Author's Note: Hello all! This is the sequel to It Finds You Unexpectedly. I wrote that in High School and it definitely needs some work, but please take a quick read if you'd like. I started this in my first year of college and have decided to start it up again. Hopefully you enjoy.
**None of the characters are mine. The following story IS based off the plot of a book (not HP) but I have given it my own twist**

"There is one fact that we must drive into your wretched skull that you must never forget afterward. Can you guess what that fact is?" said Voldemort.

"No, my Lord." Draco said.
"No?" Voldemort's vanishing eyebrows shot up in mock surprise. Mesmerized, Draco watched them disappear under the folding skin of his forehead. There, almost coyly, they remained just out of sight for a moment, before suddenly descending with a terrible finality and weight. "No. Well then…" The Dark Lord bent forward in his chair. "I shall tell you."

With a slow, deliberate motion, he placed his hands together so that his slender fingertips formed a steepled arch, which he then pointed at Draco.
"Remember this," he said in a sinister voice. "This wand is very powerful. It has a mind of it's own. It will kill you if you do not use it with concentration. Do you understand this?"

Draco was still watching the eyebrows. He could not wrench his gaze away from them. Now they were furrowed sternly downward, two sharp, thin arrowheads meeting. With their parody of independent life they exerted a strange fascination on Draco.

Voldemort coughed dangerously.

"Do you understand?"
"Oh – yes, sir."
"Malfoy, I've noticed that you have become more and more distant. Losing your focus. You say yes, but I do not feel convinced that you really, truly understand."
"Yes, my Lord. I do, sir. This wand will kill me if I let it get the chance.
Voldemort nodded.

"Stand up."

Draco stood slowly. Standing tall with his hands at his sides. It had been almost six years since he had sacrificed himself to the Dark Lord. He hadn't changed much, except maybe he grew a few inches taller. Stubble graced his face and his hair had the same Malfoy look that defined him. He was at the top of his game. Draco had become Voldemort's most trusted and successful Death Eaters. But lately his desire to focus was diminishing. This was the second time Voldemort had mentioned it to him. Beyond his lectures about focus, Voldemort had finally brought up the wand that Draco stole those six years ago.

Voldemort indicated a door behind him with a casual finger. "You know what's through there?"
"The prison chambers, Master."
"Good. If you walk down far enough to the end of the corridor, you'll find a desk. On the desk is a box. In the box is the wand. Go get it and come back to me. Got that?"
"Yes, my Lord."

Draco bowed and crossed to the door, which was made of a dark, unpainted wood, with a questionable green slime in some of the cracks. Draco opened the door and stepped through to find himself on the familiar staircase. Torches hung loosely on the walls. He descended carefully, one step at a time. He reached the corridor to find all of the cells disturbingly empty.

'Strange.' He thought. 'I had Goyle throw some prisoners in here less than two hours ago.'
Draco's footsteps echoed as he cautiously made his way to a great wooden desk with a plain wooden chair set behind it.

Draco made for the table.
Halfway there, he stopped and looked behind him.

Nothing. But he wasn't stupid. Something was wrong. He had the strangest feeling. He shook his head and took the four hasty steps that took him to the edge of the desk. The box sat in the middle of the desk. Somehow he felt having the wand down here was not strictly necessary. He shook his head again and quickly reached out for the box. Instead of making contact with the box, his hand knocked over a small cup filled with quills. The quills sprayed across the table.

He let out a sigh of frustration and began to collect up the quills and stuff them back into the cup. There was suddenly a throaty chuckle from behind him.

He wheeled round, his eyes wide in confusion. But there was nothing there.

For a moment Draco remained with his back facing the desk, looking at every inch of the room. 'Forget the quills.' He said to himself. 'The wand is what you came for.' Slowly he turned around.

At that moment one of the quills he spilled slid off the desk onto the carpet. It made no sound, but he caught sight of it out of the corner of his eye. Another quill began to move towards the edge – first slowly, then faster and faster. Suddenly it flew off the desk and hit the wall behind him. Another did the same. Then another. Suddenly, all the quills were sliding, in several directions at once, accelerating off the edges of the desk, colliding, flying, landing, lying still. Draco had to dodge more than one as they flew. He watched. The last one fell. A sudden breeze made him lash his fist around behind him.

Nothing.

He frowned and grabbed the box. A moment later, he had the wand in his hand and he was walking to the door.

Something came behind him. He heard it closing in on his back.

He refused to look back and kept making his way towards the door. Just as he made it up the stairs, the door slammed shut. He wrenched at the doorknob and his face fell.

"Alohomora." He said pointing the wand at the keyhole. It didn't open.

"Okay…" Draco said as he ran a hand through his hair.

Draco turned and faced the room. He could feel the wand lurching in his hand. He looked down and gripped it tighter.

Suddenly, small rustlings sounded all about him, delicate taps and little flitterings, as if everything in the room was being brushed against by invisible moving things.

Anger welled in Draco as he pointed the wand at the room.

"Impedimenta!" he shouted.

The rustling, tapping, and flittering stopped dead.

The room was very still.

As Draco tried to figure out how to open the door, a small light appeared in the middle of the room. He looked up, shocked, as Lucius formed in front of him. Draco watched as Lucius slowly pointed his wand at him. Hesitantly, Draco raised the jerking wand in his own hand toward his father. Lucius smirked.

"You have no focus, Draco."
"What are you talking about?"
"The wand shows that your mind is elsewhere. And I know where it is."

With trembling fingers, Draco tightened his grip once again on the wand, turning his knuckles white, as he pointed at his father's chest.
"Why are you here?"
"Not happy to see me? Oh…that's right. I'm guessing you were assuming I was going to be that Mudblood Granger."
"...Hermione." Draco whispered. He had been thinking about her more than anything these days.

"Yes. You want her back?"
Draco stiffened. "How do you…?"
"Death has allowed me to see many things. I'm ashamed to call you my son."

As Lucius continued talking, that Malfoy rage was surging through Draco. Even in death his father was still cold-blooded. He suddenly felt the wand jerk still, and the power it held traveled into his body.
"Ridikulus!"

Lucius suddenly turned into Ron Weasley falling off a broom.
"Stupefy!"

The shot sent the boggart flying to the back wall.
The room was silent once again. Behind him, the door opened with Voldemort standing in the doorway. An evil smile grew on his face as Draco stared back at him.
"Excellent."

"What was that all about?" Draco asked with fury. The last person he wanted to see was his father.

Voldemort laughed quietly as Draco's anger grew.
"That was the wand…I told you it would kill you if you let it. It takes up the form of someone you once loved and looked up too."
Looking at the wand with disgust, he shoved it in his pocket.

He walked up the stairs and followed Voldemort out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

"I only want you to use that wand when you're angry. Do you understand?"
"You mean like now?" Draco said through clenched teeth.
"Do you understand?!"

Draco immediately got on one of his knees and bowed his head. He had challenged Voldemort enough to know that if he kept back talking he would be crucioed on the spot.
"Yes, my Lord. I understand."
"Good. I see that you're starting to learn to shut that Malfoy mouth of yours. Something your father never accomplished."
"Right, sir."
"Now – stand up you idiot. I want you to take a few Death Eaters and search Grimmauld Place. Knowing that babbling moron Crabbe it's probably empty by now, but go anyway. Just in case."

With a slight bow Draco quickly ducked out of the room.

Along with three other Death Eaters, Draco stood outside of Grimmauld Place. It was no longer hidden, but out in the open. No lights were on inside but Draco's trained eyes could see the faint white concealing spell around the house.

"Search the perimeter. Look for any signs of people being here within the last forty-eight hours. If you find something, send your patronus into the house."

"What about you?" Goyle asked. "Won't you need help?"
Draco snickered.
"Since when have I ever needed help?"

Goyle shrugged and turned to follow the others. Draco looked up to the house, and then at the front door. He walked up the stoop and placed his hand on the doorknob. The hinges squeaked slightly as he pushed the door open. With his wand edging its way in first, he quietly made his way into the slightly lit hallway. He heard pages flipping in a nearby room and his attention was immediately drawn in that direction. He didn't get far, though, when the curtains were drawn and the loud-mouthed Mrs. Black started shouting.
"QUIT TIP-TOEING YOUR LAST SEASON SHOES AROUND IN MY HALLWAY OR SO HELP ME, I SWEAR I'LL RIP YOUR LUNGS OUT!"

Draco looked shocked and didn't have time to hide when a skinny girl with brown hair came running into the hallway.
"Shut up, you lousy old woman! Shut up!"

The curtains closed and silence enveloped the hallway as Draco stared at the girl, lowering his wand.
She was about to turn and go back into the other room when she caught sight of the tall dark figure standing in the middle of the hallway. She froze. She casually gazed into the room and looked to the floor, where her wand rested under a table.

"G-go away!" she yelled.
Draco edged his way closer to her. She backed up quickly and looked at him sternly.
"Stop! Just leave! Harry isn't here!"

He stopped moving and just stood there, staring at her. A bewildered look crossed her face. She slowly made her way into the other room and quickly grabbed her wand. She came out and pointed in Draco's direction. In a panic, Draco put his hands up.

"Hermione, don't!"
Baffled she looked at him hard.
"How do you know my name? Just get-"

She stopped as the dark figure lowered its hood, revealing blonde white hair and those piercing dark blue eyes.
"Draco?"
"...Hi Hermione."
She was about to stupefy him anyway, when a small voice sounded from behind her.

"Mommy? What's going on?"

A tiny girl came out into view. She had light blonde hair with brown eyes and was a little bit taller than Hermione's knees. Hermione looked back and forth between her daughter and Draco. She kneeled down and held her by the arms.
"Nothing, baby, nothing."
"Who's that man?"
"Uh, he's just an old friend of mommy's. From school."

The little girl looked up over at Draco.

"Why are you wearing that black dress?"
"Erm..they're my pajamas. Like yours." He said nodding to her blue nightgown.

She giggled. "Boys don't wear dressies."
"Lila, go to bed sweetie. I'll come tuck you in soon."

The little girl nodded and teetered off down the hallway, looking at Draco the entire time.
Hermione turned to see Draco falling to the floor on his knees, his head in his hands. Through choked back tears he tried to form some words.

"H-how old?"

Hermione leaned on the wall and folded her arms, looking down at Draco's sobbing form.

"Six." She said flatly.

More tears flooded Draco's face.
"I-I'm sorry, H-Hermione."
"What I want to know is why you would leave a month before she was born."
"Hermione…"
"Why?! How could you do that to me?! To her?!"
"I didn't want you hurt! You know that there was no way I could be there for you and the baby with Voldemort on my back!"
"I'm a big girl, Draco. I could've handled it if he came knocking on my door to kill m -"
"I WOULD RATHER HAVE DIED BEFORE I EVER LET THAT HAPPEN!"

Hermione watched as Draco sat sobbing on the floor. After all the years she had known him, he had never shown his vulnerable side. She was actually softening up to him, just like she did at Hogwarts.
"D-do you know h-how hard it was for me to w-walk away? Do you even understand what I went through?"
"What about what I went through, Draco?"
"Hermione…I spent years regretting that day and I still do. I've had countless nightmares of you crying and all because of me. A-and then you were gone. I searched for months, possibly years to find out where you had gone. And everyday it killed a little part of me even more to know that my…my child was growing up without me."

Hermione sighed and walked over to Draco and kneeled down to his level. She pulled his face up and wiped some of his tears away. She smiled slightly before taking him by the hand and helping him stand.

"Come on."

He let himself be pulled down the hall, and to Lila's door. Hermione opened it and walked inside. Draco lingered behind, hesitant to enter. Hermione smiled and pulled him in. "It's alright." She whispered.

The room was tiny, and a little shabby. There wasn't much in the room save a few scattered toys and books. He was led to the tiny bed. His breathing became heavy as he kneeled next to Hermione, who was pulling the blankets up to the girls' sleeping figure. Hermione watched as Draco reached up and brushed some of Lila's hair away from her face. Lila stirred, and Draco pulled back quickly. She looked over at him and smiled.

"Lila, sweetie," Hermione began. "This is Draco. He came here just to see you."

Lila looked from her mom to Draco. She sat up and turned to pull out a thick piece of paper from under her pillow. She handed it to Draco.

Looking at it, more tears came to his eyes. It was a picture of Hermione and Draco in the Head Common Room, sitting on the couch. Draco had his arm around Hermione and she was snuggled into his arms. On the other side of Draco was a drawn in little girl. A crayon arrow was pointing down with the word LILA written above it.
"Mommy said that that man is my daddy." Lila said. "You look like that man…so are you my daddy?"

Draco hesitated and looked to Hermione, who nodded her head. He turned back to Lila and handed her the picture.

"Yeah. I'm y-your father."
Lila smiled and jumped onto Draco, wrapping her tiny arms around his neck.
"I knew you'd come back!"

Draco smiled as he held Lila. This was more then he ever asked for. But the moment was broken when a silvery white patronus of a vulture entered the room.

"Draco?"
Draco laid Lila back in her bed and stood up. Hermione walked with him to the door.
"Stay here." He said. "I'll be right back."

She nodded and walked back over to her daughter's bed and began tucking her in. Draco walked outside with the vulture flying behind him. When he reached the others, he swiped an annoyed hand through the patronus. It disappeared in a tiny fog.

"What'd you find?" he asked sternly.
"Footprints. Male. 10½."
"Anything else?"
"No. Was there anything in the house?"
"Nothing."
"Okay." Goyle said. "Lets burn this thing and get gone."

Before Draco could stop them, they each sent an 'incendio' at the house and apparated away. Leaving Draco to watching in horror.