Note: I'm looking for someone to proofread each chapter for me. My main language is not English, so if someone is willing to read the chapter and suggest corrections (mostly in grammar) before posting a new chapter, please send me a message.
Note 2: There's a spotify playlist associated with this story. You can find it in my spotify account: mccc_c
Chapter 3: Christmas
Draco had accepted the invitation from the Weasleys for Christmas day. Thus, early in the morning he had travelled to the burrow via the floo network. He did not know what to expect. He had never celebrated Christmas with his parents, not in the same way he had just done it with Andromeda and the Tonks.
For the Malfoy family, Christmas was just a muggle celebration that was beneath them. However, from time-to-time Narcissa had shown some motherly love towards her only son and had given Draco a small gift that was meant to be kept as a secret between both of them. But Lucius had never celebrated it, and if Draco correctly remembered Lucius never celebrated anything that wasn´t involving himself. No birthdays or accomplishments from Draco were celebrated. Only Lucius's.
The minute that Draco arrived in the Weasley residence, he smelled cinnamon, coffee and chocolate and was received with a hug from Molly Weasley. He had never talked to her previously, but he had respect for her. She had been the only witch powerful enough to defeat Bellatrix, and from what witnessed had said she had killed his aunt to protect her daughter, Ginny.
He observed the home that he was welcomed into. He knew the Weasleys were not wealthy, Draco himself had mocked Ron multiple times for wearing hand-me downs from his older siblings. Their home looked humble and small, but he knew to not judge the size of a magical home as multiple spells could trick people into believing something it was not. And Draco was right. He soon found the staircase that led to the rest of the house.
The architecture of the burrow was strange and gave the impression that while doing it, symmetry was not something that was taken to account. Draco feared that it might fell on all of them one day, as it looked crooked and unstable.
A clock rang in the distance, catching his attention. A knot in his throat grew as he noticed his own picture in the clock. Besides all the Weasley offspring, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, his picture was up there, showing that he was home. Other Draco was considered part of the family. Not just the Weasley´s but Tonks´s as well.
"You're here" – He heard Potter's voice coming from behind him. Draco turned to face his new friend. He was holding several packages, all with Draco's name. He looked baffled for a minute while staring at the presents that everyone had for him. He felt bad as he had nothing for them. He tried to excuse himself but was stopped by a small body hugging him out of nowhere. The smell paralyzed him and triggered a flash of new memories come rushing to him.
Every time he blinked a new memory, a new picture clouded his thoughts and reason. Full on summers of laugh and jokes with none other than Hermione Granger. Vacations and sleep overs at each other's houses. Full conversations about feelings and wishes, their desires and plans for their future.
He then knew, Hermione Granger was his best friend.
He then knew, other Draco had feelings for her. He did not know if they were mutual feelings, but their friendship most certainly would challenge Draco.
How was he supposed to behave like someone he never knew? And more importantly how was he supposed to behave next the girl he was taught to despise just for not being a pure-blood witch.
"Oh, hey" – He managed to say to her warm welcome. He noticed the curious look on Potter's face which led him to believe that she was not a warm kind of person, not the kind that would hug them this affectionately. He played his part, though. He wrapped his arms, insecurely, around the body of the girl.
She smelled like lavender and soap. The smell of her gave him palpitations. He had been with girls before, plenty of them. However, her smell gave her the impression of innocence and cleanliness.
"So, we know we said no presents, but we thought that you have had a rough year, so we still go you gifts" – Potter said ignoring the whole interaction between him and Granger. He could hear Ron Weasley talking in the distance. Draco pay attention to the packages in Potter's arms and dissolving the hug took the first to open them.
He couldn't remember when it had been the last time his friends had actually given him anything.
Harry opened the first one, and he could tell that was Molly's present. Another bright red and yellow knitted sweater with a "D" adorning in the middle. One more for the apparent collection of sweaters, scarfs, and gloves he had found in the closet inside his room at Andromeda's house. He opened the following packages from his friends and couldn't stop himself from smiling at the sight of one of them.
It was a small portrait with a picture of them. Well, two pictures. One from their first year at Hogwarts, smiling and hugging each other. They were all wearing their school uniform and their hats, probably it was taken on their last day of their first year right after Gryffindor had won the house cup. The second picture was of them not long ago. They all looked grown, and their expressions had changed.
They still looked very happy, but this time they were not hugging each other but only Draco had his arms arounds Hermione's shoulders. Draco stared at the picture for what felt an eternity. Other Draco had created a whole life without his parents, without the weight in his shoulders imposed by his family. He was just a normal teenager, with a clear crush on his best friend.
A commotion in the kitchen took him away from his thoughts and all the attention from his presents was turned into whatever had happened in the kitchen.
The whole family ran towards what sounded a very distressed Andromeda. She had apparated in the Weasley's home without notice and she looked very pale, and it looked like she was about to faint.
Draco rushed next to her, as a son would do with his mother. He took her by the arm and guided her to the nearest chair, while she kept mumbling something about 'not being possible'. It took them a while until she was responsive again.
No one expected what she had to say. The shock made them stay silent for several minutes, not understanding the seriousness of the situation.
"My boy, my dear boy. Dark times are ahead" – She began with, making a chilling sensation travel through his back. – "I assume none of you have heard. They escaped, all of them. Dora sent an owl not long ago. They don't understand why or how but they managed to escape Azkaban. Bellatrix is free. Dolohov too. And all the others too." – She said creating a sepulchral silence that had all of them looking at each other with worry.
For Draco this was like a bucket of ice-cold water falling on top of him. In his reality this was how he knew the Death-Eaters were reuniting again. But also... this was how he knew that Lord Voldemort was back.
History was repeating itself.
Draco felt like he had two choices. On one side he could pretend to be shocked and not know anything regarding where Bellatrix might be. Or tell the truth to these people who still believed that he was their Draco.
"Now, now." – Arthur Weasley said, interrupting his thoughts. He in his fatherly way attempted to calm the mood. He could sense how the patriarch of the Weasley family understood what this news meant, but for the sake of his children he had to keep calm. – "Let's not think the worse of the situation. Thank you, Andromeda for letting us know, but until we have more information let's try to keep ourselves calm. Afterall, is Christmas day. We need to celebrate, even when darker times seems to approach us".
He ended his speech while hugging the youngest of the Weasleys, and everyone in the room began returning to their own activities.
Draco had no intention of returning to open presents when his mind kept debating what to do. Potter had the same idea.
Quietly all four teens returned to the room where they previously were. Each one of them had a concern look in their face. No one knew what to say, so they sat quietly in the worn-out sofa adorning the room.
"We need to speak to Sirius" – Finally said Harry in a sombre voice. He understood what the breakout meant. He was much smarter that Draco gave him credit for. – "If Bellatrix is back, could mean that Voldemort is too" – He was right. Draco only nodded, not daring to say much. Would they consider him insane if he told them the truth? Would they demand to know what happened to their Draco? If it was that way, he could not give them a satisfactory answer. He didn't know.
Sirius Black had been previously accused of betraying Potter's parents, the night that they were murdered. However, Snape had testified for him as it had not been him who betrayed Lily and James Potter. It had been Peter Pettigrew, a rat-like individual who had been kissed by dementors a couple of years back. Since then, Harry had lived with Sirius Black after a couple of months at his muggle relative's house.
"We should meet tomorrow at Grimmauld Place" – Interrupted Hermione. Draco had been lost in his thoughts and had missed how Hermione had taken his hand and squeezed it attempting to get him back from whatever was going in his mind. Her hand was cold but soft.
"Lavender and soap" – Said his own voice in his head while staring at her hand on top of his.
"Draco, can you make it tomorrow?" – A voice insisted taking him away from the focus on their hands. He nodded as he felt unsure to be able to say anything coherent. Even when not looking at it, her touch felt like a soft weight.
He felt confused. Had he acquired the feelings from other Draco for Granger or was this his feelings for her.
Christmas day passed without much to notice. The news brought by Andromeda had changed the ambiance of the festivities. Christmas dinner was quiet, filled with expectations and uncertainty that even Arthur Weasley could not dissipate with his words filled with wisdom.
None of the Weasley children was as energetic and lively as usual. Harry was very quiet, and Hermione kept trying to make reason to the escape from Azkaban.
Draco was just quiet. He kept debating whether to confide in the trio of new friends or to stay silent.
On the 26th of December, early in the morning Draco travelled through Floo Network to Grimmauld Place: Harry Potter's residence. The house that saw his mother grew, as it did with Andromeda and Bellatrix.
In his other life, Draco never met Sirius Black. He had only seen him in the "Wanted" posters that were hanged in every wall of the magical world when he had escaped Azkaban. He was surprised when a man of his height, with long dark hair came to approach him with a warm embrace.
"Nephew is good to see you" – He said patting him in the back. Draco returned the gesture in a clumsy hug. – "I trust Andromeda is well, Ted too" – He continued the pleasantries to which Draco responded with a short nod of head. – "Come, Harry is waiting for us. "
They walked in silence through a long corridor, filled with pictures of the Black family but also filled with pictures of the Potter family. There were dozens of pictures of Harry while growing up. His first steps, his first wooden wand, his first broom. Despite the darkness of the residence, it was filled with joy and happiness.
Harry had also found love and family in other people than his parents.
"Harry told me about the breakout" – Sirius said as they entered the dining room. In there, Ron and Hermione were already sitting drinking butterbeer and eating cookies. In the dining room was none other than Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks, who greeted him with an energetic handwave. – "Have you heard anything from your mother, Draco? We suspect that Bellatrix might in fact seek refuge in your home".
"No, I haven't heard anything from mom since… well, you know. First year. "– Draco saw, thankful that the memories received previously had the answer to that question. – "I doubt she would contact me for this though." – He added which was no lie.
"He is right, Sirius" – Lupin interjected. He looked exhausted and his face displayed cuts and small wounds. Draco remembered the rumours back then; he was a werewolf. And if the rumours were truth, full moon had only been two days ago. – "I think we need to reunite the order. I think is best to be prepared for the worse than be caught by surprise." – He said as energetic he could be.
"The order?" – Hermione asked. – "Are you talking about the order of the phoenix? Can we do that? I thought it was necessary for Professor Dumbledore to call it. – Her questions were met with multiple negative answers.
"Any member of the order can send an alarm" – Nymphadora said looking at Lupin before holding his hand and stroking it with a softness and intimacy that made Draco uncomfortable. He wondered if Andromeda knew her daughter had a relationship with a werewolf. Until now he hadn't known about their relationship, and none had said nothing about it at home. Not a single word or question about him was said on Christmas Eve.
"How can we be sure that this is leading to Voldemort resurrection?" – Asked Harry. Draco could only imagine how this whole situation felt for him. The murdered of his parents might be back, and there was nothing to do to avoid it.
"We can't" – Draco spoke while standing up from the chair he had sat in when he arrived. Pacing from one corner to another helped him think. – "I can attempt to make contact with my mother." – He offered, surprising himself with it.
"No" – Hermione said as soon as Draco stopped talking – "Don't you remember the pain you felt whenever you wrote to her, and she send owl after owl with your letter? We never said anything, but we heard you cry as a child for the rejection of your mother. Don't do this to yourself. We can find another way. "– Draco just stared at her. Unable to say anything back that contradicted her words. She was probably right.
"I'm not a child anymore, Hermione" – Draco said sharply. – "I can deal with her rejection; I won't break or cry. We need to know what's happening inside Malfoy manor and if my mother has a drop of mother love she could answer and give us a clue. "
"Draco is right, Hermione. I need to know if Voldemort is back, and we need to prepare ourselves for whatever is to come "– Harry said before storming out the room.
The room buried itself in silence for what felt like an eternity. Ron who had barely said a word excused himself and returned to the burrow and Hermione stubbornly followed not before reminding Draco of their plans for New Year's Eve.
Tonks and Lupin made their exit as well, leaving Draco alone with Sirius.
"Was always, my mother, this way?" – Asked Draco genuinely curious.
Sirius sighed and made a gesture to follow him. Both walked through the long and narrow corridor until they found a room that was being kept empty. It was the only room in the house that felt dark and filled with sorrow.
"This is the Black family tree" – Sirius began. Draco observed the wall filled with the names of his ancestors. He noticed how there was burn marks on top of some of the members of the family – "Only the male names are written, every flower you see belongs to a female relative." – He kept explaining. He found three flowers under Cygnus Black's name, belonging to his mother and both of his aunts. – "The great house of Black has always been proud of being an all pure-blood family. We had a couple of relatives that found love in muggles and one squid, but in general we were taught to keep our lineage pure. Andromeda didn't follow their expectations and was removed from the family tree, and everyone pretended she didn't exist anymore. We were taught that muggles and muggle-born wizards were a rock in our boots that needed to be removed. Narcissa believed it, for the most part. Bellatrix revered the idea, so she tried to bully your mother and Andromeda into believe in it too. It worked with your mother, and everyone was thrilled when Lucius came into her life." – Draco kept silent while listening to Sirius, who seemed to be focused on the story in front of them. – "We never thought the war could change her. We never expected for her to outcast her only child. But again, we were never taught to love as children."
"And yet, Andromeda loves me like a son" – Draco finally said to Sirius with a sad smile adorning his thin lips. – "I'll send her a letter when I get back to Hogwarts. I don't want Andromeda to worry, so please keep this a secret until it's time" – He said and with that, he returned to his home. With his family: the Tonks.