Draco couldn't sleep that night, so he and Harry stayed up playing chess in Regulus's old room.
'I'm really sorry about what happened to your mum, Draco,' Harry said.
'I don't want to talk about it,' his cousin muttered. He moved his rook forward three spaces. 'Check.'
Harry raised an eyebrow. 'Are you sure you want to do that?'
'Of course I am,' Draco snapped irritably. 'I did it, didn't I?'
Harry shrugged and took the castle with his knight.
Draco stared at the board blankly. 'Damn.'
'Your heart doesn't really seem to be in the game,' Harry observed. 'Do you want to do something else? Exploding Snap?'
His cousin shook his head and moved a bishop. 'I doubt my heart will be in that, either. I mostly want something to pass the time.'
Harry yawned. 'Why don't you ask Dad for a sleeping potion?'
'What if there's news?' Draco replied in a small voice. 'Mum could need me, and I shouldn't be able to wake up.'
Harry nodded at his cousin sympathetically, then moved his queen straight across the board.
'Checkmate,' he said with a grin.
'Prat,' Draco muttered.
The door opened, and Sirius came in.
'What are you two still doing up?' he asked, though he didn't look anywhere close to going to bed himself.
'I couldn't sleep,' Draco said. 'Aries was sitting up with me.'
Sirius nodded. 'May I join you?' he asked.
'Of course,' Harry replied, and scooted over to make more room on the bed. Sirius sat down cross-legged.
'Merlin, Draco,' he said, glancing at the chessboard. 'Aries crushed you.'
Draco snorted. 'I've been a bit distracted.'
'That's understandable,' Sirius said. He chewed his lower lip before continuing. 'Draco, could you give me and Aries a minute, please?'
'All right,' Draco replied, and hopped off the bed. 'I'll grab us a couple of butterbeers from the kitchen, Aries.'
'Thanks,' Harry said.
'Could you get me one too whilst you're at it?' Sirius asked.
Draco nodded. 'No problem.'
Once he shut the door, Sirius turned to look at Harry.
'I have something important to ask of you,' he said. 'Feel free to say no. There's no pressure. I didn't even want to ask you, but Aunt Cassie convinced me to give you the choice.'
'What is it, Dad?' Harry asked.
'You have this connexion with Riddle, right?' Sirius began. Harry nodded. 'How does it work? Have you any control over the visions, or do they happen randomly?'
Harry thought for a moment. 'Mostly randomly,' he said. 'But when I had the diary, sometimes the visions would occur when I was thinking about something in particular.'
Sirius winced, as though it was painful for him to continue.
'Do you think there's any way you could initiate a vision? Maybe use it to find out some particular bit of information?'
Harry grinned. He liked where his dad was going with this. 'Such as where he's stashed Aunt Narcissa?'
'That's right,' Sirius said. 'You don't have to. It's risky. But...' He trailed off.
'It could save Aunt Narcissa's life,' Harry finished for him.
Sirius nodded. 'Otherwise, I shouldn't even mention it.'
'I'll see what I can do,' Harry said.
Just then, Draco returned with their butterbeers, and Sirius broke out a deck of cards. They played until long after midnight, when the drifted off one-by-one on top of the large bed. Sirius fell asleep first, followed by Harry. Sleep claimed Draco last of all.
....
Remus Lupin walked through the squeaky door into the dingy pub and sat down at the bar. The pub was nearly full, despite the early hour, and every eye turned to look at him when he walked in. A half-blood, Remus had always moved with ease in the Muggle world, and was unaccustomed to such a reaction. On the other hand, he supposed, Little Hangleton was a very insular community.
'I'd like a pint, please,' Remus said courteously, and the barman handed over the ale.
The stares continued. Remus wasn't sure how he would learn anything if the villagers were so suspicious of strangers.
Ultimately, the werewolf had come to this secluded valley because of Dora Tonks's report the night before. It turned out that Lucius had followed a very convoluted set of Floo jumps after leaving Malfoy Manor, but the trail ended in the home of an elderly witch who lived in the nearby town of Great Hangleton. Sirius and Remus had promptly gone to investigate, only to find the old woman dead, and no sign of Lucius, Narcissa or Voldemort. Upon their return to Malfoy Manor, Cassiopeia had pointed out that Lucius's destination was nonetheless most likely somewhere in the general vicinity, and Sirius had launched a massive search. He and Abraxas were combing through Great Hangleton, whilst Cassiopeia was scouring the neighbouring hamlet of Bracksmeade. Remus had been asked to investigate Little Hangleton, though no one thought it likely that Voldemort had chosen this remote, thoroughly Muggle location for his hideout.
'I haven't seen you round these parts before,' observed an elderly man in old working clothes who sat to Remus's right.
'It's my first time here,' Remus explained. 'I was on my way through and I thought I'd stop in for a pint.'
The old man nodded. 'You'll have to forgive that lot for staring at you,' he said, gesturing at the gawkers. 'We've been a bit suspicious of outsiders ever since that funny business up at Riddle House.'
Remus could barely suppress the smile that threatened to spread across his face.
'Riddle House?' he repeated.
'It's the big manor up on the hill,' the man explained. 'Used to belong to the Riddle family. Stuck-up toffs they were, thought they were better than the rest of us. They used to own over half the village.'
'What happened to them?' Remus asked.
'Lots of strange things,' the man replied. 'You wouldn't believe it if I told you. None of these blokes do.'
Remus smiled at the stranger. 'Try me.'
'Well, their problems started with this huge scandal some seventy years back,' the old Muggle began, 'when I was just a lad myself. You see, young Tom Riddle, the heir of the family, and quite a good-looking bloke, ran off with this queer girl. Gaunt, I believe her name was...'
As Remus heard the man's tale, he realised beyond the faintest shadow of a doubt that he had come to the right place. He listened politely and bought the man another pint when he'd drained his first.
.....
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