(Neville POV)

Tomorrow was Clementine's party. Two weeks had passed by so fast, busying myself with work, spending most of my time at the Burrow with the kids. Molly and Arthur were always so glad to have us and it was nice to feel so welcomed when everything was still kind of hard.

I was okay during the day. It was going to sleep at night and waking up each morning alone that was the hard part.

But, I wasn't going to focus on that right now.

Hermione was going over last minute details for the party, making sure everything was in place. We had already decorated as we would be staying the night at the Burrow for the fifth time this week. All that we had to worry about tomorrow would be the food and the cake.

Everything would go flawlessly. It had too.

"I think everything's ready." Hermione smiled. "Molly's taking care of most of the food, of course." We had tried to tell her she didn't have to worry about it. Molly had been hurt, thinking we didn't love her cooking. Now she was cooking everything other than the cake. "Claire and Crabbe will get here early to set up the cake." She turned to look at me. "Everything's going to be great, Neville. I promise."

"I don't doubt it. I knew it would be good to leave it to you girls."

The two of us disapperated, landing back at the Burrow, nearly knocked off our feet as Harry rushed over to the two of us.

"Where have you two been?" He exclaimed. Before waiting for an answer, he said, "They've picked up a signature out near West Somerset. They think it's Sumner's."

"Did they send someone out?" I could feel my heart begin to race. Maybe Draco would get to join us for her birthday after all.

"They sent out a team. The second Blaise, Crabbe, and Goyle found out, they went out with them. It's been almost an hour. We're just waiting on them to come back any minute now."

I felt Hermione put her hand on my arm. "Neville, don't get your hopes up. It… it might be a false alarm."

"I know." I said, giving her a small smile. "I know."

There was a sudden roar from the fireplace and the three of us quickly turned, hoping to see the two hulking men accompanied with Blaise and a small blonde.

But there was no one with them. But we didn't, for a second, miss the looks of anger on their features.

"Guys, what… what happened?"

"The signatures were over two weeks old." Goyle snarled. "Someone noticed them a week ago and waited to put through the paperwork until yesterday to go check it out."

I could feel my blood pressure rising. "We…" I took a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves. "We could have found him? If someone had been fucking watching the signatures like they should have been?"

"Exactly." Goyle sighed, running a hand through his hair. "We found where they were though. It was small, damp. Horrible conditions. No food to be found anywhere. There was… a lot of blood. On the kitchen floor. Blaise went back with a team to try to figure out whose it is. If it all belongs to one person…"

I had thought in finding the signature, we would be able to bring Draco home. For some reason the thought had never entered my mind that we would be bringing home a corpse.

"But," Crabbe quickly interjected. "If it all belonged to Draco, if he was…" he trailed off, a pained look on his face. "Why would they take him with them? What would the purpose be?"

"That's true." I said, a small spark of hope reigniting. "It wouldn't make any sense.

"But… you guys didn't find anyone? No one?"

"They sent a team out to search the surrounding area as well as the team with the blood samples. Hopefully we'll find someone."

"But the weird thing was," Goyle added. "Is that it was only Sumner's signature that showed up at that time. To disapperate. We discovered that there was one for Darkboe as well, but minutes later, and not to disapperated. It was for a healing charm."

"So either Sumner took off with Draco or Montague and Darkboe dragged Draco off somewhere on foot?"

"Exactly."

Another roar from the fire place caused us all to look up, seeing Blaise step carefully out. He looked angry, but not boiling. There wasn't much sadness in his features.

"Did you figure anything out?"

"It belonged to all four of them." Blaise rubbed his hands together before pinching the bridge of his nose. "A… good bit of it was Draco's. But it was older. A few days older than the rest. All the other was fresher. A little belonged to Darkboe and Sumner. A lot of it belonged to Montague.

"I don't know what happened, but it had to be something big. And I genuinely hope whatever happened to Montague, Draco administered it."

"And there's no sign of Draco?"

"No. But we're scanning for their signatures again. They should let us know if they pick something up in the next couple days. They're going to assign someone to the case until it's solved with the promise that we don't sue for them ignoring the signature for as long as they did."

I ran a hand through my hair. "His blood. Was there enough to give any reason that he would be-,"

"No. Not even enough to think he might be seriously injured. If it had all been his, it would have been a different story."

"Should we… should postpone Clem's party?" Hermione asked behind me. "You boys can concentrate on finding him and getting him home?"

"No." I said immediately. "No. Clem needs the party. All the kids do. They need the games and the sugar. We'll concentrate on finding him after. I… I can't give him all my attention right now." I hurt to say that. "I have to focus on my children."

Hermione laid a hand on my arm. She knew that this was hurting me.

"Alright." Blaise nodded. "Let's just keep all of this between us. Just for now."

Crabbe and Goyle stood uncomfortably by. They didn't seem too happy with the plan, but didn't speak up.

"Papa?"

I felt my heart drop. I quickly turned to see Lila standing in the doorway, her pink blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Her lips were trembling.

"Lila, baby. Come here."

"Are you talking about daddy?"

I knelt and my arms out and she quickly walked over, allowing me to pick her up.

"Thank you." I told Blaise. "I just… I have to-,"

"Go. This is more important."

I walked up the stairs and to the room Arthur and Molly had put me in, right next to the room the twins and Clem shared.

"Were you talking about daddy?" Lila whispered again, her face buried in the crook of my neck.

"We were, sweetheart."

"I thought daddy was…"

I was genuinely surprised Lance hadn't told her the truth. "We thought so too, baby girl." I ran my fingers through her hair that fell nearly to her hips. "But we found out he's not."

Her little head popped up and she looked at me, hazel eyes wide. "He's okay."

"We think so. But… we don't know where he is quite yet. We're working on finding him."

"Did… did daddy just leave us? Did he want to go?"

Godric, these kids loved their father. She and Lance both, when asking that question, looked completely heart broken.

"No! Lila, of course not. Your daddy loves you and your sister and your brothers more than anything in the entire world."

"Not you. Daddy loves you too." She gave me a sad little smile. "He gets a gooey look on his face when he looks at you."

I gave her a gentle hug, pulling her close. "Well that should just let you know that he would never just leave us."

"I heard you and daddy talking about bad men. Do they have daddy?"

"They may." I said honestly. "But, he's okay. There's a big team of aurors at the ministry that are looking for him. We won't give up. Not until he's home. I promise."

"Okay, Papa."

I picked her up, carrying her next door, and tucked her into bed. Lance and Clem were already fast asleep.

"Are you okay, sweetie?"

"I'm better knowing that daddy's okay." She gave me a small smile. "It just… makes me sad that he's not here."

"I know, baby. Me too." I pushed her blonde hair out of her face. "But he will be soon."

"I love you, papa."

"Love you, too, my little girl. Sleep tight, okay? Clem's birthday is tomorrow and we have a really fun day planned."

She leaned up and kissed me on the cheek before turning over, pulling her covers up to her chin. They would end up kicked off into the floor before the night was over. She was so much like her father.

I walked back downstairs, after kissing all three of their foreheads and checking on Toby whose crib was in set up in my room.

"Everything okay?" Hermione looked concerned.

"Yeah. I think she was relieved to find out that he was okay. Just… upset that he's not here. Once her party's over, I'll sit all three of them down and talk to them about it."

"Are you okay?"

"I… yes. I'm fine."

"Neville, you've barely been eating. You can tell by looking at you that you haven't been sleeping well."

I sat next to her on the couch, laying my head back. "I can't sleep without him. And I can't even take a shower without feeling guilty. I don't know where he is, what sort of conditions they have him in, how much food he's getting if he's getting any at all. But," I quickly said before she could interject. "None of that's important. I have to focus on the kids, on making sure Clementine has a good birthday. Then I have to get him home. Then I won't have a problem at all with any of that."

"Neville. Your kids are important. Draco is important. But so are you. You have to take care of yourself too."

I gave her a smile. "I'm fine, Hermione. Really. Just a little tired. But, I'm going head up to bed. Tomorrow's a big day. Got to be well-rested."

She gave me a smile, her eyes sad. "Goodnight, Neville."

"Goodnight, Hermione. And thank you, again for putting so much into Clem's party."

(Draco POV)

I kept seeing a man in my dreams.

I didn't know who he was but I saw him every single night. I felt warm and safe with his arms around me, with his soft lips on mine. I was happy in those dreams.

But when I woke up, I couldn't remember his face. Just warm, gentle hands.

And that ache was back in my chest again.

But I think I knew what it was now. This man in my dreams, the way I felt – it wasn't just a dream. This man was real. He was out there somewhere with the same ache in his chest. He was looking for me, waiting for me.

And this ache… It wasn't just missing something or someone.

It was a broken heart.

Of course, this was all just speculation.

I dug through the small refrigerator, trying to find the last of the pasta from three nights ago in between all the mostly empty packages of meat and partially drunken bottles of varying types of alcohol.

What can I say? My "husband's" a stereotypical male.

The longer I was here (and the longer I dreamed of that tall man with the gentle hands), I knew Val was lying. Or atleast not telling the whole truth. There's no way that I would give up everything for him. Some designer clothes? Sure. I was wearing bloody Muggle jeans that were too big right now as is. Some balls or other events my parents would throw? Yeah, of course. I skipped three in the time that we were dating.

But my parents? My friends?

I mean, I love Val. Atleast… I did. I think I still do…

Anyway, I love him, but not enough to give them up. My parents and my friends were my whole world. And, if they really didn't like him, they must have had a reason. They were always the ones that were "happy as long as I was happy" (or at least would grin and bare it). I can't picture any of them giving me an ultimatum and me picking anything that wasn't them.

And Val wouldn't tell me any specifics on what happened. But… what could have happened? I mean, it's not like Val was holding me here against my will. It's not like he kidnapped me. He wouldn't do that.

I did still love him. Of course I did.

I was just missing some of the pieces of the puzzle.

I walked into the living room, having the apartment to myself as Val was out getting groceries again, my feet padding quietly on the thin carpet. Sitting down, I grabbed the thin quilt and wrapped it around my shoulders, shivering.

It was December 12. Almost Christmas.

We had no heat and the apartment was absolutely freezing. I had developed a cold a few days ago complete with sniffles, an awful, barking cough, and a sore throat paired with a scratchy voice. Val had been giving me a potion every night, but it didn't seem to be helping.

I leaned my head back and closed my eyes.

I could almost picture his face – the man in my dreams – when I really concentrated.

He had a gorgeous smile – soft, shy, a little crooked. And those hands. For some reason, I could picture his hands perfectly, and only his hands. They were a little calloused, like he did a lot of work with them, but still somehow soft. And huge. Atleast in comparison with mine. They were man hands – big and bony with long, strong fingers, a little vein-y and a little hairy. But that's all I could really picture. And it was driving me crazy.

This man had to be someone.

Right?

Suddenly, with a sharp, overwhelming pain in the back of my head, the image changed. I could see a long hallway – a familiar hallway – I could hear footsteps. I could see into an apartment. I could feel my heart break. I could feel the shock and hurt as the door slammed in my face.

I could hear the door to our apartment open.

(Val POV)

Draco was starting to doubt me. I could hear it in the way he talked. He was falling out of love with me a little more each day.

While I was doing the opposite.

He asked me one day if I was telling the truth. I told him I was. I think that's when he decided I was definitely lying.

But I was doing everything I could! I could only carry these lies so far!

I was only trying to keep him safe.

It felt right with him in my arms. It just felt right when I kissed him, when he kissed me.

But he was pulling away from me. I couldn't let him. Not now. Not again. I made that mistake once. I couldn't make it again. I would regret it for the rest of my life.

I'm not entirely sure what it was about him. I mean, yes, he's breath-takingly beautiful. His smile made my heart swell. His touch gave me goose flesh. I craved him – to touch him, to kiss him. To make love to him.

But, no, I wouldn't push him that far. I wouldn't.

Not until he was ready.

But he was pulling farther and farther away from me. It was like he was remembering without actually remembering. And I couldn't let that happen. I couldn't. I needed him. I needed him to want me to hold him and pull him close. I needed him to want me to crawl into bed with him at night. I needed him to want to eat his meals with me beside him.

I needed him to need me.

I slipped my hand into the inside pocket of my cloak, feeling the cold, glass phial. This was the most important thing right now. To make sure all of this got better.

I walked up the stairs to our apartment, happy to think that I would get to be with my little blonde soon. Maybe after he took his potion, the two of us could curl up under our blanket and eat dinner like we had last night.

I opened the door, about to announce my presence as I usually did, even if his reaction was getting a little less enthusiastic each day, when I heard him walking through the hall towards the kitchen.

I was expecting the usual hug, the kiss on the cheek.

I was not, however, expecting the look of pure rage on his face. I was not expecting him to storm to the refrigerator after looking around for a moment and ripping the door open. I was not expecting him to snatch out a half empty bottle of fire whiskey. And I definitely did not expect him to chuck it at my head.

But it happened. And if I hadn't ducked, Montague wouldn't have been the only one with an eyeful of glass.

As the bottle shattered against the wall behind me, Draco, his voice still raspy from the cold, snarled at me, "You son of a bitch!"

I ducked another bottle as he threw it at me. His aim was deadly.

"Love, what are you-,"

"Oh, do not "love" me! You cheated on me, you fuck!"

Oh, shit. No! How did he remember?

"Draco, sweetheart, that was eight years ago."

"I don't give a rat's ass how long ago it was, Val. It's news to me! And after we made love? Our first time? What the fuck, Val?!" He turned and stormed out of the room.

I took off after him and grabbed his arm as gently as I could without letting him get away.

"Draco, please. Listen to me. Please. That girl… she was the biggest mistake of my entire life. Okay?" I realized now that that was not a lie. "I almost lost you because of it." I did lose you, and I can't do it again. "But I worked my ass of to get you back, to make you realize that I loved you so much.

"Dray, no one could ever measure up to you. No one has ever loved me like you have." True. "You know everything about me. You know about my parents, about my brothers. Please. You know everything. And you're the only person who's ever really, honestly loved me. I can't lose you too."

Draco's face softened. He really was the only person I had ever told about my family without somehow using it to get into someone's pants.

But I wasn't going to focus on that right now. No way in hell was I going to.

"But why did you sleep with someone else?"

"I was a stupid teenage boy?" At the roll of his eyes, I quickly said, "I know that's a stupid excuse. I'm sorry. But it's the truth, okay? I just… I went out to get you something for you birthday. I saw this girl. She started flirting with me. I'm an attention whore. I… I don't know why I was such a dick to you after. I really don't. You didn't deserve it. But I'm so sorry. I really am. It's the biggest mistake I've ever made."

Draco was silent, his eyes on the floor.

"Please say something, love?"

He looked up at me. "You've changed since we were younger."

"For better or…"

"I don't know." He said honestly, sniffing slightly. He pulled away from me, grabbing our blanket off the couch and wrapping it around himself. "I… You used to be kind of mean to me. You'd yell at me for stupid stuff. Like when I would sing. I don't… I don't think I sing anymore. Or… atleast I don't feel like doing it."

I felt my heart drop. I had been mean to him in the past. I would get aggravated that he was doing something other than what I wanted him to be doing and would take it out on him. Not quite the same way Montague would, but I would say mean things to him.

"I really have changed, Draco. I promise. Just… give me a chance?"

"I am." He nodded, letting out a little cough. "It's just… weird."

"So, do you forgive me for the whole…"

"Kind of. I'm still mad at you. But I obviously knew about it. I just remembered actually seeing that nasty bitch sitting on your table. And since we're still together, you must have done something to earn my forgiveness, right?"

I nodded. "I didn't give up. I begged you until you gave me another chance."

Draco just sighed. "There're just… so many holes and things I can't figure out that you won't or can't give me answers to and… my head hurts. Did you get another potion?"

"I did. Give me just a second, okay?"

I walked into the kitchen, grabbing a glass and filling it half way with water before pouring the potion in, stirring the two to dilute the thick substance, to make it easier to drink.

I didn't like bringing up my family – remembering harsh words, a fist to my ribs, covering my ears or turning up the music to block out the sounds in the next room. I didn't like remembering my brother's funeral when I was eight when my dad had finally gone too far or remembering attending my other brother's when he was finally left alone long enough to hang a noose from the rafters in our old house.

I didn't like remembering finding him.

I didn't like remembering being blamed for everything. I didn't like remembering all the anger my father had felt being turned on me. I didn't like remembering him finally leaving, only to have my mother blame me. "A waste of space," she had called me.

"Why couldn't it have been you rather than your brothers?"

I didn't like remembering her kicking me out or having to find a place of my own or struggling to keep that place.

I kind of liked remembering hearing that loud, happy laughter in Borgin and Burkes that day in July. I liked remembering seeing that tiny, beautiful blonde laughing with that boy with the dark skin and the two towering boys who looked like they could break me in half. I liked remembering following him around the bookstore until he finally noticed me, quirking an eyebrow and giving me a small, flirtatious smile. I liked remembering his laugh when the three other boys had noticed me as well, giving me dirty looks and trying to block him from view.

I liked remembering our first date, the way he would toss his head back with his laughter. He had genuinely thought I was funny. I liked remembering our first kiss, how, even though I was no where near a virgin, I was sort of nervous to kiss him and that it had been him who had closed the distance. I liked remembering finding out that that had been his first kiss.

"Val?" I turned, looking at that very blonde in the doorway. "You okay, love?"

Love.

He couldn't remember anything else. He just… he couldn't.

"I'm fine, angel." I handed him the glass. "Here. Drink this. I talked to the potion master today and he said that you should get better within a few more days."

Draco took the drink from me with a smile, downing it all, just barely grimacing.

If this potion didn't start working, I didn't know what I would do.

He couldn't remember anything else.

"How about I make us some soup?" He gave me a small smile. "And we can curl up on the couch and eat together like we did yesterday?"

"That sounds perfect."

(Blaise POV)

The girls had really outdone themselves. The apartment was decorated from top to bottom in purple, silver, and gold with a huge 'princess' theme. There were tiaras for the girls, crowns for the boys. All the girls were little dresses, all the boys other than Lance (of course) refused to wear their little outfits. They played Muggle games like musical chairs and 'Pin the Tail on The Dragon'. There was a scavenger hunt with handmade treasure maps, the final prize lying deep within the coat closet in the main hall. There was an amazing spread of food thanks to Mrs. Weasley including a turkey and all the fixings, bowls of all sorts of vegetable sides, casseroles galore, and all of Clementine's favorites (otherwise, anything chocolate). There was a mountain of gifts on the coffee table in the livingroom, and right now, we stood in the kitchen, watching as Vince, Greg, Neville, and Harry carefully balanced Clem's beautiful six tier cake, each layer an alternation between vanilla and chocolate, completely coated in what I had over heard Claire telling Pansy was a 'lavender and honey buttercream'. Don't know what that means, but I wanted a piece. There were candles on the bottom layer – the only layer Clem could reach, even when standing in the chair.

Neville had tried to pay Claire for the monster masterpiece, but she had denied him, opting for a hug instead. That was just the sort of woman Claire was. She had to be to deal with secret teddy bear Vincent.

After a round of "Happy Birthday," Clem scrunched her eyes closed and paused, obviously making her wish, before blowing, taking three blows to extinguish the four candles.

Neville scooped her up in his arms, a broad smile across his face, as he planted four sloppy kisses on her cheeks. He and Draco had always done kisses rather than birthday spankings as Draco had hated the idea of the tradition, even if it were playful.

"What'd you wish for, Clem?" Lance asked, ruffling his little sisters curls as Neville set her back in her chair.

"Can't tell." She said, digging a finger through the purple icing and popping the finger in her mouth. "If I do, daddy will never ever come home."

There was a slight lull in the room, no one quite knowing what to say. There was such an innocence in what she had said. She had no idea that one of the main purposes behind today, other than to celebrate her forth birthday of course, was to forget all the drama of the last few months. But seeing that it wasn't said with sadness, but with a sweet little smile, purple icing on her upper lip, the conversation started back up the second Hermione moved to cut the cake.

A sudden knock on the door behind me caught my attention. I looked at Neville across the room, raising an eyebrow. He merely shrugged. "No clue. Could you grab it for me?"

I moved across the floor and, without hesitation, threw the door open, only to feel my heart skip a beat.

The only people speaking in the room behind me were the children who had no idea who was standing in the doorway. But the tall stature, the familiar eyes, the shock of white hair had managed to quiet down three of them.

"Well, by the looks of it, I suppose I did manage to find the correct hovel."

I couldn't even make my mouth work.

"Now, Blaise, surely you recognize me." His voice was soft, teasing, a small smile on his features. "Though I have to admit I hardly recognize you. I suppose I really should have been expecting a room full of adults and not the children I left behind.

"Are you not going to invite me in?"

For a man who had been dead for eight years, Lucius Malfoy looked alive and well.

"It is my granddaughter's birthday after all."

(Page Break)

Yay! I was so excited to write this one!

So, a few things to absorb in this chapter. I hope you guys like it! It took me a couple of tries to get things just the way I wanted it, and this is honestly the closest I'm going to get I think.

But enjoy!

And Happy Thanksgiving, my American readers!

Reviews are Love!