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The Return
"I told Greeley that I needed those files on my desk no later than twelve. It's now one o'clock. Do you have-"
Cut off by the roaring of the green flames coming from the side of him, Harry Potter stopped shouting at the man standing in front of him. Scratching his unruly jet black hair in confusion, he stared at the young girl who just stepped through the fireplace. He's never seen her before, and from the obvious confusion set into her honeysuckle colored eyes, he could tell that she wasn't expecting to arrive in his office. She looked as if she were only seventeen years old; the same age as his oldest son James. But she looked younger at the same time. He noticed the way her hands stayed glued onto her stomach, as if searching for some hint of reassurance.
She was a pretty girl, and obviously very frightened about something. He noted the pale blonde curls tied loosely into a bun, as if falling off from the back of her head, with bangs reaching her eyes; the color of a crow. Her eyes were honeysuckle colored, with just that tiny hint of lavender in it. There was a tiny yellow diamond in the left nostril of her nose, with three emerald diamonds in each ear. She was wearing tiny black colored jean shorts showing off most of her thighs, with a crimson colored tank top. He saw the pink backpack hanging off of her shoulders, and the way her neon green nails continued to cradle her stomach. His eyes flickered over the tattoo on her right thigh; a replica of a monarch butterfly sat on the front of her left leg. Its wings were folded upward as if it were taking flight. Right behind it, also with wings folded upward, was a large black crow. The body of the crow was made up of words; Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anybody can start today and create a new ending. The crow was shaded in with a scratchy silhouette black coloring, while its wings curved right along the bottom of her buttocks.
"Can I help you?" he asked her.
Adverting her eyes from the emerald eyes filled with concern towards her, and the darkened brown eyes looking at her with annoyance, she shyly said, "I'm looking for Blaise Zabini? I'm sorry; I thought this was his office."
Chuckling, Harry nodded his head. "This was his office, but he moved over to the third floor two months ago. I can take you to him if you like."
"Alright."
Harry watched her as they stood on the elevator leading them to the next floor. The fear was evident in her eyes. Curious as to why this girl would be looking for Zabini, he caught a peek of the wand sticking out from her back pocket. So she was definitely a witch, but he still didn't understand why she was here… at the Ministry of Magic… flooing in… searching for Zabini. She seemed to notice him watching her, and took a careful step back. Her eyes wandered up to his lightning bolt shaped scar, and for a second he saw something flicker into her eyes, but soon she shook it away. With a sigh of relief as the elevator stopped moving, he began to lead her to the office she had originally intended to land in.
"Come in!" came the passive deep monotone of Blaise Zabini. Opening the door, Harry led the nervous girl inside, and stayed in the doorway. Jaded green eyes stared down at a pile of papers on the metal desk while olive colored hands ran through short nappy raven colored curls.
"Hullo, Uncle Blaise."
Quickly lifting his head up, a small nervous grin formed over the ex-Slytherin's lips. "Sarai," he choked out. "What-what are you doing here?"
"I needed to see my father," she continued to stay where she was. For a moment it seemed as if she was going to lean against Harry for support.
"He isn't in the office today," Blaise informed her, "Why didn't you floo to the manor?"
"I need your help."
Blaise's eyes quickly shifted over at Harry, before he stood up. "Is there anything else you needed, Potter?"
"Nope," still confused, Harry shook his head. "She floo'd into my office looking for you, I explained how you moved up here two months ago, and showed her the way."
"Well thank you for bringing my niece to me," Blaise's voice was passive, but his face was running with emotions. "You can go now."
"You know where my office is if you need anything," Harry told the girl, giving her shoulder a light, and gentle squeeze before leaving.
Only three seconds passed by before the shout of, "YOU'RE WHAT?" could be heard throughout the entire third floor, sending shivers down Harry's spine.
Sitting on the cold tiled floor of her home, she watched with big childlike eyes as the man and woman in front of her continued to fight. There were no more tears running down her cheeks, because this is what she was used to. Feeling the fear become caught in her throat, she continued to watch the scene in front of her. Soon the large pale and lanky looking finger was pointing at her, and hurtful words reached her ears. Still unable to cry – because these were words she already heard – she watched as the dark quicksilver eyes glared down at her. He hated her for something that her five year old mind was too young to comprehend. Her mum fought for her, but it was no use. Hearing the crack of his impact to her mum's cheek, she continued sitting there. She continued to watch as her father beat her mum.
"I'm sorry."
Staring down at the girl who was now sitting on the couch in his office with her head hanging low, Blaise sighed. Standing in front of her, he rubbed his face with both of his hands. "How did this happen, Sarai?"
There was a soft chuckle, "I figured with you having Ricky, you would know this kind of stuff by now."
"This isn't the time for jokes," although it wasn't a funny moment, a low chuckle escaped Blaise as well.
"I don't know," shrugging her shoulders, Sarai finally lifted her head. Her eyes met his, and Blaise could see the desperation that they held in them. "You're a lawyer, Uncle Blaise," she spoke again after a long pause. "In the wizarding world I'm considered a legal adult, but in the muggle world I'm still a minor. Mum kicked me out, and I know Father won't take me in either. I don't know what to do. If I stay in the muggle world, I'll end up in an orphanage."
"You are seventeen years old Sarai," Blaise rolled his eyes at her melodramatic words. "I'm sure they won't put you into a-"
"But they will. You don't get it Uncle Blaise. You're a pureblood, so you don't understand muggles the way they truly are. I am still underage to them, and underage children end up in orphanages. I won't be eighteen until another eleven months. I can't live in an orphanage for eleven months. They'll take my child away from me."
He saw the worry in her eyes. The protective way she held onto her belly made him believe her words. The muggles did have separate rules from the wizarding world. And then again, it had to be important in order to bring her back here. "Why did your mother kick you out?"
"She doesn't want to spoil her good name with a knocked up teenaged daughter," Sarai scoffed, her eyes back on her tiny belly now. "I went to her expecting her to help me out. After all, her and father were eighteen when they had me. But instead she shouted, and threw me out. I managed to grab my wand, and only a few other things."
"And the father?" he asked her. "What does he say about all of this?"
She scoffed again, "The twat ran off. He says he isn't ready to be a father yet."
"How far along are you?"
"I didn't go to the hospital yet, but I'm saying about three months."
"Are you sure you're pregnant?"
She heard the hope in his voice, and she didn't blame him. She often questioned herself about it as well, but it was true. "Yes," nodding her head, she softly smiled. "I've been sleeping on my side lately, and I've been having these odd pains. Not to mention the cravings I've been getting, and the sickness. I took a total of seventeen muggle pregnancy tests just to be sure of it."
"And your father?" he asked her, "What are you going to do about him?"
This was it, the moment she had feared the most. "That's why I came to you," she explained. "I need Father to sign paperwork for the muggle world, saying that I'm under his custody now so I don't have to deal with Mum anymore. As my lawyer, you can deal with that stuff. But here in the wizarding world, I'll be a legal adult. I have a friend in the muggle world that I can stay with for now. She knows all about me being a witch."
"You aren't planning on staying with your father?"
Her laugh was dark; cynical, almost resembling Bellatrix's, "Have you gone mad Uncle Blaise? Father would never allow me to stay with him. Not like I would want to either way. He hates me."
"He's your father Sarai. You know that he would never hate you."
"He used to torture me as a child, and beat Mum in front of me. He took me out of the Malfoy inheritance because I'm a girl, and not a boy, and he made it known that he only married Mum because she got knocked up in the first place. He blamed me for her tricking him into the marriage with a filthy half-blood spawn, and claimed that he only got her pregnant as a one night fling while he was pissed drunk in muggle London," her eyebrow was cocked. "Mum left him when I was eight. He brought me my wand when I was ten, told me that I was forbidden to go to Hogwarts when my letter came in, and I've seen him only twice since then. And the only reason I saw him then was because I needed a blood transfusion when I got hit by that car when I was thirteen."
"He could have left you in that hospital to die."
"He wanted to," her eyes darkened as she remembered overhearing her mum's argument with the man who helped to conceive her. "The only reason he came in to give blood for the transfusion was because Mum threatened to tell the wizarding world of the real reason that they split up. She was willing to go to the Minister himself, and give him all her memories. Father's a proud man, and didn't want anyone finding out he's just like Lucius."
"Your father is nothing like Lucius," Blaise quickly shook his head, coming to the defense of his best friend. "I know that Draco hasn't really been kind to you Sarai, but he is nothing like Lucius."
"Really?" this time her arms were wrapped around herself, shielding her body from memories she never wanted to remember. "I was only four years old when he first used the Cruciatus Curse on me. When we left, he didn't come looking for me. It was you and Aunt Pansy who would bring me gifts every birthday, and every holiday. Not once have I ever received anything from him. Once I said your name, you knew who I was, Uncle Blaise. He could walk past me on the street, and not know who I am. He's everything like Lucius. And I loathe him as much as he loathes Lucius. I only need him to sign the papers then I'll be gone again."
Sitting at his desk, Blaise watched as the girl nervously began to pick at her nails while watching the fireplace. He wanted to laugh at the sight of it. She may have grown up being tortured and abandoned by her father, but like any normal teenaged daughter, she was scared to tell him that she was pregnant. He sent Draco the owl, saying that it was urgent, and he needed to see him as quickly as possible, but now even he was nervous. How would Draco react to the news of his seventeen year old daughter being knocked up then thrown out onto the streets? Granted, Draco had never been there for Sarai from the minute she was born, but would he be as cruel as the muggle woman who trapped him into a marriage? Could he just turn this scared girl out on her own to figure things out by herself? Was Draco really just as bad a father as Lucius was? Or could it be… could he be worse than Lucius was?
Just then the fireplace roared to life, and Blaise caught the way the girl on the couch jumped in fright. From the minute that Laura took Sarai away from the wizarding world and to muggle London, Blaise and Pansy would constantly visit their niece; so he knew she wasn't frightened from the fireplace. She was frightened by the man who just walked out from it. Sarai's breath got caught in her throat when she saw her father step into the office. He was just as frightening as she remembered. Pale skin with heated quicksilver eyes, and equally pale blonde hair falling all along his face. Like always, he was wearing the black suit that she had never seen him without, and her face flinched when she spotted the wand in his hand.
"What's the emergency, Blaise?" Draco immediately asked, quickly scanning the office for any potential dangers. His eyes landed on the visibly shaking girl, and he tilted his head. "Sarai? What are you doing here?"
With a proud smirk, Blaise saw the shock in the girl's face. Looks like she was wrong; her father would recognize her. "I need you to sign papers," she meant to be brave, but the memories of him punishing her flashed back into her mind. Sarai's voice was as weak as herself.
"Papers?" turning to Blaise, Draco continued to stand. "What papers? Papers for what?"
"In the muggle world, Sarai would still be considered underage," Blaise began to explain to his best friend. "She needs you to sign papers taking her into your guardianship, so she can be free," seeing the confusion in Draco's face, Blaise continued, "When you sign the papers, it will say she's under the care of her father. Of course though, seeing as how you live in the wizarding world, she won't actually be with you. She just needs the paperwork to make it legal in the muggle world."
"Where's your mother?" Draco turned back to his daughter. Just now he noticed that something was off. She was frightened about something. "Laura has complete custody of you. Why do you need me?" she didn't answer him; instead choosing to play with her nails while chewing on her lower lip. When Draco looked at Blaise for an answer, his friend only shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. "Sarai?" looking back at his daughter, he could see that she was almost as pale as him. She grew up a lot since he's last seen her. He didn't like it not one bit. "Sarai, I asked you a question. Where is your mother?"
After Blaise shook his head at her, Sarai gave a look of defeat. "Mum kicked me out. I just need you to sign the papers then I'll be gone again."
"Why did Laura kick you out?" she went silent again, and Draco groaned in annoyance. "Do not make me repeat myself again, Sarai," he noticed the way his daughter flinched away from him when he tightened his grip on his wand. Guilt flooded him as he remembered how he used to treat her when she was younger; before her mother took her away from him.
"I'm pregnant."
"Daddy!" the laughing voice filled with ringing bells shouted excitedly. Turning around, he saw the tiny three year old running towards him. Pale blonde hair – his hair – flew behind her in a mass of thickened curls while honeysuckled eyes sparkled brightly. Wearing a pink skirt and a white top covered in tiny little flowers, the girl stopped right in front of him. "Daddy!"
Her loving smile tried to break away his iciness, and warm his heart, but then he remembered that she wasn't pure. She was a trap created by her muggle mother to keep him by her side. "Go away! I'm busy!" his voice was harsh, and he saw the little girl's smile quickly fade away. Even at only three, she already knew he wouldn't be there to hold her in his arms like most daddies did. Dropping something out of her hands, she turned, and ran off from him. Glancing downwards, he felt a small aching in his chest. He watched as the miniature yellow sunflowers slowly began to fade to black.
"You're what?" he didn't hear her correctly. That was the simplicity to it. His mind was caught up in a memory that he wished he could erase, and he simply just didn't hear her correctly.
Keeping her gaze on the wand in her father's hand, Sarai reached behind herself to grab her own wand – the only gift he had ever given her, and the one thing in life she would always depend on – just in case he tried to use another unforgivable on her; she wanted to make sure she was able to defend herself this time. She was no longer four years old. "I-I'm pregnant."
Draco's world came crashing down. His mind blanked out and his vision became blurry. His daughter. His daughter. His seventeen year old daughter was pregnant. Granted he wasn't there for all of her life, and when he was there, he wasn't a father, but she was still his blood. No matter if she was only a half-blood; his blood was still in her. She had his hair; his mother's hair. She had his eyes; his father's eyes – both eyes combined. She was a Malfoy. She was his daughter. She was pregnant. His daughter was pregnant.
"Father?"
He heard her voice calling out to him. She no longer called him 'Daddy' anymore. He was now simply just 'Father' to her. Something he brought on upon himself. Something he hated himself for. Something he called Lucius, but something he couldn't control. Or force her to change.
"Father?" Sarai was watching him carefully, her eyes unmoving from his wand. She didn't want him to make any sudden attacks on her. "Uncle Blaise," she called out to her uncle this time, "What's wrong with him?"
"He's just in shock, love," Blaise assured her, also confused of his best friend's sudden silence. "It's not every day a bloke finds out his teenaged daughter is pregnant."
"I don't see why it matters to him," her eyes hadn't moved from its spot yet, her wand held out slightly in front of herself. "It isn't as if he has to deal with it."
That snapped him out of it. I don't see why it matters to him. It isn't as if he has to deal with it – this child is going to be a part of him as well. He would be this child's grandfather. Of course it matters to him. "You're pregnant?" Sarai nodded her head. "And your mother kicked you out?" she nodded her head again. "So you want me to sign the custody papers so your mother will be free of you?" she nodded again. "Then what?"
"I have a friend who knows I'm a witch. She knows that Mum kicked me out, and she knows I can't stay with you, so I'm going to stay with her until I can get enough money to get my own flat."
"And the father?"
"Wants nothing to do with it," this time there was malice in her voice. Her eyes still on his wand, "Which is fine with me. I'd rather him not be around my child so I can tell it that its father is dead instead of having him beat the poor thing," she scoffed, "I know what that's like."
Her words cut through the ice that he had become, but there was no retort to that. It was true. "And why can't you stay with me?" he frowned. "I'm your father."
"Since when?" for a second she thought she saw hurt in his eyes, but she quickly dismissed it. It was just her wishful thinking playing such cruel tricks on her. "You made it clear to me when I was eight that you don't want me. You're nothing more than a mere sperm donor. The only reason I'm here is because I need you to sign the papers. If you don't, and people find out that Mum kicked me out, I'll be taken into an orphanage, and they'll take my baby away from me. I'm underage until I'm eighteen in the muggle world. And I can't hide in the wizarding world until I'm eighteen, because as far as the wizarding world is concerned, I'm still in the custody of my muggle mother and living in muggle London. I would be considered a runaway, and they would arrest me. I know you wouldn't want to tarnish your perfect Malfoy name with all of that so can you just sign the papers so we can go our separate ways again?"
He finally noticed her eyes were glued on his wand, still. He saw the defensive position she held her own wand in. Lowering his wand in a slow motion, Draco put it on Blaise's desk, showing that he wasn't going to hurt her. Her reasoning's made sense to him, but he wouldn't allow any of it. "I was wrong to take my frustrations out on you," he merely nodded his head at her. This time her eyes met his, but he noted that she still held onto her own wand. She thought this was some sort of trick. "I realize that I haven't been the best father to you, and I haven't been there to watch you grow up. But you're only seventeen Sarai, and even in the wizarding world that is too young to be on your own. I'm not going to be like your mother and kick you out. You'll stay with me."
"No I won't," Sarai shook her head. "I have nothing to do with Malfoy Manor. Remember… I'm not a real Malfoy," her words were as harsh as when he told them to her when she was still only seven years old. "Malfoy's have pure blood; they aren't just filthy half-breeds. I have no place at the Malfoy Manor."
Hearing the disgust in his daughter's voice, Draco sighed. "You are my daughter. It doesn't matter that I haven't been there for you. You aren't going to live with your muggle friend. You are going to come back home with me."
"That place has never been a home to me," she hissed.
"I'll sign the papers, but you're coming back with me," turning to Blaise, Draco nodded his head. "In the muggle world, she is still considered a minor. Having growing up in the muggle world more than the wizarding world, we'll play it by the muggle rules. If Sarai were to move to the muggle world without my consent, she is a runaway."
Realizing what her father was doing, Sarai jumped to her feet. "You can't do that. You don't want me anyway. Just sign the bloody papers, and be done with it."
"You are my daughter," he hissed in reply, earning a flinch from her, and a tightening grip on her wand, "And I will do whatever the bloody hell I like. If you don't want this, then return back to the muggle world, and walk straight into that muggle orphanage," he saw the defeat in her eyes, and the slump in her shoulders. Smirking, he accepted the quill from Blaise, and signed the papers. "I'll set an appointment with a medi-witch for you in the morning. For now, let's show you to your old room at the manor."
Casting one last hopeful look at Blaise, Sarai reluctantly followed her father over to the fireplace. Keeping a tight grip on her wand, she watched him warily. Moving away as he went to place a hand on her shoulder, she shook her head at him, and he nodded in response. She didn't trust him, and she didn't want him touching her. Blaise watched as the estranged father and scared daughter entered the floo, and he sighed for the both of them, silently praying that Draco comes to his senses and becomes the father that Sarai always wanted. It was evident in her eyes when she was younger that she still hoped that one day Draco would open his eyes, and come searching for his daughter. It never happened though. After Laura left with Sarai, Draco just went right back to his bachelor ways; not once thinking of the fact that he had a daughter who wanted to be loved by him.
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