To those who thought Sirius was a bit OOC in the last chapter...
There was a lot leading up to this truce. The book Sirius hated Slytherin with a passion and was half-insane thanks to his time in Azkaban and later being stuck in the childhood home he hated. This Sirius has been living a normal life for quite some time now and he is seeing a mind healer regularly. So his mental state is quite different. He has also become friends with several Slytherins and all of them have done a lot to change his perception over, at this point in the story, 1 1/2 - 2 years. And Draco has, from the beginning, tried to change Sirius' mind about Snape.
Chapter for chapter:
Chapter 12, (first half of 3rd year) is when they first meet Sirius in the forest. He is half crazy. Cold. Hungry. Believed to be a mass murderer. And two students, one of them a Slytherin, believe his story, clothe him, feed him, give him hope.
In chapter 13, Sirius finds out that one of the two who are helping him is a Slytherin. Sirius argues that Draco's parents are supporters of Voldemort and Draco counters that so were his. Draco gives him food, the first real food Sirius has had in a long time, and Sirius accepts Draco as being an exception to the rule, like he was. And as a miss-sorting.
In chapter 16, Sirius finds out that Snape is a professor at the school.
In chapter 17, Astoria and Daphne figure out there secret. That's one more Slytherin helping Sirius.
In chapter 19, Sirius follows Draco home over Christmas. Sirius uses Draco's own argument from chapter 13 (that they are family) against him. They argue about Sirius' dislike of everything Slytherin. Draco tells him that Pettigrew was a Gryffindor. He also tells him about Harry's and Snape's animosity and they fight over it. Sirius insults Snape and they argue again. Draco tells him that Dumbledore trusts Snape and that Snape has saved Harry's life several times. Narcissa later talks about Sirius in a very positive way - which again shows Sirius that not all Slytherins are terrible people.
In chapter 20, they talk about changing your mind and second chances.
In chapter 21, Snape shows up at Malfoy manor. Snape compliments Hagrid (kind of) and states that he also had a hard time believing that Sirius would turn on his friends. At the end of the day, Sirius apologizes for making Draco's life difficult and thanks him.
In chapter 24, they are all in the Shrieking Shack. Snape might have attacked Sirius right away, but Draco stops him, shows him the truth, and Snape gives Sirius a chance to explain. Snape finds out that Sirius was not responsible for Lily's death.
In chapters 25 and 26, they all confront Pettigrew, getting along well enough. Sirius, Snape and Remus are united in their hatred for Pettigrew. They then have to fight Dementors and so on together. Snape saves Astoria's life.
In chapter 27, Narcissa and Lucius, two Slytherins and supporters of Voldemort, save Sirius from being kissed and make sure that he gets a fair trial.
We don't see Sirius again for quite some time after that, but in chapter 31 Draco talks to Snape about Sirius and their time at school. Draco sides with Snape on this but also tells him that he believes that it was never Sirius' intent to have Snape bitten or killed. They then discuss Sirius and his impulsiveness a bit more.
Lupin leaves in chapter 34. This time, it is not Snape's fault.
In chapter 38, Snape, although reluctantly, speaks in favor of freeing Sirius at his trial. In his account, he also skips everything that has anything to do with werewolves.
In chapter 39, Sirius wins his trial, thanks to (among others) Snape and Narcissa.
In chapter 42, another Slytherin (Theo) opposes the Death Eaters. Sirius decides to let Theo live with him for the rest of the summer.
We only see Sirius again in chapter 53. Snape and Sirius argue a bit here. Harry was just chosen as the fourth champion. Sirius calls Snape a Death Eater in front of Dumbledore, Harry and Draco. Draco starts arguing with Sirius then, defending Snape. Sirius eventually agrees that he also does not believe that it was Snape who put Harry's name in. Dumbledore states clearly that he trusts Snape.
In chapter 55, Draco stops Sirius from walking into Snape. They watch the first task together. Sirius announces that he is seeing a mind healer. Draco mentions that Snape invents spells and potions. Theo complains that his potions turned out better with Snape as their teacher.
In chapter 80, almost 2 years after Draco and Sirius first met, Snape returns Draco and Harry to Grimmauld Place. He could have delivered them straight to Voldemort, which was probably what Sirius and Remus had feared, but instead he returnd them to the Order. Unharmed. And it is obvious that he had been tortured before he came back. Snape then asks Sirius to take care of Draco, as staying with him would be too dangerous. Sirius and Snape then talk about how they both worry about Draco.
And only now, almost 70 chapters and two years later, after seeing a mind healer for quite some time, is Sirius able to let go of his hatred for Slytherin.
Read, enjoy and review :)
Lupin was just handing Harry some chocolate when Draco entered the kitchen. Harry took the chocolate, opened the wrapper and bit into the bar. Lupin's gaze wandered from Harry to Draco. He seemed tired. And a bit ruffled - more so than the unemployed werewolf usually did - which had Draco conclude that he had fighting Death Eaters in the graveyard as well.
Harry was sitting at the kitchen table, his back turned towards Draco, but he must have heard Draco walk in. He turned around in his seat and when his eyes fell on Draco, he motioned him to sit down as well. Draco sighed and slumped down into the chair next to him.
Lupin's eyes followed Draco. Lupin, standing next to the counter, studied him for a while, his expression guarded. Eventually he pulled another bar of chocolate from a drawer. "Would you care for some chocolate?" he offered.
"We haven't been attacked by Dementors, Professor," replied Draco, trying and failing to hide the smile creeping onto his face.
Lupin chuckled and some of the tension seemed to leave his shoulders. "Indeed. But I have found that chocolate can be applied to other problems as well."
Draco nodded and took the chocolate. After opening, he broke off a rip and put it on his tongue, letting it melt in his mouth. With a content sigh he leaned back in his chair.
"You left Snape alone with Sirius?" Harry asked between bites. "Aren't you worried they're going to kill each other?"
Draco smiled. "Surprisingly enough, I think they'll be fine."
That actually had the other boy smile as well.
"I did not think I would ever see the day..." chuckled Lupin, shaking his head.
Neither had Draco. Ever since he had first found Sirius in the Forbidden Forest, it seemed like all he had done was trying to keep the two from killing each other. But then again, Draco had also befriended Neville and Harry in this timeline - an idea he would have found preposterous a few years earlier.
"What will happen now?" Harry asked.
"I have just Flood Albus. The order will convene as soon as possible," answered Lupin. "But it might still take some time. The Aurors are busy with the arrests of tonight, the others with damage control... But I'll let one of the others explain, I assume they would know more about it than me right now."
Draco wondered whether those arrests included his father. He would not really know how to feel about that. But he was not going to ask. Perhaps they would mention it at the meeting.
Albus Dumbledore was the first to arrive. He strode into the kitchen a few minutes after Draco had eaten his chocolate, Sirius, Severus and Madam Pomfrey hot on his heels.
"Prof-" Harry started, but got interrupted by Madam Pomfrey. "It is you two again? Why is it always the two of you?" she asked with a disapproving look, before she examined the two thoroughly and treated a wound on Harry's arm. She glanced at Snape, "A calming draught, Severus?"
"From my personal store," he replied.
Madam Pomfrey nodded approvingly, then announced them healthy and left the room.
"I need to know what happened after you touched the Portkey in the maze, Harry," said Dumbledore, sitting down at the table once the door had shut behind Madam Pomfrey. "And how you ended up there, Mr Malfoy."
"We can leave that till morning, can't we, Dumbledore?" said Sirius harshly. He stepped between the boys, protectively putting one hand on Harry's and one hand on Draco's shoulder. "Let them sleep. Let them rest. They've been through enough."
Both boys smiled at him appreciatively, but Draco knew that postponing the inevitable would not benefit anyone and that in a war information was sometimes more important than the sanity of two teenagers.
"If I thought it would help," Dumbledore said gently, "I would let you two sleep. But I know better. You have shown bravery beyond anything I could have expected of you. I ask you to demonstrate your courage one more time. I ask you to tell us what happened."
Harry looked at Sirius. "I won't be able to sleep anyhow if I don't know what exactly happened tonight."
Sirius sighed and nodded.
Harry swallowed and began his tale. It was the first time Draco had heard the events described from this angle. His father had told him a somewhat different version of the events, but whether it was different due to Draco's intervention or the different people telling the story was hard to discern. Harry told of his adventures in the maze, and of him and Cassius reaching the Portkey at the same time. He told them of the potion that revived Voldemort after Pettigrew had cut off his own arm.
When Harry told of Wormtail piercing his arm with a dagger, however, Sirius let out a vehement exclamation. Dumbledore told Harry to stretch out his arm. Harry showed them the place where his robes were torn. The wound had already been tended to by Madam Pomfrey.
"He said my blood would make him stronger than if he'd used someone else's," Harry explained. "He said the protection my — my mother left in me — he'd have it too. And he was right — he could touch me without hurting himself, he touched my face."
"Very well," Dumbledore said, glancing in Draco's direction. "Voldemort has overcome that particular barrier. Harry, continue, please."
Harry went on; he explained how Voldemort had emerged from the cauldron, and told them all he could remember of Voldemort's speech to the Death Eaters. "And then a Death Eater brought Draco into the circle... I... thought you were dead, at first," Harry admit, thereby concluding his tale. He looked at Draco expectantly.
All the other eyes were on Draco as well.
"Theo, Neville and I were heading towards the maze. We already knew someone was after Harry - that much was pretty obvious from the moment the goblet pronounced Harry a contestant. And when Neville saw Crouch - the old one - drinking from a flask, we thought that might be Polyjuice he was drinking," Draco began.
"And you thought it was a good idea to confront him on your own?" Sirius asked.
"Might run in the family," Draco replied evenly. He knew Sirius worried about him and that was kind of nice, but it was not too long ago that Draco had had to stop him from going after dangerous serial killers on his own and he did not appreciate being admonished for doing the same. "But Neville, Theo and I were actually looking for Professor Dumbledore. Or Professor Snape. We definitely weren't planning to take on the impostor on our own." He was a Slytherin, after all. He would not throw himself headfirst into danger if he could avoid it, even though it probably did not look like it to an unbiased observer ever since he travelled back in time.
"Both, Mr Nott and Mr Longbottom, found me and told me of your suspicion," Dumbledore explained, confirming what Draco had just told them. "Unfortunately, it was already too late to help you, Mr Malfoy."
Draco shrugged his shoulders. "I ran straight into Barty and... I don't know why, but he knew that I knew. He started telling me stuff-"
"Did he tell you who he was?" Harry interrupted and Draco noticed that he had not mentioned that so far.
"Yeah. Kind of. It was Barty Crouch," he paused for dramatic effect, "Junior."
"But he died in Azkaban," replied Snape.
"That was actually his mother," Draco replied and recounted what Barty had told him. "Someone should look for Barty Crouch. Senior, I mean. If his son used Polyjuice it means his father is still alive somewhere."
Dumbledore nodded in Lupin's direction and the former Professor hurried out of the room. While the door was open, Draco could hear several voices from the next room. He looked questioningly at Dumbledore.
"The rest of the Order of the Phoenix," Dumbledore explained.
"Remus mentioned this Order earlier," Harry said, "what is it about?"
"A secret society dedicated to bringing down Voldemort," Dumbledore replied. "But they can wait a bit longer. Please, continue."
"There's not much more to tell on my part," Draco admitted. "After his speech he knocked me out and I woke up in the graveyard to someone else's speech. I had a bit of an altercation with Him. Professor Snape told me how to get out of there. I cast a Smokescreen Spell and grabbed Harry. That's when you guys arrived. The rest you've probably seen yourself." And Draco really hoped that with everything else going on, no one would wonder what Voldemort had wanted from him or question how they had suddenly disappeared from the graveyard. Snape probably already suspected that he could apparate as this had been the second time he had mysteriously appeared at his doorstep.
"Professor Dumbledore?" Harry asked. "Do you know why my wand did this golden light thing?"
"The wands connected," Sirius replied, having seen the phenomenon himself. He looked from Harry to Dumbledore. "But why?"
"Priori Incantatem," the headmaster muttered.
"The Reverse Spell effect?" said Sirius sharply.
"Exactly," said Dumbledore. "Harry's wand and Voldemort's wand share cores. Each of them contains a feather from the tail of the same phoenix."
Phoenix? "That doesn't happen to be the phoenix sitting in your office, sir, does it?"
Dumbledore smiled at Draco.
"My wand's feather came from Fawkes?" Harry said, amazed.
"Yes," said Dumbledore. "Mr. Ollivander wrote to tell me you had bought the second wand, the moment you left his shop four years ago."
"So what happens when a wand meets its brother?" asked Sirius.
"They will not work properly against each other," said Dumbledore. "If, however, the owners of the wands force the wands to do battle . . . a very rare effect will take place. One of the wands will force the other to regurgitate spells it has performed — in reverse. The most recent first . . . and then those which preceded it. . . ."
Harry looked at Dumbledore. "Then those ghosts...?"
Dumbledore nodded. "His last victims, yes."
"I-I saw Lily and James," Sirius said, his hand, still on Draco, gripping his shoulder almost painfully now.
"No spell can reawaken the dead," said Dumbledore heavily. "All that would have happened is a kind of reverse echo. A shadow of the living... Am I correct, Harry?"
"They spoke to me," Harry said. He was pale and his hands were shaking. "The . . . the ghosts, or whatever they were, spoke."
"An echo," said Dumbledore. "Who else did you see?"
"An old man... and Bertha Jorkins."
Dumbledore nodded. "The last murders the wand performed. In reverse order. More would have appeared, of course, had you maintained the connection-"
"Would it show those... ghosts of any person who died through a spell he used or just those killed by the Killing Curse?" Draco interrupted. They had not seen the ghost of Cassius - perhaps that meant the Cruciatus had not killed him.
"An excellent question," hummed Dumbledore. "The events you have witnessed are very rare and have not been studied in great detail. As such, I can only hazard a guess. Why do you ask?"
Draco hesitated and glanced at Harry, but the other boy seemed no more willing to discuss this than he was. "Because of Cassius," Draco finally sighed.
The grown ups exchanged worried glances, which made Draco feel light-headed. They knew what had become of him, and whatever it was, their frowns did not suggest a happy ending.
"Boys," Sirius started, but apparently did not know how to continue the sentence.
"They will find out eventually," Snape said, "no good will come from delaying the inevitable."
Sirius sighed and nodded. "Cassius did not make it."
Draco gasped. His head was spinning, his vision swimming. He leaned forward to prop his elbows on the table, shaking of Sirius' hand from his shoulder, and buried his head in hands. One thought echoed through his mind: This was his fault. He had traded one life for another. It was his fault. He was responsible for the death of an innocent student. His fault.
He took a few deep breaths before he asked, "What happened?"
"That's the thing... We don't really know," replied Sirius.
Draco removed his hands from his face to look at Sirius.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Harry asked.
Sirius drew his hand through his hair. "They arrested Auror and Order member Nymphadora Tonks for his murder."
"What?" hissed Draco.
"Several Aurors and Order members saw her cast the Killing Curse and they checked her wand," Snape said matter-of-factly.
"That... makes absolutely no sense," replied Draco. One of the order killing a student? Cassius had probably not even been conscious during the whole encounter. Why would an Order member kill a defenseless student? If she was an Auror it was highly unlikely that it had been an accident... But then he remembered. "Crouch," he whispered. He had seen Crouch and a young, female Auror fighting. He had not recognized her in the graveyard - he knew they were related, but had never met her - but female Aurors were a rare enough sight that he was almost certain it had been her. "He still had the polyjuice on him. If he got his hands on a hair of her he could have staged it."
The grown ups looked at each other.
"Would that even work on her?" Sirius asked.
"It is possible," Dumbledore mused. "Unfortunately, there does not seem to be a way to prove it."
"We just need Crouch and some Veritaserum," Draco said.
Again, the adults shared a glance.
"What?"
"We had him," Sirius said bitterly. "Interrogated him. But then Fudge took over... and Crouch got kissed."
Draco lowered his head onto the table. He had exchanged one life for another and he had freed one wrongfully imprisoned Black just to get another into Azkaban. That was if she was lucky and Fudge did not meddle. But when was Draco ever lucky?
"Don't worry," Sirius said, putting his hand back on Draco's shoulder. "We'll prove her innocence, just like we proved mine."
Harry told them the rest of what happened at the graveyard, but Draco barely listened. He was a murderer. He ruined the lives of the people around him. It was all his fault.
"I will say it again," said Dumbledore and it drew Draco back into the real world and out of his negative thoughts, which grew darker with every passing second, "you, both of you, have shown bravery beyond anything I could have expected of you tonight. You have shown bravery equal to those who died fighting Voldemort at the height of his powers. You have shouldered more than a grown wizard's burden and found yourself equal to it — and you have now given us all that we have a right to expect."
That sounded like a dismissal. "What about the order meeting?" Draco asked.
"It has been a long and tiring day-" Dumbledore began, but Draco interrupted him.
"No. You just said it: we faced You-Know-Who today, and we survived. Don't treat us like children."
Harry nodded next to him. "If this is about stopping Voldemort, I want to be a part of it."
"Tonight we will only gather information," Dumbledore replied calmly, "and at the moment, the two of you know more about the matter at hand than anyone else in the order. You would gain no new insights in this meeting. There will be another meeting tomorrow, which you may join if you wish to do so."
Draco huffed, "fine," and got up from his chair. "I'll be there."
"Very well," said Dumbledore. "Sirius, please show Harry to his room. Severus, tell the others we will meet in the dining room."
Both men nodded and left the room, Sirius with Harry in tow.
When Sirius pushed open the door, Draco saw several Weasleys, the Longbottoms, Lupin and a few other people already waiting outside. He could hear Mrs. Weasley letting out a kind of muffled scream. "Harry! Oh Harry!" She hurried towards him and pulled him into a bone-crushing hug. The other Weasleys gathered around the pair. That was all he saw before the door was shut once more.
"You did nothing wrong," Dumbledore said calmly.
Draco turned away from the door to face Dumbledore.
"He knows," Draco said. He did not want to hear the headmaster tell him that Cassius' death had nothing to do with him. Of course it had. Draco was the reason why the boy was now dead. That was the end of the story.
At Draco's words, Dumbledore perked up, his eyes alert.
"About the time travel," Draco continued, focusing on the facts. "Pettigrew saw the time turner and told him. And he knows I know a few spells more than can be expected from someone my age. But that's all he knows. Everything else is mere speculation on his part."
Dumbledore nodded. "That explains his sudden interest in you."
"He tried Legilimency on me but it didn't work," and he felt rather proud at that, "but should I ever end up in his grasp for longer than a couple of minutes..."
"We might have to think of an alternative plan," Dumbledore finished.
Draco nodded. He didn't even want to picture what such a plan might look like. He turned around again, walking towards the door.
"Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore said sternly, then more gently, "Draco, please stay for one more moment."
Draco reluctantly did as he was told.
"I know the death of Mr. Warrington must weigh on your conscience. But believe me when I say you are not responsible for his death."
"Of course I am responsible," Draco hissed. "I'm responsible for every bloody difference in this timeline. If I had not kept Cedric from entering his name-"
"Then Mr. Diggory would have been killed tonight. Someone would have died tonight, regardless of any action you or I could have taken."
"But it would have been fate killing Cedric!" Draco nearly yelled, "and not me!"
"Had you done nothing and it had been Mr. Diggory who had died tonight, you would have felt equally guilty," Dumbledore replied, still as calm as ever.
Draco took a deep breath, his thoughts reeling. He remembered talking to Neville about all of this. About whether not doing something to stop a murder from happening was any better than killing someone yourself. They had never really reached a consensus, but he knew what Dumbledore was getting at. Perhaps Dumbledore was right - he would have felt responsible for the other boy's death as well.
"You did everything in your power to prevent tragedy - that is all anyone can ask of you. There was nothing more you could have done. It is not you who is responsible for either boy's death. The responsibility lies with Voldemort and his followers."
"Perhaps," replied Draco noncommittally. He'd have to give this some more thought, but his head was beginning to hurt and he was exhausted. "If that is all..."
Dumbledore sighed. "That would be all. I wish you a good night."
"Good night," Draco said, and left the room.
Outside, Sirius was waiting for him to show him to his room. Sirius seemed a little nervous as they walked to the topmost floor of the house. He came to a halt in front of a door with a sign hung above the threshold which read: Do Not Enter Without the Express Permission of Regulus Arcturus Black.
"It's not a room usually meant for guests... but with the sudden spike in visitors staying overnight, it's one of the last rooms I can offer you. It's right next to mine and... I thought you'd be the one most likely to appreciate the... room's design." With those words he pushed open the door.
It was immediately obvious that this room had been exempt from the previous summer's redecorating of his mother. The Slytherin colours of emerald and silver were everywhere, draping the bed, the walls and the windows. The Black family crest was painstakingly painted over the bed, along with its motto Toujours Pur. Beneath this was a collection of yellow newspaper cuttings, all stuck together to make a ragged collage.
"It's perfect," Draco said and smiled at Sirius. "Thank you for letting me stay here."
"No problem," Sirius said, smiling at him. "Good night."
"Night," Draco mumbled as Sirius closed the door behind him.
Draco threw himself onto the bed. He didn't think he had ever been so exhausted and at the same time to utterly unable to sleep. His head was throbbing and his mind was reeling. He glanced at the bedside table and noticed a small vial with a purple potion. Dreamless Sleep, he thought, as he took his first sip. Perhaps Madam Pomfrey had left it. Or Severus. He was asleep before he had emptied the bottle.
TBC
A lot going on in this chapter (although not the stuff I had planned for this chapter - I guess that'll happen in the next one). Some things are obviously taken from Order of the Phoenix, some stuff obviously happened in different ways... So what do you think? Did you like the chapter? Do you think Draco is responsible for Cassius' death? Do you think not doing anything to stop a murder is as bad as committing it yourself? Let me know in the reviews :)
Summer is over and a new school year has begun for me. Updates will take longer again.