Dear Readers,

Before you go on further, I do have a few things to note. 1, the café in this chapter is a real café in England. 2, Mimsy may or may not be one of the Malfoys' house elves, I don't know for sure. If not, I made her up. And 3, there may be a gay romance later in this story. I'm still going a little back and forth on that. I wanted to let you know about it ahead of time so you could decide to keep reading the story or not.

Now, I hope you enjoy the story!

1999:

George held the door open for Fred as they entered a small café, shivering as they entered from a colder place. It was the middle of January and had been half a year since the Battle of Hogwarts. They had been busy with their shop and getting their lives back in order but recently Draco had sent them a letter, asking to meet them here, at the Coffee, Cake and Kisses café. On one of the walls were several cards, describing the perfect kisses people would like, and from their research, the twins knew that it was a 'good place to talk,' welcoming all kinds of people. They had wondered why Draco asked to meet them here, in a muggle café, then reasoned that he probably had a good reason. Glancing around, Fred spotted Draco first and grabbed George's arm, leading them over.

"Hey." greeted Fred, a little uncomfortably, "How is everything?" Draco shook his head.

"Not good." he muttered.

"How's Alex, though?" asked George. They'd kept in touch with the younger brother up until just before Christmas, where he hadn't responded to their last letter yet.

"I came here to talk about that, actually." Draco glanced at a watch on his wrist, "Do you mind waiting until the others arrive?"

"Uh, sure." Fred and George, as close as they were to Alex, still felt like enemies to the older Malfoy, despite Alex's best efforts to make them friends, or at least tolerate one another. So far he'd only managed to complete the latter. As they waited, the twins got drinks and an order of peanut butter cupcakes to share. Draco was staring into staring into his coffee the whole time, a forlorn look on his face. The twins didn't know what to do and it made them even more uneasy. Fred contemplated trying to make conversation before the door pinged open and in came Harry, Ron, and Hermione. The twins were as surprised to see the trio as they were but it didn't take long for them to exchange stories. Like Draco had asked Fred and George, he'd also asked Harry, Hermione, and even Ron to meet with him. Things were not adding up as a tense air hung around them.

"So, what's this all about?" Harry asked after they'd exchanged greetings, settling in. Draco made a small gesture.

"Get some drinks. I'm still trying to figure out how to explain this." Everyone exchanged glances but did as they were told, Ron ordering another set of peanut butter cupcakes to eat while they waited.

"Not as good as Mum's but still pretty good!" he mumbled through the food.

"Don't speak with your mouth full!" Hermione berated, "Honestly, Ron..."

"Back to Draco." George said, looking at the blond, "Why are we here?"

"...Promise you won't kill me?"

"Why would we wanna kill you?" Fred narrowed his eyes, "This has something to do with Alex, doesn't it. Why we haven't heard from him in weeks." Draco nodded.

"He's… he's gone missing."

"You're sure?" asked Harry, "Like last time?"

"I guess." Draco hadn't looked at any of them once since they'd arrived, "A few days after Christmas he left home, said he was gonna get a few things, but he never came back. I looked around the manor, especially in the hidden passages Alex liked so much, and found that he'd left this behind." Draco took out a piece of paper and slid it to Hermione. She raised an eyebrow but began to read it aloud, quietly enough so that they wouldn't be overheard but loud enough for the table to understand her.

'Dear Draco,

'I hid this in the one place I knew was safe, where you'd be the only one to find it.

'When I went into hiding, away from you and the Weasleys, I was among the Muggles and I think I may have accidentally raised their suspicions. I know I was followed many times until the Death Eaters came for me. They didn't give up, either. I saw one of them again, a few days ago. That's why I left, so I wouldn't lead them home, to Mum and Dad and you. We just defeated Voldemort, we don't need to get anyone in trouble so soon.

'I'm scared, though. Terrified they'll want something from me, what they'll do to me to get it. That's why I left this behind. They're my memories, one of my wizard friends showed me how to take them out. They can only be viewed in a thing called a pensieve. Just in case the Muggles do get me… I don't want you to forget me. See things through my eyes once or twice, see what it's like to have an Obscurus inside you. You might be surprised.

'I'll be home sometime, as soon as they lose interest in me. If I don't come home, though, tell Mum and Dad what I did, that I love them. Love you too, Draco.

'With utmost regret, Alex'

"He sounds like he thinks he's gonna die." said Ron.

"And did he really leave behind a vial of memories?" asked Hermione, impressed. Draco nodded.

"I think so. I've got the vial on me."

"Why didn't you ask us to come sooner?!" George hissed. It was bad enough Alex went missing, but if he actually thought he was gonna die? That scared him and Fred more than they would like to admit.

"I tried looking for him but ran into a dead end. That's why I asked you all to come here." Draco lifted his head and they could see the worried sadness in his face, his eyes. He gestured to the trio, "You three have a knock for getting into trouble and solving mysteries. I hope you'll be able to help me find Alex."

"And us?" asked Fred.

"I know how close you were to Alex and thought I might as well inform you. You can join us if you want, but it was mostly to inform you of what was going on."

"Of course we'll join!" said George.

"He's like a little brother to us!" added Fred, "We'll do everything we can to find him!" For the first time since they met up, Draco gave a small smile, even if it was still tinged with sadness.

"Thank you."

"But what about your parents?" Harry asked, "Surely they're also trying to find him!" Draco glanced away, once again saddened.

"Potter… I may have done something very terrible about that. After the first few days, we looked everywhere and my parents were getting more and more worried and furious. I was afraid that they might get themselves into trouble, get our family more into trouble, and like Alex said, we don't need that right now. I Obliviated their memories of Alex, told them I was just going off to study Potions for my career after I did it."

"Draco..." Hermione knew how it felt to do such a drastic thing and laid a hand on one of his arms.

"I regret it, Granger, but it was the right thing to do. Wasn't it?" He looked at her.

"I can't tell you if it was. I did it to protect my parents and you did it for the same reason. After this is over, you can always restore their memories. For right now, though, we need to find Alex."

"Right." Draco nodded.

"Let's head into a more secure place before you give us what you found out." Harry was looking over his shoulder, "I think we may have company." Trying not to make it obvious, the others also glanced at where Harry was staring. A couple had just come in, laughing and smiling, but there was something off about it, as if they didn't fit. Harry went on, "Let's go out in pairs and apparate to Grimmauld Place. Draco, you're with me. Everyone else, wait a while before you go out too." And with that the dark-haired wizard stood. Draco stood with him and they walked out. Taking one of Harry's hands, Draco was apparated with him to the front steps of the building. Draco had never seen the place before and was awed when it appeared before him, between the buildings. Harry knocked on the door and they were let inside by Sirius.

"Harry!" greeted the man, who hugged his godson, "How have you been?"

"It's only been an hour." Harry protested, smiling nonetheless. After they separated, that's when Sirius took note of Draco. He raised an eyebrow, letting his hand trail down to a pocket, to which Harry explained, "He asked for help. Alex went missing again." Sirius' eyes widened.

"When does that boy never learn?! Come in, come in!" Sirius let them in and Harry told him that the others would be coming soon. As the two spoke, Draco looked around. His aunt had told him a little about this place but it was amazing to see with his own eyes, despite the disrepair. That reminded him of when he'd been told about Bellatrix's death. It had saddened him a little at first, but then he realized he was much better off. Bella had always been very 'off her rocker,' as the Muggles said, so it was probably better for everyone that she was dead.

"Is he staying with you?" Draco turned at the voice, taken out of his thoughts.

"He left home to find his little brother, he's allowed to stay wherever he wants." Harry was defending him. Draco couldn't help but be astonished at it and a little glad. He didn't think Harry would defend him after all he'd done but maybe he was wrong.

"Well, take any room you want, then." said Sirius, "I'll keep a look out for the others."

"Thanks." Harry nodded before guiding Draco upstairs. They headed to one of the bedrooms and opened the door. Inside was Kreacher.

"Master Potter." He gave both men a dark look.

"Leave us alone, Kreacher."

"As you wish." The elf disappeared with a snap of the fingers.

"How long have you been away from home?"

"Just a few hours." Draco put a hand on one of his pockets, "Only thing I brought with me is my wand."

"How's it doing for you, by the way?" Harry seemed a little sheepish asking it. Draco took out his wand and looked it over.

"Well enough." He put it back, "Haven't done any duels with it, though. Pretty sure the allegiance is still to you."

"Sorry about that. You know my wand was broken at the time, right?" Draco glanced up, surprised.

"How? Your wand is fine now!"

"I know that." Harry took out his own wand, "I used the Elder Wand to fix it before putting it back with Dumbledore. It works just fine now."

"Well, I'm glad mine was used for something good." Draco said, "Can't say the same for my father's wand. It broke when Voldemort fought you at the Battle of the Seven Potters." Harry gave a slow nod.

"So that's why there was no Priori Incantatem."

"What?"

"The Reverse Spell. It's what happens when wands with cores from the same exact animal cast spells at one another and they match. Happened when I first really found Voldemort, in the graveyard during the Triwizard Tournament."

"The more I stick around you the more I learn, Potter." Draco shook his head. Harry smiled.

"Well, for right now, settle down in one of the bedrooms. We may have to share so get used to it. I'll send a letter off to McGonagall to ask for Dumbledore's pensieve. It'll allow us to view Alex's memories and make sure they're his." Harry paused at the door, "And Draco?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for not being a prick about this, for asking for help when you needed it, for telling us about Alex. He's our friend too." And then Harry was gone. Draco stood in the room for a moment, then took a seat on one of the beds. He wasn't looking forward to the conversation he'd have to have with them all, explaining all that he knew about the situation. But he knew he had to, especially once everyone arrived.

"I don't think we were followed." George said.

"They were Muggles, how could they follow us?" Fred quipped.

"You'd be surprised." Hermione added. They were gathered around the kitchen table now with Sirius as Draco prepared to explain.

"Here's all that I know." Draco took out a piece of parchment with a list on it, "He disappeared the 27th, saying he was gonna go get some groceries, but he never came back. The next day I tried going to the grocers but he explained that Alex never came by, so I searched around but no one had seen Alex. I went home and told my parents, so we went looking together. A few people had seen him elsewhere, nowhere near the grocers, over in London. We looked and looked but couldn't find anything, which stressed out Mother and Father. It was around the 11th that I found the note in the passageways, wondering if Alex may have left a clue behind, and that's when I knew I had to find him alone. Today's the 15th, I Obliviated their memories a few hours ago."

"So he's been sighted in London?" asked Ron, "That can't be too hard." Everyone gave him incredulous looks.

"Ron… Do you have any idea how big London is?" asked Harry slowly.

"It'll be like trying to find a needle in a haystack." George put his head in his hands. Fred patted his back.

"We'll find him." he assured, even if he didn't sound confident.

"How far did you get in London?" asked Sirius. He'd been told more about the situation earlier and was trying to help.

"Not far." Draco shook his head, "Only a few people had seen him but not anywhere substantial. Just in public places and not in the same place twice." Sirius frowned.

"Hmm..." He left the room.

"Have you tried asking the Ministry to help?" Draco gave Harry a dark look.

"And have my family subject to more smears by the Prophet and aurors alike? No thank you."

"They could help, though." Hermione protested, "Especially since he's an Obscurus."

"The less people that know about that the better." Draco said, "If the Ministry finds out what he is, they could arrest him or worse, just to study the Obscurus."

"He's got a point." Fred murmured.

"From what Percy's said, it's likely they'd do that, even under Kingsley." added George.

"So we have no leads." Harry surmised, "Not until we get a look at those memories. Maybe he put something in them for us to see."

"Hopefully." Draco muttered, little of said hope in his voice. It was then that Sirius returned, a piece of paper in hand.

"A while back, when Alex stayed with me, Albus sent this." He handed the paper to Draco, "Trelawney gave another prophecy. He thought it had something to do with Alex." As Draco read the prophecy aloud, they had to admit that Dumbledore may have been right.

"The beast will overcome those that swear to tame it, only to fall when he who knows little love learns to love again. Before it ends, sense of self will die and brotherhood knows no more. Born just before the day of Love, the beast switches hands again and again and again and Death will follow until the end of its days. Death and Beast are intertwined and will never separate, even at the efforts of brotherhood. Death will come for the beast many times but it will only go when it decides to be tamed. Brotherhood will be nevermore, nevermore, NEVERMORE!"

"I hope this isn't happening now." Draco growled, "I don't wanna lose him."

"Neither do the rest of us." said Fred, "But at least it's a lead."

"Let's try analyzing it, see what we can get from it." George suggested. And that's what they did, looking into it as best they could. Prophecies were never clear cut, always interpretation-based, anything could be taken from it, but it was clear enough to the point that they knew it referenced Alex. This didn't settle any nerves.

"He has to be out there somewhere!" Lucius spoke, examining a map of London with Narcissa. They were sitting in the library, trying to figure out where Alex could be. Draco was watching from the doorway, listening in to their plans it had been days since they'd last seen Alex and it was a very depressing and stressed feeling. His presents were still scattered about his room and Draco couldn't help but think of what could be happening to his little brother right now.

"I'm sure he is." Narcissa assured, "Why not Hyde Park? Let's go there first thing tomorrow."

"He was also seen in front of the London Eye. We should check there too." Lucius pointed to the place on the map. As they continued to discuss, Draco thought about all the trouble they could get into and it made him frown. They'd already gotten into enough trouble with the Ministry just being on Voldemort's side, what would happen if they kept looking for Alex? Draco wanted to find him ASAP, but what would it do to his family? Would they get in trouble just being out and about with Muggles too much? It was worrying to think about, not to mention the note he'd found that Alex had left behind. Maybe he should go it alone?

"Mother, Father?" Draco stepped into the room. They glanced up from the map.

"Yes, Draco?" asked Narcissa.

"Are you sure being around Muggles so much is a good idea?" They gave him surprised looks.

"If it means finding Alex, then yes." said Lucius, "Don't you want him found?"

"Of course I do, I'm just worried about us. What if we get in more trouble with the Ministry?"

"Draco, I believe it will be near impossible for us to do that unless we kill someone." Narcissa deadpanned, "Unless you have any other objections, then I suggest you help us." Draco gritted his teeth.

"Yes Mother." He went over to help them but as he did so, a plan began forming in his mind. He'd have to wait for when they fell asleep, but he'd be going out and finding Alex on his own, whether or not his parents didn't want him to. It took a few hours but eventually they got ready for bed. Draco laid in bed, awake and waiting for when they fell asleep. He was only taking his wand, the vial, and the list he'd made of what they'd found. He'd also sent letters to Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, and George to meet up tomorrow if they could. It was last minute, but he had the feeling they'd do it. Even if he was going alone, he knew he'd needed help, but not from his parents. They didn't need any more damage to their reputation than they already had. After an hour of lying in the dark, Draco got up and, gripping his wand tightly, he crept down the hall to his parents' bedroom. Slowly opening the door, he found them asleep and was glad the door didn't creak. His hand was shaking but he forced it to steady as he pointed his wand.

"Obliviate." he whispered. It tore at his heart what he was doing but he didn't think he had a choice. He had to do this, if just to spare them from the anxiety and hurt that would surely follow if he left to find Alex and they knew about it. Once he was done, he went downstairs to be sure, checking some of the photographs. In every one that should have Alex, the darker blond was gone. Draco was the only one that remembered him in the Malfoy family, and that was how it would have to be. He returned to his room with a heavy heart before calling for one of the house elves.

"Mimsy?"

"Yes, Master Draco?" The little elf appeared before him.

"Tomorrow, after I leave, I want you to take care of my parents. Don't tell them that I'm going after Alex. I erased their memories of him so they wouldn't be hurt anymore."

"I understand, Master Draco. Will you find him?"

"I will. I won't come home until I do."

"Please do." Mimsy shifted uncomfortably.

"Do you wish to say something?"

"Y-yes, Master Draco. We house elves here, in the manor, we very much wish for Alex to come home safe. Before anyone wanted to treat us nicely, he was the first. He made our lives better." There were tears welling up in Mimsy's eyes, "Please bring Alex home safe." Draco gave a soft smile.

"I promise." He gave her a hug before sending her away. It lifted the burden on his heart a little. It took a long time before he was able to fall asleep and all too soon his mother was waking him up.

"You slept in today." she quipped, "Did you stay up?"

"A bit." he nodded, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. He paused, "Do you plan on going anywhere today, Mother?"

"No, not particularly. Why?" Draco shook his head.

"Nothing." He stood up, "I'm planning on going out today to expand my knowledge on Potions for my career. I don't know when I'll be back, but it won't be for at least a week." Narcissa raised an eyebrow.

"I see." She handed him a suit, "Please be careful around the Muggles." She sniffed at the mention of them. Draco winced.

"Yes Mother." He waited until she left before he put the suit in the closet, grabbing some more Muggle-like clothes so that he would blend in. He went downstairs, trying to avoid Narcissa as he did so, and ran into his father in the kitchen. He was reading the Daily Prophet and sipping coffee and glanced up when Draco came in. The teen wasn't planning to stay long, just grab something to eat before apparating off, but then his father was dragging him into conversation.

"Where are you going so quickly, Draco?" he asked, eyebrow raised.

"I'm going out to do more research for my career. I won't be home for some time. Have to be there early." Lucius nodded.

"Well, good luck." He went back to his paper. Draco grabbed an apple and a Pop Tart, a Muggle invention Alex had snuck into their home once. Lucius now had a crippling addiction to them, especially the strawberry ones with frosting. Hopefully his parents wouldn't notice they were a Muggle invention, for it seemed that Alex's influence on them had completely gone away. It hurt so much what he was doing, but it was for the best, right?

Right?