Die to Live
Chapter Ten
By Mell8
--
Harry had not spared Malfoy much thought. His animosity was all for Snape, but he had not forgotten the fear in Malfoy's voice on that tower top, nor the fact that he had lowered his wand before the other Death Eaters arrived. Harry did not believe that Malfoy would have killed Dumbledore. He despised Malfoy still for his infatuation with the Dark Arts, but now the tiniest drop of pity mingled with his dislike. Where, Harry wondered, was Malfoy now, and what was Voldemort making him do under threat of killing him and his parents?
Harry shook off his memories from Dumbledore's funeral and turned to stare at the three invalids dying on their huge bed in their tiny bedroom. They had been laid out like corpses waiting to be prepared for their viewing in the coffin. Harry thought they looked like corpses too. It was hideous to be thinking of Ginny as a dead body but Harry could not think of another way to describe the decrepit creatures in front of him.
He quickly turned to leave the room. The minister would expect formal explanation about why Harry had authorized the movement of two known Death Eaters and one suspected murderess. Harry needed to go and practice his speech.
III
Ginny could feel her life slipping away. Her mind was not functioning correctly and her body was in so much pain that it was almost better to not have to worry about thinking. Yet, even through all of that she could still feel her boys next to her. She knew they were there and that both were trying to send her strength so she could live even if they died.
Ginny took everything her boys could give her and slowly, painfully, levered herself up. She opened her eyes and saw Blaise against the wall and Draco on the edge of the bed. As her gaze began to blacken and the forms of her boys began to blur, Ginny reached out and gripped their cold hands.
She sent back all of the strength they had given her and smiled when she felt their answering love.
III
Harry did not walk away from the battle with Voldemort unscathed but he did walk away the victor. It took him nearly two months to recuperate in St. Mungo's. Hermione had almost died in the battle and Ron nearly lost sight in one eye and the use of the left side of his body, but they healed and were welcomed into the Auror office with open arms and high-ranking positions.
Harry decided that the first item of business was searching for, and capturing, all of the Death Eaters and throwing them into Azkaban or executing them for their crimes. Lucius Malfoy, Crabb, and Goyle took nearly two months to track down.
Once Harry felt that the Auror department had spent enough time capturing Death Eaters, he set them up with a personal, but vital task; find out what had happened to Ginny Weasley.
At first the office had turned up very little. All the evidence led to foul play but no one could be sure if the evidence was a set up or if Ginny had really killed both Death Eater boys.
The Aurors did not find anything until they interrogated the floo department.
All of the records of floo traveling for that day were missing. Further searching found that the old head of the department had retired to a vacation home on the coast thirty thousand galleons richer than he should have been.
Soon all of the evidence pointed towards a set up. The only thing Harry could not be sure about was whether Ginny had been kidnapped or had willingly gone along.
Now they had the town where he was pretty sure Ginny had gone to. All they had to do was stake it out and wait.
III
Ginny came to slowly. She could feel Draco and Blaise wake beside her but knew that they lacked strength to even open their eyes. The pain her body was in made it difficult to breathe and coherent thought was a far off dream, but at least she could sense her boy's again. That was more relief and healing than Ginny could ever hope for.
She wished that her last breath of life on earth was one filled with memories of her boys.
III
Narcissa Malfoy stalked into St. Mungo's with a huge scowl on her face. Her son had been found and she had not been told. A house elf had to bring her the morning paper with the headline – High Ranking Death Eaters and Their Killer Found Alive; Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini, and Ginevera Weasley are in Azkaban waiting for their sentencing by the Wizengamot – before she even had an inkling that her precious son was not dead.
She immediately went to Azkaban and was turned away at the door. Apparently her son had been moved to St. Mungo's because of a spell that had gone wrong. Yet another important piece of information she had not been told. It was infuriating and, once she had spoken with her son, Narcissa was planning on lodging a formal complaint with the Auror office.
Narcissa skipped waiting in line at the receptionist desk and went straight up to the old witch who was busy pointing the man with dish pans for hands towards the waiting area.
"Where is my son," she snarled at the witch. "Where is Draco Malfoy being kept?"
The witch looked up at Mrs. Malfoy and blanched. "I'm afraid that what you ask is confidential. You will need to speak with the Aurors in charge of the case for more information."
Narcissa snarled at the dumpy woman and spun away from the desk.
"I give thousands of galleons to the Auror office to aid their investigation for my son and they tell me nothing!" She stomped away and began walking towards a private waiting room with a fireplace with floo access. Once she got her hands on that Potter boy she would wring the answers out of his dead body.
"Where is my daughter?"
Narcissa stopped walking outside the waiting room that the anguished voice rang inside of.
"What have you done with my baby?"
"Mum don't worry. We took her and those two boys somewhere they could heal. Honest, Mum, Ginny is safe."
Mrs. Malfoy snarled and slammed open the door that led to the voices. Her eyes saw two red heads, Mrs. Weasley and one of her many sons. She focused on Ronald; the one she knew was second in command of the case, and stalked over to him.
"Where is my son!" Narcissa hissed. Her eyes narrowed at the boy's closemouthed expression. "Bring me to Draco at once!"
"I can't!" the boy gasped. "Bringing anyone else there could upset the healing. Hermione is there. If something happens she will notify us immediately."
Narcissa sank into the chair next to the Weasley matriarch. The woman patted her gently on the shoulder but her focus was still on her son.
"When I get through with the Auror office you will all wish you where Muggles," Molly Weasley hissed at her blanching son.
III
Ginny could feel strength returning to her numb limbs. It was almost odd being able to feel her fingers and toes again. The weight was pleasant. She could also feel her heart beat in a steady rhythm that had been absent for the past few days.
She slowly took a deep breath and turned onto her side before drifting off into sleep.
Beside her, two boys began to turn onto their sides as well and when they shifted their bodies closer in sleep, Ginny's body was more than willing to welcome their weight alongside hers.
III
Hermione poked her head inside the bedroom and gasped. She could see three heads, one blond, one red, and one black, but the rest of their bodies were so intertwined that she could not distinguish girl from boy.
Was this normal for them? Had the three somehow managed to create a soul bond so deep that even in their sleep they sought comfort from the others? Hermione shook her head and sighed before turning and running to get Pig from his cage.
III
Ron looked up from where he was crouching in a corner, the only safe place from the two women in the room, when Pig hooted and flew into the room. Molly Weasley tensed and turned her glare on her son.
Ron grabbed the note, read it, gasped, and apparated away. Molly stood up and picked up the note. It read one thing, 'come!'.
Narcissa reached up and pulled the small fluffy owl out of the air. She wanted to send a quick note to Lady Zabini. When the Weasley boy returned the three mothers would make sure that he would not leave again unless he was taking the women to their children.
III
Ron closed the bedroom door behind him and sighed. "Well, I guess I had better get to work then." Hermione looked at him and waited for an explanation. "I need to gather enough information to make sure that Ginny does not end up back in prison."
"What about the boys?" Hermione asked quietly.
"I don't care about them!" Ron hissed. "It would be better if they rotted in Azkaban. In fact, I'm going to make sure that they spend the rest of their sorry lives behind bars."