Author's Note: This work was originally posted to my account on AO3.
Tags on AO3: Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, Fix-It, POV Draco Malfoy, POV Narcissa Black Malfoy, Malfoy Family, Malfoy Manor, Mother-Son Relationship, Bonding, Family, Slytherins Being Slytherins, Horcruxes, Horcrux Hunting, Canon-Typical Violence, Pre-Philosopher's Stone, Book 1: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Wordcount: 10.000-30.000, Minor Character Death, POV Third Person Limited
YOU'LL GO THE SAME WAY
6) FOUR
The fortunate thing is that Draco no longer has to worry about his mother having a lacking conviction in destroying Horcruxes and killing the Dark Lord. The unfortunate thing is that Draco now has to worry about his mother having a little too much conviction. He's afraid that either he won't be able to keep up or that Lucius and the younger Draco are going to notice something's a little off about Narcissa.
Family First, he told his mother, very much meaning it. But it is clear that Draco does not mean it half as much as his mother does. Narcissa Malfoy is a very selfish person who, unlike her grown son, does not care at all about what being a good person might entail. A good mother? Yes. A good cousin? Yes. A good person? No, family comes first, last, and always.
Draco sends a heartfelt thanks to his late, treacherous cousin. Thank Merlin for Regulus Black, really.
The other thing that Draco gets out the locket's destruction is a house elf. He has no love or fond memories for the elf, but some tiny part of his mind reminded him that it would be a bit cruel to leave Kreacher all alone in Grimmauld Place. So he took the broken locket off the floor, gave it to the bawling elf, and now he has a very loyal personal servant in Malfoy Manor.
Narcissa was not impressed, but she agreed that it wouldn't do to leave Regulus' faithful servant in that abandoned mausoleum. This way, there's less interaction between Draco and the household servants, and him having his own house elf will be useful for any errands he has to run.
The next week or so is relatively peaceful. Narcissa and Draco discuss the issue of the remaining Horcruxes in detail, then Narcissa leaves Draco to most of the plans while she takes care of her estate and family affairs. They also arrange for Draco to have his own, properly tailored robes. After all, Draco can't keep on borrowing his father's clothing or Lucius actually will notice something is wrong when he can't find a certain favourite shirt.
They decide to go after the Gaunt ring next. Ravenclaw's diadem would be considerably easier but Hogwarts is still a very public place, even in early July, and neither of them wishes to tread into Albus Dumbledore's territory any earlier than necessary. Hufflepuff's cup will be difficult as well, being in such a protected and public place as Gringotts Bank, but unlike the diadem and the cup, the protections of the Gaunt shack are entirely unknown. Draco only knows that under no conditions can the ring be worn, unless he wishes to go the same way as the Hogwarts Headmaster. Beyond that, the ring is a mystery. Mysteries and the unknown, however, are still less dangerous in their eyes than the chance of being discovered by any Dark wizards or Albus Dumbledore.
So… the Gaunt ring it is.
Having visited Little Hangleton earlier that week after Draco finally found the isolated place, Narcissa Apparates there with Draco on her arm. Neither the adult nor the younger Draco Malfoy have an Apparition License, after all. Draco is well-used to Side-Along Apparition and disinclined towards getting arrested from something so pathetically inconsequential.
They appear on a grey stretch of countryside, where the dirt road becomes little more than a dusty beaten path. It appears as though it is beginning to rain, so Draco quickly conjures a large black umbrella to raise over their heads. Narcissa casts an Impervius Charm on the object for good measure, then they set off, arm in arm, towards the Gaunt shack. Wizards and witches do not walk when travelling places, but they do not wish to set off any defenses by appearing too close to the Horcrux's hiding place.
It is almost a nostalgic experience, really; Draco and his other mother took many a turn around the Malfoy Manor grounds together.
By the time they finally reach the small, beaten shack, it is raining heavily. Under the umbrella, Narcissa grimaces at the skeleton of a snake nailed the front door and Draco stares at the shack belonging to the fallen Gaunt family. Gambling debts, poor investments, wasteful spending, and a lot scandalous crime are only some of the reasons the Gaunts ended up here, according to footnotes in books here and there. It seems to be completely overgrown, falling apart, and rotting into a pile of wood and moss.
A part of him did not truly believe that the Dark Lord had been born of a Muggle father and a barely magical witch until just now. It's a rather tragic and comic irony, actually.
Narcissa flicks her wand at the umbrella, so it floats above them unheld. Draco draws the Sword of Gryffindor from the sheath up his sleeve – he has found that there are no enchantments that can stand for long against it, especially when imbued with Basilisk venom. Then they raise their identical wands and step forward, towards the ominously quiet front door.
The shack contains nothing less than a dozen deathly curses, several trick floorboards, an intricately woven magical maze, and an unspeakable sort and number of snakes. It's all very frightening, but against two Malfoys, matching wands, and the Sword of Gryffindor, it all stands no chance.
Draco stabs the sword into the ring's heart, pressing until it breaks and screams itself to death. Then, for good measure and on good advice, he uses the happy sword to shatter the thing into pieces. He and Narcissa leave it broken on the shack floor.
There's something unearthly tugging at the back of Draco's mind as they go, telling him to take the pieces of the inset stone with him, but Draco stubbornly ignores it. By all accounts and advice, that ring will kill him in one way or another, and he did not come all this way to die in a place like this. He has all manner of blood and filth on his shoes, thank you, and he wants to go home.
They step out of the creaking shack and back into the heavy rain. Draco unfurls the umbrella for them both and Narcissa closes the rotting door with the nailed snake skeleton, then she fixes her own gloves, takes his arm, and then they stride towards the gate at the end of the overgrown garden.
"One moment, please, Draco," Narcissa says, halfway down the path, pulling gently on his arm.
Draco obediently stops for her, holding the umbrella and watching curiously as Narcissa turns around to face the shack. He startles slightly, when his mother points her wand at the door and it explodes. The door is blasted off its hinges with a bang of Dark cursefire – disappearing into the dark of the shack, taking the ghastly nailed snake skeleton with it, trailing smoke and violent sizzling.
"…Really now, Mother?" Draco asks, amused.
Narcissa takes a deep breath, then turns determinedly around. Her bloody and filthy skirts swish rather pointedly as she does and her elbow is sharp as she takes his arm again.
"Yes, really, Draco," she says. "Let us leave now. I find myself in want of a bath and never seeing another snake – alive or dead – so long as I live."
"Well, if you insist."
oOo
Author's Note: This fic is finished and chapters will be posted daily until it's complete. There will be 10 chapters.