Chapter Seven: Morning Edition

AN: I must apologize for the lateness of my post. I have had some laptop problems followed by Best Buy problems and finally got it back. I honestly didn't know that I was this far behind either 0_o. I solemnly swear I will do better in the future.

This chapter contains several non main character deaths and a dark undertone throughout. Way to come back to the story right....

After Draco pulled the silvery mist and Hermione used her new found ability to plant a new memory so Simon would at least know why he was there, the first rays of the sun had actually long ago shined. So, as the noise of breakfast being prepared rose up the stairs, many exhausted faces descended them. No one looked more haggard then Hermione as she bounced her newborn in one arm while sipping coffee in the other.

"When do you think you'll name the little love?" Molly was cooing over the baby from behind Hermione's shoulder.

"Two days after my brain wakes up," Hermione said only half smiling.

"Look who's up," Ginny said entering the kitchen with Simon, his matted hair and a small amount of dried blood in the cracks of his lips the only evidence of the night before.

"Draco?" Ginny asked as she entered behind her. "What are you doing here?"

Draco looked quickly around the kitchen as he rubbed his head. "Gin, it's too early for these philosophical games."

"No. I mean in this kitchen," she yawned, "Harry got called into work hours ago."

"Maybe I killed the little wanker that tried to wake me," Draco stretched and everyone was forced to suppress a giggle as Simon, unintentionally, did the same.

"Hand me the paper, Drake," Fred said as he wiped marmalade from his sons hair for the third time. He licked the sticky substance from off his fingers as he accepted the paper that was slid down the table.

"Kat, you need help?" Angelina asked as she finished braiding corn rows into her sons hair.

"Nope, done," she said dropping a large pot of porridge and summoned over twelve bowls. "Oh, is Harry going to be here before I put this away?" Katie asked Ginny as she hesitated with the last bowl.

"He didn't say," she began as they all heard the front door open. "That's probably him," she said unable to hide her school girl smile as she got up to meet him.

"Fred! Why did you let him play with the marmalade?" Katie asked as she placed and filled twelve bowls, twelve pieces of toast, and twelve glasses of orange juice and vanished the marmalade at the same time.

" If God intended him to be a mother, he would have given him a longer attention span," Angelina said as she stopped her son from flinging his porridge. Fred and George had begun shoveling their food, unaware they were even being spoken about.

The entire party turned their heads as they thought they heard Ginny cry out, but when they didn't hear anything else they continued eating.

"Draco," Fred whispered as he looked up from his paper, "Did you see this?" He pushed the open paper towards Draco, trying to avoid all other eyes at the table. Draco looked down on the face he used to know, now a few years older, the reason he now sat at a table with his child. Pansy and her parents stood in front of their three story mansion he recognized as the one in Nice, France. He was surprised when he felt offended that the photo seemed so recent and yet Simon was not there.

"Thanks Fred, I'm trying to eat here," Draco said as he pushed the paper away. Hermione, curious about the bitterness in his voice, reached across and picked up the paper, scanning the story of Pansy's death with no sign of emotion.

"Simon, could you go upstairs?" Hermione asked quietly as Simon stopped mid bite as if confused by her request. When he continued to sit there, Hermione got up and changed seats so she could whisper to Draco. "Her viewing is in an hour. The funeral is right after," she said matter of factually as she played with the baby's hands.

"And..." Draco said as he ripped his toast in half.

"You have to go," Hermione looked across to Simon who had continued eating. "He needs closure."

"So give it to him. Just give him the memory and lets all move on." Hermione pursed her lips in argument, but didn't get to finish as Harry and Ginny entered the kitchen. Both of their eyes were red and tears clung to their cheeks. All movement in the room stopped as Harry cleared his throat to speak.

"I...uh...just got some bad news," Harry started as he reached for Ginny's hand as she started crying again. "There was another murder last night. A double murder. At Sybella's pub."

"That muggle pub we went to?" Draco asked, setting down his shredded toast. Harry nodded.

"Sybella's a squib," Ginny offered. "She opened the pub to be a place anyone could go since she doesn't really fit in anywhere right now. It was supposed to be a safe haven," Ginny began crying again as she sat down and cuddled her stomach.

"Bunch of muggles got completely pissed and were talking shit on wizards and I guess someone let out that Gabby, our waitress," he directed to Draco, "was a witch." Harry began chocking on the tears he was trying to hide.

"They ganged up on her as she was getting off work and..."

"Harry!" Ginny's sharp voice cut off Harry's sentence as she made Harry see what she was looking at. Just down the table three small mouths hung open, eyes quivering from one parent to another as if this was the most horrifying scene their young years had witnessed. Harry, still frozen mid sentence, nodded as Ginny gathered the two young boys with promises of sweets and then just for good measure grabbed Simon's hand as well and led them all out of earshot. As soon as he heard the farthest upstairs bedroom doors close he blurted out everything he had been holding back.

"They burned her at the stake," he was barely able to continue as the sobs he lost control of knocked him to the floor. "They sat and watched. Laughing."

Ginny returned, having placated the small ones upstairs, and placed her hand on Harry's shaking shoulders. Lovers hands sought each other all over the room. As Hermione turned to lay into Draco's shoulder she found that he had moved to the back corner of the room looking half confused, half disgusted at Harry's lack of control.

"They had just found out she was going to have a baby," Ginny nearly whispered as she rubbed her own growing bundle. "Seamus had just told Harry the other day. He had been so excited." Ginny's voice quivered as her control began to falter.

"They called me in this morning to tell me I had a new partner," Harry managed as he pointed towards Draco's corner. And then, as if it still needed to be said, Harry finished the last sentence he would say on the matter. "Seamus is dead."