AN: As we've stated in the very first chapter of this story, it will be a VERY lengthy one. And by very, we mean that so far we've only gotten through maybe 6% of our plot. As mentioned before repeatedly, everything that is happening now is a buildup for what is to happen later.
And also keep in mind that Severus and Regulus are both on the path that Draco found himself on the first time he did sixth year. It angers him how carelessly they're throwing themselves there and so if he lashes out, it is because he's afraid for them and feels powerless to stop it. In addition, Dumbledore has placed an immense amount of pressure on him, more of which you shall learn about in coming chapters.
Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K Rowling. Thanks
CHAPTER 27: UNDERSTANDING
"Professor," said Draco as Dumbledore stepped out of the fireplace and dusted himself off.
"Good evening, Draco," he said without looking at him once. He pulled his ugly baby bird out from his pocket and laid it gently in its cage, petting it several times and 'shh'-ing it to sleep. Then, he finally took his seat and sighed deeply. "My apologies for being late tonight. I, uh, was, shall we say, detained."
"What's that mean?"
"It means that the Minister of Magic is not currently happy with me," said Dumbledore, matter-of-factly. He then smiled and shrugged. "So basically, what else is new?"
Draco let out a soft chuckle. He then looked down at his lap before glancing up at the professor again. "The Slug Christmas party is tomorrow night."
"So I heard," said Dumbledore, still smiling. "How are you feeling?"
"Okay," Draco shrugged. "Honestly, I wish I didn't have to go to the thing."
"But you still will?" said Dumbledore, cautiously.
Draco was glad he didn't roll his eyes at that moment—he'd come dangerously close to it too.
"I'll be there," he instead promised. When Dumbledore narrowed his eyes at him, he added, "I've even invited Mary Mcdonald to come with me."
"Oh?" said Dumbledore, suddenly sitting up. "And will this be a romantic accompaniment?"
"No," said Draco, boldly.
Dumbledore laughed. "Well, forgive me for being curious."
"Anyway," said Draco, desperate to change the topic. The last thing he wanted was to discuss girls with Dumbledore. "I, uh, hate to ask but...well I don't exactly...have anything to, uh, you know, to wear tomorrow night..."
"No worries, it's all taken care of," Dumbledore assured him.
Draco sighed. "Thank you."
"Mhm," said Dumbledore, nodding once. "After all, what am I here for?"
Draco thought a minute. "I got your message loud and clear from Claybrook by the way—"
"Professor Claybrook, Draco."
"—and you were right. It worked. Regulus and I are talking again."
Dumbledore paused. "And about time you did too."
Draco thought a minute before adding, very quietly, "You were right in intervening. Without your help, I wouldn't have talked to the kid and we'd still be in this stupid fight."
"Like I said," said Dumbledore, sitting back again, "What am I here for?"
Draco looked away from him. He thought this was all some sort of joke but he didn't realize just how much Draco had on his plate and how much he worried every single fucking day.
"What did the minister want?" he found himself asking instead, ignoring Phineas Nigellus, who was behind Dumbledore and watching him intently.
"To remind me that he is calling the shots," Dumbledore answered with a sigh.
Draco frowned at Dumbledore. "What's that mean?"
"It means that I may have suggested several strategies for the ministry in dealing with the growing number of Death Eaters, and I was thoroughly ignored by the board of directors, by the executives, their assistants and secretaries, and most importantly, by the minister himself." Dumbledore looked at Draco now. "But I do not worry. Things will settle themselves with time."
"You sound sure," Draco muttered.
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "Are you trying to reveal some future knowledge with me, Draco?"
"No," said Draco, quickly. "I don't know any of the details of this war, I already told you." Dumbledore nodded once. "All I know is when it ended...ends...will end, dammit." Fuck. "Uh, sorry, professor."
"I'm a headmaster," said Dumbledore. "I'm used to it. Please, have some tea."
"But there isn't any..."
Dumbledore waved his wand and at once, a tea kettle appeared with two cups and several sugar cubes in a little jar. The kettle poured tea into each of the cups and the sugar cubes piled themselves in one at a time. Draco accepted the cup with a nod and took deep breaths as he sipped.
"That was some interesting match the other day," Dumbledore casually observed. Draco's heart nearly stopped at the sound of these words. He looked up at the professor and slowly lowered his slightly shaking cup until it was safely on the table's surface.
"Y-yeah," he managed, his throat feeling tight.
"I of course wasn't able to watch it..." Draco breathed. "I had some other matters to attend to, but my friend Professor Claybrook did a thorough job in recounting the details of the match to me at afternoon tea the next day."
"That's excellent," Draco said. "And what, did he tell you that he also thinks it was all my fault?" Dumbledore looked at Draco. "Sir?"
"Actually, he did tell me that he spotted you teaching Severus Snape out on the Quidditch field several nights in a row," Dumbledore explained. Draco cursed silently. "He was also sure to mention how loyal he thought it was that you, a Gryffindor, resorted to teaching your Slytherin friends so that they'd have some chance against your team."
"Yeah well..." Draco mumbled, "I doubt James and the others would agree with you and Claybrook."
Dumbledore gave him an encouraging smile. "Have some faith in people, Draco." He looked up at him. "They may surprise you." Doubtful. "Drink your tea."
Draco drank.
"How are you getting along with your friends?"
Draco nearly choked on his tea. "Which friends do you mean?"
"The friends whom you spend every day with, of course," said Dumbledore.
Draco shrugged, setting his tea down once again. "I dunno, things are good I guess."
"Just good?"
"I dunno...they're very good?"
Dumbledore narrowed his eyes at Draco again, as though inspecting him for some lies he was sure to find. "And do I even want to ask why you smell like you've been breathing incense?"
Draco's heart surely stopped that time. "Um..."
"Save it," said Dumbledore quickly. "Please, I think I'd rather not know."
"I think you're right," Draco breathed, swallowing hard.
"Very well then," said Dumbledore. "Let's move on." He sat up and placed both hands on the table. "I won't ask how classes are going because I'm already up to speed with your marks."
Of course you are, Draco wanted to say but decided not to.
"Congratulations by the way," Dumbledore added briefly, giving Draco a look, "I'm very proud of how you've been keeping up with your schoolwork."
"It's not that difficult when you've done it before," Draco muttered.
Dumbledore ignored this. "So instead, I will ask how your reunion with young Regulus went."
Of course he had to go there. Dive right into the heart of things, why don't you?
"He's not that young," Draco said now.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Everyone thinks that Regulus is just a kid but I know him and he's not a kid anymore," Draco looked up at Dumbledore seriously now. "He's well on his way to becoming a man...a-and a dangerous one at that."
"I see," said Dumbledore, thinking hard.
"I see?" Draco repeated. "I see?! That's all you've got to say about that?"
"Draco—"
"No professor, this is a serious matter!" Draco cried out. "I've already told you that he goes on to become the youngest Death Eater ever! There isn't much time left, we've got to do something to stop him from heading down that path! It's...it's not a great path..."
"I beg to differ!" cried Phineas Nigellus. "It is the path that we Blacks have been on for generations before and generations to come! I will not tolerate any more outsiders like my disgraceful great great grandson Sirius."
"Oh I know it is not a great path," Dumbledore answered Draco, thoroughly ignoring Phineas Nigellus, "But I'm afraid I cannot see what I can do about it." He sat up again. "You, on the other hand..."
"What?" said Draco. "What could I possibly do about it?"
"Influence him."
The words made sense, yes, and yet still, Draco hated hearing them. He looked up at the old man across from him with hatred. How dare he put all of this on Draco's shoulders? Didn't he even care?
"You do not see what kind of influence you have on the people around you," Dumbledore was now saying, "But Ajax and I both see it. And now if only you would see it too, it would save everyone a great deal of time, I'll tell you that."
Draco sighed. Why couldn't everyone just quit telling him that, just for once?
"You have come a long way since I first met you, Draco," Dumbledore began. "Well, to my knowledge, at least. But you have. That first day, you were a nervous wreck."
"I'm still a nervous wreck, professor."
"Hah, yes indeed, but you are more collected and confident now than you've ever been before. Again, to my knowledge..."
"That's not funny, professor."
"Well, I actually thought it was quite clever, but you're of course entitled to your own opinion."
Draco looked up to find the professor smiling at him. "This isn't some kind of joke, all of this."
"I never said it was," said Dumbledore. "But I meant what I said—you've come a long way. And you have so much potential, such that you probably never imagined."
"Potential for what?"
"To be a leader," said Dumbledore. "A mentor. A friend. To be yourself."
Draco looked away from him. He hated hearing these things being said to him because he didn't think he deserved to hear them...not after how he'd treated Regulus. He was right. Draco had abandoned him. Completely.
"You are not perfect, of course," Dumbledore said now, as though reading his mind. "No one is, Draco. From my observations, you are arrogant and bold and have serious aggression issues that probably stem from your childhood experiences. Not to mention, you are highly unprofessional."
Draco sighed again and folded his arms in front of him.
"But you are strong," Dumbledore concluded. Draco looked up at him. "And that's saying something."
"So...are we gonna do a lesson tonight then?" Draco asked in a slightly weakened voice now.
"Absolutely," Dumbledore promised, leaning forward, "But not just yet. There are a few more things I'd like to discuss before we get to it."
Draco raised his eyebrows, waiting.
"As I understand it, your new friends will be shopping for holiday gifts tomorrow."
Draco frowned. He had not expected this.
"Yeah...?" he said, waiting.
"Well I imagine you will want to return the favour," said Dumbledore. "You know, so as to keep up with your cover story of course. After all, what other reason would you have?"
"None at all," Draco mumbled.
Dumbledore winked at him before pulling out a small leather pouch and dropping it on the table in front of Draco.
"That is five hundred galleons."
Draco looked up at him incredulously.
"It should be enough to cover everyone you care about, I suspect," Dumbledore concluded.
"Professor, I can't—"
"I'm also curious as to what is your impression of Professor Claybrook," Dumbledore interrupted.
"I..."
"What do you think of him, Draco?"
Draco thought for a minute.
"He reminds me a lot of the older version of Sev," he finally mumbled.
Dumbledore frowned at this. "That is very interesting indeed. And you've told me before that you connected more with Severus as a professor than any other professors, is that correct?"
Draco nodded.
"Would you say you are close to having the same impression of Ajax?"
Draco shrugged. "Not quite. Not yet, anyway."
"Yes," Dumbledore nodded. "Very well then...I suppose a little more quality time outside the classroom should do the trick, don't you?"
"I...yeah, I guess, but I mean..."
"Not to worry, Draco, I'll take care of that."
"What do you—"
"Moving on," Dumbledore stood up, "Let us get straight to it then." He moved around the desk and waved his wand to make the tea, the kettle and the empty sugar jar disappear. "Wands out, Draco."
It was the strangest lesson they'd had yet. Draco was just as surprised (perhaps even more so) as Dumbledore at his amount of concentration and effort. His wand wasn't shaking at all in his hand tonight and his mind was totally and completely focused. It wasn't wandering at all and his vision wasn't getting blurred like all the other times he'd uttered that incantation. He didn't even fall over once. In fact, after the seventh try, he managed to get so far into Dumbledore's mind so as to see an entire ten seconds of what was a memory of a child version of Dumbledore at his own Sorting Ceremony. At the end of it, Draco breathed very quickly and loudly until Dumbledore settled him into a seat and explained that he had just successfully performed legilimancy.
"Of course, it needs its work," Dumbledore continued. "You were only able to get far into my head to see a memory that I brought to the surface."
"You mean you were thinking of that memory on purpose?"
"Correct," Dumbledore nodded. "And with practice, you'll be able to get further than that and really explore my mind...seek out those memories that I wouldn't want others seeing."
"But professor—"
"You shall need this skill when the time is right, Draco," Dumbledore repeated for probably the thousandth time. "Trust me."
And when Draco looked up into those silvery blue eyes, he couldn't stop himself nodding. It was really hard to say no to eyes like that. They were so full of hope and encouragement...love and friendship… Draco found himself wondering whether they'd always been like that. He'd certainly never spent this much time with Dumbledore in his own timeline to get to know him to this extent. But nowadays, Dumbledore was the first thing that came to mind whenever Draco was afraid or sensed danger. And never, in a million years, would he ever have dreamed that that would be the case.
If only his parents saw him now...
"Excellent work tonight," Dumbledore said as he escorted Draco to the door at the end of the lesson. "I was very proud of your achievements and look forward to seeing more in future lessons."
Draco nodded as he walked.
"We won't be practicing over the holidays, I think a little break is in order," Dumbledore continued. "And besides, I don't suppose I'll be around the castle very much. I have plenty of affairs to set in order."
"Like what?" Draco said, turning to him, but Dumbledore waved his hand dismissively and turned the doorknob, letting the door open just a crack.
"Try to get some sleep, Draco," he said now. "And don't skip out on this party tomorrow. You'll be happy you came, trust me."
"Yeah," Draco sighed, leaving the office. "Goodnight, professor."
On his way back to Gryffindor Tower, he let his mind go to that place he always refused to go to...that place where he actually felt proud of how far he'd come and how much he'd learned in such a short span of time. Dumbledore was right. He was headed for great things, much bigger than what he'd so far seen and done. Everything was still ahead and he was so ready for this. The only question was, when the time came, would it all be enough?
Draco narrowed his eyes as he looked down at the wrinkled letter in his hand, not sure what to make of it. This had to have been the last thing he'd expected and he had no idea what his next move was going to be. Was there even a right move in this situation?
"Oy!" James cried, hitting Draco with his shirt. Draco turned around on his bed and James raised his hands in question. "You coming, mate?"
Draco crumpled up the letter again and dug it into his pocket before jumping to his feet and turning to face his friends.
"Yeah," he said, joining them at the door. "Yeah, let's go."
Remus was the last to be ready because Sirius had hogged the bathroom and then Peter had needed to use it, so they waited an extra ten minutes. Finally, when all boys were dressed and ready, they went down the stairs and made their way across the common room to the portrait hole.
"You sure this is a good idea?" Draco asked James as they went down the hall and made their way out of Gryffindor Tower step by step.
"Definitely," James repeated for the thousandth time that morning. "It's time."
Draco didn't say anything else the rest of the way there, but he still had his doubts whether they should do this. For him, it felt like it was all too soon. Then again, he'd already proven to have poor judgement, what with Regulus and everything that happened, so he wasn't sure he trusted himself anymore with making decisions in regards to 'perfect timing'. In the end, he decided to just go with it. What was the worst thing that could happen, really? Someone would see them there? Big deal.
But it was only after he heard Frank yell "Wow, you guys sure are late!" that he realized they'd finally arrived.
"Hey man," said James, high-fiving Frank and a couple of his buddies, all of whom were seated comfortably at the bottom of the stairs in the Entrance Hall. There had to be eight, maybe nine of them there already.
"Hey guys," Sirius said to them, also greeting each of the boys with separate handshakes which Draco suspected they came up with ages ago.
Remus and Peter obviously weren't as acquainted with Frank's friends as James and Sirius were because they didn't have their own handshakes, so they simply nodded and smiled and occasionally said "yeah" or "totally". Draco went along with it as well. He too, had only really talked to Frank out of the group.
"Hey how you doin', man?" one of his friends asked him after he sat down.
Draco eyed the boy before responding with "What's up". It felt weird, being back here in the Entrance Hall. All 'hangouts' had ceased ever since the ever so tragic Wilkes incident. But this morning, Frank and his friends decided to pretend like nothing had ever happened and drag the marauders out there with them. So Draco went along with it, just like he went along with most things these days.
Feeling awkward, now that all the boys were mid conversation, Draco resorted to drinking the orange juice that he'd brought with him and simply nodding along every once in a while. So far, this had to reach the top of his awkward moments. He felt so out of place suddenly. He knew the marauders only wanted to make him comfortable with their other friends so that he'd know them as well as they did. But sitting there now, Draco didn't see it. Maybe he was just having a bad morning...reading a letter like that definitely didn't make for a pleasant mood, that was for sure.
"So check it out, man," Sirius was now saying to this other boy with hair that seemed to be pointing in all directions, almost like a punk. "I've been sketching all kinds of designs lately but I can't decide which one looks the sickest—and I mean, I don't care what the other ones will end up being, but the first one's got to be insane, you know?"
"Oh totally, man," the boy responded, taking Sirius's notebook and skimming through it. "Here, let's see what you've got—oh that's actually not bad. Hmm, this one's a little girly."
"What—how?" cried Sirius.
The boy looked up at him incredulously. "It's a dragon."
"Yeah," said Sirius, not understanding. "It's a Hungarian Horntail—whoa!"
Draco had spit his orange juice out and James was now slapping him on the back to stop him choking.
"I'm good, I'm good," he repeated, clearing his throat. Sirius pulled out his wand, dried off, and then turned back to the boy.
"They're thought to be like the sickest of their kind."
"Yeah, but a dragon is still a dragon," the boy told him. "You can't go getting a tattoo of a dragon, man. It's...just don't do that to yourself."
Sirius shrugged and flipped a page in his notebook, pausing. "What about that one?"
The boy sighed and looked down at the notebook. His expression changed and he tilted his head slightly, so as to get a better look at the sketch.
"Not bad, Black," he said, finally grinning at Sirius.
Sirius grinned back.
"Hey Draco," James said, suddenly snapping his fingers in Draco's face to get his attention. Draco turned to him. "What was the name of that Quidditch camp thing Dumbledore took you to once?"
"Why?" Draco blurted out.
"Relax man, I'm just telling Kevin here that I think the Slytherins got help from one of those counselors."
"When...?"
"See, at first we thought they'd gotten help from like a professional player on a professional team, but then Kevin here pointed out that the Slytherins wouldn't ever be able to pull off something like that and it's not like a professional team would even talk to them."
Draco's eyes fell on Kevin, who was sitting back with his head resting against the stair railing, his eyes looking cool and relaxed and his arms resting on his raised knees.
"Right," Draco said, smiling weakly at Kevin. "Um, it was the, uh..." James raised his eyebrows at him, still grinning. "The Blue Hawks."
Everyone on the stairs fell silent. All eyes were on Draco. He swallowed.
"The...Blue Hawks..." James repeated.
"In the Netherlands, right?" said another boy, suddenly sitting up. Draco narrowed his eyes at him. Joan something...
"Yeah," he said. "Netherlands."
"When did he send you there?" that other guy called Charles asked, looking mighty curious.
"Um, I dunno it was years ago," Draco mumbled, wanting them to talk about something else already.
"Okay so they probably didn't get help from there," James admitted, shrugging. "But it doesn't mean they didn't get help from some other Quidditch camp...like in this country..."
"Hey guys," Frank said, also suddenly sitting up, "We need to have a big blow out before everyone leaves next week."
"Yeah!" all the boys started to agree, giving each other high fives and laughing at each other's suggestions.
"Yeah and we're all going to Hogsmeade tomorrow anyway so we can get the stuff there," Frank concluded. He patted James once on the back. "It's gonna be one hell of a night."
When the boys finally got hungry, they walked into the Great Hall and filled up the best spots at the Gryffindor table. The marauders ended up sitting with the seventh year crowd for the morning, which was a refreshing change but Draco didn't really care as much as James and Sirius seemed to. For them, it was apparently a really big deal to be with the older kids. And now that Draco thought about it, he supposed that he would have cared too, were he back in his own timeline. But the thought of going back, vanishing cabinet and all, made him on edge again, so that when Remus touched his shoulder to get his attention, he nearly fell from his seat.
"Whoa, are...are you okay?" Remus asked, worried.
"Fine, fine," Draco said, quickly, straightening himself up. Luckily, no one had noticed. But when Remus didn't stop looking at him all funny, he added (unconvincingly too), "I didn't really sleep that well last night after my lesson with Dumbledore."
"How'd it go by the way?" Remus asked, taking a bite of toast.
"Good," Draco answered, nodding his head.
For once, that was the actual truth. He, Draco, was well on his way to becoming a master legilimens. Who would've thought?
"So are you gonna be joining us in Hogsmeade today?" Remus asked.
"No, I have that tutoring thing," Draco said. Remus nodded and went back to reading the Morning Prophet.
Draco sighed. Somehow, he'd neglected to mention to any of the boys that it was Regulus whom he was tutoring.
"Tutoring?" said Frank, who'd overheard. "Damn Draco, we don't need another Remus here."
Sirius let out a loud laugh mixed with a snort. Draco smiled vaguely.
"Actually, I'm doing it because Claybrook told me to."
Silence.
"Claybrook, Professor Claybrook?" said Frank, lowering his juice cup.
"That's the one," Draco said.
The boys exchanged looks.
"You...don't think there's something off about him?" said Kevin.
"Nope," said Draco, simply, knowing perfectly well that he was on the verge of shocking the boys, if not already there. "He's actually my favourite professor here by far."
Charles dropped his fork onto his plate with a light clang.
"R-really?" said the boy with the spiked hair. "Him?"
"Yeah," said Draco, looking around. Why was it so hard for them to understand? "Come on, aren't you guys like super impressed by all the stuff that he knows?"
"He's dark," Remus blurted out. Draco glanced at him.
"Aren't we all?" he said. When Remus gaped at him, he added quietly, "In one way or another at least..."
"That's actually very insightful," said Lily, suddenly turning in her seat to look at them. Draco groaned silently. She always had to be everywhere, didn't she?
"What are you talking about?" Remus asked her.
"I think we all have good and bad inside of us," she explained, her eyes on Draco. "I think you're right."
"Hey that's not fair, you're just saying that because you think Claybrook is fine," James said to her. "You don't fool me, Evans."
Lily scowled at him.
"Yeah, a girl's opinion on this matter is about as relevant as…" Sirius's voice trailed off because Lily was giving him a dark look now. He shrugged and looked away. Lily turned to Frank, who was still looking speechless over what Draco had said.
"Alice is really looking forward to tonight by the way," she informed him politely.
"Great," he managed to say after a moment's silence.
The rest of the boys slowly resumed their activities and their conversations while Lily turned back to her girlfriends like nothing had happened. Draco sat there for a few more moments, nodding and smiling every little while, until he decided that he couldn't sit there anymore. He excused himself from the gang after he'd finished eating and was glad to be on his way to the fourth floor where he could finally relax his face a little bit. Damn, he hadn't felt that under pressure since...probably his first night in this twisted timeline. He'd honestly thought that he'd already gotten the hang of everything, but here life was, once again, surprising him in uninviting ways.
"Hey," Regulus said once Draco finally arrived at the classroom.
"Hey," Draco said, closing the door behind him.
Regulus was sitting at a desk with his Defense against the Dark Arts books closed in front of him and a quill twisting slowly in between his fingers. Draco walked towards him slowly, his eyes on Regulus's book, before he finally stopped in front of him and looked at him.
"You don't really want to study, do you?"
Regulus breathed. "Absolutely not."
Draco laughed.
And so for the next two and a half hours, they studied. They studied each of Regulus's moves from the Quidditch match with thorough analysis and careful criticism. They both agreed that Regulus's rendition of the Sloth Grip Roll was absolute gold but that his many attempts at a Wronski Feint could use some serious work. But on the whole, Draco had been seriously impressed with Regulus's performance and even had high hopes for him to one day play exceptionally, if not professionally.
"Hey, what about you?" Regulus said when Draco said as much to him. "You're like the king of Quidditch."
But Draco shook his head. "I don't think you understand the impact that you had on your own team, man." Regulus looked up at him shyly. "If you practice a little more, by the time you graduate from Hogwarts your face could be on the cover of posters in Diagon Alley. No really, a-and your name could be on rosters and you could have your own brand of Quidditch robes."
"Stop it," Regulus mumbled.
Draco sat back. Two and a half hours and they were nearly right back where they'd been before the drama with Wilkes had started. Now if only Draco could get Regulus to smile...
On the whole, his 'lesson' with Regulus had made Draco feel more like himself than he'd felt in four months. Although Regulus hadn't done too well on his midterms, Draco wasn't worried about him for next term because now the two of them were talking. So, naturally, everything was going to get better.
"So," Regulus said when they started packing up around lunchtime.
"So," Draco repeated, grabbing his own books and heading for the door.
"Are we...gonna even talk about this?"
Draco didn't need to ask what he was referring to, but simply looked up at him as he opened the classroom door.
"No," he answered quietly. "Not yet."
Regulus nodded once and followed him out. Several students' heads turned as they passed by them, pretending like they didn't know why they were being watched. They parted once they reached the Entrance Hall and Draco stood there, thinking for a minute, before he turned to the Great Hall. The trouble was, Severus was blocking his path to it.
"Oh," Draco said, a little startled. "Hey."
"Hey yourself," said Severus. "Where've you been lurking the last few days?"
"Just in and about," Draco said. "You going to lunch?"
"No, I already ate," Severus said. Draco frowned at his watch and Severus added, "I'm doing the whole Hogsmeade thing now as opposed to before."
"Ah," said Draco. "Well um, I'm gonna be at the Slug party later."
"Yeah, I won't be there," Severus said quickly.
"Figured," Draco nodded. "And um, tomorrow I think the guys and I are going to Hogsmeade too."
"Well," said Severus, looking around once, "If I don't see you before Monday, hope you have a good break."
"Yeah, you too," said Draco quickly. He was about to ask whether Severus was going to be staying at Hogwarts for the holidays when Mulciber suddenly joined the boy's side.
"Ready?" he said to him, not minding Draco standing there.
Severus looked at Draco.
"See you in two weeks, I guess," Draco mumbled.
He gave Mulciber a dark look before pushing past him to the Great Hall. Just when he was starting to doubt whether the marauders would be back from Hogsmeade by now, he found Sirius and Remus seated at the edge of the Gryffindor table, looking in the midst of an argument. He moved past crowds of students until he finally managed a seat across from them and shoved himself into it.
"Are you okay?" Remus asked, slowly.
Sirius looked up from his paper and at the sight of Draco quickly put it away and sat up, looking fully alert.
Draco glanced over at the Slytherin table, where he saw most of the Slytherin gang finishing up and starting to leave.
"Yeah," he answered Remus, his eyes still on those boys. "Some things never change, I suppose."
His eyes fell on Sirius for a brief moment and Sirius gave him a prominent look before turning away again.
After lunch, Remus ran off to Hagrid's for a last tea before the holidays, while Sirius said he needed to go take care of something. And seeing as how neither James nor Peter had shown up yet, and Draco had the entire afternoon free, he decided he would do something that was long overdue, which he couldn't do with any company.
He stopped by the common room first to drop off his things. Then, he took his time out of Gryffindor Tower, smiling at every one who passed by him and said hi. The spirits in the castle were fairly high as of late, and Draco highly suspected this was because of the holidays. Everyone seemed to be in a great mood now, which was somehow making him in a better mood than usual. He almost didn't mind that he had that Slug party to go to tonight. Dumbledore was right. It might be fun.
He finally reached the girls' bathroom on the third floor and took a careful look around the deserted corridor before letting himself in. It looked exactly as it had last time he'd been there—cold and lifeless. He looked around for a brief moment and then his eyes caught the grim windows in front and he started to walk towards them. By the time he reached the ledge, his body was slightly shaking as he felt himself delve right back into that original timeline where he'd visited this very place nearly every single day and cried about having no way out. He could feel the panic rising in him like it was only yesterday. He loosened his tie now and cleared his throat so as to bite back the tears that were surely headed to the surface. That naïve little boy from before was long gone, true, but somehow he still managed to sometimes climb back up. This was extremely frustrating because all Draco wanted now was to kick him back down and rise above this. He'd already risen above it. He'd spent four months in a completely twisted dimension with people he never would have agreed to hang out with if he'd had the choice. But now that he'd spent all this time with them, he understood their world and he wanted to be a part of it. Dumbledore was right. He had changed since they'd first met...more than Dumbledore would ever know.
"Draco?"
He let out a cough and straightened up before turning to look at her. She was sitting atop one of the stall doors, looking puzzled at the sight of him.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
Draco took a second to pull himself together. Then, he slapped a smile on his face and said, "Visiting you, of course."
Myrtle gaped at him before releasing the happiest smile he'd ever gotten from any ghost.
"You just made my day, Draco M. Black."
By the time Draco left Myrtle's bathroom, it was already late afternoon and he knew he needed to get back to the common room and get ready for that Christmas party. As promised, he found a set of fresh new dress robes on his bed when he got back to the dormitory. They were actually of decent taste too, and polished looking. Draco picked up the jacket and examined it briefly before muttering, 'Thank you Dumbledore'.
After about ten minutes in the bathroom, just as he was finishing up with his hair, Draco heard the boys entering the dormitory mid conversation. He could hear James ranting about something but couldn't make out what it was. The clicks of locks told him that Remus and Peter were getting their own dress robes out of their trunks and that it was nearly time to go too. When he finally opened the bathroom door he caught the boys all by surprise because James stopped midsentence and changed his facial expression instantly.
"Damn," Sirius said, letting out a low whistle. "You look like you're about to go to an important meeting with the Minister of Magic."
"Gee, thanks," Draco told him sarcastically, moving back over to his bed to toss his Hogwarts robes into his trunk.
"You can go, Peter, I'll wait," Remus said. Peter went into the bathroom and Remus sat back on his bed, sighing deeply.
"So what's going on?" Draco dared ask, also sitting on his bed.
"Just reminding Jamesy here that it's not the end of the world that he isn't going to this stupid Slug party tonight," Sirius answered, winking once at James who scowled at him.
"You don't actually want to go, do you?" Draco asked him.
"No," James answered.
"He just doesn't want Peter to go with Lily," Sirius chimed in.
"Dude, shut up!" James cried, throwing his pillow at him. Sirius ducked out of the way, yelled "Missed me!" and fell back on his bed, laughing. Remus rolled his eyes at him and then turned to James.
"Are Frank's guys gonna come with you guys?"
"That's the plan," James answered. He turned to Draco. "We're gonna get roaring drunk."
"Whoa, save somethin' for tomorrow night at least," Sirius said, suddenly sitting up.
"Who's to say I can't get drunk both nights?" James asked him in a serious tone.
Sirius howled with laughter again, but Remus said to James, "Ignore him. Do what you have to do, so long as we don't have to haul you over to Madame Pomfrey after when you're throwing up all over us."
"Don't worry, I'm a wise drinker," James promised.
"Hey I got a question," Remus said, suddenly turning to Sirius.
"Shoot," said Sirius.
"Why you being extra funny lately?"
Sirius laughed. "How'd you mean?"
"You're pulling jokes like every other minute, more so than usual." Remus paused. "You only do that when you're trying to overcompensate...or you're trying to hide something."
Sirius's smile faded.
"What's going on?" Remus prodded.
"You okay, Sirius?" said James, suddenly concerned.
Draco glanced at his friend who met his eyes briefly before saying to the room at large, "Guys, I'm fine. Drop it."
"You know we're here if you need to talk," Remus told him now.
But Sirius scoffed and looked away from him again. "Way to kill the mood, Moony."
Peter opened the bathroom door and Remus went to get changed. With him gone, the room fell suddenly silent and still. Peter stood awkwardly by the closed bathroom door, not knowing whether he should stand or sit. He seemed to be avoiding James's eyes too, but James was pretending to be staring at some corner of the room, concentrated hard. It seemed a while before Remus finally came out of the bathroom, looking thoroughly cleaned up and ready.
The boys hung around in the dormitory until quarter to seven and then came down to the common room which was fairly empty. There were only a few younger students hanging out in the corners. Everyone else was no doubt in Hogsmeade, celebrating the end of exams. But standing around the couches nearest the fireplace were four nicely dressed people, waiting. At the sight of the marauders approaching, Frank yelled "Well it's bloody about time!"
Alice took his hand in hers and squeezed it tight before laying her eyes on Draco. He was slightly taken aback at seeing her dressed up so nicely. She had on a long dark green dress which complimented her eye colour.
"Wow, you look great!" she cried once he'd reached her.
"Thanks, so do you," he smiled.
Beside her, Frank was looking very cool and collected. He nodded at Draco who nodded back. Then, his eyes fell on Lily and Mary, standing side by side, and his smile instantly faded.
They had both obviously spent the last couple of hours getting ready because they looked completely different than they normally did. Both girls had on makeup and their hair let down loosely. Lily was wearing a dark blue dress which fell to her knees in a nice flow, making her hair more vibrant than ever. Mary was wearing a salmon pink dress for the occasion which suited her very well too. But at the sight of Draco, she blushed fervently and busied herself with the bracelet she had on.
"Hello boys," Lily said, ignoring the fact that James and Sirius were both gaping at her and Mary with their mouths hanging open like dumb dogs. She turned to Remus. "Where is Lyra meeting you?"
"Just outside Slughorn's office," Remus responded. "Shall we go?"
"Yes, we don't want to be late," said Alice.
She and Frank led the way, while Lily locked arms with Peter and followed them.
Draco and Remus exchanged looks before turning back to James and Sirius, both of whom were still gaping.
"Hello?" Remus said, snapping his fingers in front of James's face.
James jumped.
"Well um," Sirius said, clearing his throat and turning away from Mary, "We're, uh, gonna go."
"Yeah, long walk," James mumbled.
"See you later then," Remus called after them as they disappeared from the common room in a hurry.
"What...?" Draco began, but Remus only shook his head and followed the others.
Draco took Mary's hand and led her out as well. He could tell she was nervous but his main goal had suddenly turned into making sure she had fun tonight. She looked like she hadn't had fun in a long time and he wasn't going to let anyone ruin this for her. But somehow, it seemed that the closer they got to Slughorn's office, the more nervous she became. The others were completely immune as Draco and Mary were at the back of the lineup and they were all too wrapped up in their own conversations too. When they turned the corner, Draco squeezed Mary's hand slightly so she'd look at him.
"Everything alright?" he asked her quietly.
She nodded without a word.
I'll take that as a no, he thought to himself. Maybe this had been a bad idea.
By the time they reached the corridor at the end of which Slughorn's office was located, they could hear the sounds of laughter, music and loud conversation growing louder with every step they took. Draco had initially thought that it'd just be the seventeen Slug Club members with their dates but when he entered the party room he realized just how wrong he'd been.
Daily Prophet photographers were flashing their cameras at every corner like it was the Opening Ceremony of the Quidditch World Cup. Reporters were getting their interviews and autographs. Ministry officials were discussing politics over wine and crumpets. Famous Quidditch players, whom Draco had never dreamt he'd meet, were laughing over Cauldron Cakes and dancing to the music emitting from the golden instruments that were stationed at the back, charmed to play at their own accord. And in the middle of it all was Professor Slughorn, with a glass of champagne in one hand, a cigar in the other, and a very charming smile slapped right across his face. His dress robes flowed elegantly as he welcomed the new arrivals.
"Merry Christmas everyone!" he beamed at them, shaking first Remus's hand and then Frank's. "Lily! Sweet Lily, so glad you could make it!"
"Evening, professor," she told him, also shaking his hand. "You know Peter, don't you? From class?"
"Ah, Pettigrew," said Slughorn, shaking Wormtail's hand. Wormy also looked incredibly overwhelmed by the crowd and very nervous indeed. "And what brings you here tonight?"
"Well professor, I invited him," Lily said, brightly.
Slughorn hesitated. "Ah well, hope you enjoy yourselves then! Do try the scallops, they're quite excellent. Ah, Miss Cattermole!"
Draco could feel Mary tense around him and he held her tighter so that she wouldn't fall from the overwhelming crowd. Everyone else seemed to have scattered quickly to join their fellow housemates or to introduce themselves to the celebrities that had shown up tonight. Feeling just as outcast as Mary, Draco led her a little away from the madness so that they could watch it instead of be in it.
"Wow," she breathed a short while later.
"Yeah," Draco said, nodding with his eyes on the crowd. "Wow."
"This is...too much, I think," Mary said.
Draco looked at her. "With Slughorn, it is never too much."
He then spotted Remus walking with a blonde girl at his side. She looked a lot like Mary, though her hair was slightly shorter and less vibrant, and she was wearing a white sparkling dress.
"Who's that he's with?" Mary asked, noticing Draco watching as the two passed by and acknowledged them with nods.
"Lyra Miller from Ravenclaw," Draco answered.
"Is she a sixth year?"
"Fifth," Draco shook his head.
Frank then walked up to Draco with beaming eyes full of sparkles.
"What?" Draco dared ask, afraid of the answer.
Frank had apparently left Alice behind with Lily and Slughorn and he looked like he couldn't contain himself any longer.
"What?" Draco repeated, urgently.
"You'll never guess who I just met," Frank breathed. "Listen, don't go too far, okay? I'm gonna be back later—there's someone you've got to meet."
He handed Draco a drink and then looked back, still excited. He ran a hand through his hair and breathed the word 'wow'.
"They, uh, let you have champagne then?" Draco asked awkwardly, glancing once at Mary who looked just as confused as he.
"It's non-alcoholic," Frank muttered. "The caterer was nice enough to inform me. Even though there's many of us here tonight who are of age, Slughorn thought it's best to be safe." He turned to look at the pair. "Even the adults here tonight are alcohol free."
"How charming," Draco said, looking away.
Slughorn was making them all endure this night of torture but he couldn't even provide decent drinks to get them through it.
Frank bumped Draco's shoulder again and then hurried away. Draco stared after him for a while and then resumed his skimming of the crowd for any sign of Regulus. He'd said he'd be there, so there wasn't a reason why he shouldn't be...unless he'd changed his mind at the last minute and decided not to come. Why should he anyway? He'd been through so much in this year alone. Draco doubted that silly little parties like these were on his agenda.
He scanned the room once more, certain that he hadn't seen everyone yet. But it was so hard to make out any of the faces. Slughorn had really outdone himself with this party. There were crimson flowers on every table along with baskets of fruit and champagne bottles in ice. Caterers were passing around the large office, offering people silver platters of finger food and sparkling drinks with incredible aromas. The office walls and ceiling were draped in emerald and gold hangings, accompanied by twinkling little Christmas lights to make up for the lack of a tree. It had to be the most festive party Draco had ever been too, and that included both timelines.
"There you are!" he finally cried at the sight of Regulus approaching him.
Regulus looked quite handsome in his dress robes, but at the sight of Mary, he grew instantly serious and slightly annoyed-looking too. And Mary...well, she tensed around Draco's arm even more, if that were at all possible.
"Reg, you know Mary, right?" Draco tried.
Regulus eyed her carefully before nodding his head. "Y-yes, hi you're..."
"My date," Draco answered, his hold around Mary tightening slightly so she wouldn't try running away. "Mary's kindly agreed to accompany me tonight."
"I see," said Regulus. "Well that's nice."
Mary said nothing but looked away from him instead. Noticing, Regulus cleared his throat.
"Um, you guys should try the, uh, caviar rolls. They're really good."
"There's caviar rolls?" said Draco, incredulously. "Damn."
"Yeah, Slughorn doesn't miss a thing," Regulus agreed.
Mary was still silent as a fish, but Draco refusing to let go of her arm was his way of showing her that he had her back and that he wasn't going to let anyone ruin this night for her. She'd gone to a great deal to make herself look like a shining star tonight. Clearly she'd looked forward to this.
"So," said Regulus, glancing again at Mary, "I'm gonna, uh, go talk to some people I saw earlier."
"Yeah," said Draco, nodding.
"I'll see you guys later then," Regulus turned to leave. "Oh but Draco, later you have to come find me. There's someone I want to introduce you to."
"Kay," said Draco, nodding again.
Regulus waved goodbye to him and walked away. As soon as he was gone, Mary breathed.
Draco glanced around the room again and then accepted two non-alcoholic champagne glasses from a walking-by caterer and handed one to Mary.
"Thanks," she mumbled, taking nervous sips and still looking around the grand room.
Remus and his date were talking to a pair of witches on the other side of the room, and by the looks of it, they were having a great time. Frank and Alice were dancing in the middle of the office, amongst a few other witches and wizards as well. Avery and Rosier, both of whom had brought Slytherin girls as their dates, were hanging around by the windows with drinks in their hands and serious looks on their faces. They, like the rest of the Slytherin gang, had been laying low ever since Wilkes' incident. And across from them, near the table with the fruit platters, was Sybill Trelawney, who looked to be very fascinated with whatever Xenophilius Lovegood was showing her in his notebook.
Draco sipped his drink again and looked at Mary. "See? This isn't so bad."
She laughed softly and sipped her drink too.
"You hardly know anybody here anyway," Draco tried again. "Except for Lily maybe but she's off enjoying herself, by the looks of it." He looked ahead at where Lily was deep in conversation with Slughorn Peter was eating a caviar roll next to her and nodding along with everything that she and the professor were saying. Draco looked back at Mary. "And those who you don't know are probably thinking 'Who is this terrific girl next to that popular kid'?"
Mary laughed again.
"See? Got you laughing," Draco observed, grinning at her.
She looked up at him again and smiled. "So, you really care about him, don't you?"
"I'm sorry, who?"
"The younger Black," she said. "You wouldn't calm down until you saw him here."
"Yeah well...he and I had a bit of a falling out and it's been resolved, recently, so I don't wanna mess it up."
"That's very mature," said Mary.
Draco frowned at her. "Mature how?"
"It's very unlike the rest of your friends," she explained. "James, Sirius...they'd rather just pretend like nothing's wrong and not face the problem."
"Well, that's a great technique and everything, don't get me wrong, but there are problems, and then there are problems."
"Yes," Mary agreed, sipping her drink again. "Yes indeed."
Draco's eyes fell on Slughorn again, who was now introducing Lily and Peter (but more so Lily) to a very official-looking older gentleman who was eyeing Lily oddly as he listened to Slughorn's rants about her impressiveness as a student and future whatever.
"Hey can I ask you something?" Draco said, turning back to Mary. She looked at him. "Why did you need to think about it?" Her eyebrows rose. "When I asked if you'd come with me tonight?"
"Oh," Mary said, looking away from him.
"I mean I know you have your trust issues right now," Draco continued, "But I was under the impression that I'd left things off with you rather well...that we weren't exactly strangers. I mean, we've hung out a couple of times...played a few games even..."
Mary laughed at the memory of Monopoly and Truth.
"Were you hesitant about going with me or about going at all?"
They were quiet for a long time before Mary finally looked at him again. "I needed to confirm that it was completely appropriate for me to come with you, w-without other people getting...hurt."
"Other people as in Sirius?" said Draco. When Mary didn't answer, he lowered his glass and looked at her. "Or are we talking about someone else here?"
"Whoops, sorry!" cried Hestia Jones, who accidentally bumped into Draco now on her way passing by.
Mary sighed. "You know, I'm really hot. Would you mind getting me another drink? Preferably a cold one?"
"Sure," Draco said, taking her empty glass with him.
He passed by dancing wizards and laughing guests and eating students and lots of excitement until he reached the refreshments table. Stebbins, that sixth year dork from Ravenclaw, was hanging out nearby and smiled brightly at the sight of Draco. Draco gave him a light nod and looked away. Freak.
His eyes fell on Regulus, who was seen across the room talking to that Claire Cattermole girl. She was laughing at something he'd said and pushing him away slightly. Draco smiled to himself. How was it that two brothers who were completely different were yet the exact same? So much did Regulus remind him of Sirius, that it was funny, really. They were fighting a war that wasn't worth anything. But how could Draco understand it without first knowing everything about how it'd started?
"Hello," said Lily, appearing just before him. He snapped out of his daze and looked at her.
"You look bored," she observed, tilting her head slightly.
Draco looked at her carefully. She too, looked like she'd spent the last couple of hours getting ready for this thing.
"You look like you love being a member of this club," Draco said back.
Lily raised her eyebrows and gestured at the room as a whole. "Look around you, this place is packed. I'm hardly the only one."
Giffard Abbott passed by them hurriedly with his date, muttering to her, "It's really him! I swear, come look!"
Draco grumbled silently. That had to be the third time that he'd been bumped that evening.
"Yeah," he said now, taking a sip of what was supposed to be Mary's drink and then setting it down. "Let's go dance."
He grabbed Lily's arm before she could protest and led her to the center of the office, where several other pairs were dancing to the tune of the golden instruments, among them being Remus and Lyra. Lily looked a little startled as Draco spun her round and round quickly and moved them slightly away from the other dancing pairs. He kept scanning the room with his eyes and already had anger plastered on his face.
"What's going on?" Lily tried asked, turning again in his arms.
Draco did not answer right away, but when he did, it was in a darkened tone and his eyes were finally on hers. "You wouldn't by any chance happen to know why Mary said she had to think about it when I asked her to be my date, would you?"
"What? No, of course not," said Lily.
"Really?" said Draco, not believing it for a second. She stared at him.
"I don't even know what you're—"
"And I think you're a liar," Draco snapped at her.
Lily stopped dancing and looked at him angrily. "You need to stop this, Draco." She glared at him now, both hands in fists at her sides. "Using fear and intimidation to get what you want—it's not going to happen."
"Ha, I've been using it all my life," Draco said to her. "Of course it's going to work."
He grabbed her again and spun her twice before she pushed him away.
"Not with me it's not," she promised. When Draco said nothing, she took a step towards him so that he'd really hear her this time. "I already told you once—I'm not afraid of you. And there is nothing that you can say or do that will change my mind."
And with that, she walked away from him. Draco remained rooted to the spot long enough to realize that he was in the middle of a dancefloor surrounded by dancing idiots laughing their way around him. He hurried out of the spotlight quickly and went to grab another drink. Just before he'd reached the table however, someone grabbed his arm. He turned around to see that it was Frank.
"What are you—?"
"Come on, you've got to meet this guy," said Frank, now pulling him away from the drinks. Draco sighed and followed him through the crowd, nodding and smiling at everyone he passed who greeted him, until he finally stopped in front of a tall, smart-looking wizard who stared down at him with interest. The wizard was surrounded by several other laughing wizards but he himself looked serious, much like Claybrook actually, and was holding a drink in one hand, with the other settled behind his back.
"Sorry to bother you again, Mr. Grant," Frank began, unable to hide his excitement. He let go of Draco's arm now and sighed happily. "Draco, this is Lukesse Grant." He turned back to the wizard. "Mr. Grant, I believe this is the wizard whom you were talking about earlier."
Lukesse Grant ignored the fact that Draco's mouth was hanging slightly open and his eyes were round with shock. He offered him his hand and smiled down at him. "A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Draco Black. I've heard so much about you."
Draco looked down at the hand and then up at the wizard again. Beside him, Frank let out a laugh.
"Sorry sir, he's in shock."
Draco let out a laugh too and slowly reached up and took the man's hand.
"So this is the famous boy that Albus Dumbledore adopted," Lukesse Grant said, releasing Draco's hand.
"T-that's me," Draco said, straightening himself up. "You, uh, you wanted to meet me." He turned to Frank. "How did you know I wanted to meet him?" He turned to Lukesse Grant. "I mean you. I mean sir."
"Hah, every normal person wants to meet this particular wizard," Frank said, slipping his hands into his pockets and grinning broadly at the man again. "I'll let you two talk then."
He left.
Lukesse Grant turned to Draco again.
"What's wrong with me wanting to meet you? I'd say you're pretty damn cool."
Draco laughed nervously. Yeah, in what way?
"With all due respect, sir—"
"Please, call me Luke."
"—you're basically a retired Quidditch player who made his name playing pro on an American team...you...you're like the greatest chaser that's ever lived!"
"I take it you're a chaser then yourself," Lukesse Grant smiled.
"I..." said Draco. He couldn't believe that he was actually talking to the Lukesse Grant...the man whom he'd spent virtually his entire childhood worshipping.
"Sadly, my days of playing Quidditch are behind me—I'm far too old to be doing that stuff anymore."
"Old? You look great!" Draco said, coughing slightly before he could get the words out. He had seen pictures of this man in old age. Right now, he looked far from it.
"Hah, I'm pulling sixty but thanks," he said now.
Draco gaped at him.
Frank rejoined them now with a new drink in his hand and an even brighter smile than before.
"So like, what do you do nowadays?" Draco asked, silently kicking himself for asking such a pathetic question. His entire childhood, he'd made up lists of things he'd ask Lukesse Grant if he'd ever gotten the chance to meet him and now he couldn't stop babbling like some idiot.
"Well I hardly call myself a retired Quidditch player anymore," the man now said. "I'm more into the business side of things...the politics."
"You're an entrepreneur now, aren't you?" said Frank.
"Full time, yeah," said Lukesse Grant. "After the second muggle war, I put behind my days of flying and focused on more important things, like the Gallert Grindelwald effort and those damn death eaters."
"Whoa," said Draco and Frank together. They both of course already knew the stories, Draco more so than Frank since he had decades more to go on, but it still sounded wicked cool to hear them firsthand.
"...and basically I've been writing ever since and I'll tell you," said Lukesse Grant, now chuckling lightly, "It's been great. I've got a ton of fans who make it worth the while."
"Yeah, I'll bet!" said Frank, who seemed to have collected himself in his absence.
Draco smiled to himself. Those numerous adventures that Lukesse Grant wrote for muggle children were all memorized inside his head since he'd been nine probably. His parents had first frowned upon his request that they buy him every last edition of those muggle stories. But once he'd explained just how legendary this wizard was and how his stories were all twisted versions of the real adventures he'd gone through, they understood.
"Man, I do miss it though," the man sighed now. "Quidditch. It was...it was like a dream..." Draco watched him with sparkling eyes. "It was like everything I'd ever wanted had come true."
"That must be incredible, s-sir," said Frank.
"Luke, please," said the wizard, dismissively, his eyes somewhere else, like he was having a flashback now to his days of playing. "Man, it was great. The crowd were roaring. The players were flying. And the girls..." he grinned broadly now. "Phew, the girls were partyin'."
Frank laughed again, one of his hands on Draco's shoulder so as to keep him from falling of excitement. Draco too, couldn't stop smiling. This was incredible. He couldn't wait to hear what James and Sirius would say when he told them all of this tomorrow.
"Shrimp?" Lukesse Grant suddenly cried, his eyes on a table in front. "There's shrimp? Alright!" He hurried over to the table and sampled one, ooh-ing and awe-ing at every bite. Draco and Frank exchanged looks, both still shock-stricken. But even they could silently agree that Lukesse Grant was not at all what they'd expected. He was a grown man alright, but at heart, he was still a child. A child with a Quidditch dream.
"Draco, my boy!" cried Professor Slughorn, finally noticing him at the party. "I was beginning to worry when I didn't see you. Thought you might skip out on me, so glad you could make it!"
"H-hello professor," Draco muttered, shaking his hand with little enthusiasm.
"Ah, I see you've met dear Lukesse here!" cried Slughorn, turning to the man and greeting him like an old friend. "How are you, pal? It's great to see you! So glad you could make it!"
Draco and Frank exchanged a look. How was it that a man as great as Lukesse was 'great pals' with a slime git like Horace Slughorn? Of course, it wasn't at all surprising that Slughorn would bring him here tonight so as to show off his connection to this amazing person, but still...Draco couldn't understand it.
"Come, come now, we must have a picture! A picture!" Slughorn was now saying as he rounded up several photographers and put his arms around Draco and Frank. Lukesse stood on the other side of Draco and winked at him once before the photographers began.
The rest of the night was an incredible, yet completely surreal blur. Draco and Frank let Lukesse be after their brief chat, so as not to seem eager or desperate. Draco found Mary again and danced with her a bit. At that point, Regulus finally introduced Draco to this witch called Maribella Fariss, who was supposedly very well developed in alchemy and had a lot of valid points to discuss with Draco regarding potions. After that, he also chatted briefly with Tyse Neilson, a famous magical astronomer who had sought help from Slughorn once upon a time and therefore attended these parties every year. But no one that Draco met that night came even remotely close to Lukesse Grant, who was practically the talk of the party. Even Mary seemed impressed with meeting him, though she wasn't as big a fan as Draco. Now that he thought about it, seeing as how he knew of the man way longer than any of these people, he had to be the biggest fan at that party (and in the world, but that was another story entirely).
Near the end of the night, after several drinks, lots of food and many dances, Draco and the rest of the Gryffindors decided it was time to call it a night. They bid their farewells and their goodnights and left the party together. Draco was sure to wave bye to Regulus before he left, since he wouldn't see him for the rest of the weekend. On the way back to Gryffindor Tower, he and Frank ranted to Remus (but mostly to each other) about Lukesse Grant and everything that they'd talked with him about.
By the time they reached the common room, Draco had loosened his tie and was all ready to collapse right there on the couch. He didn't think he'd be able to make it up the stairs to the dormitory where James and Sirius were no doubt already passed out from drinking. Unless they weren't back yet...
But Frank seemed like he wanted to keep talking so Draco, Remus and the others stayed down in the common room for another hour. At one point though, Lily and Mary moved away from the group and started seemingly arguing on the other side of the common room. It ended with Lily stomping away from Mary angrily and slamming her door shut at the top of the stairs. Draco instantly got to his feet and approached Mary, a worried look on his face.
"What happened?"
"It's nothing," she said, shaking her head. "It's between me and her, we'll figure it out."
Draco nodded, his eyes on the door that Lily had just slammed.
"I, um, had fun tonight," Mary said, turning his attention back to her. "Thank you for inviting me."
"Thank you for making it bearable," Draco replied. "I had fun too."
Mary bid him goodnight and retreated up the stairs, and shortly after, Alice and Remus and Peter did the same. Draco and Frank were the last ones in the common room because there was just so much to discuss. And the more they discussed it, the more Draco realized how grateful he was that he'd decided to come to this party after all.
"Fuck no," said Sirius when Draco told the boys next day.
"Yes," Draco said, nodding fervently.
Both Sirius and James turned to Remus and Peter, who in turn also nodded.
"You...you didn't..." said James, a pained look on his face. "You...r-really?"
"Really," Draco confirmed, grinning.
"Fucking no way," said Sirius. "That's...that's so..."
"We didn't even..."
"How could Slughorn fucking do this to us?!" Sirius cried suddenly. "He knows we're like, massive fans! Didn't even..."
"...get us an autograph!" cried James.
Draco frowned suddenly, pulling out two napkins from his pocket and setting them on the table in front of him. "Good thing I took care of that for you."
It took a while, but after James and Sirius got over the shock of their missed opportunity to meet the famous Lukesse Grant, they graciously accepted the autographed napkins from Draco and delved right into their questionnaire.
"What was he like?"
"Did he really fight off all those muggle soldiers or is that just a rumour?"
"Is he still working on those stories?"
"Does he ever play anymore?"
"How the hell does he know a git like Slughorn?"
"That last one's a mystery to me too," Draco declared on the way out of the Great Hall after breakfast, "Believe me."
The boys sighed collectively. And Draco...well, he couldn't stop smiling at all. Last night had been the first time that he hadn't regretted entering this timeline, but rather, was grateful that he had.
The boys returned to the common room to grab their winterwear before heading back out, but the room was already packed with Gryffindors throwing things left and right and packing as quickly as they could so as to get it over with. Some were passing around a sheet, which by the time it reached Draco, he realized was a short list of students staying at Hogwarts over the holidays. James took the sheet from Draco, glanced at him once and then tossed it at a passing by first year and never said another word.
"I still can't believe you met him," Sirius muttered on the way to Hogsmeade. "Fucking war hero, best athlete in the world and a genius writer...just...so unfair..."
"Damn the Slug Club," said James.
"DAMN IT," repeated Sirius, high-fiving his friend like it was some sort of statement.
Draco laughed. It really was incredible. He himself still couldn't believe it.
When they reached Hogsmeade, they went their separate ways, no doubt to do some last minute Christmas shopping. This was a perfect opportunity for Draco to pull out that small sack of gold that Dumbledore had given him. And by the time he was done with Hogsmeade, just after lunchtime, there wasn't much gold left. Oh well. Dumbledore hadn't exactly mentioned that he wanted to keep the change.
Draco spent the rest of the afternoon with the boys in the Great Hall, but something about their attitude changed after Hogsmeade. For one, James and Sirius weren't going on and on about Lukesse Grant anymore. And secondly, they all looked a little...grim. Especially Sirius. When Draco finally asked them what this was about, it was near evening. The boys exchanged looks and set their forks down, as if preparing for something they'd already rehearsed.
"Listen, we've discussed it," James began, glancing at each of the boys before continuing, "And we just don't see how it wouldn't be cruel for us to leave you at the castle this holiday season."
"Come again?" said Draco.
"Well, you staying here with just Dumbledore and the kitchen elves is a very dull idea," Remus chimed in. "W-we didn't feel right about it."
"And we've all become such good friends, w-we don't want you to spend the holidays alone!" cried Peter.
"Which is why," said James again, "We took a group vote and we decided that we're all gonna put our names down this year and stay at the castle with you."
Draco raised his eyebrows.
"It'll be great," Remus promised. "I saw the list—not that many people signed up in Gryffindor. We can explore the castle like all the time."
"We can add stuff to the map," said Peter.
"We can work on your animagus," said James.
"And sneak out every now and then," said Remus.
"It'll be great," said Peter. "Really, it will!"
"I...don't know what to say..." said Draco, turning to look at Sirius, who'd incidentally kept silent throughout this ordeal.
"Well don't act so surprised, jeez," said James. "We're only friends, after all."
He smirked at Draco who smiled vaguely back and then looked at Sirius again.
"You...didn't tell them?" he finally managed, after a long, hard look at his friend.
The boys all looked round at Sirius who turned away from them and muttered "Course not" into his bowl.
"Tell us what?" said James, looking thoroughly confused.
Sirius cursed out loud and looked further away from him. Draco sighed and pulled out the crumpled piece of paper from his pants pocket and set it down flatly on the table so that the boys could see.
"What's that?" said Peter.
"Oh no," said Remus, who was already skimming through it.
"It's an official invitation..." Draco began, his eyes falling on Sirius one last time before he looked at the rest of the boys, "...to spend the holidays at the Black family manor."
"Grimmauld Place, it's actually called," James said, a frown on his face.
Draco paused. "Y-you've been there before?"
"Once," said James. "It wasn't fun." He turned to Sirius next to him. "Did you know about this?"
Sirius nodded his head slowly and a few moments later, he pulled out his own letter and placed it on the table without a word. The boys read through it quickly and comprehension dawned on each of their faces.
"Regulus knows too," Draco offered, but he doubted anyone had heard him, except for maybe Remus.
"We practically spent the entire afternoon discussing this in Hogsmeade—why didn't you say something?" James told Sirius.
"I..." said Sirius, glancing once at Draco, "I don't know."
"Well..." said Remus, looking at Draco. "How do you feel about this?"
Draco looked at each of the boys, wondering whether he should give the honest answer or make up some lie again.
"I'm actually curious," he ended up saying. "And plus I don't really think I have much choice...not according to the letter, anyway."
"Damn," said James, mostly to himself. "I'll tell ya—this, I did not expect."
"Hah, no kidding," said Draco.
"Okay," said Remus, matter-of-factly. "So then you'll be with Sirius and Regulus over the holidays..." he looked at James, "W-where does that leave the rest of us?"
James thought for a minute. "I guess we could all go home then. I mean, my parents would've been pretty pissed if I didn't show up tomorrow, especially without warning beforehand."
"Okay so Draco won't be alone then!" said Peter, looking pleased.
"Great," said Draco and Sirius together, before glancing at each other.
Literally moments after, Frank and his boys showed up just in time and pulled the boys out of the Great Hall and into Gryffindor Tower faster than they could process it. Draco was grateful for the distraction—he felt the boys really needed it, after the bomb that he and Sirius had dropped. And Sirius needed some loosening up. He looked like a dead squirrel—or rather, like one that wanted to be dead but couldn't be.
When they entered the common room, they found that the party was already in full swing. An entire table full of liquor had been set up by Frank and his boys and seconds after their arrival, Draco and the marauders already had drinks in their hands.
"N-no, guys I r-really shouldn't," Draco kept mumbling but the marauders forced more and more drinks into his hands after he finished each one. "Guys, I...I can't drink, guys."
But they just wouldn't listen to him. It didn't even take Remus long before he was completely fried, and Peter too. Sirius and James looked like they could hold their drinks better than most people because they still seemed collected by ten o'clock.
It seemed that all the fifth, sixth and seventh year Gryffindors were in the common room tonight. Draco was pretty sure that at one point he even saw Lily and Mary laughing with some friends. In addition, Frank and the guys had bribed the younger ones into staying up in their dormitories for the evening, which was probably best anyway. At the rate that everyone was drinking, things were bound to get wild soon enough.
And wild, they got.
With every sip that Draco took, he washed away yet another worry—how to make a good man out of Regulus, gone. How Orion and Walburga Black would treat him once he arrived, over. How seeing Aunt Bellatrix again would affect him, forgotten. How Dumbledore planned to get him to master legilimancy, gone, gone, gone. At the stroke of midnight, Draco was already falling over and holding his head. The common room had become a swirl of colours and noise. Everywhere he looked, people were drinking, laughing, dancing, snogging, partying, shouting, cheering, crying. It was an absolute mess, but it was a mess he needed right now. He needed to get absolutely wasted at least once before meeting two of the most terrifying people he'd heard about—the only people that could possibly be responsible for what had become of Regulus Black.
Harrison Langley, one of those seventh years that always joked around with Frank, was now so drunk that he was shouting to the common room at large, "ALRIGHT SERIOUSLY, WHO WANTS TO SEE ME RIDE A BROOMSTICK NAKED?!"
And the people were drunk enough to cheer their agreements. Langley began stripping. Over in the corner, Sirius was snogging one girl while another was laughing in his ear. James was breaking furniture with Frank's friends on the other side of the common room. Peter was already passed out on one of the couches near the fireplace.
Draco laughed and tipped his drink over as he crawled over to the nearest couch to rest his head. He could make the long trip up to the dormitory and sleep this out there, true, but now that he looked on, those spiral steps looked far too distant for him to even bother. It was just as well...the couch was equally as comfortable. And it didn't even matter that he passed out now to the tune of Remus reciting one of the Sorting Hat's start-of-term poems, in nothing but his boxers and a Gryffindor scarf.
Damn...
