((A/N: Here are a few more “ripples”… :-)

August eleventh finally came and Ginevra turned twelve. Ginny was twenty-one and holding for the next nine years as far as she was concerned. Still, it was her birthday and she planned to enjoy it as much as possible.

When lunchtime came, the festivities started. Sirius came over, as did Hermione (who was recently back from a family holiday trip to the continent). Sirius had formally greeted Hermione, which caused the young witch to blush when her hand was kissed. After that, Sirius became his more casual and care-free self. They had all of Ginny’s favorite foods, including a chocolate birthday cake.

Finally, it was time for presents. Ginny never thought of presents as the main reason for a birthday party, as Ron did, but she would admit to herself that it was a fun part. It was fun to see what imaginative things people would get for gifts.

“Here, Ginny.” Her father handed her a wrapped present. The box was a little over a yard long and not very big around. “It’s from your mother and me. Bill and Charlie chipped in too.”

Ginny ripped the paper off and there was a brand new Shooting Star. “Wow! Thanks!” She told them as she admired her new broom. “This will be great for when I get on the Quidditch team at school.”

“That’s not going to happen any time soon,” Ron said, “not with the Chasers and Seeker we have now.”

“I want to be a Chaser, Ron,” she said as she ran her hand over the broom shaft, before inspecting the tail twigs. “I can wait a couple of years if I need to.” She looked back up at her parents and beamed. “Thanks!”

“You’re welcome, dear,” her mother told her, also with a smile.

Ginny set the broom down and took the next present passed to her. It was from Percy. Unwrapping it, she found a book on Nordic Runes.

“That will supplement what you have in class, as it discusses how Nordic Runes can be combined with other forms. I thought you might like it since I saw you reading Harry’s book so avidly,” Percy explained.

“Thanks, Percy. I’m sure it will be helpful to me.” She flashed him a smile as she put the book next to the broom before she took a present from Ron. Opening it, she found a box of assorted chocolates. “Thanks, Ron. These look really delicious.”

Ron smiled back at her. “Mum said a girl can never have too much chocolate.”

Ginny laughed, and then laughed harder when her mother gave Ron a strange look. Apparently, her brother had misinterpreted some comment her mother had made. It would be amusing to know what had been really said.

Hermione passed her present to Ginny. Unwrapping it, Ginny found a box of hair things: bows, braid holders, a little mirror, barrettes, and some hair combs.

“Thank you, Hermione. This will be really helpful.” Ginny admired everything in the box.

“I thought it would be. You seem to like to do different things with your hair, and I thought this might help.”

“Yes it will,” Ginny said with a smile as she set it down by the broom.

Sirius handed her a present that was not very big around, but about a foot tall and heavy. She wondered what it was as she unwrapped it. She opened the box and pulled out a white vase made of marble.

“Very pretty; thank you Sirius.”

“I think it will come in handy in the coming years. It has a Stay-Fresh charm on it, so the flowers you put in it will last five times as long as they normally would,” Sirius told her.

“That’s very generous, Sirius,” her mother said.

The man shrugged. “It was something that I saw in the store and thought she’d like, as well as be useful.”

“It is.” Ginny set it down and picked up the last present. She had purposefully saved it to last. Ginny was not sure what Harry had gotten her in the flat rectangular box, about the size to hold a shirt. She was sure Sirius would have influenced this gift, but Harry had been acting a bit strange for the last weeks, ever since he had spent that one day brooding.

Unwrapping it and opening the box, Ginny pulled out an ornate wooden picture frame that held a picture of her family from the last holidays when they had all been together. Everyone was waving and having a good time.

“Thank you, Harry. That’s very sweet of you.” She gave him a big smile and he blushed.

“It’s not an ordinary frame,” Harry finally said, as he got over the initial embarrassment. “It will hold up to five pictures and if you tap your wand on it, it will change to the next picture. Sirius got the picture of your family for me from your mother.”

Ginny pulled out her wand and tapped the frame. The picture change to be only Harry, who standing there and looking mostly proud of himself, although there was a hint of shyness. She grinned at him and he blushed again, this time looking down. With another tap of her wand, the picture of her family came back. “There are only the two pictures in it now?”

“Er, yeah. I didn’t know who you might want to put in it,” Harry said. “There are instructions on the back of it for how to add and remove pictures.”

“Thank you, Harry. It’s very nice.” Ginny set the present down and then stood to walk over to Harry. She gave him a hug, which he returned, although too briefly. It again reminded her that something was not quite right. Ginny went around the circle, hugging everyone and again telling them thank you for their present.

Another round of cake and ice cream was started and they all enjoyed the time talking, or so it seemed to Ginny. After eating, she, Harry, Ron, and Hermione went outside, going down by the pond to talk. Hermione told them about her trip and she listened carefully as the other three told her about their summer. Hermione paid special attention to Harry when he told of Pettigrew’s capture and getting to know Sirius. Ginny and Harry purposefully left out their special adventure.

She enjoyed the relaxing time, spending most of it watching Harry. Again she had the observation that he was acting differently somehow. He was still friendly to her and talking to her, but there was something between them, something that was preventing the closeness they had before. It had started after his brooding time, which had been right after they had destroyed Voldemort. That confused her, as that should have been a very happy time. He was happy, just not very happy; it perplexed her. As Harry continued to talk, she carefully examined her memories of the last week. Hermione’s presence forced Ginny to stay in the conversation and for her self-examination to be slow, but she could come up with nothing that should have caused this.

Despite her concern, the four had a wonderful time for the rest of the afternoon.

---

After dinner, Ginny’s father Side-Along Apparated Hermione home and Ron challenged Harry to a game of chess. Harry agreed, but not before getting Ron to agree to explain the moves as they played. (Once Harry told Ron that if he were to explain why he made some of his moves so Harry could learn, he would get better and could give Ron more challenging games in the future.)

Her father returned after the game was underway and Ginny went to meet him at the door. “Dad, can we talk outside for a few minutes?”

“Of course, Ginny.” He led her outside, holding the door open for her. As they started around the back garden, he put his hand on her shoulder and asked, “What seems to be on your mind that you don’t want the boys to hear?”

She looked up at him. “Was it that obvious?”

“To me, but probably not to them. Let’s try the bench, shall we?” He sat down and waited patiently.

Ginny joined him. “Dad, does Mum ever surprise you? You know, doing things you don’t expect after you’ve been married for so long?”

He chuckled. “Probably only on a weekly basis, now. When we first got married, I probably would have said on an hourly basis. Why do you ask? Is someone surprising you?”

She nodded. “I know I don’t know everything about Harry, so I know I shouldn’t really be surprised by what he does, but it seems like he’s been acting strangely around me lately and I don’t know why.”

“Have you had a fight with him recently?”

“No. I’d understand if we had. Things have been pretty normal. He seems a little more distant for some reason,” she said in a slightly worried voice.

Her father looked at her for a moment. “What was the last big thing you remember happening before this change?”

Ginny considered that. “We were spending time with Sirius. He was showing us his new house and the three of us spent a fun afternoon together. Nothing really bad happened that I can remember.” Not counting being stabbed by a basilisk fang, but we healed that, she thought.

“I see.” He looked thoughtful for a moment. “You do realize that Harry will not be living here after this summer, do you not?”

“Yes. I know he’ll only be over here for visits.”

“Perhaps that has something to do with it. Maybe he’s starting to come to terms with a change in his family situation. He now has a father figure in his life that he’s never had before, someone to care for him even when other adults may not,” he suggested.

Something about her father’s words triggered a memory. She had told him she would always be there for him and later teased him about them doing something together next summer. Had he figured out what she had meant? Then an alarming thought occurred. Had he figured out the one big secret she had not told him?

“Ginny. Ginny?” Her father’s voice cut through her thoughts. “Is there something wrong?”

She knew what she needed to do. She had tried hard not to tell him, but she had also opened her big mouth in teasing him and had probably given him too much information. She had been stupid and not given him enough credit for solving problems.

“Yeah, I suddenly remembered that I said something in fun that may have hurt his feelings.” It was only partially true, but it was something her father would understand. “Dad, can you help me with something?”

“If I can, but if you’ve done something wrong, you’ll need to be the one to fix it.”

“I know. I just…” She sighed as the thought about what she was going to have to do. “Can you please go back in and get Harry to come out here when he finishes his game?”

He chuckled. “I can do something that simple. Would you like me to keep everyone else inside, too?”

“Would you, please?” She gave him her best innocent and pleading look.

“Of course,” he said with a fatherly smile. “It will be getting dark soon, but I think he knows where this bench is.”

“I… we,” she corrected herself, “will stay here.”

Her father reached over to grab her shoulder, pulling her over so he could kiss the top of head. “I’m glad you’ve figured out what’s wrong, and I’m proud of you for trying to fix it.”

“Thanks, Dad,” she said with a sad voice. “But it would have been better not to have made the mistake to begin with.”

“True, but as I recall, earlier this summer someone said that no one is perfect.” He gave her shoulder a squeeze and stood up, walking into the house.

Ginny sat there for a moment, considering the irony of her words to Dumbledore and her mother coming back at her. She sighed and started thinking about what she would say to Harry, whenever he came out.

It was recently dark and almost half an hour later when she heard the back door open. She watched the outline of a person from the light in the house walk towards her. “Your dad said you wanted to talk to me about something important?” He sounded like her Harry when he had said that -- very to the point.

“Yes, I do. Have a seat, this may take awhile.”

He sat and she could barely make out his face in the low moonlight as the white orb started to rise. It looked very neutral. “As long as our last big conversation?”

Ginny winced internally. She did not know if he meant it as a slap at her, but she took it that way. She could have shared her last secret then.

“Maybe,” she finally said as she slid her wand out. “Sit still for a second, I would feel better with a little more privacy. Muffliato.”

“What was that?” Fortunately, he did not sound concerned, mostly just curious.

“It’s a spell to muffle our conversation. To anyone else, it will sound something like an insect buzzing around.”

“That’s cool,” he said, sounding a little excited. “Can you teach me that one?”

“Sure.” The moment was here and she could not put it off any longer. “Harry, I’ve noticed that you’ve been acting a little differently recently.” He stiffened. “This is my fault, isn’t it?”

He looked down. “I don’t know,” he finally said.

She took a slow and deep breath before continuing. She was a little frustrated by that answer, but held it in. “How can you not know? Either I did something wrong and you’re mad at me, or I didn’t.”

Harry still would not look at her. “You know it’s hard to talk about this, right?”

“Yeah, but if we don’t, it will only get worse and I really don’t want to lose my best friend.” The memory of their first big conversation returned with her reaction when she had told him that. She purposefully put her hands on the bench, gripping it hard, so she would not try to hug him and hold him.

“You’re probably right,” he slowly admitted.

“And?” she prompted when he did not say more.

Harry continued to look down, as if thinking hard. “You’ve said that you left out details as you told me the story about when you came from, but there was something bigger than a detail about us that you left out, wasn’t there?” He now turned his head and looked at her, looking straight into her eyes. He held her gaze, daring her to tell the truth.

“Yes,” she finally admitted as if it had been dragged out, before she quickly rushed on to say, “but I had a very good reason.”

“I suppose it was something for the greater good, wasn’t it?” he asked mildly, but it cut her to the quick.

Ginny clinched the bench tighter to try to avoid crying at the words he had used -- at the image he had invoked. He had compared her to Dumbledore, someone she had said he could not fully trust. She could not hold it and dropped her face down to her knees, her hands coming up to hide her. Sobs started to come out as she could hold them back no longer. She had lost his full trust.

She was not sure how long she had cried, but it was at least a minute or two. When she got herself under control so that she was only sniffling, she turned her head and saw him still sitting there, his face a mask of indifference in the slowly growing moonlight. “Can I,” she sniffled again, “can I at least explain?

He shrugged. “If you want.”

His indifference hurt and almost made her start crying again. She wondered if her attempt to repair the breach between them would succeed. Slowly she sat back up. Pulling her wand back out, she conjured a tissue to dry her eyes and wipe her nose. She Vanished it before putting her wand back up. “I was afraid -- Harry…” She was not sure she could go on at the moment.

“Afraid of what?” he asked in a monotone

The luxury of ignoring this was not present; she had to tell him. “I was afraid of effectively forcing you to do something, Harry. I was afraid that if I told you what we had been in my first timeline, that you would think it had to be or, perhaps, that you would think that I expected it, and so you’d do it for only that reason; but I didn’t want that. I want you so badly, Harry, but I also want you to make that choice because you want to, not because you feel compelled. Do you understand? Please tell me you honestly understand.”

He did not look surprised at her revelation, not one bit. She had had a small hope that he had thought the problem to be something else, but that did not appear to be.

“I understand your reasoning,” he said.

She started to relax, until he spoke again.

“But your reasoning was wrong. If you’re going to try to come back and, and claim me,” his voice rose slightly, “shouldn’t you have told me and given me the choice directly?”

“No, it wasn’t like that,” she forcefully argued. “Yes, I wanted us to be together again. Yes, I did my best to make myself look good in your eyes, just like any girl would. But I’d never do anything to force you to pick me, or to claim you, as you put it. I wanted you to be happy and I thought you’d be happiest with me because we’ve been happy together before. Is it so wrong of me to want you to be happy?”

Harry stared at her for a long moment. “No,” he finally said. “No, it’s never wrong to want someone else to be happy, but how…,” he paused for a second, “why you do that can be wrong. It’s part of what I struggled with when I realized the truth.”

“The day you brooded after everything we did?”

“I did not brood,” he said succinctly.

“OK, the day you sat around looking depressed and wouldn’t talk to anyone?” A small part of her good humor started to return.

He made a sound like a growl. “Whatever. How long? How long were we married? And did we have children?”

Her good humor quickly departed and she was again the contrite little girl. “Only for a year before the Final Battle and no, no children. We wanted to wait until the war was over to start a family.”

“And you want that back with me?”

“Yes. No!” She quickly corrected herself when she realized what that must sound like. “Yes, I want us to get together one day when you’re older, but for now, I just want us to be best friends. Even as wonderful as it was to for us to be married, having you as my best friend was the best part of our relationship.”

He thought for a moment. The calm and almost cold Harry returned. “Please tell me what your plans were for us. I want to know all of your intentions.”

She probably did owe him that. “I planned to be your best friend and help you where I could until fourth year. While there is no need for it now, in your other fourth year, there was a big tournament at the school.” She decided to leave out the fact that Harry had been entered as a contestant. There was no need to give him more stress at the moment. “There was traditionally a Yule Ball with it. I had hoped that if that happened again, you’d take me to that and we’d start to date because of that. Beyond that, I had no real plans, other than to be the best girlfriend I could until you wanted to make it permanent.” When he looked up at the stars and did not say anything for a while, she asked, “How upset are you at me?”

He sat there a while longer. “I don’t know, and that’s part of the problem.” He still would not look at her. “Part of me is really upset with you, as it feels like you were … using me or something like that. And yet, I can understand your reasoning, now that you tell me. But when I didn’t know that, the only positive things I could think about was the sacrifice you’d made to come back and save me from all the horror of having to fight Voldemort and of having to deal with Sirius dying. You’ve also rescued me from having to live with the Dursleys and given me Sirius to go live with from now on.

“When I first realized you had married, uh, the other me, it wasn’t hard to understand that you wanted to make that happen again. I mean, if I had a family and lost them, I’d probably do anything to get them back too. But I’m not that me.” He groaned for a second. “This time stuff is so difficult.”

She smiled slightly at his predicament.

“Despite how many good things you’re doing, you have no automatic right to this me, or to expect me to be more than a friend to you. I’m very thankful of the problems you’ve saved me from, but I don’t think that means I have to marry you. Do you?”

“No,” Ginny said quietly as she shook her head. “I never meant it like that; you do understand my intentions.” She considered what else needed to be said. “I enjoy teasing and flirting with you, and the other you enjoyed it, as well as flirting back with me. Besides being your best friend, I only wanted to make myself look like a good choice for a girlfriend, Harry. I would never force you to do anything, even now.”

He nodded. “I do thank you for that, as well as what you did for me concerning Voldemort and the Dursleys.”

“Anytime, Harry.” When he did not say anything more for a minute, she asked, “So now what?”

“I don’t totally know. I am thankful for what you did, so I’ll always be your friend, and I’ve been trying to do that. But you also acted just like Dumbledore in not telling me something important that affected me.”

Ginny hung her head. “It was only with the one thing, and it was possible you would not have picked me anyway. I gave you that choice.”

He ran his fingers through his hair. “I suppose that is the crux of the matter: choice. I’ll also admit that you’ve been good about giving me choices, even on this. I wish you had handled this differently, though.”

She softly snorted. “Me too, but hindsight is always perfect.”

Harry chuckled. “Yeah, no one is perfect. Isn’t that what you said to him?”

“Please, not you too,” she ended in a groan.

“Me too, what?” he asked.

“Before he sent you out, my father reminded me of what I said to Dumbledore. I know I’m not perfect. All I can say is that I try my best.” What more was there to say, she thought.

Harry nodded, staying quiet for a moment. “Ginny, I guess you’ll have to give me some time. I understand better now, but I’m still a little upset. Is there anything else important you haven’t told me about?”

“No,” she quickly told him. “Nothing else important.” She looked at him, trying her best to hold his gaze. “You’ll still be my friend?”

A slow smile came over him. “Yes, I’ll still be your friend. Come here.” He held his arms open and she hurriedly scooted over. His hug felt so good, especially after what she had been through this evening. “As for whether I’ll be your boyfriend, you’ll have to wait. I know you’re a girl, like I know there are other girls too. I’m not sure Ron’s figured that out yet, but I have.”

Ginny giggled and sat up straight as he let her go.

“To be honest, I don’t care about having a girlfriend right now, not like the older boys do,” he said very matter-of-factly before he shrugged. “Maybe next year.”

“I’ll wait,” she told him. “I’ll wait as long as I have to, but it will always be your choice, Harry.”

“Thanks. Well, I think I’ll go in and go to bed early. It’s been a long day.” He stood, but she did not. “Are you coming too?”

“In a few minutes. Oh, wait.” She pulled out her wand and cancelled the muffling charm. “There, now you’ll sound normal to everyone else.”

“Right. Thanks, Ginny.”

“You’re welcome, Harry.” She watched him walk into the house. A few minutes later, a light came on in Bill’s old room. She contemplated the conversation and where they were now. At least they had friendship and there were no more secrets, but she wondered how much she had damaged Harry’s trust in her and how long it would take to rebuild that. He seemed to understand what she had been thinking, but he was obviously still hurt. She hoped time would heal this wound soon.

Ginny got up and walked inside. Her father looked up at her from the book he had been reading with a questioning look, but it was Ron who asked the first question.

“Did he hurt you?” Ron asked protectively.

She almost laughed, but he did not understand how ludicrous that question was. “No, Ron. I hurt him, but I think we’ve worked it out.”

All anger and protectiveness vanished from her brother. A glance at her father showed him to be smiling.

“I think I’ll go to bed. Good-night everyone.” Ginny went upstairs, thankful that her mother was not there to quiz her.

Narcissa Malfoy walked into her parlor and looked around. She snapped her fingers and called, “Winny!”

A house-elf popped in. “Yes, Mistress.”

“Tea for three and some biscuits, the strawberry frosted ones if you can get them.”

“Yes, Mistress.” The elf popped out.

Narcissa looked around the room, her eyes searching for something expensive, but not finding anything. Over the last few months, she had sold everything of real value she could find. Her cousin had been the biggest help, but all the fines she had had to pay for her husband’s misdeeds had taken everything in their vault and then most everything else she could get her hands on. She had even had to sell all of their properties and businesses to stay afloat.

She had appreciated Sirius’s help a week ago more than she could tell him -- literally. Pride did prevent some things from happening, even with family -- which took her to the heart of the upcoming meeting. Sirius had put a question to her that was very difficult and the day had come for her to give an answer.

A still portrait of her family on the wall caught her attention and brought an ugly reality to her. Lucius would never be here again and she wondered if she had already lost her son. Sixteen years of marriage and what did she have to show for it?

The house-elf popped back in with a tray at the same time the knocker on the front door sounded. “Set it on table. I’ll pour after I answer the door.”

“Yes, Mistress.”

Narcissa looked in the mirror near the door. She looked perfect as always, at least on the outside. On the inside, well, she was about to try to fix that. She opened the door.

“Cousin Narcissa.” Sirius gave her a bow.

“Good afternoon, my Lord,” she said graciously with a small bow and curtsy. “Please come in. I have tea in the parlor.”

“Thank you. How have you been?” he asked as they walked.

“You know how it is. One does what one can,” she said as she led him into the parlor.

“Oh, my favorites,” he said happily as he picked up a biscuit with strawberry icing on it. “I’m surprised you remembered.”

She chuckled. “How could I not, considering how many of them I saw you eat when we were younger?” She poured him some tea, added sugar and a spot of milk before handing him the cup and saucer. “Are you doing well since we last spoke?”

“Splendid. One might even say I’ve had a brilliant week.” He took a sip of his tea. “So, shall we discuss the main question, or was there something else you wanted to talk about first?”

Narcissa gave him a polite smile. “You always were straight to the point, unless there was a prank to be played.” He gave her a big smile. “If I take you up on your offer, what are the details of your conditions?”

Sirius set his tea down for a moment, waving his hand as he talked. “You can have your choice of a flat in London or a cottage near Liverpool, free of charge. I’ll also give you a thousand Galleon stipend per month. It won’t allow you a life of complete luxury, but enough of one that you can keep up your image. I’d also advise you to arrange to keep your last house-elf; it will make things much easier on you. Lastly, when you find an arrangement that you desire, I’m quite willing to negotiate for you, with your desires firmly in mind.”

She had expected most of that. The help with a future marriage arrangement was a nice addition. “And my son?” This could be a sticky part.

He shrugged and reached for tea. “That’s up to him, but as you know, there will be certain expectations that must be agreed to.”

That had been expected too. She glanced back up at the portrait, seeing herself staring down and mocking her in her present situation, not that her father had given her much of a choice sixteen years ago.

“Very well, I accept.” She snapped her fingers and called, “Winny.”

The elf popped in. “Yes, Mistress.”

“Winny, please pay attention.” She turned back to her guest. “Sirius Black, will you buy my house-elf for one Galleon, with the promise to resell her to me at a time of my choice for the same price?”

“I will.” Sirius reached into his robes. A moment later, he flipped a Galleon to Narcissa.

She frowned at his impertinence as she caught the coin. “Winny, this is your new master, Sirius Black.” The elf looked scared, but there was nothing she could do.

Sirius smiled and gently said, “Winny, for your first task, I ask you to serve your former Mistress, Narcissa Malfoy -- soon to be Narcissa Black, until I tell you otherwise.”

“Yes, Master.” The little elf looked much relieved.

“You have nothing to fear, Winny, but you must belong to me for the time being.” A mischievous smile came over him. “In fact, would you please go find young Draco and tell him that his mother desires to speak with him here? Please remember that he can not give you any orders now.”

Winny looked happy. “Yes, Master.” She left with a pop.

“Very calculating, Narcissa. I see that you have not forgotten the ways of the Blacks.”

“Merlin forbid. I just have not been able to use those ways as often as I’d like.” Anger washed over her and she said with distaste, “Lucius did not allow me to have ‘ideas above my station’.”

Sirius grimaced. “Well, that will be taken care of. How do you think young Draco will choose?”

She sighed. “I’m afraid I can not fully say. His father has filled his head with unrealistic ideas and I have been unable to show him the true way.”

“Pity,” Sirius softly said before he finished his tea.

Narcissa took his cup and saucer and refilled it, making it as he liked it. She also refilled hers and then made the third cup. The third one was placed on a small table near a chair just as her son came into the room.

“What did you want, Mother?” It was said with disdain, as if his time was being wasted.

“Greet our guest, Draco, then take a seat and enjoy your tea as we talk,” she said smoothly, ignoring his disrespect, hopefully for the last time. She would not tolerate it in the future, as she would have no restrictions then.

Draco turned and saw the man for the first time. “Sirius Black?” he said, very surprised.

Sirius stood. “I am, however, you would do well to call me Lord Black at the moment, or Mr Black if you prefer, Master Malfoy,” he said formally.

The boy stared for a moment.

“Draco, you will greet him and treat him with respect, as he is extended family and over you,” she firmly whispered.

That seemed to snap Draco out of wherever he had mentally gone. He bowed his head slightly. “Good afternoon, Mr Black.” He held out his hand and Sirius shook it.

Sirius sat back down and picked up his tea. Draco did the same, as did Narcissa.

“Master Malfoy, I come today with an offer for you, a one-time offer; but perhaps I should explain a few things to you.”

Draco looked gleeful, she noted with disgust. Well, he would find out that all may not be as he thinks.

“Now that I am in my rightful place,” Sirius said, “I intended to return the Noble House of Black to its former glory. My first step was to correct an error my parents made. Your Aunt Andromeda is now fully restored to the family, as is her daughter.”

“But, but she married a Mu…”

“Draco!” She cut him off before he could get himself into more trouble. “Mind your tongue and who you’re talking to. Also remember the history of the House of Black.”

The boy looked at her calculatingly before he said, “My apologies for interrupting, Mr Black.”

“Thank you, but please see that you don’t do that again,” Sirius told him with an intense look. “As I was saying, your Aunt Andromeda is back in the family. I’ve also noted that your father has not held up his end of the marriage contract he signed with the House of Black.”

Draco looked unhappy, but held his tongue.

“Therefore, I have given your mother the opportunity to have me break the contract and she has decided to accept and become a Black again.” Sirius paused. An outburst was obviously about to come.

“Mother! How could you!”

“Very simple.” Her calm answer was a stark contrast to his outburst, which amused her. “Your father was careless and got himself caught. Because of his carelessness, the House of Malfoy is essentially without any of its former power and is disgraced. The marriage contract he signed was very clear as to keeping a good reputation and providing me with the luxuries of life. He has failed and has no hope of ever fulfilling that contract. In fact, he might even die in prison before you finish your education.” She watched her son go through shock and surprise. She had tried to hint at this before, but he had never listened. She did truly love her son, but she wondered if he loved her. Narcissa supposed she was about to find out. She had never truly loved Lucius; it had been a marriage for family politics.

Sirius gently cleared his throat. “So, Master Malfoy, you have a decision in front of you. You may stay with your mother and become a Black as well, leaving the name and heritage of Malfoy behind. If you do, I will become your head of family and all that implies. Or, you may stay a Malfoy and attempt to go your own way. As you can guess, each choice has its advantages and disadvantages. You may choose now, or if you like, we can discuss this while your mother and I give you advice before you make your decision.”

Draco became angry. “Why would I want to listen to you when you’re doing this to my family?” he snarled at them.

Despite the fact that Sirius calmly sat there, Narcissa was appalled. “Have I taught you nothing? Show him respect,” she told him with more than a hint of anger in her voice. “If you’re stupid enough to make a decision of this magnitude without any advice at the age of thirteen, then you are truly the spoiled child of your father and deserve precisely what you will get by remaining a Malfoy.”

That shut her son up and she was glad; but then, she should know how to get his attention. “Now, if you will apologize for your uncivilized behavior, we will give you useful information and advice. If you think you know what you’re in for already, then make a choice.” She glared at him as only a mother could and he shrank back into his chair.

“My apologies, Mr Black.” He glanced at his mother and hastily added, “And to you as well, Mother. I’m afraid my surprise got the better of me.”

“Accepted,” Sirius said, his demeanor not changing.

“That’s better, Draco,” she softly said. “Now, what questions do you have?”

He appeared to be having to work to control himself, but Draco managed a civil question. “What does it mean to be a Black?”

“An excellent first question,” Sirius told him. “I would become your Head of House and patron. Any action of significance that you plan to take must be approved by me because it reflects on our house. If you do not do so, and your actions have severe negative consequences, you can expect to deal with those on your own and you may even be cast out of the house. You would still have your mother as your guardian, as you do now, living with her when not in school. You would also have to start acting like a Black. We are not spoiled children,” Draco bristled but kept quiet, “and we do not bully others. We know our place and use subtlety and cunning to accomplish our goals. We understand the traditions of our world, but we are not opposed to ignoring those traditions when they become outdated. We are progressive and we lead our world. Most importantly to your everyday life, you will always treat my heir, Harry Potter, and his friends with respect, as he is presently your future Head of House.”

Draco looked furious. “And if I decide to stay a Malfoy?” he ground out, just barely polite.

“Then before I cancel the contract between the House of Black and House of Malfoy, your mother will sign the paperwork to emancipate you, making you an adult and responsible for yourself, including being fully liable for all of your actions.” Draco smiled. “And I do mean all of your actions. You become fully liable for all legal and financial obligations for the House of Malfoy.”

When Sirius stopped talking, Draco said, “I’ll stay a Malfoy. My father’s house will be great again.”

Sirius started to laugh. Narcissa could not help herself and she started to chuckle too.

“What? What are you laughing at? I demand that you tell me,” Draco ordered them, which caused more chuckling.

“Narcissa,” Sirius started when his chuckling settled, “perhaps you should explain the present condition of the House of Malfoy. As much as I dislike Lucius, I really do hate to take advantage of your son so easily. It spoils the game.”

Draco looked offended, but she ignored his look. Perhaps his choice was for the best, since he had never paid attention to the lessons she had tried to teach him.

“Draco, because of all of the fines we were forced to pay because of your father’s foolish actions, the Malfoy family vault has about 100 Galleons in it at the moment and all the properties and business that we owned have been sold. Other than our manor house, which has its taxes paid until the end of this year, we have no other assests or money.” That was not quite true as she had siphoned nearly 50,000 Galleons off into a private account to sustain her in an emergency, but he did not need to know that. “We also have no income, and so we will not be able to pay the taxes next year. I can’t even pay for your school next term.”

The Malfoy heir sat completely still, stunned at the news.

Sirius spoke next. “Whatever you do is your choice, but my advice would be to store off any family heirlooms into the family vault, and then sell the Manor house, as only a Malfoy by blood can sell it.” Draco’s eyes went large. “That would relieve you of the burden of paying those taxes and give you enough cash to complete school and to live for a few years or so while you find a job.”

“Sell the family manor house?” he asked incredulously. He thought about that for a moment before a smile came over his face. “But I would have all the money from that,” he said as if talking to himself out loud.

He would get Sickles on the Galleon, Narcissa knew, but that would not be her problem if he chose not to follow her. Sirius did not mention anything more about selling the house either.

“If I may give you one other piece of advice?” Sirius calmly queried.

Draco looked like he was about to tell Sirius off, but he relented at the last second and said, “You may.”

With a smirk, Sirius slowly leaned forward and said, “I would advise you to immediately put in a request to transfer to Durmstrang, so you can attend when their school year starts in a few weeks.”

Draco looked confused. “Why?”

Sirius’s smirk because almost predatory. “Because, part of being on your own means that you have no patron to protect you, no father to back you up. So if you do something stupid, like try to bully another student who does have a protector, you may find yourself arrested and in front of the Wizengamot with no one to help you, at least if you’re lucky. If you’re unlucky, well, magic is very useful for making people just disappear -- permanently.”

It was all Narcissa could do to keep her mask on as the look of horror dawned on her son’s face when the meaning of Sirius’s warning because clear. She loved her son because he was her blood, but she hated what he had become under Lucius’s tutelage.

Sirius picked up another biscuit and nibbled at it while he watched Draco process that. “So Master Malfoy, what is your decision?”

Draco sat there for a few minutes fidgeting, mostly looking at his cold cup of tea. Finally, he looked up and said, “I think I’ll be a Malfoy, but I’ll transfer to Durmstrang.” He looked at his mother. “Would you help me with selling the house, or at least putting it up for sale, so I only need to look at the offers?”

“Of course, Draco. It will take a few days for the paperwork to be filled out and approved. If you have any questions on the offers, I’ll even be happy to advise you,” she said. Assuming he was respectful to her, she added to herself.

“Thank you, Mother. I’ll write a letter to Durmstrang now. Winny?” he snapped his fingers, but the elf did not come. “Where is that blasted elf?” he complained.

“I believe you’ll need to do that yourself, Draco. I had to sell Winny.” Narcissa did not say why, and as she expected, Draco did not ask. Instead, he grumbled and left the room, not even saying good-bye to their guest.

After her son left, Sirius let out a howl of laughter. She smiled slightly, raised one perfectly manicured eyebrow, and asked, “What?”

“He’ll be like a sheep walking into a wolf’s den. I almost wish I could be there to watch.” He shook his head in disgust. “I’m sorry, Narcissa. I know he’s your son in blood, but he’s completely Lucius’s son in spirit. I’m sure it hurts, but it’s probably for the best this way.”

“It does hurt, but I will keep in touch with him. Hopefully, he’ll more readily accept my advice after some time on his own. Perhaps he will allow me a mother-like relationship with him one day.” After a sigh, she looked at her new Head of House. “A request, if I may?” He nodded. “Please do not tell your godson or his friends of this until they leave for school. I do not believe they would do anything to my son, but I would prefer not to tempt them, no matter how much I’m sure my son deserves anything they might do to him. I’ve heard the reports.”

“They would only rejoice, but it shall be as you ask.” Sirius gracefully rose. “I shall return next Wednesday and we can all go down to the Ministry and sign the papers.” He gave a small bow to end the meeting and turned to go.

Narcissa showed him out before starting to wander around the house. It would not hurt to be sure there was nothing left that she desired to take. Perhaps a few of the photos of her and Draco, she considered as she started her tour.

((A/N: Well, that withheld secret did not bite Ginny as hard as it could have, but she’s not -- and won’t be -- happy with the results for a short while. As for Draco, he won’t be seen at Hogwarts any more and he may be in for a rude awakening about life come September. :-)