Dad sent Accio to Scorpius and I right before Easter vacation. Scorpius took one look at the owl and turned his back on it, saying that he was staying at Hogwarts over break.
"Relax, Scorp," I breathed, taking the small yellow piece of parchment from the owl. I stoked Accio's feathers. "Lucias and Narcissa are in Azkaban. Only Mum and Dad are at home."
"Still not going to Malfoy Manor," Scorpius replied.
I rolled my eyes and unrolled the parchment to read the elegantly scripted handwriting, written in blood red ink.
To my dearest children,
I know that both of you want to stay at Hogwarts for Easter vacation, but I want to tell you, mainly Hazel, that the Ministry is letting me bring my family to visit Lucias and Narcissa. They're dying. Mum won't be going, but I would like one of you to consider coming. Please send a reply quickly, and keep getting smarter,
Your father (Draco Malfoy)
I widened my eyes and turned to my brother. "Scorp! Lucias and Narcissa are dying."
Scorpius sighed. "Thank goodness."
"I know you hate them," I said irritably," but that doesn't mean that you can be happy about them dying." My brother shrugged, and I continued speaking. Scorpius hadn't said a word about Albus's and I's newly repaired friendship, so I wasn't going to pressure him about this.
"Anyway, Dad's wondering if we want to visit them. You know, as a goodbye." I swallowed uncomfortably. Lucias and Narcissa had never been model grandparents or anything, but they were still family."
Scorpius's eyes blazed. "You're asking me? They hate me, Hazel! And they hate you and Mum and sort of Dad as well. I don't even know why you are bothering with them."
"So that's a no," I said cheerfully, struggling to not slug him in the shoulder. Scorpius had this new attitude ever since the Hufflepuff VS Slytherin match. I snapped my finger, and Accio tilted his had at me. I reached into my school bag, and amongst the bent Muggle books, found a crumpled Pre-Inked quill.
Dear Dad, Scorpius does not want to go, but I will come. Love you! —Hazel, I scribbled on the back of the parchment. I held it out, pale skin glistening in the morning sun's light.
"Take it to Dad, okay, 'ccio?" The owl hooted and took the letter in his beak, then flew off to rejoin the wave of other owls, sent to deliver letters and whatnot.
I turned back to my brother, who moodily chomped on a muffin. "You were the one who said that we should be proud of the Malfoy name," I reminded him.
He swallowed. "I didn't say we had to be proud of them." He spat the word out like it was a curse. "Just everyone else."
I opened my mouth, then closed it. Then opened it again. "They're family, Scorpius." He looked at me as I said his real name. "We have to still care, even though they are awful people."
"That's why it's good we're twins. You can care about them, so I don't have too." Scorpius looked like what he just said made sense, and I stared at him because it didn't.
"O... Okay," I said. I guess there's no use arguing with him. Sometimes it's like Professor Wong or someone put a Babbling Beverage in his milk. I can't even understand him half the time. And we are twins!
"Remember; if you let one of these prisoners touch your wand you're going behind bars too," a disheveled man said. He stared especially hard at Dad. "Okay, Malfoy. Go ahead and make your patronous. The Dementors will try and kiss you if you don't."
Dad swallowed and looked at the man nervously. I frowned and narrowed my eyes, watching him. Since when did Dad get afraid? Since his parents are dying and in prison, dummy, I answered myself almost immediately.
"I can't make a Patronous," Dad said.
The other wizard gaped at him."Why on Earth not?"
Like something had burned him, Dad gripped his left forearm so suddenly I thought that the Dark Lord was back and had called all of the former Death Eaters. My eyes slid to the exposed arm, where the Dark Mark had faded to a series of sinister white scars.
The other wizard chuckled and I fought the urge to hex him. "Death Eater, eh?" He drew his own wand and pointed a little to the side of Dad and I. "Expecto Patronum!" A silvery mist came out of his stubby wand and took the form of a badger. "My own will protect you, then."
Dad nodded his thanks and gripped me by the wrist. Guided by the silver badger, we were led out of the dank office and into a hallway smelling of mildew. I took in a breath as I caught sight of the dementors for the first time. We were on a narrow ledge of some sorts, with rails surrounding us. Small bridges of metal spread out from our bridge to heavily locked and wooden doors. Heavy grey stone surrounded us, and I shivered to think of the raging waves outside. Dad had Apparated us here, but I had caught sight of the fierce some spirals of water and foam.
I squeezed Dad's arm tightly and hung on to him, probably for the first time since I was eight.
"Are you okay, Hazel?" Dad asked me. He smoothed my white blond hair.
"Yeah," I said, voice a little shaky. "It's just really terrible here."
He stopped walking, and so did the silver Patronous leading us. "We could go home if—"
"No!" I said loudly. I froze, hearing a loud clank and rustling of chains from a nearby cell. Fear swamped through me as the dementors, hovering around us moved a tiny bit closer. Thankfully, the badger Patronous hissed, and the dark creatures drew back.
I quieted my voice. "I don't want to go home. I want to see Lucias and Narcissa. They're my family, and even though they're evil people, nobody deserves to die alone. Not here, not in this place."
Dad nodded, and brushed some dangling strands of hair out of my eyes. I smiled gratefully at him, and he grabbed my hand. We continued walking, following the Patronous until we got to the very last door. Dad raised his wand, and said in an unwavering voice, the spell that the Ministry had given him to unlock the cell. "Alopho Malous."
The wooden door's handle jumped upward, and slowly it creaked open. Dad shoved me softly behind himself, and approached the door with his wand drawn. I peered behind Dad and tightened my grip on my long holly wand.
"Mother, Father?" Dad called into the cell. There was no response. I watched as Dad's face grew paler then it already was, which was very pale indeed. Dad turned back to me and whispered," Stay behind me, Hazel."
I nodded and followed Dad into the cell.
One word to describe it: Bleak. Grey cement walls and floors lined the entire cell. There was a small hole in one corner, where you could see a pile of moss growing at the top and a trickle of water coming onto the floor. It was dark, the only light made by the badger Patronous, who now was marching from each side of the room importantly.
"You're here," said a hoarse voice. I looked over to see Narcissa in the corner across from me. Her eyes were filled with pain and deep shadows were beneath them; chains were preventing her from coming any closer to us, but the same hardness she had always had surrounded her.
"Draco, why did you come?" Asked Lucias. He was next to his wife, with the same chains binding him to the wall. There was a dark gash on his forehead, and pus oozed from it. I winced. The career of a Healer wasn't in my future, for sure.
Dad's wand hand dropped to his side as he approached his parents. I watched him, holding my own so tightly I thought the wood would crack.
"They told me you were dying. I had to say good-bye one last time," Dad whispered. I gazed into the faces of my grandparents and almost died of shock.
Narcissa's eyes were glistening with tears, and even Lucias looked loving for once.
"Draco," said Narcissa. My father leaned closer, and she lifted a weak hand to brush his hair softly just as Dad had done to my own hair. Dad bent down on his knee and stared into his parent's eyes.
"We love you very much, Draco," said Narcissa. She took in a shuddering breath and closed her eyes. "I hope that you know that."
I blinked. For my entire life, my grandparents had been harsh and unloving. I guess they really can be loving, I thought. I had heard the stories of how Narcissa saved Harry Potter's life by lying to the Dark Lord, but never actually believed that she did it to find out if Dad was alive in the castle or not.
I took a step back and watched my Dad say his last good-byes to his parents. Fingering the green and silver tie I was wearing, I made a moral decision.
I'm not going to just be proud of the Malfoy name. I'm proud of every single one of my family members— even the Death Eaters.