AN: So, this chapter is going to be a stopping point for now. We will be taking a break so that we can thoroughly plan out the next dozen chapters or so and deliver them to you all in the best ways possible. Seeing as how chapter 32 is an exciting one, we've decided to update it on the anniversary of this story's publication, which will also mark us resuming our regular weekly or biweekly updates.

For this particular chapter, pay attention to details. Seriously. Lots of hints dropped.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. Thanks


CHAPTER 31: MALFOY MANOR

For the first time in his life, Draco was grateful to be found in a room full of noise and people and excitement. He had never enjoyed the party scene very much and had always found quiet rooms far more appealing. But the clicking of heels on the dance floor now, the excitement and the chatter of the crowd, the food passing around and the gasps and awes following it...in that moment, Draco was lucky not to be able to hear his own thoughts.

He kept to the corner of the grand room, hidden behind long lines of translucent black gossamer curtains and thin gossamer ribbons accompanied by hundreds of twinkle lights. With a glass of champagne in his hand, he leaned against the wall and watched black and gold lace cocktail dresses draped in long pearl necklaces and sparkling sleeves twirl around the dance floor. He listened to the enthusiastic chatter, the joyful laughs, the jazzy music...he took in the breathtaking smells of lilac and black and white roses, which were positively littered all about the walls and ceiling, along with black and white satin bows. It was all so decorative and transformative and elegant and unique, though still, as Draco looked on at the room, he was reminded of its previous appearance...of the large crystal chandelier that used to hang just at the center with half a dozen dark couches scattered about and carpeted floors and little skeletons carved into lamps...

Draco took a sip of his drink and continued to lean against the wall, his eyes never leaving the couple twirling in the center of the room to the tune of some classic wedding jazz and an audience's applause. The beautiful bride had tears of joy in her eyes as she looked up at her new husband with nothing but love and sincerity. Anyone could tell this was the happiest day of her life. And her husband looked down at her too with such passion that told people he would do anything and everything to protect her from then on until death. Draco sipped his drink again and looked around the room.

It was in this room that he had once beat Goyle at Wizard's Chess. It was in this room that Draco had accidentally knocked over an ancient vase when he was just eight years old and then bribed one of the butlers to magically fix it before his parents got home. It was in this room that he had listened to his mother tell him the history of Slytherin house and his father assured him that he would achieve great, wonderful things there.

He sipped his drink again and heaved a deep sigh. He wasn't ready for this.

The music came to a stop and the crowd in the room applauded and raised their champagne glasses as Lucius twirled Narcissa one last time.

"Thank you, thank you so much for coming!" they repeated to all their friends and relatives as the music started up again.

Narcissa fixed up her long, silky white dress and then took Lucius's hand and approached some more of their friends. They instantly began laughing about something and clicking glasses together while a butler dressed in white offered them black caviar. People everywhere were laughing and exchanging stories, passing around chocolate-covered strawberries, and marvelling over how magnificent everything was, from the bows and the decorations down to Narcissa's elegant dress. Though the room and the furniture were either extremely white or extremely black, resembling that of a haunted winter wonderland, to Draco, it still seemed like a kaleidoscopic spectacle. Guests were positively crowded over the creamy, cloth-covered tables atop which lay colourful assortments of finger food and vegetable salads in riveting patterns. There were even Daily Prophet reporters in every corner of the room, snapping away their photographs of various groups of people. Draco sipped his drink again.

If it hadn't been for his initial shock of learning who the newlywed couple was, he'd have been surprised to find Professor Slughorn among the guests sipping the golden champagne now. But at this moment, Draco doubted that anything would ever surprise him as much, even if it were something as intricate as the Dark Lord himself showing up to this circus. So instead, Draco remained in his little corner with his little drink and watched Professor Slughorn laugh with some of his former students, all of whom were fascinating him now with stories of their grand adventures in life after Hogwarts.

People everywhere seemed to have magnificent stories to tell—someone was getting married, someone was getting pregnant, someone was getting promoted, someone was getting demoted. But not once, Draco noticed, did anyone mention even a single word regarding the great big war that was happening right now. In fact, people seemed to be avoiding the subject altogether, perhaps out of respect to the happy couple of the evening. Whatever the reason was, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. It truly was, like the Black parents had previously mentioned, the grandest Pureblood celebration in over a century.

Draco's eyes fell on a small group of young Hogwarts boys standing near the buffet, looking proud and excited with their little sparkling ciders. Among them was Regulus, looking very much like his father, with his hair tied into a single braid reaching down to his shoulders. He looked to be telling a joke of some sort to his two buddies, only one of which Draco recognized as being Evan Rosier. The other one he knew was Wilkes's little bitch, but for the life of him, he couldn't remember the boy's name.

Sitting on a couch not too far from the group was an elderly couple dressed in elegant black robes. The woman had on sparkling necklaces and her grey hair was waving stylishly down to her shoulders as she sipped her wine. The man had greying hair too, and wore a grim but important expression on his face, which reminded Draco a lot of Sirius. Draco leaned back against the wall now, feeling stupid for having hoped that Sirius would show up. It had been a childish hope, one which he shouldn't have wasted his energy on.

He didn't move or flinch at all as Regulus spotted him, excused himself from his friends, and approached the corner where Draco was almost entirely hidden from the crowd's view.

"Crowded, isn't it?" Regulus said, joining Draco's side and turning to look with him. "I've never been to Malfoy Manor before but it's everything I've ever heard it to be."

"Overwhelming, yeah," Draco agreed, remaining rooted to the spot. "How are your friends?"

"They're well," said Regulus, shrugging. "They send their hello's."

Draco frowned at him and Regulus smiled. Then, his eyes shifted down to Draco's nearly emptied drink and he gasped.

"They're giving you booze?!"

"Shhh!" Draco hissed, not wanting Regulus to jeopardize his perfect hiding spot. "Don't tell."

"But the bar is enchanted to only let people of age grab drinks..." Regulus started to say, but Draco only shushed him again, his eyes falling on Lucius, who was now standing with none other than Draco's own grandfather, Abraxas Malfoy.

This just couldn't get more bloody perfect. Yet another person that Draco had to avoid all night. And here he looked a lot like the Lucius that Draco had known originally, whereas Lucius looked a lot like...well, Draco.

"Draco, how'd you manage the drink?" Regulus was saying again.

"Huh?" said Draco, his eyes still on Abraxas.

"The drink, the drink!" Regulus said urgently, motioning at the glass in Draco's hand.

Draco rolled his eyes and shushed him again. There was no way that he was going to survive this night without proper booze, and if Regulus was going to jeopardize that for him tonight, they'd have a big problem.

"I sneaked it from someone who is of age, alright?" Draco said. "So," he added, gesturing at Regulus's friends again, "How is it that they're here tonight exactly?"

"Oh, um," said Regulus, slowly diverting his eyes from Draco's tempting drink to where his friends stood, "Rosier is Narcissa's stepbrother."

"Wait what?"

"Yeah, um...I think...yeah, Druella had him before she married Cygnus so she became the stepmother to his three daughters and he became the stepfather to her son."

"What about Narcissa's real mother?" said Draco, trying to contain his shock so as not to frighten Regulus too much.

"Died during childbirth I think," said Regulus. "Narcissa never knew her, but the other two might remember her."

Draco sipped his drink in silence. So Evan Rosier was basically Draco's step-uncle, if he was going by whatever was happening in this timeline. His mother had never mentioned having a younger stepbrother, or a sister other than Bellatrix, for that matter.

"And the other one?" he said, gesturing at the boy standing with Rosier near the buffet.

"Who, Nott?" said Regulus, confused. "Why wouldn't he be here? He's Wilkes's best mate."

"You mean his little bitch," said Draco.

Regulus opened his mouth and then closed it again. They both watched Professor Slughorn join the two Slytherin boys and start laughing with them about something.

"So Nott is here because Wilkes can't be," Draco concluded.

"You should really try some of that black caviar later, it's so fresh," Regulus said very quickly.

"Y-yeah, maybe later," Draco nodded distractedly. His eyes fell on that elderly couple again, looking smug, important, and above all, snobbish. Everything about them screamed that they had no desire to be there in that moment...that they had far more important things to do than to celebrate some pureblood marriage they could care less about.

"Say Reg, doesn't that man sitting over there remind you a lot of Sirius? Or is it just me?"

Regulus followed his gaze to where Draco was pointing and then his expression changed to that of delight.

"Well of course he'll remind you of Sirius," he said, smiling at Draco. "That's our grandfather Arcturus...and our grandmother with him, Melania."

"Your...your mother's...parents...?" said Draco, but Regulus shook his head.

"Father's; we hardly ever see them though, because they're not exactly happy with him, given how one of his sons is a huge disappointment to our entire family."

"So what's that got to do with him though?" said Draco.

Regulus hesitated. "Father hasn't always had the best relationship with Grandfather Arcturus."

"How come?"

"I don't fully know all the details," Regulus admitted. "Say, do you think I could maybe try some of that drink?"

"No, Regulus," said Draco straightaway, and when Regulus made an attempt to take it from him, he switched hands so that it was out of reach.

"Aw come on, Drake, just a taste!"

"Did you just call me Drake?"

"I'm your brother!"

"Cousin, and still no."

"Prat..."

"Right back at you, Reg," Draco snickered, finishing off his drink and shaking his head at Regulus, who was now sneering at him.

"Come on, my parents wanted me to find you," he suddenly said, grabbing Draco's arm and leading him away from his precious wall.

"What for?" Draco started to say, panicked slightly.

"They have some people they want you to meet."

"But—"

They left the safety of the shadowed walls and entered right into the midst of the lights and the festivity and the food and the crowd. Draco rushed to dump his empty glass onto the nearest tray. People's heads started to turn as he passed them, being led by Regulus. Music was still playing so at least the room didn't grow quiet or anything, but many suddenly became less interested with what was on their plates and more interested with how handsome the prodigal Black was, and how, 'amazingly so', he looked like that evening's bride.

Well, it could be worse, a voice told him. They could think you look like the groom, which you do.

So why hadn't anyone said anything about it yet? It was true. Draco was the spitting image of Lucius, or so he thought anyway. So why was it that in the last four months, not one single person had made any mention of it? Not one.

Luckily though, of all the people that Walburga and Orion wanted Draco to meet, the bride and the groom were not included. They were still far too busy posing with various crowds for photographs taken by Daily Prophet reporters.

Most of the people that Draco was introduced to, he recognized from the family tree tapestry back in the Drawing Room. Others were simply friends of the Blacks and in no way (that Draco knew, at least) related to them. What he found to be most fascinating was that Walburga was introducing him as her nephew. They hadn't yet exactly established just how Draco was related to the Blacks. But Walburga seemed to have already taken it upon herself to assume that he was a cousin to Regulus and Sirius, and therefore, some kind of a nephew to her and Orion. Whatever it was, no one questioned it, though Draco highly suspected that they'd all been warned beforehand not to say a word about his unusually late introduction to the Black family.

Thankfully, Regulus stood by Draco as he was paraded around the room between relatives and friends of the family, saying his hello's and how are you's and nice to meet you's. After about twenty minutes or so, Draco was almost able to forget that Sirius hadn't shown up. Regulus being there at his side was the next best thing.

The tour of the relatives stopped at Professor Slughorn, who just so happened to bump into the royal Blacks just near the buffet. He kept smiling at Draco and probably (Draco was sure of it) wanting nothing more than to blurt out "Check me out; I've been invited to the most prestigious celebration of the century!" But Draco only gave him a brief smile and nodded along to whatever Melania Black was saying about goblin riots in Diagon Alley and how this war wasn't doing very good things for Gringotts Bank. She obviously didn't seem to care that no one tonight was making any mention of the war. Evidently, those rules did not apply to her. Draco didn't like her one bit.

"My sources tell me that the half-bloods have taken more and more things out of their vaults just last week," she was saying in her seemingly proud, bold voice. "Apparently, they're afraid we're going to infiltrate their personal belongings."

"Now who would ever give them such a preposterous idea?" said Walburga, and Melania paused to wink at her.

They continued on with their conversations while Draco's eyes wandered around the room at all the guests enjoying themselves. The newlyweds were still somewhere out of sight, and lucky for that too. Draco had no doubt thought about it over the last four months...about what it would be like to come face to face with his parents' younger versions...and he'd even hoped for it too, knowing that he'd run into his father at the upcoming summer Quidditch match for sure...but now that it had happened, now that he had the chance to, now that he was in the very same room as them, he couldn't recall ever feeling more sick to his stomach.

A butler dressed from head to toe in white came around just then with a silver tray full of sparkling drinks in tall glasses. Orion's eyes suddenly flew to Draco.

"When do you turn of age?" he asked, importantly.

All eyes in the group fell on Draco.

"Um, this coming June, sir," Draco managed.

"Early or late in the month?"

"Early sir," said Draco.

With that, Orion picked up two glasses from the bowing butler's tray and handed one to Draco, much to Regulus's horror.

"I think a couple of months won't do any damage," Orion said, giving him a wink before sipping his own drink.

Draco raised his glass to him in appreciation and sipped the sweet-tasting champagne. Well, at least now he wouldn't have to keep sneaking drinks past party guests all night. He glanced sideways at Regulus only to find his jaw dropped and his eyes almost tear-filled but not quite.

"Any plans for life after Hogwarts?"

Draco looked away from Regulus and jumped a little at the realization that everyone in the group was looking at him again, and that it was Melania who'd posed the question. She had an eyebrow raised now, and her husband Arcturus was frowning at Draco and sipping his own drink. Draco still hadn't heard him utter a single word.

"I'm..." said Draco, glancing at Orion and then at Regulus before turning back to Melania, "Um, I-I'm only in sixth year, ma'am. I haven't thought about it much, to be perfectly honest with you."

"I don't see anything wrong with that," Orion spoke up, moving to place an arm around Draco. "After all, for a brilliant young lad, many doors remain open." He turned to Melania. "Have I mentioned that Draco is currently managing Outstanding's in every one of his NEWT subjects?"

"Wow," the group murmured, taking turns smiling at Draco and some even applauding a little.

Draco bowed his thanks to them and sipped his drink nervously.

"Mr. Black here is one of my very best students in sixth year!" Professor Slughorn began, turning most heads in the group towards him. "Regulus is of course the shining star of the fifth years, but Draco is my number one! Well, number one male, that is. I do have a number one female, also a Gryffindor, and she..."

"...but I'm rather surprised that, being raised by the school's Headmaster, he wasn't made a prefect!"

"Well that's understandable, Melania, if you knew Dumbledore as well as we do. A very bizarre man, indeed, and so full of questions..." said Walburga.

Draco's eyes wandered to where the double doors that led from the adjacent corridor to the party room opened, revealing a small, skinny looking elf holding a silver tray of some finger food. Draco's mouth opened a little and his heart quickened without his even realizing it. He continued to watch as the elf moved on and about the room with its head bowed, trying to keep out of people's way. It finally set down the tray on one of the food tables and turned away to head back through the doors.

"Feeling peckish?" Regulus asked, having noticed Draco staring.

Draco's gaze moved from the double doors through which Dobby had just disappeared and he looked at Regulus.

"What?"

"I saw some good shrimp earlier," Regulus said.

"Um," Draco said, looking back at the double doors and then jumping a little as Walburga, Melania and Professor Slughorn burst into laughter over something apparently hilarious. "Y-yeah, let's go."

"Excuse us, father," Regulus said to Orion, who only waved his fingers for him to go and listened on to his mother's story, his arm locked with that of Walburga's in a very formal manner.

Draco let Regulus lead him away from the adults to one of the better looking tables with all the little shrimp plates draped in some kind of sweet smelling sauce. They both grabbed two plates and began to fill them as they moved side by side. Draco set his barely touched drink down somewhere and looked around at all the patterned fruit platters and varieties of salad, wondering where to even begin. He could feel Regulus's gaze on him at times, as well as so many others', but chose to ignore it and just kept his head down. He still had yet to speak with the newlyweds, and now doubted whether he wanted to at all.

"You know, I'm happy for Narcissa," Regulus said, conversationally.

"Hmm?" said Draco, a disgusted but curious look on his face as he watched the young Black place chocolate truffles atop his salad bowl.

"I mean look at her," Regulus said, gesturing to the center of the room where Narcissa and Lucius were dancing and hugging, an entire crowd watching them in awe.

"Mhm," Draco said, his jaw dropping just a little as he watched his parents, young and so hopeful for their future together.

A butler came by and bowed before Draco, offering him a silver tray full of sparkling drinks. Draco glanced sideways at Regulus, shrugged, and took one in his hands. The butler left.

"Can I...?"

"No, Reg."

Draco sipped the drink and held his plate full of food, his eyes still on his parents at the center of the room. Several crowd members gazed over him for several seconds and then looked back at the newlyweds with suddenly confused expressions on their faces.

They're figuring it out now, Draco thought to himself. You don't stand a chance with this cover story.

"Fuck Dumbledore," Draco said out loud before he could stop himself.

"I know," Regulus sighed, his eyes also on the happy couple. "It seems selfish, for him to keep you from these people...from your true family...all these years."

"Yeah," Draco breathed, sipping his drink. His eyes landed on the painting of that black feathered unicorn with the leafless tree just behind it, which hung on the wall on the opposite end of the room. This very painting was auctioned off to some gambling warlock when Draco was nine years old. He remembered the day very well because his parents had argued over giving it away, his mother taking a strong stand in that it reminded her of a dream she'd once had about having a pet unicorn. The argument ended with Lucius managing to convince her to give it away and in return he'd grant her a brand new set of dress robes. She'd jumped at the offer and Draco had giggled childishly and excused himself from the room, neither of his parents noticing his absence as they'd embraced each other.

"Draco?" said Regulus, waving a hand in front of him.

"Huh? What?"

"There's some people here who I'd like you to meet," said Regulus.

Draco turned sideways and was taken aback at the sight of a beautiful blonde woman smirking at him with one hand on her hip and another holding a drink. Behind her, stood a much younger, shyer-looking brunette.

"This is Miss Fawley," Regulus introduced.

The blonde woman extended her arm to Draco and said, "Arabella Fawley."

Draco hesitated before shaking her hand. "I'm—"

"Oh we know who you are," said Miss Fawley, raising an eyebrow at him and smirking. "We do read the papers, you know."

"Great," Draco said, looking away. "Seems everyone knows more about me than I know about myself nowadays."

Miss Fawley smiled and turned to look at the girl behind her. "And this is my sister, Clementine."

"Pleased to meet you," Draco said, shaking her hand too and then looking back at his parents.

"I'll be back," Regulus whispered to him, excusing himself from the ladies and shifting over to the other side of the room to where Rosier and Nott were hanging out. Draco watched him briefly before his eyes landed back on his parents, now looking at each other lovingly as they danced.

"Charming, aren't they?" said Miss Fawley, now moving to stand closer to Draco and following his gaze to Lucius and Narcissa.

"Yeah," Draco managed, sipping his drink.

"Ironic though, isn't it?" said Miss Fawley, directing Draco's head towards her. "You were raised by one of the most celebrated wizards our world has ever seen, yet you've accounted for more fame in just four months than he has probably in his entire life."

Draco frowned. "Right..."

"Wouldn't you say so, Clementine?" said Miss Fawley, her eyes still on Draco.

The brown-haired girl nodded silently and clung closer to her sister. She looked to be about Regulus's age, if not perhaps younger. Draco's eyes shifted back to the blonde.

"Am I correct in assuming that one of your ancestors was a Minister for Magic?"

Miss Fawley's smile widened and she tilted her head slightly at Draco.

"You know your history well."

"Well I am an overachiever," Draco smirked.

Miss Fawley gave a laugh and took a sip of her drink.

"Yes, you are correct," she finally answered. "My grandfather was in office until the late 1930s."

"He was the one everyone criticized about Gallert Grindelwald, isn't he?" Draco said.

Miss Fawley's smile faded slightly, but her posture remained the same.

"Oh yes, you do know your history quite well," she finally said. "My grandfather was old when he was finally voted out of office. It was about time he retired." Her eyes examined Draco up and down before they landed upon his face again. "I can see you becoming minister one day."

"Not likely," said Draco with a small laugh.

"Oh?"

"It's not my forte."

"Hmm," said Miss Fawley, moving a little towards him. "And what exactly is your forte, prodigal Black?"

Draco shifted a little and looked away from her, his eyes landing on his parents again.

"I..." he said.

"My goodness, you're blushing!" Miss Fawley gasped, her smile as wide as ever.

Beside her, Clementine rolled her eyes and sighed in frustration. Draco turned to look at Miss Fawley again. She looked to be maybe in her late twenties, no older. Her dress was very slim and she knew how to hold herself with confidence. She also smelled incredible, but Draco decided it best not to tell her that part.

"You're adorable," she added, her fingers caressing his shoulder slightly. "I like you very much."

Draco didn't know what to say to that. He'd never met anyone so straightforward and direct.

"Oh don't get your hopes up now," she added, almost reading his thoughts exactly, a smile still on her face. "I don't go for younger boys and in fact, I am a married woman." She lifted her hand and wiggled her fingers so that Draco noticed the large sparkling rock.

"Where is your husband?" Draco wondered, a slight grin on his own face.

"He couldn't make it tonight," Miss Fawley said simply, stepping once away from him and sipping her drink. "Unfortunately he is a very busy man and doesn't have time to escort me to such gatherings as this."

Draco sensed a bit of resentment in her voice, but was too distracted by the way her long blonde hair curled down to her chest quite elegantly and stylishly.

She looked at Lucius and Narcissa, who were now posing for another photograph, this time of just the two of them, and sighed.

"They really do look happy together, don't they?"

Draco shifted his gaze from her and looked at his parents again. Lucius had an arm around Narcissa's waist and she was positively beaming.

"Yeah," he found himself agreeing, his glass rising to his lips. "They really do."

"It's all Narcissa's ever wanted," Miss Fawley continued. "I don't doubt that they will have a family growing soon enough."

Draco choked on his drink.

"Are you alright?" said Miss Fawley, patting him on the back as his coughs attracted some attention.

"Fine, fine," he gasped, accepting a glass of water that someone handed him and gulfing it down as quickly as he could so as to restrain himself.

"He doesn't look well," Clementine suggested. "Perhaps he should sit down?"

"I'm alright," Draco said, straightening up quickly.

He felt so bloody embarrassed that he found that he was excusing himself now and moving away from the two sisters and back to his little corner in the room where no one could bother him. He took his plate of food with him so that he'd have something to keep him busy while he surveyed the party room. Back in his safety net at last, he started on the salad and worked his way up to the shrimp, his eyes all the while on the two sisters as they began chatting with some gentlemen.

It was odd. He had met so many people tonight—people whom he'd never heard of—who believed in all the things that he was raised to trust and believe in. And yet, he couldn't feel more like an outsider tonight than ever. He felt almost like...like Sirius.

His eyes wandered about the room again and he had to really concentrate hard on chewing his pickle slice so as not to start sobbing right then and there. Being back in that house, having it look so different, seeing all these people here and then seeing his own parents and them not recognizing him...it was all starting to become too much for him.

Suddenly, one of the dark gossamer curtains hiding Draco from the party moved aside and someone stumbled into the shadows.

"Ow," she said, holding on to one of the walls and fixing the heel on her left shoe, a drink tipping slightly in the hand on the wall.

"Need any help?" Draco said, standing there awkwardly with his food plate.

The woman raised her head and looked at him in surprise, her eyes round.

"Um," she said, brushing some of the long dark curls away from her face and straightening up a bit, though still holding onto the wall, "Sorry, I didn't see you there."

"It's alright," Draco mumbled, shrugging slightly and looking back at his plate, his hand still holding a shrimp. He hesitated, then looked up at the woman again. He could hardly see her properly in the shadows of the corner, but she stood there, not knowing what to do or say, just smiling awkwardly. Feeling unsure, Draco extended the hand with the shrimp. The woman smiled, placed her drink down on the floor and took a few steps towards him, accepting the shrimp.

"Why are you hiding out here?" she asked, taking a bite of it. "Mm, that's good sauce."

"I'm not hiding," Draco said, his eyes falling on the crowd behind the curtains again. "Just...just observing."

"Aha," said the woman, who looked to be more occupied with the shrimp than anything else. "They are rather annoying, aren't they? With all that 'prodigal Black' nonsense? I mean, can't they just let a man enjoy a simple little shrimp in peace?"

Draco gave the woman a strange look but she didn't seem to notice, obviously still more preoccupied with her little snack.

"Can I have another?" she said, reaching into his plate without waiting for an answer. Draco silently held it out for her and waited, rather like a butler, while she picked around until she found a good-looking one and began to nibble on it.

She seemed to be enjoying it so much that she hardly noticed her foot tipping over her drink and spilling it on the floor.

"Whoops," she said, looking down at it curiously. "That's not good. Hold this for me?" She handed Draco her shrimp and pulled up her dress to reveal a black garter on her right leg, inside of which was tucked a wand. At the sight of her underwear, Draco's eyes went round and he instantly looked up, clearing his throat and keeping his eyes firmly on where Regulus was standing with his friends. The woman waved her wand and the pool of wine disappeared from the floor, along with the glass. She then replaced the wand and straightened up.

"You can look now, I won't bite," she announced.

Draco looked back at her and sighed of relief. The woman smirked, both hands on her hips.

"Oh don't tell me you're a virgin."

Draco rolled his eyes and looked away from her again without answering.

"You are, aren't you?" she exclaimed, clapping her hands once. Draco opened his mouth to say something but then she then grew serious suddenly and he stared at her again. "Say, do you think I could have that shrimp back?"

Draco gave it to her without a word and she smiled, taking it from him before continuing to suck out the juice from it.

"Mmm," she said, her eyes closed as she enjoyed herself. When she looked at Draco again, he was moving things around the plate and picking up some kind of a roll which he started to eat.

"Is it really all that difficult for a bloke to get some action at Hogwarts nowadays?" the woman wondered out loud.

Draco looked round at her mid chew and she tilted her head at him.

"I'll bet Sirius has been getting plenty of action though, am I right?" she smirked. "That lad was always a male slut..." her grin widened "...even when he was still a virgin."

Draco frowned, his thoughts now on whether or not this woman was one of the many that Sirius had had the pleasure of devouring during his drunken pursuits.

"How...if you don't mind my asking, how much have you had to drink tonight?" Draco managed to say.

"Oh not too much, don't you worry about me," said the woman simply. "I have a fairly high tolerance for drinks. Besides, there is no way I'm surviving this party on anything weaker than whiskey." She paused frowned down at the floor, where she'd spilled her drink before. "Although, I think that was wine I had been drinking."

"It was," Draco said.

The woman looked up at him and shrugged, as though it was a mere, casual, sun-filled afternoon.

"Did you go to Hogwarts?" Draco found himself asking.

"Mm, yeah, a while ago," she answered, reaching for another shrimp and proceeding to suck on the juice. "Slytherin house. And yourself?"

"Gryffindor," Draco muttered, looking away.

"Oh no," said the woman, shaking her head. "Nope, I don't buy it."

Draco stared at her, stunned. "But...I am."

"Honey, you may think you're in Gryffindor but a true Gryffindor wouldn't spend the entire party hiding out here behind the curtains. He'd be strutting around there with all the famous people, trying to prove that he's not afraid of being in a room full of vicious creatures like those." She gestured at the party and gave Draco a simple shrug before resuming her snack pursuits.

"I..." said Draco, completely speechless. "Well...well alright, what about you then?"

"I told you, I was a Slytherin," she said without looking at him.

"No, I mean, I've been out there a bit tonight and I haven't come by you."

"So?"

"Where've you been? Why haven't you come to congratulate the happy couple yet?"

The woman took a deep breath and folded her arms in front of her, leaning against the wall with her back to it and letting her eyes close. Draco watched her intently, his plate lowering slightly and his gaze fixed on the woman.

"I'm sure the happy couple could live without my congratulations," she declared in a soft voice.

"Why is that?" Draco wondered. "Who are you to them?"

The woman's eyes landed on him and she smiled sadly. "A ghost from the past, no more."

Draco continued to stare at her and she smiled at him again, leaning her head against the wall, her eyes still on him.

"Who brought you here tonight?"

"Orion and Walburga Black..." Draco mumbled in answer, "...a-and their son."

"Regulus."

"Yes."

"Hmm," said the woman, pursing her lips. "The Royal Blacks."

"Yes that's right," Draco muttered. "And who brought you here?"

She smiled again. "Honey, I brought myself. I hardly need an escort at age twenty-five, don't you think?"

Draco shrugged and looked down at his feet. The woman narrowed her eyes at him.

"What about Sirius?" Draco looked up. "Why isn't he here tonight? Last I heard, he was still a Black."

"He may still be a Black but he is no longer a Black residing at Grimmauld Place," Draco said before he could stop himself. His heart quickened again, and the woman, who'd looked calm and at-peace only moments before, now suddenly moved herself from the wall, fully alert and present.

"What happened?"

"I...i-it's fine," Draco stumbled. "H-he's just staying at a friend's, that's all. He's okay."

"The Potters'?"

Draco frowned. "Um, yeah."

"Oh don't look at me like that, everyone knows that Sirius Black and James Potter are best friends," said the woman quickly.

"I...I wasn't..." said Draco, shaking his head slightly and then stopping. "How well do you know James then?"

The woman started to move back towards the wall, looking deep in concentration but yet still present.

"Well," she replied.

"And Sirius?"

The woman smiled again and brought her eyes back to Draco. "Also well."

"Who—"

"I suppose I should go and refill my drink then," the woman interrupted, suddenly pushing herself away from the wall and straightening herself up, fixing her hair as well. "Do I look alright?"

"You look like you could use some sobering up," Draco offered. "Here, we can...we can go into the kitchens and ask for some coffee. It'll do you good."

"Goodness, you're so cute," said the woman. "I'm fine, Draco. But thank you for your concern."

Enjoying the look of shock plastered on his face, the woman winked at him before proceeding through the curtains.

"Wait!" Draco cried, spinning round. The woman froze at once, her hands still on the gossamer curtains hanging all around the little corner.

"I didn't catch your name," Draco said, feeling hopeful that he would see her again very soon. His conversation with her, however brief, had been so entertaining, that he'd managed to forget all about where he was and what was currently happening. She was a marvelous woman, indeed, and he had high hopes for meeting with her for many occasions to come.

She slowly turned on her heel now, her face shining up slightly in the light from the curtains that she was pulling back. Draco merely gasped. She looked to be the spitting image of Bellatrix, though with far more content facial features and not a scowl in sight.

"The name is Andromeda, but all the cool ones call me Andy, so I guess you can too," she finally answered, and with one last wink, she left him.

Draco remained there, looking in awe at where she'd disappeared. He looked down at his nearly empty plate, then at the spot on the floor where she'd spilled her drink, and then back up at the curtains in front of him.

That, right there, was one person he wouldn't forget anytime soon.

He moved to stand just near the curtains and looked through them, scanning the room for her. But it was as though she'd disapparated from the party completely. He sighed deeply, frustrated, and raised the plate he was holding, only to stop halfway. His eyes caught sight of Regulus, shifting about the room with his head bowed and an eager sort of edge to his step. He excused himself as he accidentally bumped into a few guests and shifted his way out of the room. Draco found himself moving out from his corner, his eyes always on Regulus as he walked right into the center of the party and the guests. He watched Regulus through the window on the opposite end, the boy sidestepping snow and shifting on and about.

"Nice to see you, Mr. Black!" some woman said, passing by Draco.

He nodded at her, smiling vaguely, then turned back to where Regulus was standing outside.

"Always wanted to meet the newest Black," said another woman.

"Mr. Black, what an honour!"

Draco smiled and nodded, placing his plate down on the nearest table and narrowing his eyes through the opposite window. There were several different shadows now, all grouped together with Regulus at the center. Five...six...maybe seven people dressed in black and barely visible to Draco. But when Draco's eyes landed on the tallest of the bunch, his heart stopped.

"Ah, Mr. Black! I haven't seen you all night!" said Professor Slughorn, moving to stand just in front of Draco, thus obscuring his vision from the scene out in the courtyard.

"Professor," Draco acknowledged, trying to see past him.

"Isn't it a splendid celebration?" said Professor Slughorn, beaming as he looked around the room and at the decorations. "I do believe they went above and beyond. I should've thought of these decorations for my own parties!"

"Perhaps next time," Draco mumbled, his eyes still on the window.

"Do you know what, that's an excellent idea!" said Professor Slughorn. "I've always thought that the food was more important than the decorations but in this case...oh, silly me...here I am, boring you with talk of nonsense. Tell me, how have your holidays been thus far? I imagine it is very interesting to spend the night at the old Grimmauld Place. And as a royal Black...well, it is just such an honour!"

"Yep, definitely an honour," said Draco distractedly. "Um, excuse me, professor."

He moved past him and bumped into several people, apologizing as he went. Hood or no hood, Draco had spent enough time with the wrong people to recognize that particular tall individual from a mile away.

He hurried through the double doors into the adjacent corridor and hid himself behind the pillar on the left, where he could have clear vision of the scene outside. He peeked through the ice cold window.

Regulus was standing by himself, facing a row of about six wizards in long black robes. Some had their hands casually in their pockets while others were tilting their heads at him. One of the wizards was whistling into the snowy night and shifting from one foot to the other as though he were cold. The tallest of the wizards had his hood on and was leaning back against the brick wall, also with his hands in his pockets. His face could barely be seen but it was clear that he was watching Regulus.

"...and I managed an excellent on that midterm," Regulus concluded, looking nervously at all the wizards.

"Very good," said one of them, smiling at him.

Regulus gave him a vague smile and then turned to that wizard, Selwynn, who was always standing on the side of...him.

"W-why do you want to know about my grades?" he managed.

Selwynn tilted his head slightly to get a better look at Regulus, and took a deep breath before answering, so that the whole group could hear, "We care about you, Regulus. We only want you to be happy. And you will be happy if you get decent grades in school and have numerous doors opened to you after graduation."

Regulus swallowed nervously. "I...I don't do that well in Charms though..."

"That's alright," said Selwynn, shrugging. "Professor Flitwick has always been an idiot, there's no surprise there."

The men agreed unanimously. Regulus simply nodded and looked to the ground again. He still had his hood covering his face, but Regulus was sure he was watching him intently, trying best to figure him out...to see if he was even worth his time.

"What about Quidditch? How's that going?" the wizard called Rowle asked.

Regulus started to nod. "Um, yeah, a-also well. It's...it's a bit slow now...w-we won a game against H-Hufflepuff just before the holidays...a-and we're not due for another game until the end of January."

"So Slytherin is vying Gryffindor for first place now?"

"Mhm," said Regulus, swallowing nervously again. "Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff haven't m-managed enough points so they'll be competing for third place from now until the end of the year."

"I see," said Rowle, looking thoughtful. "Well, I'm sure you'll understand our absence from the final game, but we will be there in spirit, won't we, gentlemen?"

The men nodded and mumbled their agreement. Rowle turned to Regulus again. "We wouldn't want to lose, now would we?"

"N-no sir," said Regulus. "But..."

"But what, Regulus?"

"I...forgive me," he said, looking round at them all and particularly avoiding his eyes, "I just...I can't really understand why you...c-care about...about how Slytherin does..."

There was a long silence. The men looked round at each other. Some whispered things. He didn't even shift from under his hood, but remained fixed on something. Regulus was now starting to wonder whether he was looking at him at all. It seemed, now that he noticed, that he was more interested with the window behind Regulus than anything else. In fact, he even doubted that he had heard any part of this bizarre conversation. No. There was something in that window (Regulus was afraid to look away from the men to check) that was far more fascinating to him than all this talk.

"We care about you, dear Regulus," said Selwynn on behalf of all the men. "We care about you deeply. And all we want is your happiness as well as your success, just as we are sure you want for us, correct?"

Regulus nodded.

"We just want to make sure that all areas of your life are...satisfying you."

"A-and if they're not?"

Selwynn frowned at Regulus again and pursed his lips before answering, very quietly, "You just need to say the word, young one. Just say the word and all will be put rightfully so."

"I-I'm fine," Regulus stuttered suddenly. "S-seriously, there's...there's no need of remedying anything right now, I promise."

"Well then we believe you," said Selwynn simply. "We are on your side here."

"And speaking of putting things rightfully," said one of the other gentlemen whom Regulus didn't recognize, "Where is your brother?"

Regulus's heart nearly stopped. He hadn't expected this question. He hadn't expected them to show up at all tonight! He'd been having so much fun in that party room and then seeing them in the courtyard, waiting for him, knowing that he had no choice but to follow them out for this little meeting...he wanted to throw up right there and then.

"H-he couldn't make it," he finally managed, earning himself a few surprised looks from the men as they glanced at each other.

The hood shifted slightly.

"To his own cousin's wedding?" Selwynn said. "How ruthless."

"Your family must be very disappointed," said the stone cold voice from beneath the hood, still not moving.

Regulus took a deep, unsteady breath to try and keep his heart going.

"Y-yes, my lord, we all are."

Another long silence. The men seemed to be waiting for something...permission to speak, perhaps. Some of them shifted uncomfortably, others just watched Regulus intently. Then, the cold voice spoke again, in a very hushed, hiss-like sort of manner.

"When you get back to school," it said, "Do take it upon yourself to inform your brother of how irresponsible his actions have been."

Regulus breathed again.

"And do tell him whom this message comes directly from."

"Yes, my lord," Regulus repeated. "I shall."

"Very good," said Selwynn. "Also," he took a step forward and lowered his voice even more, "It's probably best that you not mention this conversation to your mother or to anyone else. What one doesn't know won't hurt them."

"Of course," Regulus said. "I won't say anything."

"We just...want you to know that...we're here for you...whatever you need," said Rowle, also looking kind and sympathetic.

"Good to know," Regulus said. "Um, thank you."

Suddenly, he pulled himself away from the wall, his hood still kept, and took a few steps towards Regulus. Then, he lifted his arm and extended it. Regulus hesitated before collecting himself and offering his hand to shake. It was a very normal shake, not intimidating at all like he'd expected it to be.

Apparently satisfied, the Dark Lord said, "Until the next time then, Regulus Black," and quickly the men began to follow him out of the courtyard in a single file. Regulus remained standing there in the snow, not caring how cold his fingers and toes felt now, and watched them disappear into the shadows of the night, leaving all their promises behind with Regulus. This was good, he was sure of it. He just wasn't quite sure as to why he felt incredibly shaky now. Perhaps it was just the cold. He turned, and with one last look at where his new friends had disappeared to, he headed back inside.

Draco pressed himself up against the shadows of the wall and Regulus passed right by him, his head bowed as he walked. Once he was gone, Draco let out a shaky breath and turned back to the window to look at the part of the courtyard where the group of Death Eaters had disappeared. He could still feel the Dark Lord's gaze on him through the window from moments before...how he'd just known that Draco was there, watching.

Was this what Dumbledore had meant then, when he'd said that it was always going to happen, whether Draco was involved or not? Sirius was always going to run away from home...was Regulus always meant to be killed then?


Draco returned to the reception area with his head bowed and his thoughts clouded over. He kept his hands in his pockets as he walked, unaware of what he was walking into anymore, oblivious to the people he bumped into or the photographs that the Daily Prophet reporters took of him from their little corners. He only snapped out of it when Bellatrix stopped before him, one hand on her hip and an eyebrow raised.

"...awfully pale..."

Draco raised his eyes slightly from the floor to meet hers and her eyebrows rose even further.

"Did you hear me?" she said in a slightly muffled voice.

"What?" Draco managed.

"I said, you look awfully pale," she repeated, finally reaching Draco's ears, as did the rest of the crowd noise in the room.

Slow music started to play and guests started to join the dance floor. Bellatrix looked around for a moment and then fixed her gaze on Draco.

"Will you take me to dance then?"

She offered her hand to him but he just stood there, staring at it, his thoughts still with the courtyard.

"Come on," Bellatrix said, grabbing his hand and moving him with her to the center of the room. She placed his left hand on her hip and took his other hand in hers while she gripped his shoulder. Draco nodded slowly and started to move with her. She brought them closer so that she could see over his shoulder as he could over hers, and for a while, they just danced in silence, watching the couples all around them enjoying the music as they too swayed and twirled.

Draco remained ignorant to all the camera flashes directed at him from various corners of the room. He disregarded all the people watching him and whispering things to each other, whether it was about his looks or his behaviour or his overall character. His body may have been there in the reception area, but his mind was still back in the courtyard, with Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Voldemort...coming all this way just to have a chat with a young, unimportant boy...a boy whom he had no relation to or any real interest in whatsoever. It was sickening, knowing now that Draco was never played like that by him, but Regulus was.

"I haven't seen you much tonight," Bellatrix said into his ear now.

Draco blinked.

"Yeah, I've...been here and there..."

"Or hiding is more like it."

Draco suddenly moved so that he could look at her.

"I don't hide from anyone," he declared.

She smiled. "I knew you were special."

"What do you mean?"

"From the moment I met you...I knew you were different."

"Different good? Different bad?"

"Neither," said Bellatrix. "You seem to have this...certain air about you...you were raised by Dumbledore alright, but you're just like the rest of us."

"Funny, I don't see that," Draco mumbled, looking away from her.

"Oh but I do," she said, turning him back to her. "You are the perfect blend...an ideal replacement for that traitor Sirius."

It took a while before Draco realized that the music had stopped and he and Bellatrix were no longer moving. He eyed her carefully. She and Andromeda looked so much alike, but yet with such prominent differences in their facial features. It surprised him now how very little his mother resembled either of them.

"You know about...about what happened with Sirius?" Draco said instead.

Bellatrix smiled. "Uncle Orion wrote to our family two nights ago, yes." She sighed deeply. "And good riddance too." Draco stared at her and pursed her lips again. "I suppose you're it now."

"Hey," said Regulus, appearing at their side.

Draco tore his eyes away from Bellatrix and looked at the young boy. "Where've you been?" he shot at him.

"Out," Regulus said, looking puzzled. "I...I went out to get some air! What's the matter with you?"

"Nothing," Draco muttered. He turned to leave, then suddenly jumped. Narcissa was standing just at his side, in her elegantly flowing dress, a perplexed expression on her face.

"Hello," she said, her eyes surveying all of Draco's face.

"Um, c-congratulations," Draco managed, feeling out of breath suddenly.

"Cissy, you've met Draco, haven't you?" said Bellatrix. "The newest member of our posse."

"How do you do?" said Narcissa, extending her arm. Draco took it, his knees about to buckle beneath him.

"Come on, Reg, we still haven't had a chance to dance," Bellatrix said, grabbing Regulus's arm and pulling him away with her, though not before she playfully stuck her tongue out at Draco.

Draco looked long and hard at Narcissa, standing before him. The moment had come at last...the moment that he'd been dodging all night long. He had no choice now but to face it, whether he was ready or not.

"Shall we dance?" Narcissa offered.

Music came on again and people around them started moving around. Draco took a deep breath and stepped towards Narcissa. She took his hand and began following him around on the dance floor, slowly, their eyes on each other. She looked to be battling with herself, trying to figure something out...trying to understand...

"I know what you're thinking," Draco said in spite of himself.

"Yes?" said Narcissa, raising an eyebrow in a very Bellatrix-like manner.

"You're thinking that I look a lot like you," Draco declared, unable to filter anything he was saying anymore.

"Actually no," said Narcissa, surprising him a great deal. "No. I was more thinking along the lines of how odd it is that I have always pictured having a son one day whom I would name Draco...and then you come along."

Draco swallowed hard. "It's just a name."

"I know," said Narcissa, thoughtfully. "It just...it seems odd. I can't understand it. I don't know what to think anymore. I mean, when my sister told me that she'd met you and that you looked to be the spitting image of me, I didn't believe it. And now I see it for myself and..."

"I am related to you all," Draco began. "It's possible that I just got more of your genes in me than anyone else's."

Narcissa nodded.

"I doubt anyone will ever understand it," Draco breathed.

"So...really, there is no reason for us to analyze it now, is there?" said Narcissa, surprising him again.

It was like she knew. It was like she knew but she didn't want to say it. Didn't want to ruin it.

"Yeah," Draco agreed. "Yeah, that's probably for the best."

Narcissa nodded again. Then, she grew serious.

"What?" said Draco, still dancing.

She bit her lip before looking up at him again. "I'm still very fond of the name. And Lucius and I want to start a family in a few years' time."

Draco let out a laugh. "If you're asking me for permission to use the name you've saved since you were a little girl, you have it."

Narcissa smiled.

"Trust me, it's...it's flattering more so than anything else, that you would want to name any future children you have by my name."

"Well I'm glad you think so," she responded.

"And might I add..." Draco said, lowering his voice a little more so that only she could hear him, "...that you look absolutely beautiful tonight."

Narcissa's smile widened. "Aren't you sweet..."

Draco suddenly grew serious. "Do you love him?"

"Sorry?"

"Do you love him?"

"I..." said Narcissa, who hadn't expected this question at all. Then, she smiled softly. "Yes. I do. Very much."

"Then hold onto that," Draco said in a nearly pleading voice. "Don't ever let go of that feeling. Keep it in your heart for the rest of your life, no matter what happens."

"I will," said Narcissa, frowning at him.

"Promise that you will," Draco said. "You can't just give up when things get difficult. You have to hold onto that belief. You have to remember that feeling and never forget it."

Narcissa's own face grew serious now and she looked at Draco intently.

"I will," she promised.

Draco hugged her closer to him and bit back tears as he looked on over her shoulder and examined the familiar room again. There was nothing he wanted more in than moment than to shake her and yell for her to remember him. To feel so disconnected from one's parent was truly heartbreaking, almost unbearable, but to be back in that room as well, to be back where it all had started and not to be able to share that with anyone...

Even though they'd already been wealthy by the time Draco had been born, it was she whom he'd felt closest to. Even though he'd been fed by nurses assigned to raise him from infancy, it was she whom he'd always loved the most. She who sang songs to him and read books to him...she who had always, always, always been on his side, no matter what. And now to dance with her on her wedding day, the happiest day of her life, surely, and have her not remember him...not knowing who he was...having no recollection of any of these wonderful memories that he so treasured...

Perhaps Dumbledore was right in refusing Draco to tell him things—to share that world with him or with anyone else. But he had no way of knowing what this was doing to Draco...how it was slowly and painfully killing him inside...how he was dying under the weight of all these secrets that he couldn't even keep track of anymore. It no longer had anything to do with his being in Gryffindor or even associating himself with that crowd. This just wasn't him. None of it. Dancing here with all these people, talking about the war...this wasn't who he was. And he had never felt surer of that than he did now.

"Draco, the song has ended," Narcissa said.

He hesitated before pulling back from her. His face completely broken now, he nodded and let go of her hands. She eyed him curiously, apparently recognizing the pained look on his face.

"Let's go somewhere," she offered.

He looked at her.

"Let me show you around the house a bit," she continued. "You look like you could do with a bit of peace right now. Big crowds like this; it can all get very overwhelming."

Draco simply nodded and followed her out of the room, ignoring the looks that he got from guests. He followed Narcissa out into the corridor and she pulled out her wand and muttered Lumos.

"I only moved in here a few months ago," she began, leading him down the corridor until they reached the main entranceway to Malfoy Manor. "I suppose we'll just start here then." She paused to look at him. "Right through this way is our kitchen. It's a lot like the one Uncle Orion and Aunt Walburga have, I suppose. Or rather, it reminds me of it a lot." She looked at him again. "I'd spent a lot of time in that kitchen when I was younger. My family and I used to come around Grimmauld Place every holiday and most weekends as well. That changed as we grew older. Everyone got busy. And then when the war started, well...it became a rarity that we were all in the same place at the same time." A pause. "That's why today means so much to me. To have everyone here again, celebrating."

Draco looked at her. She looked so different from the mother that he'd previously known. She acted different too. There was far more innocence and naivety about this woman, perhaps the reason for it being simply that she was a lot younger now and far less experienced with life in general. Still though, Draco found it a bizarre sensation to be talking to her in this way now, disregarding every moment of wisdom she'd once shown and every lecture she'd given.

"I thought I saw your house elf earlier," he said out loud now.

"Dobby," Narcissa said. "He's Lucius's elf but, hah, well I suppose he's mine now too."

"As is the rest of this manor," Draco agreed, looking around the entranceway before his eyes landed on her again. "Something tells me you'll be a good woman of the house."

"Well, here's to hoping," Narcissa laughed. "My sister seems to think it'd have been wiser for us to move in to a new place. Start completely fresh."

"But...?"

She paused, biting her lip. "But I quite like this place actually. And Lucius is so connected to it, I doubt he's ready to leave it behind. It's his family home."

"He would for you though," Draco observed.

Narcissa frowned at him and then shrugged. "It doesn't matter to me where we start our life together, as long as it's together."

"That's a good attitude," Draco offered. "So on with the tour then?"

"Yes," said Narcissa, turning to lead him through the archway to the Sitting Room where he used to horse around with his friends over summer break.

"Nice space," Draco said, looking around the room. It only looked slightly different than from what he was used to. The very same style couches and all, but different colours arranged into the same corners of the room where they'd remain for years to come.

"Lucius says this is going to be the room where we'll gather with our friends and host meetings."

"What sort of meetings?"

Narcissa hesitated before answering softly, "Oh you know, just war effort things...political stuff."

Draco thought for a minute. "Is Lucius heavily involved in the war politics?"

"No," said Narcissa simply. "But he wants to be."

"He wants to personally meet with the Dark Lord?"

Narcissa spun round to look at him, outraged.

"You could get into serious trouble for saying things like that!" she hissed. "People are being brought in everyday and questioned even on the slightest suspicions of their association with the Death Eaters."

"And you never answered my question," Draco observed. "Do you both wish to be associated with him?"

If only she'd known that the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters had been in her courtyard just only moments ago, meeting with her cousin...

"I can live without it," Narcissa confirmed without blinking.

"I was just curious," said Draco, simply. "I don't know you very well. I'm just trying to get to know my family tonight."

"Then ask me what my favourite colour is," said Narcissa. "Don't ruin this day for me with talk of the war and...and of him."

"I'd have thought you'd all worship him, given that he represents everything you all believe in," Draco muttered.

Narcissa paused before answering, "You can agree with someone, certainly, and even support their pursuits, without actually worshipping them."

That right there confirmed Draco's suspicions. At this moment, neither Narcissa nor Lucius nor any of the people at this party really, had the faintest idea of what the Dark Lord was truly capable of. Perhaps they'd heard stories and rumours, and even had their own theories and suspicions, but none of them knew.

Draco sighed deeply and closed his eyes, leaning against the wall. "I sincerely hope you remember that one day, Narcissa."

"What do you mean?" she said, and he opened his eyes to look at her. Perhaps he had gone too far now.

"What do you mean?" she repeated urgently.

"I just...I just worry about the war, is all," he finally said, smiling softly at her. "I worry sometimes because you never know what a person will do in a desperate situation."

"What desperate situation?"

"War changes people. They...make choices they wouldn't have made otherwise. Or at least that's the way I see it. And anyway, I just...I want you to be happy. You seem like a lovely person and you deserve it."

"Oh," Narcissa sighed, taking a step towards him and suddenly placing the palm of her hand gently on his cheek in a very caring way. Draco flinched at her touch and, noticing, she pulled away from him and offered a smile instead. "I know how difficult it must be for you. You practically have no family of your own. Being raised in an orphanage, with nobody but Albus Dumbledore for a companion...I can't even imagine it." She paused again. "But wars don't last forever, Draco."

"I needed to hear those words," he admitted, smiling back.

"Come on," she smiled, obviously pleased with herself. "Let me show you the rest of the house."

When they returned to the reception area, Narcissa was almost immediately pulled away from Draco by several guests eager to take more photos. They tried to grab Draco as well but he dodged them and instead hurried over to where Regulus was with his friends. Before he could get there however, someone grabbed his arm. He spun around to look at none other than his own father. Lucius stared at Draco, perplexed, and offered him a hand. Draco shook it.

"Lucius Malfoy, groom," he said in his important, though evidently much younger voice than Draco was used to.

"Draco Black, stranger," Draco replied.

Lucius smirked. "I'd hardly call you a stranger—you're the most popular person in this room tonight."

"I seriously doubt that," said Draco with a nervous laugh, looking around at all the people watching him.

Lucius tilted his head slightly as he kept his eyes on him.

"I read the papers, you know," he began, turning Draco's attention back to him. "And I've seen all the articles. All the headlines. I've seen the photos that they've managed to print of you, but they were never quite clear. You always seemed to be dodging the camera or turning away from the cameraperson. Never in full sight. So you can imagine my surprise tonight when I finally saw just how much you resemble my new bride. So much, that if you grew your hair out and possibly braided it, well, I suppose you'd look a lot like myself!"

"Right," Draco said, adding another nervous laugh.

"But you were hiding for so long," said Lucius, frowning again.

"It was good while it lasted," Draco shrugged. "I suppose after tonight, there will be no more hiding."

"Well why hide when you can live in the spotlight?" Lucius observed.

Yep. He was definitely his father.

"I suppose some people just aren't ready for the spotlight yet," Draco offered.

Lucius smirked again. "I like you. You're a good lad."

"Thank you," Draco said.

Lucius pulled an arm around Draco and turned to look at the room.

"So what do you think of my humble home?"

"It's splendid," Draco said quickly.

"That's awfully kind of you," said Lucius, moving him to the center of the room. "Here, we must get a proper photo."

"Oh, t-that's...that's really not...necessary..." Draco mumbled, trying to get away from his grip, but Lucius wasn't having any of it.

"Nonsense, it'll give all those nosey wizards something to talk about!"

"N-no sir, I really don't think it's a good..."

"Sir?" Lucius frowned. "What in the ruddy, I'm only four or five bloody years older than you, lad."

"I just...I just meant that..."

"Come on, gents, a photo for the Prophet!" Lucius announced, summoning several eager photographers before him at once. He kept his arm around Draco and smiled proudly at the flashing cameras, while Draco stood alongside him, almost sure of the wreck plastered on his own face.

His father was acting almost exactly like he had acted in his fourth or fifth year. He was so aware of his status and so...Malfoy.

"That'll do," Lucius said finally, waving the photographers away and turning back to Draco. "You'll have to come by sometime for dinner."

"I..."

"That's not a suggestion," Lucius corrected. "You're a Black who looks like a Malfoy. You're coming."

Draco let out a laugh. "Yeah. Yeah, alright, I'll be sure to come by."

"Good," said Lucius, extending his hand again. "Until then."

Draco shook it.

Just as suddenly as this happened, the small crowd around them began to part as a woman's voice said, "Well, well..."

Draco and Lucius both turned to find Andromeda walking towards them through the crowd, a full drink glass in her left hand. Her walk wasn't staggering yet, but she had definitely had loads tonight. Narcissa shifted between people and joined Lucius's side now. Their fingers entwined and suddenly, Draco got an urge to grab a drink off of the tray of a passing butler, and took a long swig of it. He was not ready for any of this.

"If it isn't my dear little sis..." said Andromeda, smiling brightly as she stopped just in front of the newlyweds.

Narcissa's eyes widened slightly at the sight of her.

"Andy..." she said, glancing sideways to where Bellatrix stood with a grim expression on her face. Narcissa turned back to her other sister.

"What are you...?"

"What am I doing here?" said Andromeda, speaking loudly and fearlessly so that the crowd could hear her. Though, many remained oblivious to this scene and continued about their little conversations and dances and plates full of exotic food.

"I got your invitation and I had to see it for myself." Her eyes landed on Lucius and she pursed her lips. "You are Lucius Malfoy then?"

"Pleasure to meet you," said Lucius, extending a hand to her. She took a sip of her drink without offering her own hand and then looked at Narcissa again.

"What gives, Cissy?"

Lucius glanced at Draco now standing behind Andromeda and then slowly retrieved his extended hand.

"I'm not sure what you—"

"You're twenty one!" said Andromeda, hushing her voice slightly as she clearly became aware of the small crowd listening in among the much larger crowd that was completely oblivious to the situation. "Why are you running off and getting married to someone you barely know?"

"Andy, I..."

"Actually, we've known each other since school," Lucius chimed in, putting his arm around Narcissa's waist almost possessively, as though to send a message, and shifting her closer to him. She offered a smile and then looked at Andromeda.

Draco shifted in between people so as to avoid the flashes of the cameras, and found himself standing next to Regulus again. Regulus gave him a 'this ought to be good' look and continued to stare on at the two arguing sisters.

"I love him," Narcissa was telling Andromeda now. "And when you love someone, there really isn't any point in waiting. Besides, what's it to you?"

"Right," said Andromeda slowly, her eyes shifting between the newlyweds before she scoffed and sipped her drink again.

"The question is..." said another voice, and a few people parted to let the speaker through, "...why a woman as old as you isn't married yet?"

Andromeda only smiled, her arms folded in front of her and the glass of wine still in her hand.

"If Cissy can snatch a husband so quickly," Bellatrix continued, tilting her head at her sister as though analyzing her, "Why can't you?"

"It's nice to see you too, Bella," Andromeda responded, looking her up and down once. "I see you haven't changed."

Bellatrix let out a cold laugh and put a hand on Narcissa's shoulder as she joined her side.

"Change is overrated," she announced, giving her younger sister a secret smile which Narcissa reciprocated, before her eyes landed on her other sister again and she frowned.

"Clearly, it is," Andromeda agreed, looking away from them and again sipping her drink.

"Perhaps you've had enough to drink tonight," Lucius suggested in a bold voice, which was thoroughly ignored by Andromeda.

"What are you doing here, Andromeda?" Bellatrix suddenly said, her face serious.

"Having a laugh," she answered.

"You're not welcome here," Bellatrix told her.

"Oh, you're one to talk," Andromeda said, laughing again as she now began to slowly walk in a circle around the three. "I received an invitation, and as the older sister of the beautiful, beautiful young bride, I feel very welcome here and my presence definitely necessary."

"You were invited out of formality," Bellatrix clarified, her voice hiss-like now. "No one actually wants you here."

"We didn't think you'd show up," Narcissa added momentarily. "Given what's happened, it's not...not appropriate."

Andromeda stopped walking and tilted her head at her. "You're marrying a man you've known for all of five minutes, a man who is notorious for wanting to impress all the wrong people, and I'm being inappropriate here?"

There was silence as the three exchanged looks, and Lucius stood there looking awkward and uncomfortable (but not at all offended).

"Yeah, alright," said Andromeda, answering her own question. "Let's call it that, Cissy."

"You don't want to believe it?" said Bellatrix before Narcissa could offer any words. She turned her body so that she could gesture freely at an older couple sitting on a sofa at the end of the room. "You be my guest."

Andromeda only smiled at her sister before taking a few steps towards her so that she was right in front of her, ignoring the couple she was pointing at. "I do not need father and stepmother to tell me again what I already know. And besides," she turned to Narcissa, "I am only here to congratulate the happy couple." Back to Bellatrix. "I wouldn't ever dream of starting something up at such a joyous occasion." She then paused and tilted her head at Lucius. "Is this not the grandest celebration that the purebloods have had in over a century?"

Lucius cleared his throat and looked around at the few people listening in before he gave a slightly less than confident nod in Andromeda's direction.

Draco specifically watched Narcissa's arm around Lucius tighten slightly as she clung closer to him. Andromeda looked at her youngest sister long and hard, disbelief splattered across her face as her eyes bore into Narcissa's with a mixture of pain, fury, and maybe little bit of betrayal.

"Forget it," she finally said, placing her half empty wine glass on the tray of the passing-by butler. "This party was boring enough to begin with anyway." She turned away from them and cryptically added, "Say hello to mummy and daddy for me," before walking away from them with her head held high. She stopped just in front of Draco and Regulus and gave them both a warm smile which told Draco that she wasn't fazed whatsoever by what had just happened.

"You're welcome to join me, by the way," she told him.

Draco glanced sideways at Regulus before adding quietly, "Join you where?"

"To a real party," Andromeda said, giving him a wink. She didn't wait for his answer but instead let herself out of the room, which told Draco that her inviting him was strictly an attempt to further annoy the newlyweds.

And it worked too.

Narcissa, Lucius and Bellatrix as well stared after Andromeda, with Draco and Regulus just behind them, also watching.

"I don't like that woman," Lucius commented, his eyes still on the door.

"Join the club," Bellatrix offered, grabbing a nearby drink and finishing it off within seconds.

Regulus turned to look at Draco. "I think I've had just about enough of this wedding, you?"

Draco took a deep breath and nodded.

He then looked round at his parents. His father seemed to be consoling his mother, who looked upset over what had just happened. Bellatrix had run off to dance with some man Draco didn't recognize. He looked back to Regulus.

"Let's check out the house."

None of the wedding guests seemed to notice Draco and Regulus slipping by them and out of the reception area. They walked along the corridor leading to the main entranceway and then Draco led Regulus up the stairs and through one of the doors into the family Drawing Room.

"This is the Drawing Room," he announced, letting Regulus through.

Regulus looked around. "Looks pretty fair to me," he mumbled. "Why are we doing this again?"

"I want to show you around," Draco said simply. "Come on."

He hurried Regulus further on up the stairs until they reached the second landing, where there was a door that would one day be marked Draco Malfoy. Right now, it bore no title. Draco turned the handle and walked through. It looked to be a library, filled with books upon books piled in shelves, on the floor, etc.

"Dusty in here," Regulus coughed, closing the door behind him.

Draco slowly walked into the center of the room. It seemed like ages since he'd last stood on those hardwood floors, since he'd last eyed that long window overlooking the Malfoy Manor gates. It was like a dream, standing there and seeing it all firsthand. He'd honestly thought he never would again.

"I thought we'd maybe go outside for some air," Regulus said. "Not...not up here...are we even supposed to be here?"

Reg, it's fine, this is my room, Draco thought. He gave the boy no answer but instead moved towards the piles of books and brought himself to his knees, coughing slightly as he picked one up.

Tales of Beedle the Bard

"I can't believe it's here," Draco laughed, looking down at the title with near tears in his eyes.

Regulus joined him from behind and looked over his shoulder.

"Beedle the bard?" he said. "Oh what's the big deal, every pureblooded household owns a copy of that book."

Draco only ran his fingers along the title, remembering it as though it were only yesterday. The next best thing would be finding photographs of his family lying around. But he knew that wouldn't happen because his family was just downstairs, getting together for the first time. Today, those photographs were nonexistent. Sighing deeply, Draco blinked through his tears and put the book back on top of the pile from which he'd fetched it.

"This looks interesting," Regulus said, bending down next to Draco and mercilessly grabbing another book from the tower. It collapsed instantly.

"Reg!" Draco cried, shuffling around to put all the books back in order.

He knew his father well enough to know that he'd have forced Dobby to make sure everything stayed in place as is, and that if anything had been moved, that meant that there was an intruder inside the house.

"Put everything back where you found it," he kept repeating, urging Regulus to help him.

"Wait hold on," Regulus said, picking up a black notebook from underneath the pile. "What's this?"

Draco merely glanced at it and then rolled his eyes and continued cleaning. "I'll get you a brand new one when we get back to school, alright?"

"No Draco, this is ancient bound leather, crafted only by a muggle, no one else," Regulus said. "Look at it!"

Draco sighed and looked down at the notebook in Regulus's hands.

"So...?"

"Why would the Malfoys have a notebook by a muggle craftsman in their midst?" Regulus said, his eyebrows raised.

"I don't know, Reg, maybe they collect them," Draco said exhaustively, taking the book from him and flipping through it. "It's nothing important, see? None of the pages have even been written in."

He flipped to the back cover and, noticing the miniscule writing branded on the bottom, he narrowed his eyes at it.

"Reg," he said, suddenly feeling extremely beat from this night, "I'm really tired right now and quite possibly buzzed from all the drinks...can you read what that says for me?"

He offered the notebook to Regulus and the boy looked down at it under the candlelight by the couch.

"Tom Marvolo Riddle," he read out loud.

"Thought so," Draco sighed, taking a proper seat on the floor.

"Anyone you know?" Regulus said without looking up at him as he continued to look through the empty pages of the notebook.

"Nope," Draco said routinely, himself ignoring the raging battle going on inside his head now.

He was much too tired to pay much attention to it at this point. Whatever this notebook was, it was the property of the Dark Lord. And there was not a single reason that Draco could come up with that would explain what this object was doing in his parents' home.

But Regulus seemed far more interested with the book now than anything else, his eyes bulging with excitement, which brought Draco to his next question.

"Exactly what possessed you to go out into the courtyard and meet with those demented wizards tonight?"

Regulus looked up with round eyes.

"How did you—?"

"Avoiding the question, Regulus," Draco practically sang.

Regulus stared at him, not knowing what to say or do, the notebook in his hands closing.

"How much did you hear?" he finally asked.

"Enough," Draco replied. "But I'd rather you explained it to me before I came to rather wild conclusions myself."

"That was a private conversation, Draco," Regulus began. "It...you had no business—"

"I HAD NO BUSINESS?!" Draco cried. "I HAD EVERY FUCKING RIGHT GOING AFTER YOU! AND I'M BLOODY WELL GLAD I DID!"

"Draco, calm down—"

"No, Regulus! I mean, how the hell am I supposed to protect you when you so willingly go out and play with the safest crowd?!"

There was a pause. "It's not your job to protect me, Draco." Draco looked at him incredulously and Regulus nodded. "Besides, I wasn't doing anything wrong. I was just...talking to them."

"Why though?" said Draco, slightly more calm now.

"They just like to check up on me, I dunno," Regulus said, shrugging. "You know, just to see how I'm doing...i-it's nothing, really." Draco looked up at him. "Seriously, there's no reason for you to tell my parents, alright?"

"Regulus, I—

"No please Draco!" Regulus hissed frantically. "I'd given them my word that I wouldn't say anything and—"

"Why are you keeping your promises to them?!" Draco hissed at him. "Why are you making any promises to these people? Reg, do you...have you any idea...?"

"Oh calm down, Draco," said Regulus dismissively. "I only wish I could tell my parents! Do you have any idea how proud of me they'd be? They'd probably throw a party!"

"They...they would?"

"But I promised the guys that I wouldn't say anything...somehow, they don't want people to know that they've taken an interest in me."

"The guys...?"

"And anyway, it's like I said, not a big deal because I'm not doing anything wrong," Regulus concluded.

Draco stared on at him while Regulus took the notebook from him and further examined it. "Do you know what, I think this might be more than just some notebook..."

"What's more to it, though? Nothing's been written," Draco muttered. He grabbed the notebook from Regulus again and proceeded to flip through the pages, running his fingers along them and trying hard to find some kind of text...some more clues...something that would explain to him why a random muggle-crafted notebook apparently belonging to the Dark Lord was hidden in Draco's old room at Malfoy Manor.

"I have a book on dark magic at home that might be of some help to you," Regulus offered.

"Why do you reckon it's dark magic?" Draco wondered without looking up at him.

"Because it's nothing I've ever come across in my studies at Hogwarts," Regulus said softly. "So chances are, whatever kind of magic it is, it's probably something they wouldn't teach at school." He paused. "Unless it really is just some random muggle notebook in a pureblood house."

"Mm," said Draco, still flipping through the pages.

In his mind, he was trying hard not to have another fit or, worse, choke Regulus for his stupidity now.

He looked up at him suddenly.

"What?" said Regulus, puzzled.

"When did it start?" Draco asked. Regulus frowned at him for a moment before he understood. He thought for a minute.

"Just after last Christmas," he said. "It was a rarity back then, but it's become more frequent now. They...they want details about my life, you know? About the way that I am, how I live..." he smiled to himself now.

"And your parents have no idea?"

"No, I told you. They won't let me say a word to anyone. I think they're just waiting for the right time."

"And Sirius?"

Regulus shook his head.

Draco sighed deeply.

"If this is something that makes you feel so damn flattered and proud," he began, "Then why did you sound so scared out there in the courtyard?"

Regulus's eyes went round as he stared at Draco.

"For the last bloody time," he said in a bare whisper, "Stay the fuck out of my personal life."

It was all Draco could do not to punch Regulus right then and there. But he stopped himself before he could. Hitting Regulus was not going to change anything here. Draco didn't want to fight. And he sure as hell wasn't going to go through another period of silence with the kid. No, the only way he could see himself ever rescuing him from this tangled web that he'd gotten himself into, was by being at his side...being his friend...

"You're right," Draco found himself saying. "You're right, I...I'm sorry."

Regulus nodded slowly. "Just...just be happy for me, Draco, okay?" Draco looked up at him. "Good things are happening for me! I'm...I'm finally getting noticed, and by all the right people. They say that the war won't last much longer because the Death Eaters will eventually take over the ministry and get rid of all those mudbloods out there and our world will finally be pure again...just like how it's supposed to be."

"Yeah," Draco said, nodding enthusiastically as he looked down at the notebook in his hands again. "Here's to hoping."

"Everything will be alright," Regulus said confidently.

"Just promise me one thing," Draco said, taking a deep breath.

"What?"

He looked up at him again.

"The next time you have a meeting with them, you'll tell me about it afterwards?" Regulus raised his eyebrows slightly and Draco sighed again. "I'm...I'm curious..."

At this, Regulus beamed at him and gave an encouraging nod. "I promise."

"Thank you all so much for coming!" Narcissa said as she beamed at the leaving guests.

"It really was wonderful celebrating with everyone," Lucius added.

Some of the guests were already drunk and ready to collapse. Others were hugging relatives and hurriedly making plans to do this again sometime. Narcissa and Lucius stood at the edge of the courtyard, taking turns hugging the people leaving and thanking them again. Draco and Regulus were among the crowd, waiting for Orion and Walburga to say their goodbyes so that the four could leave together.

"Where's Bellatrix?" Regulus wondered out loud.

"She went home with that tall gentleman with the moustache," said Miss Fawley, appearing in front of them.

"Whoa," said Regulus, looking away and blushing slightly.

Draco rolled his eyes at him and turned to Miss Fawley.

"Are you leaving then?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so," said Miss Fawley. "I won't be staying for an after party this time. Clementine doesn't feel very well. I'm afraid she'd managed to smuggle something from the bar."

"Oh no," said Draco.

"Yes, I shall make sure to get that barman fired," Miss Fawley said bitterly. She then changed her face and looked at Draco. "If you shall ever need anything, I do hope you'll remember me."

"And what could you possibly ever help me with?" Draco wondered.

Miss Fawley gave a slight shrug. "I'm a powerful woman, Mr. Black. I take care of my friends."

"Oh so we're friends then, are we?"

She winked at him. "I sure hope so." Bowing once to him and then to Regulus, she left.

"There's mother and father," Regulus said, pointing across the crowd. "Come on."

"Just one second," Draco mumbled, moving away from him and walking right up to where Lucius and Narcissa were standing. Both of them looked at him instantly.

"You're leaving then?" said Narcissa.

"Afraid so," Draco said. "I just wanted to say congratulations again and...and thank you for inviting me."

"Our pleasure," said Lucius. "We shall be meeting again soon, I hope?"

"We shall," Draco said.

He turned to leave, then stopped on his heel and turned back. His father was now caressing his mother's cheek and she was touching her forehead to his. They really were in love. It wasn't just about the war, like he'd been led to believe all these years. Sure, people would be getting married left and right now, for fear of dying the next day. But that wasn't the case here.

Feeling suddenly warm, Draco smiled to himself and turned back away from them, the little black notebook clutched safely on the inside of his dinner jacket.


Thank you all for your continued support and don't forget to comment below! We read and appreciate each and every one of your reviews.

Also, even though she is a canon character, think of Andromeda as an OC, if you will. She is our interpretation completely. She has not married a muggle, which means she hasn't been banned by the Blacks as of yet. She is the age that we chose for her. Deal with it.

Thanks again!

See you on July 12. . .