Sorry, it's been awhile since I've updated! I was trying to make it long enough and cover as much as I could so I could get the story going. Plus, college is a pain!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot and my own OC's.
Hope you enjoy :)
Chapter 4~
Luna had woken up with a headache. It wasn't terrible to be exact, but it still hurt. It hurt far more than she would have liked and she knew exactly what the cause was. No, not what. She knew exactly who the cause was. She went to her cabinet where she stored her potions and found a headache one. A sigh of relief escaped her lips the moment she drank contents of the vial, washing away the pain.
Ginny spent the rest of yesterday moping about and promised she was going to go see Oliver the next morning, so she spent the night at Luna's. Luna couldn't sleep due to the fact that Ginny kept crying. And it wasn't what crying usually sounded like; it could be compared to the blubbering of a whale.
She loved her dear friend very much, but this was ridiculous. Ginny should have realized what was going to happen if she cheated on Harry. Harry wasn't the type of person to put up with that sort of behavior.
She realized she hadn't seen Harry in a long time, practically a year. It was New Years when the gang all got together and even then she barely talked to him. Not that it actually mattered.
"Good morning," Ginny mumbled, making her way into the kitchen. Luna smiled at her despite of everything; she was her best friend after all. "What time should we leave?"
"Whenever you feel comfortable, as long as it's before one."
"One? What are you doing at one?"
"Hermione asked me to go and meet her for a meeting or something, I'm not entirely sure." Luna said, wondering the exact same thing Ginny was.
"Oh, well let me just get dressed and we can leave soon. The faster I get it done, the better I think I'll feel." Ginny said, trying to sound hopeful even though Luna could hear her voice break. She grabbed Ginny's hand and gave it a squeeze.
"It'll be fine. I'm going to be here for you." Tears started to brim along Ginny's eyes again and she pulled Luna into a hug, grateful for her friend.
After about an hour of getting ready, they floo'd their way to Wood's flat. It was small, since he didn't stay there very often, and it was located in a wizarding community in Ireland. Ginny and Luna stood in the living room, unsure of what to do next.
"Oliver?" Luna called out, after an unsure moment of silence. Oliver soon popped his head out of the kitchen and his eyes began to sparkle the moment he saw Ginny. He was then taken aback by the serious looks on the two girls and realized something happened.
"Ginny? Luna? What happened? Why are you guys here?" he asked, walking forward and grabbed Ginny's arms in a comforting way.
"Oliver, I think we should all sit down." Luna suggested, pointing towards the sofa. He nodded and took Ginny's hand, pulling her to go and sit down. Ginny's face blanched as she sat down. Luna sat down, crossing her leg over her other, and wore an amused expression on her face. Oliver obviously had strong feelings for Ginny, she noted from the way he looked at her. "Ginny, you should go and tell him now."
"Tell me what? What should you tell me, Ginny?" he asked, terror in his words.
"O-Oliver, umm, this is hard to say." She struggled for the words to come out, he took her face in his hands and forced her head to turn and look at him.
"It's okay, I'm here, love." Ginny smiled and began to sob. Oliver pulled her close, looking at Luna with his brows knitted in confusion.
"I don't know what happened, but… but… I'm having a baby." Ginny managed to say, after taking a few deep breaths through her sobbing. It was Oliver's turn to look pale. He pulled her away from her and looked at her straight in the eyes.
"Who's the father?" he demanded.
"Y-you are…" she whispered. He pulled away from her and stepped back to look at her, moving his eyes back and forth between her splotchy face and small stomach.
"I'm going to be a dad?" he said in disbelief. She nodded and stood up in a quick manner.
"I'm so sorry for everything, I-I didn't mean to take up your time. We'll just go…"
"No! No, stay. Please." Oliver said, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tight. Ginny lost it and began to sob even harder into his chest.
"Well, this is where I take my leave," Luna said in an airy voice, "Oliver, if you hurt her, I'll make sure that your boys will never produce again." She told him casually, giving him a mystical smile. Oliver's eyes grew big and he nodded, watching her apparate away.
Draco felt comfortable in the silence of his kitchen. His callused hands were wrapped around a warm mug of coffee and he could feel the sun's rays hitting his back. He found these small moments of content his greatest pleasure because they rarely occurred. He closed his eyes and took a sip, only to have the silence break from a tapping on the window. He turned around to face an owl and his face formed into a scowl for he knew exactly whom that owl belonged to. It was the minister's owl.
Neville was nervous. He couldn't eat breakfast and he doubt he could even manage a bite for lunch. He was waiting in his living room for the other three before heading over to the Ministry. His nerves were a wreck and he couldn't fathom what he had learned in the past 24 hours. He kept thinking back to his parents and the many years that they've lost out on in life.
The families who were affected by the war could also find some sort of relief. Many were tortured and had lost their right state of mind, from what Neville saw as he met with some of the victims after the war. He knew that Ollivander had trouble remembering most of his wand making techniques, which forced him to stop working. Hermione confessed to him that her dreams were plagued with death and torture. She has had trouble sleeping ever since her encounter with Bellatrix and she couldn't bare to look at the scar that was left on her arm. And those were just the people he had close relations to.
POP
Neville suddenly noticed three figures in front of him. Harry was still in a sour mood; he looked as though he didn't get any sleep. Ron was cheerful and smiling, a sandwich seemed to be in his hand. Hermione's hair was smoother than yesterday and he noticed that her eyes didn't have their dark shadows underneath them and her face had a determined look.
"Ready?" Hermione asked. Neville smiled at the trio and nodded. They planned on walking to there since he didn't live too far away. As they left his flat, he turned to Harry.
"How are you hanging, Harry?" Neville asked. Harry scowled at the question.
"I've been better, honestly." He stated. Neville noticed how tense he was and decided not to push him. They walked in silence for about 10 minutes before they reached the magical telephone booth. Ron put in the code on the dial box and took the last bite of his sandwich, before they found themselves at Ministry.
They made their way to the lift, which contained a smiling Luna.
"Luna!" Hermione greeted her as the two girls hugged. "Oh, I'm so glad you could make it."
"Of course, I would never let down any members of DA." Luna replied. She quickly hugged Ron and Neville and before she hugged Harry, she gave him a knowing look. "Harry, I do feel sorry about the sudden pregnancy between Ginny and Oliver. If you need any help, I can always make you a tea that gets rid of heartbreak."
"Ginny did WHAT!?" the three exclaimed, making Luna looked puzzled. Harry pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Now is not the time, focus on the damn mission." He snapped at them. They held their tongue and Luna just stood next to him, beginning to hum a catchy tune. Once the lift made it's way to the office, they all got off. Hermione warily looked at an annoyed Harry and marched forward and the four followed after her.
"Luna, we will explain once we are inside the office." Hermione said, as she smile and waved at the receptionist. Luna simply nodded and continued to hum, looking around the hall.
Neville knocked on the door and Kingsley opened it.
"Come in, come in! Hello Luna, good to see you. Let me just get some chairs for you all." With a wave of his wand, he summoned six chairs.
"Umm, Kingsley, there is only five of us?" Hermione questioned as she looked at the chairs.
"Yes, I'm expecting someone else to come." Kingsley smiled at her as he sat down behind his desk.
"Who?" Ron asked, puzzled. Suddenly the door opened with a loud bang.
"There better be a fucking good reason why I'm here, Kingsley. I'm tired of being your little bitch." Draco Malfoy sneered from the open doorway. He then paled as he saw the others in the room. Before he could turn around, he was forced to stay inside as the door locked behind him.
"If we need to make this work, we will need him." Kingsley said with a smile on his face and his wand in his hand. Hermione gaped at him, wondering what he was on. Ron wasn't sure whether to scowl at Malfoy or at Kingsley. Neville froze in his seat, staring with a paled expression at Draco. Draco's eyes were wide open; he looked at everyone's faces with an increased fear. Luna stood by Kingsley's desk, playing with a magical paperweight that seemed to change colors and sizes with each touch. Harry was in a rage.
"Why the hell is he here, Kingsley?!" He yelled, cutting through the silence. Draco's scowl returned to his face and he charged at Harry and grabbed his shirt.
"You better shut up, Potter. It's not like I want to fucking be here in the first place!"
Harry pushed his hand away. "Don't fucking touch me, Malfoy." He seethed out through his teeth. Suddenly, an invisible force pulled both boys to the opposite sides of the room.
"You both need to calm down," Hermione reprimanded them, the boys glared at her as she rolled her eyes. "If we want this plan to work, we need to trust every single person in this room!"
"You're mental!" Ron argued, "I will not trust Malfoy!" Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but Neville cut her off.
"Hermione, maybe we should hear why Kingsley asked him to be here today." He quietly suggested from his seat. Hermione nodded reluctantly and let the boys go. They all looked at Kingsley.
"Well, we've tried to keep this under the radar, but many of your previous classmates have fled to Romania, with Death Eater like intentions." He informed them. With a heavy sigh, he sat down at his desk. "Of course, Mr. Malfoy here has been keeping me up to date with what goes on with them. It's one of the reasons he isn't in Azkaban at the moment." They all looked at Draco Malfoy. His hair was still a pure white blonde, yet he looked as though he's been dulled down. He was nothing but skin and bones, his own clothes hung loosely on him. He had a hallow look about him, and he had dark circles under his eyes.
Hermione really looked at his attire and noticed that although they looked nice at first glance, they appeared to have holes in them. She noticed his shoes were scuffed and she found herself looking into his cold, grey eyes.
"Like what you see, Granger?" he sarcastically remarked.
"So, he's a spy?" she asked Kingsley, ignoring Malfoy's remarks. She down next to Luna and the other boys followed after her.
"Yes, he has been for the past four years or so. Although, we caught most of them, a lot of the younger ones ran off. Most of them scared, yet I believe they are up to something over there."
"Well, maybe they know about the plant too?" Ron suggested.
"I don't believe they know about the plant, but they know about that infamous potion that was used a long time ago by someone almost as terrible as Voldemort. Just like was written in the parchment that Hermione found." Kingsley said.
"What are you all going on about?" Draco asked. He felt as though he deserved to be informed of what was going on.
"I've been working on this piece of parchment and trying to decode it for the past month or so," Hermione explained, "Once I did, I learned that it was about this mysterious plant found in Romania. The plant is so far known to be found in two different potions."
"One of those potions can cure those whose mindset have been tempered with." Neville cut in. Draco look confused.
"What do you mean tempered with?" He asked.
"Say if someone was tortured by the Cruciato curse and they lost their mind, they could drink this and the mind heals itself." Neville informed him, knowing full well that Draco would connect the two pieces together.
"Oh, so this is all for Longbottom then?" Draco scowled.
"No, it's also for others who have had their mind or memory messed with." Hermione argued.
"So, it's also for that idiot Gilderoy, then." He smirked as he watched her blush with rage.
"He is not an idiot!" Hermione defended. Ron, Neville, and Harry all rolled their eyes at her.
"He was an idiot, Hermione, and you know it." Harry said, remembering his experiences with the raving blonde lunatic. Hermione crossed her arms and huffed in her chair.
"Anyways, if this plant is so wonderful, why don't you go and grab it already and cure the whole world and get another Order of Merlin, Potter." Malfoy smirked at him. Harry clutched the seat and looked forward, trying to calm himself down. He knew that if he wanted things to work, he would need to get along with everyone, including Malfoy.
"Well, there is also something bad about it though, isn't there?" Luna asked, speaking for the first time.
"Why would you assume that?" Hermione asked, giving her friend a curious look.
"Because everything good comes with something bad. The bad must outweigh the good, if it was hidden for all this time." Luna deducted, looking off into the distance. They all stared at Luna, forgetting how good of an observer she is.
"Wait, does this have something to do with… Oh, what the bloody hell is his name. I know Nott mentioned him once. It started with P – like Paulo something." Malfoy thought, with his head in his hands.
"Paulo Noir?" Hermione eagerly asked. Draco looked up at her, thinking about the name a bit more.
"Yes, yes I think that was it. Nott and Zabini read about him in this one dark arts book. What he did was absolutely insane." Draco said, his face looking sullen.
"What are they trying to do that involves him?" Neville asked. Draco looked uneasy and stared at Kingsley, before standing up.
"All I know of him is that he would steal someone's… magical abilities or so. He became quite powerful even though he grew up quite the loser." Draco said, looking at everyone. "Do you understand the appeal of that? All you need to do is slip a bit of potion in someone's drink and his or her abilities are yours. The only reason Voldemort didn't bother looking to make it was becau-"
"Because he believed he had the greatest of all abilities." Harry finished for him. Draco looked into his eyes and gave him a thoughtful nod.
"So, Nott and Zabini want to start what he finished?" Ron asked.
"Not really, they grew up in someone's shadow all their lives. And it's not just them, it's most of my previous classmates who wish to gain some sort of power and respect. Especially since their family has put them in a bad light." Draco said with disgust.
"So, they are looking to make the potion because they want to be acknowledged." Luna stated.
"Basically, but that's not only it. They also want revenge. They grew up with darkness and they have learned from the mistakes of their parents'. They feel as though they could do a better job at proving who is the alpha dog, so to speak. The hatred that grows within them is something that was well tended to from the moment they were born."
"That's terrible, why can't we just help them out?" Hermione said, full of sympathy.
"Because everyone in the wizarding world will never forgive them for what happened. It's the same for me. We are all hated for the rest of our lives and our children's lives" Draco scoffed and snapped at her. She looked away, acknowledging the truth in his statement.
"This is all so stupid. I just thought it was going to be a simple go there, get the plant without any trouble, and come back here and cure people and it'll make all the bloody problems better." Ron groaned into his hands. The room grew silent as all of them were processing all that was just said. The information they just learned would change what they had previously planned.
"Well, Malfoy, I guess we have one thing to ask you." Harry said, as he stood up to face his long time school enemy.
"And what the hell is that, Potter?"
Harry calmly walked over to him and outdrew his hand.
"Are you in, or not?"
