Edited 10/2/2023 Minor Grammar/Spelling.

Okay! Hi. I've moved into my apartment and I've started my job and I'm almost all the way unpacked. Expect a couple of chapters a day for the next few days while I get caught up again! I have a question that I'd like some feedback on at the bottom, but it sorta gives spoilers so I don't want to type it up here!

Chapter 1/2 for today!

Sunday, August 16, 1998

The moment Draco stumbled through the Floo, Hermione and Theo pounced on him, checking to see if he had any major injuries. When they found that he only had a few minor scrapes and only a light smattering of Cruciatus. They dragged him into the living room and demanded a full recap of the evening.

The moment Draco landed next to Regulus, they saw Lucius Malfoy sneaking around a Muggle building. "Stop!" Regulus said, firmly. Lucius whipped around and sneered at the two of them.

"Or what? Two little boys will stop me?" He laughed darkly. "No chance of that happening."

He began to turn away from them when Regulus shot a silent stunner towards him. Lucius was fast though, he'd blocked the spell faster than Draco could blink. Quickly afterwards, Draco shot a Sectumsempra which was again batted away by the blond man in front of them. Lucius was spinning faster and faster, drawing them into an intense battle.

Draco found himself sweating more than he had in what felt like months. He'd severely underestimated Lucius who'd been rather unimpressive the last few times he'd seen him. Moments later, Draco heard a whoosh of Death Eater apparition at their side. He looked over his shoulder and saw Bellatrix Lestrange sneering at Lucius. He quickly drew up his Occlumency Shields.

"Couldn't even do it yourselves?" Lucius said, condescendingly. "Needed Auntie Bella to save your skins?"

Regulus growled and began to move faster against Lucius. Draco made long eye contact with Lucius who darted his eyes toward Bellatrix. Draco nodded curtly and shot a stunner at his Aunt's back, quickly Occluding the memory away and watched as she began to turn and was hit by Lucius with a Sectumsempra in the side. Draco cringed as blood gushed out of her body, but was quickly distracted by the burst of green light that shot from Regulus' wand, hitting Lucius and taking him down.

Draco rushed to Bellatrix and tried to cast the countercurse, but couldn't quite remember it. He watched her blood coat the ground, and the madness fade from her eyes. Regulus looked down at her, a look of disappointment on his face. When she took her last breath, Draco stood and followed Regulus over to Lucius' body. He looked down on the man who he'd always thought was larger than life with a feeling of utter disappointment. This man wasn't the Father he'd known as a child. That man would have never betrayed his family.

He nudged Lucius, satisfied when he didn't move. Suddenly, his Mark started burning painfully. He looked at Regulus who looked alarmed as well. The Dark Lord was calling them and the energy felt chaotic at best. The returned to Bellatrix's body, Regulus levitated it and then apparated away, following the pain of the Mark. Draco cast Fiendfyre at the building Lucius' body had been in front of, knowing that the Portkey would have taken him away moments before.

"So ends Lucius Malfoy," Draco said softly.

When he appeared back in the Manor, he was ushered into the hall where the Dark Lord was standing over Bellatrix's body silently. He looked up at Draco and then back at Regulus. "Explain."

Regulus told the story through his own lens, allowing the Dark Lord to pry into his mind. When he was finished, he immediately delved into Draco's. "She was too recklesssss," he hissed after he'd finished his perusal. "She desssssserved to die if she was ssssso disssstracted by sssuch meaninglessssss thingsssss."

Draco could tell that the Dark Lord was hiding his feelings. He and Bellatrix had always had a rather interesting relationship, often causing Draco to look away at the way they carried on, even though she was married. It was a rather anticlimactic end for Bellatrix, but Draco felt a bit vindicated knowing that she'd never hurt anyone else again.

He sent Rabastian LeStrange off with a few other death eaters to prepare the pyre for Bellatrix; he cleared the room of all but Rodolphus, Draco and Regulus. "Tell me again," he said, looking between the two young men. "Tell us how she wassss killed and how Luciusssss Malfoy met hissss end."

Draco swallowed heavily and told the Dark Lord about the battle again, Draco thought he caught a hint of pride in the man's eye at their magical prowess. "I suposssse I alwaysss knew she would die for our caussse," the Dark Lord continued, looking down at the snake curling around his feet.

"My Lord," Rodolphus said, "my late wife never provided me with children, I hope to marry again to continue the LeStrange line in your name."

"Not even dust in the wind and he's already thinking about a new wife," Regulus sneered. "My cousin deserves more respect than that."

The Dark Lord turned his wand on Rodolphus, hissing a nasty Crucio his way. He collapsed onto the ground, seizing heavily. "It sssseems that you've dissssressspected Housssse Black," he said gleefully. "But you and your brother sssshall be married off assssss sssssoon asssssss possssssible sssssso you may continue the line."

Not long after, the small group joined the rest of the Death Eaters at LeStrange Manor for the late Bellatrix LeStrange. They proceeded to do a traditional pyre burning the way the Black's had always done, but Draco didn't mourn her. Regulus kept up appearances, looking respectfully stoic in the face of another of his line gone. He and Draco stood next to each other at her feet while the Dark Lord and her husband stood at her head.

When she'd burned away completely, the Dark Lord excused everyone from his presence and made his way back to Malfoy Manor alone.

Do we want Delphini Riddle to be a person in the universe? I think we'd have an adoption happen and we'd definitely turn her story around if she exists, but I'm also not opposed to her not being around!

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think or if you have any thoughts about what might happen next!