Draco Malfoy went through the next three days in a sort of daze, with Pansy helping him get to his classes, and a well placed (by which Draco meant done earlier) bribe to Theo Nott got him homework done, and in his own hand. Luckily, when he came out of the daze (which happened slowly, as it always did), he realized that he wouldn't have missed as much as he thought. After all, he had Greg and Vince to watch his back.

Something was bothering Draco - well, other than the 'mysterious disappearance' of Cousin Sirius Black. Hm. Come to think of it, Draco Malfoy thought, I should think about that some more. If it was a jailbreak, then the question was how, and why, and, most importantly, why now?

There were three potential options:

First, Cousin Black had gotten out of his own power. That bifurcated, into 'he could always leave' or 'he just completed the tunnel out'. Either was implausible, although the first - well, even his own mother wouldn't have put Sirius Black into the 'sane' category before he entered the Prison where Happiness Died. As to the second, Draco hadn't seen the scent of purpose on him, nothing of determination, nothing of even the faintest sort of rude villainous** intelligence. If it was a ruse, it was one that had managed to fool Draco's own mother, who had known Sirius as a child. She had always described him as headstrong, reckless, and fairly foolhardy - if someone you generally wanted on your side in the fight, if only because he'd take the blows for you (Rather like Greg in that regard).

Second, this was some family scheme. Narcissa Black-Malfoy was the sole remaining free member of her family in England, and Lucius Malfoy might have been moved to rescue one of her cousins. There were quite a few problems with this notion. First, Narcissa Malfoy had never seemed to fond of either of the inmates, and were Lucius the type to make unprompted gifts, he would have undoubtedly turned to her sister rather than her cousin. They had both been famed duelists, before - and Draco Malfoy didn't see any other reason that they'd have merely freed one. Freeing both would do wonders for the family honor - if they were freed legally. But, as this was an extralegal escape, it merely meant a lot of headaches for the Malfoy Clan, who would be under immediate suspicion.

Draco frowned, putting in a codicil, Perhaps someone was trying to upset the Malfoy's current balance of power, which, of course, tilted in their favor? Still, it was an odd choice - too daring for a Slytherin, and too sneaky for a Gryffindor. Draco Malfoy rather suspected it would have to be a Ravenclaw, to have pulled it off under so many noses.

Third, this was the act of the Dark Lord, heretofore considered dead. Draco couldn't think that there was anyone else, who would pull Sirius Black out of prison. His skills were undoubtedly deteriorated, and the only possible thing he could outrank the free in, was loyalty to the Dark Lord. Draco Malfoy considered this option with a frown. Lucius Malfoy had taken over the purebred standard, after the Dark Lord had fallen*** - perhaps the Lord Voldemort would not be pleased with the changes. Certainly, the whole movement had acquired a bit more culture, an aesthetic that drew more people to it, at the expense of a slower implementation of policies.

**Draco's using this word in the older sense, along with using rude as a synonym.

***Draco's not aware that his father was a Death Eater. Yes, people have been throwing that as an insult around. Court documents were sealed (The Weasleys don't care about shite like that), and his parents weren't terribly communicative.

[a/n: To the confused reader, it's November 5th. As to the timeskip, that's my doing. Future editing will have the entire school given about a month off because of Potter's death, which will pull the whole "Draco is figuring this out in a matter of weeks, not months" immediacy to the fore.

If you're confused as to which year this is, it's 3rd year.

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