Disclaimer's Notice: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters featuring in the books or the films. They belong to J.K Rowling and her wonderful mind.
Chapter 3
The sun was shining as two boys sat on the garden lawn one afternoon in June. Although they were the best of friends, they could not have been more different. The older of the two, Gabriel was tall and well built. He had blonde hair, like his father's and silvery grey eyes, also like his father. Having only ever seen an old black and white picture of his father taken on the day of Gabriel's birth, the boy was not sure how accurate these comparisons were but he trusted his mother and if she said he looked like his father then he believed her. The second boy, James had black untidy hair and wore glasses. Although physically smaller than his best friend, James made up for his lack of size with a huge personality. He was by far the more outgoing of the two, which was usually why he always ended up being in more trouble whenever the two were together. They were not naughty by nature but their inherent curiosity and inquisitiveness seemed to lead them into tight spots and sticky situations. Despite this though, the boys were inseparable and the very best of friends. Gabriel had no siblings unlike James, who had a younger brother and sister, but as he and James were practically brothers, this lack of siblings did not seem to bother him too much. He also had his mother, godparents (who were actually James' parents), grandparents and an uncle called Ron who loved him very much. Although unusual and slightly quirky, Gabriel would not have traded his 'family' for anything in the world.
"James, do you reckon we'll be in the same house when we get to school?" asked Gabriel.
"I hope so, both my parents were in Gryffindor so I reckon that's where I'll be. How about you, have you thought about it?" said James looking excited at the prospect of starting school.
"My mum was in Gryffindor," began Gabriel but he stopped mid-sentence. He wasn't sure he wanted to talk about his father and as he had only rarely come up in conversation before, he was not sure how James would react if Gabriel gave him a piece of information about him. It was not as if he was ashamed of his father but his obvious absence from Gabriel's life made everything he knew about him more precious, more valued. He was almost afraid that he would lose the precarious link to his father by giving away one of the snippets of information he had learned about him.
Dismissing the thought as childish, Gabriel continued his sentence, "But my father was in Slytherin," he finished stoutly looking at James from the corner of his eye. He saw the initial shock register on James' face but it disappeared before he could turn his head fully and make sure he had really seen it.
"Slytherin," James said in falsely awed voice. "Cool!"
"No James, it's not cool. I heard that everyone who was ever in Slytherin went bad," said Gabriel staring at the grass feeling embarrassed and ashamed.
"Yea but it's probably the kind of stuff that the older kids make up to scare us before we get there. I'm sure Slytherin isn't as bad as people make it out to be. Plus you don't even know for sure that you will be in Slytherin. You look like a Gryffindor to me!" reassured James with a smile.
Gabriel returned the smile gratefully. He knew that James had realised how personal this piece of information was and was not making a big deal about it on purpose.
"You say that, but all of the grown-ups we know were in Gryffindor. The only Slytherin that our parents have ever mentioned was my father and he's not here which means they must not like to hang around for too long," said Gabriel in a cracked voice.
Choosing not to comment on Gabriel's remark, James subtly looked away allowing his friend to wipe the tears that had snuck out from beneath his eyelashes with some dignity.
Despite James' reassurances that he would be in Gryffindor, Gabriel had a sense of unease about the upcoming school year. He didn't know what to expect and his mother and godparents kept giving him indulgent smiles and telling him that it was all going to be OK when he got there if he ever expressed his concern or worry out loud. He didn't know very much about the time his 'family' (being his mother, his uncle Ron, godmother Ginny and godfather Harry) had spent at school. According to James, their silence was down to the fact that they all behaved very badly at school and did not want to encourage the boys to do the same. They did know that the four of them had become friends instantly despite the face that James' mother had been a year below them.
The only thing the boys knew about Gabriel's father's school days was that he was in Slytherin and James' father, Harry, did not get on with him very well during their time at Hogwarts. Beyond that, the ever-absent Draco Malfoy's antics had been kept a secret from the two of them. The boys never got the feeling that the elders had hated him or anything, just that they were uncomfortable discussing Malfoy senior.
The silence surrounding his father was very frustrating for Gabriel at first. As the years had gone on, he had learnt to accept it but never quite understood it. In a way, he was jealous of James. His best friend had two parents who loved him very much and were always there for him. Gabriel had no father that he could ever remember being around and the saddest part was that his Godfather Harry had been the closest thing to a real dad Gabriel could have asked for. He knew that James did not mind having to share his father but Gabriel still resented it all the same. He loved Harry, but Harry was James' father and would always be James' father no matter how much Gabriel wished differently.
He still could not understand why his father had never come to visit or come looking for him. Every time he had asked his mother she always went very still and told him in a soft voice that he would come one day when he could. Well, he had waited and still the day seemed never to come. He had stared at the photograph of his parents holding him as an infant a thousand times to try and understand why his father had never returned after that day but it was useless. The magical photograph played the same scene repeatedly. They were sitting on a bed and Hermione, his mother was smiling broadly holding Draco's arm and looking at Gabriel while the infant version of himself lay in the crook of his father's arm and stroked his beard with miniscule hands. His father was staring lovingly down at his son with an arm around Hermione and occasionally glanced in the direction of the camera. From the angle the photograph had been taken from it was difficult to make out the exact features of his father's face, which had frustrated him even more. It was like starving and seeing a banquet to which there was no access.
As these thoughts and emotions swirled round Gabriel's head he pulled at the grass by his knees and stared out over the fields of his family's estate. Both boys looked in the direction of the annexe as a distant voice rang out over the garden.
"Boys! Lunch!" called Harry.
As they stood up to walk over to the house James slung an arm around Gabriel's shoulder. "Don't worry about it, mate. It'll all be fine once we get to school."
"Thanks James," murmured Gabriel as he affectionately clapped his best friend on the shoulder.
Inside the annexe kitchen, Hermione was watching her son walk towards the house next to James.
"It's eerie you know," she said to Ginny who was laying plates out on the rectangular wooden kitchen table.
"What is?"
"The boys. They both look so much like their fathers I could have sworn we were looking at Harry and Draco twenty years ago," said Hermione turning from the window.
"Hmm. Shame their fathers didn't get on as well as they do," replied Ginny with a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth.
Hermione chuckled to herself and pulled out the dish of lasagne from the oven. She carried it towards the table and placed it on a mat. Removing the oven gloves from her hands, she looked towards a row of framed photographs sitting on the windowsill behind the table. Walking over to them, she immediately found the one she was looking for which was the only picture of Draco Malfoy she owned. She raised a hand to the glass of the frame and stroked the side of Malfoy's face. As always, the photographic Draco did not react to her touch but kept staring down at his newborn son. How she craved the feel of his clipped yet silken beard, the smell of his skin and the steady beating of his heart. How she wished that he would walk in right now and take her in his arms, that he would look at their son and tell him what a father tells his son before he leaves for school. He said he would come back but she was still waiting…for how much longer she did not know but she would continue to wait no matter what.
"He still hasn't come back?" asked Ginny softly from somewhere behind her.
"Not yet," was all Hermione could manage in response.
"Are you going to talk to Gabriel about it?"
"What is there to say? His father is not here because he cannot be here. Gabriel would not understand that and it would only make it harder for him. It is better this way because what can he miss what he does not know. I envy his ignorance, it is bliss for him."
"Hermione, you need to talk to him. He's going to Hogwarts in a matter of months and when he gets there, people are going to know who he is. His name is Malfoy for heaven's sake, that's a pretty big clue you know! I think it'd be better for you to tell him about Draco before some snotty little Slytherin beats you to it. You forget but according to our generations of Hogwarts, you and Malfoy were sworn enemies. How do you think your son is going to react when he finds out about that little gem?"
Hermione said nothing but moved away from the row of photographs. She knew that Ginny was right but the truth was that she was afraid of telling her son. She was afraid that if she said Draco could not come back until circumstances changes, he never would. Almost as if saying it aloud to another person would jinx it, she would be alone, forever, without him, and she did not know if that was something she could bear. It had been hard enough these past eleven years but the knowledge that she was waiting in vain for something that would never happen would kill her. It had been hope that had kept her going these long years and she was not ready to let it go just yet.
Before she had a chance to say anything else the kitchen door opened and Harry walked in with James and Gabriel. They were followed into the kitchen by Ron, Albus and Rose (James' siblings) shortly after. As they all settled down to eat, Hermione noticed that her son was more subdued than usual and wondered if Ginny was right about telling him after all. Maybe he was ready and he would understand but then again, maybe he wouldn't.
Lunch passed without incident and after they had cleared the table, Gabriel and James went back outside while Harry and Ron took the younger two out to play by the swings. Hermione and Ginny were sitting on the porch watching their sons play in the son. They were playing some form of Quidditch without brooms; throwing a large red Quaffle between them as they sprinted around the lawn, their mothers sipped glasses of Pimm's and soaked up some of the afternoon sun.
"How much longer do you think he'll be gone, Hermione?"
Hermione did not even have to ask Ginny about whom she was referring to, "I don't know. He promised me he would come as soon as he could. I hope it's soon Ginny! I don't know how much more of this I can take."
Ginny looked puzzled. "Gabriel's a good boy. He could not have you that much trouble!"
"I don't mean being a single parent. I mean being alone. You have no idea what it is to ache for someone so badly that it becomes a strain, a physical effort to live without them. I am trying to be normal and happy for my son but I have almost reached my breaking point. I need him, Ginny. I need him to be near me because when we are apart I feel incomplete, as if I left part of me somewhere else. I look at Gabriel, my son, and all I see is him, Draco. His eyes, his soft hair and even his build; it is almost as if Gabriel were a carbon copy down to the last cell. It is like I cannot breathe without him."
Ginny looked shocked as she watched Hermione speak. "I…I had no idea it was that bad. You really love him don't you?"
"More than you'll ever know," said Hermione wiping her cheeks. "He'll come back to me Ginny, I know he will. He promised and if there is one thing Draco Malfoy never does, it is that he never breaks his promises. I just hope that when he does come back his son can find it in his heart to understand and forgive him."
