Returning to school after Christmas seemed a lot easier for Hermione and Draco than what returning after the summer break had been. Of course they both hated to leave Lyra and wished they could stay with their daughter, but they knew they had a schedule in place so they would still be able to see plenty of the young girl. However, it helped that this time they were returning to school together and wouldn't have to deal with being separated from each other as well as being apart from their daughter.
Once they were back at Hogwarts the couple easily slipped back into the routine with visiting Lyra every day. The couple also vowed to spend a bit more time with their friends over the coming months. Hermione had already decided to become more heavily involved with the Order, and while it was too difficult for Draco to become more involved with the Order, he still had his own friends to concentrate on. He was happy to spend some extra time down in the dungeons hanging out with Blaise and Theo and talking quidditch tactics.
A few weeks into the start of the new term, the couple were discussing their plans for the day as they ate breakfast at home with their daughter. Since Draco and Hermione were with Lyra, Narcissa was busy elsewhere and giving the couple some time alone with their daughter.
"We've got an extra quidditch practice this evening," Draco told Hermione. "We could have lunch together, but I think Theo might want to talk about practice. He's worried that his place on the team is in jeopardy."
"Is it?" Hermione asked. She knew Theo played as a chaser and while she knew very little about quidditch she'd been under the impression he was rather good at the position.
"Of course not, it's just Theo being neurotic," Draco replied with a laugh. "He missed a couple of goals in the last training session and now he's worried he's lost his touch. To be honest, he has chance to be a bag of nerves before this evenings training session if I don't calm him down."
"Have lunch with your friends," Hermione said. "I've got stuff to talk to Harry and Ron about anyway. We can catch up after practice."
"Are you sure?" Draco checked. "It could be a late one."
"I'm not going anywhere," Hermione replied. "I'll be in the head dorms no matter what time you get back."
"I'll try and get through things in extra quick time," Draco vowed, giving Hermione a smile. "Maybe then we could have a work our session of our own."
"That sounds good," Hermione said. "Especially if you keep your uniform on."
"That's a deal," Draco replied with a laugh.
Finishing up their breakfast, they spent a few extra minutes with Lyra, before handing her over to Narcissa for the day. Returning to school was a bit of a wrench as it always was, but once they were back in the head dorms their focus turned back to school. Making sure they had everything the couple shared a lingering kiss, before exiting their dorms and going their separate ways for the day.
By lunchtime, Draco was pleased that Hermione didn't have a problem with him eating with his friends. Theo was worse than he thought, and if he didn't get him straightened out he wouldn't be able to mount a broom come practice time, let alone fly one and play quidditch.
"I'll meet you two down in The Great Hall," Draco said to Blaise and Theo as the bell went to signal lunchtime. "I've just got to head up to the head dorms and grab the prefects patrol rota. I thought I had it in my bag, but it's not there and I need to hang it up in the prefect's room before tonight's patrols."
"I don't think I can eat," Theo moaned dramatically.
"Make him eat Blaise," Draco ordered. "And for Merlin's sake Theo, stop moaning before I kick you off the team for annoying the captain."
Sharing an eye roll with Draco, Blaise grabbed Theo by the arm and escorted him off to The Great Hall. Wondering just what had gotten into Theo, Draco turned in the opposite direction and headed back to the head dorms.
The prefect's patrols weren't on the desk where Draco had thought he may have left them, so it took him a bit of time to locate them. Finally he spotted the piece of parchment on the floor, and he was just crawling under the table to get it when he was disturbed by a knocking on the window. Looking up he scowled when he spotted his father's personal owl pecking at the window. Not only did he not know why his father was writing to him, but he had no idea why he was doing so in the middle of the day.
When Draco opened the window for the owl, it remained perched on the windowsill outside. Muttering about the bird, he plucked the envelope from its leg and watched as it soared back into the sky and disappeared. Shutting the window behind him, Draco opened the letter from his father and felt his blood run cold as he took in the contents. The letter was a short one, requesting that he visit the manor that afternoon. However, the truly terrifying thing was the lock of fine blonde hair enclosed with the letter, along with a spotty ribbon that Draco knew for a fact was in his daughter's hair that morning.
Draco stared at the letter for what felt like an eternity, before he regained his senses and went flying to the fireplace. Hurriedly he flooed home and burst out of the fire into the front room.
"Lyra! Mother!" Draco called as he fled from room to room in search of his daughter.
Ten minutes later he'd visited every room and found no sign of anyone. His mother and Lyra weren't in the house, but neither were Tonks and Remus. Flying back downstairs, Draco tore over to the small house where Tonks and Remus had been staying. Hammering on the door he got no response, so he did something he wouldn't normally do and entered without waiting for an answer. Unfortunately he found no sign of Tonks or Remus in the house.
Returning to the main house, Draco flooed back to Hogwarts in a panic. As well as worrying about Lyra, Draco was also starting to feel his anger rise. Not only was he fuming at his father for snatching his daughter, he was mad at himself for not being there for Lyra, and for Dumbledore for promising that Lyra would be safe. His emotions running wild, Draco stormed out of the head dorms and ran down to The Great Hall.
Without thinking Draco burst into The Great Hall, causing the double doors to bang furiously off the walls. His entrance had grabbed everyone's attention, but only had eyes for one man. Storming down to the Professor's table, he slammed Lucius's letter down on the table.
"You promised me," Draco yelled. "You promised me she'd be safe."
From down the hall, Hermione frowned at the scene her boyfriend was making. From her position, she couldn't see what the problem was with Dumbledore, but like everyone else she'd heard his yell.
"What's going on?" Ron hissed from beside Hermione, who shrugged him off and concentrated on what was going on at the front of the hall.
"She's gone," Draco continued, still fuming at the headmaster. "My daughter is gone."
Shocked gasps sounded around the hall as Hermione got to her feet. Feeling numb, she headed towards the Professors table. As she walked, Draco continued to rant at Dumbledore about how Lyra was missing. Stopping a few paces behind Draco, Hermione spotted the lock of her daughter's hair and her spotty ribbon. Hermione let out a quiet moan at the sight, before she turned on her heel and began to sprint out of the room.
Hermione's moan brought Draco to his senses, and he whirled round in time to see his girlfriend fleeing the room.
"Shit," He cursed, mentally kicking himself for not thinking of Hermione before he burst into the room. "Hermione, wait."
Taking off after his girlfriend, Draco sprinted out of The Great Hall, oblivious to the scene he'd left behind. While most of the students turned to each other to gossip, Dumbledore, Snape and McGonagall jumped to their feet to rush after the head students. At the Slytherin table Blaise and Theo jumped up and ran towards the doors as the Gryffindor trio of Harry, Ron and Ginny did the same.
"What on earth?" Ron muttered as he, Harry and Ginny ran from The Great Hall. "What's going on?"
"And why is Malfoy yelling about a daughter?" Harry questioned. "Who knew he had a daughter?"
"And who's the mother?" Ron asked.
"I would have thought that one was obvious," Blaise remarked as he and Theo came up behind the trio. "I think Granger's reaction filled in the rest of the story."
Harry and Ron didn't have time to process what was happening as they burst into the head dorms minutes after the Professors. There was no sign of the two head students, but no-one seemed worried by that. Dumbledore just marched straight to the fire and disappeared in a whirl of green flames. Now all Snape, McGonagall and Draco and Hermione's friends could do was wait and see exactly what was happening.
When Dumbledore emerged from the fire at Narcissa's house, he found Hermione crumpled on the floor, clutching a teddy belonging to Lyra and sobbing her heart out. Draco was on his knees, with his arms wrapped around his girlfriend as tears fell from his own eyes.
"I'm so sorry, Hermione," Draco sobbed as he clung onto his girlfriend.
"Where is she?" Hermione asked through her tears. "Where's my baby?"
"It would appear Draco's father has her," Dumbledore answered. When Draco had gone running after Hermione, he'd left the letter on the table and Dumbledore had picked it up to try and get a complete picture of what was happening.
"We have to get her back," Hermione sobbed.
"I will," Draco promised. "I promise that he won't hurt our little girl."
"Let's go back to school," Dumbledore said gently. "I know this is terrible, but we need to think clearly."
"What's to think about?" Draco snorted as he wiped away the tears from his face. "The letter said I was to go to the manor, so I'll go. I'll go and get our daughter back."
"Let's discuss this back at school," Dumbledore said. "Before we decided anything, we need to check that Narcissa and Lyra aren't anywhere around. They might just have gone for a walk."
Despite the fact that Draco and Hermione didn't believe what Dumbledore was saying, they let the headmaster persuade them to return to school. Hermione was crying so hard that she couldn't floo by herself, so Draco stepped into the flames with his girlfriend and supported her as they headed back to school. When they emerged in the head dorms, they were oblivious to the onlookers as Draco settled Hermione down on one of the sofas and wrapped her in his arms as she continued to cry.
"I'm confused," Ron whispered. "What's going on?"
"I'm guessing Draco and Hermione have a child together and something's happened to her," Blaise said quietly, unable to tear his eyes away from where Draco was comforting a devastated Hermione.
"Hermione hasn't had time to have had a baby," Ron argued. "We would have noticed if she'd been pregnant."
"Why do you think she was so late back to school?" Theo tutted.
"It wasn't chickenpox," Ginny whispered. "She was having the baby."
"Will you five be quiet," Snape snapped. "If you're staying, sit down and don't get in the way."
Obediently the five sat down on the remaining sofa and a couple of chairs, just as Dumbledore alighted from the fire followed by Remus Lupin. Dumbledore quickly explained that Remus had returned to the house just a few minutes earlier. Remus also confirmed that when he left the house that morning Narcissa and Tonks were taking Lyra for her morning walk down to the village.
"Severus, go with Remus and search the village and the nearby area," Dumbledore ordered. "I would like to know exactly what we're dealing with before anyone does anything stupid."
"I've already told you what I'm going to do," Draco said quietly. "I'm going to do as the letter says and go home to meet my father."
"The letter says you're to return home sometime this afternoon. Before you do anything rash, let us think about our options," Snape said, placing a reassuring hand on Draco's shoulder. "Let us get as much information as we can before you do anything."
"Fine," Draco conceded with a sharp nod. "But nothing will stop me from going to save my daughter."
"And we wouldn't expect anything less," Dumbledore said. "But first, let us do what we can."
Draco nodded again, before refocusing his attention on Hermione. Hermione's sobs had quietened down, but his could still feel her shaking as she held tightly onto him. Whispering how sorry he was and that he would everything he could to get their daughter back, Draco continued to hold Hermione as Dumbledore sorted things around them.
Once Remus and Snape had disappeared back through the floo network, he sent McGonagall to alert a few more members of the Order and gather them in his office. He then sent for Madam Pomfrey to come and check Hermione was alright. With all that in hand, he turned to the students who had been sitting quietly observing and filled them in on the basic facts of the situation. Since they were the best friends of Draco and Hermione, he saw no point in lying to them. Chances were the young couple were going to need all their friends as they dealt with what was happening.
When Madam Pomfrey arrived in the head dorms, she tried to get Hermione to take a potion to help her rest but Hermione refused. Eventually Hermione won the argument, and Madam Pomfrey settled for keeping an eye on the young witch.
"Will she be alright?" Hermione whispered to Draco as they waited to see what would happen next.
"She will," Draco vowed. "I'll save her Hermione, I promise. And I'm so sorry for what happened down in the Great Hall. I just wasn't thinking."
"It doesn't matter," Hermione said, brushing the incident aside. "All that matters is Lyra and getting her home safely."
"I'll do whatever it takes to make sure that happens," Draco replied in a solemn voice. They both knew that to save their daughter that Draco might have to join Voldemort or even sacrifice his own life, but neither of them were willing to voice those worries out loud.
"I know you will," Hermione said, offering her boyfriend a weak smile. "And you just need to remember that we love you. Nothing will ever change that, I promise."
Unconcerned by the fact their friends were sitting watching them, Draco pressed his lips against Hermione's in a needy kiss. Holding onto each other the couple remained lost in their own little world as they prepared themselves for the next step.
Finally Snape reappeared via the floo network, and they instantly knew from his face that it wasn't good news. Quietly he broke the news that they'd found Tonks a couple of miles from the house. She'd been killed and left in a ditch by the roadside and there was no sign of Narcissa and Lyra. While a fresh wave of grief swept the room, Dumbledore contacted McGonagall in his office and instructed her to send people to help Remus bring Tonks back to the Order.
"I think it's clear what has to happen next," Draco said as he gently removed himself from Hermione's grasp and got to his feet. "I have to go to the manor."
"Severus will go with you," Dumbledore said. "And that's something I'm not negotiating," He added when Draco opened his mouth to argue.
"Very well." Draco nodded at the headmaster, before he turned and acknowledged his friends for the first time. "I wish I could stick around to explain, but I have to go and chances are I won't be back. But I want you both to do me a favour and watch out for Hermione for me. Hermione and Lyra mean the world to me, and I need to know they're safe."
"You can trust us, Draco," Blaise said seriously as he stood up and briefly embraced his friend.
"We'll keep them safe until you return," Theo vowed as he also gave Draco a quick hug. "And you will return, we know you will."
Draco thanked his friends before turning back to Hermione. Even though her tears from earlier had subsided his girlfriend was crying softly again, and this time he knew the tears were for him.
"Don't cry," He whispered, wiping her tears away as she stood before him. "We both know I'm doing what needs to be done."
"I know," Hermione replied quietly. "And I love you for it. You do whatever you have to do to keep our daughter safe, Draco. I mean it, do anything to protect her."
"I will," Draco vowed. "I'll do whatever it takes to keep her and you safe and out of harm's way. I love you Hermione."
"I love you too," Hermione whispered as they shared an all too brief kiss.
Reluctantly the couple parted and after receiving a few last minute pieces of advice from Dumbledore, Draco left with Snape to face his father. The second Draco left, Hermione slumped back into her seat as the tears started again. Ginny was the first one to reach Hermione, but within a minute she was surrounded by not just her friends but Draco's as well. At least she had some support while she waited for news of her daughter and her lover.