Letters To Harry | Harry Potter

Chapter Sixteen

 Declan was surprised at how happy he was to actually be at his family home for Christmas. But he loved his parents, and he knew they loved him.

 On the day he first got back, he had gone up to his room to unpack his things, since he wouldn't be going back to Hogwarts until after New Year's. It was a chilly day, and would probably start snowing at any moment. He had gone to the window to look outside when he saw his parents.

 Cathair and Sorcha Malfoy were not what you would expect from families who were part of the 'sacred twenty-eight'. Sorcha was a relative of the Lestranges, and Cathair was a Malfoy, of course, so there were very few rejections towards their marriage. But they weren't the pure-blood fanatics some of the other families were. Declan had the feeling this had mostly to do with his mother. Sorcha Nott Malfoy refused to have her son believing that pure-bloods were better than everyone else when they were all wizards and witches, and that should be the end of it. It was a very unusual way of thinking, and Declan had no idea where she got it from, but he was thankful for it.

 Now he saw his mother storm out onto the grounds, with his father trailing behind her. He looked like he was trying to tell her something, or perhaps plead with her, but she turned her back to him and was apparently refusing.

 Declan watched as his father wrapped his arms around his mother, and seemed to be telling her something. Then she hugged him, and looked like she might be crying. The two of them stayed there for quite awhile before slowly walking back into the house together.

 Declan had no idea what any of it was about, but he found himself watching them intently, anyway. It had looked like an argument, and Declan couldn't remember ever seeing his parents argue before.

 Christmas went over well enough, at least without any incident. However, Declan sensed a strange tension between his parents, one he had never felt before. He had no idea what it was, and it made him nervous when he felt it.

 On the day he was packing up again for Hogwarts, Cathair entered the room. "Declan? Can I talk to you?"

 "Yeah, sure. Why don't you sit down?" His father seemed nervous about something, and Declan was curious as to what it was.

 Cathair sat down on the bed, drumming his fingers against his thigh.

 "I really do not know how to say this," he began. "When...when I was younger...I supported Lord Voldemort. Most of the other pure-blood families were, and it was what everyone seemed to expect of me. But it always felt wrong.

 "I didn't realize why I thought it was wrong until I fell in love with your mother. She was so different from everyone else. She wanted nothing to do with his crusade, and by time I realized what I had done, it was too late."

 "How was it too late?" Declan asked. 

 Cathair sighed, and rolled up his sleeve. There, clear as day, was the Dark Mark. Declan's eyes widened, and it make him shudder just to see it up close.

 "I was looking for a way out," Cathair went on. "Sorcha and I married, and we had you. I was so young and foolish back then, Declan. When you were born, and I saw you for the first time, I knew I didn't want you to grow up in a world where Lord Voldemort reigned supreme. He was defeated before I found a way out, but I always knew he would come back."

 "What-what are you going to do, then?" Declan asked.

 "I can't fight for him again. I just can't. And the Ministry would never trust me to fight for them, not with this mark on me. I have been considering moving us somewhere else, leaving. Cowardly as it is, I don't know what else to do. Just go somewhere far away and pray he is defeated."

 Declan sat down next to his father.

 "I know Harry Potter," he said. "We know each other at school, and I know the kind of person he is. He could beat Voldemort; he just doesn't know it yet."

 Cathair nodded. "After you go back to Hogwarts, your mother and I will be going away for a while. We'll be back for you in June, though."

 Declan stared at him as he realized what he seemed to be saying.

 "I'm not going back to Hogwarts next year, am I?"

 Cathair shook his head. "Probably not. I'm sorry, Declan. I don't know what else to do to keep us all safe."

 "It's okay, Dad. I know you're trying to do. You know you can't fight, so you'll try to protect us, anyway. But I guess I'll still have to go to some school?"

 Cathair chuckled. "Yes, we'll see about that. Well, finish packing, son. We'll go with you to the station."

 Declan went back to his packing after his father left the room. That was what was going on with his parents; they were planning to leave.

 How was going to tell this to Harry?