The Hogwarts Competition
Assignment #6
Ravenclaw
Hagiology Task #3 - Write about someone running away from home.
1450 words
Sirius Black could feel a headache coming on. Turning away from the mantle, he faced the two miscreants that had disrupted his quiet night in.
"Let me get this straight. You—" here he pointed at his second cousin, Draco Malfoy, who was dressed in Beauxbaton-blue robes. "Disagree with your father's position on blood purity and those of mixed blood."
Draco nodded solemnly.
"And you," here he pointed at his godson, Harry Potter, who was similarly dressed in his Durmstrang robes despite the warm weather. "Disagree with Prongs' position on combating Dark wizards. Is that accurate?"
"Basically."
"Remind me again why you decided to come here with your teen angst?" Sirius huffed in exasperation. Really, there was a reason why he chose not to have kids and not wanting to pass on Mummy Dearest's insanity problem was only part of it.
"As the black sheep of the-"
"I overheard last Fri-"
The two spoke over each other, paused, and tried again.
"AsItheoverheardblack!"
Green eyes glared into grey, and before the two could try again at even greater volumes, Sirius put two fingers to his lips and let out a piercing whistle.
The two teens turned their glares on him.
"One at a time! Please, I've better things to do with my life than listen to you two trying to out-speak the other," he cried exasperatedly. Then, deciding that more direction was obviously necessary, he pointed to Harry.
"Since Draco got to respond first last time, you may start now. Well?"
"I've overheard you arguing similar points with Dad before. Besides, you're my godfather. Why wouldn't I go to you? Am I not welcome here?" Harry pouted in a way that utterly undermined whatever seriousness his attire brought to the subject.
Sirius just stared back, unimpressed. "Harry James, you know very well that you're always welcome. I just want to know the whys and wherefores before I go to bat for you against my best friend. Understood?"
"Understood."
Sirius leaned over to muss Harry's already unruly mop of hair before turning to the other teen.
"And your reasoning?"
The blond took one deep breath, then two. "I understand that you've little reason to accept me into the family home, cousin, given your animosity with my sire, and under ordinary circumstances, I would not have darkened your doorway."
Hearing that reminded Sirius a little too much of when he had run away to James' house as a teen.
"Cut the codswallop. Your mum's a Black by blood, and while we mightn't be close, that's enough reason for me to offer you help if you need it, regardless of how I feel about your father. Now, answer the actual question," Sirius' eyes narrowed as he furthered his argument. "Considering neither you nor your mum have interacted much with the Black family since I took the Lordship, you have to understand that I'm somewhat confused about why you would come to me."
It looked as though a weight had been lifted from the blond's shoulders, and a smirk that was more reminiscent of his first cousin than her husband graced the boy's face.
"You want an explanation? Very well then. You're the black sheep of the Black family, if you'll pardon the pun. Nearly everyone else in the Malfoy sphere of interaction either agrees wholeheartedly with the drivel Father spouts or is too scared to go against him." With that, the heat seemed to leave the young heir, and Draco's shoulders slumped. "Visiting my friends from school isn't an option. I won't risk his ire coming down on them as well as me. Given your status as Head of Mum's house, my being here doesn't even count as running away, regardless of what Father has to say about it. That is… as long as you don't complain."
Sirius' lips quirked at that response. That bit of emotional manipulation at the end had Narcissa written all over it.
"Whelp, I guess that's that then. Both of you can stay the night, and we'll figure out the rest in the morning. I'll go tell Kreacher that you're staying over for dinner. Harry, would you mind showing Draco to the family wing? He can have the room next to yours."
"Sounds good, Pads. Draco?" Harry tilted his head towards the stairway in question before taking off, the other boy on his heels.
"Merlin…" Sirius mumbled to himself. "How is this my life?" Suddenly remembering all the hijinx he and the rest of the Marauders had gotten up to during their school days (especially when it concerned interacting with certain Dark families), Sirius quickly yelled up the stairs, "House rule: No hexing each other allowed!"
Rather than be at each other's throats, the two boys had quickly bonded over their unique schooling situations.
"I thought all Potters went to Hogwarts?"
"Aren't the Malfoys known for being in Slytherin?"
They'd asked as soon as they were alone in Draco's temporary bedroom.
"Before he died, Grandpa Potter decided that he didn't like the leadership at Hogwarts or who it turned my dad into. He thought Durmstrang would be a better choice and would force me to think for myself, so he manipulated things at the bank using his headship to force my parents to comply," Harry explained. "What about you?"
"Pretty similar actually. According to Grandfather, Hogwarts was why my dad became a follower to that half-blood, Riddle. He didn't want the entire line to become 'sheep' and demanded I go to Beauxbatons instead. It was where the family went before we came to Britain apparently."
"Nice. You like it there?" Harry asked.
"Of course! Merlin knows, it seems to offer a superior standard of education to what I would have received at Hogwarts. Monsieur Paix, our history instructor, makes a point of teaching different perspectives for whatever topic we're discussing. Apparently, the Scottish school caters to a deceased instructor and allows him to drone on and on about the goblin wars, all from the wizarding point of view, of course." Draco warmed up to one of his favourite topics.
"From what I've heard, the only thing that ghost is good for is putting students to sleep," Harry added. "I wonder why they keep him on. Hasn't Dumbledore heard of that old adage, 'those who don't learn from history are destined to repeat it?'"
"Everything I've heard about the man implies he lost the majority of his sanity years ago. And you? What's your favourite aspect of Durmstrang?" Draco asked.
"Definitely the mock battles. Our instructors legitimately want us to be able to protect ourselves and others if need be. We don't use the Big Three or other curses that have mind-altering or addictive properties to them, but anything else is pretty much fair game. That's why I'm here. Our government's Auror program is a joke by international standards, and Dad's too blind to acknowledge it. Sure it works if they're just trying to go against a petty criminal, but the horrible response times and losses during the last war speak for themselves. He wants to pretend the system is just fine, and my suggesting something is wrong automatically means I'm becoming too radical." Harry explained passionately.
"Ha! You're too radical for wanting the Aurors to have adequate training, something that my father has been exploiting for years but would actually respect, and I'm too radical for wanting equal rights for marginalized magical communities."
"We should just dye our hair. Potters have been seeking to represent the underdog for generations." The brunette laughed at the idea.
A thoughtful frown replaced the ironic smirk that had previously graced the Malfoy heir's face.
"What if… what if we didn't swap places?" he said slowly with a grin.
"Uh, yeah. I was only joking with that." Harry's head tilted in both curiosity and confusion. "Draco? Are you okay?"
"I believe, Potter, that this may be the start of a beautiful friendship!"
Ten minutes later, Sirius found himself listening in on the boys' conversation. He needed to know if his second cousin and godson would need to be separated, after all. Raucous laughter brought a broad, slightly sinister grin to his face even as he quietly backed away. The Wizengamot would be in for a rude awakening once the Malfoy-Potter alliance made itself known. His inner prankster couldn't wait.
"Oy, Padfoot, would you mind if we added one more for dinner?" Harry's voice called from the bedroom.
"Sure, Pup. Who're you thinking?"
"Neville Longbottom!"
"Use the Floo to ask if it's okay. If his grandmother is fine with it, he can even spend the night if you'd like." Keeping a serious/Sirius face was incredibly difficult.
This was going to be the best prank ever!