Dear Readers,
Parts of the story are going to have combinations of scenes from both the books and the movies, such as the Battle of the Department of Mysteries in this chapter. It also has the first true AU scene that helps differentiate the stories besides Alex, which will have a big part as the story goes on.
Also, it doesn't say in the book what kind of spell Ron was hit with that makes him act kinda drunk so I made up the incantation myself.
1995:
Alex could never go back home again. Voldemort was back for good now, from what had been heard from Harry, and this was corroborated by the fact that letters to him from his family had ceased altogether. They probably couldn't talk to him with Voldemort staying at the manor and it made Alex's blood boil. He had never met the Dark Lord but from what he'd heard, it must be a terrible experience to be with him, so why was his family supporting You-Know-Who? He couldn't imagine what it was like for Draco right now. And what would go down if Voldemort found out the Malfoys had a second son in hiding? Alex didn't want his family hurt. He was also worried from the last letter Draco had sent him, speaking only just a few words:
'He's here and he's not acting like father said.'
It disturbed him, to say the least.
"Alex!" There was a call from downstairs, "Are you ready to go?"
"Coming!" It was the end of the year and he was going to help pick up Harry and the Weasleys, maybe catch a glimpse of his family while he was at it. The thought of his brother filled him both with worry and a hint of laughter. Ron had sent a letter back months ago that told how Moody (actually Barty Crouch Jr. in disguise) turned Draco into the 'Amazing Bouncing Ferret.' Alex would never let his brother live it down, not by a long shot. But he'd only do that when everything was safe again. As it was, he ran down the stairs with practiced ease, avoiding the clutter as he joined Molly and Arthur at the chimney. One Floo Powder later and they were near King's Cross, hurrying to get to the station. It didn't take long to arrive at Platform 9¾, just as the train came in, and soon he was helping unload all the school supplies. He hadn't the first time but decided he might as well do it this time, nervous as he was. He wanted to go looking for Draco, but he also didn't. They needed to keep their distance at this point, as much as it hurt to think about. But maybe just a small peek? It wouldn't hurt, would it? Checking to see that everyone was busy getting the trunks and stuff, he slipped away to look for his family.
Over to the side, there they were, or at least his parents. They were waiting on Draco. Alex hid himself in the crowd and watched as Draco got off the train with his things and went to his parents. He didn't seem as cheery as he usually was, but nowhere near how sad as Harry was. After reaching Lucius and Narcissa, Draco looked around a little, as if he'd gotten the feeling someone was watching him. They spotted each other and paused a moment, taking it all in. Draco raised a hand halfway as if to wave, his mouth opening, but Alex disappeared into the crowd. Everything was okay now. His worry was sated for the moment. He slipped back in with Harry and the Weasleys just as they were doing a headcount and sighed in relief. He had the feeling they might've gotten onto him for looking for his family, especially now that Voldemort was back, but he'd made it just in time.
"You sure you wanna go back to your 'family?'" Ron was asking this, taking Alex out of his thoughts. He looked over to see the two conversing a little, keeping their voices low.
"As much as I wanna stay in the Burrow, I can't. They're my guardians, I have to go home." Harry sighed, tinged with anger.
"Alex managed it."
"He doesn't count." Harry said, "No offense to you, Alex." Ron jumped, as if he'd forgotten Alex was standing nearby. The blond shrugged.
"It's okay, I understand." He sat down beside them, as they'd been taking up a bench while they spoke, "So you have to go back to your Muggle family?" Alex had heard of the Dursleys. If he's had to stay in their presence for too long he was sure he'd blow the top off the building before the day was over.
"Unfortunately." Harry grumbled, "But as it gets close to school I can go back to the Burrow, so it's not bad." Alex nodded.
"Well, good luck." He got back up and headed out of Platform 9¾. He knew his way back to the building they'd been using for transportation and he was 15 now, he could handle himself. He couldn't help but feel bad for and envy Harry in some ways. He felt bad because of the Dursleys, but he also envied Harry for having a somewhat normal life during the summer. Alex wouldn't trade the Malfoys for anything, he never wanted to leave them, but sometimes he wished he could be a Muggle. He wouldn't have to worry about magic, about Voldemort, or anything in the Wizarding World. He barely belonged as it was, there was no reason other than his family, his friends, and his Obscurus that made it impossible.
One day, he'd be cured. He could live a normal wizard life then, right? He'd tried using a wand once, a discarded one he'd found on his hunts to find Muggle things, but the second he swished it, it exploded in his hand. He'd had to have Draco's help to take out the splinters but lied, only saying he'd tried to climb a tree and failed. It was probably because of his Obscurus that he couldn't handle one, right? He could be a wizard one day… He wasn't different, wasn't a freak, right?
Right?
It was close to school starting again and Alex was in the middle of doing his chores when he was called over by Fred and George.
"Hey, you ever de-gnomed a garden, Alex?" asked George.
"No." Alex shook his head, even as a bad feeling settled in his stomach.
"It's fun! Here, we'll show you!" Fred added. They led him out to the garden and Alex could see small creatures hiding in holes in the garden, holes he was sure weren't there yesterday.
"We have to throw 'em out every-so-often, since Dad doesn't like banning 'em out of the garden, so they keep coming back." explained Fred.
"It's a great sport, once you know what you're doing." added George. Alex watched as they got the gnomes out of their holes and threw them over the hedge by their legs, hearing small 'oofs' on the other side when the gnomes landed. It really did seem like fun, especially since they weren't hurting the gnomes, so he decided to join them.
"We could just get a Jarvey to keep 'em out," George went on, "but they eat gnomes and say a lot of nasty things, so we don't have one."
"Imagine leaving one in the house for Mum, though!" Fred said. They shared a chuckle at that. Alex silently agreed, having met a Jarvey once and not wanting to encounter another. Alex listened to their chatter as they all worked, thinking about how close he'd gotten to the Weasley clan over the past year. They'd become close to him, especially Fred and George, though he hadn't known them as long. Maybe it was because they were his Secret-Keepers, how they actively tried to cheer him up, or just their fun, friendly nature in general. They made him fit in, as he still wasn't completely comfortable with their parents despite spending a year there. Molly and Arthur were great at giving him love, a home, and everything he could want (which wasn't much, honestly), but they weren't Lucius and Narcissa. Even though his own parents weren't the best people to him, they were still his parents and he missed them terribly.
"Alex?"
"Hm?" The blond looked up, having been doing things automatically while he was thinking. He looked over to the brothers, seeing them staring at him worriedly, and he gave them a fake smile, "What is it?"
"You okay?" Fred dusted off his hands from throwing the last gnome over the hedge.
"Yeah." Alex looked up at the sky, where it was starting to get dark, "Just thinking about Mum, Dad, and Draco." The twins nodded.
"I'm sure they're okay." said George.
"The Malfoys are nasty enough to get by somehow." Fred added, "Even if You-Know-Who is staying with them."
"I guess." Alex still didn't cheer up and so the twins shared a look.
"I've got an idea." George went over to Alex and rested his hands on the boy's shoulders, "Come up to our room. I'm sure we can make you happy somehow."
"Where all the explosions come from?" Alex raised an eyebrow.
"As long as you don't touch anything, you'll be fine." Fred assured, though he did give his brother a small questioning look.
"...Alright." The teen's dark feeling increased as he agreed. But the brothers wouldn't put him in danger, right? There hadn't been a false sense of trust and security, he was sure. He was just as good as sensing that kind of thing as he was at masking his feelings. As it was, he followed Fred and George into the Burrow and up to their room, entering it with a keen wariness and a healthy dose of caution. There were all sorts of lab things and joke boxes around, evidence of their efforts to make magical pranks.
"We've been making these a while, 'specially thanks to Harry's loan, and we're thinking of starting up the business as soon as we get out of school." said Fred.
"Just remember not to touch anything." George added. They then ducked under some of the clutter in the room to find something for him. He glanced around, honestly wondering what kind of things they'd made just over the summer alone. Spotting a long box, he bit his lip. They'd told him not to touch anything and his own sense of caution was strong but was quickly being overridden by curiosity. He picked it up and examined it, finding it to be shaped similar to a telescope, and so put it up to his eye. He couldn't see anything at the other end. Briefly he considered putting it down but his curiosity was too strong, and so he pulled it a little, squeezing it in the process. The squeezing activated the mechanism inside, where a tiny punching glove popped out and poked him in the eye. It hurt and surprised him enough to the point that his Obscurus bubbled up, hissing at the threat. He tried to tamp down on it, knowing there was nothing to be afraid of, but the creature had grown since the last time it had appeared, it wanted to get out and was clawing its way to the surface. He held his head, a headache beginning to form from fighting it.
"Al-?"
"Outside. NOW." The twins realized what was going on and quickly ushered him to the window, using Wingardium Leviosa on his clothes to help him to the ground before ushering him to an area where his powers wouldn't hurt anyone. They ran into the cornfield and it was by that time Alex couldn't hold it in anymore. He cried out in pain as the Obscurus burst out, not consuming him completely as it had all the times before. Alex was on his knees, eyes glowing white as he panted and the Obscurus writhed above him, looking for something to tear apart. Because of the Fidelius Charm it was invisible to all except those who knew the secret and Fred and George were surprised by this. They'd only seen the Obscurus, they'd never seen Alex away from it before, so something was going on. Suddenly the Obscurus paused, slowly swirling in the air, and then it lashed out, barely missing the twins by inches. Alex cried out in pain again and the Obscurus writhed, folding in on itself as it seemed to spasm in pain. When it stopped it paused again and Alex dropped to his side, panting. Slowly the Obscurus returned to his body and eventually it was gone. The twins slowly approached, wanting to help but being very careful around the boy.
"Alex?" George asked, voice barely above a whisper. Alex opened his eyes and they were back to being brown again.
"Put warning signs on your jokes next time." He hissed, sitting up and holding his head. It still hurt but the Obscurus was gone.
"We told you-"
"I know, I know." Alex breathed, trying to catch up, "Curiosity was too strong."
"How are you feeling?" asked Fred. Alex glared and the redhead winced, "Headache, huh?"
"More like a migraine." He lowered his head.
"But what was that? Has that ever happened before?" George questioned.
"No." Alex shook his head and groaned as he quickly regretted it.
"Let's get you back inside and we'll talk later." Fred suggested, giving his brother a look, "Pretty sure it was a bad idea in the first place..."
"Then why didn't you say anything?" George growled.
"How was I supposed to know that would happen?!"
"Guys..." Alex snarled darkly. The twins quickly turned back to him and helped him up, sneaking him back into the Burrow. They took him up to his room, splitting up for a moment as George went to grab the boy some chocolate to help him calm down along with some bruise removal paste. When he returned, he gently put the paste on Alex's bruised eye before offering him the chocolate. Alex, with one eye closed, gave him a questioning look.
"Kept hitting ourselves when testing the thing and healing magic didn't work, so we had to make our own thing to get rid of the bruises." George explained.
"It'll be gone in an hour." Fred said, "Feel better?"
"Yeah." Alex yawned, suddenly feeling very sleepy.
"Lay down a while, get some sleep."
"Okay..." Alex did so and it didn't take long for him to be knocked out. After a moment Fred turned on his brother.
"What was in that chocolate? What did you do?"
"Just some Dreamless Sleep, help with his migraine and stuff." George glanced down at Alex, "He was gonna freak out after his migraine went away and we didn't need him changing again or doing whatever it was he did earlier. He'll be calmed down after he gets some sleep, right?"
"Or he could be pissed and try to kill us."
"We promised to protect him, Fred, and that means protecting him from himself, too." George went over and put some cover over Alex, "We'll ask him first thing in the morning about what happened and try to sort it out. For right now, just let him sleep." There really wasn't a way to wake Alex once he'd taken the potion, so Fred had no choice but to leave. He did have some choice words for George, though, as they returned to their room and resolved to put a small shield charm on everything, just in case someone else got curious enough to test something (which was unlikely but still).
When morning came, Alex was groggy. It had been a long time since he'd gotten any sleep like that. When he sat up, he noticed he was still in the clothes he'd been wearing yesterday. He was confused at first, then remembered he'd fallen asleep. It also reminded him of what had happened, causing him to wince. It probably wasn't too bad because of the Fidelius Charm but he'd still unleashed the Obscurus. And yet, he hadn't completely lost himself to it, unlike so many times before. He'd still stayed himself and could feel the Obscurus as something separate for once. Maybe because it wasn't a bad event, just a surprise? And if he could stay himself like that, was it possible he could gain some control over the Obscurus? He had to try, at least. If he could control it then he would be one step closer to being normal. As it was, he changed clothes and went looking for the twins to talk to them, wanting to know what happened from their point of view. He was a lot more cautious when approaching their room, knocking before he entered.
"Coming!" There was some shuffling before the door was opened by Fred. He blinked, as if surprised to see Alex, then gave a smile, "How was your nap?"
"I slept all night and I feel great for once." Alex shrugged, "So, what happened when I went, y'know..?" Alex gestured for Fred to speak.
"Don't you remember?"
"I do, just wanna know your side of things." Fred gave a slow nod.
"Well, you were still there, but the Obscurus was out, too. Then it attacked us, but not for long." Fred said, "Do you know what happened?"
"Not really." Alex shook his head, "I think maybe because I'm older, maybe because it wasn't really dangerous..." He shrugged again, "I honestly don't know. But I think, with some practice, I could control it."
"Absolutely not." Fred was immediately against it. Alex crossed his arms.
"And why not?"
"We don't know what could happen to you!" Fred protested, "What if it tries to hurt you?"
"It won't. I'm the host, a parasite doesn't kill the host when the host tries to get rid of it or, in this case, control it." Alex said, "If I can control it, it would make our lives a whole lot better. There might not even be a need for Secret-Keepers if I can control it and keep it from hurting people, destroying things." He held himself a little, "You have no idea how great this could be if I can do it." Fred was frowning.
"I don't know, Alex. If you try doing this, it'll probably happen during the school year and Mum and Dad don't know about what you are. Anything happens and we'll all be in trouble."
"I've got a plan, though. Since I couldn't be sent to a magical school, I went to Brookland and found this martial arts place that taught me how to defend myself and control things through meditation. I didn't do much of it, but if I can use meditation to help control the Obscurus, then it'll be good for everyone!" Fred was silent for a moment, then sighed.
"Okay, fine." He stepped out of the room past Alex, "But I'm leaving soon. Mum and Dad want us to move to another place before the school year starts."
"Why?" Fred paused.
"I don't know if I can tell you." Alex raised an eyebrow.
"And why not?"
"Fidelius Charm again. I don't see why you couldn't come, though, so I'll try talking to the guys over there. You might have to come anyway because I think Mum and Dad aren't gonna let anyone stay here."
"Because it's dangerous?" asked Alex. Fred shrugged.
"Maybe. I think it's mostly because of Harry, though."
"Why him?"
"Let's just say he has a bad habit of getting into trouble. A lot." Alex snorted.
"I can see that. How bad was it this time?"
"Bad enough that the Ministry of Magic had to get involved." Alex gave a whistle.
"What did he do?"
"Defended himself is all." Fred snorted, "The Ministry didn't believe it until Dumbledore had to come in and testify for him." Alex frowned.
"That's harsh."
"They're a whole bunch o' bigots, Alex. Of course they're harsh, even to the Boy-Who-Lived."
"Boys!" Molly was calling them.
"Just give me a chance to try it." Alex pleaded, "I'm not gonna do anything big, I promise." Fred stared at him hard, not moving, hard to tell emotionally. Eventually he gave a small sigh and nodded.
"Alright, but not there, not where we're going. Wait until you get home before you try doing anything of the sort."
"Don't have to tell me twice." Alex muttered before they headed downstairs.
It was the beginning of April when Alex received a letter addressed to him from Harry. Usually the other teen didn't send him letters but this one was addressed directly to him, so it must have been important. It was some sort of encryption that he couldn't understand but he was more Muggle-oriented than most non-muggleborn wizards and so he was able to figure it out pretty quickly, reading the letter as thus:
'Dear Alex,
'I'd like you to come join us at Hogwarts for a brief time and help teach Dumbledore's Army. It's a group I created to teach real DADA with Voldemort's return. Fred confided to me about how you're trying to control your powers, so would you please come and help us learn about Obscurials and Obscuri?
'Please send back your response encrypted if you can or can't come. We'll be waiting.
'Signed, Harry
'P.S., Blame Hermione for the 'Obscurials and Obscuri' line. She proofread over everything and that's why it's so formal.'
Alex snorted at the last part of the letter but contemplated Harry's offer. He'd made a lot of progress is understanding and controlling his Obscurus, that was true, and helping teach others about how to defend themselves in these times was a rare but extremely helpful thing. The only trouble was not to be discovered by Umbridge (the horrible new DADA teacher), Draco, or Molly and Arthur. They'd installed a new hand in the clock downstairs to help keep track of him but he could easily bug the clock to not show where he'd gone and avoiding Umbridge? Piece of cake. Draco was the only major thing he'd have trouble with but he had the feeling he could handle it well and so wrote a response back to Harry. The only thing on his mind was that his secret would be shared in confidentiality. He didn't want anyone sharing it that shouldn't, even though the only ones who could share it were Fred and George. If it was used against him, he'd make sure people knew that it wouldn't end well if they did. And getting to Hogwarts? If he was right, it wouldn't be a problem.
"I'd ask how you got here so quickly, but I don't think I want to know." Hermione said upon seeing him.
After getting a response, he'd sabotaged the clock and left right away, manipulating his Obscurus form enough to fly to Hogwarts. It was very stressful but he managed, landing on the grounds and entering before taking a break to deal with the headache that had formed. Any time he had to deal with his Obscurus it caused headaches or migraines, depending on how severe it was. After resting a moment he snatched some extra robes from near the kitchen, yellow and black. He then made his way up to the tower and waited outside the Gryffindor Common Room for any of the Golden Trio to arrive. Because he looked like a student, no one gave him a second glance except for a few that had a strange 'I' pinned to their robes. It was then he remembered how it was mentioned in a few letters how Umbridge had created an Inquisitorial Squad to help deal with any 'rule-breaking' in the school. Luckily for Alex, they left him alone and soon enough Hermione left the Common Room and saw him.
"Have any Aspirin or something for headaches?" Hermione shook her head.
"Well, you can follow me. A meeting's just about to start." Alex nodded. They walked together down to the seventh floor and down an empty corridor. Alex raised an eyebrow in question as they walked by it several times before a set of thick doors appeared, large but welcoming. Hermione smiled at the surprise on his face before opening the door.
"Welcome to the Room of Requirement." she announced. Inside were a large group of people practicing on Death Eater dummies on wheels. Even with Hermione's words few turned to look at them, so focused on their tasks.
"'Mione! Alex!" Ron and Harry went over to join them.
"That was fast." Harry's words echoed Hermione's. Alex shrugged.
"Don't worry about it." The blond glanced around, "So this is the DA, huh?"
"Someone had to teach people how to defend themselves if Umbridge wasn't going to." Harry said, "So, Fred and George told people about what you could do so that they could see the Obscurus. You think you'll be able to control it enough to give us a few demonstrations?"
"Definitely." As they separated a little to gather the rest of Dumbledore's Army for the demonstration, Ron noticed something about Alex.
"Something wrong?"
"No." Alex shook his head, "Just thinking about Draco."
"That prick?" Alex gave him a glare, "Sorry."
"How is he?"
"Doing pretty good, actually. He joined Umbridge's Inquisitorial Squad and is helping her out really well. Also abuses that power like the prick he is."
"'Course he would." Alex leaned against one of the pillars, "Anything about my family?" Ron shook his head.
"No idea."
"Alright." Alex nodded, "Thanks for telling me, at least."
"No problem."
"Okay everyone!" The group was now gathered around, ready for the demonstration. Harry began explaining, "This is Alex, the guy we told you about. Inside him is an Obscurus, what we told you about. You probably won't ever have to fight one, but this will be an introduction to one to help you understand how dangerous they can be." Harry nodded to Alex, "Ready?"
"Yep." The blond glanced down and saw that some of them had their wands ready, mostly the ones who had seen him as an Obscurus before, causing him to give a grim smile. He wasn't surprised in the least, even glad that they were taking such precautions. Turning back to the dummies, Alex took a few deep breaths, calming himself before he dug deep inside and took out the Obscurus, asking it to cooperate with him. Of course it gave a disapproving hiss but relented, coming out of his body in a wave and hovering about him, ready for his commands. There were a few gasps but Alex ignored them, directing the Obscurus to destroy the dummies. It lashed out, tearing the wood to pieces and breaking the metal, demolishing the dummies in seconds. It then returned to Alex and he rubbed his temples as his head began to hurt from the use.
"Was that good?" he asked.
"Great." assured Hermione. Alex moved off to the side as Harry explained more about the Obscurus with lots of input from Hermione. Alex would give his two cents at some points but eventually the group seemed to understand what an Obscurus was and what it could do. As for how to deal with it…
"You can't destroy an Obscurus, but you can kill the host." Alex explained, "Once you kill the host, the Obscurus dies and disappears, so it does everything it can to save the host. If you ever encounter an Obscurus, don't try to use spells on it. You'll only make it madder because they're impervious to spells." Alex knew this from experience, as he could remember bits and pieces back during the Quidditch World Cup, when wizards and witches had tried to strike him with spells but they bounced off, not affecting him at all.
"Then what can we do?" Alex glanced up, finding it was Ginny who asked.
"Honestly? Do whatever you can to..." Alex trailed off, frowning. Was it just him, or were the mirrors shaking? He glanced around, finding other mirrors doing the same in intervals, which seemed to attract the attention of the rest of the group.
"Someone's trying to get in!"
"Umbridge knows we're here!"
"Alex, you need to go!" George snapped. The blond didn't need telling twice. Right after Alex completely dissolved into his Obscurus form one of the walls busted down, revealing the Inquisitorial Squad and Umbridge. Alex wasn't surprised to see his brother leading the group, more disappointed, really. Even though his Obscurus form was masked by the Fidelius Charm, Draco knew his secret and was still able to see him. This caused Draco's eyes to widen at the sight of the Obscurus, but by then it was flying out of the room and escaping. He stared after it as Umbridge started rounding up Dumbledore's Army.
"Draco! Don't just stand there!"
"Y-yes ma'am." With one last glance, Draco went to help round up the group. Alex's appearance seemed to have a profound effect on him, however.
'Dear Alex,
'Thanks for coming, at least. You seemed to remind Draco to be a bit more human, so he's not been as mean to us. Maybe you should come more often.
'Signed, Hermione'
Alex studied the letter, then threw it on the desk. He'd barely done anything and now the group was disbanded. He hadn't made a difference, no matter how much Hermione, Ron, and Harry emphasized it. Over a month had passed since his visit, barely avoiding getting grounded by Molly, and he didn't feel better about his contribution. In fact, he felt worse, as if he'd been the one to lead Umbridge to the DA, even if he really hadn't. He was also a little anxious, as Fred and George had recently left Hogwarts with a bang and had disappeared. There'd been no letters from them and it caused Alex to worry. He'd grown close to the twins in the short time he'd known them, as they truly treated him like part of the family and he considered them like his older brothers. Not knowing where they were, if they were okay or not, was grating on his nerves.
He went through his letters again, a large pile having built up on the desk from his short correspondence with Harry, Ron, Hermione, and even a few from the rest of Dumbledore's Army, thanking him for helping, even if things hadn't ended well. At the very bottom of the pile was an unopened one, the newest one, and he was hesitant to open it. It was addressed as Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes and was likely from the missing twins, but Alex didn't want to open it and get his hopes up. There were other Weasleys, cousins and such, so who knows who it could be from? And yet, he had to open it eventually. Might as well try now, while he was going through his mail again. Opening it revealed official stationary, orange with purple highlights and ink, addressed straight to him. Inside was also a pass.
'Dear Alex,
'We've been working long and hard on our products, as you know, and we finally perfected them just before we left Hogwarts. Inside is a pass that lets you get a discount on anything in our new store. Come by and see us soon, we wanna know what you think of the place!
'Signed, Fred & George
'P.S., Don't tell Ron about the pass. Harry's the only other person who's getting any kind of discount in our store and that's because he funded us.
'P.S.S., Stay away from the boxing telescopes. Don't want you getting pissed at us again now do we?'
Alex grinned, snorting before turning the pass over in his hand. He was mischievous at times, but not like the twins. He tried to stay out of trouble if he could but he knew they had certain products that were also as practical as they were jokes. He might get a few things if he ever went by.
Suddenly, there was a small pop and Alex froze. Someone had come into the room and he didn't like the vulnerable position he was in, back turned to the rest of the room. He closed his eyes and quickly gathered the Obscurus, preparing for a counterattack-
"Master Alex!" It took a lot of willpower to push the Obscurus back down when he realized whose voice he was hearing.
"Dobby?" He turned in his chair to see the house elf, disbelief clear in his voice, "Is it really you? I haven't seen you in ages."
"Master Alex, there is no time to speak! Harry Potter is in danger and Dobby thinks you can help!"
"Me?" Alex was astonished at this, "I can't use a wand, Dobby-"
"Doesn't matter! Master Alex asked Dobby to save Harry Potter, now Dobby asks Master Alex to help!" The blond was silent for a moment, as if thinking about it, then nodded.
"Let's go." He grabbed Dobby's hand and the house elf snapped his fingers, teleporting them to wherever they needed to be. They appeared in a long corridor Alex had never seen before but it gave him a dark feeling, stirring the Obscurus inside him. He turned to the house elf, asking, "Dobby, where-?" But the elf was gone. Alex stared at the spot, left alone in a dimly-lit corridor, and wondered if this was some sort of revenge the house elf was trying to enact on the Malfoy family, despite Alex having been the nicest to him out of the four. Shaking his head, Alex prepared to change and find a way out when he heard footsteps running down the corridor.
"Stupefy!" With a flick of his wrist, part of the Obscurus came out and swallowed the red light like it was nothing but a piece of popcorn. Because the Obscurus was a force that needed neither darkness or light to see, Alex could use it to see clearly in the dark, finding Harry, Ron, Hermione, and some of their friends approaching him.
"Stop! It's just me, it's Alex!" he cried. He didn't retract the Obscurus, however, hoping they could see his eyes in the darkness. It was a peculiar thing he'd discovered whenever he summoned his Obscurus whilst in human form. When it was out and he was still human, he eyes glowed white until it returned. Quite strange but also a teller to anyone who knew about Obscuri. To his relief, the gang lowered their wands and so he returned the Obscurus, being forced into the darkness again with the exception of the group using Lumos to light their way.
"What the bloody hell are you doing here?" Ron demanded.
"Ask Dobby. He said Harry needed my help."
"Well, either way, we need to keep moving and find the Department of Mysteries." Harry commanded, giving Alex a confused but somewhat understanding look. Alex followed behind them, bringing out part of his Obscurus again as a watchdog. Because it had no eyes, it could easily see in all directions and hovered above them, searching for enemies. However, it was hard for Alex to walk while using the Obscurus and so Ginny helped lead him, one hand firmly gripping Alex's arm. At the end of the corridor they reached a round room that held twelve doors, presumably to other places in the Ministry.
"How are we gonna know which one's the right one?" Neville asked. Alex had learned his name and Luna's shortly after being welcomed into the group again.
"We could split up and peek into each." Luna suggested, "One of them has to be right." So that's what they did, each taking a door and opening it, looking inside for the contents. Yet the one Ron picked wouldn't budge, no matter what kind of spell he used on it.
"Must be something dangerous in there, I'm guessing." Alex mused.
"Nevermind, this room looks like the one from my dreams." Harry called them over, "Let's go through here." The group followed him and then through another door, leading to a huge room filled with shelves, which were covered with all sorts of softly glowing, misty balls. Alex had to return his Obscurus for a moment, rubbing his temples from the excessive use. He'd rarely brought it out for over five minutes before, but the practice was paying off.
"What is this place?" Ginny wondered.
"I dunno, but it's where my dream was. Sirius should just be ahead!" Alex glanced up, surprised. When he'd briefly been sent to 12 Grimmauld Place and met the Order of the Phoenix with the rest of the Weasley children, he'd also met Harry's scraggly godfather. The blond teen wasn't too surprised that Harry was willing to go so far for the only man he considered true family to him and so didn't say anything as he followed the group deeper into the mysterious room. They soon come to the area where Harry was sure Sirius had been attacked, but there was no sign or clue that either had been there. No blood, no destruction, nothing, only a single glass orb with Harry's name on it, as well as the Dark Lord's. As Hermione told Harry not to pick it up, Alex heard a faint gasp and looked around. The orbs gave some light, but not enough to brighten up all the corners and so he took out his Obscurus again. His eyes widened at what he saw.
"Stop!" he shouted, but it was too late. Harry had already picked up the orb and Death Eaters began to come out of the shadows, led by none other than Alex's own father, Lucius. They locked eyes for a moment, something like a tinge of pain in Lucius' eyes before the older Malfoy focused on Harry. The Obscurus silently hissed at the danger, convulsing a moment before Alex managed to calm it. Things were tense and they certainly didn't need a rogue Obscurus complicating things right now.
"Kindly give me that orb, Potter." said Lucius in a sneer, holding out a hand.
"Where's Sirius?" demanded Harry, ignoring the command. Several Death Eaters laughed, including one witch who sounded like she should be locked up in St. Mungo's.
"The Dark Lord always knows!" said the witch.
"Always." echoed Lucius, "Now, give me the prophecy, Potter."
"I want to know where Sirius is!"
"I want to know where Sirius is!" mimicked the woman to Harry's left, causing the Death Eaters to chuckle again. They were now close enough that the lights of their wands would've blinded Alex if he wasn't using his Obscurus. As it was, he got a closer look at the figures around them and couldn't make out much, as many of them wore masks, with the exception of Lucius and the witch. Alex flinched back as he quickly realized who she was and his Obscurus hissed at the danger. Not only was he facing off against his father, he was also against his 'aunt' that he'd only ever heard of and swore to avoid.
"You've got him." Harry went on, "He's here, I know he is."
"The little baby woke up fwightened and fort what it dweamed was twoo." Alex's aunt mocked again. One of the other teens must've stirred, for Harry then said, "Don't do anything, not yet —" The witch laughed again.
"You hear him? You hear him? Giving instructions to the other children as though he thinks of fighting us!"
"Oh, you don't know Potter as I do, Bellatrix," said Lucius softly, trying very hard not to look at Alex, "He has a great weakness for heroics; the Dark Lord understands this about him. Now give me the prophecy, Potter."
"I know Sirius is here, I know you've got him!" Harry looked like he was either about to have a panic attack or lunge at Lucius. Alex wouldn't stop him either way, unless he deliberately tried to kill his father, which was a possibility in this situation. The Death Eaters laughed again. Lucius tightened the grip on his wand.
"It's time you learned the difference between life and dreams, Potter. Now give me the prophecy, or we start using wands."
"Go on, then." The group raised their wands but no one struck out. The air was still rife with tension and the Obscurus was not responding well to it.
"Hand over the prophecy and no one need get hurt." said Malfoy coolly. He was the only one of the Death Eaters that knew the danger they were truly in and it seemed he was doing everything to avoid it, glancing every-so-often at Alex worriedly. The blond boy raised an eyebrow but didn't make a sound, concentrating on keeping his Obscurus under control. He glanced over in surprise when Harry began to laugh.
"Yeah, right!" he said. "I give you this — prophecy, is it? And you'll just let us skip off home, will you?" It was then Bellatrix tried to strike.
"Accio Proph —"
"Protego!" Harry was quicker, bringing up the shield before she could finish. He barely missed losing the orb.
"Oh, he knows how to play, little bitty baby Potter," she said, her mad eyes staring through the slits in her hood. "Very well, then —"
"I TOLD YOU, NO!" Lucius roared at the woman. "If you smash it — !" He then flinched, glancing at Alex. The tension was enough that the outburst hadn't startled Alex, forcing him to expect it, but he couldn't say the same if it happened again. Bellatrix then stepped forward, pulling off her hood.
"You need more persuasion?" she said, her chest rising and falling rapidly. "Very well — take the smallest one," she ordered the Death Eaters beside her. "Let him watch while we torture the little girl. I'll do it." She was pointing at Ginny, who was still holding Alex's arm. The blond narrowed his eyes, daring anyone to try attacking. Lucius looked ready to speak up and stop her but Harry did first, holding up the orb.
"You'll have to smash this if you want to attack any of us," he told Bellatrix. "I don't think your boss will be too pleased if you come back without it, will he?" This made Bellatrix pause. Lucius gave Harry a grateful look as the dark-haired teen went on, "So, what kind of prophecy are we talking about anyway?" Harry sounded braver than Alex did, the blond was sure. He could sense how they were all nervous or afraid in some way.
"What kind of prophecy?" repeated Bellatrix, grin fading from her face, "You jest, Harry Potter."
"Nope, not jesting," said Harry, everyone looking for a way to escape, "How come Voldemort wants it?" The Death Eaters hissed.
"You dare speak his name?" whispered Bellatrix.
"Yeah," said Harry, maintaining his tight grip on the glass ball, expecting another attempt to bewitch it from him. "Yeah, I've got no problem saying Vol —"
"Shut your mouth!" Bellatrix shrieked. "You dare speak his name with your unworthy lips, you dare besmirch it with your half-blood's tongue, you dare —"
"Did you know he's a half-blood too?" said Harry recklessly. Hermione gave a little moan in his ear, Alex rolling his eyes and knowing that Harry was sending Bellatrix over the edge, "Voldemort? Yeah, his mother was a witch but his dad was a Muggle — or has he been telling you lot he's pureblood?"
"STUPEF —"
"NO!" Whether it was to protect the prophecy or prevent Bellatrix from setting Alex off, Lucius deflected Bellatrix's spell, where it hit another shelf and broke some of the orbs. Pearly-white beings, similar to ghosts, drifted out of the remains, murmuring and whispering what could only be their own prophecies, never to be heard again.
"DO NOT ATTACK! WE NEED THE PROPHECY!"
"He dared — he dares —" shrieked Bellatrix incoherently. "— He stands there — filthy half-blood —"
"WAIT UNTIL WE'VE GOT THE PROPHECY!" Lucius looked ready to choke her out for her insolence but held back. As the prophecy being faded away, Harry shifted on his feet and Alex got the feeling he'd gotten an idea.
"You haven't told me what's so special about this prophecy I'm supposed to be handing over," he said, his foot moving again.
"Do not play games with us, Potter," said Malfoy.
"I'm not playing games," said Harry. A sharp intake of breath behind him told Alex Harry had stepped on Hermione's foot.
"What?" she whispered.
"Dumbledore never told you that the reason you bear that scar was hidden in the bowels of the Department of Mysteries?" said Malfoy sneeringly.
"I — what?" said Harry, and for a moment he quite forgot his plan, "What about my scar?"
"What?" whispered Hermione more urgently behind him.
"Can this be?" said Malfoy, sounding maliciously delighted; some of the Death Eaters were laughing again, and under cover of their laughter, Harry hissed to Hermione, "Smash shelves —"
"Dumbledore never told you?" Malfoy repeated, "Well, this explains why you didn't come earlier, Potter, the Dark Lord wondered why —"
"— when I say go —"
"— you didn't come running when he showed you the place where it was hidden in your dreams. He thought natural curiosity would make you want to hear the exact wording..."
"Did he?" said Harry. Hermione was passing his message to the others and he sought to keep talking, to distract the Death Eaters, "So he wanted me to come and get it, did he? Why?"
"Why?" Lucius wanted to sound delighted but there was something in his voice holding him back, making it more monotone even as he went on, "Because the only people who are permitted to retrieve a prophecy from the Department of Mysteries, Potter, are those about whom it was made, as the Dark Lord discovered when he attempted to use others to steal it for him."
"And why did he want to steal a prophecy about me?"
"About both of you, Potter, about both of you ...Haven't you ever wondered why the Dark Lord tried to kill you as a baby?" Alex glanced at his father. It felt like Lucius was building up into one of his big speeches he liked to do so much, but Alex himself was truly curious. So there was a reason why Harry was attacked by Voldemort?
"Someone made a prophecy about Voldemort and me?" he said quietly, "And he's made me come and get it for him? Why couldn't he come and get it himself?"
"Get it himself?" shrieked Bellatrix on a cackle of mad laughter, "The Dark Lord, walk into the Ministry of Magic, when they are so sweetly ignoring his return? The Dark Lord, reveal himself to the Aurors, when at the moment they are wasting their time on my dear cousin?"
"So he's got you doing his dirty work for him, has he?" said Harry, "Like he tried to get Sturgis to steal it — and Bode?"
"Very good, Potter, very good..." said Lucius slowly, "But the Dark Lord knows you are not unintell —"
"NOW!" yelled Harry.
Damn it Harry! thought Alex, Just when it was getting good! He ducked as the group started casting at the shelves, causing a chain reaction. The shelves they hit started to fall over into the next shelf and the Hall of Prophecy looked like it was about to fall apart.
"RUN!" Harry yelled and the group didn't need to be told twice. As spheres rained from above, they scrambled to get out from the group of Death Eaters. Ginny still had a tight grip on Alex's arm and led them on. To help, he used his Obscurus to keep any prophecies or shelves from falling on their heads, expanding to cover Ron and Luna when they joined the small group. Harry, Hermione, and Neville were rows over and ducked into another room, leaving them with the Death Eaters. They probably had no idea that the group was separated, so Alex, Ron, Ginny, and Luna would have to fend for themselves.
"Ah!" Ginny cried out and Alex was brought down with her to the ground. He shuddered as he nearly lost control of the Obscurus but kept a hold, bringing it down as a shield between them and any spells that might come their way. Ginny hissed and held her ankle as Luna and Ron came back for them.
"Ginny!"
"I'm- I'm fine, just a sprained ankle." she said. Alex glanced over and found that she'd tripped over one of the orbs that still rained down on them. He was lucky to not have sprained an ankle himself.
"Here, I can-"
"Let me." Alex offered. He took Ginny into his arms but had to retract his Obscurus so he could see, "I'll carry her and you can lead the way. I have my Obscurus but I don't have a wand. And if they dare to hurt me, well," he gave a dark smile, "Dad's still looking out for me. I'll be fine and make sure she's safe." Ron looked like he wanted to argue but they didn't have the time and so they kept running, soon finding another door and ducking inside.
"Where are the others?" Luna gasped, catching her breath after locking the door with Colloportus.
"They went to another room." Alex panted, "I think it was the Time Chamber. Where are we?"
"Looks like the Space Chamber." Ginny pointed up at the planets that spun above them.
"I wish Hermione was here." Ron said, "She'd fix your ankle and we'd be on our way."
"For right now, let's get out of here. The door won't hold the Death Eaters for long." said Alex. They started to move when the door smashed open behind them
"Prote-"
"Ebrius!" Ron was stricken by a yellowish light and fell to the ground. When Ron tried to get to his feet, he stumbled and groaned, as if in pain or that he couldn't control his limbs.
He looks drunk. Alex thought. He'd seen the effects of drunkenness before from firewhisky and this was no different. Luna helped Ron to his feet as four Death Eaters came through the door, wands at the ready.
"REDUCTO!" Luna blasted one of the planets right above the Death Eaters, causing it to collapse upon them. They ran out of the room the best they could, leaving their enemies to their fate, and found themselves in a hallway. On the other side were Neville, Harry, and Hermione, Neville carrying the girl while his nose bled. They didn't look in too bad a shape from the separation, thankfully. Ron giggled weakly and then stumbled over to Harry. Alex was quite sure the curse had made him drunk somehow.
"Harry, there you are... Ha ha ha ...You look funny, Harry...You're all messed up..." Ron's knees then gave way but Harry was able to help him keep standing.
"Ginny? What happened?" The girl could only shake her head, pale as could be.
"Think she's got a sprained ankle." Alex said, a hint of guilt in his voice, "She was helping me..."
"Regret later, we need to get out of here." Harry said. Alex looked at him and found that he felt just as guilty, that he hadn't been there to protect them, and Alex understood. He nodded as Luna moved to examine Ginny, speaking up.
"Four of them chased us into a dark room full of planets, it was a very odd place, some of the time we were just floating in the dark —"
"Harry, we saw Uranus up close!" said Ron, still giggling feebly, "Get it, Harry? We saw Uranus — ha ha ha —" Alex hadn't seen much wrong with Ron after he'd gotten hit by the spell but it seemed the redhead may have been bleeding from his mouth as a side-effect. Hopefully there wasn't any internal damage.
"And what about Ron?" said Harry fearfully, as Ron continued to giggle, still hanging off Harry's front.
"I don't know what they hit him with," said Luna sadly, "but he's gone a bit funny."
"He acts like he's drunk." added Alex.
"Harry," said Ron, pulling Harry's ear down to his mouth and still giggling weakly, "you know who this girl is, Harry? She's Loony... Loony Lovegood...ha ha ha..."
"We've got to get out of here." Harry stated firmly, "Alex, can you still carry Ginny?" The blond nodded. Of course he could, she'd tried to help him and all she got in return was a sprained ankle. He wasn't going to just leave her behind.
"I can walk!" protested the redhead.
"No, you can't." Alex said.
"Just put me down-"
"And have you break your ankle? I don't think so." Ginny rolled her eyes but didn't argue further. Harry slung Ron's arm over his shoulders and they looked for the way out. The twelve doors were back, so they had a one-in-twelve chance of getting it right.
"There they are!" shrieked Bellatrix upon seeing them. One of the doors had barged open and Death Eaters came flooding through.
"Stupefy!" Luna covered their backs as they ran through one of the doors, just trying to get to safety. She sealed the door with Colloportus before they got the chance to look around.
"It doesn't matter!" said a man's voice. "There are other ways in — WE'VE GOT THEM, THEY'RE HERE!" Sure enough, upon glancing around, there were doors on all sides of the strange room. There was little time to seal the doors, Alex would have to do something to give them more. As Harry, Luna, and Neville raced to seal the doors, Alex unleashed his Obscurus, telling it to hold the doors closed until they were sealed. It had to split into pieces to cover all the doors, weakening, but it was all they could do to make sure that the Death Eaters couldn't enter. Sometimes there were slams, as if someone tried to batter down the door, but none came in. Once all the doors were sealed, the Obscurus returned and it was all Alex could do not to collapse.
"You okay?" Ginny quietly asked, in awe of seeing his Obscurus so close.
"Never had to do that before." He set her down before landing on his bottom, rubbing his aching head. The others joined them as the Death Eaters continued to try and make their way in.
"That...that was fun!" Ron giggled.
"We really need to get you cured." Harry murmured, then spoke up, "Is everyone alright?"
"Hermione's still out, Ginny has a sprained ankle, Ron may be drunk, and Neville looks worse for wear, especially with his broken nose." Luna summed up, "But I think we're just fine."
"Could you do dat again?" Neville asked Alex, who shook his head and quickly regretted it with a hiss.
"Only if my life was in danger. Controlling the Obscurus so much has given me a pounding headache."
"Wish we had some Wideye Potion to wake Hermione." said Luna as she checked over the other teen.
"How long could we hole up in here?" asked Harry.
"Don't know." Ginny shook her head, a hand on Alex's shoulder to comfort him, "Dad says the doors are enchanted to take explosions, just in case something goes awry, but he didn't say if they could take it for a long time." They all jumped when one of the doors gave a loud BANG.
"Apparently not for long." Alex muttered as one of the doors shook but held steady, if barely. The gang got closer together, nervous as the doors were blasted again.
"There must be another way out." Harry said, looking around, "If they surround us again, we might not be able to fight our way out."
"Yeah, with a witch out cold, your best friend drunk, your girlfriend with a broken ankle, and my Obscurus giving me such a damning headache." Alex quipped, sarcastic, "We can get out here just fine with three wand-wielders." Harry gave him a glare, as if to say, 'She's not my girlfriend.'
"We're doomed." groaned Neville.
"But if we open only one door, then they can only come in one at a time." Luna reasoned.
"But if we don't take them all out, then we'll be surrounded." Harry growled to himself, "We're trapped until someone comes to save us." They all jumped at the next BANG.
"We have to do something!" Ginny exclaimed. Alex opened his eyes and lowered his hands.
"There might be a way." He turned to Harry, "Unlock some of the doors and I'll block them. If we can get out through one while the Death Eaters think the others are unlocked, then they may not notice us leaving."
"Are you up to it, though?"
"Not at all, but if we wait here much longer, we won't be surviving." Alex staggered to his feet, "Grab each other and run."
"But what about-?" Ginny began.
"I'll be fine." Alex gave a tight smile, "I'm Lucius Malfoy's son. If he still cares about me, he'll make sure nothing happens. And if not, my Obscurus can always get me out of here. Now GO!" With a shout, Alex unleashed the Obscurus, sending it to block some of the doors. As much as they didn't like the plan, Harry, Nevillie, and Luna unlocked some of the doors. The Death Eaters sounded surprised and tried to open some of the unlocked doors, trying to get in. Alex gave them some leverage to allow them to think they could get in while the gang fled through one of the doors not being used by the Death Eaters. He only retracted the Obscurus when they were safely through, getting surrounded by the enemy in the process. He fell to his knees, weak from the overuse and didn't care about what they would do to him, as long as Harry and the others were safe. They were some of his only friends, there was no way he was allowing them to be hurt.
"Oh, here's one of the blondies!" Bellatrix cackled, "But where did itty bitty Potter go?" One of the Death Eaters pulled him to his feet by his hair and he cried out. Bellatrix tilted her head, observing him, and then Lucius stepped in.
"Enough! All of you, split up! Potter left him behind as a distraction!" he ordered. Several of the Death Eaters apparated away in black smoke, "Goyle, keep a good grip on him." Lucius wasn't looking directly at Alex, as if he was afraid to look his son in the eye, "He's a tricky one." Goyle gave a grunting laugh.
"Can't be too tricky. Doesn't even have a wand!"
"Malfoy!" called one of the other Death Eaters, Jugson, "We've got 'em!"
No… Alex stared, even as he was taken by Goyle to another room, following Lucius. He glanced at his father, the man's head held high with a smirk on his lips. Inside the next room were everyone else with a large archway in the middle. It seemed to quietly whisper and gave Alex the chills.
"I'm glad you're finally seeing sense, Potter." Lucius held out his hand as he approached, "Give me the prophecy, please." Around them the Death Eaters were holding the other teens hostage and Alex closed his eyes, knowing there was no way out of this, not at the moment.
"Let — let the others go, and I'll give it to you!" said Harry desperately. A few of the Death Eaters laughed.
"You are not in a position to bargain, Potter," said Lucius Malfoy, his pale face flushed with pleasure, "You see, there are ten of us and only one of you...or hasn't Dumbledore ever taught you how to count?" Alex watched as Harry glanced around, not just at the Death Eaters but the state his friends were in as well. He could see the change in Harry's eyes as he realized that there was nothing he could do, and so he held out the prophecy. Lucius reached out for it, hand shaking a little at how it was almost in his grasp, then two doors above them banged open. From them came streaks of light, Aurors to their rescue. Alex ducked out of Goyle's grip as spells flew left and right, chaos immediate. His eyes searched for the others, trying to spot the others and make sure they were okay. He may have been too weak to defend anyone except himself, but that didn't mean he wouldn't try. They were almost free, just a little longer. He saw his father duel with Sirius and Harry with the prophecy nowhere to be seen, then Lucius was disarmed and at the mercy of the duo. Alex began rubbing forward, to protect his father in case something happened, but quickly changed his plans when he saw a flash of green light out of the corner of his eye. He didn't know what the spell was, only that it was dangerous, and it seemed to be heading straight for Sirius. There was no time to think, he allowed his Obscurus to take over, consuming his body before it put itself in between Sirius and the spell. The Obscurus probably thought Alex was a madman for doing this, so why was it doing it too? Then the spell struck.
Alex may have said that an Obscurus was impervious to spells, and this was no exception, but never before had a spell hurt so much. The Obscurus died away as suddenly as it had appeared, Alex being blasted back by the force of it and nearly through the veil. He could barely move from the pain, the Obscurus screeching in his mind to never do that again and he didn't blame it. His ears were ringing and his eyes screwed shut from the pain, but then someone was lifting him, his upper half, trying to speak to him, and so he opened them. Alex had never seen such a terrified look on Lucius' face before. His father was speaking to him, trying to say something, but all Alex could hear was the ringing in his ears. He felt so weak. A small nap couldn't hurt, right..?
"ALEX!" If he had his wand Lucius would've killed Bellatrix then and there. As it was, he was unable to check on his son with Sirius holding him at wandpoint, and then Harry was running off, after the retreating Bellatrix.
"Harry!" Sirius cried, but he couldn't go after his godson, not with what had just happened. When Harry was out of sight, the two stared at each other, panting, Lucius glancing down at his son every-so-often. Alex's Obscurus was powerful, but only Harry had ever survived the Killing Curse before. It wasn't likely he was still alive, but Lucius couldn't help but feel the need to check. And if he wasn't… It would be all his fault that his son was dead.
"Black," Lucius began, face worn and worried, "I promise you that I will fight no longer or make an attempt to escape if you will allow me to see my son. Please." Sirius didn't drop his wand for a few seconds, but once it was down, Lucius scrambled to see his son.
"Alex! Alex, please wake up." He checked for a pulse, relieved to find it, and then Alex opened his eyes. There was such pain in them that it made the man want to cry, but he held himself back, "You're going to be okay now, Alex. Nothing will hurt you anymore." Even as Alex's eyes slid closed, Lucius couldn't help but feel relieved that his son wasn't dead, at least not yet.
"He's your son?" The man glanced up, having nearly forgotten about Sirius.
"Yes, he is." Lucius continued to prop Alex in his arms, not wanting to leave the darker blond boy for anything.
"He saved my life. Why?"
"He always had this sense of goodness in him." Lucius said, "He saved you because it was the right thing to do."
"Then how is he not dead? His Obscurus?"
"I would believe so." Lucius met the other man's eyes, "How do you know that?"
"After what happened with the Dementors, as you well know, he met me. Fred and George told us the secret." Sirius turned his attention to Alex, "It's a wonder how he's still alive, even with his Obscurus."
"At least he is." They didn't speak anymore, not until the rest of the Ministry began to arrive and Lucius knew that he would have to be separated from his son. He spoke to Sirius, "Promise me that you will make sure he gets better, Black, that nothing happens to him until this is all over."
"No need to ask." Sirius picked Alex up in his arms as Aurors converged on Lucius, using spells to make sure he wouldn't be able to get away. It was also that moment that Alex began to wake up, the ringing and pain gone from his body. He groggily shook his head, trying to get to his sense again, then his eyes landed on his father.
Was that...a feeling of shame in his father's eyes? Being ashamed of being arrested in front of one of his sons? Why should he feel such an emotion? Alex was sure Lucius had been at lower points than this, but as he considered it, a thought came to him to explain why Lucius may have felt ashamed. Did he still feel enough about his sons to feel ashamed about being evil in front of them, being accused of it? Alex stared as his father was led away, then closed his eyes.
Even if that was the reason Lucius was ashamed, it made no difference now. Alex had always known his father was a bad person, especially being associated with Lord Voldemort, and seeing that with his own eyes changed nothing. That didn't get rid of the aching feeling in his chest, however.
With Dumbledore now reinstated at Hogwarts, things felt better, despite the threat of Voldemort hanging over their heads. Anyone could sense that, especially Alex. it had been a surprise to them all when he'd asked to go back to Hogwarts with Harry's group, not relenting at first until he explained why.
"I need to talk to Draco, tell him what's going on. I want… I want to say goodbye." Alex understood that after this, now that Voldemort was truly back, he wouldn't be able to stay at the Burrow. It was safe enough for everyone else, but not for him, not anymore. He'd have to move off for safety, probably to Grimmauld Place, but for now, until the year ended he'd be at the Burrow. He might as well give Draco his last goodbye, he didn't see himself meeting his brother again until Voldemort was gone and who knew when that would be? And what if Draco was dead after it? He had to do it now, while he still could, and so he was allowed to go to Hogwarts with the rest of the teens.
After getting bandaged a little by Madam Pomfrey with the rest, he headed down to the Slytherin Common Room ASAP. He didn't have a lot of time to give his goodbyes and he had to make every second count. He reached the wall but, without a password, there was no way in. That didn't stop him, however, as he allowed the Obscurus to consume him before slipping through the cracks in the wall. He reformed inside the Common Room, glad it was empty for the moment and made his way to Draco's dorm. His hand rested in space, just before knocking on the door as he hesitated, then he shook himself and knocked. No time to waste. There was some grumbling on the other side before it was opened by Draco and the second they saw each other, the platinum blond froze.
"Who's at the door, Draco?" called one of his dormmates.
"N-no one!" Draco pushed Alex forward as he closed the door behind him, then dragged his brother to sit on one of the couches with him.
"What are you doing here?!" he hissed in his pajamas, "It's not safe."
"Umbridge isn't here anymore, remember?" Alex murmured, "And take a look at me. I know it's not safe anywhere anymore." For a moment Draco paused and his eyes widened as he took in the bandages on Alex's face.
"What happened?"
"A certain ex-house elf of ours happened." Alex then began to explain how Dobby had sent him to help Harry, how they had fought and survived the Death Eaters, and saving Sirius. After telling him about saving the man, Draco slapped him. The sound echoed in the Common Room and Alex stared at his brother in shock. Ever before had Draco taken a hand against him, certainly afraid of what the Obscurus could do and just trying to protect his brother. But now the elder looked furious.
"You could have been killed." he bit out, every word slow to emphasize his point, "I know Father knew what he was getting himself into, but you? You knew better than to get involved! Why didn't you let him die?!"
"He was Harry's godfather, the only family the guy had left! And I didn't make the decision consciously! One second I was going to protect Dad, the next I was in Obscurus form, protecting Sirius! And if I had died, I would have been sad, but at least I would've saved someone!"
"What if had been Father, then? What if, because of your actions, he had died instead?" They stared at each other in silence, Draco growing a little nervous as he got no answer from Alex, until the other finally answered.
"...You said it yourself, he knew what he was getting into. But if he had died, then I don't know what I would've done. Probably gone after whoever killed him, even myself." Draco was silent, then Alex was enveloped in a hug, leaving the younger brother shocked.
"Never do that again." Draco whispered, "I promised to protect you and I don't know what I'd do if you died, so don't, got it?"
"Got it." Alex whispered back. They broke the hug and the younger boy went on, "I didn't come for just that, though. I came to say goodbye because, after this, I'll probably never see you again."
"Yeah, I know." Silence once again dominated their time for a while. Around them they could hear other Slytherins getting up for the day, getting ready for their classes or whatever they were about to do. Draco was the first to break the silence, "As soon as he's gone, I'll come looking for you. We'll be a family again."
"I hope so." Alex stood from the couch, "Tell Mum I love her, please." And with that, he left the Common Room. Draco stared after him, saddened about what life would be like after this but hoping for the best.