While walking a few feet behind him, Narcissa watched her cousin with careful eyes. He walked with wide and strong steps. A powerful stride. He almost seemed eager for the meeting, but she knew why this was. Sirius wanted to get this over with, so he could return to his godson. All he did, he did for Harry. And she understood where he was coming from. Her Drake was what drove her, and he needed her. Even if the young boy didn't know it, he needed her. So she reached out, grasping Sirius at his shoulder, holding him back. The Lord of House Black stopped, looking around a little surprised.

"Why did you stop me? Is something the matter?" His voice was steady and calm, but she heard its small quiver. Faking calmness and cool. He was shaken by the fact that Harry came face to face with her sister.

"Sirius please, this is my son. My son! I know you have a thousand things in your mind, worried about Harry, but please, focus, for me." She spoke in hushed tones. Not because she saw someone around them, but because the walls have ears, and no matter what the reputation of House Black was critical to her. Sirius opened his mouth, halted, then closed it again.

"You are right. Harry is safe, he will be in a few hours still. I'm sorry, Cissy, for him to meet Bella, I..." He trailed off, obviously unable to formulate what he felt.

Narcissa blinked slowly, nodding and an equally slow way. "I know, she." The woman thought for a moment. "She is terrifying. Dangerous. I know she always was loose, but when I saw her, in that alley. Her eyes were pure crazy. And sad. I don't think there is much of the woman left, who once was my sister. But that is not right. Between father and grandfather, that horrible Lestrange and " She steeled herself."...Tom. I feel like she never had a chance. Was there ever a time when should could have turned out differently?"

Sirius faltered. This was quite the subject change. He knew it bothered Narcissa. She had a picture of herself, Bellatrix, and Andromeda, when they were children, back at home. She would stare at it. Almost as often as she would look at the photo album Harry had gifted her for Christmas. He knew she missed those days. For a moment, he had a feeling like he saw a whole tapestry. All the members of House Black. All of them. All unhappy. He knew his parents hadn't been happy, his brother hadn't been, and his aunts and uncles, his grandfather, and grandmother. All of them had been unhappy. Was he happy? He didn't know. He wasn't sure. There were moments when he was with those he loved. When he was with those he treasured. And in that moment, he realized, Bella never had that. Ever since her sisters left her side, the woman was surrounded by horrible people. Was that enough? When did the influence of others stop absolving you from your own sins?

He sighed. "I don't know. But she...I know you still love your sister. I know you want her to be happy with you..." He trailed off. He suddenly realized what this was about. Yes, they talked about Bella, but this wasn't about Bella. Not entirely.

"I don't know if we can save Bellatrix. From herself. If she even wants to. Justice cuts both ways. She has done so many horrible things. I will be honest. I don't think she can be saved. She is lost, like a boat on sea. But Draco is not lost. He is young, he can still change. I will not let happen to him what happened to your sister. He called for help. We will help him, protect him. For his good. Trust in me to make it right, the way your parents didn't do for Bellatrix."

Narcissa's hand, which was still lying on Sirius shoulder, started shivering ever so slightly and her eyes got a little bit more moist. That was all the outer representation of her feelings Sirius could see. But it was enough.
Narcissa nodded once. "Thank you, my Lord." With that, she took her hand from his shoulder and they walked on. Both are a little calmer but still. The corridors seemed to fly by as they quite quickly found themselves in front of a simple Classroom door. Sirius turned around.

"You will have to wait here." His voice was at the same time uncertain but commanding. Narcissa had to fight herself. She knew why. In there, Sirius had to be Lord Black and he couldn't while she was next to him. So with a heavy heart, she nodded. "Of course, my Lord."

Squaring his shoulders, Sirius turned the doorknob and stepped inside. It was a simple classroom, no different from the many others inside the castle. With the elves cleaning everything, he had no idea how long this room hadn't been used. Could be yesterday or 200 years. The sole occupant of the room was standing at the window staring out. The boy turned when Sirius stepped in. With a pale face and white-blond hair, Draco looked so much like his father at his age. But unlike his father, his features were marred with worry and fear. You could say a lot of things about Lucius Malfoy and a lot of people did, but a lack of confidence wasn't on the list. Draco looked less arrogant like his father and more like someone who tried to keep himself together under pressure and failing.

"Draco you wished to speak with me." The young Lord spoke while closing the door behind himself.

An even younger lord sighed, leaning his head into his pillow. He then turned his face to the side. In the bed next to him, close enough to actually reach her, if he would simply stretch out his arm, was Daphne. On her chest at the moment, Dawn was huddled, plucking on the sheets with her little beak. Every now and then she returned to I'm, rubbed herself against him, then returned back to Daphne again. The girl was out cold. Madam Pompfrey had been beside herself in indignation and moved both of them out of Harry's trunk and into the side room where Andromeda and Harry had their sessions. The main hall of the hospital wing was occupied with more critical patients. She had also given Remus a dressing down while they were transferred, but it spoke volumes about her stress that she didn't take a long time for it and instead had placed one of the Hufflepuff prefects in the room to watch over them. Again Dawn returned to his bed, in a flutter of wings and feathers, and cooed at him. Harry smiled and rubbed the back of her next with his thumb.

"Hey there little one. Are you feeling better? I know you are worried. But Madam Pompfrey said she would be fine." As if her mention had summoned her, the Matron moved into the room. Remus, who had kept his distance, stood up to bow to the person who followed her. Lord Greengrass cut an imposing figure as he stepped inside. His robes looked a little ruffled and he had a determined but pale look on his face. In quick steps, he moved to the sid of his eldest daughter.

"Her vitals are fine. She will recover completely. She mostly is asleep due to the potion but she should wake up within the hour." The matron was reading from a scroll that had flown up from the girl's bed, hovering in front of the mediwitch. She then looked up and Lord Greengrass nodded.

"Thank you Healer Pompfrey." The old lord stood up a little higher. "If you all would excuse us. I would like to have a few words with Lord Peverell in private."
The mediwitch nodded and ushered the prefect out with her. Remus stayed in his spot until the old man turned his flint-like gaze on him, which made the werewolf squirm a little.
"Lord Black asked me to stay with Harry. I hope you can respect that."

Lord Greengrass nodded, raised his wand and cast a silencing charm around the beds. With a nod, the old man turned around and stepped up beside the bed of his daughter. Taking her hand, he started to speak without looking at Harry.
"Lord Peverell, once again I am in your debt, you and Heir Longbottom. You protected my girls in spite of endangering your own life. A second life debt within not even a year."

Harry stared at the man while Dawn thrilled angrily, spreading her wings in an attempt of intimidation. The emotions she felt through their bond were highly complicated and weird to her and she didn't like them. The boy brushed over her back. "It's okay Dawn, it is fine. Nothing bad is happening." Looking up he saw that Lord Greengrass looked with surprise at the black phoenix. "I am sorry. She...I don't know what to say, Lord Greengrass. I don't think in life debts. I saw something bad happening and I stepped in. That is what is right. I was hoping we couldn't make a big deal out of it. Dawn feels that through the bond and, yeah...I..." His ramble trailed off and he felt his cheeks turn rosy and his ears burning.

Lord Greengrass looked at him like an intriguing puzzle. Then he slowly sat down on a chair, still looking at him. "You are a remarkable young man Lord Peverell."

Harry raised a surprised eyebrow.

"I don't think I have met a selfless young man like you before. In my world, the pureblood world, people are cutthroat and opportunistic. Always out there for the betterment of their own position, or that of their family."

Harry tilted his head. "Have you met many people outside your world? That sounds like a cold world." He asked, for a moment forgetting who he was talking to.

Lord Greengrass raised an eyebrow in turn. "I can't say that I have no. The world is what it is, it has always been." A small shrug came over the man.

"Don't you think we should make the world better? Never accept the world for what it appears to be, but dare to see it for what it could be. Nothing will change if no one dares to try to change it. So I hate to say it, but I don't care about the life debt. I did what I thought was right and that is all there is to it. If you want to make a big deal out of it, you can take it to Narcissa, she cares about things like that. I don't."

Lord Greengrass leaned back in his chair, stroking his chin. "I don't know if I will ever understand that." He looked at his daughter. "Or maybe I do." His thumb rubbed over the back of her hand. "I will not demand the recognition of the life debt between House Greengrass and House Peverell. One can argue that our alliance would mean supporting each other anyway."

Harry sighed a little in relief. "Thank you. Please don't think I want to play down how important your daughters are to you, Lord Greengrass. I will always step up to help them when they need it. You have my word."

The older Lord nodded. "I have to look in with Astoria."
Harry raised his head a little. "How is she?"

Lord Greengrass sighed, shaking his head. "Sadly not well. What I tell you, ask you not to speak of it. Not to others, nor to her and my elder." He nodded down to the sleeping girl. "It is a difficult topic for us. My family was cursed, almost 350 years ago. This curse has already taken my beloved and it will one day take Astoria from us. That makes her frail and sickly. Things like this can cause episodes. She will recover, but it will take time. Daphne still hopes to find a solution somewhere, to save her sisters, but." He sighed again. "350 years of Greengrasses tried to lift the curse, none succeeded."

Harry looked down at Dawn, who had turned to cleaning her wing feathers. He turned his head back when Lord Greengrass continued.

"But maybe you are right Lord Peverell. Never accept the world for what it appears to be, but dare to see it for what it could be." He rose from his chair.

"I take it you will keep an eye on Daphne, while I look for Astoria and then reach out to the Longbottoms?"

Harry nodded, sitting up a little bit more straight. "Of course, Lord Greengrass."

With a nod, the older man swept out of the room. Harry watched him go, before turning his gaze back at Daphne, looking into dark green eyes which obviously weren't sleeping after all.

Pale grey eyes stared out into the distance. He tried not to think to much at the moment, but it was hard. His stomach did flips like a seeker in chase of the snitch. He was worried. Scratch that. He was terrified. This was it. The minutes crawled, second by second without any change. His heart rate was rapid and he felt a little bit dizzy. Panic, pure panic. He started walking up and down, trying to get some of the pent-up energy out but it didn't work. So he returned to the window. Staring out through the cold glass. At the smoke that was showing over the trees.

Then he heard the handle of the door turn, flipping around. In the doorway stood Lord Black. Tall, with piercing eyes and a firm jaw. Like with his father, he couldn't tell what the man was thinking. Not at all. He was like a brick wall. Unrelenting. Draco wanted to lick his lips but he could see his mother over Lord Black's shoulder. Her normal stoic face was broken up by red-trimmed eyes and a pleading look in his direction. Before he could read the message she was trying to give him with her gaze, the door broke their eye contact.

"Draco, you wished to speak with me." The door closed with a click. "Here I am."

Lord Black was tall. Taller than his father, taller than his godfather. He towered over Draco and he felt like a child all of a sudden. Not like a young adult but like he had felt when he was small and came to his father to confess some wrongdoing. For an uncomfortable moment, the silence stretched, when Draco caught himself. Rubbing his clammy hands on his robes, in a way his mother would have chided him for, he nodded. "Yes, I...I am, I mean...I think." Draco had no idea how to start, where to begin. How do you explain this? Focus, what first? "My mother told me when I was younger that there was a spell that the Lord of House Black can use, to make sure no one can hear us?"

Lord Black looked at him with a calculating gaze, before he snapped his fingers, which made his wand appear in his hand. The man raised the wand made from dogwood and unicorn hair and flicked it. A sphere of complete darkness spread out from the wooden tip, enveloping him and Draco. After half a second in the darkness, a soft light came from Lord Black's wand tip. In this dim light, the lines on the older wizard's face looked even deeper and Draco swallowed around a dry tongue.

"So, now no one can hear us no matter what magic him or her are using. So tell me Draco, why did you call on me?" The deep voice of Lord Black seemed to echo slightly in the darkness.

"I..." He took a deep breath. "I made a terrible mistake and I am seeking shelter in the house of my mother." He almost shouted out the sentence.

Lord Black regarded him with a gaze down his nose. "Narcissa isn't your mother anymore Draco. You renounced her."

The boy flinched hard like he had been slapped. Yes, he had done that. How stupid he had been. He should have listened to her. So often he should have. His first instinct was to lash out, to rebuff Lord Black but...instead of pulling himself up, Draco deflated, looking down. "I know. I was so stupid."

Lord Black still showed no emotions. "Do you have any idea what you have done to Narcissa? What she has been through this last half year?"

Draco flinched at every word, nodding slowly, while his head hung low. "I know I...no I don't know. But I know how I felt. When she went to you and Potter. When she treated him like she should treat me an-"
"Don't give me that. You cast her away and Harry picked her up, held her in her dark moments. I know you don't like my godson but he did nothing but help a woman with a heart so broken, she still cries about it every night."

Draco blinked in surprise. "She does?"

For the first time, Sirius's face softened a little. "Of course she does. You are her son."

Draco's shivering hand went through his hair before he sighed. "Not anymore. Like you said, I renounced her. She is not my mother anymore, no matter how much I wish I could take that back."

Sirius stepped to the side and picked up two chairs. "She will always be your mother. Sit, Draco. Tell me what I can do for you." With that, the older man sat down.

With fingers ice cold and a neck that was burning Draco sat opposite of him. "I...I need your protection. I...I did something stupid."

Lord Black waved, showing him he should continue.

"A few months ago, Father went out, he was secretive and so on. One evening, when he went out, I followed him. It was so stupid of me. He...He went to a house in the middle of nowhere, through the forest. I was about to turn around when she found me in the snow."

"She?"

"Aunt Bellatrix." That got a reaction. Lord Black flinched. "She dragged me to the house and inside. There was the...the Dark Lord. I was so afraid. I tried to survive. I asked him if I could myself, hoping I could survive. He..." Draco pulled back his sleeve, showing the mark of the skull on his arm. Lord Black stared at his arm for a moment. "after that, I had to come back to the house, all the time, for 'training'" Draco screwed his face in disgust. And he didn't fake it. He had thrown up thinking about what he had done.

"What kind of training?" Lord Black cut in.

Draco swallowed again. "They told me to use magic on some caught muggles. Cutting curse, bone-breaking curse, those things."

"They taught you torture."

Draco nodded, his eyes turning glossy with unshed tears. "Y-Yes. I never thought I would say that but thank Merlin I am not strong enough to do the torture curse. She used it a lot. It was terrible."

Lord Black leaned forward. "Do you regret it?"

Draco took a long-suffering breath. "So much. Those people, I see their faces when I close my eyes. All of them. I wish I hadn't gone after father, I wish I had listened. I...I wish I had taken your offer during the summer. Father...mother has been right about him. Yes, he cares about me, but when he, if it was his and my life on the line...I know he would let me take the fall. And I don't to die. But." He gnawed on his bottom lip. "But I have seen the world the dark lord wants to build. And I don't want to live in a world like that. So please help me."

He felt a tear run down his face as he stared at his fingers, not able to look at Lord Black. For half a minute, he didn't get an answer.

"Draco, you have to understand. If I take you in, there is no turning back. Tom...I mean the Dark Lord, he will know. He doesn't tolerate people walking away from him. You would be in danger. Not only by that but due to my proximity to Harry."

"Draco felt his heart fall. "So you won't help me." Bitterness filled his voice as he still looked at his fingers. His right hand hadn't stopped shaking for weeks now. Ever since his aunt had put him under the torture curse for not being able to cast it himself. Then he felt a heavy and warm hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see a warm look on Lord Black's face.

"I didn't say that. I just want you to know what you will get yourself into. For this to work, I would have to claim you for house Black. The ministry ignores Voldemort's return. Your father would try to get you back through the courts. I am sorry, but right now, I don't know who would win and I can't leave Harry alone by going to prison for heir theft. You would have to publicly cut ties with House Malfoy. And I hope you understand, that Harry is my number one priority. I don't mean that I will leave you hanging but your hate for him, it has to end. With Voldemort, there is enough hate out there, we, those who stand against him, have to stand together. Are you sure you are ready for this?"

Draco looked down at his hand again. At the heir ring, he had worn since he was five. But he didn't see it. He saw the white sheets over Pansy's legs. He saw smoke and the pleading faces of those muggles. He saw his crazy aunt and he saw his face. With shaking fingers, he pulled the ring from his hand, holding it between index and thumb. He didn't even feel it when his hand opened and the ring dropped to the floor.

"I, Draco Lucius Malfoy, hereby renounce my place as heir of the Noble House of Malfoy. I, Draco Lucius Malfoy hereby renounce my place in the Noble House of Malfoy and seek asylum in the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black. So I have spoken, so mote it be."

Like a whisper, the silvery swan, which was the totem of the Malfoy family magic, stepped up next to him. It wasn't tall and Draco knew his father hated the fact that the totem of House Malfoy wasn't more grandiose in style. It looked him in the eyes for a moment. It then turned its head and touched the silver ring and with a flash both the swan and the ring were gone. Draco felt the connection to the family magic snap, it was a terrible feeling of loss and a nonphysical pain. He had never known a life without the magic in his life. Lord Black's hand hadn't left his shoulder.

"You are a remarkably brave young man Draco. I am proud to say, Draco Lucius No-Name, I, Lord Sirius Arcturus Black, Lord Of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black, hereby offer you a place in my house, at my hearth under my protection. So I have spoken, so mote it be."

A ghost-like cawing of a bird-filled the room as three spectral ravens dashed through the black sphere. Two landed on Lord Black's shoulders as the third hovered in front of Draco's face. The raven seemed to stare at him and for a moment Draco felt like he was lying on an unimaginably large scale, being weighed by something older than everything he knew. The raven hovered closer and just as it touched his forehead with its beak, the Ravens vanished like fog in the morning sun. Draco felt a rush, as the family magic pooled into him, similar to the Malfoy magic, but yet totally different. It was like a wave.

"Welcome to House Black, Draco Black."

Somewhere far away, in an office inside a large black and white manor, a man was pondering over some documents. Bank statements. Lucius shuffled a few of the parchments, while something pressed on his mind but he shoved it away not having time for it. He had found more gold, but pained him to liquify all those assets. Bonds he had bought as long-term investments, heirlooms that had been in his family for centuries. A Lot of the money of the old houses was bound in some way and if turned to gold, could mean a lot of income for a short period of time. But that was that, a short period of time. He destroyed the future of his house, the inheritance his son would one day take over. Or not, depending on how long this would go. Being the finance for the dark lord was a horrible fate. Lucius sighed, signing the selling of a cottage that had been in family hands since 1436. The dark lord was hungry for money, material to be bought, people to be bribed, all out of his pocket and with no recognition. Instead, he was sneered at and belittled. But he knew he couldn't back out. He knew, if he refused to do this, he would perish. And no matter what, he wasn't ready to die. He was a Slytherin and a Malfoy, they were survivors. They would weather the storm and would come out of the other side. They always had. Not by stupid bravado and bold declarations, but instead by being smart and patient. He could rebuild the empire he had cultivated since the supposed end of the dark lord over a decade ago. He had been the most important person in the UK. The minister had relied on him, did what he was told, and all that from behind the scenes. It had been perfect. Just perfect. And now it was all in ruins. Black and the dark lord had seen to that.

Lucius leaned back, looking over the statements, with somewhat of a smile. His new wife had not only brought in quite a big sum of money as her dowry, but he also had landed a big business coupe that would keep him afloat. Also, the dark lord was more concerned with different things by now and had seized the assets of Goyle and Crabbe, both of which had vanished as well as some others. That meant less focus him himself, which was good. He placed the selling of the cottage on the out pile. The cottage was in France anyway, half-ruined. It was time to part with that anyway.

Sighing once again, he thought of the future of House Malfoy. Draco. He was up and down about the boy. On the one hand, he saw a lot of himself in him. Clever, resourceful, confident. All attributes he wanted to see in his heir. But also disobedient. The fact that Draco had followed him, was a problem. Lucius had banked on the fact that the dark lord didn't know or care about Draco until the war was over and the dark lord was more concerned with rulership. Then would have been the time for Draco to step into the light. But plans changed and Lucius was sure that his son now understood what he needed to do. What he had to do for House Malfoy to prosper. He scratched the scar on his face, while he frowned. His face. Damn Narcissa, she knew how proud of a man he was and what his looks meant to him. For her to disfigure him like that.

And to ruin his chances with Greengrass. Yes, bride theft was a little old school and would have made the old Lord Greengrass his enemy, but he was that, old. A few years he could have weathered, and with the heiress firmly in his grip, he would have gotten the Greengrass fortune and Wizengamot seat. If it even came to light before the old man croaked it. Daphne Greengrass wouldn't have been seen until her father was dead and the family magic recognized Draco as the new Lord of House Greengrass. All wishful thinking. Maybe when the dark lord took over, there would be a second chance for that. Draco would do his duty to his house and everything would work out. Just a couple of years and he would-

"Lords Lucy, sir?" A squicky voice brought him out of his musing and into the here and now. His house-elf, Potty stood before his desk, holding a box.

"What?" Lucius barked, frowning at the creature. The little vermin should know better than to interrupt him, which meant it was something urgent.

The elf reached up and placed a small box on the desk. It was made from ebony and had the sigil of House Malfoy on the lid. He frowned deeper. What housering had come back? Had the daughter of his sister died, the Lovegood girl? Not impossible, form the few interactions he had with her, Lucius knew that the girl was irritating. Maybe she had barked up the wrong tree. No, that couldn't be it. The girl didn't have a noble house ring, never called it. Not that he would have let the family magic give one to her. Some aunt or distant cousin?

He flipped the lid open, blinking in surprise, then horror. The heir ring of House Malfoy rested on green velvet, glinting in the shine of the evening sun.

Author Note:
Long time no see. I have finally a few days of holidays, not a lot of DM Prep and thought yeah I should write a little more. Not a lot happening and at the same time a lot of it. Draco, I don't like Draco. Not really. A lot of stories either go the little nazi route and Slytherin Harry stories often go the he is super awesome but not so awesome that he would overshadow Harry direction. I think I like complicated more. So yes, he can be saved in this story. But it is not pretty.

On the other hand Bellatrix. I find her quite fascinating, crazy is fun to write and people are the product of her environment. I don't think she can be saved. She has done to many fucked up things. But then she becomes disillusioned. What she will choose in the end is something I don't know myself right now. We will see where the story takes us. So yeah. Anyways, it is past midnight where I live, I will go to bed, I hope you like this chapter.

I think the next will be some Daphne/Harry and some Sirius/Amelia.