1992:

It was a few days before they had to get Draco's things that Alex found out something that he wished he never had. It was when he was heading down to his father's den, wanting to talk to him, when he overheard someone speaking. It certainly wasn't his father, he knew that, and so he ducked into a nearby closet and searched for a secret passage to sneak into. He knew there was one from his mental map of the passages in the manor that would allow him to know what was going on in the den and he was curious who was speaking to his father. Finding the knot in the wall, he pressed it and a passage opened before him. It was too small for him to walk in and so he crawled, listening for what was going on. Spotting a tiny hole in the wall, he peeked through as he listened.

"...and that's what I'm going to do." Lucius was talking to someone standing in the corner that Alex couldn't see well. His father was sitting in a chair with a black book in his lap.

"You're certain it will work?"

"Perhaps." Lucius rolled the book in his hands, "The Dark Lord gave this to me and it's unnaturally charmed. After the failure of last year, it may be the only way to return him to power."

"You told me it somehow has his memory in it?"

"From what I've figured out, yes. If he can grow in power enough, he won't be just a memory anymore and we will have Lord Voldemort back."

"Good luck, then." The man gave him a nod before turning away and disappearing. Alex blinked, then ducked through the passage, his mind running over what he'd just seen. He went straight to his room through another passage, appearing under the bed through a trapdoor. When he was out and on top of his bed, he called for Dobby. The house elf was in his room in seconds.

"Yes, Master Alex?"

"Dobby, I need you to do me a favor."

"Favor, Master Alex?" The blond boy nodded.

"I need you to warn Harry Potter that something terrible is going to go down at Hogwarts. You heard what happened in the den, right?" Slowly, Dobby nodded, hesitant, "Tell Harry everything you know, make sure he knows that Hogwarts is dangerous."

"But why him, sir? Why Harry Potter?"

"He defeated Voldemort last year, he can do it again. Now go, before Dad knows you're gone!" Dobby gave a quick nod and disappeared with a snap of his fingers. Alex could only sit in silence and wonder if he'd made the right call, sending Dobby to warn Harry.

Even though he still had his 'ailment,' Alex was allowed to join his brother and father to Diagon Alley, helping them find Draco's stuff for the year. He was keeping a close eye on his father, wondering when and who Lucius would pass the book to. He wasn't able to stay with him, however, as Lucius sent them to Flourish and Blotts after their stop in Knockturn Alley, going off to do something alone. Alex wanted to go with him but knew his father's word was law and so joined Draco, standing upstairs as the store was filled by fans of Gilderoy Lockhart.

"So he's your new DADA teacher?"

"Yeah, but not for long." Draco said, the two of them looking down over the bannister, "You know how I told you about the 'curse' on the DADA position? I doubt he'll last the year."

"You don't know that."

"Wanna bet?" Alex shook his head.

"I know better than that."

"You're just a chicken!" Draco prodded. Alex rolled his eyes, then spotted someone coming in through the door.

"Hey, isn't that Potter and Granger?" Draco followed his gaze and frowned at the sight of the Gryffindors.

"That's them alright, along with most of the Weasleys." Alex was a little surprised that he'd managed to get it right. He'd only met Harry once and had heard from Draco about Hermione and the Weasley clan as a whole. At least he knew how they looked now.

"Don't be so mean." Alex said, giving Draco a look, "What have they ever done to you?"

"Granger's a mudblood and the Weasleys love Muggles. If Potter hadn't met them, he'd probably be on our side." Alex jabbed him in the side, "Ow!"

"Be nice!" Draco gave his brother a dark look as he rubbed his side.

"What is with you and trying to get me to be nice? Can't I be mean once in a while?"

"You're mean to everyone." Alex pointed out, "If you ever want friends, be nice."

"I've got Crabbe and Goyle!"

"They're your lackeys, not your friends." Alex lowered his eyes down to see how Harry managed to get away from Lockhart, "I'm your only friend, and that's kinda sad."

"No you're not! Just watch!" With that, Draco went downstairs to confront the group. Alex watched as he did so and flinched when his father entered the shop. Alex was still upstairs but he managed to catch the sleight of hand Lucius made as he slipped the diary in with the other book to the Weasley girl. He was unable to do anything to stop it or even warn the group, knowing his existence was supposed to be a secret, only going downstairs after Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys left.

"There you are." Lucius gave Alex a nod, "Ready to go, boys?"

"Yes sir." Alex and Draco followed him out.

"So?" Draco dropped his voice to a whisper, "I wasn't as mean."

"No, you were worse." Draco flinched at the disappointment in Alex's voice. They were both silent for a moment.

"...I'm sorry." the platinum blond said, gently, softly, "I'm not trying to make excuses, but you know how we were raised. It's just in my nature to be mean."

"You're not when I'm around." Alex pointed out again, "Am I like your morality pet or something?" Draco gave a small snort.

"Something wrong, boys?"

"No sir." Lucius stared at them for a moment before moving on.

"Maybe." Draco said to Alex and the younger brother smiled.

"Maybe I should be around you more often, then."

"Don't get your hopes up." Alex's lips twitched but he didn't drop the smile. He knew it was in jest but it also felt like a jab to how he wasn't able to go to Hogwarts or another magical school like Draco could. Maybe one day, but not now, and it hurt. Draco didn't mean anything by it, but it still hurt.

Alex joined his mother and father when they went to see Draco's first Quidditch match, getting seats in the high towers to watch the game. He'd rarely played Quidditch but knew the rules, how to play it, and watched any match they went to. It reminded him somewhat of soccer, a game he'd recently gotten into at his Muggle school, Brookland. But then his mother began to feel sick and went home, leaving him alone with his father. Alex wanted to go with her but didn't, staying both to support his brother and getting a quick look around, see how much danger Hogwarts was in. It was because of this that he found himself sitting beside a man named Snape, introduced to him by his father.

"Hello, Lucius. Here to see your son compete, I presume?" Snape's arms were crossed as he raised an eyebrow, glancing over the two.

"That's right, Severus."

"And who might this be?" Lucius glanced at Alex and his lips tightened, pressing together as if he didn't want to speak.

"This is Alex." That was all he said. Snape was skeptical, wondering who the boy truly was if he was with Lucius but didn't press the matter, taking his seat with silence. Alex was intimidated by the dark-haired man but didn't let it show, focusing on the game instead. The blond boy frowned at how dirty the Slytherins played and just wondered how no one was calling out fouls on them. Yes, what they were doing was technically allowed, but that didn't make it any better to do. He also had to duck when the rogue bludger started chasing Harry, as did the rest of the people in the tower. He observed how it chased Harry and then Draco all over the field and into places he couldn't see, wincing when Draco 'landed' and almost covering his eyes when the bludger nearly killed Harry. Even if this wasn't the book's doing he was glad he was at a Muggle school instead where things looked a lot safer than this. And after the match, when he and Lucius left the stands to check on Draco, he found that Harry was being brought to the Hospital Wing as well. Something about 'lacking bones in his arm.' Lucius gave a small huff when he overheard it.

"My guess is that Lockhart had something to do with Potter losing bones." murmured the man, "Man couldn't cast a good shielding charm even if his life was in danger."

"Oooh..." Draco was groaning and Alex rolled his eyes. He knew when Draco was milking his performances and this was one of those times. Looking away as Lucius went to check on his son, Alex spotted Dobby peeking in from the hallway. Raising an eyebrow, he trotted over and ducked out of sight, joining Dobby in a small medical closet.

"What are you doing here?" Alex asked.

"Dobby wanted to let Master Alex know that he has been trying to tell Harry Potter Hogwarts is dangerous but has been unsuccessful."

"What do you mean? What have you been doing?" Dobby looked a mixture of scared and sheepish.

"Dobby has, erm, done a few things to stop Harry Potter."

"Including the bludger?" Alex demanded. Dobby shakily nodded, "I didn't want you to kill him or stop him, just warn him!"

"Dobby is sorry, Master! Dobby will iron his hands when he returns home!"

"Don't do that! You don't have to hurt yourself because you did something wrong." Alex had been telling Dobby that for years but knew the house elf wouldn't listen, having happened many times before. He sighed and rubbed his temples, "Look, talk to Harry tonight, but after that, leave him alone. I think he gets that something's going down at Hogwarts and is trying to solve it, but he doesn't need to have someone else trying to hurt him in the process."

"Yes, Master Alex." Dobby nodded and was gone at a snap of the fingers. Alex then stepped out of the closet and into the Hospital Wing, preparing to verbally assault Draco to get out his anger, get Draco up, and get him to stop whining, since he was perfectly fine, if a little sore.

1993:

It was during the holidays of Draco's third year that Alex came to visit, and that was the second time Harry had met Draco's brother. Despite all the turmoil that was going on (the escape of Sirius Black, the Dementors at Hogwarts, the Buckbeak case, etc.), Alex insisted to go see Draco, wanting to get out of the manor, which he had barely left at all in the two years since the 'Obscurial Incident,' and he was so insistent to his parents (read: annoying them) that they had no choice but to agree. And so Alex went, giving Draco a surprise not long before the visit to Hogsmeade was to commence. Of course, because of Alex's 'condition,' Draco was being extra protective of the other, staying close to Alex during the time he was there, and so was being less nasty to other people. Alex was not a bad person and so forced his brother to do the same, even if Draco wanted to badly make a remark or two about other students. Alex was even allowed to go to Hogsmeade after getting his own permission letter, and so he joined Draco in going to the village. It was because of Alex going along that Draco didn't go with his gang, and it became just a day where the brothers went and saw the shops and sights. It started to change, though, when they came across Harry's gang near the Shrieking Shack.

"...and so they let me go with you, as long as I stopped playing that 'horrid Muggle music' and running through the halls." Alex was explaining as he and Draco were walking the path to the Shrieking Shack.

"What were you playing?"

"Green Day's 1,000 Hours. I can sing a bit of it if you want."

"No way, you have a horrible singing voice!"

"Says you!" And so the brothers playfully sent insults at one another, until the conversation turned to something neither had particularly wanted to talk about: the Buckbeak case.

"Why did you do it?" Alex asked, confusing Draco by giving no context.

"What do you mean?"

"Complaining to Father about your injury from the Hippogriff. You know how I feel about them."

"Yes, but you know how I feel about the half-giant that works here. Buckbeak was just caught in the crossfire."

"At least the trial's still ongoing, so maybe there's a way to still save Buckbeak." Draco snorted.

"You and I both know that won't happen, not with Father prosecuting the creature."

"Haven't you ever thought to not be nasty to someone?" Alex asked, "Just be nice to someone else other than me?" Draco paused.

"A little, yes."

"Is it more fun to be evil or good?"

"Good, I guess..."

"Well, you've got a few more years to change who you are, Draco, to not follow our Father."

"Why don't you try convincing Father to drop the charges?"

"You think I haven't?" Alex commented, "He may love me now, but he's hard to change."

"Point taken." It was at that moment that they finally came to the clearing where they could see the Shrieking Shack, only to find Harry's gang there. Draco's big brother instincts, as well as his snark, kicked in at that point, where he moved in front of Alex to protect him, but Alex decided to be stubborn and step in front of Draco to get a better look at the other teens. He'd met Harry only once and he'd never seen the other two before, he wondered who they were, then Draco pulled him back.

"Are you trying to get hexed?!" hissed the elder. Alex shrugged off his grip.

"If you weren't so mean to them, I bet that they'd actually be very nice people to us." Draco snorted at that, but seeing that Alex wasn't going to change his mind, followed his little brother as Alex went to greet Harry and his friends. And yet they stopped short when they found the other two people comforting Harry, and he seemed to be crying.

"We shouldn't bother them." said Alex, moving away.

"And yet you were the one who wanted to go see them in the first place!" Draco said in exasperation.

"Yeah, but I know when it's a bad time to intrude." Alex gave his brother a look, "Leave them be this time Draco."

"But-"

"Draco."

"...Fine." The platinum blond trudged after his brother through the snow when the temperature suddenly seemed to dip even more.

"Brr." Alex shook and Draco got closer to him so that they would both stay warm.

"Easy." He glanced around nervously, "We should head back to Hogsmeade. I don't like this."

"Why?" questioned Alex, who breathed slightly and a small cloud of of his breath appeared right in front of his face. It was thicker than it had been before, as if the temperature truly had dropped.

"It's getting colder. That usually means Dementors are around."

"I thought they didn't leave the castle grounds, though."

"They aren't, unless-" Draco's eyes suddenly widened and he smacked his forehead, "Oh god, I forgot about that notice!"

"What notice?" Draco grabbed Alex's hand and began dragging him faster towards the village.

"They're supposed to patrol Hogsmeade every night until Black is caught, but I bet Potter's the reason they're out here now! That little-!" Before Draco could finish, a floating, haunted-looking hooded figure descended into their path, and both boys became enshrouded in feelings of despair and depression, almost freezing them to the spot. Alex was able to overcome the feelings and began running back towards Harry's gang, Draco in tow, and the Dementor chased after them.

"Help!" Alex called, "Help!" Alex didn't know how Harry's gang could help, but he hoped they could. He had heard from Draco that Hermione (the 'mudblood' of the group) knew most everything, so he hoped she knew some way to get rid of the Dementor. He just wondered if they could reach the others in time, as the Dementor was catching up. But then they crested a hill and spotted the trio below, where they ran pell-mell towards them, the Dementor right on their heels.

"Help!" Alex cried again. The trio looked up in surprise at the call and shot to their feet at the sight of the Dementor, wands out as if they could protect Alex and Draco. But as soon as the brothers reached Harry's gang, the Dementor paused, as if unsure what to do. Was it trying to pick who it would attack?

"Incendio!" Hermione's wand shot out a stream of flame at the Dementor, and the bottom of its cloak lit up slightly before being doused by the Dementor's natural cold atmosphere, and that seemed to set it off to strike, as it suddenly flew forward and grabbed-

"ALEX!" The boy heard his brother's scream but was too focused on the hooded, scabby figure leaning down into his face. As it came closer and closer, more despair piled on and it felt hopeless to get away from the Dementor, and he could hear something else for some reason. It was the faint screams of someone, certainly not his brother, but they seemed familiar, and a flash of orange-red could be seen like a film over his eyes, as if he was seeing something not there. But then there was another flash, this time pure purple, and the Dementor was forced to let Alex go. As soon as it was gone the blond took in a breath, everything coming back to normal, but then he grew angry. The damn Dementor chased them here and tried to kill them (or at least harm them) when it wasn't supposed to be, and as far as he knew, Draco was now the one in serious danger. So, without meaning to, Alex's rage produced the Obscurus and it attacked the Dementor, bringing down trees and flinging them at the dark creature, and kept doing do until the Dementor finally fled, screeching. However, the Obscurus kept raging and tearing everything else down with it, until it could hear the soft shout of a voice through its rage, a voice it knew, trying to calm it, and it slowly returned to Alex, leaving the boy exhausted and on the verge of collapse. Draco, who had been the one to snap Alex out of his rage, gently held onto the other to help keep him steady.

"I know what you're going to say." he muttered lowly, loud enough for the others to hear but dark enough for them to know he wasn't happy about any of this, "Alex is dangerous, I get that, but he's also my brother. If any of you talk of this event to anyone and it gets out, I'll make sure that being sued by Father will be the least of your worries." Draco helped Alex to his feet, the adopted boy still a bit shaking, especially upon standing.

"Malfoy, wait-" Harry said.

"Save it, Potter." Draco spat, "If you plan to insult us now, go ahead, but leave my brother out of it."

"We just want to help."

"Of course you do." Draco said and gave a small growl when Harry tried to approach. With a little coaxing, he managed to get Alex walking and they started heading back to Hogsmeade, but not before they caught a few more words.

"Give it up Harry, Malfoy's not gonna accept anything you try to give 'im."

"But what was that? I've never seen anything like it, not in any books I've read!" Draco paused for a moment, then looked back.

"That thing," he called, getting their attention, "is called an Obscurus. Look it up in a history book." And with that parting comment, Draco and Alex made their way back to Hogsmeade, where Draco shared some Honeydukes chocolate with the other before they returned to Hogwarts to spend the rest of their holiday together, inside and warm. But not without a few visits from the Golden Trio, of course, for every-so-often Draco and/or Alex would catch them nearby, staring or glaring at the brothers, but Draco ignored it. Alex, however, could not and eventually talked to Draco about letting him speak with Harry's gang, only for the other to sternly refuse.

"No. I can see that look in your eye, but no." Draco said, "You're not going anywhere near Potter and his pals right now." The brothers were grabbing breakfast from the kitchens when they caught sight of Harry's group before the Malfoys quickly rushed away (read: Draco dragging Alex away).

"And why not?" Alex jerked his arm and freed it from Draco's grip, forcing the two to make a stalemate in the hallway.

"I don't want them jinxing you or something, even worse if they hurt you."

"Hurt me?" Alex gave a dark laugh, "You know what I am, they can't hurt me."

"Yes they can, Potter's defeated You-Know-Who and even killed the Basilisk last year!" Draco's face softened, "Alex please-"

"I'm going to see them and apologize, whether you want me to or not!" Alex turned around, only for Draco to snap out his wand, but the adopted boy kept walking.

"Don't make me do this." Draco warned. Alex glanced back and smiled darkly.

"Catch me if you can, brother." And the boy began to run.

"Incarcerous!" Draco's wand spat out coils of rope, trying to catch Alex, but the boy was too fast. It didn't help that he had some martial arts training as a hobby, making him even swifter and more deadly than a normal Muggle. Draco chased after Alex, calling different spells to stop him, but his brother just kept dodging and running up the stairs, trying to get to the Gryffindor Common Room and, as much as Draco tried, Alex managed it, though he couldn't solve the riddle. He just literally ran into the Golden Trio, who had been about to make their way inside, and when he saw this, Draco just gave up.

"Okay, fine, talk to them!" Draco spoke, "But if any of you hurt him, you'll have a lot of trouble to deal with." He gave them a glare.

"Ignore him." Alex waved off his brother, "Too overprotective. Anyway, there was something I wanted to talk to you about." He strolled inside without a care, ignoring the stares he got. When he noticed the trio hadn't followed him, he turned and gave them a look, "Well?"

"...You really aren't a lot like Draco, are you." It wasn't a question as Harry led his friends back in. Alex shrugged, catching sight of Draco's worried look before the picture closed.

"You tell me." He took a seat on one of the chairs in the Common Room, which was nearly empty, waiting for the trio's questions. Harry, Hermione, and their redheaded friend joined him, sitting on the couch beside the chair.

"So..." said the redhead, as if trying to get things started so they wouldn't have to deal with an awkward silence.

"You're the ones with the questions. Ask away." Hermione opened her mouth, ready to ask so many things, but Harry held up a hand.

"Hold on. You're allowed to ask questions, too." said the dark-haired teen, "Draco's probably told you a lot, but you might wanna ask for yourself, right?" Alex shrugged again.

"Doesn't matter to me."

"Alright then." Harry allowed Hermione to speak and she had a slew of questions for the blond teen. She looked up Obscuri after their last encounter and was amazed at how he was still alive, since the host didn't usually live beyond ten years. She was also impressed with his amazing control over the creature, having not hurt anyone except the Dementor and calming at Draco's voice.

"That was pure luck." Alex spoke quietly, a little subdued as he remembered the event, "Usually it's a lot worse. At least, it was when it happened the only other time."

"What was that?" asked Harry.

"Your first year at Hogwarts, during the holidays." Alex looked down, unsure if he should continue, but did so anyway, "I blew the top off the manor. Literally."

"I woulda loved to see that." said the redhead.

"No, Ron!" Hermione gave him a glare. Oh. So he was the Weasley Draco talked about so much, only a little less than Harry. Alex knew not to believe much of what his family told him, but it seemed Ron disliked the Malfoys as much as they disliked him.

"Just promise not to tell anyone." Alex said, getting their attention again, "You know Obscurials haven't been seen in over two hundred years, right? At least, in the United States. If anyone found out that shouldn't..." He shrugged again, "I don't care what happens to me, I just don't want Draco or Mum or Dad getting hurt."

"I promise." said Harry, "It's like keeping magic a secret, and I know what that's like." He gave a grin, "You won't believe what happened just before I came to Hogwarts."

"I'm sure you've got a good story to tell. It'd be nice to hear something like that for once." As Harry told what he'd accidentally done to his Aunt Marge and barely avoided getting expelled (let alone arrested), Hermione and Ron argued a little until she managed to convince him to keep the secret. Alex was glad they'd keep it and so tried to answer any other questions they had, being friendly and trying to give a good impression. He understood that they really didn't like his brother, but that didn't mean they should think all Malfoys were bad. After a while, another boy entered the Common Room, the same year as the trio but with a face that looked naturally confused or dopey. Alex was sure he wasn't, it was just in his face, that was all. The teen gave Alex a surprised look, then jerked a thumb at the entrance, "Hey, uh, guys? Why's Draco standing outside?" The group blinked, surprised, and Alex gave an amused smile before standing.

"Looks like I've gotta go." He gave them a small wave, "You ever wanna talk, you probably know the address." And with that, the blond left the Common Room. He'd rarely asked any questions of his own but now knew more about the trio, at least more than what Draco told him. He was now sure that, if needed, they would be willing to help if something happened. With his condition, he hoped they wouldn't need to be called on.

"Really?" he asked after the portrait closed with a 'hmf.'

"You're my brother." Draco reasoned, "I wasn't just going to go off and leave you to get back to the Common Room alone."

"Who said I was gonna go back to the Common Room?" They walked off together, just chatting. Until Alex had to return to the manor, they'd spend as much time together as they could.

AN: So, Year 2 was written just recently, long after Year 3, so if they don't quite fit together, that's why.