Call Me Home

Epilogue

Lament of the Dragon

Draco sighed as he stepped into his makeshift study at The Rose, his wife's hotel and their current residence till Malfoy Manor was repaired. His chest tightened slightly, the stress of the past few days lying heavy on his heart as he settled into the soft leather seat behind his desk and glared at the pile of paperwork that had been left on there for him to peruse. Damage reports and expense accounts, he screwed up his nose at them, for he didn't need to read their finely printed words to know what the Cultist assault had cost.

When the Cult of Shadows had stormed Hogsmeade, many of the Hogwarts professors had hastened to aid in the village's defence. His daughter, Rose, had been amongst those who had stood defiant against the rampaging forces of Darkness and had been tortured before Scorpius and the Outcasts could arrive to reinforce their position. She was at Hogwarts now, shaken yet thankfully alive.

And of course, those more brawn than brains Gryffindors had snuck out of the castle to help fight the Cultists. Draco for his part truly did not want to be one to break the news to Lily that Orion had taken a cruciatus curse during the fighting. Damn the boy, he was too young and unskilled to have been fighting, damn him and damn the secret passages of Hogwarts for allowing so many of the House of Red and Gold to arrive at the fighting.

At least his grandson was still alive . . . so many other students had perished at the hands of the Shadows. James had discovered their weakness during his time rescuing Katherine, goblin made weapons could kill Shadows, but there were very few of those weapons lying around for them to use.

Scorpius and Hugo were both worse for wear, though one had been scarred physically and the others torment had been mental. Hugo was even now sitting beside Francesca's bed in the Hogwarts Hospital Wing, praying that his wife survived her grievous injuries. Scorpius on the other hand had been hit by a Sectumsempra in defence of Orion and only Edward Lupin's quick thinking had saved him.

Cassiopeia, he didn't even know by what miracle it had been that she had survived.

When Lily's patronus had reached him that the Manor was under attack and that Aurora was the only one who had come through the floo before it had been sealed, his heart had twisted as if ensnared by a writhing python. He had gone himself, despite his attaches and aides telling him that as Minister he should send others in his place. Cassie was his baby girl, even if she was in her early thirties and widowed, he would trust no other man to save her.

His heart had plummeted when he first saw her upon the ground, apparently lifeless in a room of fire, ice and blood. But beneath her frosted skin and bloodstained clothing, her heart still beat with the faintest traces of life; enough to sustain her till Draco had managed to get her to Hogwarts.

He knew what the fight had cost him . . .

Why could his children not be happy? Was this the price for his sins as a Death Eater?

And then the coup de grace, the news that Leo Albus Potter was alive, reincarnated as a sixteen year old in his son and future daughter-in-law's penthouse. It was a lot to process, a bittersweet harmony that made him want to laugh as much as it made him want to cry. A soft burning sensation flitted across abdomen and chest, indigestion plaguing him as it always did when his anxiety flared.

A wave sweat broke across his brow as he felt a creeping numbness snake across his arms, lingering offshoots of pain filling his chest as his heart clenched painfully in his chest. Draco made to stand, so as to retrieve a glass of water, but the world swam around him as he was overtaken by a wave of dizziness.

A grunt of pain escaped his lips as he dropped to his knees, his fingers overcome with spasms as they clutched at his aching chest.

The Malfoy patriarch opened his mouth to cry for help but his mouth was dry as sandpaper and his voice was like shattered shards of glass. Running footsteps fill the hallway beyond the study as he knocks over an ornate vase whilst falling onto his side. Draco stared blankly as his door was thrown open, unsure of why his wife had a look of such horror on her face.

Then he felt it and knew it for what it was, that bitter feeling of a hand clenched around his heart, tightening as to keep it from beating. He fought for breath as he twitched upon the rich carpet, clutching at his chest to try and ebb the pain caused by a slowly stilling heart.

The world spun blurrily around him as a crying face fills his vision, her more grey than chocolate curls framing her slightly crooked teeth, a vision of loveliness, an angel sent to speed him on his way. He heard her voice screaming for help and saw the spilt coffee from her cup as it rolled across the floor from where she had dropped it. The hallway is filling with the sound of rampaging footfalls, dozens of people coming to see why it is that Hermione Malfoy is screaming with such terrified anguish. It was like a distant echo, a dull pitter-patter when compared to the roaring filling his ears. He looked up at her and tried to smile, a smile that was stained and marred by his pain.

He felt the world slipping through his fingers like grains of sand, he hears her pleading for him to do something – he doesn't quite hear what it is she's pleading for – and he senses a pair of hands pumping at his straining chest.

Draco Malfoy would have laughed at the irony if he was able, because he had descended so deeply into the muggle world, was not his method of passing so true to form

A heart attack. . .

Such a muggle way to go.

-End: Book 2 – Call Me Home

-Next in the Series: Book 3 – The Ghost Prince (Too be published within the week)

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A/N: Reviews are appreciated. I would like to hear your thoughts about this arc of the Lord of Shadows Series. . .