Draco, Lilia, and Fred ran up the stairs to Pansy's bedroom, Draco ahead of all of them. The fear was palpable as they rushed up to her bedroom. When they finally reached her room, they saw Narcissa and Theo sitting on either side of Pansy's bed. The girl was pale and although you could not see where she had cut herself, her face was drawn and her eyes were dull. Draco rushed to her side, immediately grabbing her hand. Fred and Lilia stayed to the side along with Luna and Blaise, knowing that it was not their time to speak to her.
"Why did you do this? Why didn't you talk to one of us? We would have helped you," Draco asked, his voice thick with emotion. Pansy smiled, but it was a sad smile that truly shown the depth of despair that Pansy was currently feeling.
"You can't help me," she told him, her voice barely above a whisper, "I don't deserve to exist."
"Don't tell me that bullshit Pansy," Draco said, and Lilia could see him grinding his jaw, "You're copping out, just like you always do."
"Draco, don't speak to her like that, she's still weak," his mother pleaded, but Draco shook his head, never tearing his eyes away from his childhood friend.
"She needs to hear this," he said before standing up, his brow furrowed in anger, "You always do this Pansy, finding a reason to give up. Then you forever think that you're worthless," he continued to look at her, his brow relaxing slightly, but his body was tense as he used it to speak his mind, "I'm not letting you do that this time! I'm not letting you give up because things suddenly became too tough! I'm going to fight with you through this until you understand that you are worth fighting for!" There were tears in Pansy's eyes when Draco kneeled beside her again, his voice softer, his body finally relaxing, "There is so much beauty in the world that we haven't even begun to experience yet. You can't quit on it yet. This is just the beginning."
Pansy was silent as tears fell down her face. Everyone watched with bated breath as they waited for her answer, especially Draco. When she smiled brightly at him, grabbing his hand tightly, her eyes no longer dull, they knew the decision she had made.
"I won't quit this time," she told him, making him whoop in excitement. Lilia simply smiled before stepping out of the room with Fred, leaving everyone else to calmly celebrate. They were getting ready to walk out of the house when Narcissa gracefully came down the stairs.
"Mrs. Weasley," the older woman called, making the couple stop at the door. Lilia looked towards her, hiding her confusion as Narcissa stopped in front of her.
"What can I do for you Mrs. Malfoy? And please call me Lilia," Lilia told her, making Narcissa smile. But her face quickly turned serious when grey eyes locked with green. The energy was intense as it swirled around the two women, but Lilia waited calmly for Narcissa to speak.
"Does he love her," Narcissa asked, and Lilia immediately knew who she was referring to. Lilia gave her a small smile before replying.
"He loves her, and she loves him. They would do anything for each other. Even disappearing to ensure that the other was safe," Lilia explained, and Narcissa nodded, finally understanding the depth of Draco's feelings, even though she still hasn't been able to see it for herself.
"You are a good friend," Narcissa told Lilia before turning around to head back up the stairs. Lilia watched her walk back before turning to a very confused looking Fred.
"What was all that," he asked as he stepped towards her, wrapping an arm around her waist. She smiled as they made their way out of the house, making Fred he was woman for once to understand what they were thinking.
"It was just motherly concern is all Fred. Nothing to –," Lilia was cut short as a spell hit her from behind, making her spin up into the air.
"Lilia," Fred cried as he drew his wand, wanting to run to her but unable to for fear of being attacked by the increasing number of Death Eaters surrounded them. Fred kept his eye trained on them as he saw out of the side of his eye Draco, Blaise, Luna, Theo, and Narcissa run out of the house, wands out and at the ready.
"Well look at what we have here," one Death Eater said maliciously as he stepped forward to the moonlight. Lilia immediately knew who it was as she slowly stood up from the ground. She looked down and saw that her arm was bleeding, but not profusely, so she stepped towards him, her eyes literally red with fury, and her skin beginning to turn green and scaly. She could see fear a small hint of fear in some of the Death Eaters eyes at the sight of her, and this fueled her passion.
"Rodolphus," Lilia greeted as she stepped forward, flicking her forked tongue into the night sky, "What do we owe for this lovely surprise."
"I was just taking a walk in the neighborhood when my friends and I heard some voices," Rodolphus said, beginning his heavily sarcastic tale, "When we saw that it was you we just had to drop by and say hello."
"Why did he send you here," Lilia asked, her voice unbelievably calm, but her eyes remained red, and her body was completely covered in the scales of her heritage.
"He just wanted us to have a look-see. And to do this," he pointed his wand and cried out a curse that Lilia easily deflected. The others were poised and ready for a fight, Fred and Draco moving to her side. Her arm had become slightly numb from the loss of blood, but she ignored it as she pointed her wand at Rodolphus' face.
"You're going to leave, and never return, and you will not speak a word of where this safe house is. Is that understood," Lilia asked, making Rodolphus smirk as he stepped closer to her. They were soon only a few inches away from each other, giving Lilia the urge to just punch him very hard in his smug face.
"You really are a beautiful creature. Shame you don't know where your priorities are," he whispered to her, moving some hair out of her face. Lilia was raising her wand hand when suddenly Fred jumped on him, pummeling his face in.
The other Death Eaters moved on the offensive and attacked. The others easily deflected the curses and spells, especially Narcissa and Blaise who moved with grace and agility. Fred ignored the bright colors of the spells as he pointed his wand at Rodolphus' throat, grabbing his wand out of his hand throwing it in the opposite direction.
"Don't you ever touch my wife again," Fred spat in the older man's face, a crazed and furious look in his eye, "Or I will kill you."
"You wouldn't kill me. Your morals are too good for that," Rodolphus said through a bloody mouth, his face swelling up from the beating it had just received.
"Really," Fred asked before moving in closer to the man's face, his hot breath hitting the broken surface, "Try me." Lilia moved towards him, after the other Death Eaters had been handled. They were all knocked out and tied up, Rodolphus the last one to be controlled. She placed a calming hand on Fred's shoulder with her good arm, making him look up at her. She kept her eyes trained on the senior Death Eater, making sure that he didn't pull anything.
"Let him up," she told him, her voice soft, but still full of anger. Fred slowly got up, his wand still trained on the older man. Lilia bent down a little bit, and Rodolphus sat up so that he rested on his elbows.
"I thought you were going to kill me," he asked sarcastically, a smug face back on his bloodied face.
"No, we're going to do something worse," Lilia said, and continued when he arched a single brow, "We're going to remove your memory. You know what that means don't you?" Fear flashed in his eyes, but he quickly hid it when he prompted her to continue. Lilia smiled cruelly at him, fully enjoying the fear that was emanating off of him, "That means you won't be able to inform him of what happened here. You'll be ridiculed, hated. You'll forever be known as the Death Eater that was beaten by kids. And you'll forever going to have that niggling feeling in the back of your mind that you're supposed to be remembering something, but you'll be to wrapped up from Azkaban to care. Either that or him getting rid of you because of your incompetence. And no one will care in the least."
Everything was silent except for the slight breeze that rustled the leaves and lifted everyone's hair. Lilia lifted her wand to Rodolphus' face, her eyes staring intently at him before whispering, "Obliviate." Rodolphus' eyes became dull before focusing in on the couple standing in front of him. Lilia's expression remained blank as she moved in and punched him hard in the face, enough to knock him out.
"You're Obliviate wasn't very strong," Fred commented as he tied up Rodolphus to his men, preparing to send them back to Malfoy Manor. Lilia remained quiet; her face is solemn, her eyes returning to their normal green color, her skin releasing its green scales.
"It wasn't," she replied simply. Her nose began to itch, and she tried to scratch it with her injured arm hand, but quickly realized she couldn't even move her fingers. Her head began to swirl, the lightheadedness making her want to puke. Fred noticed her eyes begin to roll back, and her body began to sway from side to side. She managed to gracefully crumble upon herself, Fred just barely catching her in his arms. Her breathing was heavy, but it was still moving in a consistent manner, assuaging some of Fred's fears. But they immediately rose back in his throat when he saw the sight of her arm. It was purple, and three times its original size. There was a large gash running down it, blood dripping onto the crisp green grass.
"Lilia," Fred cried, making everyone else look towards him. Draco and Narcissa ran to his side as Fred tried to gently shake her awake.
"I know this curse," Narcissa told them, her voice calm, but her eyes showed the fear that was rolling inside her, "We must get her inside this instant. Blaise! Theo! Take them and dump them some place. It doesn't matter where; just take them far away from here!" Narcissa walked briskly back inside the house, Fred following her with Lilia still cradled gently in his arms. He tried to stay optimistic, but he noticed how pale she looked and the doubts crawled into the back of his mind. Narcissa quickly transfigured the couch into a small bed, just barely big enough to fit Lilia. Fred placed her down as Narcissa told Luna the potions that she would need. Draco followed her, trying to be helpful in any way he could.
"Fred, I know worried about her, but I need you to move for me dear," Narcissa said gently, placing a light hand on his shoulder. He hadn't realized until she had said something that he was hovering over his wife, completely blocking Narcissa's access.
"Oh, sorry," he mumbled as he moved out of her way, moving to the other side and getting out of her way. He immediately picked up her hand again, clutching it tightly as Narcissa set to work. Luna had walked in and placed the bandages and potions on the small side table that was at the head of the bed, making it easy for Narcissa to grab them when she needed them. Draco walked back upstairs to talk to Pansy; staying out of his mother's and Fred's way, even though he wanted to be by her side with all of his being.
"This is a new Snake Venom curse that had been developed within the Death Eaters," Narcissa began to explain, and Fred could see that talking about it calmed her as she set to heal Lilia, "It has the same effects as if you were bitten by poisonous snake, and it takes more than its counter curse to heal the victim."
"Will she survive," Fred asked quietly, the sudden thought of losing Lilia making his heart collapse upon itself.
"She will," Narcissa said so matter-of-factly that it completely assuaged his fears, "She's strong and we caught it relatively early, so there shouldn't be any complications." They both fell silent as Narcissa mumbled the counter curse and poured potions in the wound. It took over an hour before the swelling began to decrease and her color returned to her face. Fred breathed out a sigh of relief as the swelling continued to go down rapidly, and the purple color began to disappear. Fred looked into his love's face and noticed that her eyes began to flick back and forth behind her eyes, rapidly, her eyelids fluttering open.
"Hey love," Fred said softly as he bent his face closer to hers. He rested his head on her chest, making her smile.
"Hi," she replied simply, and just as she opened her mouth to say something more, Blaise and Theo walked in from outside, relief on their faces when they saw her.
"You're ok then," Blaise said as the two men walked over to the foot of the bed. Lilia smiled even brighter as she shook her head.
"I feel like complete shit," she rasped out, making everyone else laugh. Fred placed a light kiss on her forehead, leaving his lips there for a moment as he took a moment to run his hand down the side of her face and through her hair. Lilia shut her eyes, allowing his scent to fill her senses.
"I'm ok Fred," she whispered to him. Fred pulled back, looking into her emerald eyes, his racing heart finally slowing down as he was able to grasp that she truly was ok. His hand cupped her cheek as he smiled back at her.
"I know love," he replied, "But you gave me quite the scare there."
"I'll go get Draco," Narcissa said as she and the two boys walked upstairs, giving the couple a small moment of privacy. Fred took the moment and rested his forehead against hers, giving her the lightest of kisses on the lips.
"I wasn't worried," Fred began, "But I don't like seeing you hurt."
"I know," Lilia replied as she lifted up her uninjured arm and ran her fingers down his face as he had earlier, "I had an amazing dream though."
"What was it about," he asked before sitting back down in the chair, holding onto her hand.
"We were in a house, you were older, like 20 years older, and so was I. We both seemed to be waiting for someone important as the kids were running around. We were having a party, but the amazing thing was that we were happy. We were older and happy. It gave me some hope; even of it was just a dream."
"We can make that dream a reality," Fred told her, squeezing her hand tightly, "Every step we take in winning this war, we are a step closer to that dream. We're almost there, I can feel it."
"So can I," Lilia said, squeezing his hand back. She wasn't lying to make him feel better. She could really feel that they were winning. Maybe you couldn't see it at the forefront. But she knew that they would win this if Harry, Ron, and Hermione were able to complete their mission. Draco stepped down from the stairs, a huge grin on his face.
"Why are you always the one that gets injured," Draco joked as he sat on the opposite side of Fred.
"I have no clue. I really don't want to be injured, it's a major pain in my ass," she replied, making the other two laugh.
"I bet. Are you ok though? Tell me the truth," Draco prompted, making her smile because she could see the worry in his eyes.
"I feel fine. I feel great to be honest, just sleepy," she told them, yawning immediately after words.
"Fred can apparate you home," Narcissa said from the stairwell, a small smile on her face, "But try to rest for most of the day tomorrow. No working at all tomorrow! Read, knit, something other than work!"
"I find working relaxing," Lilia said, pouting deeply, making Narcissa's smile grow even wider.
"I'm sure you do," she replied sarcastically, reminding Lilia of Snape for a moment, "Either way, I don't want you doing any work tomorrow. Just relax. In fact, Fred, maybe you should stay home with her to make sure that she follows through with my orders."
"I'm sure I can find a way to keep her behaved," Fred said, smiling roguishly at Lilia, making her blush. Draco gave them both a disgusted look.
"Gross! I don't want to hear this, again," Draco said, making Narcissa lift a single brow at Fred.
"First off, I was talking about chess! Second of all, no one told you to walk into our apartment without permission, tossing things and banging on the door and all of that other ruckus," Fred defended himself, making Lilia crack up with laughter. Draco puffed his chest up as he looked back at Fred.
"It was an emergency! And that doesn't mean that you had to give me details," Draco shrieked, sounding a lot like a girl, making Lilia laugh even harder. Even Narcissa began to chuckle at the situation her son had placed himself in.
"You asked. I would think seeing Lilia in my shirt would have been a pretty large hint," Fred countered, making the girl snort. Draco and Fred looked at her with wide eyes before howling with laughter themselves. Lilia pouted now as the laughter was directed to her, and soon Theo, Blaise, and Luna came down the stairs to find out what was going on.
"What's happening," Luna asked, her soft voice calming the two boys down a little bit.
"Apparently Fred had to explain the finer points of lovemaking to my son before they came over here," Narcissa explained, her face the expression of one trying to hold back laughter. Draco whipped his head around towards his mother.
"Mother," Draco cried, never hearing such words coming from her mouth. She smirked at him.
"What? How do you think you were born Draco," she asked, making her, Lilia and Luna break out into laughter at the boys' expressions.
"I really don't want to hear this," Draco groaned out, and the other boys nodded in full agreement.
"What? Your virgin ears can't take it," Lilia said, making Draco choke on his own air.
"You promised you wouldn't tell anybody," Draco hissed at her, quickly making Fred and Lilia laugh again. Lilia simply shrugged.
"Oops," she replied simply, making her and Fred fully burst out into laughter, as did the other four.
"So the stories back at Hogwarts aren't true," Luna asked as she began to calm down a little bit. Lilia shook her head as she tried to hold back the laughter, but at Draco's grimace it bursted fourth again.
"Not a single one, well, maybe one," Lilia said, and when Draco realized where she was going with her story his eyes widened and he shook his head back and forth quickly, waving his hands in front of his face as a signal to stop.
"Nononono! Don't you dare Lilia," he cried, and everyone watched her expectantly for her to continue. She smirked at his pleas for her to stop, but she decided to go on anyway.
"Did you guys hear about Draco and Pansy getting trapped in a closet and shagging their brains out last year at school," Lilia asked, which everyone nodded to except for Fred and Narcissa who looked at her curiously. Everyone waited patiently for her to continue, except for Draco who had crossed his arms and had taken to glaring at her.
"Well, getting locked in a closet was true, but being with Pansy wasn't. He was with Hermione, and apparently they were getting pretty heavy in the snogging department when Draco slipped and cracked his head against hers, totally knocking her out," Lilia told them, making Luna cover her mouth in shock as she looked at him with wide eyes.
"You didn't," she cried, and Lilia nodded her head for him, since he was way too upset to say or do anything.
"He did! And better yet, she woke up with a massive headache and a huge lump on her forehead. She had forgiven him of course, it was all an accident, but he wouldn't look at her for days he felt so bad," Lilia finished off, the rest of the group howling with laughter at his expense.
"I hate you," Draco said darkly, his arms still crossed, and a deadly look on his face. Lilia smiled smugly back at him.
"You love me," she told him, making him sigh and bend over to hug her. She hugged him back with her good harm, and for some reason, the moment brought tears to her eyes. The tears slowly slid down her cheeks, and once Draco pulled back she quickly wiped the tears away, but everyone saw.
"I love you Lil," he told her, making her smile again at him. Fred watched the best friends and he knew that they would win. They simply had to.
A/N: I know this update has been a long time coming, and I apologize for that. It's my last year before college, so everything has been crazy with school and preparing and all of that. But I do plan on finishing the story this summer. I think only about 5 more chapters, including the epilogue. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I had to add in some humor after all of that serious stuff! Fred and George wouldn't have it any other way! Don't forget to review, and check out my new Dramione story if you haven't already. It's pretty intense! Thanks loves! Till next time!