"Sorry?" Narcissa echoed, her voice faint and rasping from crying. "Draco, darling, what are you sorry for?"

"Lucius. I…I…" Draco trailed off, his eyes fluttering closed. He took a few more deep breaths. "I'm so tired, so so tired," he whispered to no one in particular. Narcissa grasped his hand more tightly.

"Darling, tell us about Lucius, please," she pleaded, her voice so strained with hope and worry.

"I…I killed him, Mum. But I had to, I had to! He threatened Hermione and Tristan…" Draco looked around, his eyes still glassy but much more alert. "Where are they? Where am I?"

"You're in Hopton-on-sea," Narcissa explained, her eyes tearing up. "They're back at the Manor, they're safe, I promise you. Draco, darling, oh my poor little boy…" She fell into weeping again, the stress of the past months catching up to her in one fell swoop.

"Don't be angry with me, Mum, please," Draco said, so softly. "I couldn't bear it if you were."

"I'm not angry," Narcissa choked out through her tears. "I was worried that you'd gone to meet him at the castle, that you two were planning something awful. Oh, Draco, I'm just so glad you're safe!" Severus placed a hand on her shoulder, and Narcissa covered it with her own.

"Weasley, please, tell me where Harry is," Draco asked. Ron could tell he was close to blackout again. "I have to explain it to him, I have to explain everything to him and Cosette."

XXX

Hermione was sitting on the back deck, Tristan in a crib beside her. The good weather had driven them all outdoors; Cosette and Harry were on a walk around the grounds, and Ginny had left that morning for London to look for an apartment. Hermione was currently engaged in re-reading Hogwarts: A History for the twenty-seventh time, but she couldn't keep her mind on it. The sunshine was lulling her to sleep, and she sat back and closed her eyes to enjoy the sunshine. April was one of her favorite months, when everything would once again to come to life in yellows and pinks and greens, when they sky was so blue and clear you could see for miles. Her hair was pulled back, and the wind on her neck felt like a soft caress, the sun on her cheek like a tender kiss. She sighed, wishing for the thousandth time that Draco was home.

"Oh, Draco," she sighed, wishing that the soft fingers laced with hers were true.

"Yes, love?" a familiar voice spoke softly. Hermione sat up straight, blinking against the light as she opened her eyes.

"Draco?" she asked quietly, not daring to believe the face looking down at her.

"I'm home," he whispered back, pulling her up and against him. "I've come home for you."

"Tell me you're real," Hermione begged, holding him as close as she dared. He was thin, so much thinner than she remembered, but he was warm and close and oh, how she hoped she wasn't dreaming!

"I'm real," Draco laughed softly. "I'm real and I'm never going to leave you again for fear that I won't be real to you the next time." He tipped her chin up and kissed her, kissed her with a promise of safety and love and eternity. It seemed like hours, days, seconds, really, but Hermione could have gone on kissing him forever and ever. "But we have to find Harry, now," he said, breaking away. "I owe him an explanation."

Half an hour later, and they were all congregating in the library, Draco sitting close to Hermione, one hand in hers and the other holding a strengthening potion. Severus had been feeding him different concoctions since he'd arrived from Vivi's home two days before, worried that without his help, Draco would fall back into his precarious state. Ginny had come home just before they all sat down, and was currently bringing in tea for everyone gathered. Harry and Cosette wandered in not long after.

"Draco?" Cosette asked breathlessly as soon as she saw him. "Draco, oh, you're alright!" She ran to him, hugging him tightly as he balanced his drink around her.

"Yeah, I'm home," he said, smiling against her cheek. "But I have to explain some things. Could you all sit down?" Everyone obliged, Harry giving him some wary looks. "First off, I'd like to apologize to everyone, but mostly Harry and Cosette. I realize that I might not have been the picture of hospitality during our stay in that castle, but I do have my reasons." Harry snorted, and Draco shot him a look reminiscent of their Hogwarts days. "My reasons being this: once we arrived and I ensured our safety, I did some careful research and planning. Through this I was able to collect every remaining Death Eater and former follower of Voldemort, from Britain and beyond, and I used them to rally any subsequent groups associated with the dark arts and their use for the usurp of power. The charm you saw," Draco continued, nodding to both Harry and Cosette, "was an ancient binding charm, as I'm sure Severus would have figured out. I bound every last member of these groups and the remains of Voldemort's following within the castle. This way, any potential uprising will have a weak base of power to grow from, and we can ensure our lives will be nearly free from any sort of war like the one we all recently faced. I asked that you trust me, and I know that, at times, it must have been hard, sometimes impossible. And I apologize. But I did it in the interest of every one of you, my child, and your futures. So please, if you could forgive me the hardship of the past seven months, I would be eternally grateful." Draco stopped then, letting his speech sink in. Everyone remained silent for a moment; Hermione was the first to break.

"I'd forgiven you the moment you came back," she said quietly. "And I like to think that they all did too. Of course, it may be harder for Harry and Cosette…"

"Draco, you know I'd forgive you to the end of the Earth and back," Cosette chimed in, her lips breaking into a small, sweet smile. "And knowing that you did all of this for us…thank you. That's all I can say." Narcissa and Severus nodded, the former smiling broadly at her son. Draco smiled back, and looked to Ron and Ginny.

"I assumed there was something behind all of this," Ginny said with a shrug. "I'm just glad you're safe."

"Yeah, me too," Ron continued, and Draco imparted him a skeptical glace. "It's been a weird few months, but I had a feeling it would all turn out alright. Besides, if you had turned out evil, I'd never stop saying 'I told you so' to Hermione, and she'd go crazy with it." Ron smiled, too, and Draco cocked an eyebrow at him, smiling back. Amazing how much one could miss a simple gesture. They all turned to Harry, then, the last to speak. He sighed, running a hand through his eternally messy hair.

"I think you're a prat for not telling me about all this when I was handcuffed in solitary confinement," he started, his voice harsh, but weariness permeating through. "I also think that it was rough to keep the people you loved worrying about you for so long. But," and here, Harry paused, shrugging his shoulders. "But I think that it was very brave of you to go through all of this, and if they can forgive you, I have no right to hold it against you either." Cosette kissed him, smiling brightly as she turned to face the others.

"Thank you, all of you," Draco said softly, squeezing Hermione's hand. "But there's a couple other things I want to say." Ron rolled his eyes, his gesture exaggerated so he knew Draco saw it. He laughed. "Harry, I see you finally made amends with Cosette?"

"We're engaged, actually," Cosette said, cutting Harry off and holding up her hand so he could see her ring. "October wedding, we think. I was hoping you'd be home by then, at least." Draco nodded.

"Good call there, Potter. Snagged yourself a good one; I must admit, I'm a little surprised. And you knocked her up too!" Everyone gasped, Harry blushing deeply and Cosette gaping at him.

"What…I mean…how…" she stuttered. Draco looked confused.

"You didn't tell anyone?" he asked incredulously. Cosette shook her head. "Oh, dear, I've spoiled the announcement. None of you noticed? She must be at least five months along, maybe six!" Hermione laughed.

"I didn't notice at all!" she exclaimed, smiling towards Cosette. "I just assumed loose clothing was how you liked to dress."

"Well, secret's out," Harry said, shrugging and pulling Cosette a little closer to him. "Snape was the only one who noticed, I guess. She's due late July." Severus smirked a little, and Narcissa hit his arm lightly.

"You didn't even tell me!" she said, scandalized. Severus didn't choose to respond, only continued smirking.

"I found an apartment," Ginny interjected. "In Diagon Alley. I'm considering opening up my own robe shop."

"Severus and I are getting married," Narcissa burst in, too excited to keep in her secret any longer. "Now that I'm a widow and I know it." And everyone would have stopped uncomfortably, but she said it with such levity that no one seemed bothered by the passing of someone so detrimental to this sudden happiness.

"And I'm pretty sure I'm moving back to Hopton," Ron spoke up, next in line for celebratory news. "Vivi wants to stay there with her dad, but I'm sure we'll be over to visit quite a bit."

"Have you thought how you're going to explain that you're a wizard, yet?" Ginny asked, biting her lip. "I mean, that's going to be a lot to handle. Most muggles don't take it very well." Ron furrowed his brow a bit, and sighed.

"No, actually, I hadn't thought of that at all," he said, his voice a little more somber than the occasion may have called for. "I just assumed it wouldn't be a problem."

"Sooner than later, Weasley," Draco said, downing the rest of his potion. "No one likes to be lied to."

"Oh, that's rich, coming from you, Malfoy," Harry said sarcastically. "Hail to the king of the Slytherins, hypocrite extraordinaire!" Draco arched his eyebrow and looked disdainfully at Harry.

"And I suppose that by marrying a pureblood from a notorious Death Eater family has Gryffindor champion written all over it?" he shot back. "Oh, the complexes that child will develop!"

XXX

Ron spent the next few hours charming his suitcases clean, refolding his clothes, and packing to go back to Hopton-on-sea. Vivi was expecting him within the week, but he felt as though Draco had been right, ironic as his words may have been. If he had any intention on beginning a relationship with Viviana, he most certainly had to come clean, and not just about being a wizard. There was a whole sordid history he'd left out during their talks that was bound to come out eventually, and Ron decided that it was to come out on his terms, before anything permanent happened. It wasn't going to be easy, and he sure as hell didn't know if she'd want to stick by him through all of his faults and shortcomings, but he had hope, and that, he had learned, was really all you needed.

The trip back to Hopton was considerably shorter, seeing as he could apparate right outside of town instead of taking the bus from Norwich. He was coming down the main path, noting that the flowers he'd seen so long ago in December were beginning to bud and blossom. He strolled through the streets of the town he'd come to love, and ended up outside of Vivi's house. He knocked a few times, and waited for her answer.

"Ron!" she exclaimed as she opened the door, leaning up to kiss him softly. "I didn't expect you back so soon!"

"Well, I wanted to talk to you," he said, coming inside as Vivi held open the door. "Is there somewhere private we can speak?" She nodded, looking a little concerned, and led him upstairs to her room. He hadn't been there before; it was small, painted white, with scarcely anything but a large bed with blue covers. Vivi closed the door behind them and sat on her bed, motioning for Ron to join her.

"What's wrong?" she asked, reaching out her hand to hold his.

"I want to start by saying that it's nothing to do with you. I really do like you, Vivi, and I want to give us a go. But I came here to come absolutely clean with you about my past. So I'm going to say it all, and give you a chance to say anything after." Ron took a deep breath. "Alright. So I'm a wizard, which means I can do magic. We're a very secret culture, but there's a lot of us around the world. Narcissa and Severus are too, and so is our friend Draco, the one who came here sick. He's fine, by the way, home with his wife and baby. But his wife and I dated for a long time, and we've been friends for so long…I still see her all the time, and I don't want you to think that there's anything left there because there isn't, I know, we tried and failed, it's over. And I just broke up with this girl Camille in September, she wasn't anyone important, but we didn't resolve our problems at all. And there was a war that we all fought in, and there's so much baggage left over from that…we're all still a little messed up from it…I have a lot of family, and we're all real close, but we don't have a lot of money, so there's nothing I can offer you, really, except myself, and I'm afraid that's not even that great…" Ron trailed off, taking another deep breath. Vivi was smiling. "What?" Ron asked, feeling a little unnerved. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Ron," she said softly, squeezing his hand. "You came in looking so serious, and here I was, expecting you to tell me something awful."

"Didn't I?" Ron asked, feeling slightly thrown off guard. Vivi shook her head, laughing a bit.

"No, you didn't," she answered. "So everyone has a history, now I know yours. I told you mine the first week we met. Everything else is sort of old news."

"Old news?!" Ron exclaimed, furrowing his brow. "I'm a wizard! That's old news?!"

"We have a wizard in our family," Vivi continued. "My grandmother's second husband was some man named Alphard Black. He used to tell us lots of stories about magic and all that. He had a horrible family, too; he told us how he was disowned for helping his nephew run away!" Ron gaped.

"His nephew…do you, I mean, by any chance…did he ever tell you his nephew's name?"

"Oh, Sirius, I think," Vivi said with a shrug. "Some constellation or star." Ron rubbed his temples, laughing a little bit.

"Sirius Black?" Ron posed, his stomach tying itself in knots.

"Oh, yes, that was his name! I remember now…we got a letter last year some time that told us he'd passed away."

"Yeah, he was killed in the war we all fought last year," Ron explained, a shiver of sorrow rushing through him. "He was really great, I'm sure he would have loved you."

"I was supposed to meet him, actually, but then he stopped corresponding and no one would talk about him. I guess he had an orphan godson who was like a child to him…Alphard wanted us to meet, he's supposed to be about a year older than me, but then Alphard died and, well, that whole thing ended with him."

"Sirus Black's orphan godson," Ron began, very quietly, "is my best mate, Harry."

"Oh, really?" Vivi asked, not seeming quite as excited as Ron was feeling. "Small world. We're all connected in the end, I suppose."

"Even weirder," Ron continued, "Narcissa is Sirius' cousin, and Sirius was my dad's second cousin. Alphard wasn't your blood relative, right?"

"Oh, no," Vivi assured him, laughing. "He wasn't. But wouldn't that have been something!" And they both fell into laughter and into each others arms, hoping that this would begin something really exquisite for them both.

XXX

It was late in the evening, and the heat of the day was wearing thin in the cool breeze. Harry had owled Dumbledore of Draco's safe return, along with a lengthy apology for his absence during his first year teaching; he and Cosette then excused themselves for their rooms. Hermione and Draco were next, and they took Tristan to his nursery to put him to bed.

"He's grown so much," Draco said, reaching into his son's crib. Tristan's hand reached out and grasped Draco's finger. "I can't believe I missed so much of it."

"He remembers you," Hermione said, peeking over to watch her son coo and smile like he'd never done for her. "I don't think either of us ever forgot you."

"Not even when Malory was taking my place in our bed?" Draco asked quietly, as he closed the door behind them. Hermione was dumbstruck.

"Malory? Who on earth is Malory?" she asked, her voice shaking. She didn't expect him to know that she'd been unfaithful, even against her own will, but Gavin was one thing…who was Malory?

"Don't play stupid, Hermione," Draco ground out, trying to keep his composure. He'd been gone for seven months and he was home now, his first night back with his family. He didn't want to ruin it, but he couldn't let this crawl under his skin any longer. "Malory. He came to the castle with a heart shaped bruise and a story about how he fucked my wife and her best friend. I can't imagine he was talking about anyone else." Hermione stopped in the hallway, her face burning red and her head beginning to spin.

"He told us his name was Gavin," she said softly.

"Gavin, Malory, does it matter what his name was?" Draco called back, still on his way to their rooms. "He used you. You fell for it. I can't believe someone as bright as you would find it in herself to go along with that, to let yourself be taken advantage of and to take advantage of someone you're supposed to love."

"Draco, I do love you!" Hermione exclaimed, rushing to catch up to him. "Please believe me…Ginny even found out that he was slipping me Imperius potion. You have to trust me, Draco, please. I'd never do anything like that intentionally." They'd reached their room then, and Draco stopped outside the door without opening it.

"I didn't want to talk about this now. Not tonight." He paused, sighing and rubbing his temples as if he had a headache festering there. "But I don't think I can bring myself to sleep beside someone who kept a secret like this between those sheets." He kissed her cheek then, chaste and light, and started down the hallway.

"Where are you going?" Hermione asked, her voice choking in her throat.

"There are over seven hundred rooms in this manor," he said, stopping briefly to finish speaking. "I think I can find somewhere to stay the night."

XXX

a/n: I honestly don't understand my sudden urge to write so much! But there it is, twelfth chapter, and I still need a beta. Please help me out hereeee!