The easiest way to get information out of a Gryffindor was to play on their gregarious natures. Luckily for Draco Malfoy, Potter and his Golden Friends were prone to leaving their private quarters in order to get more privacy.
And so it happened that Draco Malfoy had overheard the entire conversation between the Gryffindor swot and the Spectacled jock.
He had two things to think about - one of them was Sirius Black. The other was how infuriating it was to have acted, in a way that might have worked, had he only tried it sooner.
Oh, it was pure foolishness, he thought, striding up the stairs to the top of the Astronomy Tower, to think that he would have even thought to do this last year. Pure and utter foolishness. Still... He wanted pretty badly to blast something to smithereens.
After all, it was a rare thing that Draco Malfoy tried to do, and failed.
Reaching the top of the Astronomy Tower, Draco Malfoy felt the chill wind blowing. In Scotland, even Septembers were brisk.
Stretching his arms out along the bannister, Draco Malfoy cast his gaze upon the Forbidden Forest, trying not to think about himself in there as a first year, cruelly punished for something that Potter had done.
Casting his mind away from prior foolishness, on his part and others, Draco Malfoy thought of Sirius Black, the scion of the mad, but powerful Black family... The one his mother had hardly mentioned, and whenever she did, she broke off - looked a little lost, and continued as if he'd never existed.
Potter's... godfather? Draco slowly recollected, his mind stuck remembering the Dementors and their omnipresent aura of fear. The one who was imprisoned? As a Muggle-killing Mass Murderer?
Draco's lips thinned into a line. Something was wrong here, and Draco'd bet money it was the press that had it wrong... perhaps the ministry too, for that matter. Oh, Draco Malfoy might not be able to prove jack in the court of law, but to even think that Harry Potter might have befriended a psychotic Muggle-hater? The mind boggled. Draco Malfoy would trust Potter's heart (well that, and his words when he was speaking to a friend. He hadn't the need to lie, so clearly Potter wasn't lying, however inconvenient or unbelievable the words were.).
Something had happened to Sirius Black. Draco considered. Perhaps his parents would know more.
Dear Mum,
I'm writing to ask a quick question for my astronomy class. Have you noticed anything different in the vicinity of Vega this year?
Sadly, at Hogwarts, the light is too much for me to accurately gauge the change in intensity.
your son,
-Draco Malfoy
[a/n: yes, this is a decent way to probe for answers. Narcissa may take a while to respond, however... Leave a review?]