Chapter 10:

AN: Penultimate chapter!

In silence, they sat on laptops, searching the muggle media and websites. Hermione tried to constrain her frustration with Draco and the Weasleys' ineptitude; she knew there was no way they would know how to work the internet. Eventually she put her laptop aside, storming out to a few whispers. In the garden she dropped to a crouch, letting tears she'd been holding onto for some time out. She felt hands on her shoulders, then they wrapped around her body, even though she wasn't crying beautifully like a TV character at all. Why would anyone want to hug her now? It was wracking sobs, shaking her body and jabbing in her chest. She'd restrained herself because Draco had needed her support, but now the emotions of the whole night overwhelmed her and she just felt like she wanted to collapse into bed, immediately feeling horrible for the thought. How could she want that when her children were missing? But that was Draco's voice, telling her to feel whatever she needed to feel, to breathe into it. She turned around, breathing as he instructed until they were in synch. She collapsed into his chest, glad for the warmth, the love, the comforting whispers.

"I've got it!" Explained not Harry but Ron as they came back into the living room with their arms linked. The couple faced over and peered over his shoulder.

They were the ones who'd seen the man closest, and they both nodded when they saw the picture of him cutting the ribbon on the opening of a hospital. That was him. Fabian Deluente. He seemed to be somewhat famous in the way of a millionaire, so he'd tried to keep his address secret but there was a video from a week ago of a paparazzi filming him walking through a gate in Milan.

"Potter," said Draco, turning to face the boys and Ginny. "You still got that cloak?"

The Weasels channelled their childhood-honed pestering to distract the guard outside the large Italian villa. Meanwhile Potter passed them a piece of paper with a code on that should get them in the doors. He pushed them forward with a whispered good luck and they dashed through the gates just before they shut, entirely unseen. Draco didn't know what it had been like when they were younger, but it was a huge squeeze to get both he and Hermione under the cloak. Not that he minded too much, he just hoped one of them didn't slip out!

They typed in the code at the second stage of security, and then they were inside an all-white building. They glanced back and forth, but there were no clues as to which way they should go, until there was a sudden and familiar scream. Moving in synch, they dashed towards it, slipping past a couple of guards on the way, and when they entered the room they threw the cloak off. The familiar looking Italian man didn't seem as though he was hurting their son as he tried to bounce him, but when Scorpius saw them he reached out desperately towards them. Nevertheless, the millionaire swerved backwards as if trying to protect their child from them. Draco held up his hands in surrender, but Hermione dipped her hand into her pocket, and, seeming to expect a gun, the man pulled one of his own out of his pocket, so close to the child he was still holding with one hand. Scorpius shrieked even louder, squirming in his hold. Hermione's hands had flown up as soon as it had emerged, but she slowly lowered them. "We're not here to cause you any harm, we just want our children back."

A brief flash of doubt crossed his face, but it was enough for Draco to leap onto. "Please. I'm sure you love her, I thought I did once, but Astoria is only ever thinking about herself!"

This was the wrong thing to say. "She told me this is how you were," Fabian said, slowly reaching for an alarm, surely to call his guards. "Manipulative. She thought she could trust you, taking your son to meet you, but you and your... mistress played her for all the things she was worth!"

To her testament, Hermione didn't get angry at her new monicker, instead she reached down for the mini pensive Potter had given them. It was a new model, given to him before being officially released. "Before you do anything rash, please just give us a chance to show you." The Italian looked confused by their phrasing, enough so that he'd dropped his hand away from the button less than an inch before pressing it. It took everything in Draco not to let out a huge breath. "You know about magic now, don't you?" Fabian nodded slowly, but disbelievingly. "I want to prove to you that we're telling the truth. This is a device that lets you see my memories." She presses the point of her wand to her forehead and drew out a silvery line.

The muggle was trying to seem cool, but Draco could see him shaking. He took a step closer, and Hermione nodded encouragingly, splashing water on both their faces. It was difficult to watch Scorpius being held in the crutch of the man's arm, but Draco knew he couldn't go and snatch his son, whilst under the magic the muggle might latch on tight enough to squeeze Scorpius's throat, or drop him on his head. Instead he had to watch and wait until after a few minutes they emerged. There was something different in Fabian's eyes; conviction. He wasn't sure exactly what they had seen, but he knew Hermione had more than enough memories to prove their love for the kids and disprove Astoria's. "If magic is real, what stops you from making false memories to fool me?" Fabian asked, although his eyes told a different story than his mouth.

Potter had given them a backpack full of supplies. Out of this, Draco produced a vial of veritaserum. "This is truth serum. Would you like to take some first to prove to yourself it is real?" He was being as gentle as possible, a trial even though the man seemed as though he had just been fooled as well. So far he had done nothing to prove himself harmful to them, aside from kidnapping their children.

Shrugging, Fabian took it. "I have nothing to hide."

They hadn't had time to brainstorm questions, but as a past repressed millionaire, Draco knew the type of thing he would not ask without being magically forced to. "Who is the person you love most?"

"Astoria Greengrass," the muggle spat out immediately. It worked even faster on them because they had no magical resistance. He looked up at them. "Explain."

They managed to explain it all in a shorter period than Hermione would have thought possible, and Fabian passed Scorpius over to them to bury their faces in his hair, an overwhelmingly comforted feeling overtaking her. But her calm wasn't complete yet. There was still a little hole, gaping larger and larger by the second. Before she could ask Draco leapt onto it, "where is our daughter?" It made her heart flutter to hear him calling Abi that, and she slipped her hand into it to become close to him, not just the toddler he was holding, as Fabian led them down the corridor. She felt bad for the man, he seemed disturbed, understandably so. The guards dropped their mouths as they walked past, confused as to how two people had gotten in without their knowing, but Fabian just waved his hand at them dismissively. He wanted to know a lot about Astoria, still struggling to reconcile his version of her with the real one, but their answers seemed to be helping him, albeit slowly.

He cut himself off as they reached a door. "This is her room," and let them in. Hermione's heart swelled with excitement, but deja vu hit her as she saw an empty unslept bed.

"She's not here!" She heard Draco raising his voice as he spun back to Fabian, her head spinning. Still, she reached out and grabbed her boyfriend's arm.

"It's not him," she muttered. "He's trying to help us."

"Yes!" Agreed Fabian. "I do not want them hurt." He called out to one of his guards and began gathering them; it became clear that one was missing. Files were brought up, and emails hacked, until they found one from 'A.G.' All it said was: move now.

Hermione felt a choking mass in her throat, and turned away, embarrassed to be breaking down in front of this near stranger, but Fabian only moved closer, pity in his expression, and placed his hand on her back. "It will be okay. I have a wide reach. Traffic cameras. Associates. We will spot him on the road. Your girl will be back soon."

She nodded, and indeed, she did feel a traitorous hope.

Abi woke up in another new place. She wanted to cry, but her mummy had always told her she was brave, so she wanted to make her proud. Her daddy had told her about his Hogwarts house just before she'd last seen him; resourceful. It was a new word for her, but one she was determined to be. It was a new man in the front of the car, he turned around to look at her with sad eyes and asked if she was hungry. Nodding, she tried to look as cute as possible. He told her it was a game; she had to stay quiet or else someone would find her parents and hurt them. Instantly she hated him, but made herself do what he said and hold onto his hand. He took her to the sweets and chocolate aisle, letting her get whatever she liked, seeming to feel sorry for her, as well as nervous. He didn't need to, the old man at the till wasn't paying any attention, he was playing on his phone. She didn't know if she should trust him, all these other people so far had been totally untrustworthy. Still, he was probably her best hope. "I need the toilet," she said, loudly enough for it to be strange. The man looked up from his phone, and the one she was with frowned, but he took her to the men's toilets, waiting outside the cubicle for her, tapping his foot. Her mummy had made her learn their home phone number when they lived in Germany, but her daddy's house didn't have a phone. She wasn't sure if a message would still get to her mummy now they weren't in Germany, and she didn't even have a pencil, but there was a sharp butterfly clip in her hair. Pulling it out, she used all her force to carve into the wall, and it wouldn't have worked, but she gritted her teeth, shut her eyes and pushed with all her magic to accentuate her strength. With a little smile, she went out to wash her hands.