Chapter 21

"Is it meant to take this long?" asked Ginny as she sat in the stands with her housemates. Hermione thought she had a point.

She was a very, very long way from being bored but it did seem as though a long while had passed since the champions had been sent into the maze.

"It is going to take as long as it takes," Seamus Finnegan responded.

"Do you think he is alright in there?" Hermione asked Draco.

"I think if he was not, then he would have sent up red sparks and we would know."

At the end of the day all they could do was wait, even if it seemed hard to do.

If it had been a normal school year, Draco was pretty sure he would still be outside on that night. And if it was a normal school year, then Hermione and he might be down at the lake together, doing what normal fourth years did. They would have fun as they feel deeper for one another before their fifth year when things would get really serious as there OWLS approached.

As he looked about him, though, he knew it was not a normal school year. That was only too clear. But he could still hear his father's voice in his ear, telling him not to be so serious. As much as he was worried for Harry, there was a carnival atmosphere about him. If there was going to be a war then at the very least they should have some fun first.

And so he tried very hard to get into the spirit of the whole thing. He listened to the crowd and he tried to relax – which was quite difficult to do, but he would give a good show of it.

"He is going to be fine," he said to Hermione as he grabbed her hand. She could only hope that he was right.

Yet as the first hour passed, she remained unhappy.

XXX

Jane had been in the parlour trying to decide what food they needed in for the coming week when Lucius walked in. He was in black attire that she had not seen since the days of first war – and even then she had only seen it in the news papers.

His face was set.

"What is it?" she asked even though she could take a pretty good guess.

The tension in the room answered for him.

"I have been summoned, my dear, it is time. He is back."

'Who is he?,' she wanted to say and in her mind she heard him say 'Draco' and that they were all safe together.

But it was not to be and she knew it. This was instead, the moment the two of them had been training and waiting for all year.

He stood before and she saw not the man who she had lived with for all these years. Now did she see the brother he had been to her in the past? But she did see a soldier. And he was going to war.

She wished it did not have to be this way.

"I do not suppose you can tell me what time you are going to be back?" she asked as she stood.

"I cannot."

All he knew was he had been to get to the graveyard. His mark burned even then.

Moving towards her he put a kiss on her forehead.

She had done all that training so that she was not going to be left feeling helpless. She did not want to be left not knowing what was going on. It was not as if they had not been getting ready for this day long enough. But...

Anyone with half a brain would have said something inspired. But not her, so instead as ever, she said what she meant.

"Be safe."

He nodded as he brushed a piece of her hair out of her face and then kissed her forehead for a second time in as many minutes, savouring the last moment of peace he knew he was going to get for a very long time.

"I'll wait up."

"Thank you."

XXX

At first, when Draco saw Harry come back with the cup in his hands he was elated. He felt as if it was the end of something and not a beginning. All year long he had been waiting to find out if his best friend was going to have the strength to survive what he had been enter into by someone else.

Not only had he come through it, but he had managed to win it – it was beyond their wildest dreams.

At his side, he was aware that Ron was jumping up and down and was beside himself with joy as well – but, as ever, Hermione was more observant than the two of them were.

"Look," she said and Draco could only watch as she became panic stricken.

And then he did. And then he saw.

Harry was in tears. He had a dead body by him. Cedric Diggory.

"We have to get down to them," said Hermione as she instantly moved to be by the side of her best friend.

It was not long until Draco and Ron were on her heels and they rushed off to get to their clearly distraught friend. But they were stopped by Hagrid, who was already acting on the orders of Dumbledore it seemed.

"It is far better to let him go off wiv the prof'ssore now," the giant told them, through a think throat.

"But he is going to need his friends with him!" Hermione protested.

"He is going to need to be with people who can calm him down!"

"His friends!" Draco protested.

"No, he is going to need to be with people who can –"

"Help him – we want to do that, please Hagrid!"

Around them, all had turned to chaos and they could hear the screams of joy had been replaced by howls of grief.

It did not take a lot of time for anything to make it about Hogwarts student population and the death of one of its start students was not going to be an exception. Not when his body was before them all.

All year the profile of Cedric Diggory and had grown and grown. He was by far one of the most popular students of his day and he was going to be remembered. But he was so young. Cedric should not have to be remembered. Not at all.

And when Draco remembered it had been Harry who they had all said was not going to survive the year... He was the one who did not have the skills. He was the one who was too young. He was the fourth year.

The seventh year Hufflepuff who had the world at his feet – he was the one who should have brought honour on the school. He had a girlfriend. And he had good grades. And he had a whole life ahead of him.

Only he did not any more.

It was not long until the whole of the school was being ushered back up to the school. In places the students were sobbing, others had fallen silent.

No one was saying much in the way of an explanation to why this had happened.

But Harry had cried 'He's back,' and was enough to put the fear of god into many students.

And it did to Draco too. He had to be back. Which meant he had no idea where his dad was or if he was safe.

The fact that he had seen Severus just five minutes before he was in the castle did not comfort or discomfort him (any further). If he was at Hogwarts then maybe it meant his father was safe at home. Or it could mean his father was in danger – and even more so for being alone.

His mind raced with the possibilities of what was going on with his family. He debated whether to owl his father when he got back to the common room. However, Hercules was in the owlery and he did not think he was going to be able to get back that night. And he was not even meant to send him anymore, was he?

Maybe he should go to Severus – if he had time and his uncle was free, which he did not think there was much chance of.

And if Hermione ever let go of his hand.

"Will you come back to the Gryffindor common room?" she said to him. It was quite clear that she was on edge - they all were.

He nodded.

He did not want leave her as much as she did not want him to go. Until they could go to Harry's side, the two of them and Ron should be together.

As soon as they got back to the common room, there was just silence. A few of the first years who were clearly spooked by the whole thing were crying and more than a few of the elder students had moist eyes as well.

This was so wrong. There was not a single student in the room who dared to say that by rights this should be their night to celebrate. After all, not only had their school champions won the triwizard cup but it had been won by a student from their house.

But there was just the deafening silence.

Ron and Draco sat by the window. A third chair by the side of them was unoccupied as Hermione was not able to sit down – she felt too agitated. If she had the room then she would pace to try to keep her mind from racing but as it was there was no room. Just lots of worried students waiting for news of what had gone on.

And so she positioned herself by the window, looking out to the maze where they had all been not so long ago, she took deep breathes. She had to go to the side of her friend, but she knew she was going nowhere until the professors came for them. It was all so frustrating.

Draco had to smirk when he remembered he had been the once to think they should get to the atmosphere of the whole thing.

How naive had he been? What a fool... He was the one who knew the most. And he was the one who was trying to deny the most apparently.

He wished he was with his father or his uncle or Jane or...

He was like every other student in the room, at a guess. All he really wanted to know was what on earth was going on.

Reaching out for Hermione's hand he was relieved when she let him hold on to it, perhaps needing the comfort as much as he did. But she did not turn to look at him. She got the feeling that would be too much.

XXX

Lucius held his breathe. Lucius said nothing. Lucius was subservient. Lucius had seen the boy his son considered to be one of his greatest friends get away. Lucius watched as another's mans son died. Lucius wore a mask. Lucius didn't scream, even when under the effects of Crucio.

Lucius remembered. Lucius accepted. Lucius said the right things. This was his life.

And it was for the love of his son he was doing this.

Do it for dragon. Do it for dragon. Do it for dragon...

XXX

"Weasley, Granger – ah, Malfoy, I was hoping you were going to be here too. You had better come with me," said Professor McGonagall. She would not normally agree with a boy from another house being in her common room but there were certain times when house divisions should be over looked.

"Professor, what is going on?" asked Hermione as she followed the teacher out of the portrait hole.

McGonagall waited until they had walked down the corridor a little before turning to them.

"Well, I suppose the three of you are going to have to find out some time and sooner rather than later. You Know Who has returned."

Draco felt his stomach dropped. He had known it. They had all known it. But hope was a powerful force. And until it was proved wrong, it could survive the darkest night.

Which this was so far turning out to be.

God, please let dad be ok...

He knew his thoughts should be with the family of Cedric Diggory but he could not turn them from his own until he had known they had all got through the night unscathed. Was this what his life was going to be from now on? For ever wondering if his father was going to make it through the night alive?

"Oh god," the soft voice of Hermione brought him back to the future and he felt her hand go back to find his. It did seem as if to cling to one another was their best chance of being strong that night, as they had to be for Harry. She looked shattered and it had not even begun yet. Not really.

He saw her other hand reach for Ron's. This was moment of grief for all of them.

"Who is with Harry at the moment?" asked Ron through a thick throat. None of them wished to imagine what their best friend had been through that night but none of them could stop their thoughts straying.

"Your mother is still here," the professor said to her student. "And I just brought an apparently innocent Sirius Black up from the ground."

Draco was not sure why he found that comforting when he had only met the man a handful of times but he did. He was glad his cousin was here for his godson.

"Good," Draco nodded numbly.

"Let's get the three of you to the hospital wing. It is not going to be long until Harry is brought there now."

When they got there, they found Molly Weasley waiting for them and it did not surprise Draco in the least that the first thing she did when she saw the three of them was to throw his arms about her son.

She looked as if she had seen a ghost – and she was yet to see Sirius. The twins were with their mother as was Bill, apparently having found her in the crowd on the way up to the castle.

Draco had not even registered the twins were not in the common room.

As Hermione received Molly's attention next, Draco scratched his head, as nervous as they all were. It had been such a long day... it was written all over their faces.

The red headed women finally turned her attention to him. Whether it was the emotion of the day which spurred her to hug him, he did not know but he was very grateful that she did. After all that had gone on between their two families, it was more than he had been expecting.

He hugged her back. It was so rare he got to be hugged by an actual mother he thought, not that he would swap his Jane for anyone in the world. But to be held by a woman who had given birth was somehow different in his mind and he was not sure why it seemed to be so tonight.

There was no small chat between them as they sat down though Draco noted the red haired mother kept on looking at her sons as if she was scared one of them was going to be taken away from her at any moment.

While the five Weasleys were huddle together, Hermione came to sit by Draco.

"It does not feel as if this is real," she said to him as she shook her head. "It feels if there are others versions of us going around celebrating Harry's triumph knowing everything is going to be ok."

Reaching out he put a hand on her back but said nothing. There was nothing he could say or do to make this better for her. There was nothing anyone could do to make this better for anyone.

It was not, in fact, too long until Harry came in the end, though he seemed to take forever to arrive at the time. When he did come through the door to the hospital wing, he was pale and looked as if he had been too hell and back that night.

Which, of course, he had.

As had his godfather, who was by his side, in dog form.

Draco did not raise a smile to Sirius when he saw him as he normally would. There was nothing to smile about in their greeting and Draco was not even sure that Sirius saw him as it was. The one focus of his would was his godson.

"Come on, Harry, let's get you laying down," said Molly Weasley once that she had released the boy from a bear hug.

Draco did not think he had even released that Dumbledore had come into the room with them until his headmaster begun to speak to them all.

"Harry has been through a terrible ordeal tonight. He has just had to relive it for me. What he needs now is sleep, and peace, and quiet. If he would like you all to stay then that is fine, but I do not want you questioning him this night. Nor until he is ready."

Well, Draco did not think there was a single person in the room was going to protest against that. His friend had been through enough as it was.

After he had reiterated the fact that Harry was there to rest and to do nothing else, Dumbledore also made it very clear to Madam Pompfrey that the big black dog who had come through the door with Harry was going to be staying exactly where he was. There were to be no arguments over that.

They were all going to stay with him that night and keep a vigil. No matter what Harry had gone through that night already, he was not going to go through anything else. The friends who loved him as a family would were not going to allow that.

Molly, the twins, their younger and elder brother as well as Hermione and Draco took up their seats quickly. Sirius chose a place on the floor between his godson and his cousin though it was very clear as to who he was focused on. Never the less, while he continued to hold on to Hermione for his own comfort, Draco also reached out to stroke the dog.

Silence took the room. The only thing that was heard was Madam Pompfrey going about her business and the occasional sniff. The dreamless sleep potion that the young hero on the bed had taken clearly worked as he did not so much as stir for hours.

XX

As eager as he had been to get back to Jane for he did not want to have her fall sick again, Lucius knew that as soon as he had left the Dark Lord, the one he had to go to was the headmaster. Dumbledore was going to want to know everything.

And so, Lucius went to Hogwarts as soon as he could. Transfiguring his clothes as he stood on the boundaries of the school where he had apparated too, he was soon on the way up the drive.

And he ached. Lord, how he ached all over. He had softened during the years that the Dark Lord had been inactive. He did not think he had known just how much until that night had come.

As soon as he got there, the headmaster cleared his office so the two of them were going to be able to talk. And once he had told his story, Dumbledore nodded. For the old headmaster it had been a night full of tales.

"I am grateful for you Lucius."

"You need not be. It is not for you I am doing this," he said as he thought of those he counted as beloved to his heart.

"Naturally. You know this is the last time you are going to be able to report to me here. You cannot be seen here too often now, Lucius."

"Yes, I know that."

"The Order of the Phoenix is about to open head quarters once more. As soon as we do I will let you know. It will be before term ends though. And it shall be a safe house."

The Slytherin did not need to ask why he was being told this.

"And that is where you suggest my son spends the summer?"

"Yes."

Lucius nodded. If it was where it was safest for his son then so be it.

"I shall tell Miss Greenwood she must to be ready to move in as well then," Lucius mused. Jane must stay with her charge, as she ever had. That he did insist on. "Can I see him?" Lucius asked with pleading, exhausted eyes. "Please professor, fetch my son. I must see him."

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