Growing up Pureblooded

Nicked It Our First Year

After breakfast, just as a few of the other students and a couple of professors were beginning to drift in one by one, Draco escorted Astoria back to the dungeons, then returned to Gryffindor Tower to collect his books. The day was fine, and unseasonably warm, so he decided to do his homework outside by the lake. When he came back inside just before lunch, he thought he'd drop by Sirius's quarters and see if his dad and brother were up yet.

Indeed they were. Still dressed in the clothes they had worn the day before, and looking rather beleaguered and battle-weary, Aries and Sirius were nonetheless both very much awake, sitting at the table in Sirius's dining room and staring silently at their cups of tea. Remus was there too, looking a bit fresher than the others, but wearing an expression of grave concern that sent chills down Draco's spine. Most surprising, however, for the young wizard, were the other family members who had arrived: his mum, Aunt Cassie, Granddad and Aunt Clytemnestra.

"Are you certain?" Draco's mother asked Aunt Cassie. Her face was very pale, and she sat beside Sirius, gently squeezing his arm. Cassiopeia nodded once. Her grey eyes looked empty, and even a bit guilty, which was not an emotion Draco associated with his fierce great-aunt, who tended to chastise the other members of the family for being overly scrupulous. In the Black family, that was saying something. Granddad winced, and laid a heavy hand on Aries's shoulder.

"Good God," he whispered. "I'm so sorry, Aries." "It's not your fault, Granddad," Aries replied, his voice cracking. "But I encouraged you to use the powers it gave you," Granddad insisted. "If I hadn't...well, perhaps it would be easier to remove." "We all encouraged him, Abraxas," Sirius said. His voice was hollow, and he was staring blankly at the wall. "We're all at fault." Aries shook his head. "I got just as much a thrill out of it as anyone," he said adamantly. "Besides, there's no evidence to suggest that it made any difference, right, Aunt Cassie?"

"I don't think so," Aunt Cassie replied, looking more uncertain than Draco had ever seen her. "So far as I am aware, there is only one way to remove it, and that would be true regardless of how attached you were to it." "What the devil's going on?" Draco demanded, stepping fully into the room. All eyes turned to glance at him mournfully, but no one said anything. Aries looked back down at his cup, then spoke very quietly.

"I'm the last Horcrux, Draco," he said. "Very funny, Aries," Draco snapped, but he noticed that there was not even a glint of humor in the eyes of any of his relatives. "It's true," his mum said sadly, and Sirius continued to glare at the wall, saying nothing. "No!" Draco shouted, and ran to his brother's side, grabbing him firmly by the shoulders. "It can't be!" "It is," Aries replied with resignation. "I have a piece of Lord Voldemort's soul inside me. That's what makes me a Parselmouth, and that's what gives me a special link to Riddle's mind."

"That filthy son of a Squib!" Clytemnestra spat, and all eyes turned to look at her in shock. The magically-impaired witch blushed scarlet. "It's only an expression," she muttered apologetically. "What are we going to do?" Draco asked, not much caring who answered. "I have to die," Aries said quietly. "That's the only way to destroy the Horcrux." "Screw that," Sirius snarled, but did not shift his eyes from the wall for a second. "Perhaps Dumbledore...," Remus suggested, but shut up quickly at the others' withering glare. "Well, there has to be some other way to destroy the Horcrux without killing Harry."

"Professor Lupin," Cassiopeia drawled in her very haughtiest tone, "I am an expert in the Dark Arts. I have pored through countless forbidden manuscripts and ancient tomes. I have devoted my life to learning all that can be known, and many things that ought not to be known. I assure you: there is no other way." "You were talking about injecting basilisk venom into the other Horcruxes as a way to preserve their vessels," Remus pointed out. "Mightn't such an injection be a way to destroy the Horcrux without hurting Aries?"