Disclaimer: Harry Potter isn't mine.
Chapter 6 Secret Keepers
Draco clung to his Invisibility Cloak for dear life as he entered Honeydukes. He never would have thought Dudley, Vince, and Greg were capable of figuring all this out. Then again, all they had to do was able to read. Well…
He had no bloody clue how they figured this out, but Draco didn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth. After everything that had been going on, a break from Hogwarts was a gift. He never thought he would think he needed a break from Hogwarts.
"How can it be so hard to find a gift for someone with a sweet tooth in a candy shop?" Pansy whined.
Blaise glared at her. "Cockroach clusters? You can't just grab anything!"
"Thank you," Draco said without taking off his cloak. He grinned when Pansy nearly jumped out of her own skin.
"D-Dr-Dr—" she stuttered before Blaise shushed her.
Blaise gave her a rare smile. "I've wondered when he'd manage to sneak through."
"But…" Pansy's voice rose slightly, but she immediately dropped to a whisper when one of the Weasley twins looked her way. "But Regulus Black!"
"Yes," Blaise said dryly, "I'm sure he's out Christmas shopping right now."
"Christmas hunting," Pansy growled. "How'd you get here?"
Blaise glanced over his shoulder at the Weasley twins. "We'll talk outside. Let's walk to the Shrieking Shack."
The Weasley twins made kissy faces as they saw Blaise and Pansy walk by. Draco took the opportunity to stomp on one of their feet as hard as he could. One of them yowled and started arguing with the other one about it.
"Alright, spill," Pansy said as soon as it was just the three of them.
Draco "spilled" what he could. Dudley, being Dudley, wasn't one for details, but he showed Draco how to use the Map and gave it to him for no reason in particular besides being nice. Blaise frowned at that but said nothing. Pansy, on the other hand, had plenty to say.
"But you have to turn it in," she told him urgently as they started heading back into town. Draco took his cloak off and pulled his hood up to obscure as much of his face as possible. The crowd was thick with the upcoming holidays, so he blended in easily with his white blonde hair hidden beneath the hood.
"He certainly does not," Blaise grumbled. "He could get Dudley in trouble. Black would be up his arse until seventh year for stealing."
"It literally gives Black a Map right to him!" Pansy nearly yelled. "And who the bloody hell are the Guardians?"
Pharaoh, Obsidian, Wulf, and the Teacher. They were the "Messrs," and Draco didn't know much about them except that they seemed rather proud of themselves.
"Bloody geniuses," Blaise muttered. "You're not going to turn him in, are you?"
"Of course not," Pansy scoffed. "Just what kind of person do you think I am?"
"I'm choosing not to answer that," Blaise said quietly. His lips twitched with the effort not to smile as Pansy scowled and started to turn red.
"Let's get lunch," Draco intervened. How'd these two make it without killing each other without him?
The cold was starting to make his face sting, so Draco was grateful for the toasty air that enveloped him the moment he set foot in Three Broomsticks.
"Want to split a pizza?" Pansy asked lightly as they sat down near a Christmas tree. When she saw that Blaise wouldn't look in the direction of the curvy barmaid, she rolled her eyes and walked over to order. "You'll like Butterbeer, Draco."
Draco did like Butterbeer. He wasn't particularly picky, but the drink was exceptionally good. It warmed every bit of him that had felt frozen after the walk that they had just taken. The pizza was good too, and he was just polishing off his second slice when the door to Three Broomsticks opened. He nearly choked on a piece of crust when he heard the voices of Professor Greengrass, Vector, Babbling, and the Minister of Magic himself. Great.
With a rough shove from Blaise, Draco was on his knees and hiding under the table as the professors ordered their drinks.
"Who knew the Minister was such a ladies man?" the barmaid, Madam Rosemerta, simpered. Then, she turned serious, probably after receiving a few dirty looks. "What brings you here, Minister? I'll have you know your dementors are scaring away all my customers."
"You think I like them here?" Fudge said loudly, like he wanted everyone in the pub to hear. "But we have to have them. Even James Potter agrees. However, Riddle won't let them in the castle."
"I should think not," Professor Greengrass said. "What was James thinking?! They're just kids."
"Exactly," Fudge pressed. "You know what Black's capable of."
Madam Rosmerta sighed. "I still don't believe it. Regulus was so… I never would have thought him going Dark. He was a sweet boy, always happy just to be with his friends…"
"He looked up to his brother," Professor Greengrass said darkly, causing her to be shushed by Professor Vector. "What? He's not here. Regulus was always trying to prove himself to Sirius and look what happened!"
"Do not make accusations that were not proven," Professor Babbling said wisely. "Sirius has been trying his best to change—"
Professor Greengrass snorted. "They all are. Too little too late. Look at what Regulus did."
"Could he have been under the Imperius?" Madam Rosmerta asked. The what? "Like—"
"Do you really think they were?" Professor Greengrass asked bitterly.
"No," Fudge said weakly. "If you knew the worst of what Regulus has done, you would know that he was not being controlled. If he was, Lucius and Narcissa would have realized long before."
Draco went rigid at the sound of his parents' names. Pansy took her coat off to hang over his chair to hide him further. Blaise's knee started to bounce with nerves.
"Lucius and Narcissa?" Madam Rosmerta repeated.
"Don't you remember?" Professor Greengrass asked. "Narcissa absolutely adored Regulus like a baby brother, so Lucius, since he was so smitten with Narcissa, took Regulus under his wing."
"Hexed the snot out of Potter for picking on Regulus and his friends so much." Professor Vector laughed at the memory. "Regulus idolized Lucius. He finally had a "big brother" who was willing to do more for him than give him embarrassing hexes and jinxes."
"And Lucius loved Regulus like a little brother," Fudge continued. "So much so that Narcissa and Lucius named Regulus Draco's godfather. Draco has no idea of course. Andromeda would never be so cruel."
Think again, Draco thought. But clearly she wasn't. In fact, his aunt never mentioned the Blacks or being related to anyone with magic besides him and his mother. Draco didn't even know he had a godfather.
"Because Regulus joined You-Know-Who?" Rosmerta whispered.
"Even worse." Professor Greengrass's voice sounded rather faint, like what they were going to say next was physically painful for her.
"The Malfoys knew they were a target." Fudge lowered his voice, so Draco had to strain his ears. "Riddle was fighting against You-Know-Who, and one of his spies told him. The Malfoys went into hiding just before Draco was born, and since You-Know-Who is nearly impossible to hide from, Riddle told them that their best chance of survival was the Fidelius Charm."
"Excuse me." Professor Greengrass sounded near tears, and Draco heard the scraping of a chair. He held his breath, but she went in the opposite direction, and the ding of the bell on the door of the entrance signaled that she had left.
There was a moment of tense silence. Finally, after a nearly a minute, Professor Vector could not hold it in any longer. "Poor Delilah. How does the charm work?"
"It's incredibly complicated," Fudge squeaked. "The magical concealment is hidden inside a person, the Secret Keeper. A location, like Malfoy Manor, is impossible to find unless the Secret Keeper divulges the secret. Even You-Know-Who wouldn't be able to find them."
"So Regulus was the Malfoys' Secret Keeper," Madam Rosmerta breathed. But that would mean… Draco was starting to feel sick.
"Yes," Professor Babbling said quietly. "Lucius said that Regulus would die before telling You-Know-Who where they were. Riddle didn't like it, but Lucius was insistent. Regulus was going to go into hiding with them, but Riddle was still worried and offered to be the Secret Keeper himself."
"Riddle knew?" Madam Rosmerta asked so loudly that Professor Vector shushed her. She lowered her voice before adding, "That Regulus was a traitor?"
"He suspected there was a traitor close to the Malfoys." Fudge sighed. "But unfortunately, he didn't know. Don't you think he would have stopped it? Barely a week after the Fidelius Charm had been cast…"
"Regulus told You-Know-Who?" Madam Rosmerta gasped. Draco almost jumped up, but surprisingly, Blaise grabbed his arm and squeezed so hard that tears stung his eyes.
"And we all know what happened next," Professor Vector said solemnly.
"When You-Know-Who fell," Fudge said, "Regulus tried to flee."
"No wonder Delilah was so upset," Rosmerta whispered.
"She was there. That night." Professor Vector sounded like she was in a trance. "Regulus wanted to take little Draco, stating that he was the boy's godfather, and Delilah almost let him, but she followed Riddle's orders and insisted on taking him. Can you imagine if she had fell for it? She had always fancied Regulus…"
"Good thing you caught him." Even Madam Rosmerta sounded close to tears.
"If only we did," Fudge said darkly. "August Zabini found him, another one of the Malfoys' friends."
"The rat faced boy?" Madam Rosmerta asked. "His son Blaise comes in with his girlfriend often."
"Yes." Fudge paused. "I supposed he went mad with grief. He worshiped Lucius, and Narcissa was going to take him on as an apprentice for alchemy… Regulus blew him up. Only a finger was left of him."
"I never had the patience for him when he was a boy!" Professor Babbling sobbed. "I was the Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher at the time! If I had prepared him more…"
"You can't blame yourself for this, Bathsheda," Professor Vector soothed. "Regulus was mad—"
"I wish he was," Fudge said slowly. "I met him, last year when I was inspecting Azkaban. I thought he'd be a drooling catatonic, like Remus Lupin, but no. He smiled at me. Asked if I was done with the paper."
"So he's planning to rejoin You-Know-Who?" Madam Rosmerta asked, sounding terrified.
"And giving him Draco on a silver platter." Fudge grunted with the effort to get up. "I'm afraid I must go, Madam. I have a long evening with the Headmaster."
There was a ringing in Draco's ears as they all left. Once the coast was clear, Pansy and Blaise lifted the table cloth. Before they could say a word, Draco ran.
Draco ran blindly, simply wanting to make sure that his friends couldn't catch him. It couldn't be true. It couldn't be.
His parents were so kind to Regulus. They were family for Christ's sake! His godfather… someone his father considered close enough to him to make him his only son's godfather.
When Draco distantly heard Pansy's voice calling his name, he turned into an alleyway and nearly tumbled into an embracing couple.
"S-sor…" All apologies died on Draco's lips. It was James Potter, and he wasn't with Lily Potter.
I'm sure Potter has a blonde haired blue eyed bimbo hidden somewhere. Pansy's words made Draco angry at the time because she thought he had mistaken an image of his mother for someone stupid enough to have an affair with James Potter. Well Draco was face to face with the "blonde haired blue eyed bimbo" now. Professor Greengrass.
"You look like shit," Potter said as she sat next to him during their next Potions class. Draco didn't answer her, making her uncomfortable at the lack of insult. "Or are you just not wearing makeup?"
"Shut up." He felt an anger bubbling inside him, an anger that he hadn't felt since he was in Muggle school. Luckily, Pansy intervened.
She turned around, savoring what she was about to say. "The whole school is talking about how your parents are getting divorced."
So that's why she was goading him. Draco didn't say anything as Professor Black swept in.
They were brothers, he and Regulus, that much he could gather. Did they look alike? Professor Black took very good care of himself. Not a hair was out of place. Regulus obviously hadn't, or maybe couldn't, considering he lived with dementors.
Potter was rigid as a board during Professor Black's lecture, thanks to Pansy's cold words. Draco found his eyes sliding to Daphne, who was taking notes rather diligently. Did Daphne know what her mother was doing? Did Potter know? Should he tell them?
"I was only joking," Potter said flatly when the bell rang. Draco remained silent. "I forgot about—"
"No, you didn't," Draco snapped before she could continue. She was referring to the memories that she had seen. No. She said that because of the memories she had seen.
Potter looked at her shoes. She probably wanted to set him off so she could forget, for even just a moment, that her parents were getting divorced. It was foul, and Draco didn't think she had the emotional capacity to understand it herself. Therefore, he was astounded to hear her whisper, "I'm sorry."
She fled before he could answer. Draco wasn't even sure if he would have.
The school days couldn't end soon enough. To look Professor Black in the eyes, knowing what his brother had done, what his brother had done to impress him… And Black had the gall to tell Professor Riddle that he wanted to adopt him… Draco couldn't get it off his mind, even when he should have been thinking about other things, like Arithmancy.
"You can copy my notes," Blaise offered as they left class. "But you better watch out. Professor Vector will have your head if she catches you zoning out like that."
Professor Vector, who talked about his parents' death in a pub of all places. Draco said nothing, not caring. They walked in silence until Blaise spoke up once again.
"Are you going to go after him?" he asked quietly. There was no need to ask who he was talking about, but Draco didn't answer because he didn't know. What he did know was that if Regulus Black crossed his path, he wasn't going to run. "Because if you do, I want in."
August Zabini. Blaise's father. Regulus Black had killed him too. Draco was so focused on his own parents that he had nearly forgotten. Blaise knew exactly what he was going through.
"I hope he finds us," Draco found himself saying. If Black found them, they would be ready.
They met in their usual spot when Draco had to give Potter the Time Turner. He had every intention to not to say a word to her. She deserved to look so exhausted and depressed, but then Draco remembered what she needed the Time Turner for. Potter was taking Muggle Studies, which was taught by Professor Greengrass.
"Why did you take that class?" Draco found himself asking. Potter frowned, not understanding why he suddenly cared after nearly four months. "You hate Muggles."
Potter shrugged, not willing to give away any details. Did she know? "I was curious."
"Right." Draco rolled his eyes and handed her the Time Turner. "Here."
"Curiosity killed the cat," she sang as she took it. "I'll give it back tomorrow, Malfoy."
Draco watched her go, wondering how Professor Greengrass could go to sleep at night, knowing the Potter eagerly pranced to her class every week.
Draco started avoiding Daphne and Astoria after what he had seen between their mother and Mr. Potter. Professor Greengrass was the Muggle Studies teacher, so she was easy to avoid. All he had to do was keep his head turned away from the professor's table in the Great Hall. Perhaps it was nerves, but Draco could feel Professor Greengrass's eyes boring into his skull.
"Are you alright, Draco?" Pansy asked for the ten thousandth time since the Regulus Black incident. When he wasn't thinking about that, he was thinking about the Greengrass sisters. He almost wished he was blind.
"Are you going to ask about his bowel movements next?" Daphne was sick of hearing it too, and it was only breakfast. Draco glanced at her and then quickly looked away. She looked just like her mother…
"He does look rather pale," Astoria said worriedly. "Are you sick?"
Draco forced himself to look at her to answer and almost actually was sick. For the first time, he noticed how messy her hair was in the morning and that her eyes were hazel. Just like James Potter's.
I'm baaaack! ;) It's been too long! :'( I've had a stressful two months, but I'm back!
Thank you for the reviews myafroatemydog, Gabriel2015, gr8roxkstarrox, and GreyAurora!
GreyAurora: You were kind of right! The mystery of Draco's parents gets unraveled at the very end of third year, going into fourth.