A/N: Hello, all! Lately my thing has been Gryffndor!Draco and i'm so in love with the idea that I thought I'd try it out. So, here's my take on Draco Malfoy as a Gryffindor! I'm SUPER excited to bring this to you :) My pairings at first might seem off, but in the end you won't be able to tell me that it doesn't work, I promise :) I won't have a regular schedule for when I update this like I normally do, so sadly it will be whenever I find the time in between my other WIP. I just couldn't wait to get this out there! So here we go!
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 1
June 16, 1977
"I don't have a choice Siri. Mother is still livid over Andromeda, and Bella found that horrible Lestrange boy, I have to make an equally-"
"Horrendous decision?!" Sirius spat at his cousin. "Cissa, you don't have to live this life!"
"That's easy for you to say!" She hissed, doing her best to show her annoyance without raising her voice. The last thing she needed was to be caught out of bed after curfew with Sirius Black.
"It is easy for me to say, because I've done it. You don't have to go back. I can talk to James, his parents would surely let you stay. Or Pete, his dad loves me!"
"No. No I can't, I have to do this."
"Why, Cissa?" He pleaded.
"It's what's expected of me." She tried to put some pride into her voice, but couldn't manage it.
"That's bullshit." Sirius said as he turned away from her. "I expected more from you! You're nothing like the rest of them!"
"What would I do, Sirius? Tell me?" She demanded. "Andromeda already met Ted in Hogwarts, she had him for support. You're graduating this year, and next year I'll be here alone."
"I can still protect you, you can live with me when you're not at Hogwarts."
"I'm not of age, I can't do anything about that!"
"You'll still have Reggie, I know he and I have our problems, but if you went to him I know he would protect you."
Narcissa shook her head. "He's not the same since you left, Siri. He's cold now, not like you. Not anymore."
"Cissa, please don't do this." He begged. "Let me help, give me some time to figure this out."
"There is no time, Mother and Father are to sign the contract soon."
"Does it have to be Lucius bloody Malfoy? Cissa, that jackass is a tool."
She snorted in amusement. A small smile lighting her face for the first time since she heard the news of her apparent engagement. "Phaedra Flint has been betrothed to Tobias Nott. It could be worse."
Sirius shook his head. "It's amazing Fay turned out as wonderful as she did, with a last name like Flint."
"Same for you, Sirius Black."
He went to her and put his hands on her small shoulders. "There are a few good apples on every tree."
Narcissa leaned in and rested her forehead against his chest. She would miss him.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"Because there is nothing that can be done about it. I wasn't even told until the engagement was already underway. I'm so sorry,Siri. I know you're disappointed-"
"Shh. Enough of that. We'll figure this out. I won't let anything happen to you."
She nodded, even though they both knew those words weren't true. She would marry Lucius Malfoy, and she would never see Sirius or her secret friends again. At least she had Fay, she was certain she would still be able to visit her. They could stick together.
"It's late, I'll walk you back. I have the cloak."
"I still wonder where in Salazar's name James got this thing."
"He won't even tell me, just that it was a gift from his old man. Truthfully, I don't think he knows where it came from. It's pretty wicked though." He grinned as he pulled out the invisibility cloak and draped it over the both of them. Narcissa was small enough that she could still fit, Sirius however was a good five inches taller than she was, and had to crouch under it so it would hide the both of them.
They walked down to the Slytherin dormitories in silence, not wanting to risk getting caught out of bed by Filch. The man had it in for Sirius, he was convinced. He and James had spent more Saturday's in detention during their years at Hogwarts than out. Even when they were innocent they were still cautious around him.
"I'll miss you, Sirius." Narcissa whispered once they reached the dungeons.
"Don't speak like that, I will figure this out."
"There's only two weeks left, and then we leave, and you graduate. I have to go home, you can't get me out of that."
"I will figure something out." He repeated. He had to. He watched as she disappeared behind the painting of Salazar Slytherin himself, then quietly made his way up to Gryffindor tower. It was nearly midnight, but he knew that his friends would be up waiting for him. Maybe Lily would be in their dorm, or Alice. Surely they would be able to help him.
Once he entered Gryffindor tower he walked quietly up the stairs and into his dorm, where sure enough, all of his friends were waiting for him.
"Well, what's going on?" James asked the moment the door was shut. He and Lily were sitting on his bed, while Frank and Alice were on the floor with Pete playing exploding snap.
His friends had always been night owls. Remus and Marlene McKinnon were lounging on his bed reading, but certainly not sleeping. Alice, Marley, Cissa and Fay were all a year younger than the marauders, as they liked to call themselves these days.
"It's bad." He breathed as he plopped down on his own bed, staring up at the dark red canopy. Everyone waited in silence for him to tell them why Narcissa needed to speak with him tonight. "She's being forced to marry Lucius Malfoy."
Clear gasps from the girls made him chuckle softly. At least they were as appalled as he was. "My thoughts exactly."
"Well we can't let that happen!" Lily exclaimed. "We can't let her ruin her life like that!"
"Right, there has to be something. I've always liked Narcissa." Alice said right after. When Sirius didn't say anything they all shared nervous glances.
Marlene got up from her spot on her boyfriends bed to sit beside Sirius. "She doesn't want you to do anything."
Sirius gave her a sad smile. "It's no wonder you're with Moony, smart witch you are."
"You had your chance." She joked.
Which they all knew wasn't true at all, Remus and Marley had been smitten with each other for years. Sirius fully expected them to marry the day after they graduated.
"I'm not sure what I can do, I kept telling her I would figure it out, but... I don't think I can." His voice was shaky, unable to control it any longer. He had always liked Narcissa. She didn't belong with those whack jobs they had for a family. Andy was able to get out, but at great cost. Even Sirius hardly ever heard from her. And Bella was a lost cause to begin with, he would never say it out loud, but they all knew. Bellatrix was unable at best, when they heard of her engagement to Lestrange, they knew she would be trouble.
"She's underage, so she can't stay with any of us. I said I would ask mom and Dad." He said as he looked to James. "Or maybe she could stay with Lily and Tuni, or Alice. Hell, I even offered up Pete's house for the summer."
"My folks wouldn't mind, I know it." Peter said to him, which made Sirius smile. He really had the best of friends. All these lost causes that came with him were the price of being friends with Sirius Black.
"Everything she said was right. She can't stay with us because her parents will just drag her back, she'll be alone at Hogwarts next year-"
"She will not! She has us!" Alice nearly shouted.
"I love you so much, Ally, but you know what she means."
Alice's shoulders slumped as she nodded. Frank kissed her temple in an attempt to comfort her.
"She also told me poor Fay has been promised to... God, I can't even say it... Tobias Nott."
"You're kidding?! Phaedra? He's even more of a bastard than Malfoy!" Remus yelled.
"Maybe..." Lily began nervously. "Maybe I could speak to Severus. He would be able to at least watch out for them."
"Lils, Snivellus isn't going to help. He's just as deep as Bellatrix." James reminded her.
"You two haven't spoken for over a year." Marley said gently.
"I know, but... he's not all bad. I know there is some good hidden in there. Somewhere."
"I don't want your heart broken again when he says he can't help you." Sirius said softly. Sirius had his own reasons for not liking Severus Snape, as did the rest of them, but for some reason Lily still believed there was something there when there clearly wasn't.
"Well that's for me to worry about." She responded sternly.
"Fine." He breathed. He wasn't in the mood to argue with her tonight. "I don't want to talk about it anymore. I'm writing a letter to Tuni then I'm turning in."
"We'll give you some space, then." Marley said immediately. She patted his thigh before she got up and went back to Remus's bed so Sirius could shut his curtains.
"I'll be better in the morning, there's nothing we can do about it tonight anyway." Sirius said glumly.
"Right. We'll think on it tomorrow." Remus assured him.
Everyone went back to their beds, or in Lily and Alice's case, their boyfriends beds, to prepare for bed.
Sirius dug around for some parchment and the fountain pen Petunia gave him for his birthday last year. He loved that pen. It wrote just as nicely as a quill, and was black and shiny, with his initials engraved in bright red and gold. Once he was settled he began his letter.
Hello, my Flower. I hope you had a wonderful day, mine has not been pleasant. I don't want to explain it all right now, I'll tell you later I promise. Right now I just want to think about you. I'm bursting with nervous energy at just the thought of you, I'll be graduating in two weeks, my love! Think of all the time we can spend together then. Think of the things we can do, when ever we want to do them. I've been dreaming of those days for so long now. Don't get me wrong, I love this castle, it's been more of a home to me than anything else I've felt, other than James' house. But to be able to wake up next to you, knowing that we no longer have to worry about time. I can't wait. Lily is just as excited, she says you two are getting a flat together, and you can finish your last year of university there. Expect me to be over every single night! Either that or the two of you will be at the flat Prongs and I plan to get. I don't care where we sleep, as long as it's together. It's getting late, my dear, so I'll end this love sick letter. I miss you, and can't wait to see you. Love Always, Sirius.
Deciding to send it off tomorrow, he laid down beside the rolled up letter and drifted off to sleep.
Sirius didn't receive any letters from Petunia the week of graduation. He'd sent four letters and got no response. He'd asked Lily if she thought that was strange but she didn't think anything of it. Just said they were were most likely very busy with coming up for their graduation ceremony and she was sure they would hear from them soon. His mind was going wild with worry, not for their relationship, but for her safety. He'd heard of things even in the muggle world getting bad. Disappearances, unexplained murders, homes being ransacked and destroyed by unknown forces. If he didn't hear anything from her by tonight he was grabbing his broom and flying all the way to Cokeworth himself! He couldn't deal with this, not now. The fear of the unknown on top of what he was already dealing with in trying to figure out how to get Narcissa out of the mess she was in.
Really he was just killing time in being here, there tests were already taken, he was eighteen and could leave if he damn well pleased. Deciding enough was enough, he ran from the great hall intending to find Lily and tell her that he was leaving. He'd barely made it passed the two heavy double doors when a frantic redhead slammed into him.
"Sirius!" She cried.
"Lily?! Lily, what's wrong? Tell me!" A heavy feeling settled in his stomach, and he just knew it was about Petunia and something was very wrong.
"Sirius, we have to go. The headmaster is letting us floo to Diagon Alley, where we can apparate to the hospital."
"Hospital? Lily, what the hell is going on?"
"I don't know!" She yelled as the tears streamed down her face. "Mrs. Henderson, the lady next door has been trying to reach us, I guess she went to Diagon this morning and begged for someone to help her get a hold of someone here at the castle. Mom must have told her what to do in an emergency. Anyway, Aberforth Dumbledore flooed the headmaster and said there was an emergency and we have to leave right now, Sirius!"
"Why didn't they send something with my owl?" He shouted as they took off running. "I've been sending letters every day!"
"Your owl doesn't stick around, you know that. And they couldn't find the one you bought for Tuni."
Despite the situation, Sirius let himself smile. The eagle owl he bought for her was a very snobby bird, and only came around when she felt like it. Usually she was always there when Tuni needed to send a letter, which made Sirius worry even more.
"What do you know that you're not telling me?"
"All I know is that it has something to do with Mom, Dad and Tuni. Come on, we're wasting time!"
Normally Sirius would've pointed out that they were running as fast as they could possibly go, with people giving them strange looks and shouting at them to slow down, but he kept that to himself this time and just picked up the pace.
Thankful that he didn't have to explain, they flooed to the Leaky Cauldron then disparated the moment they were there. Lily grabbed his hand and ran with him to the next block, were the hospital was. Sirius stood awkwardly as Lily spoke to the woman at the front desk. Intensive care unit, that didn't sound good he thought. He knew a little about muggle medicine, but the grim look on the woman's face wasn't comforting.
They took the lift to the correct floor, sprinting down the hall as soon as the doors opened. They spotted Mrs. Henderson outside talking to someone one in crisp white robe looking clothes. The young man turned to them when he heard the commotion.
"Lily, oh thank heavens you made it!" Mrs. Henderson breathed as she embraced her in a hug.
"What's happened?" Sirius demanded. He was out of breath and worried sick, expecting to hear the worst.
"Please, let's have a seat." The healer man said to him.
"I'd rather not." He said tightly. He was fidgety and nervous and sitting wasn't going to help.
"Sirius, please." Lily said as she pulled away from the older woman. "Sir, my name is Lily Evans, and this is Sirius Black, a very close family friend."
The man nodded. "I'm Dr. Hughes, I've been assigned to your sisters care."
"Where are my parents? What happened to Petunia?" She questioned.
"Miss Evans, your parents and sister were involved in a car crash two days ago."
"Two days ago! Why wasn't I notified sooner?!"
"I couldn't remember the name of your boarding school." Mrs. Henderson apologized. "I'm sure your parents told me at one point, but I never expected to have to contact you in such an emergency."
"Miss Evans, the car crash was severe. Both of your parents were rushed here for their injuries, they were both in surgery for quite some time. I am very sorry to have to tell you this, but they didn't survive."
"No. No." She shook her head in shock. "No. My- my parents are... what about-" she choked on her sob and Sirius held her tightly.
"What about Petunia?" He finished coarsely.
"Your sister is in critical condition. She was pinned inside the car and the blood loss and trauma to her body was serious. She has several broken ribs, a broken leg, and ruptured spleen, among several other things. She has been sedated for now to allow her body to heal, she isn't aware of your parents yet."
"She's been asleep for two days?" Sirius asked him.
"More or less, yes. Her surgery took several hours and she's been sedated ever since."
"We need to see her." Lily whispered.
"Of course." He stepped aside and opened the door behind him quietly.
Sirius felt like he was hit in the gut by a hippogriff. Seeing his girlfriend lying there, bruised and bandaged was more than he could take.
"Lily, I can't."
"Sirius, I need you. She needs you. You're all she has left." She whispered.
Her words hit him hard. He was all she had left, her parents were dead and Sirius and Lily were all she had now. He nodded and followed her in, his hand clutched tightly in hers. They each took a seat on either side of her, just looking at her. Petunia's face was badly bruised. She had two black eyes and a bandage wrapped around her head. Her bare arms were bruised and scratched with deep cuts, most likely from the broken glass from the car windows. She had heavy blankets covering the rest of her, and to be honest Sirius was afraid to look. One leg appeared to be propped up on several pillows, he assumed that was the broken one.
"Oh, Flower." He sobbed, unable to stay strong anymore. He held her warm hand in his cold clammy one as gently as he could, trying to pour all the love he could into that embrace. She had to make it, she just had to. He selfishly couldn't go through this life without her.
Sirius missed his graduation, choosing to stay at the hospital instead. He insisted that Lily go, it was so important to her after all. Not to say Petunia wasn't, but Lily had worked so hard and excelled in everything she did, she deserved the acknowledgement. James stopped in one night to bring a bag of clean clothes and few personal things. Sirius was grateful, but refused to leave her side even for a moment. It was a full week before she woke up.
Lily and James were in the corner of the room playing chess on a small table they had transfigured, while Sirius read aloud to Petunia. He couldn't stand the quiet, and had to do something to fill the silence. The only thing he had was one of his charm books that was shoved in the bottom of his bag James brought, so it would have to do. Sirius stopped reading the moment he heard her sharp intake of breath.
"Tuni?" He whispered, in shock that she was finally awake.
Her eyes squinted against the light, and Sirius waved his hand immediately to dim them. She smiled at him and that small smile healed the cracks in his tattered heart. "Tuni?"
"S- Siri-"
"Shh, I- I'm here." He gently grazed her cheek with his hand, grateful that here eyes were a little more open and she was looking right at him. That had to be a good sign.
"Where am I?"
Lily was by her side in a heartbeat. "You're at St. Thomas's. You were in an accident."
"Where's Mom and Dad? Did they get everything ready? What day is it?" Her voice hoarse from not using it for so long.
"Slow down Flower, you'll exhaust yourself." Sirius said quietly. He didn't want to tell her, not yet.
"I'll get the doctor." James said as he stood, mostly to give them a moment.
Lily nodded over at him, then turned back to her sister. "What do you remember?"
Petunia took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "We were moving everything to the house, it was supposed to be a surprise."
"A surprise?"
"Yes." She breathed to Sirius. "For you and Lily and James. James' parents found a house in a place called Godric's Hollow, for the four of us, it's really nice. Mom and Dad helped them buy it. They haven't showed it to you have they? I wanted to see your face."
"No, no they haven't showed it to us." Lily said quickly.
"Good." She smiled, completely unaware that Sirius's heart was shattering all over again. "We were moving everything in, decorating and making everything perfect for when you graduated. And we planned a party, did I miss it?"
Lily looked to Sirius nervously. "Petunia, sweetie. You've been in a coma for over a week, we graduated last Friday."
"I missed it?" She said, getting upset.
"Calm down, it's alright. It doesn't matter." Sirius cooed, the last thing she needed was to get worked up.
"I bought a new dress and everything. Red, just for you. I was excited to wear it. I remember..." she paused as she looked down at herself for the first time. "I remember it was raining, Dad lost control of the car and swerved into the other side of the road... we were in a car accident. Lily, are they okay?" Her sisters eyes filled with tears, causing her own eyes to water. "They're not, are they?"
"Flower, your parents... they didn't... the died shortly after the accident. The doctors did everything they could, but they didn't make it." He tired to keep his voice even, but the way she was looking at him, he couldn't hold this up for long.
James arrived with the doctor shortly behind him then, just as Petunia began to cry hysterically.
"This is all my fault! I wanted things to be perfect! They had to be perfect!"
"No, no, sweetie none of this is your fault!" Lily tried to reason.
"Miss Evans, you need to calm down." Dr. Hughes said gently. "Your body is still healing, and we have much to discuss." He turned to the rest of the people in the room. "If we could have some privacy, I need to examine Miss Evans, I'll call you back in shortly."
Sirius was very reluctant to leave her, but he didn't want to get in the way of the doctors. "I'll be just outside." He assured her.
The three of them waited outside for over an hour. James had sent word to the rest of their friends that Petunia was finally awake, but said to wait on visiting since they weren't sure if she'd be up for it. When the door opened and the doctor stepped out Sirius was instantly on his feet.
"I've filled her in on the extensive damage the accident caused, and she's asked to be alone for the time being. It is my suggestion that you let her rest." Without another word he walked away.
Sirius looked back at Lily and James, then went inside anyway. "Petunia?" He whispered as he shut the door. He noticed the lights were back on, but much dimmer.
"Sirius." Her voice void of anything at all.
"The doctor said you wished to be alone-"
"And clearly you didn't listen."
He tried to smirk at her. "When do I ever do that?" He sat on her bed and took her hand in his. "Talk to me, love."
"They've told me what the car accident did to me. What the surgery was for. Did Lily tell you?"
"She did, yes."
At his words she starting crying. "I'm so sorry, Siri."
"Sorry? Love, what for?"
"The bleeding, it wouldn't stop. They said that there was too much damage... that they had no choice." She sniffed in an effort to get her emotions under control, and Sirius waited patiently for her to continue. "They had to do a hysterectomy."
"I know that."
"But do you know what that means? It means I can never have children."
"There's healers in the wizarding world, too. We can consult with them-"
"Sirius, you don't understand. The parts, the organs that make it possible for a woman to carry a child, I don't have those anymore. I will never be able to produce or carry a child. Ever." She ripped her hand from his and covered her face. "I wanted to give you sons. I wanted to show you that you are more than that wretched family you came from. I wanted to to give you sons just like you!"
His hands encircled her wrists and carefully pulled her hands way from her face. "Petunia Evans, look at me." When her eyes met his he saw the sheer torture behind her eyes, the amount of grief and sadness that was there. "Flower, I'd hate to sound heartless, but I don't care. I don't care that we will never have children of our own. I will have you and that is all I need. You are all I will ever need. I've been scared out of my mind for the last two weeks worrying about you, and as long as we have each other, that's all I will never need. You are perfect, Petunia. You, as you are right now, are perfect."
"Oh Sirius." She cried. "I have such a headache." She said after a moment.
"You should rest. I'll stay here with you."
"No, I'm alright. You should get out for a bit, go see Remus and Marley. If I know you Sirius Black you haven't left this room. Go get something decent to eat. I'll still be here." She tried to joke.
He knew that she needed time to think about everything. This was just what she did, she had a plan for everything. She was a perfectionist and a neat freak and Sirius will never understand what she sees in him , but he's learned not to question it.
"They cut my hair." She said plainly.
"I noticed." He said as he ran his hand along her bandaged forehead. She'd always loved her perfectly straight brown hair. "I'll cut mine, too. If you want."
"Don't you dare, Siri." She warned.
He chuckled. "I love you, so much."
"I love you, too."
"Rest now. I'll be back, soon."
She nodded and closed her eyes, not wanting to watch him leave.
At Sirius's request, James took him to the house in Godric's Hollow. He could pretend to be surprised if Petunia still wanted it to be one, but he needed to see it. He knew she would blame herself for the accident for the rest of her life, she just wanted everything to be perfect. She wanted them to all be together, he knew it killed her every time the three of them had to leave for school. He wasn't even sure if Petunia had any genuine friends at her own university. All of her friends were their friends from Hogwarts.
He stared at the perfect little cobblestone cottage in front of him in awe. With its perfect stone fence and perfect bushes and flowers and perfect drive for Petunia's car. It was simply perfect. They walked in and Sirius was hit with how much like home it felt. It's creamy tan walls and hardwood floors with exposed beams on the ceiling. The huge fireplace on the far living room wall, The way you could see the whole room from the wide open country kitchen. The warm red rugs and red throw pillows to match. Then he saw the huge banner hanging in the dining room.
Welcome Home!
"She did all this?"
James nodded. "Mom and Dad found it, and I guess the place was cheap because it needed a lot of work, so they bought it. Mr. and Mrs. Evans paid for the renovations. Petunia decorated it. Every room, even ours."
"I'm sure she did." Sirius smiled. "I planned on living in some tight little flat in London, nothing like this."
"She worked really hard. Lily was so proud of her when she told her that she finished university early and-"
"Wait, what?"
James looked confused and first, then realized that Sirius didn't know. "Shit! I just ruined it, didn't I?"
"She finished uni early?"
"Yes, she graduated in May. A full year early, she doubled up classes to be finished at the same time as you. I guess even took a few night courses."
"I wanted to see her graduate." Sirius told him.
"She wanted to see you graduate, too. Now neither of you can feel bad about that, can you."
"I guess not." He agreed. He would never bring up her graduating without him, she had worked so hard so they could start their life together. They'd spent enough time apart.
"We can go now. I don't want to spoil the surprise of the bedroom for her, I just had to see it."
"We'll have that big party when she's able to come home. I know it meant a lot to her."
"It's all going to be different now."
"We can handle it." James said confidently. "We're brothers marrying sisters, and we can handle whatever comes our way."
Sirius looked over and smiled, the weight that had settled in his chest for the last two weeks finally starting to disappear. James was right. Together, they could handle anything.