-1Chapter Twenty-Nine

Surprises Around Corner

Over the next few days, Draco started to think sleep was something from fairytale land. He felt drained, empty, and dead inside. Between staying at Hermione's bedside, caring for Abby and his relentless search for Justice, he found sleep hard to come by. The search for Justice, though still as fierce as it ever was, had taken a back burner to Hermione mysterious illness and his care of for Abby.

Hermione was not getting any better as the days slipped past one by one. In fact, she was getting worse and the doctors could not explain it. Hermione was no longer waking up for even short periods as she had her first couple of days in the hospital. Her breathing had become so labored that a nurse had given her a face mask that, she explained to Draco, "Will push air into her lungs so she doesn't have to labor so hard to breathe." The nurse, a different one from the first two, had called the machine a Bi-Pap Regulator and just watching it force Hermione's lungs to expand and retract had caused Draco to nearly break down.

Though Muggle doctors did not use potions, magical creams or even simple wand work, they did have other methods of detecting illness and disease. Only, Draco was starting to think the Muggle doctors were almost as clueless as the Healers at Saint Mungo's were. Instead of potions, the Muggle doctors had the nurses hang bags of different fluids to a machine near Hermione's bed, which then got injected into her body through something the nurses called IV's. These fluids kept Hermione's body from dehydrating, but because she was unable to get up to use the restroom, a nurse had come and inserted another tube to catch her urine.

On top of these horrific trials, Draco had to watch as a Clinical Technician came in every morning to take blood from Hermione's badly bruised arms. One of the CT's, a young woman who had been very nice to Draco, had taken the time to try and explain what the various blood test were all about. Draco's head had spun with all the information the CT had thrown at him. The names of the test were either too long to even think about or shortened into medical jargon that made no sense to Draco. Draco had heard such things as BMP, CMP, PT, APTT, CBC, MAG, Iron Titrates, and so many others that he had lost track.

Other times a person would come and introduce themselves as Transport Aides and would inform him that they were there to take Hermione down to such and such a floor for a variety of test. Most of these had also been shortened into initials that often made no sense to Draco and even when a nurse would explain the process of a certain type of procedure, he would become lost in the complexity of it all and soon after would forget everything he had just been told. He knew they had taken Hermione for things called X-rays, MRI's, CAT-Scans, Ultrasounds, EKG's and EEG's, but he could not say what any of these tests were supposed to tell the doctors.

Doctor Riley came by each morning to give Draco a report of what he had planned for that day, but often times, Draco was in such a dazed state that he was only able to nod his head. The doctor returned each evening to check on Hermione's progress, which never changed. He would also explain what that day's test had showed, which most times, was nothing at all. Riley encouraged Draco not to give up hope, that he was a hundred percent positive they would discover what was causing Hermione's strange illness, but that it would take time.

Draco, when he was feeling particularly low, had thoughts of removing Hermione from the hospital. However, he would come to his senses soon after and remain, faithfully at her side, wishing something would come of the next days test or that someone would pop into the room and exclaim, "Great news, we've discovered the problem!" Yet, as each day progressed and nothing of the sort happened, he became less hopeful and more discouraged.

Once a day, around noon, Harry and Ginny would come by with Abby. Harry would physically remove Draco from the hospital room and force him down into the basement where the cafeteria was. There, Harry would order something for Draco and watch with stern eyes as Draco ate every bite. After that, he would make Draco walk with him for a while. Draco knew Harry was being helpful and so did not complain after the first couple of times this happened. While Harry practically force fed Draco and walked with him, Abby and Ginny would sit with Hermione. When Harry and Draco would return, Draco would lift Abby into his arms and together they would sit there, without talking and comfort each other as they stared at Hermione's prone form.

Harry would return after seven and once again make Draco eat something, usually insisting he leave the hospital to have a bite at the small diner across the street. Harry would then return him to Hermione's side and sit with him for a spell, trying to lure Draco out of the slump he was falling into with talk about anything other than Hermione and her worsening condition. Though there were times Draco responded well, there were also times that, he would only sit and say nothing. At these times, Harry had seemed to understand that Draco needed nothing more than silent companionship. On those occasions, Harry would simply sit with Draco, offering silent comfort.

It was on Hermione's eighth day in the hospital that Doctor Riley came in with a frown on his face. Draco's heart lurched and he said, "What? What is it?"

Riley seemed to notice Draco only just then and with a hint of confusion he said, "Did you know your wife was pregnant?"

Draco's jaw must have dropped open, but he was unaware of it, though Riley was since he said, "I'll take that as a no."

"She's…" Draco could not say the words.

Riley nodded his expression compassionate. "Mrs. Granger is, as far as I can tell, almost two months pregnant."

"Are you sure?" Draco asked in stunned voice.

"Very sure," Riley assured. "One of the nurses noticed something on the monitor during Mrs. Granger's ultrasound two days ago. I ordered the test yesterday, but only just got the results back this morning. Usually, such a test takes only a couple of hours, but one of the labs machines was on the fritz yesterday and it did not get repaired until late yesterday evening."

He went on, though Draco heard only half of what he was saying. "See, the nurse, Nicole, reported her suspicions to me that day, but I felt it best to wait until I had the results before asking you about this. It is one of the questions on the admission forms, but when I reviewed this, I noticed that you had answered no. I thought it was possible you had simply not answered correctly since you were very distraught, but now I can see that you just were not aware."

"No," Draco agreed, shaking his head slightly. "I had no idea."

"Yes, well," Riley said, as he took a seat near Draco on his right. "Do you have any questions for me, now that you do know?"

Draco wanted to give the doctor a look that told him he was crazy, but did not. After all, how was he supposed to know if he had any questions; he had only just learned Hermione was pregnant and that alone had stunned his brain of any capabilities of clear thought. Nevertheless, he did think of something and asked, "Is this illness going to hurt the baby?"

"Oh, I don't think so," Riley said with some assurance. "I can't say for a hundred percent, but I truly think that what your wife has is a bacterial infection. We've been giving her antibiotics for this, but I'm afraid they aren't helping as I had hoped. I think there's something else going on; it's just a matter of discovering what that thing is and fixing it, you see?"

Draco did not see, but he held his tongue. He wanted Hermione to recover and he did not want to offend the doctor responsible for that recovery. He said, "Thank you, Doctor Riley."

Soon after that, the day started, which was just another repeat of the day before, as far as Draco was concerned. It was beginning to feel as if all his days were blending and he could no longer tell which day it was. At noon, when Harry, Ginny and Abby arrived, Harry did not have to prod Draco to go with him as usual. Harry did not mention this sudden change in Draco until they had taken seats in the cafeteria.

"What's going on?" Harry asked after they had ordered their food.

Without preamble, Draco said, "Hermione's pregnant."

Harry started and then leaned back into the booth. "Well, that's not what I expected to hear."

Draco explained briefly, what Riley had told him and then said, "What if this illness she has harms the baby, Harry?"

"Draco," Harry said with a sigh. "We can't cross that bridge until we come to it. I know you're concerned, but I think it's better if we get Hermione well first."

"I…" Draco swallowed hard and then said, "I want her to get better, Harry. This is killing me."

For some reason Harry chuckled. When Draco looked at him with a hard expression, Harry said, "I'm not laughing at you, Draco. It's sometimes hard to see you in this way. I'm not used to it and sometimes it just hits me how very different you are from the boy you were."

Draco actually found his lips lifting into a small smile as he said, "Well, I can still be that nasty little bugger if you want."

"No," Harry denied with a small shake of his head. "That's all right. I like this Draco better."

"So do I," Draco said softly.

Hermione, though she tried, was unable to tell anyone around her that she was awake and could hear everything that was happening. However, though she was aware of this, she was unable to remain awake for more than a few minutes at a time. Her weakened and sickly body wanted sleep, and despite her wishes would force her brain to shut back down into oblivion.

She felt trapped in her own body, which terrified her and comforted her at the same time. It terrified her because she wanted to get well; she had things she had to tell Draco that she had put off for far too long. She also wanted to reassure Abby that everything was going to be okay. Hermione hated being sick and if she could she would tell the damn doctors to hurry up and cure her so she could get on with living.

Her feelings of comfort came from knowing, in her logical, no nonsense way, that her body and mind were doing what it had to do in order to heal her. She may not like it, but it was her body's way of protecting her from further harm. Hermione was thrilled that she had escaped Justice when she had, or she might not have had this chance to heal.

Hermione's major worry was that since she was unable to communicate what she was feeling, the doctors would miss something and she would become worse. She wanted, more then anything to tell someone that she was not in much pain except for her rib and stomach area. In that area, the pain could almost become unbearable at times, even with the pain medicines they were pumping into her through the IV.

She also knew that Draco had to be feeling lost inside this Muggle world of medicine and she wanted to tell him that it was not very mysterious or weird. She wanted to explain that, though Muggle medicine had different methods for healing, it would, in the end, help. She could only imagine what Draco was going through, but she had an idea that he was close to losing control, and that was not good.

The worst moment of her conscious and trapped state, however, came when the doctor came in that morning and told Draco about the pregnancy. She had come awake a second before the doctor had come into the room and had remained awake, long enough to hear him tell Draco. At that point, she had wanted to sit up and scream at the doctor that what he had just said was for her to tell Draco, not him. It was her secret to reveal, not his, but Hermione had only been able to lift her right finger.

Frustration had overwhelmed her then for her body's betrayal. The surge of anger and sorrow had sent her back into the void she went to every time her brain decided it was time to rest. When she had come awake again, it was to find Ginny and Abby in the room with her, while Draco was gone.

Marking the time was easy: all Hermione had to do was wait each day for Ginny, Harry and Abby to come and she knew it was mid-day. When Harry returned in the evening, she knew it was close to eight and it was after this that she let herself fall asleep without a fight. It was only during the bright light of day that she wanted to remain awake and aware.

Now, however, it was after midnight; she knew this because the nurse had come in minutes before and asked Draco why he was still awake at such an hour. His reply had been too low for her to hear and the nurse had not said anything more. She had, instead, come close to Hermione and checked on her before retreating out of the room.

Hermione did not know why sleep was suddenly eluding her after days of fighting it off. It was not because she felt any better because she felt the same as she had since the illness had struck like a deadly plague. Something more was bothering her, but she could not say what because she did not know. She settled into herself, relaxing her mind, deciding to let her thoughts wander. Maybe if she thought of nothing, she would discover what it was that had her awake for the first time in eight, almost nine, days.

Surprisingly, her thoughts drifted, not to Draco or Abby, but to Justice. She knew there was something about Justice that she knew, that was vital, but it was as if her memories of him were blocked. She tried to see what it was but every time she got close; it was as if a curtain came down, denying her access.

Justice!

Had he maybe put a curse on her and that was the reason she was so sick? Hermione considered this for only a moment before discarding the idea. If she had been cursed, the Healer Draco had brought in would have sensed it and she would be under his care, not in a Muggle hospital. She was positive that she was not under a curse.

Something else clunked into her thoughts just then. Justice had wanted something from her and at the time, Hermione could not figure out what. Now, as she remembered the doctor telling Draco about the baby she realized that Justice, insane and out of control, wanted her baby. No, that could not be right.

Hermione's expression changed into a puzzled expression, which if witnessed would have alerted that person to the fact that Hermione was awake, just unable to communicate. As it was, no one saw her and it went unnoticed.

If Justice wanted the baby, how was he going to get it? It was not as if he could transfer the fetus into himself. How did he propose to nourish and protect it for the next nine months? Hermione knew she had to be wrong, but Justice's words continued to echo inside her head. " I I need what she has and she's…not willing to part with it as easily as I believed she would /I ." What had he meant if not the baby she carried? What else could she have that he would want from her that she was not willing to part with?

Hermione's memories of her time spent chained were scattered and hazy so she could not often be sure what was truth and what was the working of her tortured thoughts. She knew most of what she remembered was false or at least inaccurate because Justice had maliciously, though cheerfully, tortured her until her screams had stopped and she had gone limp.

However, after the onslaught of painful curses and hexes had subsided, Hermione had fallen into playing the unconscious victim which had led to Justice leaving her alone most of the time. This in turn had led to her ability to regain most of her senses, so she was positive that the memory of Justice talking to someone was a real one, which meant that he had claimed to want something from her; it was just a matter of figuring out what he wanted.

At long last, her over-worked brain was slipping away into sleep and Hermione found solace in that for the first time in over a week.

Draco was watching Hermione sleep from the cot the nurses had supplied. It was lower than the bed so he could not really see her face, but he could see her side and the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. Around midnight, a nurse Draco had met before came in to check on Hermione. Her name was Melissa and Draco found her likable enough.

Seeing that Draco was awake, she whispered loudly, "Why aren't you sleeping, Mr. Granger? You need your rest as well, you know. I don't want to have to treat you and your wife; that would be terrible."

Draco lifted a shoulder and said, "Just thinking. I'm sure I'll nod off soon enough." He faked a yawn and she smiled, satisfied.

When she was gone, Draco returned his attention to Hermione. He wished that she would give some sign of true life other than breathing. It was torturing him, that he could not help her. It was almost like having little knives shredding his insides. His constant vigil at her bedside was all he could do and that did not seem enough to him. He wanted to do more, he wanted her to wake, and he wanted to kill Justice for causing this to happen.

Draco had always known that Justice was insane. However, he now knew that Justice's mind twisted in ways that went beyond the insane, but a small part of Draco had felt sorry for the man. Something terrifically horrible must have caused the man to lose his mind, which was the reason, Draco believed, that Justice did what he did. It was also the reason Draco had not despised Justice though he wanted him gone from his, Hermione's and Abby's life.

Now, however, he was sure Justice had been born insane and that his mind had continued to warp with age. Now Draco felt nothing for Justice other than pure loathing and death, Draco felt, was almost too easy. Even so, he wished for this very thing daily and his whole heart. Justice had better hope that Draco was not the one to corner him because it would be him, not Draco, begging for mercy.

Draco's lips were plastered in a grim smile, but it lifted into something softer when he recalled what Riley had told him that morning. Hermione was going to have a baby, their baby! The thought thrilled him, terrified him, and angered him at once. He was overjoyed that she was pregnant since he planned on marrying her even if he had to have a Muggle shotgun wedding.

Of course, he would have to learn what that entailed, but he was sure it something to do with holding the bride or groom as hostage with a gun until they were married. He would just use his wand instead of one of those oddly shaped Muggle devices that shot bullets at terrifying speeds. He also knew, from research, that the guns caused a great deal of damage so he would stick to what he knew and that was his wand. Having more children with Hermione had always been his plan, however, so shotgun wedding or not, the thought of another little Abby on the way was exhilarating.

His terror over the news Riley had given him was two-fold. He was horrified at the idea that he might not make a good father. What if he was terrible at it and his children, Abby and the one on the way, winded up hating him? It was a deflating thought and one he did not want to dwell on for very long, so he let it go for now. He was also terrified that something would harm the baby since Hermione was so ill. What if Hermione's sickness caused her body to reject the infant? He did not want to think about that possibility either; it was simply too horrific to consider.

Anger was nothing to new to him, but he was trying to keep that emotion at bay. He was angry because no matter how he played it out inside his head, he knew that Hermione must have known before her kidnapping that she was pregnant. Had she planned to keep this child from him just as she had Abby? He did not like to think so, but he could not make himself stop thinking this way. He wanted to believe that Hermione had not yet gotten around to telling him and would have if Justice had not taken her.

He wanted to think this, but he had doubts. There were times, however, that he thought that his doubts were silly and unfounded. After all, Hermione could have been trying to work up a way to tell him and that was why she had not said anything. There was also the fact that she had to have known that this time it was going to be impossible to keep a pregnancy from him. She had plans to live in her parents home, plans to allow Abby to attend Hogwarts in another year. With that in plan, she had to have known he would learn of the baby, eventually.

Draco's thoughts were slowing down and his mind grew sleepier. His eyes were starting to close when Hermione suddenly sat up in the bed and said, "No, it can't be."

Draco jumped up from the cot and was half way to Hermione when she flopped back down and was once again asleep. This did not stop him from rushing over to her and saying, "Hermione?"

She did not open her eyes or react in any other way. Draco hesitated for only a moment more before going out to get one of the nurses. She had moved and that, as far as he was concerned, was a good sign.

"So, what you're saying," Harry said quietly so not to wake Hermione. "Is that she jerked upright in bed muttered that something wasn't right and then fell back out?"

Draco sighed. "I never took you for being dense, Harry; please don't start getting thick on me now."

Harry shook his head once and said, "I just want to understand what she said, Draco. It might mean something important."

"Even if it is," Draco replied, shoveling a mouthful of blueberry pie into his mouth, chewing and swallowing before going on, "It's not as if we can deduce much from what she did say, can we? She said and I quote, 'No, it can't be.' What can we possibly gain from that?"

"You're right," Harry agreed with a small sigh. "There's nothing in that sentence that can be useful. Damn, I wish they'd discover what's wrong with her. I want to catch Justice and…"

Harry cleared his throat and said, "Er, what I want to do is better left unsaid. Of course, I also want Hermione to get well for other reasons; she is my best friend."

Draco interrupted, "I know what you mean." He pushed the empty pie plate away. "I want her back with us as well for reasons that have nothing to do with Justice, but it would be nice to learn who he is."

"That is, of course, if Hermione has anything to tell us," Harry pointed out sagely.

"Well, I think she does," Draco replied. "She had to see the man after spending over two days in his, er, company, to put it lightly. Don't you think so as well?"

"I do," Harry said with a short nod. "But I also know that Justice is shrewdly clever. He might not have removed his hood in order for Hermione to see his face. He never removed it when he had Abby."

"You're right," Draco agreed. "Abigail seems to think he's disfigured in some way and that's why he keeps his face hidden."

"She may be right," Harry speculated. "But then again, it could only mean that he doesn't want anyone to know his face."

"There can be any number of reasons why he hides his face," Draco said. He waved a hand at the waitress so that she would bring him the check. "We won't know anything more until Hermione wakes, so there's really no reason to think on it, is there?"

"I suppose," Harry said as the waitress swept by and handed Draco the check. "I just don't know. I mean, at least with Voldemort, I knew who he was and what he looked like. Justice poses a completely different threat. We know next to nothing about him."

The two men paid for their meal and walked out of the small cafeteria. Draco said, "We know he's insane, cruel, smart and dangerous."

"That's not much if you think about it," Harry retorted. "What we don't know is what we need to know."

"Yeah, that I can agree with," Draco said as he punched the elevator's up button. "Well, we know his real name is not Justice. It can't be or else we would have discovered something more by now, don't you think?"

"Oh, definitely," Harry nodded his head. "That's something we need to know. Actually, if we had his real name, we could probably figure out the rest of it without to much more digging."

"What I don't understand is why Justice seems to believe Hermione stole his life," Draco said. They entered the elevator when the doors slid open and Draco hit the number four button. "He's seriously twisted. A person can't steal someone's life and Hermione would never do so even if it were possible."

"No, she wouldn't," Harry said agreeably. "But what does he mean by saying that she stole his life. Does he mean that she did something that prevented him from living, as he wanted or something else? To be honest, I don't know what else he could mean by it."

"The only thing that has come to me is that Justice is an ex-Death Eater and wants revenge on Hermione for her part in Voldemort's defeat," Draco said musingly. "But even that's a stretch if you consider that the truth of the matter is it was you that brought Voldemort down, not Hermione. In the end, Hermione and anyone else that fought along side of you had very little to do with any of it."

"Well, everyone deserves credit because without their support, I would have lost," Harry replied modestly. "I didn't fight the war all by myself. However, I understand what you're saying. I'm the one who ended it by offing Voldemort so it would stand to reason that it would be me Justice would want revenge on, but since that's not the case, there's a piece of the puzzle we're missing."

"Hell, we're more than missing it, someone's gone and Obliviated it," Draco commented dryly. He then said, "Logic is what leads us to believe everything we've just said, but I don't think logic plays a role in Justice's head. For some reason he thinks of you as a friend and has targeted Hermione as the enemy. "

Harry and Draco paused outside of Hermione's room, neither one wanted to continue the conversation inside the room because Abby was in there. Harry said, "Yeah, that's something else that doesn't fit into the Death Eater seeking revenge theory. Any Death Eater, even one who has gone crazy and has decided that Hermione is the greater threat, would not think of me as a friend to his cause."

"Nothing about any of this had made much sense from the start," Draco replied. "He took Abigail because he claims she belonged to him. Before I was certain she was more daughter, I thought it was a possibility that Justice was her father, but that idea lasted only a couple of days since it became glaringly obvious that Abigail was mine."

Harry grinned. "Glaringly obvious, huh?"

"Shut up, Harry," Draco said though without any real heat. "After our return home and we all received those letters, it was apparent that Hermione was the real target, though Abigail was still a part of it all. So then, I started thinking of known escaped Death Eaters, even if the final thought there is that it should be you, not Hermione as the potential victim. But, as we've just said, even this theory doesn't hold much water. I'm at a loss."

"Me too," Harry said helplessly. "In the end, we'll have to hope that Hermione knows who Justice is."

"Yeah," Draco replied softly. "That's the hope."

It was not until three days later that Riley came into the room looking positively cheerful. Draco sat up straighter as did Harry, Ginny and Abby when they spotted the look of pleasure on the doctors face. He said, quite cheerfully, "I have wonderful news."

Harry impatiently asked, "What?"

"I was reviewing the X-ray films with the Radiologist and we spotted something that the previous doctor missed," Riley stated, still with a silly grin on his face.

"What do you mean something that was missed?" Ginny demanded.

"Well, the doctor who first looked over Mrs. Grangers X-rays is fairly new and he…" The doctor trailed off and said, "It's not an excuse so I will just tell you what we discovered."

"Then do so," Draco grumbled.

"Doctor Stryker and I were going over the films, as I've said," Riley said, clearing his throat. "We noticed a black area around your wife's lungs, Mr. Granger, as well as a broken rib. Upon closer inspection, we saw that the broken rib had turned back into her lung, causing a small hole there."

"This is what's causing her illness?" Draco asked skeptically.

"Oh no," Riley said with a swift shake of his head. "No, that's the reason for her breathing difficulties. I have called in a specialist who will be here shortly. When she arrives, we will be taking Mrs. Granger down to the operating room so that we can repair her lung and fix the rib back into the correct angle."

Draco was close to snarling but he managed to keep his tone even when he asked, "If the damage to her lung and rib is not the cause of her illness, what is, or are you still undecided about that?"

Riley's smile returned and he said, "That's the rest of the great news I have. The results of the bacterial blood work I ordered came in this morning. Your wife contracted a rare infection that is the result of coming into close contact with less than hygienic animals, such as rats."

"Rats?" Draco repeated stupidly.

"Yes, rats," Riley, agreed. "I can only assume that wherever she was, there were rats nearby or something just as nasty."

"Why is that the Hea-?"

Harry quickly overrode what Draco was going to say by asking, "So what do you have to do now that you know what is causing Hermione to be so ill?"

"Oh, it's simple enough to cure," Riley assured them all. "Like I said, she'll have surgery this morning to correct the rib and repair the lung. Doctor Rachael Hicks is an excellent surgeon so there will be nothing to worry about there. When Doctor Hicks has accomplished that much, we'll bring Mrs. Granger back here at which point we'll start her on a cocktail of antibiotics that will have her up and about in no time at all."

Draco was about to say something more, but Riley smiled at him and said, "Not to worry, Mr. Malfoy, the drugs will not harm the-"

This time Draco stopped the doctor from completing his thought a loud. "I understand that much, Doctor Riley. I was merely going to ask how long the medicine would need before we started seeing results."

"Ah," Riley said, looking slightly puzzled over Draco's hasty interruption. "At least a day."

"That quickly," Ginny asked in surprise.

"Yes, miss, that quickly," Riley, said.

He left soon after this and it was after he was gone that Draco asked Ginny to take Abby down for a light snack. She understood that he wanted to talk with Harry without Abby around to hear the conversation, so agreed, but said as she left, "I'll want a report later, Harry dear."

He grinned, blew her a kiss and said, "I knew you would."

When Ginny and Abby were gone Draco said, "Why couldn't a Healer sense a broken rib, a damaged lung and a simple infection?"

"Because Justice knew Hermione was ill, knew it, and wanted her to die from it," Harry replied grimly. "He couldn't finish her off himself because we found his hidey-hole so he decided to make it impossible for a Healer to cure her. He used some sort of blocking spell."

"He never thought we would take her to a Muggle facility so did not think his plan was in danger of failing," Draco added, catching on to what Harry was saying.

"Right," Harry said. "I don't think he considered Muggle doctors at all, which tells me that he's more ignorant of the Muggle world than most wizards and witches."

"How is that…?" Draco started to ask how that was possible but stopped. "Never mind. My mother has only basic knowledge of Muggles so I can see how some wizards or witches might be completely clueless."

Harry had nothing to say about Mrs. Malfoy's ignorance; instead he said, "Whatever else we can deduce from what we know, will have to wait until Hermione comes around, which we now know, won't be very much longer."

Draco smiled and there was a mingling of relief and joy in that one small gesture. "Yes, she's gong to be okay."

"No!" Justice cried in denial. "You're lying."

The woman smiled evilly as she said, "I'm not. She's going to be fine. She's starting to wake up, though she's still weak and has trouble talking."

"This is your fault," Justice accused. "You let them question the hag, that filthy good for nothing hag. If you had stopped them, if you had-"

"I warned you," the woman retorted without remorse. "I told you that they had captured her but you said there was nothing to worry about."

"What good are you?" Justice snapped. "You and your claims that this is my destiny, what good are you to me? You've done nothing to help me achieve this destiny. You sit back, idly, as I do all the work. You are useless."

The woman seemed unperturbed by Justice's anger. She said, "There's nothing you can say that will bother me. It's not as if you can get rid of me. You need me-"

She was flung backwards into a stack of old furniture piled into a corner. Justice walked over the unconscious woman and looked down with a smile. A creepy expression of pleasure was there, under the hood. "I need no one, least of all you."

Justice kicked the woman's body and walked away. Plans did not invent themselves.

A/N: Twists, turns and surprises. Okay, it's not as dramatic as all that but I loved this chapter. Many of you may not agree but what can I do about that? Nothing! Revelations coming soon.