AUTHOR'S NOTE:-

For your lovely reviews of Chapter 9, thanks to :-

JeanandBilius Guest

For adding Flowers Never Bend with the Rainfall to your Alerts, thanks also to:-

YiNoPiano lightandlines starletzrose

Really appreciated! :))) J K Rowling created (most of) the characters in this fic. This story is AU.

Important Note: I am moving house next week. I'll be without internet for several weeks so not sure when the next update of both this and Name Games will be. It's a longer chapter than usual, if that helps! :D

Chapter 10

Comings and Goings

Draco and Astoria arrived to the surprised stares of six children - one of whom, with messy white-blond hair and eyes grey as a winter river, who wore jeans, T-shirt, trainers and a look of guilt at the lack of his brand new outer robes thereof, was definitely Scorpius - who were gathered under the shelter of the spreading branches of the large tree where they had last been sighted playing. Draco stared back. Although overjoyed to be reunited with his child, he was determined to be Slytherin cool.

Astoria recovered first, rushing to her small son and sweeping him up into an extremely tight bear hug.

"Mum! Stop, it please, my mates are gonna be watching me!" He cried in embarrassment although his muffled words sounded suspiciously like "Mmmft! Sausages, peas and gravy on me!"

At least, it did to Hugo, who couldn't decide whether Scorpius was offering to treat his parents to a celebratory dinner or complaining about being covered in foodstuffs from the party. The four-year-old screwed up his small, chubby face in thought. Rather odd food for a party, but grown-ups were all a bit weird so you never knew.

"Yay, you can take us back now!" Rose declared. She was really looking forward to apparating in the same exciting way her friend and his parents arrived. "Your Dad's the greatest apparition ever!" she added enthusiastically to Scorpius, who (since being set back down on terra firma) was comparing notes with Albus on breathability levels during hugs. Apparently Albus was extremely experienced in this through a certain Nanny Molly.

The Granger daughter really did possess a Slytherin-like ability to insult, Draco thought, impressed despite himself. Being asked if he remembered the Second Wizarding War "that happened maybe a hundred years ago" when they first met was bad enough, but likening his pale features to that of a ghost, even a "greatest" ghost was a bit much. No time to dwell on it however.

"Right! We have out child. Let's go!" He said briskly to his wife.

"Draco!" Astoria was horrified. "We can't just leave the other kids here!"

"But, Tori, they're Potters, Grangers and Weasleys."

"They're children." Astoria reminded him.

Her husband had his doubts about that as the frizzy-haired little witch, unhappy with the prospect of being left behind, folded her arms and regarded him with her most ferocious Granger glare, while the miniature Weasley clone with his eyebrows knitted together deep in thought could have passed for a particularly stern mini professor. And the eldest Potter look-a-like was spoiling for a fight if that glower was anything to go by. Draco sighed. He loved Astoria and Scorpius deeply, but he often felt he still had a lot to learn about not being the obnoxious prat he was before the terrible events of War.

Nearby a pretty witch of three or four was taking several steps forwards and backwards, turning around, hopping, skipping and jumping, flicking back her long blonde hair and then starting all over again.

"What is she doing?" Draco asked the eldest Potter clone in a stage whisper, making a vague stab at polite conversation.

"Dancing." Lily overheard and supplied her own answer. She had great faith in grown-ups and was quite content now she was sure she would be going back safely. And there was never not a good time to practise. "I didn't have time to finish anything before," she added mysteriously.

James glanced at his little sister and back at Draco. "Okay. You've got the wand," he observed, eyeing the very item, as Lily returned to her busy twirls. "You have to magic us back now."

"He's right, Draco," Astoria said.

"How, Tori? I don't even know where we are." Draco looked around helplessly.

"In the garden. Where we were before." Rose spoke with tired patience as if to a particularly difficult five-year-old.

Draco blinked. It was indeed the very same garden he and Astoria had been standing in when he cast the Evanesco spell to vanish the cat. Which reminded him, where the hell had that ferret-hunting feline gone?

XXXXX

Oddly enough, at the other side of the divide, Boots was thinking exactly the same about Draco. Although she was a highly intelligent cat and had other concerns too. Where had that unnaturally pale wizard and his wife suddenly disappeared to? Where was the son? Just what was wrong with that damn squawking owl? Boots settled herself down on the branch and tried to make sense of the conversation floating up from below.

"What...what's wrong with the wand?" The Glorious Go-Getting Seeker (at least this was what Ginny, world class Quidditch player, was called according to the Daily Prophet's weekly gossip column Celebrating Celebrities) asked tentatively of Hermione. Not sure she really wanted to know the answer. None of the four Gryffindors liked Malfoy but, for the sake of the kids, they were all making an effort worthy of Oscar nominations to pretend they did. For Hermione and Harry to be so worried and for her brother to look so guilty - Ron's face was now so red the sun could have set there - it must be serious.

The Wisest Bewitching Witch with the Wild Hair (Celebrating Celebrities; Daily Prophet) looked grim. "Harry and I came across the diamond patterns once before in our Auror duties, Gin. That wand only had two diamond symbols, but traces showed it to have been used for unspeakable evil." She shivered at the memory. "You see, we discovered a wand used for very dark magic begins to carve diamonds in on itself. The ancient wand has nine. Someone long ago has tried to contain its evil with a reversal reflection spell - the two circles over the diamonds – but they only part succeeded. It means in an ordinary spell the wand won't work unless touched by water and then will either mirror image or reverse the request. One of the kids has obviously used an Evanesco and transported them all through the invisibility barrier. They won't be in any danger," she added quickly, reading Ginny's alarmed expression; "circles are extremely powerful methods of repelling darkness."

"Malfoy tried to cast an Evanesco on the cat," Harry, or The Wonderful Wizarding Wonder with the Lightning Scar (Celebrating Celebrities; Daily Prophet) further explained; "which was why he and his wife disappeared instead."

From her perch on the branch of the tree, the glossy-coated black cat mewed as if in total agreement.

"Sneaky, snarky creatures." muttered Red Knight, Champion of Chess (Celebra...ooh, touchy, much? Okay, okay, calm down, I won't say any more) would have been shocked to learn he shared exactly the same sentiments as The Debonaire Double-Dealing ex-Death Eater. (Right. I won't bother telling you this time. Fine. Then we're both happy.)

"I heard that, Ronald Weasley-Granger!" Hermione said furiously. "Cats are not sneaky or snarky! And this has all come about because of your total lack of responsibility."

Boots obviously wasn't happy with the description either and hissed so Ron deemed it wise to move away. He wasn't off the hook by a long chalk. Trimblefeathers was still creating a racket and flying around erratically. Harry was shaking his head in disbelief at his friend's stupidity. Ginny was glaring at him with the intensity only a younger sister glaring at an older brother can ever hope to achieve. Hermione was biting her bottom lip. A sure sign all was not well in the magical world.

"Sorry, 'Mione." He knew his wife adored cats and she had never quite gotten over Crookshanks' death. "The kids will be okay. Won't they?"

Hermione nodded. "They'll be fine now the Malfoys are there too."

"You trust Malfoy to look after our kids?" Ginny asked incredulously.

"No. I trust Malfoy to look after himself. And maybe his wife and son, he seems quite fond of them. But I do trust Astoria."

"Astoria! That was it!" Harry slapped his forehead in realisation, earning himself a scowl from Hermione and a painful punch on the arm from Ginny.

"None of this would have happened if it hadn't been for you and Brother Bozo here." The Go-Getting Seeker unwittingly provided a spare celebrity nickname should the Daily Prophet ever run out of flowery monikers. "Why couldn't you both simply have asked instead of guessing what her name was?"

"Half the fun. Oops!" Ron grinned sheepishly at his wife. He couldn't help himself. His sense of humour refused to mature despite his best efforts and his voice often acted before his brain engaged.

"It's okay, Ron." The Wisest Bewitching Witch with the Wild Hair sighed tolerantly. Because Ron really did love her. In his own way. And she loved him. Though he drove her crazy at times, he was a great husband and Dad. She would have been astonished to learn from the Daily Prophet that she was always screaming at Red Knight, Champion of Chess, and crying on the shoulder of The Debonaire Double-Dealing ex-Death Eater, which was causing friction with Greensleeves. (Not telling you. Work it out for yourself. Tough. You were the one who complained.)

"So," Ginny said, perplexed; "if the evil is contained and nobody's in any danger, what's the problem? All we have to do is figure out the right spell and return everyone."

"Well, it's not quite that simple." Hermione exchanged a knowing glance with Harry, who was rubbing his still sore arm.

"The problem is Malfoy," he explained.

"As always," Ron muttered.

Harry ignored him. He took a deep breath, guiltily remembering his brief foray into dark magic, when he'd almost killed Draco Malfoy by stupidly casting a Sectumsempra without even knowing what it was. While he and Hermione were conducting wand-tracing spells on the ancient wand they'd been baffled when it suddenly sent a sharp electric shock up Harry's arm. Hermione's advanced wand tracing skills soon established the reason. "The wand's been lost for a long time," he said. It's seeking a new owner."

"And...?" Ginny prompted. "It's just what some lost wands do."

"Except a wand with diamond symbols only wants someone who practises dark magic," Hermione continued, realising Harry was reluctant to say more. "It can sense if a witch or wizard has ever used it. The darker the magic, the more powerful it becomes. And Malfoy has history. Unless he has the strong will to resist, the wand will try to return him to the darkness. Like I said, Astoria and the kids won't be in any danger, they're protected by the circles," she added quickly, reading Ginny's horrified expression. "It's Malfoy who's in trouble. Big trouble."

They followed Hermione's gaze. In his haste to escape from the cat Draco had dropped his own wand. Soaked by rain, it lay abandoned exactly where it had fallen. From her vantage point on the branch, Boots arrogantly licked her lips and swished her tail as everybody switched their gaze to the reason it had been abandoned.

"What do we do?" Ron asked uncomfortably. The dangerous wand was with Malfoy all because of his carelessness. He didn't like the git, but he didn't want him being in its power either.

The bushy-haired witch frowned in thought. "Well, we could maybe wait a few hours until the mirror spell wears off, but that gives the wand more time to act. Or I could try a spell that just might transport one of us through the barrier and get the wand back. If we get the wand back, we get everyone else back too. But it's more complicated than that. I don't have a mirror image wand. Transporting one person could damage the invisibility barrier and get them stuck there too; sending several people definitely will. And it can't be Harry."

"I know." Harry sighed guiltily. He would never forgive himself for almost killing the Slytherin. And if he crossed the divide he risked the wand picking up on his solitary lapse into dark magic and adding it to its hold over Malfoy. Ginny slipped her arm in his. "We understand," she whispered.

"I'll go!" Ron announced, to everyone's surprise. "No arguments!" He added, when Hermione and Ginny looked about to object. "Better me than you or Ginny. 'Mione. Because if the wand works in mirror images, then the one who can't stand Malfoy most has the best chance of reversing its effect, right?"

She nodded in answer, taken aback by his perception, feeling proud, stunned and anxious all at once. Ron was the last person who'd want to willingly help Draco Malfoy, but she should have realised. His heart was big as a house.

He took both her hands in his. "You, Ginny and Harry never hated him as much as I did - still do - and..."

"Dislike, Ron," Hermione corrected gently. "Hate's a strong word. There shouldn't be any more hate."

"Dislike then." He smiled his lazy smile at her. Even after all these years, even after marriage and kids and responsibilities, his blue eyes could still make her heart thud when he gazed at her like that. Ever since that first heady moment when she realised she and Ron were no longer just good friends, but were falling in love.

"Promise me you'll take care."

"I will." He shook Harry's proffered hand, returned Ginny's hug, kissed his wife tenderly. The lazy smile was still in place as Hermione, praying desperately that nothing would go wrong, raised her wand.

XXXXX

So near and yet so very far away, important negotiations were being held.

"So now you can sort it,"James said.

"Me?" Draco spluttered. He'd found his son. What did assorted Potters, Weasleys and Grangers have to do with him? Oh, he wasn't totally heartless, of course he'd tell them where they were - wherever where was. But Granger was meant to be the brightest witch of her age. Potter the saviour of the wizarding world. The Weaselette a bat-bogeying expert. Weasley...well, he hadn't figured out what Weasley's talent was yet (apart from food guzzling) but he was a so-called war hero. Surely between them they could come up with a way of being re-united with their offspring just as he had with Scorpius? Okay, he wasn't sure how he got back with Scorpius but he would cross that bridge when he came to it. Assuming he came to it. He was quite sure the ancient wand would help. They were almost soul-mates. He could feel pins of needles in his wand arm already.

"Well, you're the tallest." James accused, assessing his lankiness.

"You're the tallest of your gang," the blond wizard countered petulantly.

"Draco," Astoria sighed. "Grow up."

Hugo stared up at the dizzying heights of Scorpius's Dad and back at Scorpius's Mum, aghast. "But if Scorpius's Dad grows more 'n' more bigger he'll be a giant!"

"That's not correct, Hugo," Rose said bossily. "It's if Scorpius's Dad grows bigger he'll be a giant."

"That's what he said," Lily stopped dancing to join in the debate. She often alternated between arguing with Hugo and defending him. Whatever suited her mood of the moment. "Will you be able to touch the sky?" She looked impressed.

Hugo's eyes widened. "The sky! Can I go on your shoulders so I can touch it as well?"

With an impatient snort, Draco drew himself up to his lofty best. "Tori, could you please stop laughing and kindly explain to these...these...misguided beings the folly of circulating unfounded rumours?"

But that only made Astoria laugh all the more. It had been such a huge relief to the witch to find the son she'd imagined dead alive and well that her emotions escalated rapidly from the depths of despair to euphoria. Draco and kids simply did not mix. Oh, he tried his damnedest with Scorpius of course, but he did get it spectacularly wrong at times. Imagining A Thousand Years and Two Thousand Pages of Quidditch to be a good book choice for one of his son's third birthday presents was not one of his better ideas, for instance. Fortunately Scorpius was a very patient child who adored his father and so, with a perplexed expression, merely sat on it while he opened more interesting birthday gifts. And, being of an inventive nature, put the book to extremely good use (at least, in Scorpius's opinion, if not his parents') only days later when he stood on it to reach the high kitchen cabinet and take out and eat a dozen chocolate frogs.

"Draco, they're kids...!" She spluttered at last. "You're talking like they're..they're..." Here, Astoria paused to catch her breath.

"You'll get a go, Hugo," Scorpius was gently telling the youngster. "But he's my Dad so I'd better touch the sky first to make sure it's safe, and Alb next cos he's my mate."

"Cool!" Albus said in delight.

"But I'm your best friend," Rose protested.

"Oh, yeh, sorry! Al, would you mind taking your go after Rose when my Dad turns into a giant?"

Albus already possessed the qualities that would Sort him into Hufflepuff some five years later. He shrugged patiently. "Okay."

"I am NOT going to turn into a giant!" Draco roared.

"You shouldn't have let them think you were then," James said reprovingly.

Sweet Circe, didn't anyone have any respect for ex-Death Eaters anymore? "I did not let..." Draco growled, as usual feeling he was slipping down a black abyss with nothing to hold on to when trapped in children's conversation. "Tori, please...!"

And at long last Astoria took pity. Wiping tears of laughter from her eyes, she opened her mouth to explain. But before she could speak an unexpected visitor dropped in.

Draco was swishing the ancient wand, idly wondering about the tingling sensations running from his arm to his shoulder, and muttering grumpily to himself he wished witches and wizards wouldn't feed their imagination with junk food, when the extra guest arrived. It seemed he had kindly taken into consideration his hosts might not have prepared enough nibbles, for he thoughtfully brought his own food. Ron Weasley landed with a thud, an angry red face and an enormous burger in a bun jammed in his mouth...

A/N: Okay, I realise in JKR's stories food cannot be created out of nothing, but this fic is AU so we're taking poetic licence and assuming the ancient wand has ancient extraordinary powers. If preferred, you can also take this idea with a pinch of salt. :D