OCEAN EYES | Draco Malfoy

Chapter 5: Let me tell you about your father

Nessa Black

'I'm so tired from the traveling, I might fall asleep any given moment', I sat on the couch in our tiny living room.

'Dear, I know, but you have to wait for just one more year, and you will forget about muggle transportation', the smile on my mother's face is the warmest thing I have ever seen.

'You're right. Mom, do you mind if I take a quick nap? We'll catch up after?'

Mom gulped and looked away.

'I would like to discuss something with you beforehand, dear. It's very important.'

I was knackered from the long travel, but I couldn't let myself disappoint my mother. From the look in her eyes, I felt that she was willing to talk about something of great importance.

'Sure, Mom. Let's talk.'

She approached me on the couch and took my hands in hers. Her eyes started watering as soon as she began talking.

'It's about your father.'

Oh, my father. Regulus Arcturus Black. A man I knew almost nothing about. A name, several images, and a couple of childhood stories, which I happened to learn from Narcissa Malfoy - his first cousin while staying at the Malfoy Manor during the summer vacation after my first year at Hogwarts.

I nodded encouragingly for her to continue.

'As it's already clear that the He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is back, I believe the time has come. The time to tell you more about your father. Frankly, I thought that this moment will never come because I was hoping that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named will never return.'

My mother was speaking every single word clearly and slowly as if she was experiencing the memories of the past with every single cell in her body. I was ready to hear her story even if I had to be awake for another couple of hours. The tiredness suddenly escaped from my body.

'I and Regulus met at Hogwarts, but we didn't start talking until his fifth year. I was a year older than him. I was in Ravenclaw, he was in Slytherin, and there was not much to connect us, but it somehow happened. We sort of clicked at the Halloween party that same year. I was pure-blood, smart, and slightly arrogant, and he seemed to like that. Except for his obsession with pure-blood supremacy, he was a brilliant boy. I loved his sense of humor, his creative mind, and his determination. However, around the end of his fifth year at Hogwarts, I noticed that he started talking more and more about the Dark Lord, as he used to call him. There was a strange flame in his eyes whenever he talked about him and his mastery in the wizarding arts.'

Mom paused for a second and took a deep breath. Her hand began trembling in mine.

I already knew where this was going, but I remained silent and waited for her to proceed with her story.

'During his sixth year at Hogwarts, I saw it. The Dark Mark on his left forearm. I was heartbroken. Since I heard him talking so fondly of Him-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, I was dreading that moment. I hoped so much that it won't come, but deep inside me, I knew that it probably would come. It was a tough year. I loved him too much, but I couldn't accept his choice. It was too much to bear. We sort of broke up, but he was desperately trying to gain my trust back. I don't know if it was because I knew his secret or because he honestly missed me. I prefer to believe in the second option.'

Here she started sobbing and I put one of my hands over her shoulder, patting it gently.

'We eventually got back together. Toward the end of his sixth year at Hogwarts, I saw the change and I started trusting him again. He was disappointed with his decision to join the Death Eaters. We saw each other for the last time in June of 1979. I learned about my pregnancy two weeks after his disappearance. I had just graduated from Hogwarts. I was 18, pregnant, and beyond scared. I didn't find a way to tell your grandparents all this. I lied to them. I told them I'd decided to move to France and strive for a career at Beauxbatons. It eventually happened, but back then I didn't know what I was doing. I just wanted to run away, because I had the gut feeling that the disappearance of Regulus had something to do with Him-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and that it could put me in danger. I didn't tell anyone of my pregnancy except Regulus's cousin Narcissa, whom I have met on several occasions and felt a strong connection with.'