Chapter 5: The Dragon and The Dawn
All was quiet as Ginny ate dinner with Draco and the two other Malfoy's that no one knew existed. The redhead was almost afraid to ask any questions or speak, wondering what she had gotten herself into. She looked up at Aurora Malfoy and her father, Draco's uncle; the more she looked at them the more she realized that they had to be Malfoys. Gabriel looked so much like Lucius but his features were a little less harsh and his hair and eyes were both a little darker than his brother's had been. Aurora had gotten the pale Malfoy complexion and the bone structure but her eyes were a pretty shade of blue and her hair, while it had touches of gold blonde to it, was a brown color.
"So," Aurora spoke, needing to diffuse the tension. "How long have you two been seeing each other?"
Ginny was going to ask how the young woman knew that Draco and she were dating but decided against it thinking that it was mildly pointless. "About a month."
"I'm glad," Gabriel chimed in, smiling. "Draco needs someone in his life."
"I'm guessing Draco didn't tell you about us," Aurora tried not to smile at Ginny's still confused expression.
"I didn't because it isn't my story to tell," Draco answered. "I didn't want to explain to anyone unless I knew that both of you were okay with it first."
"I know this is probably very overwhelming and odd for you," Gabriel looked at Ginny. "It isn't a well-known fact that Abraxas Malfoy had fraternal twin sons."
"Why was it kept so quiet?" Ginny asked him.
"Like many wealthy pureblood families my father was only interested in carrying on the family name. He and my mother weren't in love with each other, in fact they could hardly stand each other. They put on a good show when they were in public, like most in their positions are trained to do, but having more than one child was never something they wanted. Only one Malfoy heir was needed so when he suddenly had twin sons on his hands he wasn't sure what to do. I was born four minutes before Lucius so you would think that I would automatically be the heir, well our father didn't want to make it that easy. He thought he would teach us what it meant to be a Malfoy by pitting us against each other for the title of heir. So he paid people off to tamper with our birth records. Both of our original birth certificates were destroyed and instead only one exists with the name Lucius Gabriel Malfoy. When my brother won the right to be the Malfoy heir his name was changed to Lucius Abraxas Malfoy and they made sure he got a new birth certificate."
"What good did any of that do?" Ginny was still very confused.
"My father wanted to see which of his sons would be most worthy of the family name. The one who proved himself would be the heir and the one who did not would be left to his own devices. No one outside our family knew that Abraxas had two sons, he even paid our nannies and tutors to keep them quiet. He knew that if it got out then disowning one of us would make him look bad so we were kept a secret."
"Then what happened?" Ginny inquired, feeling like she already knew the answer.
"For a while it seemed like I could have had a chance. I was more even tempered than my brother and I was just as talented at magic and our regular studies as he was but in the end it made no difference. My father found out what I was….who I am long before I ever understood it."
He stopped and took a deep breath. Aurora reached over and gripped her father's hand to steady him.
"When Abraxas was starting to look at arranging marriages he had to make sure his heir was in peak physical condition so he gave Lucius and I many tests and then performed a very dark spell that has since become illegal. It was a spell that would tell him a little about what the son of his heir would be like, all he had to do was pick a potential bride and use the spell. He found that pairing Lucius with Narcissa Black would get him a nearly perfect Malfoy grandchild but when he tried to do the spell with me all of the results came up inconclusive. That meant one of two things, either I was incapable of having children, which he knew wasn't right because of the medical tests he had run, or I was gay. You can imagine Abraxas's horror at finding out his eldest son was a homosexual, he could hardly look at me. I was of no use to him after he found out, why keep around a son who couldn't produce an heir, who couldn't carry on the Malfoy line. Lucius and I had just turned eleven and he knew that our Hogwarts letter would be coming soon so my father knew he had to move fast. He gave me a key to a vault and told me I would be sent to a school in America. I asked him why I was being sent away from my family and he told me that one day I would understand and unless I came back to England with a wife I wouldn't be welcome at Malfoy Manor again."
Ginny frowned when he paused again. "I'm so sorry. I can't believe a family would do that to their child."
"It is something that has been widely accepted in the pureblood community for a long time, and something I hate," Draco was the one to speak this time. "Treating your children like horses or dogs where their highest worth lies in their breeding ability."
"All I wish for you and Aurora is to escape that," Gabriel told his nephew. "I want both of you to be able to marry someone you love, your best friend, like I was able to."
Ginny saw a smile ghost across both young Malfoy's lips. "So you were married?"
"I was," he nodded. "While I was in school I made some amazing friends and I was accepted. My best friend was a young woman named Alice Du Pont, she was the youngest child of one of the oldest American pureblood families. We understood each other and we told each other everything about our past and our families, Alice was the first person I told I was gay. Then toward the end of our time at school she found out her parents were trying to arrange a marriage for her with an older man who had already had two wives that, rumor had it, he treated very badly. She begged her father to reconsider or find her another husband but her father was even crueler than mine had been. I knew that I couldn't let that happen to her so I suggested that the two of us get married instead. It would appease her family and mine, I would be able to protect her and I would get to spend the rest of my life with my best friend. Thankfully her family agreed to the union and when my father received word he was shocked but happy that I had found a way to get over my "problem". Alice and I waited a few years after we had graduated school before we were married but we were very happy, we both didn't make demands on the other, we were free to do what we wanted. I had lovers that my wife didn't care about and she was free to carry on with a Muggleborn that she had been seeing during school but would have never been allowed to marry. It seemed as if things would work out for us both until her family started to press us for children. We were told that part of the agreement between the Du Pont family and the Malfoy's involved a child to solidify the union."
"What happened?" she wondered, looking at Aurora as if she might not actually be a Malfoy.
"The Muggleborn Aurora was involved with, Eric, helped us," Gabriel told her. "He told us about ways Muggles had devised to have babies without having sex and with his support Alice and I were able to use them to have our own child."
He reached out and gently brushed his hand across his daughter's cheek. "The second she was born she lit up our whole world, that's how we agreed on the name Aurora, named after the dawn. After she was born I was called home to see the Malfoy's; my father was dying and he wanted to meet my family before he went. So with my wife and newborn daughter I went home for the first time in many years. My mother had already passed away, Lucius was married to Narcissa and Draco was just over a year old. Abraxas was thrilled to know that I had a family and before he died he told Lucius to restore my birthright and share the title of Malfoy heir. My brother, of course, didn't like that and now that I had a child of my own, my claim was even stronger. That was when my brother decided he would take matters into his own hands."
Ginny didn't like the way Gabriel was speaking and she noticed Draco look away from his uncle and his cousin.
"Sadly Alice died in an accident before we could leave England and go back to America," he spoke tightly. "So I took Aurora home and raised her myself. I didn't get any help from my family or hers; the Du Pont's wouldn't even acknowledge Aurora. It wasn't until after Lucius's death that I came back to England."
"What made you come back?" Ginny wondered.
"Draco and Aunt Narcissa," Aurora answered. "My Aunt had always been very upset with how the Malfoy's treated my father and me. She also thought that Draco needed someone he could talk to."
"The dragon and the dawn," Draco smiled at his cousin. "In all honesty mother and I were both trying to make up for how we had treated our own family members. My mother still regrets the way she treated Andromeda and I never even met Tonks. Family is what matters, we found that out the hard way."
A house elf popped into the room as Draco finished speaking. "Mister Gabriel, Miss Aurora, Mistress Narcissa is wanting to speaking to you both."
"Don't worry," Aurora told her cousin as she stood. "I'll tell your mother that you stepped out."
"It was nice to meet you Ginny," Gabriel shook her hand again. "I hope to see you again soon."
"I'm really glad Draco wanted us to meet," Ginny smiled at him.
As soon as the two of them left Ginny turned to the blond. "I'm so sorry I thought-"
"Don't even apologize," he told her. "It's my fault for not telling you about them."
"I can understand why you didn't," she assured him.
"It's just complicated because I'm still trying to work out the legal problems," Draco ran a hand through his hair. "You are the first person besides my mother and our lawyer who know about Aurora and Uncle Gabriel."
"Draco, I won't tell anyone," Ginny promised.
He put his hand on top of hers. "I never thought you would. I just meant that because my father didn't restore my Uncle's name and birthright they aren't technically Malfoy's right now. Aurora goes by Du Pont which happens to be her middle name and my uncle hardly goes anywhere. They both keep to themselves and I can tell that they are lonely."
"So," Ginny began, aware she was probably about to ask a question she shouldn't. "What happened to Alice?"
Draco heaved a great sigh and frowned at her. "I can't tell you. It isn't something my cousin or my uncle like to share, I only just found out last year."
"Is it that bad?" the young woman wondered.
The Malfoy nodded. "What happened to her was tragic and I'll always be ashamed of my father's part in it. He may not have intended it but her death was, in many ways, his fault. I don't know how she can stand to be around me or here in his house."
"Well she cares about you," Ginny told him. "I can see the bond that the two of you have."
"She's the first person I told about all the things I did in the war," Draco confessed. "She's the first person I ever felt I could really be myself around. She knows everything about me, the good the bad, and she still chooses to see the best in me."
"Sounds like she would have been a Gryffindor," the redhead joked.
"No," Draco shook his head, a smile playing on his lips.
"Slytherin?" Ginny's smile grew.
"She would have been a Ravenclaw," he replied, pride in his voice. "She took what happened to her, what happened to her family and used it to motivate her. Just wait until you hear about some of the work she's doing, she could change lives. Sometimes I'm amazed at how smart she is."
Ginny liked seeing the young man like this. There was light in his eyes as he talked about his family and it was plain to see that he enjoyed finally having people in his life he felt he could trust. Ginny knew how much of a comfort her own family had always been and she was glad that Draco was able to know what that felt like.
"Your Uncle seems very sweet," she continued.
"It's hard to believe he and my father were twins," Draco mused. "Uncle Gabe may have gotten the darker coloring but he definitely got the kinder personality. Whenever I was having a hard time during my training as a healer or I ran into someone who told me that I deserved Azkaban or that I should be dead like my father he would always know what to say."
"What would he say?" Ginny leaned closer to him, enthralled by how at ease he looked.
"He would put a hand on my shoulder and tell me 'Draco, just let it go. What everyone else thinks doesn't matter, at the end of the day all that matters is how you look at yourself.' Sometimes it's hard to keep that in mind but he's right."
"I think that's great advice," Ginny leaned in and kissed his cheek.
"Your mother is pacified," Aurora announced coming back in the room. "She wanted my advice on what to wear to a charity dinner tomorrow and she asked my dad to escort her."
"That's great," Draco's face brightened.
"He said no," Aurora rolled her eyes. "He's too afraid of people thinking he's Lucius Malfoy back from the dead."
"Is she going to ask me to go?" Draco worried.
"No, you know your mom will be fine on her own," the brunette laughed. "She's just nervous because Andromeda is going to be there."
Draco knew that his mother still worried about the bad blood between her and her sister and no matter how many times Narcissa had sat down and wrote a letter to reach out to her sibling she just couldn't bring herself to send it.
"Master Draco," he heard a squeaky voice address him, the same house elf from earlier. "You is having a Floo call in your study."
Draco got to his feet and excused himself from the two young women. "I'll be right back."
Aurora sat down again and looked at Ginny. "I'm really glad Draco wanted us to meet you. I can tell that you're good for him."
Ginny smiled back at the young woman. "I'm glad you think so."
Aurora folded her hands on the table. "Well he has gushed about you on more than one occasion."
Ginny looked down, her cheeks starting to redden. Draco Malfoy did not gush….did he?
"That's a beautiful ring," Ginny pointed to the young Malfoy's right hand, trying to change the subject. She had been looking at where a delicate Celtic knot, that held a crowned heart, rested on the other woman's middle finger.
"Oh thank you," Aurora responded, holding her hand out so Ginny could get a better look. "It was my mom's ring. Her family took a trip to Ireland the Christmas she turned seventeen and she invited my dad to come with them. Dad always said that it was a life changing trip, not because of the exorbitant amount of money the Du Pont family spent on the trip or the trip itself but just being in such a place with someone he cared about so much. He wanted to give her some kind of thank you so he found this ring. It's called a Claddagh ring; the arms represent friendship, the heart love and the crown loyalty, they are joined in a circle to symbolize that they will last forever. That ring is exactly what my dad wanted to promise my mom, that no matter what he would be there for her."
Aurora smiled but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "I know it must seem crazy, that a man who had no interest in her would devote so much of his life, even so much as having a child, with a woman."
Ginny thought back to her relationship with Harry and she understood. There had been a time where Ginny would have stayed in her relationship with The Boy Who Lived even if it hadn't made her happy. Her love for Harry had become such a huge part of her life, her families lives that she didn't want to jeopardize it and while she was glad that she and Harry agreed they were better off as friends she understood the impulse to keep that relationship.
"I don't think it's crazy," Ginny insisted. "Your father obviously loved your mother very much. Love doesn't always have to be passion and sex, there can be just as much love in understanding and companionship."
"I wouldn't know much about that," she laughed, a blush coloring her own cheeks this time.
Aurora held up the ring again. "Another thing the Claddagh can indicate is relationship status. Wearing it on your left hand with the heart pointing toward your fingers means the wearer is engaged, on the left hand with the heart pointing inward, toward their wrist, means the wearer is married, wearing it on right hand pointing inward means the wearer is in a relationship. I wear it on my right hand with the heart facing toward my fingers which means that I'm single and looking for love."
"I have a hard time believing you're single," Ginny tried to make the other woman smile. "You're a Malfoy and you're beautiful, I'm sure many men would line up for the honor of dating you."
This only made Aurora blush more. "I probably wouldn't even be able to speak to them. I have a bit of an anxiety problem, I have a hard time with crowds and conversing easily with people I don't know."
"You didn't have a problem with me," Ginny pointed out.
"That's because first of all you are in the place I call home so I feel more comfortable," she reasoned. "Secondly Draco has told me a lot about you so I felt a little less trepidation meeting you for the first time."
"Well I hope that we will be able to be friends," Ginny reached out and gripped Aurora's hand.
"I'd really like that Ginny," she beamed and squeezed the redhead's hand back.
It was at that moment that Draco reentered the dining room. "Forgive me, call from Blaise about a business venture we've been discussing."
His cousin met his eye and Draco give her a look that ensured he would tell her later. The Malfoy heir had already disclosed to Aurora that he was working with the Auror department to try and round up the last of the wanted Death Eaters and her concern had grown more and more as the owls started to come in from the families who wanted to rejoin the cause.
"Well I have to finishing gathering my notes and going over them once more," Aurora got to her feet to give the couple some privacy. "I have an important meeting tomorrow at the Ministry."
"I'll be down to the lab in just a bit to help," Draco told his cousin.
"If you ever want to get out of the Manor," Ginny called after the brunette. "Just owl me. I'd love to have another girl to talk to, especially one that can tell me all of Draco's best kept secrets."
"I will gladly gossip with you Ginny," she laughed lightly. "But Draco's secrets are safe with me."
"So what are you two doing at the Ministry tomorrow?" Ginny wondered.
"Aurora is presenting some research she's done to the board to see if she can get more funding," Draco explained, not wanting to tell too much. "She has access to all the Malfoy accounts but she and I both know that if her research yields results the Ministry will have to be involved somehow."
Ginny could tell that she wasn't going to get more from him so she let the subject rest for now.
"So am I forgiven?" Draco tilted his head and looked at her.
"Yes," she smirked. "Just don't do anything like this again."
Draco schooled his features to look at ease but he felt a pang of guilt stab at him knowing that he was keeping his involvement with Potter and her brother to catch the Death Eaters a secret. He reasoned that it was for Ginny's own protection, no one but Aurora knew about Draco's work with them and after the Floo call he had just had with Potter he was worried about his family's safety as well. He couldn't let something happen to Ginny, not after everything the Weasley's had already been through. Draco would rather have Ginny hate him and safe than tell her and risk getting her hurt or worse.
The couple spent a few more minutes together before Draco kissed Ginny goodnight. She had a family gathering in the morning that she would need plenty of energy for and Draco still needed to help his cousin.
"How about a late dinner?" he asked as he escorted Ginny to the door. "We can have a moonlit picnic where we stargazed that first night."
Ginny leaned in and pressed her lips to Draco's again. "That sounds perfect. I'll be over around eight?"
"Until then," the blond whispered, before kissing the object of his affection one last time.
Goodnight," she waved before stepping outside to apparate.
Draco closed the door behind Ginny and started to make his way to his potions lab where he knew his cousin was waiting. As soon as Draco walked in and closed the door Aurora turned to look at him.
"Don't give me those eyes Aurora," Draco sighed. "I would tell Ginny if I thought it was safe for her. I'm afraid enough for you and mother and Uncle Gabe."
She looked up from her notes. "Was that what the Floo call was about?"
"The Aurors I'm working with want to be able to have one secure location where I can bring the Death Eaters. It has to be somewhere that we can ward and protect but somewhere none of them will question using."
The young woman's eyes lit up with comprehension. "The Manor."
Draco nodded. "Of course I would need it empty. They can't know about you or your father and I won't subject my mother to being around them."
"What's your plan?" she asked, knowing he already had one.
"Tomorrow we'll meet with the Aurors I'm working with and they will help us put a Fidelius Charm on a location that we can use to keep the three of you hidden."
"How are we going to convince your mother and my father to leave?"
"That is where you come in my darling cousin," he told her, sitting down next to her. "You put on your best innocent face and tell my mother how much you need a break. Talk about how much work you've been doing and how you deserve a vacation."
"Then suggest wherever you decide is safe enough for us to go," Aurora filled in, catching up with Draco's game.
"Exactly," he spoke confidently. "Mother would never waste an opportunity to dote on you and her vacations have been known to last for months. When it is safe I'll let you know and you can come home."
"Quite the devious plan cousin," Aurora nodded. "But I think it will work."
Draco sighed, he hated all of this lying and secrecy but it was a necessary evil, for now at least.
"So," he started to look over the papers his cousin was done with. "Why don't you go to that charity function with my mother tomorrow night?"
The brunette laughed. "Draco you already had to brew me an anti-anxiety potion for the meeting tomorrow, you think I'll be able to go to a party later that same day."
Draco knew it was a long shot. "It was worth a try Rora, besides I worry about you spending so much time down here with your nose buried in your research. I know you have a lot of work to do but you also need to have some fun."
They had this conversation many times and Aurora knew Draco was right but it was so hard for her to step outside her comfort zone. She had spent so much time just her and her father that she almost felt more comfortable being alone.
"I'll work on it Draco," she promised. "Meeting Ginny was a good first step."
"She has a huge family," Draco warned. "Becoming friends with her means that you might have to meet them."
The young woman laughed and continued to work. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it shall we."
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Harry was making his way down to the lobby of the Ministry to meet Malfoy and the person he picked to be his secret keeper. As he walked he saw a few people walking into one of the meeting rooms in the corridor and Harry stopped to see what was going on. Kingsley, and some of the higher up Ministry members including the head of The Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures sitting at a table watching with rapt attention as a young woman addressed them. Harry ducked in, interested in what had so many people so captivated.
"The research I'm doing deserves the Ministry's attention because it could improve the lives of many people who feel out of place in our society," Harry caught the tail end of the woman's speech.
"Forgive me if I seem skeptical Ms. Du Pont," Kingsley regarded her. "There haven't been many people who have taken up this cause over the years."
"Most people don't understand why it is so important sir," she insisted. "Werewolves are mistreated all over because of a rogue few, and those few go rogue because they feel like they have no other choice. Werewolves aren't even classified by The Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures as Beings, they are still seen as Beasts and that keeps them at arm's length as well. There need to be laws that protect them and ensure they won't be judged for something they can't help and certainly didn't ask for."
"That would mean making sure they wouldn't be a danger," Kingsley reminded her. "And Wolfsbane isn't enough to do that."
"I know that Minister," she responded. "And if you'll look over my notes you can see that I've been working on a modified version of the Wolfsbane potion that would keep the transformations from happening. Instead of ingested it's injected directly into the bloodstream, and my research partner and I believe that as soon as we can find the right levels and dosage of the potion we can help control the lycanthropy."
Harry tried not to let his jaw hang open as he heard his young woman champion for the rights of Werewolves. Having been so close to Remus, Harry knew the kind of scrutiny he was always under because of his transformations. He took a moment to actually look at the young woman who was speaking. He had never heard the name Du Pont and didn't recognize her from Hogwarts but that didn't mean anything. She was very pretty from what Harry could see at the back of the room, and the way she carried herself exuded confidence but not arrogance.
"What do you have to say Mr. Malfoy?" Kingsley turned to the other person in front of them.
"With all due respect Minister," Harry heard Malfoy speak. "You knew Remus Lupin very well and you could see the extra weight he carried because of something he couldn't help. All Ms. Du Pont and I are asking is to be able to prevent that from happening to anyone else. To my everlasting shame, I did not treat Remus Lupin how he should have been treated."
Harry wondered if it was possible for him to get his jaw open any further. Hearing Draco Malfoy defend Remus, and regret his treatment of him was almost too much.
"I, like most of the Wizarding community, had been taught Werewolves were something to be feared," Draco continued. "They didn't belong in our world and after being forced to be around Fenrir Greyback I feared them."
"What changed?" the Minister asked.
"Aurora," Draco replied, indicating the young woman. "She told me of her history with those effected by Lycanthropy and the more she told me the more I realized that it isn't fair to judge these people for something that they cannot help."
Kingsley looked at both of them before sitting back to speak with the rest of the board.
"Give us all some time to go over your proposal and your notes Ms. Du Pont and we will give you an answer soon," Kingsley finally told her.
"Thank you Minister," she nodded politely. "Thank you all for your time and attention."
People started to mull around, leaving as they discussed this young woman and what she and Draco Malfoy had put before the Ministry that morning. Harry saw Malfoy walk forward to speak to Kingsley and a few of the other Ministry officials so Harry screwed up his courage and walked up to Aurora Du Pont.
"Excuse me," he spoke gently as she bent over to pack up her things. "I don't mean to bother you but I wanted to tell you how impressed I am with your project."
Harry watched, spellbound as she turned to face him, her wavy golden brown hair tossed over her shoulder, intense dark blue eyes fixed on Harry.
"Oh, thank you," she gave him a small, shy smile meeting his eyes.
"I haven't found many people so willing to fight for this," Harry told her. "I had a dear friend who was effected by the same problem and he would be moved and overwhelmed by your support and passion."
"Well no matter what anyone says they are people just like you and I," she stated firmly, a little surprised she was still able to talk to him so well.
"Speaking of you and I," Harry spoke, waiting for her to stop his introduction. "I'm Harry Potter."
"Nice to meet you," she extended her hand. "I'm Aurora."
Harry waited for a moment or two, waited for her to realize who he was or for his eyes to flicker up to the scar on his forehead but neither happened. Harry hadn't had that happen to him before, usually people tripped over themselves when they found out he was the savior of the Wizarding world. He reached out and grasped her hand in his, a little surprised when he felt a jolt of energy shoot up his arm at the contact.
They broke apart and Harry smiled as Aurora blushed. He took a step back from her as he saw Malfoy approaching them and he cursed wondering if they were more than just research partners.
"Oh Potter," Malfoy addressed him, putting his hand on Aurora's shoulder. "I'm glad to see you two met."
Harry felt his heart drop a little, the first woman he had even been remotely interested in since Ginny and she was with Malfoy.
"Aurora I see you've met Harry Potter, but Harry please allow me to properly introduce you to Aurora Du Pont Malfoy, my cousin."
Harry could only imagine how comical his face had been the second he had heard Malfoy introduce the attractive young woman as his cousin.
"Harry is one of the Auror's I'm helping," Draco continued and Harry saw a similar expression of shock pass her pretty features.
"Why don't we go up to my office to talk in private," Harry suggested, ushering the two out of the still crowded room.
The trio walked back upstairs in silence, each of them trying to focus on what they were here for. Harry was trying to focus on his duties as an Auror not the fact that the woman he found so entrancing was putting her life on the line. Aurora was trying to focus on what she had to do to keep her family safe and Draco was trying to focus on anything except the niggling feeling that kept telling him he was getting into trouble.
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So you now have some more insight into my original characters, and please keep in mind any opinion on homosexuality is not my real opinion. I am only guessing the way pureblood wizards would react to a member of their family being gay. Also in the coming chapters I will be reveling why Aurora is so passionate about Werewolf rights. Thanks to all who read, review and follow, you all are amazing!