draco is the most gentle soul you will ever know…"

Harry snorted.

"…if you realize what he has been through his whole Life. The life that he has been forced to live is that of a lie he was forced into by his father. It was him, not Draco that hurt you. What Malfoy did to his son I do not know, and now that I think of it, I do not want to know. But if you take anything seriously that I am saying, it should be this: Draco does not hate you, he never has and he never will. His father forced him to be cruel to you and he regrets every minute of it. It is tearing him apart."

Harry rolled his eyes and fiddled with the fork in front to him. "Okay. Let's just say that Malfoy isn't the evil git we all think he is. I still want one question answered, what the hell is he doing here? This is the headquarters of his father's enemies for gods' sake! His father could be using him as a spy!"

"His father is in Azkaban."

"Knowing him, he has links!"

Remus placed his hands gently on Harry's shoulders. Harry glared up at him. "The Draco that you knew was a mask to stop him form getting killed by his father."

"How do you know he isn't still wearing that mask?"

Angel sat forward in her chair and looked into his eyes, "Because Draco can't lie when he's talking to me."

"He lie's through his teeth!"

"He would be very stupid if he did when he's anywhere near me. I can tell when people are lying and Draco is no exception."

"Who are you?"

"Angel Malfoy-Black is all you need to know."

"Not good enough."

Angel smiled, never taking her eyes of the black haired boy. "You have your mother's eyes you know… and your great grandfather's completion by the look of you."

"How do you know that?" Harry's eyes narrowed with suspicion.

"I am as old as time itself." She leaned back in her chair, "Time is funny. It is as old as the ages yet it has not begun. So really, I am as old as the ages but I haven't been born yet." Her eyes snapped back into focus. "Time is powerful Harry. It is shifting, moving, it is all around us. We are it and it is us. We are time. It's a paradox." She relaxed again and smiled.

"I did not understand a word of that."

Remus squeezed his shoulders and laughed. "Neither do I. I never have either."

"You know her?"

"For well over twenty years."

"My head hurts."

"Well eat your soup before it becomes chilled." Mrs. Weasley, who had been standing over to one side, mothered.

Angel sighed, stood and stretched. "I suppose we should let 'them who have ears pressed to door' in." There was a great amount of shuffling, a muffled bang and an "OWW" as Angel swaggered lazily over to the door.

It swung open, revealing a troop of red heads, a brunet and a silver cat.

The dog growled slightly and the cat hissed back.

"They have a love hate relationship at the moment. A certain dog managed to close a door on a certain cat's tail." Angel remarked as she leaned down and scooped the cat into her arms. It started purring. The dog wined.

Harry patted it's head.

Ron smiled weakly and said softly, "Have you heard his name yet?"

Harry nodded.

"Hermione and I named him in memory."

"I figured as much." Harry stared down at his soup, thinking. Snuffles nosed his leg and he looked down into the blue eyes. "I miss him."

Ron and Hermione ran forward and wrapped their arms around him, Hermione resting her cheek on his head. "We all do." She whispered, "Granted not as much as you, but we still miss him."

Ginny and the twins sat down around him, Ginny putting a hand on Harry's arm.

"What the legacy?" Harry asked finally.

"A place where…"

"… The wont let us go. They say it's…."

"… too dangerous….

"…For underage Wizards." Fred finished.

Ginny took her hand off his arm. "It's the new place that they go for the meetings. They go into one of the rooms upstairs,"

"Which is locked." interrupted Ron.

She glared at him. "And they are gone for hours. It started as soon as Angel got here."

Angel smiled at the mention of her name.

"They wont tell us anything about it though." mused Ron, running his hand through his hair. "It's weird."

"Why do they call it the legacy?" asked Harry, still thoroughly confused.

"It probably comes form part of what they over heard in the old meetings." Remus quipped with a rouge smile.

"We perfected the extendable ears…"

"… They can hear through doors even with the best of spells placed on them." the twins said grinning madly.

"Their meddling was the main reason we moved the meetings to the…" Mrs. Weasel clamped her jaws shut and renewed her efforts to remove her children plus Hermione out of the kitchen.

"Yesssss?" Fred pried.

"None of your business. Now out! The lot of you!"

"I think it's high time you gave up Molly. With Harry's arrival they won't be able to sleep any way." Remus said with a twinkle in his eyes.

Molly groaned and gave in. She flopped down onto the chair at the end of the table and just watched.

Harry, for the first time, took notice of his friend's state of dress. All of them were in pajamas. Ron's were still an inch above his ankles and the twins were almost threading bare. Ginny on the other hand had one of her mothers hand knitted, baggy jumpers over the top of her night dress, and, Harry noticed, she looked quiet pretty. Hermione however wore a sensible top and long pants with teddy bears printed on them.

Ignis leapt on the table and mewed, ducking the dish towel Molly had thrown at him.

"Get OFF THE TABLE!" she yelled.

Ignis turned, looked at her and meowed something that sounded suspiciously like 'no!' He then threw himself into Harry's arms and started purring again.

HP

Key of Darkness: see you at chapter 4!