Lucius dropped both his feet on the floor, his jaw becoming hard as he addressed Harry.
"There's more to this whole mess than I'd imagine your Aurors would be able to uncover"
Harry's face remained impassive, though a mild flicker of annoyance passed across his eyes. He shrugged, choosing not to take the bait.
Lucius smirked slightly at the lack of response, "It's not just one man we're looking for, it's two. They're living somewhere in muggle London, though my sources are unsure of where exactly"
"What or, perhaps, who are your sources?" questioned Harry. Lucius looked down at one carefully manicured finger, pretending to pick something out from under it.
"Honestly, Mr. Potter, as if I would answer that. You have a knack for settling on the irrelevant. Amazing they appointed you head Auror"
"I'd put it right on the same level as you getting clemency from Azkaban. And your sources might be more important than you think. The wrong sources could be feeding you false information" came the unrelentingly cool reply.
"This is not a revenge mission, though it is designed to look like one. I assure you, this is meant to fulfill a purpose"
"The purpose of setting you up? And now you're trying to clear your own good name?" Sarcasm settled heavily in the already tense atmosphere.
Lucius' mouth thinned out, a moment away from a growl.
Hermione stared aghast at the small lump of fur and bone in her hand before she flung it across the room in disgust. Trembling hands covered her mouth as she swallowed harsh sobs, unable to turn away from where it had landed on the floor. McCartney, appearing from the shadows next to the couch mewed plaintively before twining around her legs. She shivered violently as her eyes darted down to her remaining pet – who could be so cruel?
The familiar trill of her mobile pierced the air and she jumped in surprise. Reaching down to her hip, her eyes leapt back to Lennon's tail and fear thrummed heavily across her nerves. Who would be able to recognize her cat? Who could pick him out of all the strays in London and send her his bits?
The phone cut off almost immediately, and she dropped her eyes to it's a face in absent concern. Instead of a phone number displayed there were just three numbers. 753. They flashed placidly on the screen as she tried to redirect her thoughts, tried to remember the significance of them. Flipping open the screen she scrolled through her phonebook trying to place where she'd gotten the message. As the number of the caller came up she gasped. St. Mungo's. 753… Amelia's room. Without further thought she disapparated.
"This is getting us nowhere. This pointless bickering does nothing to solve the problem" came the gritted reply. Harry shrugged, but nodded his head.
"And do you know who these men are?" he asked brusquely.
"According to my sources, it is likely the Lestrange Brothers" Lucuis' response was calm, collected, with no pause. Harry however sucked in a sharp breath of air, his posture becoming rigid in his chair.
"Are you sure?"
"As I have not seen them in person, no. I am not. But I trust my sources' desire to remain wealthy, and therefore trust their information is true"
"Bloody hell. There had been rumors over the last few months, but nothing…" Harry slumped into his chair.
"As I recall, they were named amongst the dead in the post war round up frenzy"
"They were believed dead. They were in a building that collapsed during a botched retrieval. We lost 4 of our own, though due to the nature of the collapse no significant remains of any body were ever found"
"The Lestrange brothers were crafty and always had an exit route. They were brilliant criminals and murderers. Some of the most…creative..curses were developed by them for torture and death. They were the consummate soldiers in Voldemort's army, and his most lethal assassins"
The scene in front of room 753 was reminiscent of wartime medics. Mediwitches and wizards streamed in and out in droves, bustling back and forth to gather more instruments and vials. Hermione blanched as she saw one candy striper carrying a blood soaked pile of sheets that marked her route with droplets on the floor, her own face pale and constricted. Hermione swallowed hard. This was not good.
The low moans that rolled through the hallway shifted suddenly to high pitched shrieks, pulling her to action. She shoved her way into the room, eyes going immediately to the woman on the bed. Amelia's hospital gown was darkened by blood and sweat, her back arched unnaturally off the mattress, face contorted in agony. Blood gushed from between her legs, immediately staining the fresh blankets and towels below her a mocking crimson. The Medi-wizard at the base of the bed looked haggard, confused and on the verge of giving up, potions and instruments forgotten on the tray next to him.
"Erythro Abscido!" Hermione commanded from the door, her wand drawn and pointed at Amelia. The flow of blood ebbed immediately, slowing to a trickle before stopping. There was a collective gasp throughout the room as all eyes turned upon her. Self conscious, she twisted her wand in her fingers as she approached the bed.
"Hermione" Her eyes cut to the left and met the watery pewter ones of Draco. He was gripping Amelia's hand in his own, fear etched in every line of his face. She felt herself soften a bit, understanding far too well what he was experiencing and reached out to rub his shoulder.
"What happened?" she questioned softly.
"We don't know" responded a strident voice from behind her, and she turned to face the head wizard she had noted on arrival, "Miss Lyles was doing just fine until a few moments ago when she began to bleed vaginally. We have been trying to control it, but until you arrived nothing we had at our disposal was working" Hermione nodded and swallowed nervously.
"How long ago was a few moments ago?" she asked, trying to calculate in her head how long it had taken for her to arrive from her flat.
"Ten, perhaps 15 minutes?" he responded, his brown eyes assessing her, "I don't suppose you have a blood replenishing spell at hand, do you?"
She shook her head absently as she tried to compose a next step, another game plan "No, blood replenishment is a natural process and cannot be simulated by spell. It can only be completed with elements ingested or injected. For Miss Lyles we may want to consider both"
The wizard clucked at her, "Transfusion Dr. Granger? Honestly, such a barbaric practice"
Hermione's eyes cut to Amelia who was now pale, weak and weeping on the bed, her forehead pressed against Draco's hand and felt her heart tear mercilessly at her. She turned her head sharply to pierce the doctor with her gaze as she snapped sharply, "It is not barbaric and one of the fastest methods by which to replenish blood within the body. Perhaps it is not all hocus pocus and tea leaves, but it is significantly faster even than blood replenishing potions"
The wizard opened his mouth as if to argue, but was cut off by a cold
"Enough"
Hermione raised her eyebrows as she turned back to Draco.
"My fiancée is dying. It doesn't take a blind man to see she's lost too much blood. Either you find a way to help her or I remove you both and find someone who will" With a small chill, Hermione noted he sounded eerily like Lucius even as she nodded at him.
The thought was fleeting though as Amelia suddenly gasped on the bed next to Draco. Her eyes in widened in fear, and she wrenched her hand from within Draco's to scrabble helplessly first at her chest and then her throat. Convulsions began to wrack her body once more, even as a deep, hacking cough was torn from deep within her lungs. Frothy blood sprayed past her lips and across the room, spattering those close to the bed, and Hermione felt her heart stop.
"Courtacum Statum!" she ordered, wand flourished, her stomach tying in knots as Amelia continued to cough, pulling up more and more bloody fluid. "Erythro Abscido!" Amelia gasped, the veins at her neck tight and corded, tears streaming down her face as she struggled to pull in air.
Blood began to seep from her nose and ears, joining that which dribbled down her chin from the corners of her mouth. All Hermione's hopes that this had been a miscarriage and not a deliberate attack were gone. She had ebbed the flow from one region of her body, but it had redirected to another. This was meant to cause great pain and death. Her eyes went to Draco just as he looked for her, eyes locking as if they both realized the truth at the same time. She asked the question silently. They both know what would happen.
Draco's whole face dropped way, and he became even paler. He turned to look at Amelia, who was beginning to aspirate her own blood, gagging and choking even as she was forced to continue coughing. Tears pooled at the bottom of his eyes began their trek down to his chin. He knew. Just as he had known years ago with his mother. He looked back at Hermione and nodded, a quick jerking motion. Grabbing Amelia's hand once more he pulled her close to him, wrapping his arms around her body, comforting her. Hermione swallowed the bile in her own throat. She'd only ever done this once before, but it was all she could offer now.
"Euthano" she whispered, and a soft black smoke slipped from the end of her wand, drifting ethereally across the room to Amelia and into her mouth. Immediately Amelia stopped coughing, her body relaxing against Draco's even as her eyes became clear and she looked up, seeking him.
"I love you, Draco" she murmured into his shoulder as she caught his gaze, and then slumped bonelessly. He convulsed in a sob around her, holding her even tighter as she crossed into the next realm.