I Am

Chapter 22: Something Wicked This Way Comes

((-))

Draco stared down at the note in his hand and read it again.

Don't let your past come back to haunt you. Instead prepare for your future.

That was it; just those two little cryptic sentences in an undeterminable handwriting. He had no idea who sent the letter. The owl used to deliver it had been entirely mundane and looked as though it had come from some local aviary. If it was intended to be a threat, it wasn't a very good one. However it did make him consider a great deal of his past transgressions.

Either option formed a knot in his stomach.

((-))

"Mother, this seems a little much, don't you think?" Kira mindlessly twirled a lock of her hair between her fingers. Her thoughts were roiling with the desire to strangle her mother. It seemed as though her mother's foray into insanity knew no bounds.

Her mother actually snarled at her when she snapped her head up from the letters she was putting together. "If you think it's a little much then maybe you should just leave."

Kira put on her best "dumb" look and said with saccharine sweetness, "Why, Mother, whatever would I do with myself?"

Helena sneered at her oldest daughter wondering how she'd come out so stupid. Kira had always been simple minded and Darren, the arrogant fool, had chosen to take his intelligence and abandon her. Well, she would show him.

Narcissa Malfoy would pay for keeping her grandson away from her. The McDowell line should never have been tainted by that blood. Honestly, what had Veronica been thinking when she bedded that sordid little boy? She hadn't been thinking. Ah, why was she cursed with imbecilic children!

Folding up the letters she was sending to Mary Ann, she sealed them with both wax and magic and handed them to Kira. "Make yourself useful Kira, see these delivered to Missus Aberforth at the ministry."

Nodding absently Kira accepted the pack and flounced out the door. Once the door clicked shut behind her she bolted down the hallway to Darren's office.

Without even bothering to knock she slipped through the door. Darren wasn't there. Not that it mattered, but she wanted to lock up the copies she was about to make in his own personal safe. There, with the rest of its brethren it would wait until the day her mother actually decided to make her plans come to fruition.

After a careful scan of the letters to see just which spells her mother had placed on the parchment, she proceeded to negate and unroll the parchments.

This particular letter was worse than the first she's seen. Written directly from Lucius to her own father, it was particularly incriminating and damning on Lucius' part. However, it didn't do much credit to her own family. But Mary Ann would doctor it and feed only what was necessary to the departments these would need to be shown to.

"...I have taken care of the traitor, you need not worry. You may tell our Lord that Tanar is destroyed. I sent him to the Tamarine Isle. The man eating mares have taken great care of the little bastard. I did rather enjoy watching them eat him piece by piece. There will be no more reports to the Ministry, and maybe now we may actually be able to out run the Order. It is time for you to uphold your end of the bargain. Silence his wife. She may not know anything but I, personally, am not willing to take that risk. I am quite sure our Lord is in perfect agreement.

Kill her, and leave nothing behind for the Ministry or the Order to find..."

The ease with which they spoke of destroying lives sickened her. She made her copies quickly before rolling the originals back up and carefully replacing both the wax and magical seals. Wishing there was more she could do than this, she carefully held her wand to the painting she had had made for Darren some years ago. The image of both she and Darren rippled like a stone dropped in a pond before disappearing all together. The panel behind the painting made her want to turn and walk away, but it was only a compulsion spell and she and Darren were the only two keyed into the magical warding that would open the safe. The ring on her right hand glowed softly as she held her hand steadily over the panel. After a second the panel slid to the side to reveal the compartment that held all of her family's dirty little secrets.

Years of correspondences from her father to other Death Eaters, letters proving her father's bribery and, horribly enough, infidelity were all arranged in neat little rows by order of importance. She placed the copy she was holding with the rest of the incriminating letters her mother was sending to Mary Ann Aberforth. She then pulled a sealed envelope out of her robes and placed it beside the other letters.

When her mother and Mary Ann did finally decide to make their move, Mary Ann would be going down just as surely as anyone else.

((-))

Darren was headed back to his office when he watched his sister's owl fly off from the family aviary. Things were coming together far better than he had expected. Whatever madness had taken his mother would not spread to the other members of his family, excepting of course, for Veronica. The bitch had made her own mess of things and it was not his responsibility to see her out of it. But their three other brothers and sister would never need to know just what sort of things their mother was getting into.

As if on cue, Julian and Luke came barreling around the corner and almost ran straight into Darren.

"Boys, what have you been told about running through the house?" Darren asked. His two youngest siblings would always have a soft spot in his heart.

Julian looked up at him and grinned. "Not to do it, but Nancy keeps trying to kill us."

Only the lifting of one eyebrow displayed Darren's surprise at the comment. "What do you mean trying ot kill you?"

Luke answered for his brother. "We snuck into her room and found the journal she keeps."

Darren nodded and bent down on one knee. "You know, women don't take too kindly to their brothers sneaking into their rooms to read their personal thoughts."

"But you and Kira know everything about everyone! We just wanted to be like you," Julian explained in a rush.

"Boys," Darren said gently, "sometimes knowing everything about everyone is a bad thing. You're barely nine and you've got a long way to go yet before you're considered adults. I wouldn't ever wish such heavy knowledge on you. Besides, I want you to stay young for a while yet."

Both Julian and Luke blinked huge blue eyes up at him. He hoped they understood what he was trying to tell them.

Darren sighed. "Just please try and stay out of trouble. And yes, that means staying out of Nancy's room."

Julian and Luke nodded solemnly. Nancy's scream of fury that followed seconds after that send them bolting down the hall. And here came yet another sibling Darren would have to placate. The normalcy of it in the midst of all the turmoil was surprisingly refreshing. Maybe things might actually work out; if, of course, he could keep his mother from dragging their family down when she went.

((-))

Mary Ann Aberforth opened the latest letter from Helena McDowell, sadistic glee lighting up her eyes as she surveyed the latest bit of incriminating evidence against the Malfoys. It was just another step towards bringing down the family that had thrown hers into such disgrace. It was high time if everyone asked her. The Malfoys had been up o their high horse for too damn long.

This particular letter was an extremely juicy tidbit, especially since it gave blatant details on just what sort of crimes Lucius Malfoy committed. Talking about sending some traitor to the Isle, honestly! Who spoke about such things in a damned letter? Then again, when you're Lucius Malfoy you expect people to fear you enough to not rifle through your mail.

For an instant fear snaked through her.

She and Helena were playing a dangerous game. When Helena had approached her at first, she had adamantly refused to participate. After all, only a fool matched wits with the Malfoys. However, Helena had been nothing but persistent, and eventually Mary Ann's hatred of the Malfoy family had won through. After all, it had been Lucius Malfoy who had dragged her late husband down with him when he convinced Alastare to join the ranks of the Death Eaters.

Still, fear almost outweighed her hatred. No one messed with the well being of the Malfoy heir. Not if they wanted to live once he found out.

But, he would never find out. Helena assured her that the arrogant little shit that called himself heir would never know about their little game of subterfuge. And if, by some inconceivable notion, he did find out...

No! That wouldn't happen. She and Helena had made sure that no one would find out. Besides, she couldn't sit there and well on her death, for that's what would most assuredly be the consequences of her actions if Draco Malfoy ever found out.

Putting those dark thoughts aside, she pushed her half-moon spectacles further up on her nose and studied the letter in front of her.

((-))

Ginny woke with a start, sitting bolt upright in bed. Cold sweat trickled down between her shoulder blades and she shivered violently. It was enough to wake Draco up.

"What's wrong, love?" He asked sleepily.

"I don't know," she whispered. He sat up beside her and put his arms around her.

"You're shaking; do you remember what the dream was about?"

Ginny knew exactly why the dream had spooked her so badly. "I was holding Antony, we were walking through your mother's green house. We were smiling, he wanted a flower. Then it got dark, so very dark, Draco." The shivering got worse and Draco pulled her closer into the warmth of his body.

"What next, love?" He encouraged her with a hand through her hair.

"Then he was gone. One minute I was holding him and the next he was gone. It was so dark and I could hear him crying." A sob escaped her suddenly tight throat. "I could hear him crying, and I couldn't find him!"

Draco's eyes immediately went to the bassinette pulled close to Ginny's side of the bed. His son was sleeping soundly on his stomach, stuffed bear clutched in one hand and blanket in the other. The wards on the school and his own private wards ensured he son wouldn't be going anywhere.

Draco stroked a hand up and down Ginny's back while she cried quietly into his shoulder. "Hush now, love. It's alright. Nothing like that is going to happen. Antony's here and he's safe. I won't let anything happen to him. You know that."

"I know," she sighed, "but it was just so horrible, Draco. I don't ever want to feel that feeling of loss again." She snuggled tighter into his embrace, but turned to stare at Antony. He was still sleeping soundly, looking for all the world like the angel she felt he was. The fear she had felt in the dream had followed her into the waking world and she wanted it gone. Her faith in Draco never faltered, but that overwhelming darkness from her dream had frightened her as nothing else had since the Chamber of Secrets.

Draco pulled back to stare in her eyes. The fear he saw in them ate at him in a way he'd never experienced. He kissed her with all the tenderness he possessed, trying to chase that look from her eyes. "Whatever it takes, Gin, I will not let him go. I asked you to be my wife and Antony's mother and you will be for the rest of your life. No one is going to take him away from us."

He pulled her back to him and he laid them both back on the bed.

He had once vowed to Antony alone that he would never let anything happen to him. And now he could only pray that his vow held true.

((End chapter!))

So, it's been 367 days since I last updated this story, lol. I checked! I updated on 1/11 last year and it's 1/13 this year! I know you all are probably ready to rip me in half and I'm so sorry it's taken me so long. (I say that a lot don't I?) This is been a hella crazy year. I moved to a new state after my café closed. Moved back to Alabama and have been going crazy trying to find a job since then! Between that and some other family issues my mind and heart just hasn't been in the fic writing mood. But I managed to pop this chappy out for you all and I'm pretty pleased with it. It's a little shorter than what I usually do, but this is all I had in me at the time. I hope you like where I left it and maybe you can see where I'm going with it, who knows! As always leave me your LOVELY REVIEWS! We live off of the affection you show us!

Ja'ne- Ami