Draco felt a surge of hatred as he clutched the letter in his hand.
Rose may not be his daughter by birth, but he'd come to think of her as almost an adopted daughter, or well, his daughter-in-law, and he cared for her. He didn't care to see tears staining a letter sent to him and Astoria.
Not again, was all he could think. Scorpius was hurt again. Damn that Ophiuchus. Damn Lucius for having an affair in the first place to create such a devil.
Astoria's hand rested lightly on Draco's shoulder. Even though Draco could barely feel his wife's delicate hand, its presence alone comforted him. They may not have an openly affectionate relationship, but they loved and cared for each other.
"Are you ready to go?" asked Astoria. Draco looked up to see she'd already changed out of her nightgown and had donned a cloak.
Draco nodded. This wasn't how he wanted to see his son for Christmas. Scorpius, Rose, and his granddaughters were supposed to come over for dinner. He wasn't supposed to spend it next to his son's hospital bed.
Draco nodded and stood up from the chair. Astoria slipped her hand into her husband's. Draco squeezed it.
They apparated at the edge of the wards, on their way to see their son lying prostrate, unconscious, with his wife watching over him like a miserable guardian angel.
"Come on, Daddy!" Mia grabbed his hand and pulled. I watched on with a smile. "You're taking too long!"
Scorpius groaned and let his daughter pull him up the hillside. I held onto Kate's hand and the picnic basket handles, following behind them. Cassie trotted contentedly in the middle, plucking stray dandelions and wildflowers as she went. She'd been ordered by her older sister to pick up every daisy she saw. Since she wasn't quite sure what a daisy was compared to every other flower and weed, she'd picked up quite a few dandelions and tall pieces of grass.
"Mummy," Kate gazed up at me with big, blue eyes underneath her red fringe. "Are we there yet?"
I almost wanted to laugh. Apparently Kate was like me in more ways than just appearance: Dad had told me stories of my impatience as a child. It hadn't gone away in me as I got older; it was doubtful it'd disappear in Kate.
"Almost," I grinned and ruffled her hair. "You can always ask Daddy for a piggyback if you get tired."
Kate's eyes lighted up with glee and she launched herself at Scorpius. He picked her up and spun her around in the air.
Their laughter echoed over the hillside.
Cassie sidled over to me and held up a bouquet of messy flowers. "These are for you!"
My heart warmed at the sight. "Thanks, Cass." I took the flowers and inhaled. Confusing aromas of dandelions, wildflowers, and grass hit my nostrils. They were an array of blue, yellow, purple, white, and – was that poison ivy?
They eventually reached the top. Scorpius rolled out the blanket and I set out the food.
It was so peaceful. So relaxing, calming, heavenly, really. Just the five of us, lounging out in the sun – a rarity for England – and being together.
Scorpius pulled me over into his arms and kissed me lightly, rubbing my stomach. "It'll be more hectic with this one around, soon."
Rose woke with a start. She whipped her head to the doorway and saw what had awoken her: Draco had hit the door open, making a loud bang. Astoria was right behind him.
Rose stood up and wiped her eyes. "Hi," she said meekly.
Astoria instantly grabbed her in a hug. Like her son, Astoria was a very touchy-feely person. "Hello, Rose."
"Merry Christmas," Rose offered up weakly. Astoria cracked a small smile at the irony. She eventually let her daughter-in-law go and sat down in the chair Rose had just vacated.
"Hi, Draco," Rose hugged him, too. Rose could remember when she'd used to hug him, years earlier. He would turn stiff as a board and awkwardly pat her back. Now, he hugged back.
"How is he?" Draco asked, his voice hoarse.
Rose shook her head. "I don't know. Before I fell asleep, Healer Lottson had just taken a bit of his blood for testing. He'll be back soon with the results, he said."
Before I fell asleep. It echoed in her head. Rose waved it away. She didn't want to think about that dream. It was too happy, too peaceful. Too normal. She didn't want to imagine that it could happen, there was too much hope there if she did.
Draco nodded and went to stand behind his wife.
Rose looked at them. The little family, together. Astoria and Draco watching their unconscious son. Astoria's face was worried, constricted with pain and grief over her only son. Draco's was guarded, but the faint crease between his brows gave away his true feelings.
Rose stepped outside the room, only to run into a tall body, built quite like her father-in-law, standing beside her husband's bed.
"Sorry, excuse me," she mumbled and attempted to move around him.
"Now, now, where are you running to so fast?"
The voice gave her chills down her spine. It was high, painfully so. It sounded as if it were stuck in a permanent scream at a whisper-loud level.
Rose turned to face the man and almost fell down from shock. Long blond hair, almost white, tied back with a string in a ponytail. A pointed chin, cool gray eyes. The aristocratic expression of disgust and distaste typical of a Malfoy.
"Ophiuchus," she gasped.
"We cotton on quickly, don't we, dear?" he leered.
Rose grabbed at her wand in the pocket of her jeans but Ophiuchus's hands were faster.
"We can't have you running away, can we?"
"Who's we?" she snapped. "Can 'we' back away from my husband and leave him alone?"
Ophiuchus clicked his tongue and shook his head, giving her a pitying, mournful look. "No can do. I need to get rid of him, to get my inheritance. Draco already inherited it, so only Scorpius is in my way, now. Without him, I'll have all the Malfoy money, everything I could ever dream of having, along with my late father's wife, dear brother Draco's wife, you, and your daughters." He crooned and his hand lifted to trace the contour of Rose's jaw.
This time, she couldn't prevent the shiver. The fear was starting to creep into her. It took root in her stomach and flourished, growing to her feet and keeping them firmly planted. Rose didn't think she'd be able to run if she had the chance. The idea of this man taking her children…adrenaline flooded into her veins, spurred on by hatred, disgust, and protectiveness.
"So that's why you hurt him. You meant to kill him."
Ophiuchus grinned sinisterly. "Oh, I didn't just mean to. I will. The curse is slow-acting. It gets better, then worse. You figured out how to stop it for a little while, but he's back in here, now, isn't he? Don't worry, you can cry on my shoulder at his funeral. I'll be sure to take good care of your daughters when you go insane from your grief."
A strangled sob released itself from Rose's throat.
"Stupefy!"
A red jet of light shot out of nowhere and planted itself firmly into Ophiuchus's back. He sunk to the ground, his eyes rolling back in his head.
Rose fell back against the doorframe, drawing in as much breath as she possibly could.
A figure flew over to her. "Rose, Rose, are you okay?"
She looked up to see her dad hovering over her, his wand still trained on the now bound and unconscious Ophiuchus.
"Dad?"
"Yeah, it's me. Are you alright?"
Rose nodded and sunk into her dad's embrace. She clung onto him like he was her lifeline. Truthfully, he was. She was a daddy's little girl, through and through.
"He…He told me why…why he hurt Scorpius and what this whole mission was about. H-he wants the inheritance." Rose wiped away at the tears in her eyes. "With Lucius's will, Draco inherits, then Scorpius. It's medieval and only the males can inherit anything. I forgot about it until Ophiuchus said anything. Since we don't have any boys, Ophiuchus would inherit if Scorpius dies. He tried to kill Scorpius to get it; killing Draco wouldn't have helped since he already inherited it."
Ron grimaced. "We didn't know he'd escaped from the holding cells. But at least that clears up why he went for Scorpius and Lucius. We still don't know why he went about killing all of those muggleborns and other witches and wizards."
He hugged his daughter to him again. He'd been so close to losing her, so many times.
"Did he say anything else? We need to know. It might help us stop his accomplices." And help save Scorpius. The words went unsaid, but they both knew what each other was thinking.
"He said that the curse was slow-acting. And it would kill him." A few more tears leaked out of Rose's eyes. "He said...he said he'd hold me at the funeral."
Ron tightened his grip on his daughter.
"Rose!"
Rose's head snapped towards the sound. Healer Lottson was practically sprinting down the corridor to her.
"I found it!" he shouted, his face broken into a grin. "I know how to cure him!"
That's the happy part, at the very end there haha. Review, please!
