Author's note: good news! I have gotten my writing mojo back, so to speak, and starting next week I will be returning to the 1, 2, 1, 2 chapter releases. So next week I'll post two new chapters (on Tues and Fri), the week after just one (Tues), and the week after that two again, and so on. I am very happy to be able to tell you guys this! Yay!

-x-

Remus sort've thought more people would be taking about what happened at the concert, but the next day it seemed like nobody really cared; they talked about the concert itself, but he hardly heard anyone mention the robed man throwing a dung bomb. The newspaper didn't mention it either, instead talking solely about the concert. The only reason he saw the newspaper, though, was because there was a picture of the crowd jumping to one of the songs and the Marauders had scrutinized it carefully to make sure none of them could be seen.

That afternoon Peter and Remus worked on practicing the spells for the prank while the other two snuck back into Hogsmeade to purchase supplies. Remus's head was in the clouds as he thought about one of the essays he needed to finish, so he was only half paying attention to Peter, until he heard 'two weeks'. He blinked, lowering his wand, and looking over.

"What about two weeks?" he asked.

"Gryffindor's first game," Peter said, tongue curling out to the corner of his mouth as he held his wand steady.

"Two weeks?" Remus shifted uncomfortably, his heart sinking. "The… tenth?"

"Uh-huh." Peter looked at him now. "Why?"

Remus cringed, wondering how he was going to break the news to James. "I won't be able to make it."

"Oh… how come?"

"Er, the—the—the full moon?" he whispered.

Peter's mouth hung open now. "Ohhhh. Oh, yeah, I guess I didn't realize it was then. Is it? It feels like only a coupla days since the last one."

"No, it's been two weeks." Remus rubbed his forehead, hoping James wouldn't be too disappointed. He felt a little disappointed himself, despite the fact he didn't really like the crowds at the games. He rather enjoyed watching James play. Why couldn't it be the seventeenth? he thought miserably before remembering that's when the next Hogsmeade visit was. The twenty-fourth, then.

"It's all right though," Pete said, going back to his work. "Should be done by then."

"What should be done?"

"Erm." Peter kept staring at the object in the air. "Am I doing this right?"

"Peter—"

"I think I got this wrong. Is the spell—"

"Peter, what should be done by when? The game? The full moon? What?"

He was about to say something when he heard light footsteps outside the hallway; someone knocked on their door. They both swore and began shoving all the evidence of the prank under James's bed. Once Remus had the last armful, Peter scrambled over to open the door.

"Hi Lily, did you need Remus?" Peter asked, blocking the view so she couldn't see Remus half under the bed.

"Yes, please," she said, sounding rather faint. Had something happened?

Remus wriggled out from under James's bed and went to the door. Lily looked upset and was chewing the end of one of her braids. Her hair had gone back to normal… or, kinda normal, since Lily changed her hair so often. It was all the same length now and held back in twin braids.

Before Remus could ask what was going on she said, "Aegis is in the hospital wing. I—er—thought you might want to know."

Remus swallowed heavily, realizing he still hadn't really made up for his lack of attention to his friend. "What h-happened? Is it bad?"

"I don't know." She let her braid drop from her mouth. "All I know is Professor Slughorn told me, because he knew we're friends. He was put in there last night. I went to see him when I found out, but Pomfrey wouldn't let me in. I know you know her pretty well…" She trailed off, not voicing the hope that Pomfrey might allow Remus in.

He was already nodding. "Maybe, she m-might. Hold on a moment." He got his trainers on then, after a second, opened up his drawer to pull out the bar of chocolate he had won from Sirius in a card game the other day. If Pomfrey wouldn't let him see Aegis, hopefully she'd give him the present.

"I'll let the others know where you are, if you're not back before them," Pete said. "Um, tell Aegis I hope he feels better."

"Where did the two idiots go?" Lily asked after they left the common room.

"I thought you and Sirius were getting along better now."

She shrugged. "We are. That doesn't change the fact he's an idiot, does it?"

Remus couldn't help but give a small smile at that. "True." Even though they had all snuck into Hogsmeade the night before, he decided not to tell her the truth and instead simply said he wasn't sure where they were. "Probably getting into trouble, or maybe they had detention and didn't tell us. Or they might have gone to Hagrid's."

"The groundskeeper?" she asked. "He scares me a little."

"He's very nice." Remus was surprised at how defensive he sounded. "I'd rather spend time with him than Slughorn, at any rate."

"Professor Slughorn is nice," Lily snapped, sounding just as defensive. Then her shoulders slumped. "Sorry. I'm still tired, I guess."

Down at the hospital wing, Pomfrey allowed both of them in. She explained he was awake now, and hadn't been when Lily came by earlier. Lily whispered she thought it was because Remus was there, but Remus figured Pomfrey was telling the truth. She didn't mind Lily.

Aegis was sitting up in one of the beds, bandages wrapped around his head, his normally pale skin almost paper white. There were dark hollows under his eyes, and the smell of medicine permeating the air around him. He smiled when he saw his friends, setting aside the book he was reading.

"Remus, Lily, hello. It is very good to see you."

"What happened?" Remus asked, not bothering to wait. He slid into one of the chairs after making sure there was another one for Lily to sit in.

Aegis lowered his gaze, his hands running across the hospital blanket. "You know I'm clumsy."

"No you're not," Lily said flatly. "Remus is clumsy. You're bullied."

Aegis flinched at that. "Very well." But that's all he said, not elaborating at all. "Remus, did you enjoy the concert?"

Remus bit his bottom lip. "I didn't go. I didn't have anyone to go with. None of our parents could come in, remember? I told you that before."

Aegis tilted his head. "I assumed you and your friends would have snuck in." Either he didn't notice Lily suddenly putting on an innocent face, or it didn't click in his head what that might mean.

Remus felt himself blushing a little. "Erm, well…"

"You're avoiding the question," Lily pointed out. "Someone put you here, didn't they? Magic can heal most injuries quickly, which means that—" she indicated the bandages around his head, "—is from magic too."

"A spell went wrong."

Lily opened her mouth to argue but Remus cut in with, "It's fine, we know perfectly well you're most likely protecting Malfoy for some reason." Aegis narrowed his eyes, his jaw muscles tightening, his fingers clenched a little, his knuckles going white. "Here. I brought you this." Remus handed him the bar of chocolate and the other boy slowly took it with a thank you.

They made small talk until Pomfrey kicked them out, none of them mentioning Malfoy again. Lily did, though, after they left the wing. Remus said that's what he figured, since Malfoy was the one that bullied Aegis the most. Then Lily stopped and said, "She probably knows what happened."

"Who? Pomfrey?" he asked.

Lily shook her head and jerked her chin. Remus looked over and saw Pandora Silverlocke sitting on a long bench under a window with three friends. Remus wondered briefly if you had to be very blonde to be friends with her as two of the people she was with were as blonde as she was, and the fourth had curly red hair. He also looked rather familiar and it wasn't until he looked up that Remus realized he resembled Simon Bones.

"Come on." Lily dragged Remus over.

"We shouldn't," he hissed. "That's Malfoy's friend."

One of the blondes with Pandora was Narcissa Black. The other was an older boy Remus didn't recognize. He had a faraway dreamy look in his slightly crossed eyes, and a dozen or so necklaces clacking around his neck. All four were watching the third years now with curiosity, except for Black whose lips were in a thin line.

"Hello Lily, hello Remus," Pandora said, standing up in a slow, drifty manner that seemed almost like floating. "If you're looking for Aegis, he's in the hospital wing."

"We know," Lily said while Remus eyed Black, wondering if she'd react. Her eyes were locked on Lily. "We just came from seeing him."

Pandora clapped her hands together. "Oh good! I'm so glad he has friends like you."

The redhead that resembled Bones was looking at Remus while the other blonde was now gazing out the window. Black still stared rudely at Lily.

"Do you know what happened to him?" Lily asked bluntly. Black didn't even bat an eyelash at the question.

Pandora tipped her head to one side, one finger against her chin. "No, he wouldn't tell me what happened. I'm assuming someone fought with him again."

"Like Malfoy?" Lily asked. Black's eyes blazed at that and her lips pressed together even tighter.

Pandora stiffened a little, her forehead wrinkling. "I don't know. Perhaps. Oh, I meant to ask… how are you enjoying Ancient Runes?"

She was obviously changing the conversation and Remus wondered why she was now protecting Malfoy. Because of Black? For Aegis?

They talked… well, Lily and Pandora talked a little bit about Ancient Runes while Remus shifted from foot to foot. Black even joined in the conversation which surprised him a little, since he had figured she'd never even want to look at a Muggleborn, let alone talk to one. The maybe-related-to-Bones boy was sitting back now, looking bored. The blonde boy had stood up and was pushing a piece of paper into Remus's hands.

"Here," he said.

Remus jumped, looking down at the parchment. It was all handwritten but he could tell a copying spell had been used on it. The Murk Letters was written in bold, thick ink at the top.

"Er—"

"Xen, stop throwing those at people," yawned the redhead. "You don't need to read it, you can throw it out."

The blonde boy glared at the redhead. "There's important information there."

"I told you, my brother made up that shit about mudworms."

Mudworms? Remus tried not to burst into laughter. The thing that James had made up to tease Lily? "Is—is S—Simon Bones your bro-brother?" he managed to ask.

"Unfortunately," he said, making a face.

"He t-t-told you about them?" Bones and Rivers sat behind the Marauders in Herbology, so it would make sense he had overheard them.

He shrugged. "Said he overheard some kids in Herbology talking them them as a joke." He said the last part firmly towards the blonde boy who rolled his eyes. "I thought it was funny so I told them because it was a joke."

Remus looked down at the paper and found the section labeled mudworms. They weren't really like what James and Sirius had said—spraying mud—but the description made them seem more like…

"Erm, aren't—aren't th-these j-just like… regular… worms?" Remus looked up and found the blonde boy glaring at him now.

"No," he said, taking the paper back. "They're magical and a menace."

Bones bent in. "Don't bother, he won't listen."

By this time Lily was done talking to the girls, and she linked her arm with Remus's. She said goodbye and the two walked off, Lily telling Remus that there was an Ancient Runes club and Pandora said she'd suggest their names next year, since it was for fourth years and up.

"You don't have to join," she said, squeezing his arm.

He didn't think he'd have time but realized next year he wouldn't have Magical Theory, nor would he probably be tutoring Jean-Marie; he figured by then the transfer student would be able to do well enough on his own. "Maybe."

-x-

Aegis wasn't in class on Monday morning, leaving Peter to work on the potion by himself. Worse of all, when they went into the classroom they found the tables and benches had been moved. Now there was only room for two people at each table, making it so they'd be forced to interact only with their partner.

"Why does he hate us?" James asked, loud enough for Slughorn to hear.

Their teacher gave him a stern look. "I and other teachers have made it clear why we ask you to pair with someone you would never choose on their own. I told you Wednesday—"

"Because our bosses in the future might throw us with someone we hate," Crabbe groaned. "We know."

Remus joined Alexander as a table after they brought their potion in from the other room. It was easy to carry since the potion had been cooling instead of simmering; the liquid inside was rather congealed now. It wriggled a little, like custard. There was also a layer of thick foamy stuff on top which was the next step in this potion. Alexander handed Remus a spoon, telling him to skim the top. She set a bowl and sieve out, looking at him.

Remus bent over the cauldron doing his best to carefully skim the spoon along the foam without dipping into the stuff underneath. His hand shook and the smell was disgusting so he was also trying not to gag. It smelled like a mix of rotten apples and dead flowers. Alexander sighed whenever he scooped out more than just the foam, making an annoyed face at the sieve, which was fuller than any of their classmates'.

"Are you-y-you—you—are you going toto-to do the—the next…" He trailed off, unable to talk.

"You can do this part too." She shot him a look that meant she expected him to challenge her.

He didn't think it was a good idea, but since he couldn't tell her why that wasn't a good idea he'd have to do it. He carefully put a cloth over the goopy stuff in the sieve and began pressing. Liquid dripped down into the bowl underneath. Not very much liquid though.

He wasn't surprised when Alexander began complaining. "You need to press harder."

If I do, I might break everything. Remus blew some hair from his face and pressed a little harder, too afraid to press as hard as everyone else was.

"For Merlin's sake!" Alexander pushed him aside and put her hands on the cloth, shoving down. "I thought you broke Malfoy's jaw, you can't press harder than that?"

Remus twitched a little at the memory. "I had a st—st-strengtheng—strength—strength—"

"Right." She stood on tiptoes, putting more weight onto the sieve. "Well. Malfoy deserved it."

This was much safer to talk about than his strength. "Very much so," he agreed.

"Shame you didn't disfigure that stupid face of his. Imagine Malfoy with a crooked nose!" She gave him a grin which shocked him. "There we are." She picked the sieve up, peering in at the liquid that had been drained into the bowl. "Why didn't you start the fire?"

He jumped, looking at the cauldron which was still cold while everyone else's was already hot from the fires. Feeling stupid, he prodded the burner with his wand to light it. "S-sorry."

Alexander wiped her hands off on a towel, eyeing the fire he had produced. "How can you be so good with spells yet so awful with potions?"

Because it smells so weird and awful and I panic. Instead of answering, he shrugged.

Once the potion was boiling, Alexander poured the liquid back in and made Remus stir. While he stirred, she dumped the thick foamy stuff left in the sieve into a clean bowl. She then put beetle husks into a mortar and began grinding them into dust.

Potions is strange, he thought as he stirred. Spells were one thing—using words and twisting them to do what you needed. Potions? Who would have thought to do all these steps to make the potion?

"So, um, how—how did you know ab-bout Malfoy?" Remus cautiously asked. "I th-thought he told everyone he was hit with a—a bludger."

Alexander rolled her eyes. "Aegis told me. You're not stirring right."

He gulped, reducing his speed to the slower stir he was supposed to be doing. "Do…" He dropped his voice low, avoiding looking at her. "Do you know why he—he's in the—the—the hospital wing?"

She gave him a strange look as she measured out the beetle dust. "Why do you think?"

"Malfoy," he whispered. She didn't verbally confirm, but she did nod. "What happened?"

Alexander began mixing the foamy goop and beetle dust together. "I don't know exactly, he won't tell me. From what I understand, Malfoy thought Aegis overheard some stupid plan of his. Something about the concert. I think Malfoy was planning on sneaking in. I think he hurt Aegis so Aegis couldn't snitch on him, as if Aegis ever would."

Remus thought of the robed figure with the dungbomb and wondered if it had been Malfoy. Except no, that person had disapparated and Malfoy wasn't old enough to do that yet.

"It is a sha-sh—shame I didn't disfigure him." Remus pulled the spoon out since he was done stirring, and, curiously, glanced over at Peter who was trying to stir and also grind the beetle husks at the same time. Slughorn had asked him earlier if he'd need help and Peter quavered under the teacher's eyes, but insisted he'd be fine. "I wonder why M-Malfoy hates him so much."

Alexander gave him a weird look. "What?"

Remus turned his gaze fully on her. "Hmm?"

"You—you don't know?" She raised her eyebrows. "You honestly do not know why Malfoy hates him so much? I thought everyone knew why."

"I… never asked."

She snorted, shaking her head. "I assumed that you'd know anyway that they're brothers, but I suppose you aren't really part of the Pureblood part of the world, are you?"

"My f-f-family kept to them—" Remus stopped when her words fully absorbed into his brain, and he dropped the still-wet spoon, sending it clattering to the floor. "What d-did you say? B… brother…?" He could not have heard right.

"Yes." Since Remus was frozen solid, Alexander bent down to pick up the spoon. "We'll need a clean one now. Why are you staring?"

Brothers?

Aegis and Lucius Malfoy?

"But—but Ae—Aegis—Silverlocke—he's a Silverlocke," Remus wheezed out.

"All right, half-brothers, if you wish to be precise," sighed Alexander, grabbing Remus's potions kit and getting his spoon out since he still wasn't moving. "His mother was a Silverlocke, but his father is Abraxas Malfoy. You honestly didn't know, huh?"

The pieces were slotting into place. They did resemble one another, but a lot of the Purebloods did in some way or another so Remus had dismissed it. But this seemed more than simply sibling rivalry. Of course, he didn't really know or understand Pureblood ways. Sirius and Regulus sometimes didn't get along… though he couldn't ever imagine one putting the other in the hospital wing, or do any of the other things Malfoy had done to Aegis.

Brothers?

Is that why he defends Malfoy so much? Protects him? Remus swallowed, trying to get feeling back into his limbs. He ghosted through the rest of the lesson, doing worse than usual, not paying the least bit of attention. Alexander grew more and more irritated until she sharply elbowed him in the ribs, bringing him back somewhat. Enough to help finish up the lesson's work.

Sirius knows. Remus glanced at his friend as the four of them headed to History, Sirius complaining bitterly about Avery and being stuck alone at a table with him. He considered pulling Sirius aside and asking him about it… but no, he wanted to talk to Aegis first. And… truth be told, he was still doing his best to avoid being alone with Sirius.

Why does everyone in Slytherin hate him, then?

Remus didn't pay much attention in History either, not even taking notes. He stared past Professor Binns at the blank chalkboard, thoughts spinning wildly through his brain. It made sense. It didn't make sense. Pandora obviously and of course knew, which might explain why she protected Malfoy. Did Miss Black know? He wasn't sure about how close she was to Malfoy—

No, of course she knew, everyone knew but him. Because he had been kept apart from the wizarding world. If he had had a normal wizarding childhood, would he have known? No, because he didn't think Peter knew, and Peter had been raised in a similar household. Did James know? Probably.

Why did Malfoy put him in the hospital, though? Why has Malfoy done any of the things he's done?

Remus chewed absentmindedly at his quill until Binns dismissed class. His quill was bedraggled and looked disgusting when he looked down at it. Oops.

"Earth to Remus!" Peter waved his hand in front of Remus's face.

"What does that mean?" James snorted. "Earth to Remus?"

"It's from science fiction movies and stories," Peter explained. "When someone is out in space, you know? Earth to whoever. Remus's head is in outer space."

"Oh, right, the whole Muggles went to space thing again," laughed James.

Peter scowled. "Ask Lewis tomorrow. Maybe she can show us some of the film."

"Aren't films made up?" asked Sirius.

"Not all of them, not, um, the documentaries and stuff. Like that. Like the, erm, when she showed us the coronation of the Queen. Like that."

Sirius suddenly tackled Remus. "EARTH TO REMUS!" he shrieked into Remus's ears, wrapping his arms around him and spinning him in a circle.

"YAAACK!"

"EARTH TO REMUS COME BACK FROM OUTER SPACE!"

"LET GO!" Sirius dropped Remus and he stumbled, nearly falling into a wall. "Bloody hell, Sirius!" he complained, rubbing his stomach. "What was that about?"

Sirius rapped against Remus's head with his knuckles. "You're in outer space. What's going on?"

"N-nothing." Remus smoothed down his hair. "I'm—I'm worried about Aegis. I think I might visit him before Defense, if you don't mind." His heart pounded as he said this, wondering what Aegis would say. Up until now Remus had given him his privacy regarding his family life and the 'secret' of why Slytherins hated him. It still didn't make sense, but he supposed he'd find out now.

"Want us to come with you?" Peter asked.

Remus began straightening out his disheveled robes. "Er, no, Pomfrey probably wouldn't let us all in. Besides, I don't think Aegis would like you seeing him like that. He seemed uncomfortable with even Lily and I seeing him like that." He hated lying however he had to be alone with Aegis.

"Tell him we hope he recovers soon," James said, the other two chiming in their agreement; it made Remus a little happy to hear Sirius agreeing with that.

Maybe Sirius really, really hates the Malfoys, and that's why he hates Aegis? "I will," he promised and turned to head to the hospital wing. Part of him wanted to walk slow, to give himself time to prepare what to say. If he had more than an hour he would have definitely slowed down or found somewhere to take a moment. He didn't think he'd need the whole hour but you never knew.

Aegis was awake when he arrived, the bandages gone from his head. He still smelled strongly of medicine though. "Hello Remus." Aegis smiled, putting his book down. "I should be getting out today. Madame Pomfrey says I'm more or less better. I only need to stay the rest of the morning, for her to make sure things are all right."

"I'm glad to hear it." Remus sat down, mind whirling as he tried to figure out how to tell him he knew the truth. "James, Sirius, and Peter all say they hope you feel well soon. They'll be glad too."

"Thank you, that's very kind of them."

Remus pressed his fists into his thighs, feeling rather sick. He hated confrontation and this could easily turn into one, or a big fight. Then again it was public knowledge to what seemed like all the Purebloods.

"Is something the matter?" Aegis asked. "You seem tense. Did something happen in Potions?"

He took in a deep breath and tried to speak but all that came out was a slight squeak. He cleared his throat, shaking his head, trying to focus. "Yes," he finally managed. "Erm, no. I mean. N-nothing bad, per say." He dug his knuckles harder until he knew he was probably bruising himself. "Alexander and I… talked a bit."

Aegis perked up. "Did you? That's wonderful! Or… perhaps not so wonderful, judging from your expression. Did she say something?"

Remus finally looked up into Aegis's pale blue eyes. "She told me who your father is."

He wasn't quite sure what to expect from Aegis. Anger? Embarrassment? Instead something settled into Aegis's face that seemed more like sadness. His fingers swept across his blanket, his gaze lowering. "I see. Well, it was nice while it lasted."

"What was… nice? Me not knowing?"

"Yes." His fingers curled, plucking at part of the blanket. "It was nice having a friend—having someone in my life who didn't know. I knew eventually you'd find out, or perhaps I'd tell you. I knew it would happen. I should have told you sooner, I know this. But as I said… it was… very nice. Being able to be myself instead of a Malfoy."

"You—you are yourself, though," he said and Aegis merely shrugged. "Lily doesn't know, does she?"

"She does. Snape told her in our first year."

"She still likes you," Remus pointed out.

"She does," Aegis admitted. "However it's… different. I don't know how I can explain."

"She doesn't treat you differently, does she?"

"No…"

Remus leaned forward, chest seizing up. "Did you think I'd treat you different?" He tried not to sound hurt, and knew he failed.

Aegis closed his eyes. "No. I knew you wouldn't. It's… complicated." He let out a long sigh. "All my life this has been part of me, part of who I am. People look at me and they see me as one thing. It was nice having someone I could spend time with where that had absolutely nothing to do with us. Didn't even touch us. I suppose that doesn't make sense."

Remus swallowed, thinking about how good it felt that the Marauders knew he was a werewolf, and at how relaxed he felt around them. Even when it didn't come up in conversation, he felt more comfortable. He figured it was probably an opposite sort of thing for Aegis. "I understand. I think. You—it was… easier for you to be yourself. Even though I wouldn't treat you different, the fact that I knew would still be there."

"Yes." He sat upright. "That's exactly it. It's not that I thought you'd dislike me or view me differently, it's just knowing the knowledge is there makes me feel… not unhappy… but… worried, I suppose, would be the closest word. I am sorry, Remus. I truly am."

He was shaking his head. "You don't need to be. It's your life, your history, your story. And I still don't really understand what the big deal is. I mean, I know being related to… Lucius Malfoy… is awful… but… I don't… I mean, I don't understand why people hate you for it. Why you feel like this makes you so… different?"

Aegis stared at Remus for several seconds. "You do not know much of the Pureblood world, do you?"

This again. "No, why?"

"Think of it like…" He tilted his head back, looking at the ceiling now. His hair was down, sweeping past his shoulders and bunching up against the pillow. "Think of it like a royal court, from centuries ago. The hierarchy, the scrambles for power, those who do have power and money are elevated above the others. That sort of thing. That is the best way I can describe it. Abraxas Malfoy… my… f-father…" his voice broke a little, saying that word, "he is one of the ones at the very top. He wields a lot of power—perhaps… no, not perhaps, definitely—more power than the Minister of Magic."

Remus jerked at that, unable to believe his ears. "How is that possible?"

"Within the Pureblood world," Aegis amended. "At least for those who care. Which is mostly the Purist families, so, say, the Potters don't particularly care or see it. Abraxas has very little influence over them, or others like them. But over those who care, he holds a lot of power. That is why so many Slytherins flock to Lucius despite him being a terrible person."

Remus wriggled in his seat. "Wouldn't that mean the Slytherins would like you too? But they don't."

"No… it's…" Aegis licked his lips, eyes darting around the hospital wing. "Would you please close the curtains?"

Remus hopped up and did as Aegis asked, wondering what he was about to hear. Aegis lowered his voice to a whisper, despite the fact they were alone in the hospital wing.

"I am only around a year younger than Lucius," he said, looking at Remus as if that was supposed to mean something. Remus stared blankly back. "Lucius's mother is still alive," he continued slowly. "And still married to Abraxas."

Remus covered his mouth in shock. That thought hadn't even occurred to him, which was stupid. "Oh my God."

"When Lucius calls me a bastard, he truly means it in the original sense: a bastard. Illegitimate. That is why so many despise me."

His mind reeled at this new information. "That doesn't—but—it's—it's the twentieth century," he stammered out.

Aegis gave a harsh laugh. "Not for the Purists. You have seen how they cling to the old ways. Abraxas did something that nobody expected him to, that no Pureblood family has done before, which has made me an outcast; which has made the Purists despise me."

Remus held his breath, fully expecting to hear that Malfoy had told people to ostracize his son. Nothing could have prepared him for the truth.

"He recognized me as his son, and has made me his second heir."