They all went back to Black Manor. "Draco, sit down, you don't look all that good right now." Sirius' words were curt and sharp. The blonde sat down and Sirius waved his hand over him, chanting something under his breath. "What's happened?" Narcissa asked worriedly.

Sirius' expression tightened slightly. He was angry about whatever had happened to Draco. "He exhausted himself. Anymore magic and you could have badly hurt yourself." The second statement was addressed to Draco. The boy was looking everywhere but at Sirius.

"You need to rest. The guestroom is fine, so you'll feel better once you've slept a little. We'll talk later." Harry could've sworn Draco winced at the last line. "Go and get some sleep."

"Yes, sir." It was the first thing Draco had said. Narcissa helped her son off the sofa and up the stairs.

Once those two were upstairs, Sirius turned to Harry. "Are you okay? Are you hurt? Anywhere at all?" He asked. "I'm fine, Dad," Harry replied softly. They were silent for a long time. Unlike Sirius, Harry was terrible at bearing the stillness of the house. "Are you mad at us?"

He mentally kicked himself for asking when the only response he received was a raised eyebrow. "Right, sorry. Dumb question."

"I'm already quite furious with you. Explain exactly what happened and if you know what's good for you, you won't lie about it." Harry dropped his gaze at the reprimand and did as he was told. He explained everything to Sirius right from their trip to the Quidditch store to the way Burke had man-handled them.

Once he was done, Sirius didn't appear any calmer. On the contrary, he looked even angrier. Harry knew his father well enough to say that the man would never hit him, no matter how upset he was. But, he mentally braced himself for the verbal lashing coming his way.

He was right.

"What in Merlin's name were you thinking, Harry James? Knockturn Alley? How many times have I told you to stay away from that place?" A large knot had formed in his stomach as Hermione had told him about his son's little foray into Knockturn Alley. And Draco? Over the summer, he'd grown to care for that boy. What were they thinking?

"We didn't think it would be dange—" Harry was cut off almost instantly. "You didn't think? Now why does that not surprise me at all? Coming from you, that's almost become a regular statement." The man shook his head and stood up. "Borgin and Burke aren't good people. Hell, Knockturn Alley itself isn't a good place."

"What was I supposed to do, Dad? I couldn't just let Draco go on his own?" Harry defended. "I'm not applauding what Draco did. He's equally guilty and trust me, he's going to get it when he wakes up. But at this moment, we aren't talking about Draco. I'm concerned about you."

"I don't understand why the two of you had to go near that horrible shop in the first place," Sirius was trying to figure out the entire thing. "We didn't even go inside. We were crouching outside, trying to listen to their conversation."

"Listening to their— Harry, after everything we've discussed?" Sirius sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Things could have gone horribly wrong today, young man."

"I'm sorry," he mumbled. "Of course you're not," Sirius' voice hadn't lost its harshness. "As usual, you didn't pause to think about the consequences. You simply rushed into danger. I don't understand what I need to say or do to make sure you stop doing stupid things."

The man was truly upset. Harry hated when Sirius was mad at him. He rarely heard that stern tone from his father, but when he did, he felt two inches tall. "Burke was about to do something nasty, wasn't he?"

"Yes." Harry always hated how small he sounded whenever Sirius was angry. Harry heard his father mutter something that sounded suspiciously like 'that bastard'.

"After the incident in the chamber, I thought you had finally understood the seriousness of risking your life. When you promised me that you'd stop endangering yourself, I thought you meant it. An empty promise. That's all it ever was. Am I right? I used to believe you when you told me that you wouldn't do it again. But now, I'm starting to lose faith in what you say."

Harry wasn't surprised by the tears that welled up in his eyes. The words hurt but they were true. At that time, he's sincerely promised his father that he would never throw himself in harm's way. Today, he'd gone ahead and thoughtlessly broken his word.

Sometimes, he hated himself. He could face Voldemort without fear but a scolding from his father was all it took to reduce him to tears. How many times had he told himself he'd stop worrying the man? Why couldn't he just keep one promise?

Firm fingers took of hold of his chin, tilting his head upwards to meet stormy grey eyes. "I promised myself that I'd keep you safe no matter what, the day I took you in. How am I supposed to keep my promise if you don't keep yours?"

The lump in Harry's throat expanded considerably. He knew that if he opened his mouth, he'd burst into tears. Sirius was rarely this upset. He absolutely loathed the fact that it was he who had hurt the man so much.

"I'm sorry, Dad. I really am, you have to believe me. I never meant for you to worry," Harry said, harshly wiping away his tears. "But I do, Harry. I always worry about you. Your penchant for trouble does nothing to help ease my worries. I've lost a lot of people. I'm not going to let you be one of them. I only recently got you back, Harry. I won't lose you, no matter what."

Harry couldn't take it anymore. He all but lunged at Sirius and locked his arms around the man in a death grip. "I'm sorry. Please, just don't be mad at me. I won't do it again, Dad."

Sirius pulled back and wiped the rest of the boy's tears. Harry currently looked very young indeed. "Never again. This foolishness has to end, Harry. You're never to even think of trying something so idiotic. This has to end. Am I understood?" Sirius sounded very firm. "Yes, sir," he said.

"You're grounded for a week." Harry didn't protest. He knew he'd earned every bit of it. "Your broom stays on the ground for the next two weeks." He'd been hoping to play some Quidditch before term began but that wouldn't be happening anytime soon. "Okay," he replied.

He felt miserable but still a little happy that Sirius was no longer furious. "Go to your room for a bit. Try and clean your wardrobe, will you? It's scary in there." Harry knew that the words weren't a request and his shoulders sagged. Whenever he was grounded, Sirius always found some work for him. "Are you still mad at me?" He crossed his fingers behind his back.

"No, not anymore. But you had better not scare me like this ever again." Harry nodded vigorously, grudgingly getting up from his spot and heading up. Halfway up the stairs, Harry paused and turned around. "Dad, are you mad at Draco?"

"More worried than angry." Sirius replied absently, bracing himself for another such conversation. "Draco thinks you're going to kill him." He caught the slight amusement in the boy's voice.

"Trust me, I might do just that."

Draco awoke nearly two hours later. He opened his eyes to the somewhat familiar ceiling of the guest room at Black Manor. It was then that it all came back to him.

He groaned and threw his arm over his eyes. "You're awake, good. Why don't you try and sit up, dear?" Knowing that he couldn't put it off forever, Draco sat up. "Are you feeling better now?" He nodded in response. Truth be told, he actually did feel much better.

He no longer felt tired or weak. "Are you absolutely sure?" Narcissa asked again. Draco inwardly smiled fondly at his mother and nodded again. "Yes, mother. I'm fine."

"Why? If all the things you could have done?" Her voice was a mixture of worry and anger.

"Draco, you need to understand this clearly: Knockturn Alley is far from safe. Especially not for us. Your father made a lot of enemies in there. You, his son, can't just go there."

"I needed to know why Borgin came home the other day," Draco explained, his tone apologetic. "I don't know about that anymore than you do, Draco. The day Lucius was arrested, I promised myself to keep you away from all that. You're not helping, Draco." She gave him the look that all mothers had perfected.

He felt a stab of guilt when she said that. From a very young age, Draco had never been able to argue with his parents. Today was no different. Unlike his father, his mother had always been quite the affectionate person, just towards him. She could be cold hearted as far as the rest of the world was concerned. So, he wasn't surprised when his mother got up from her chair, sat down on the bed and pulled him into a hug.

"Several people have died in our family because they lost control of the familial magic. I cannot let you be one of them. It's dangerous. You're only just beginning to grasp the seriousness of it. Don't let it control you." For a petite woman, she had a strong hold on him.

"I was so scared, Draco. I've heard about what happened to our ancestors and it terrifies me. You have to be more careful, darling." He felt her shake against him and realised that she was crying. He hugged her tighter, feeling extremely guilty. "I will. I promise."

She pulled back, composed herself and patted his cheek twice. "Good boy." Her voice was a little watery but the tears were gone. She hesitated like she wanted to say something. "Draco, was everything alright between you and Lucius? Is there anything you'd like to tell me?"

Silence.

Narcissa sighed, disappointed. She would have to patiently wait for her son to approach her on his own. "Okay. If you need to talk, I'm right here. Sirius wanted to talk to you. I suppose you'll find him downstairs." Draco sighed when he heard that. "Sirius is furious, isn't he?"

"Rightfully so, Draco. You had us all worried. But, don't let Sirius fool you. He's only angry because he cares. He won't stay upset for very long, darling. Don't you worry." Draco saw that his mother was struggling to suppress a smile.

"I'm glad that you find my situation amusing, mother," he commented dryly. Narcissa merely smiled and carded one hand through his hair. "Whatever he says to you, you'll survive. He was quite upset with Harry but young Mr. Potter is still in one piece. Go on now."

Draco found Sirius in his office. He sent a silent prayer to whichever higher power was willing to listen and knocked on the door frame. "Come in." He walked in and tried to gather some information from the man's face but his expression was unreadable. "Sit down, Draco."

"I take that you're feeling better?" Draco nodded. "Tell me, before I agreed to teach you this magic, what did I ask of you?" Uh oh. His doom had arrived. "To not use my magic for anything that wasn't right."

"And yet, you did just that." Sirius voice hardened and Draco wished the ground would just swallow him up. "I don't think you understand what you're dealing with, young man. While there is no doubt that our family is unusually powerful, a lot of them have died simply because they lost control of the familial magic. You don't realise just how strong it is, Draco."

"I thought—I thought I'd be able to handle it. But I was wrong." The man had no idea just how weak that made him feel. He was supposed to be able to control it, not the other way round. "Draco, you've been learning for less than a month. Do you really expect yourself to be able to master it so quickly? That's ridiculous."

"But you did, right?" Curiosity temporarily replaced his nervousness. "Regulus told me that you'd learnt all of it by the time you were fifteen. You taught yourself everything."

Sirius sighed and ran a hand through his hair. His situation had been completely different, his reasons were different. He'd stayed up late nearly every night, mastering the magic. He had been determined to protect himself and his brother from their vicious father.

"Draco, we're not discussing my powers and abilities here. Each of us is different. You, have just started; and exhausting yourself is not good at all. Try and understand: you could have been hurt. Terribly."

Sirius had been scared for him. The realisation hit Draco hard. Throughout their conversation, Sirius had been stern but calm. His voice lacked that cruel edge his father possessed.

Sirius' next words which were calm but immovably firm, shook him. "Seeing that you are unable to follow a simple rule, I think it's best that we take a break from these lessons. Indefinitely."

Draco had a feeling that indefinitely meant permanently. He couldn't let that happen. These lessons were very important to him. He was finally doing something for himself, something over which his father had no control. He couldn't lose that. He actually enjoyed every one of these lessons immensely.

Besides, he was starting to get to know Sirius and Regulus a little better. They encouraged him, praised him and didn't belittle him or say anything remotely negative. He had few friends and Harry was one of them. He liked coming here to Black Manor. The place was happy and he did have a lot of fun.

"Please, Sirius, no! Look, I'm sorry if I worried you but you can't do that. You have to unders—"

"No, Draco! What you need to understand is that I won't allow you to continue until I'm sure that you will listen and won't do anything stupid."

But, Draco didn't understand. He didn't want to understand. He was shocked to find the heat building up behind his eyes. He wouldn't cry. He loved learning the familial magic. He wouldn't leave until he'd convinced the man that he could be trusted. Draco was willing to plead and beg if that's what it took. To hell with any ego.

He swallowed "Sirius, I've never done anything this brilliant. It's honestly the first thing that I've done without my father's interference. You don't understand how important this is for me. I'll scrub this entire Manor with a toothbrush," he said, recalling his detention last year. "But, please, don't cancel the training."

Sirius was silent. He leaned forward and steepled his fingers. When he'd said 'indefinitely' he'd meant for them to take a break for a month or so. But, he now realised that the boy had thought it would be permanent. Perhaps this was exactly what was needed. If Draco thought that his training was about to end, he would never even think of doing something like this again.

Effecting a heavy sigh, he shook his head. "I'm still not sure, Draco. This is your life that we're talking about. For as long as you are learning this magic, your safety is my responsibility. As well as Regulus'. But, you clearly have no regard for that and that's just not done."

"Sirius, I swear I won't do it again. Just please don't stop these lessons. I love them and I really, really like it here." Sirius had no idea just how hard Draco was trying to contain his emotions. If the man still refused, Draco was sure that he'd burst into tears.

The silence dragged on and each second felt like eternity. "Fine. We won't cancel them." Draco relaxed, clearly relieved. Thank Merlin. "But, there will be consequences." He didn't care. Any darn punishment had to be better than what had previously been decided upon.

"Two weeks. No training for two weeks and that's not negotiable. My mind's made up, Draco." He didn't argue. Two weeks were definitely better than forever. "Okay," he replied. "This is the first and last time. Familial magic is not something that we fool around with. Yes?"

Draco was too happy about the fact that the training hadn't been terminated. But, nevertheless, he did his best to look remorseful and nodded at the man. "Yes, sir," he said. Harry had told him it was what he did sometimes and he reminded himself to thank the other boy for this very useful tip.

"One more thing: I said that the lessons are on hold for two weeks. I'm not banning you from the house, Draco. You're welcome here anytime," Sirius told him, clapping his shoulder lightly.

Feeling slightly embarrassed, Draco nodded again. He hadn't meant to lose control of his emotions. "Before you go home, you might want to go up to Harry's room for a minute. Show him that you're still alive. He was under the impression that I was going to murder you."

"I was under the exact same impression," Draco mumbled with a sheepish grin, on his way out.

"A week, Sirius? I talked to Harry last night and boy was he miserable. Cleaning his wardrobe? Dear big brother, you are turning into such a father." Regulus teased with a grin as both of them sat in Sirius' office at the Auror HQ. "Don't even pretend that you weren't worried when you heard about what they did," Sirius replied, not looking up from his file.

"Well I was worried, I won't deny that. Those two little rascals do know how to give me a good scare. I still have to talk to Draco but I doubt I'll be able to do any stern-talking. I will leave all this scolding and grounding business to you. You happen to be very good at it."

Sirius looked up at that and smiled sheepishly. "I'm actually quite surprised myself. Those two had me worried sick."

There was a knock on the door and Kingsley Shacklebolt's burly frame appeared in the doorway. "Sir, he's here. I brought him in like you requested."

"Thank you, Kingsley." Sirius smirked and stood up, making his way out of the office. "Come on, Reggie. Our guest has arrived."

Regulus followed Sirius towards the interrogation room. His brother opened the door and saw Borgin sitting inside. He appeared disgruntled but his expression immediately morphed into one of slight fear when he noticed the brothers. "Good evening, Mr. Borgin."

"I haven't done anything wrong. That big bloke had no right to drag me here."

"Mr. Borgin, you were holding something for Lucius Malfoy. You suddenly felt the need to return it to its rightful owner and so you went to Malfoy Manor. It was something important, we both know that. Otherwise, you wouldn't have gone to Malfoy Manor to personally deliver it."

"I wasn't holding anything, sir."

Sirius scoffed at the blatant denial. "Borgin, let us not waste each other's time with pointless denials." His eyes hardened until they were a dangerous shade of steel. "What. Was. It?"

Knowing that he'd been beaten, anger flared up on his face.

"It was that filthy Malfoy boy wasn't it? He ratted me out didn't he? That bloody boy's better off dead."

Regulus' voice was icy when he spoke. "Answer the question." The comment against Draco hadn't gone down well with him.

Borgin gulped fearfully and looked at the two brothers. It was no secret that they were a dangerous duo. "Malfoy came to me a couple of years ago. He had a parcel for me. Said he wanted me to look after it for a while. Paid me good money he did. Promised to pay the rest later."

"Keep going."

"It didn't look anything special. It was just a locket. All gold. But it was bad. A very evil sort of energy was coming from it. He had paid me and I didn't have enough money to return so I stashed it away in my shop. Then, recently, the aurors arrived at my shop. I was smart enough to know that if you folks found it, I'd be in deep shit. I didn't want anymore trouble."

"What did you do with it?" Sirius demanded sharply. "I sold it."

"To?"

"Didn't care, sir. Convinced a man that it was just some cheap, fancy jewellery. He bought it, I was just happy to get rid of that damn locket."

"So let me get this straight: you sold a highly dark artefact of which you had no knowledge whatsoever to a complete stranger, to save your own arse?" Sirius' tone was sharper than a knife.

The silence was the only answer Sirius received.

"Right. Until further notice, your shop will remain sealed off from the public. No one is to enter that area, not even you or your partner."

"What? No! You ca—"

"I'm doing it, Borgin. I suggest that you cooperate. I'll be needing a full description of this man. After that, you may go."

"Oh and one more thing: If that filthy partner of yours knows what's good for him, he'll stay away from me. As far as humanly possible."

"He's in his room, Regulus. I made him rest a little since he was still a little tired from yesterday's adventure," said Narcissa. "Yes, Sirius told me about it." He might have pretended to be all cool in front of his brother, but in actuality, he'd been beside himself with worry.

"I'll go upstairs for a little while, okay? Just wanted to check up on him." Regulus headed to Draco's room and found the boy lying on the bed, playing with a snitch.

Draco heard someone come inside. "Good to see that you're still in one piece, mate." That definitely wasn't his mother. He sat up, instantly recognising the voice. "Hi."

"Hi? You sneak into Knockturn Alley, nearly exhaust your magic and all you say is hi? Draco Malfoy, what is wrong with you?" Draco winced at his full name and braced himself for yet another scolding. Regulus came inside and sat down next to the blonde.

"Are you okay now?" He nodded and it was the truth. "Thank Merlin. You're an absolute idiot, you know that?" Flushing at the rebuke, Draco frowned. "And I said I was sorry!" Draco stood up, feeling rather petulant. "Yes, you're sorry because my brother knocked some sense into you," Regulus stated calmly, not moving from his spot.

"Yes. No... I'm sorry about that and you were worried. I didn't mean to," Draco mumbled. "Kiddo, you're lucky I like you. You almost gave me a heart attack."

"I swear, I didn't mean to," Draco said again. "I know. You're forgiven this one time." Draco let out the breath he didn't realise he'd been holding. "Sirius was pretty mad too."

"He was more worried than angry. But yes, he was upset. Can't say you didn't deserve it." Regulus got up and shook his head. "Just come here," he pulled Draco into a hug, surprising both of them. Although Draco would never admit it out loud, it felt nice.

"Try something like this again and I swear, Sirius won't be the only one you'll have to deal with. Are we clear?" Regulus pulled back to look at Draco and the boy finally understood what Harry had meant when he talked about the infamous look. "Yes, sir."

"Splendid. How about some ice cream? I'm sure Cissy won't mind!"

"So, any updates on our mysterious buyer?" Regulus asked. "None so far. We're looking for him," Kingsley replied. "He could be any average bloke in the city. The only thing we have on him is his bad dressing style. But Hestia has been on the lookout. We'll find him." Regulus hummed in response, turning to glance at Sirius.

He knew that look well. His brother was clearly on to something. "You've been awfully quiet, Sirius. You have a plan." It wasn't a question."

"This locket was obviously of immense importance. It is as important as it is dangerous. Malfoy knew that. He knew that he couldn't keep it in his house but at the same time, he didn't get rid of it. Instead, he approached Borgin and paid him to guard it temporarily. Why? Why go through all that trouble? Why not just destroy it and save himself all that time and money? Borgin was nothing more than a pawn doing the dirty work. He didn't know much about this locket."

"So what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that while Hestia and the others hunt this bloke down, we need to find out all we can about this locket. Every single little detail. There's only one person who can tell us all that."

"You're sa—"

"Yes. It's time to pay a visit to Lucius Malfoy."

And there's chapter 38. Small cliffhanger right there. So, they're going to go and meet our dear friend Mr. Malfoy sr.

The boys got it good didn't they? I nearly felt sorry for them when I wrote it! There's a little difference between Harry and Draco's reactions. While Harry's always been open with his emotions, Draco's been taught otherwise.

It may also take a while before Harry and the others return to Hogwarts.

Tell me what you thought of this chapter. Don't hesitate to review. I also recently uploaded a one shot called 'Not a Replacement'. Check that out as well.