"Good evening, Professor Snape," said Draco politely.

"Draco," Snape nodded his head, "Mr. Goyle."

When Sirius didn't say anything, Draco poked him with his elbow.

"Sir," Sirius, still looking like Gregory Goyle, squeaked.

"Should we leave the room, father," asked Draco, sincerely hoping that they could.

"No need," said Snape, "I won't stay long. I just came to wish you merry Christmas," he exchanged presents with his father and also had something for Draco.

Narcissa stepped into the room. "Severus," she sounded delighted. "Merry Christmas," she gave him a hug which looked quite awkward on his part. "Why don't you stay and have tea with us?"

Great, Draco thought. A couple of awkward minutes later they were all sitting around the table in front of the fireplace, teas in hands.

"I hear you have new colleagues this year, Severus," Lucius asked, amused.

Snape scowled. "Sadly, Hogwarts standards are slipping significantly by the year."

Lucius nodded. "No doubt the children will be subject to all sorts of monsters."

Draco had to give it to Snape, he didn't even blink. "Oh, you mean Care of Magical Creatures? I suppose he has had quite a lot of experience, but I do hope Albus checks the… scale of creatures."

"Oh, I heard we'll be covering dragons at one point," Draco said excitedly.

Severus looked worried. "You are taking Care of Magical Creatures, Draco?" he sounded surprised.

Draco glanced to his parents. His mother looked smug, his father rather unhappy. Draco wouldn't have taken CoMC if his mother hadn't put her foot down.

"The oaf Hagrid must have friends in high places," Lucius continued.

"Hey-" Sirius started but Draco stomped on his foot and coughed to cover the beginnings of Sirius' outburst up.

"He is quite alright," Draco said. "Better than expected. None of us have died yet," he chuckled, but his parents did not seem to find the joke funny. At least Sirius did not look like he wanted to jump up and defend the half-giant's honor any longer. At one point, Draco thought, he would have to explain to Sirius that friendly and knowledgeable people did not automatically make good teachers and that the whole subject had grown rather more dangerous since Hagrid had started teaching it.

"His knowledge on magical creatures is outstanding," Snape agreed.

"He also introduces us to all kinds creatures, not just the ministry approved ones," Draco added. His father would appreciate this, even if his mother wouldn't. Trying to defend Hagrid, please both of his parents, not anger Sirius and keep Snape from becoming suspicious was taxing.

"What about Defense? Don't you have a new teacher there, too?" Narcissa asked.

Draco could feel Sirius and Snape grow tense. That line of conversation could lead to trouble.

"Yes," Snape drawled.

"Ah, Lupin. Wasn't he friends with Black?" Lucius mused, looking in Snape's direction with an amused twinkle in his eyes.

"Yes," Snape said curtly.

"And Potter, too. Black used to follow him around everywhere. Talked about nothing else, too... Don't you think it is weird that he turned on them," Narcissa asked and Draco took in a sharp breath.

"It seemed rather unlikely that he would join the Dark Lord without any of us noticing," Snape admitted, "and betraying his best friend... But I guess he always had a Dark supposition… even in school."

"Wasn't he in your year at Hogwarts?" Lucius asked.

Draco dug his nails into Sirius' arm to keep him from commenting.

"I do believe so, yes," Snape said.

Draco gulped. He took a sip from his tea to cover his face.

"Yes. Potter, Black, Lupin and Pettigrew were in my year. They were best friends. Terrorized the whole school," he muttered.

Draco dug his nail deeper into Sirius' flesh but it was no use.

"I'm sure they had their reasons," he scoffed.

Snape gave him an odd look that Draco couldn't quite place. "Not any that would make sense to anyone but them. They would attack any student whose views differed from their own. Never worrying about consequences, not even if those were potential death."

"Well maybe those v- Ahh!"

Draco had coughed and spilled some of his tea in Sirius' lap.

"Oh, Draco," Narcissa yelled.

"Oh my God, I am so sorry! Let's get you into the bathroom and I'll organize some clothes for you to change."

He grabbed Sirius by the arm and dragged him out of the room.

"I'm starting to believe the reason why you weren't sorted into Slytherin was because you completely lack the ability to be subtle," Draco hissed once they were out of hearing range. "Can't you at least try not to make my life any more difficult than it already is?"

"Oh that evil, sl-"

"Sirius!"

"What? Did you hear what he said?"

"I heard that he also found it strange that you would turn on Potter. That's good! It means when the time comes we might be able to convince him of your side of the story!"

Sirius stared at him. He was prepared for a long rant, but Draco's statement seemed to have caught him of guard.

"He- You think so?"

Draco nodded. Maybe distraction was the only way to deal with Sirius' outbursts.

"Oh man, your hair is turning black again!"

"What?" he reached for his hair. "The potion is wearing off?" he sounded rather sad.

"Probably. Oh, someone's coming!"

"Quick, hide in the bathroom," Draco pushed Sirius who almost looked like himself again into the bathroom when he heard footsteps approaching. "Stay in there," he whispered.

"Draco?" It was Snape.

"Yes," he swirled around.

"Is everything alright?" he inquired.

"Everything is fine," Draco mumbled. He knew that lies wouldn't get him any further. He really hoped he didn't have to lie to his godfather much longer. He always knew when someone lied and Draco didn't like that it made their relationship worse instead of better. "I know you think I am up to something... and you are right. But I really can't tell you and I know you could easily read my mind if you wanted to but I would appreciate it if you just believed me when I told you that it is not what you think it is and that it is nothing bad."

Snape gave him a calculating look. "Alright," he finally said. "But be careful. Merry Christmas, Draco."

"Merry Christmas."

Then Snape left and Draco let out a sigh of relief. That bought him some time. Not much and he was sure if Snape got any more reason to suspect him, he would act on it, but for now he was safe.

Later that day, Sirius was lying on Draco's bed while he was sitting in a chair reading.

"Draco?"

"Hum?"

"Thanks for today."

"You're welcome," Draco said absent mindedly.

"No, really. This has been the best day I had in decades. Ever since… well, you know."

Draco looked up from his book. "I'm glad you had fun."

"I know I am not making things easy for you, but I am trying. I'm sorry if I insulted you or anyone you care about. I really do appreciate what you have done for me. From believing in me to helping me to letting me stay in your home. This is more than I could ever have hoped for. Before you found me, I was alone, miserable, cold and hungry. Driven mad by thoughts of revenge. But now I have hope and it is all thanks to you and your friends."

Draco flashed him a warm smile. "I'm glad we found you that day. And don't worry about it. I know how hard it can be to let go of a grudge."

For all the trouble he had caused, Draco really was glad he had found Black. Helping him took his mind off things and made him feel useful. It also showed him how working for the Light side felt and he found that he quite liked that. The feeling of doing something good and the people he met on his path made it worth the struggle. As a Death Eater he had been full of hate and he could never trust anyone. His sixth year had almost killed him. He wasn't a killer. He had learnt that on the Astronomy tower. And he didn't like to see people suffer. Being a Death Eater had never made anyone happy.

Besides Snape, there weren't any Death Eaters who could cast the Patronus charm. It was sad, really. It told Draco everything about Death Eaters that he needed to know. None of them were ever really, truly happy.

But thinking about his life – the one he had right now – he was rather happy. He had more meaningful relationships than the first time around and he felt like he was making the world a better place. He also felt like he could finally atone for his sins. In time, he would be reunited with Astoria and Scorpius and he would be able to provide them with a better life.

That night, he fell asleep with a smile on his lips.

TBC