Chapter 6

Family Tree

In the Slytherin common room, with the sun outside slowly peeking over the trees, Draco Malfoy still sat staring down at the letter in Hogwarts: A History. He had not slept or even closed the book for the duration of the entire night.

His thoughts whirred around his head, neither stopping nor pausing to allow him the short amount of time he needed to un-jumble them.

'I should have known this. Father should have told me this when I was a child. Why didn't he tell me this?'

Family history was very important to the Malfoys. To know ones heritage is to have knowledge. To have knowledge is to have power. To have power is to have fame. To have fame is to have money. Which leads back to power, and the vicious cycle begins once more.

'No Malfoy should be without the knowledge of their ancestors. Could it be… Where they ashamed of Artemis? Or was it the entire structure of the kingdom? Malfoys are never ashamed. Not of themselves or their forefathers.'

However, there was something else that was bothering Draco as well, he just could not quite put his finger on it and it was driving him nearer and nearer to panic.

His mind would not shut up. Pictures of Artemis writing to his father in a dank cell of the dungeons – possibly near where he sat now, he shivered – and the different ways he could have committed suicide. What unnerved him more, though, was the fact that one particularly stuck out more like a memory than a figment of an overactive imagination. It was of himself, jumping without a second thought from the cliff top outside the castle.

Even more disturbing than this, were the night images, also seeming more like memories to him. He lay next to someone, covered in sweat and naked, the lower half of his body covered by a thin blanket. Upon looking to his side at the sleeping face next to him, Draco snapped the book shut as if waking from a nightmare and throwing himself forward in the chair. He was way beyond the point of screaming, no sound could escape his throat.

He was panting, his eyes bulging slightly and leaning forward over the book. He shoved at the tome, it thumped onto the floor, making a loud noise. Draco instinctively snapped his head around to the staircase, which lead to the dorms, and silently listened. Even to himself, he was reminded of a deer trapped in muggle headlights.

No sounds floated down from the dormitories, aside from the soft snoring of sleeping people. Having broken out of his stupor, Draco decided he may as well move, people would be coming down soon anyway.

He pushed any thoughts of Artemis and Jacob from his mind.

The fire had long since died out. He could not be bothered, and saw no need to, light it again. It would only be another half hour before the sun had risen completely anyway.

He stood up and made a beeline for the entrance. The statue slid away to the side and allowed him to escape quickly and quietly. He was not out before was allowed but he felt the need to sneak around the castle anyway.

It was a Saturday and he had no classes to attend. He knew he should be going up to the library to study for a potions test that Severus had warned him about early but he knew all the material back to front and he really could not be bothered. Draco sighed.

'You would have thought with a school this size, someone could always find something interesting to do.'

Draco let his feet lead him along corridor after corridor. He paused when he passed a stairway that lead up to a bridge that crossed over to the owlery tower. He shrugged to himself and moved towards it. He realised with disgust that he was dragging his feet and picked them up hastily, very unlike him and not regal at all.

It only took his five minutes to travel the distance to the owlery. He spotted his eagle owl up near the roof bullying some small school own. He made his way down the stairs to the floor of the tower and snatched a piece of parchment and an everlasting quill from a small table.

Draco hated everlasting quills. They were forever leaking, literally, and it was impossible to keep every word legible.

"Malfoy." The cold greeting made his hand freeze above the paper. 'Shit.'

"Potter." Draco tried to keep his voice steady, Lord knows he tried, but as he said the name, the image from only a little while ago flashed into his mind. He knew his voice wavered ever so slightly and, by the confused stare the other boy was giving him, deduced that Potter had heard it too. However, they both opted to leave the subject be and both carried on with their writing.

'How could I not bloody notice him there. He's written loads, he must have been here for a while. Shit. My minds going to the dogs. Anyway. To business. The family tree. Artemis.'

Draco lay the quill on the paper and began to scratch it along the page, leaving an attempt at neat, defined and delicate writing that was his own.

Dear Father,

All is well at school. There will be no need to ask upon my grades, they are perfect as usual. Severus has been kind as usual and has kept me informed of the outside world. Although I suggest that a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher is found, a strong rumour has begun circulating that this one is a vampire. I recommend a full investigation.

However, I am not writing this to exchange gossip, I have a need for information. When I was younger, you used to tell me of our family history. You made me learn the family tree right back to Great Damian Malfoy. I have come to realise, though, that my knowledge is lacking.

Great Damian Malfoy was alive five thousand years ago, to the nearest thousand, if memory serves me correctly. I would like to know about the family history before that. I am intrigued to find out about a specific member of the family I found out about in a book I have been reading.

Therefore, I would like you to send me, as soon as possible, a full family tree, complete to the beginning of Hogwarts.

I would appreciate it if no questions were asked, call it a class project if you will, something to satisfy my own curiosity.

Do tell me how mother is doing, though. Severus told me she has become ill with a touch of the flu.

Your son,

Draco Malfoy.

Draco read the letter over three times before nodding, it would have to do, and whistling shrilly to call down the great owl near the roof. He tied the letter to the bird's leg and walked to the window, throwing him off his arm in a flurry of feathers.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the tower, Potter was doing exactly the same thing with a small snowy owl, although slightly more gently, whilst muttering to it and shouting a farewell as she glided away towards the distant hills and low mountains.

"It's just a bird, Potter, it doesn't understand you." 'Why am I starting a conversation again? Idiot.'

"She knows what I'm saying." The Gryffindor turned away, beginning to pack away his writing things and the spare sheets of parchment that lay on the filthy table. 'Obviously not in the mood to argue, but I won't be ignored.'

"Turn around, Potter, I don't like to be ignored when I'm talking to someone, even if I don't like them all that much."

"To tell the truth, Malfoy, I really couldn't give a shit."

"That's not very polite."

"Well you and your family would know all about that, wouldn't they?"

"Why you little…"

Draco was across the room with three long strides. It took him less than ten seconds to have the other boy pinned against the stone wall by the collar of his shirt. Potter was slightly shorter than Draco, giving Draco the natural feel of superiority.

"Don't insult my family, Potter. I shan't warm you again." They were so close Draco could feel the Gryffindor's breath of his face. He could see that clear skin just inches away.

Suddenly, he was lying next to him again, naked and sweaty, turning his head slowly to smile adoringly at his lover. This time, however, the – he couldn't describe it any other way, it just had to be – memory carried on. It continued to where he revolved his entire body to face the other male, slinging an arm over the rhythmically moving stomach and leaned forward to place a chaste kiss upon moist lips.

Draco jerked back, releasing Harry and making a run for it.

The entire day had been a nightmare. Potter had been everywhere. Every corner he walked round, he had had to duck back before he was seen. Every window he happened to glance out of, Potter was there, standing by the lake staring up at the castle or sitting under a tree reading some book.

Draco felt lucky they did not have classes, it was sod's law most of his classes included the Gryffindors. He was dreading dinner because – guess what – Potter would be there!

Twenty minutes before dinner found Draco face down on his bed; kicking and punching his bed; screaming and yelling into his pillow and generally doing frustrated things that one would not usually find a Malfoy doing.

He had been in the sixth year boys' dorm alone and decided to let out his frustrations with a good, old-fashioned tantrum, which was perfectly fine as long as no-one saw him.

He felt his fists were starting to bruise even with the soft covers of the bed and his feet and knees were being rubbed raw, the skin dissolving away. He had tried a couple of times to leave the room, but each time a certain Gryffindor would pop up and he would be reduced back to the groaning, screaming, yelling and shrieking mess, fleeing back to his bed and the safety of the muting spell on his pillow.

Therefore, it is understandable that dear Draco was dreading dinner. There was a ninety-nine point nine percent chance that the Gryffindor would be there. Draco half hoped he would be off on one of his adventures getting killed so he would not have to see him there.

'Half hope? Why only half hope? No, I completely and entirely, fully wish and hope he is off on an adventure getting his arse whipped.'

'No you don't, why would you wish that? He is a human life, after all.'

'Yes I do. Then I won't have to see him at dinner, resulting in NEVER having those hallucinations again.'

'I thought you convinced yourself they were memories.'

'No, they're not memories. Memories are things that happened in the past. That…moment…never happened, therefore it is not a memory. Why the fuck am I talking to myself? No, scratch that…Why the fuck am I arguing with myself?'

Draco received no reply from his new friend and so decided it was time to risk dinner and have his hopes of Potter disappearing well and truly shattered.

True to his prediction, Potter was sitting at the Gryffindor table, with his two little friends, at the end. Thankfully it was the end Draco did not have any reason to go near, up next to the staff table. Draco made a point of not looking at anything but his food, Blaise or the interesting patch of fluff that had accumulated on his sleeve.

Before he could even take a bite of his food, though, a screech from above him made the Slytherins around him jump and an envelope dropped into his lap. The writing on the front addressed it to him in neat, looping letters of green whilst the Malfoy family crest, the green and silver snaked pattern around a black 'M', perched atop in the left corner.

Draco delicately slipped a finger under the flap and tore it open, taking care not to slit his skin.

Dear Draco,

As always, it is a pleasure to hear you are well. Your father is not available at present and, as I needed a project to occupy my mind at the moment, I took up your request and found what you are looking for easily in one of the libraries.

I am glad to say I am well along the road people call recovery and you need not worry your little heart over my health, the Lord knows other, more pressing matters should hold your attention.

Whether Lucius would want you to have this information is not part of my knowledge but I see no reason as to why not. He was always so eager for you to remember every detail of the family when you were younger, I always wondered why he did not travel back further with you.

I have attached your request. Use it as you will and I hope you find its use to be compatible to your original request. Stay well, Draco, don't fall too deep, you are still too young for such troubles.

I worry for you, keep safe.

Your ever loving mother

Narcissa Malfoy

Still folded in the envelope, Draco found a second piece of parchment. He smiled to himself as he slipped the letter back inside, ate a little food – finding he was far too eager to eat, he would sneak down to the kitchens later – and nodded to Blaise. Having done these things, he stood from the table and walked, gracefully, from the hall, ignoring his stomach as it grumbled lowly in protest, so maybe he was a little hungry.

He skirted around the statues in the entrance hall, narrowly missed a suit of armour and his sword and made his way through the twists and turns of the dungeons that lead to the entrance of the Slytherin common room.

Once in his dorm, and after casting privacy charms of all sorts and shutting his curtains with three locking spells, Draco opened the other, thick wedge of parchment his Mother had sent him.

It had been magically copied, much like texts and such that were copied into books over and over. Once unrolled it ran almost the length of his leg. It was detailed. At the bottom he could see his very own name, connected to those of his mother and father. Then there were his Mother's two sisters, and spiralling off from the eldest came a husband and a daughter. These last three were written in red, he assumed it to be because of muggle or mudblood associations. Further off to the left, his Mother's side, were a few Black names, close cousins, before they ran off the page.

He noticed that every so often further up the page, a few lines would be drawn off the page in the same direction and he knew that if he could have seen the whole tree they would have shown the places of inbreeding.

Even as he scanned up the centre he could see that, even before his mother and father, members of the Malfoy and relatives of the Black families had already been married before.

He closed his mind off to the Black side, though. It was not this that interested him. He was interested in his Father's family.

The Malfoy family was famed for having male heirs to carry on the family name and keep the fortune safe and ever growing. Draco, himself, was a perfect example. He followed his Father's side, all written in green, not a single red mark, until he reached the end of his own knowledge of the history, at Great Damian Malfoy.

Draco was surprised to find that he only needed to follow back another thousand years before the writing turned a dark purple, almost black, which symbolised a time of war. He searched around the time of the last king, named Lucian Malfoy, possibly a connection with his father's name – though he doubted it seeing as no-one seemed to like that era.

The last purple name was one, Dominick Malfoy. He was a youngest son to Lucian Malfoy, and he was the one whom married and had sons to keep the line going. He sat staring at the other two names connected to Lucian Malfoy. One travelled off to the side, his elder brother, Bartholomew, whom had no descendants. Another, slid downward, the purple changing to the blood red of deceit swiftly. There, Draco found the evidence. There, Draco found Artemis Malfoy's name.

Reviews CH5

Bahlovkarizma:well here's you update, enjoy.

Scriblerus:here is more, I hope the editing is better on this one. When I get to chapter 10 I'll go back and check them all again.

Anything I want: Remus will definitely be here, Sirius, maybe. I'll think about it. And I haven't thought about the ending yet so…

Mistress of the flames: glad to have the emotion. I laughed when I read your review, I just suddenly imagined someone reading my chapter and then literally banging their head on their keyboard. Keep the faith.

Imarriedmalfoy:well here you are, I await your review with baited breath. XD Yeah great for Valentines…except I was in my bed…ill! Not fair in anyway – I thought I'd make myself useful and write a chapter.

Multicolourdeyes:here you go!

By the way, the competition is still up for dedication. Right these names. Each dot represents a letter.

L……. and B….

For anyone who didn't read it, the competition is that the person to get both the names right gets their (them up their – L & B) first chapter dedicated to them. Go for it. I'll be interested to find some new names too.

Hint// Think Shakespeare ;)

P.S the next chapter is already written so it'll be up soon

Love you all and keep those reviews coming

Dark Raven 4426