Saying Ariel Malfoy's memory lived on would be a lie. Barely anyone could remember that name, and even less his face. Ariel Malfoy was a man of the past. Sixteen years after his death, he wasn't anything close to known despite one might think with a name like that one. There was a time he was chasing glory but he was quick to realize it wasn't for him. Ariel aspired to quiet and happiness with the man he loved. If things had been different, Regulus Black would have remembered Ariel Malfoy. But Regulus Black was also a man of the past.

When Ariel died, his memory died with him. Nobody wanted to remember him. Some because of shame, some because of pain. Rare were the times when he was on one's mind. His loved ones could be counted on the fingers of one hand.

Over the year 1979, his name was on everyone's lips because a rumor said Abraxas Malfoy's younger son had passed away. The details remained unknown, even for Abraxas Malfoy himself, nobody dared mentioning him, not even his father and that was how this name became taboo.

Ariel had always loved summertime, when he could bask in the sun, it was one of his favorite activities ever. Surprisingly, this month of July had been pretty rainy. It was again the case the day Martha Malfoy was given a letter by his youngest son's fiancée. Nothing more, just this letter. The woman stayed a long moment, unmoving in silence, on the sofa of her study, her head hung low over her knees as the tears were falling from her sorrowful eyes. It was the time she needed to be able to swallow the news, though it still didn't feel real when she stood up and directed herself to her husband's study.

She walked there without knocking. The man looked up in confusion but didn't make a move.

"What it is Martha?" he wondered, starting to get worried the closer she came to him.

"It's Ariel... our son has passed away..."

Even when she said those words aloud, she couldn't believe them. Her husband didn't seem to believe her either.

"What do you mean? Where do you get that from?" he asked urgently, his face still not showing anything through.

"I received a letter. From him..." murmured the woman, collapsing to the nearest chair.

"Let me read it. Where is it? In your study?"

"No! It's mine, it was written to me!" she tried but in vain. She didn't have any strength left to follow him.

Narcissa Malfoy found her mother-in-law still sitting on that chair when she apparated in the manor about fifteen minutes later. She was sobbing in a handkerchief, seeming completely disoriented. Narcissa had lost a friend and a family member.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she said, hugging her mother-in-law tightly.

It was at this moment that Abraxas made his appearance. "Narcissa."

She looked up to him. "I'm so-"

"I don't ever want to hear about him, is that clear?" he commanded, his face stoic.

Narcissa had never seen such coldness. Her father-in-law wasn't the warmest and most friendly person, but to witness such disregard to his son's death shocked her and she feared him. In response she only nodded. She had to wait sixteen years before hearing that name again.

August 1995, Malfoy Manor

Draco Malfoy was sitting at the large ebony table of his dinning-room. And he was shaking anxiously. For the occasion, the room was used for a meeting, that was how they would call it. It was his first time here, usually he would be far enough, busy in his room. But his father, Lucius, thought it was the right time to introduce him to this world. And it was unnerving.

Taking a glance around him, he noticed Goyle and Avery sharing a laugh as they looked at him. The others were busy in conversations and didn't seem to care about him.

"Doesn't he look like Ariel in his old days?" pointed out Goyle.

"That's a name I haven't heard in a long time," suddenly said Corban Yaxley, sitting not too far from Draco. The boy threw a look at him before his attention was back on Goyle.

"He must have been the same age as you when Lucius brought him for the first time too," rejoined Goyle.

"Shut up! Don't mention him when Lucius is about to come in!" said the screeching voice of his aunt Bellatrix and a silence fell. Her eyes were wide and fearful, Draco really couldn't understand why she had such reaction but more importantly who was Ariel Malfoy?

"Don't mention what?" asked Lucius as he walked in the room, followed closely by Narcissa. She threw a reassuring glance at him as his father didn't mind him and sat close to the end of the table.

Nobody said anything and the meeting started very soon. But Draco's mind was still focused on that name.

He waited until later that night to mention him to his father. He didn't know what to expect, how his father would react. He thought he had nothing to fear, because it was just a simple question, just four little words. He didn't know they would shock him to that extent.

"Father, who is Ariel Malfoy?"

Lucius Malfoy was so stunned at the mention of his late brother, the glass he had in hand fell to the floor and broke in multiple pieces. He did not bother cleaning up and stared at his son.

"What did you say?"

"Ariel Malfoy, do you know him?" repeated the boy, though feeling a bit hesitant now.

"No. He's no one. Where did you even hear that name?"

"I don't remember," only said Draco as he left the kitchen.

If his father couldn't answer his question, his mother on the contrary would certainly.

Surprised by his father reaction, he knew what to expect when he asked the same thing to his mother.

Her eyes were wide open as she observed him in pure astonishment. She had no idea she would ever hear that name again one day. In fact she thought everyone had forgotten about her dear friend. But she realized no secret could be kept forever, especially family secrets.

"Ariel Malfoy, you said?" asked the woman to be sure she hadn't misunderstood. She wasn't used to that name anymore. Draco simply nodded and she tried to find back her composure, her mind racing to find a possible answer and she thought the truth would be the best, because she didn't want to lie to her son.

"Well, Ariel was your father's brother."

"My uncle?" exclaimed Draco in shock. It was quite obvious this Ariel was a member of the Malfoy family, of his family but he had not expected to discover he had an uncle from nowhere.

"Yes, that's correct," said her mother, still looking shaken by the turn of this conversation.

"How did I never know about him? Wait, you said 'was', I suppose he's dead now, but still how come I only hear about him now!"

"I'm really sorry Draco, it was your grandfather's personal request, to never mention the name of Ariel again."

"Why so? What did he do? Was he a blood traitor or something?"

"No. No, Ariel was nothing like that. It was more complicated," she admitted in a sigh. "Come here, I have something to show you."

She stood up from where she was sitting on an armchair of the suite. She left the room and he followed her. They walked into a room that wasn't much used, except for storing and putting away things. That was where Narcissa kept all her memories of Ariel. With her wand, she brought down a box that was on top of a shelf. Draco watched in silence, curiosity rising in him as she did.

She opened the box, retrieved four different photos and quickly closed it again. She gave them to him.

"That's him. With me. This was taken during your father and I's wedding."

Draco discovered the face of Ariel Malfoy. He was standing next to a younger version of his mother, and he himself looked very young as well. He was holding his mother's hand as they were talking. He had a gentle smile on his lips and a fond look in his eyes. He really loved her he noticed. But what struck was that he was a slim blond boy that looked so much like his father and grandfather and the resemblance to himself was even more shocking.

"He looks so much like Father, and Grandfather and..."

"I see a bit of him in you as well. And he was really handsome too," she said, a little smile placed on her lips as she showed him another picture. "Oh, I love that one!"

On this new photo, an even younger Narcissa was looking at the camera as Ariel pressed a kiss to her cheek. They seemed really close.

"How old were you?"

"He was 14 and I was 18. I had just graduated."

On the new photo, he was again kissing her cheek as she was laughing.

"Another one from the wedding," she commented in nostalgy.

"It seems like he really loved you. Isn't that what caused problems in the family?" wondered Draco as his eyes analyzed this new photo.

"That he loved me? Do you think that he loved me that way?" as she spoke these words in disbelief, her eyes watched him in surprise. She repressed a chuckle because the truth was quite different.

"Yes. You two really seemed close."

"You're mistaken, Darling. Here, take this one," she told him, offering him another photo.

They were sitting together, once again wearing fancy clothes, though different than the one from the wedding pictures.

"It was our engagement party. Ariel was telling me how happy I'll be with him as a brother-in-law. I was more like an older sister to him, that was how he loved me."

"So Father wasn't scared he'd steal you from him?"

This time she wasn't able to repress a laugh.

"Absolutely not. Ariel wasn't like that, and I'm telling you, he was more of a little brother to me. Wait, let me show you something else."

She rummaged through the box again and a retrieved a few more photos.

"Here's they are! Do you recognize that boy?" she wondered, with an amused smile on her lips.

Draco took a hold of the photo and discovered two boys dressed in similar fancy suits. One of them was Ariel, looking natural, smiling, the other had messy jet-black hair and didn't look as comfortable. His face also looked familiar.

"He looks like Sirius Black. Am I hallucinating?"

"No, you're not. This is my cousin, Regulus."

"I see. I've seen pictures of him at Bellatrix's place, he was only younger."

"Yeah, I have some too. But let's move on. This what I wanted to show you. There are only a few pictures of them together..."

This picture was the most surprising of them all. It was another photo of Regulus and Ariel together, in a place he didn't recognize but they were sitting together on a couch, without much space between them. Regulus looked almost annoyed as Ariel's arm circled his torso and he placed a kiss on his neck.

"Hm, what's that?" asked Draco in confusion.

"Well, it's them. There's this one too. Your father would burn it if he saw it. I took this one, I'm rather proud of it, it's beautiful."

This photo was even more unexpected and surprising than the previous one as the two boys were simply kissing, very chastely.

"Well they... they were... boyfriends... lovers...?" asked Draco unsure even though it was more than obvious.

"Yes! Don't they look so cute? They loved each other very much."

"And that turned into a problem?"

"They both died before it could become a problem. But Ariel himself was the pet peeve of the family. So you understand now his memory didn't really live on."

"That's quite harsh. To me he didn't do anything wrong."

"Your grandfather feared the shame of his reputation if this came to be known. At the time, it was really frowned upon to be like him. And Ariel was about to get married. But he died before. They died before."

"Do you know how?"

"No. We never got to know. Your father thought they might have defected from the Death Eaters and so their end could only be expected..."

When Draco went back to Hogwarts in September he didn't talk right away about his new found uncle. He waited a few weeks, a few months before finally daring to ask this question to his fellow Slytherins.

"Crabbe, Goyle, have you heard of a bloke named Ariel Malfoy?"

"A Malfoy? Never heard of him," let out Crabbe as he continued playing with his quill, barely paying attention to what their teacher was saying.

"And you Goyle? Your father seems to know him."

"Really? Not me. Who's he?"

"Nobody. Just a relative who was friends with my mother's cousin."

He was really unknown to others. But what Draco wasn't aware of was that a few more people now new the name of Ariel Malfoy.

Harry Potter waited until the holidays to mention this to his godfather. He himself had never heard of Ariel Malfoy so he doubted Sirius was the cousin in question. Just like Draco, Harry didn't expect this simple question to cause such surprise in his eyes.

"Sirius, I heard Draco Malfoy mentioning this person one day in class. Do you perhaps know someone going by the name of Ariel Malfoy?"

"Who? Repeat that!" urged Sirius not being able to hide his shock and astonishment in both his voice and expression.

"Ariel Malfoy. Malfoy, I mean Draco, said this man was a friend of his mother's cousin. With a name like that I doubted it was you but I thought maybe you knew him."

To his surprise, Sirius let out a bark-like laugh. "He said that? He and my brother were certainly not friends."

"So you know him."

"Of course I know him. He's the most psychotic, arrogant and insufferable person I've ever met. We went to school together."

"Why would Malfoy say they were friends if they weren't then?"

"Let me rephrase it. They weren't exactly friends. I don't know what his parents told him, it's not the reality. I'll show you something, come up with me."

They climbed up the stairs until the last floor. There were the former bedrooms of the Black brothers. Sirius led Harry into Regulus' room.

"There in his drawer. My brother must have been completely nuts for putting that stuff in there. Read this," he said handing him a piece of parchment after opening the drawer that was locked with his wand. He continued rummaging in it afterwards.

To Sirius,

If you ever find this, just know that I regret many things and died wishing I had been a better person and a better brother. But despite everything I was happy.

"That's how I got the confirmation he had changed, maybe. I like to believe so. Look at this."

The first photo Sirius handed him was a picture of two boys, not much older than him, smoking a cigarette. One of them looked very much like Sirius and he guessed this was Regulus while the other had very Malfoy-like features, soft haughty features but a bright smile so unlike this family. He had their characteristic blond hair too.

"That's Daisy Prewett on this one!" exclaimed Harry in surprise as he pointed at another picture Sirius had took out.

"Yeah, she brought it to me. Look behind it's hilarious."

Me, my fiancé and his lover.

"I don't get it."

"Look at the other photos."

"Is this...?"

"Oh, do you recognize her? Ivanna Flint," told him Sirius, surprised he had recognized her despite the grimaces both Ariel and she were making.

"She's an eccentric witch that's all I know..."

"She's for sure!" laughed again Sirius.

And then, Harry took a look at the last one. He recognized them again, Regulus and Ariel, and they were kissing.

"I understand what Daisy meant then... wait I'm surprised she knew him."

"Before becoming Daisy Prewett and Ron's aunt, she was Daisy Parkinson and almost married a Malfoy! She knew him better than me, in case you want more information. Between Ariel and I, it was mostly rivalry for being in different houses, I don't know much about him. Except that he liked my brother."

"How come not even Draco Malfoy knew about him?"

"I think they hated him. They wanted to get rid of him. He was definitely an odd one, unlike the disciplined Malfoys..."

When Sirius got to know about Daisy Parkinson and her marriage with a Prewett, a fellow member of the Order of the Phoenix, in 1979, he was surprised. It was actually a surprise for everyone to know that they had been dating in secret for almost two years. They bounded at Hogwarts but only decided to make it official some time after she graduated in 1977. They married in late August of that year. It was at this time Sirius got to know her, and discovered she had known very well his brother. She burst in tears at the mention of Regulus. She apologized for not taking care of him and not protecting his younger brother. Daisy was eaten away by guilt and sorrow. She barely ever talked more about this. She did when she gave him some photos and told him how much she loved both of them and what a strong bond they had. It really touched Sirius to know someone had loved his brother so much. When she introduced him to Ivanna Flint, he was very happy to discover she wasn't the only one to have loved Regulus. Both told him how without Ariel, they would have never come together, all of them, not just Ivanna and Daisy.

So yes, saying Ariel Malfoy's memory lived on would be a lie. But for those who weren't afraid to remember him, to dive into their memories, they knew who he was and tried to honor him as best they could. It didn't matter how many people remembered him, because in his lifetime, he only held a few people close to his heart but loved them dearly. Only a few people were thinking of him after his death but at least he was remembered and loved. That was all he asked of Daisy when he left her that night, to remember him and Regulus. She promised him she would and until now she was still holding her promise, she remembered them with a lot of sincerity and nostalgia. And she missed her friend.

author's note: omg omg what didn't i do? barely out of my last exam and i was back to writing as i said i would. but i had no idea i would continue this epilogue and write almost 3k words all at once. i'm exhausted and my eyes hurt but i'm really proud of what i did. this is still my best work, the one i'm the most satisfied with and well it's really the end. i hope you will like this ending, it's still fresh and raw so i hope there's no mistake and it makes sense. overall i hope you like the story. thank you for everything once again
(nobody saw that i published then unpublished right?? the photos won't load...)