Chapter Text
Draco cried when Sirius apparated them. You see, Grimmauld Place was the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix... Severus was no longer a member but he still knew where the headquarters were. They couldn’t go back. Unfortunately, nobody told Draco beforehand.
They found themselves in front of extremely posh Gryffindor mansion. Draco knew, since the moment he saw it, that this was the Potter’s old house and they weren’t going back to Grimmauld ever again. So, yes, he cried like a little boy.
As the four of them entered the house, Sirius had his arm around him and kept calming him down. ‘ I’m sorry, we just had to leave’. ‘We were lucky to have a place to move.’ ‘It’s very nice, I swear, and we don’t have my hag of a mother here.’ But Draco did not care in the least. This house smelled different, this house was not Grimmauld.
“I thought that maybe we could put blood wards on Grimmauld. They are more secure.” The blond boy mumbled to his cousin. The man squeezed his shoulder and smiled kindly at him.
“We can’t risk it to go back... And the blood wards drain your own magic. We can’t be losing energy in keeping them up.” And he was absolutely right. Draco couldn’t even argue with him.
The mansion was decorated like the Gryffindor common room, everything red and cozy was put in this one place on earth... Draco thought it looked nice in comparison to the common room (more expensive furniture at least), but that it kind of hurt his eyes to stare at it for too long.
Mr. Potter gave them a tour. The kitchen was nice, they didn’t have a house elf here so they would have to take turns to cook. Downstairs, they also had the living room and the study (which James said that it was mostly created for his father, that he didn’t want to use it but they could if they wanted to).
The stairs were made from this dark tone of wood, very pretty, they did not creak when they climb them, though. In Grimmauld Place, everything was so old that the house had it’s own melody. The stairs creaked, the floor did too if you stood near the fireplace, and the door made this horrible sound if you opened too fast...
Upstairs, there was the main bedroom right down the hall, and four others that were smaller than that one.
They showed them their rooms. Potter, of course, was going to sleep in what was once James’s room. It was decorated with quidditch posters and Gryffindor flags, the green eyed boy thought it was awesome. They offered to redecorate if he wanted but the boy refused, said that it was perfect just like that.
“And for you... We made some arrangements.” Said Mr. Potter as he opened the door that was right next to Potter.
It was Sirius’s old room... the one he used when he moved with the Potters. It had a couple of Bowie posters right next to the bed and a record player in the corner. The walls were black, though. He couldn’t imagine Sirius choosing that for his own room so he figured that Mr. Potter had changed the color of the wall for him. To make them resemble a little bit more to Grimmauld Place.
“Look up, little cousin.” And Draco gasped.
They had put his sky up in the ceiling. He felt like home again.
“Thank you so much.” He said as he pulled the both of them into a hug.
“It’s nothing, kid. We knew you love that room, we wanted for you to like this one as well.”
“I absolutely do, this is perfect.”
Draco opened his eyes and saw Potter looking at him while he smiled. The boy diverted his look as fast as he could and blush started to appear in his cheeks and nose. How bloody weird.
They continued the tour and when Sirius showed them his room, Potter and him couldn’t help to pulled a face. Draco certainly wasn’t about to ask the question... The green-eyed boy, on the other hand, didn’t hold back.
“Why is this even necessary?” His cousin frowned.
“What do you mean?”
Potter looked at Mr. Potter who had his eyes fixed on the floor. Then, he looked at Sirius again arching an eyebrow.
“Why can’t you just sleep at the main bedroom with dad?”
The blush on his cousins face was epic. He looked like a scare little boy, who was just caught writing the name of the boy he liked on his notebook. It was a pretty funny sight in Sirius’s very adult face. The man tried to stutter a response.
“I- We are not-“ Draco didn’t think it was possible, but the man blushed even more than before. He turned to look at the man standing next to him. “Did you tell him something? Why does he think we are together, James?” Sirius demanded.
Poor Mr. Potter was just looking at his best friend with fearful eyes.
“I didn’t tell him anything. I don’t know why he thinks that.” You would think that Potter would had gotten the hint at that point, but no.
“I think you two are together because, contrary to popular belief, I’m not blind.” He responded with that sassy tone that Draco loved so much. The father of the boy couldn’t help but to laugh at that.
“That’s good, because apparently Padfoot is.”
“James.”
“Sirius.”
—————————
They were having breakfast for the first time in that house when Draco decided to expose Potter.
“So... “ He started, waiting for the rest of them to look at him. “Should we start the horcrux hunt now or after summer?”
Potter widened his eyes as he stare at him.
“What?” Mr. Potter asked.
“Did you just said horcrux hunt?”
“Oh, yeah! Did Potter forget to mention it? We are going to destroy all the horcruxes from the same old Voldy.” The green-eyed boy glared at him.
“I don’t know how you found out, but we are not doing anything. I’m going with Ron and Hermione and you are staying right here with dad and Padfoot.”
“Too late, Potty. I was already invited.” He responded smirking at the boy.
“I don’t fucking care. I want you safe.” Potter responded like a reflex and widened his eyes when he realized what he had said.
The daffodils were moving inside of him, dancing... so fucking happy. ‘ HE CARES. HE CARES. HE CARES.’ Draco just blinked, trying to understand what just happened. Then, Mr. Potter interrupted.
“Neither of you are going anywhere.” Then he turned to look at his son. “You are still a minor, and I don’t care if you feel that this is your purpose in life: it’s not. The order will take care of it.”
“Like they took care of the attack the last time, you mean? Yeah, sorry for not trusting you much.”
Oh shit. Until that moment, Mr Potter never had a fight with Harry. He was too busy hugging him and being an angel with him... But Draco knew the face of the man right now: it was the same face that his mother wore when Draco had said an incredible fucked up thing.
“Let me put it this way: you are not leaving this house. You are still sixteen.”
“Then I wait until my birthday and run away! I have to do this and you can’t stop me.” The boy yelled right back.
“WHO EVEN TOLD YOU TO DO THIS? ”
“James... maybe we should-“. Sirius started to say but he was cut short by Potter yelling his response.
“DUMBLEDORE!” Something seemed to flash on Mr. Potter’s eyes.
“Oh! The same man that got Sirius in Azkaban for twelve years you mean?”
“Prongs, that wasn’t his fault.”
“IT WAS EVERYONE’S FAULT! But specially his because he knew it was not you and still he did nothing!”
Potter stood up and marched off to his room, without even looking back. Mr. Potter just put his head on his hands, his expression was of so much stress. Sirius started to rub his back gently.
After a while of eating in silence, Draco spoke.
“We are not going anywhere. I already told Granger that we were not disappearing on you two.” James looked at him with surprised eyes. “We should have a safe house, just in case, but I don’t think we will be needing it. If you don’t mind Ron and Hermione moving in, then we don’t have to leave anywhere.” He took a deep breath. “She was the one who invited me. Said that they needed me with them... She kind of also said that Potter would oppose to me joining them... Maybe you don’t care about my opinion but I had lived in the same castle as him since first year, if you tell him not to do something, he will definitely do it but in the most reckless way.” He said and left to find Harry.
He didn’t even knock on the door, fearing that the boy wouldn’t let him come in if he gave him the chance.
Potter was sitting on the bed, holding some kind of necklace in his hand. His eyes were fixed on that, ignoring Draco as he walked towards the bed. The flowers in him were begging him to do something about the boy’s sad face, slamming themselves against the walls from his lungs. He resisted the urge to cough.
The blond boy sat in front of him, without saying a word. Now, seeing the necklace up close, he realized that it was a locket. It was rather pretty and a little bit creepy... The glittering green stones were forming an S that clashed with the golden color of the locket. It had to be something related with Slytherin given the fact that the S could easily look like a snake. Draco raised his eyes to meet Potter’s.
“It’s fake. He risked his life for this and it’s fake.” The boy said. The blond boy could sense how defeated he felt. He offered his hand, encouraging the boy to give him the locket.
When Potter put it in his hand, he noticed that the locket was open and that it had a little note inside. He took it and unfolded it carefully, revealing what it said.
To the Dark Lord,
I know I will be dead long before you read this but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret. I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can. I face death in the hope that when you meet your match you will be mortal once more.
R.A.B
Draco widened his eyes.
R.A.B
Regulus Arcturus Black.
Draco had read enough times the name of Regulus to know his initials. He tried to articulate a word, he couldn’t.
“Draco...?” The boy asked with a soft voice.
The blond boy was already running out of the room and towards the kitchen. He heard Potter calling for him, following right behind. Draco entered the room where both, Sirius and Mr. Potter were.
He put the locket and the note in front of his cousin without saying a word.
Sirius took the note and traced every letter written in it with shocked eyes, a wave of grief washed over them. Draco saw how the realization in his face when he read the note.
“Reggie...” He whispered and Draco could not contain his joy.
“It’s his handwriting, isn’t it??” Sirius could only nod.
Mr. Potter took the note and read it too, a worried look appeared in his face as he turned to his best friend again.
“Padfoot...”
But Sirius was lost in his own thoughts, confused look in his eyes, trying to understand what he just read. Potter asked quietly who’s handwriting was it and his father answered in a very kind voice that it was Regulus’s.
This meant that Sirius and Andromeda weren’t the only ones with morals on the Black family. This meant that his cousin wasn’t the only brave enough man to stand up for what he believed in. This meant that Regulus was good. Like, putting everyone before himself kind of good, being utterly brave and selfless kind of good.
A tear started to course down Sirius’s cheek. Mr. Potter gently cleaned it with his hand.
“It has to be at Grimmauld.” The man said with a low voice, his eyes seemed lost. “He wouldn’t have put it in the vault, he always said that he didn’t trust the goblins... Everything important to him was at Grimmauld.”
Draco found himself, once more, feeling like he knew Regulus. He felt the same way about that house. He loved everything in it. Except, maybe, for Aunt Walburga.
“We have to go back then.” Potter said with determination in his tone.
And neither Sirius nor Mr. Potter could disagree with him.
“If Regulus started this then I’m going to finish it.” The tone in Sirius’s voice was something that Draco had never heard before... Mr. Potter pulled the man into a hug and kissed his forehead.
“I’m promising you. We will.” Potter’s father whispered as they hugged.
Potter was looking at them with marvelled eyes.
’You know how my dad looks at Padfoot? I want that’
Draco would be the Padfoot to his Prongs any given day if he would ask him. He would hug him, and be there for him, and fight beside him until the day he dies. He would spend the rest of his life waiting for him; quite literally actually, after all, he didn’t have a lot of time left