Chapter 27
CASSIUS MALFOY
Cassius had feared that such a day would come. No. Not feared. Known.
Cassius had known so for years, because both him and his family were too set in their ways. He had tried, for years to make them change their ways. Hoping that his father would realise his mistake, and better his ways, yet each attempt was met with dismissal and disapproval.
And while his mother was not as against or obtuse to his ideologies, she had tied her life to Lucius Malfoy for better or for worse.
Yet, despite the knowledge, the suddenness of it all did affect him.
The letter was clear and final, carrying the Malfoy family seal over it, removing him from the family. He knew that his mother was suspicious of him, yet she had no proof.
He had made sure to leave none, at least none for those he did not wish to alert.
But was he wrong? Had he underestimated everyone? How many knew his secret? And how had his father learned of it all?
Had it been his mother who had spoken of it to him?
He had so many questions and no one to answer them. He had not slept for the entire night, laying awake in his bed all night as he tried to make sense of it all, for while he was prepared for this eventuality, he had not expected it all to unravel so quickly.
He walked into the Great Hall in a daze, mind numb to it all and before he had sat down for his breakfast, a voice called out for him from behind.
"Cassius Malfoy," and he was broken out his stupor as he turned around and saw the Potions Master standing there behind him. His face pale and stiff as always, as he drawled on.
"My office, now," the command was simple, and had he not known the man for years, he would have missed the hint of softness in his tone as he followed after the man, hoping to get some answers.
His office was small, and practical. The back wall was filled with small shelves, filled with hundreds of jars containing esoteric and rare potions ingredients, while a few pots simmered in the corners, slowly being stirred by enchanted stirrers.
CLACK!
The door behind them closed with a wave of his wand as he plopped down on the chair behind the task, asking him to do the same.
"Sit," and Cassius did as he was told.
"You must have an idea about why I have called for you so early in the morning," and Cassius nodded.
"You know about the letter," and the man looked into his eyes, and nodded.
"I do, and I am afraid it is real and final. Your father has indeed chosen to remove you from the Malfoy family. The name he cannot take from you, but as the Head of the House, he is able to disinherit you from the line, removing your claim on all the tit...."
"I know what disinherit means," Cassius cut in.
He did not need a lesson on that.
The man nodded at that, not offering any sympathy.
"You do not ask why?" he pointed out, and how could he, as Cassius simply shrugged.
"Do you know why?" and suddenly a thought came to him. As Cassius's eyes narrowed at the man, knowing that the Potions master was much close to his father, and was one of the more astute wizards alive.
Since he had captured Pettigrew here, at school. The number of people who could figure out his secret was few. And the only one amongst the school staff his father could rely on was this man.
"I do," he did not deny it, as Cassius's anger flared.
"Were you the one who told fat-" and he stopped, his mind trying to figure out what to call Lucius Malfoy now.
"...father," he continued in the end after a few seconds of hesitation.
The man stared into his eyes before giving him a strange answer.
"No," and he believed him. Severus Snape was a liar, yet he had no reason to lie to him.
"Then how did he come to know of it all?" Cassius asked.
"The blame for it lies with your mother," and that was a surprise. He had not thought that she would out his secret like this.
"Black," and he snarled as he took that name, as Cassius's mind began to race, trying to pick the connection there.
"In his great wisdom thought that it was your mother who had helped exhonerate him, and so he wrote a letter to her trying to rekindle their bond," and it all began to click together and Cassius for the first time began to wonder if freeing that idiotic man was worth it all.
"This confirmed your mother's suspicion, but your father somehow got his hands on that letter before she could dispose of it. He confronted her about it, and in the end, she had no choice but to tell him the truth," and this was a disaster.
A complete and utter disaster.
"That idiot!" he cursed Black for landing him in this damned mess. And not only him, but his mother as well.
"I agree, though none have ever accused Sirius Black of being a genius, this was extremely idiotic on his part. Regardless, I was entrusted with this," and at that the man put forward a key.
A Gringotts vault key, he easily recognised.
"Your mother passed it to me. This is your vault now. It contains enough Galleons to last you till graduation and beyond if you are careful with it," and that was a surprise, as Cassius took the key and saw that it was the one he left with her.
"She had no choice," and that was false. She did have a choice.
And she had made it years ago. Still, Cassius was not entirely thankless, as he pocketed the key and turned towards his family friend once again.
"Is she fine?" he asked, and Severus nodded.
"She is," and if his father had gotten a hand on his mail, it meant that he was back in Britain.
But why? And more importantly, for what?
The Ministry was still looking for him, and yet he had returned to the country, putting himself at risk.
"Who else knows about this other than my father?" for while Lucius Malfoy may not be able to attack him, the same could not be said of the other Death Eaters.
If it was known openly that it was him who had helped free Black and capture Peter Pettigrew, he would be targeted by many people.
"We do not know yet, but you do understand that you need to be very cautious now," and Cassius nodded.
"Good, you can tidy up the rest of your affairs by visiting Gringotts branch in Hogsmeade," and at that, the man tore out a permission slip and slid it forward.
"Show this at the Gates, and you will be allowed to leave. And know this Cassius," and his tone grew softer at the end as he looked him in the end.
"I may not be your Head of House, but I am still your teacher. If you need anything, you can come to me," and it was polite of him to offer, but he doubted that he would need his help.
"Thank you, but I will be fine," and he was out of the chair and ready to leave, when suddenly a question popped into his head.
"Speaking of that, do you have any idea about my legal status as of now?" and the question made the Potions Master from.
"Legal status?" he asked, and Cassius continued.
"Yes, since I have been disinherited I have no legal guardians. Does that mean I am not emancipated, and legally an adult," and the man was quiet for, sometime before he answered dryly.
"I am afraid I am not well versed in the subject. You will have to ask a barrister," and he had one just in mind.
"I will do just that. But can you pass on a message from me to my mother," he added, as Snape nodded.
"Tell her, that I will try to make it right. I will try...."
And then he will kick Sirius Black in the balls for putting him through all this.
0000
ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
The entire ordeal concerning the disinheritance of Cassius Malfoy was a sad affair. Despite being on the opposite side of the political and ideological aisle, Dumbledore felt no joy upon seeing a family being torn apart.
Especially, when the reason was one such as this.
Cassius Mafloy had done him and the Wizarding World of Great Britain a great favor. His actions had come at a great personal cost, which few had the courage and character to bear.
Yet the boy was anything but steadfast if Severus's words were anything to go by. It warmed his heart knowing that, yet still he felt obligated to return the favor when the boy had done so much for them already.
And so, as the Christmas morning came, he offered himself to accompany the young Mr. Potter to St. Mungo's, hoping to arrange what little he could to help his young student.
Harry was delighted to see Sirius who was back to near full health, and though the med-wizards warned him that he would have to take potions and meications for some time, Sirius had willed himself back to health.
Harry was much excited to meet his god-father as well, and it satiated his heart knowing that the poor boy had at least some semblance of a loving family even though he would still have to return to the Dursleys in the Summer.
The Protection imbibed into his blood needed to be rejuvenated, and the only way it could be done was if Harry was in close proximity to his family—to people who shared Lily's blood.
And though he knew that one would be wrong to call the Dursleys, a loving family, it was necessary for Harry to have Lily's protection for as long as possible. Especially now, as whispers of Voldemort's followers gathering up and shoring up strength were rampant.
Even Lucius Malfoy had returned to Britain, alongside the dreadful Greyback, and he was certain that they planned to retaliate against the Ministry, showing their angst against the DMLE's renewed focus on the Death Eater cases from years ago.
"So, I see that you are back in great health," he began, as he found himself alone with Sirius, who nodded.
"Yes, Andy is certain that I will be out of here within the month," and that was good news indeed.
The med witch in question stood at the end of the bed, looking down imperiously at her cousin, and he was thankful that she was here. For he was not sure that she would entertain a private audience with him.
"Good. But I am afraid there is something that we need to discuss." his words made Sirius perk up as he pushed up his glasses.
"Yes?" Sirius asked.
"Did you write a letter to your cousin by any chance?" he asked, and the question wiped away the smile, and he did not miss how Andromeda Tonks frowned at his question.
"I did," and that well confirmed Severus's word.
"Then I am afraid you have made a grave mistake, Sirius," and that seemed to stun him.
"How? I just wanted to thank her for saving my life," and yet it was not her who had saved his life.
It was someone else, someone whose life he had uprooted by his actions.
"What!" Andromeda Tonks, balked at his words cutting in as she looked at Sirius.
"It was Cissy who helped you?" she seemed surprised, and a Sirius nodded.
"I guessed so. All the clues pointed towards her," and he would be much interested in knowing what all those were.
"I am afraid you were wrong," he cut in, as both of them turned towards him.
"Your secret benefactor was not Narcissa Black. It was someone closely related to her, whose life you have uprooted with your mistake," and the guilt came quick, as Sirius's eyes widened.
And though his intentions were pure, his actions had once more done more harm than good.
"Merlin! What have I done?" he gasped as he grabbed his head.
"Indeed," and his tone was much sterner as he said that.
"You have caused your benefactor a great amount of trouble, and now you must make up for it," and this time was Andromeda Tonks who cut in thanfully, for he could not trust Sirius with a child.
"You said this person was close to my sister," she added as Dumbledore turned to face her.
"Yes, though I must warn you that if the identity of this person was to be revealed to the world it would put their life in much danger," and he hoped they understood the insinuation.
"I am not a buffon," the sister added, as she looked him in the eye.
"Who is it?" she asked again, and Dumbledore waited for a second before he answered.
"It was her son." Her eyes widened, and he did not even need to name which one.
"Cassius," she guessed correctly as he gave her a nod before she turned towards Sirius.
"You damn idiot!" she began to berate him.
"But he is just a boy. I thought he was acting on her behalf," Sirius defended himself.
"And why would Cissy ever try to help you?" and there was much more that was unsaid as Andromeda Tonks rubbed her forehead and sighed.
"I don't know. Maybe she had a change of heart," he argued, and it was weak as the woman sighed and added with a broken smile.
"I was her sister, and yet she didn't even lift a finger to help me. " Why would she ever try to help someone like you?" and that destroyed Sirius's argument.
"Regardless, your actions have caused him a great deal of grief, with Lucius going so far as to disinherit the boy for his role in your exoneration and his own prosecution," and that seemed to stun him.
"And now, as he finds himself alone, I believe it should be your responsibility to house the boy during the Summer for the few years that he has at Hogwarts." Just then, Sirius was about to nod.
"No!" Andromeda Tonks cut in.
"I wouldn't trust him with one child, let alone two," she added.
"Cassius was friends with my daughter and even came to our House once. I will take the boy," she said, leaving no room for argument, and this was his intention all along.
"I am an adult," Sirius argued.
"I am already going to take care of Harry during the Summer, I can handle Cissy's son as well," and so he intervened, knowing that as the topic was brought up, there was no better time than now to tell Sirius of Harry's circumstances.
"I am afraid Harry will not be staying with you during the Summer...."
"What!"
.
.
.
After a very lengthy and complicated conversation later, he found himself somewhat tired as he walked out the door to head back to Hogwarts. Yet just as he turned over the corner of the Hall, Albus found himself face to face with a very unlikely face.
"Cornelius," he called out. The Minister of Magic was here, accompanied by a small retinue. His undersecretary behind him held a bouquet of flowers, and his intentions became clear.
"Albus," he greeted him stiffly, frowning as his eyes narrowed towards the door to Sirius's room.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, nostrils flaring and eyes narrowing.
"I was just here to bring young Mr. Potter to his godfather, though I am curious as well. What are you doing here?"
"Well, what a coincidence. I am here to meet Mr. Black as well...."
0000
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