Draco Malfoy and the Mirror of Ecidyrue

Part 3: Draco Malfoy and the House of Black

Summary:

After going back in time, Draco has tried to follow the path he remembers. But third year brings a new Ravenclaw cousin, a new Boggart, and a newly admiring Harry Potter, along with castle grounds full of Dementors and what they make him remember. With secrets of his mother's family coming to light, and a godfather he understands far less than he ever thought, Draco will discover that the time in which he can remain passive in the new timeline has finally come to a close.

: First Cousin, Once Removed

Chapter Text

If Sirius Black could sneak his way out of Azkaban, you would think he could have done the world a favor and snuck on over to off Aunt Bella before making his merry way out. From the way Aunt Bella had used to brag about Potter's face after he watched her kill his godfather, it would have been for Black's best interest in the longterm. But no, whatever Gryffindor fluke allowed the Prisoner of Azkaban to escape from the inescapable hellhole Draco remembered all too well, Black had not had the grace or sense to get rid of one of the many ticking time bombs that faced Draco in the red line's future.

Father was giving Draco the silent treatment, as he had almost constantly since Draco's arrival home last month. Draco had to ask Mother to ask Father to give him that day's Prophet. He saw that memorable roaring picture of Black on the cover, and reading it told him nothing he hadn't already written in his third notebook: Black was a dangerous murderer and no one knew how he'd gotten out. Pity Draco had never learned that either.

"Mother," Draco said, "Isn't this your cousin?"

The silent treatment did not stop Father from giving Draco a death stare, which Draco was happy to ignore. Mother hastily answered, "Sirius was disowned from the Black family when he was fifteen, my dear. But yes, he was once my first cousin. He is the son of Orion Black and my Aunt Walburga, sister to your grandfather Cygnus who recently passed."

"So he's my first cousin once removed," Draco said, frowning, "Kind of like my uncle." Satisfyingly enough, that line of thinking seemed to be testing his father, namely his pretense that his disappointing son did not exist, to the absolute limits. "So with Grandfather Cygnus deceased, and House Black only has male heirs, that would make Uncle Sirius the current head of House Black?"

"He was disinherited, Draco," Mother reminded him gently, though she did not seem to be enjoying this indelicate topic at the breakfast table either. "A life sentence in Azkaban rendered him doubly so. You are the last living male heir of House Black, not some escaped prisoner." She reached out and touched his hand. Her beautiful eyes as they pleaded with him seemed to be asking circumspection, not for either of their sakes, but to keep his father from getting too angry.

Luckily or unluckily, this line of inquiry was interrupted by the arrival of an owl, with a letter Draco opened eagerly once he recognized the handwriting on the outside. His grin widened as he read the opening words, Dear Frankenstein, and kept getting bigger until finally he put it down and turned to Mother. "Mother, Hermione has gotten us tickets to go see the event we wanted. She says her parents will let me stay with them for two weeks this August if it's okay."

"Two weeks, Draco?" she said with a frown, and Father's next bite into the English muffin of his eggs hollandaise came out as particularly crunchy.

"Well," Draco said, with that false childish optimism he knew infuriated Father so, "She stayed at Malfoy Manor for a week last year, and I stayed in Hampstead a week, so that's two. And since Hermione visiting me isn't an option this year, it's only fair I get two weeks with her!"

"Fair," Mother echoed, looking more and more strained. It got worse when Draco tried to break the tension of the moment by holding Sirius Black's snarling face up to his and mimicking the outlandish shrieking expression. Draco thought his impression quite good, but naturally no one laughed. He didn't think a single joke of his had been laughed at since the threats he'd made to Potter's Muggles at Platform 9 and 3/4.