CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT : - )
I groaned as I was woken up as the bed bounced slightly. Surely it wasn't morning already? I was having such a good dream.
"One more minute…" I mumbled into my pillow. No one answered me.
"Draco?" I reached an arm out to where he should have been, only to find his side unoccupied. My eyes snapped open, no way no how was Draco going to go wandering around this house without me when Charlie and Oliver were here.
I was halfway out of bed when I heard a low moan over by the window on the other side of the bed. Draco was leaning against the wall, sweat shining across his forehead as he panted heavily. He was clutching his dark mark.
"Draco, what's wrong?" I yelled, jumping across the bed and running to his side.
"Nothing" he said through gritted teeth before hissing in pain.
"Is it him?" he was clutching his dark mark… it had to be.
"He's angry" Draco hissed out, cringing.
"When will it stop?" Draco shook his head and bit his lip, desperate not to cry out in his pain.
"What can I do?"
"It'll…pass" his voice was hoarse as he forced the words out.
For minutes I stayed by his side, rubbing soothing circles on his back, for all the good it did, until he was hit with a wave of pain so severe that it brought him to his knees.
I hadn't even realized I was screaming until he clapped a hand over my mouth. His hand was warm, like he had been holding it in front of a fire. His face contorted in pain and he let go of me, placing his hand flat on the ground instead to support him self as he cried out in pain. My eyes widened as I looked as his forearm.
"Draco… it's…what… is that steam?" I gasped. I placed the back of my hand against it to test it only to recoil as his dark mark burnt me. Already the skin on my hand was changing color to purple from the burn.
Suddenly Draco fell completely on the ground, yelling at the top of his lungs as the pain enveloped him. I was screaming again as I tried to restrict his thrashing.
"It's 5am in the fucking morning, what the hell is goin- holy shit!" Lavender was standing in the doorway mouth agape and scantily dressed in tiny nightgown despite the chilly temperature of the house.
"Get Lupin" I ordered at once, wiping the tears from my face. When had I started crying?
"What's happening?"
"GO AND GET LUPIN" I screamed, she recoiled and left immediately in search of the werewolf, Parvati and Ginny followed her, asking what was going on as they went.
"What's happening to him?" order members were piling out of their rooms at the commotion.
I think it was Dean who said that, but I didn't answer him. I was too busy trying to pin Draco down and distract him.
"Draco I know it hurts but you have to ignore it, be strong my love, please" I was whispering over and over again. Draco eyes were rolling back into his head by now.
"WHERE IS LUPIN!" I bellowed at the crowd of order members who were all staring in shock.
"He's coming" it was Bill. He pushed through everyone and knelt beside me, assessing Draco who hadn't even noticed him.
"What's that smell?" I heard Angelina ask, there was a mumbling of agreement before those with weaker stomach's quickly backed away from the room.
"Burning flesh" Andromeda now, she raced through, concern showing despite never having had anything to do with her nephew.
She was right, Draco's dark mark wasn't just steaming anymore, it was blistering and weeping, even the snake looked like it was writhing in pain.
"Help him" I cried, looking between Bill and Andromeda. The older witch's eyes were shining with sympathy; Bill's face however was set in a stern frown as he held his wand to the wound. He muttered a healing charm; I watched hopefully but let out a small sob when it did nothing.
Draco's cries were leveling to an unbearable volume now. My screaming and sobbing certainly didn't help, not to mention the complaining and dry retching caused by the smell.
"MOVE" relief flooded me as Remus strode into the room, his wand raised as he leant besides the screaming man. Tonks followed him, dressed in a fluffy dressing gown.
"Do something, please…" I begged. Draco grabbed my arm painfully, as if for support, I whimpered as blood oozed from the burns, down his arm, dripping onto my legs.
Remus pointed the tip of his wand at the wound and muttered a healing charm. The blue light shined as it should, but the skin just kept on burning, completely unaffected. Remus tried everything… he shot water at the burn, only to watch it turn to steam. He covered the forearm in ice, only to watch it melt. He shot spell after spell after spell, but nothing worked.
"DO SOMETHING" Draco screamed, digging his nails into my arm unintentionally as more pain ripped through his arm. He was shaking and tears were streaming down his cheeks. Remus looked helplessly down at him before glancing at me.
"There's only one more thing I can try" he muttered.
I nodded, giving my approval of whatever it could be. Remus took in a deep breath and pointed his wand at Draco's chest this time.
"Stupefy" almost immediately Draco's screams ceased as he slumped over, unconscious. I gaped down at him before turning my accusing eyes to Remus.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK-"
"Stop Hermione"
"But-"
"Did you want him to be in pain?"
"Of course not-"
"It was for the best. He was in agony"
I nodded slowly, he was right, this was better for Draco and probably for me, his screams had been unbearable to listen to, but leaving his side just wasn't an option.
"His arm is still burning" I said eventually.
"I'm hoping that it will pass. Voldemort is powerful, but I don't think he can do any more than punish Draco through the mark" Remus said confidently as he examined Draco's blood covered arm. The skin where the dark mark was had turned black, but the burning wasn't stopping, in fact, it looked like it was spreading, slowly of course, but still growing wider.
"He destroyed the dark mark" I stated, staring at the burnt flesh. "Do you think it was intentional?"
"There's only one way to know for sure" Remus replied. "Bill and Andromeda wake Ted and Arthur and search every known pub, inn, shop and restaurant that we have ever seen a death eater in. Wait for them and listen to what they say… use force if you need to. I want to get to the bottom of this" he said, pointing at an unconscious Draco. The two nodded and left the room swiftly.
"What about Draco?" I asked, grabbing Remus's arm before he could leave.
"It should stop soon, I hope"
"Should we take him to St. Mungo's?"
"They can do no more then we can Hermione, we just have to be patient"
"How am I meant to be patient when his arm is burning off?" I yelled. Remus sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Nymph, take her downstairs, will you?" he asked. Tonks nodded and grabbed my arm, gently pulling me out of the room.
"He doesn't get it!" I raved, not bothering to keep my voice down.
"Of course not, he's a man" Tonks snorted. "But you just have to trust the idiot sometimes"
We reached the kitchen and she ordered me to sit down while she rummaged through the pantry.
"So, tea or fire whiskey?" she grinned, holding a bottle of amber liquid in one hand and a kettle in the other. I smiled at the woman fondly; she should have been a healer, if anything for her bedside manner. She'd already managed to calm me down.
"Both" I replied; she grinned at me before filling the kettle and placing it on the stovetop. She then rummaged in the cupboard above her for two tea cups and two normal glasses.
We both watched as Lavender and Neville shuffled into the kitchen. Neville immediately began rummaging through the pantry while Lavender filled a bucket with warm water. No body spoke a word as they both hurried out with full arms.
"You're boyfriend is causing a lot of commotion" Tonks commented, quarter filling the two glasses with fire whiskey.
"We like drama I guess" I mumbled in response. She chuckled and handed me my glass. I didn't drink it though, just swirled it around in the glass.
"Shit" she swore, running back to the kettle which was whistling, she took it off the heat and rummaged in a jar for the teabags. Finally she set down two black, sugarless teas. I assumed it was too early for her to put any effort into it.
As she set it down in front of me a sparkle on her hand made me frown.
"Tonks…" I said slowly. "What is that?" Tonks looked at the ring and blushed.
"Oh…um… well, Remus and I…" she stuttered. "Well he proposed"
"Oh my god… Tonks, why didn't you tell me?" I wanted to scream and jump up and down with her like friends usually did, but it was five-thirty in the morning and my boyfriend was upstairs with his arm cooking itself.
"I haven't really had a chance; its one thing after another is all… I thought it best to just leave it until everything settled down"
"You haven't had a chance?" I asked doubtfully.
"Well everyone else knows" She admitted guiltily. "But then you were taken and then suddenly you were fighting for your life pretty much on the doorstep, then you're in love with my dear cousin, etcetera, etcetera. Seriously, taking that mission was just a bad idea all round" Well I had to admit, it was a seriously big mistake ever agreeing to it, but I couldn't complain too much, after all, it had given me Draco... even if he brought a whole lot of drama with him.
"Well when did he propose?" I asked, steering away from Draco and me. I felt guilty, like I was getting all the attention when it was her big moment.
"Once I had recovered from the curse and by the way, I'm just saying, if you hadn't tricked me and run out on me, I bet we wouldn't have matching scars" I looked at the floor guiltily, I knew I must have made her looked like a fool.
"'Mione relax! All for love yeah, I would have done the same for that werewolf bastard upstairs" she grinned, jabbing her thumb in the direction of the roof. "Death eaters are your thing, werewolf's mine. We just like a bit of danger to our men" she held up her fire whiskey and I did the same.
"To us, for having incredibly bad taste in men" she winked.
"And for your engagement, of course" I added.
"Ah yes and for my incredibly bad judgment to agreeing to marry said man"
We both knocked back the drink. Once again I cringed and coughed. Tonks just laughed and patted my back.
"It grows on you"
"What, does your throat go numb with practice?" I scoffed, taking a sip of tea to sooth my burning throat. Tonks just grinned and poured herself another one, this time I declined her offer for more.
"So when are you planning the big day for?"
"Oh yeah, engagement means a wedding hey" she laughed. "I don't know… a year or so I guess, or whenever the hell this war ends" I fell silent at this. The war ending didn't necessarily mean a good thing. There was after all, only a fifty/fifty chance of us winning.
"I know what you're thinking you pessimist" she scolded. "And as the bride-to-be I demand that you tell me it's a good idea because we're going to hammer Voldemort into his grave"
"Oh definitely" I said in a far too cheery voice, she gave me the finger.
"Remind me to not invite you, you're cynical attitude may ruin my wedding" I gave her the finger back, knowing she was only joking… I think.
I took another sip of my tea and cringed.
"You have two arms and two legs, you don't like it then the kettle is right there"
"Not saying it's not good, just sugar wouldn't have hurt" I said politely, standing up to correct it. In response Tonks transformed her hair to look like mine and grew rabbit teeth like I used to have.
"Bitch" I mumbled, throwing a tea towel at her. She ducked it and re-transformed her hair back to a green pixie cut.
"Do you think he's ok?" I asked, after a minute of stirring the tea. She looked at me and then at the roof.
"He's fine" she assured me. "You heard Remus, Voldemort can't kill him through the dark mark, or else he would have done it a thousand times before now to every death eater that disobeyed him"
"But he's never punished anyone like this before either"
"That's not true, if I think about it, we've found a couple of traitors in the last year that have had burns on their arm, but nothing like this I suppose… and they were usually dead…"
"Thanks Tonks" I muttered sarcastically.
"Oh not from that, he hunted them down-"
"Thank you Tonks!"
"So tactful" we both snapped our heads around to see Remus come striding into the kitchen, smiling at his… well his fiancé now.
"Always" Tonks grinned at him.
"How is he?" I asked, interrupting them.
"It's stopped, just like I said it would. I haven't woken him up yet because Neville's made something to put on his arm" he said, walking over to the sink and washing some blood from his hands.
"Will it happen again?"
"How can it? Voldemort has destroyed any traces of the dark mark on him, that was his only connection to him" I sighed with relief before making my way out of the kitchen.
"Get Neville to rub that stuff on your hand as well!" Remus called after me. I waved to show I had heard before jumping the stairs two at a time and practically running into the bedroom.
Draco had been placed back into the bed; they had even covered him I was glad to see. Neville was mashing something in a mortar and pestle while Lavender dapped at the blood on Draco's arm with a cloth. She looked like she was going to be sick.
"Give it here" I ordered. She all too gladly gave me the cloth before hurriedly leaving the room, her nose and mouth buried in the crook of her arm. I wondered if she was going to vomit.
"Hey 'Mione" Neville smiled from his spot of the floor.
"How is… whatever you're making?" I asked. In the years following Hogwarts Neville's herbology skills had only grown. He knew everything about any magical plant; he knew what went well together, what magical properties each possessed and how to create remedies for all different types of things. This is what I assumed the thick paste he was creating now was for, something to sooth and help heal Draco's burns.
"Coming along nicely" he laughed. "But I'm going to need you to clean the wound"
I nodded and dipped the rag in the water, noticing that Lavender had barely touched it. I took it back over to Draco and wiped around the wound first, figuring that since he was unconscious anyway, I didn't have to be too careful. The moment I dipped the cloth back in the water it turned a dull shade of red. I kept this process up until the entire bucket seemed to have more blood than water left in it.
"Finished" I said finally, grimacing at the blackened skin and the burn that had burnt straight through the flesh on his forearm.
Neville came over and grimaced himself.
"Lupin has cast all the spells he can on it, so we'll put this on and when he wakes up he's supposed to have those potions" he said, pointing at two bottles on the dresser. "Ones for the pain, the other for the damaged flesh"
I nodded and took a scoop of the paste in my hand before smoothing it over the burns; Neville did the same, until the entire area was covered.
He then wrapped a bandage around the forearm to prevent anything interfering with the paste's healing properties.
"Ok, now I'll leave it to you to wake him up" he said, eyeing the blonde nervously.
"Thank you so much Neville" I smiled. He returned it before gathering up all of his leftover ingredients and leaving the room.
I grabbed the potions so I could be prepared for when Draco woke up.
"Ok" I muttered, grabbing my wand from the bedside table and pointing it at the gorgeous blonde.
"Enervate" almost immediately Draco gasped as he gained consciousness. I allowed him to sit up.
"Drink these, quickly" I said, shoving the potions in his hands as he started to grimace in pain which I knew would only grow.
He downed them quickly, and gave a relaxed sigh as the pain undoubtedly ebbed away.
"That motherfucker" he finally said, remembering what had happened.
"Lupin was only thinking of you" I defended, wiping a stray strand of blonde hair from his eyes.
"I'm not talking about the werewolf, I can't thank him enough for knocking me out" Draco replied. "I'm talking about the dark lord"
"Voldemort" I corrected. He shook his head with a shudder.
"I'm not quite ready to say his name yet" I sighed but nodded, it had taken Harry quite some time to convince us all to stop calling him 'You-know-who'.
I watched as he lifted his arm and examined the bandages.
"How bad is it?" he whispered, half sure if he wanted to know.
"Bad… it's burnt right through. Nothing left of the dark mark" I replied. He grimaced before giving me a small smile.
"At least now you don't have to look at it" he said optimistically.
"Looking at your crispy arm isn't much better" I grinned, leaning down and kissing him.
"It doesn't hurt now, does it?" I asked once I had pulled away. He shook his head.
"Please tell me I was a man about it in front of everyone?" he asked.
"You screamed like a bitch" I replied. Well… it wasn't that it was a womanly scream, just that he didn't stop.
"You are a bitch" he drawled back, unimpressed with my review on the situation.
"Not my fault that you're an absolute pansy"
"I'm going to kick your ass when I recover"
"You took those potions, you should feel fine?"
He opened his mouth to retort but closed it realizing he had no argument.
"It's just too early, right my love?" I said for him. He nodded quickly.
"Yeah, that" I laughed and curled up next to him on the bed.
"Please tell me that Potter and Weasley didn't see me?" he asked.
"No, they're still asleep" he sighed in relief before another thought crossed his mind.
"And what about Wood and the Weasel you slept with?" I glared at him.
"No, they didn't wake up either…surprising really, how anyone can sleep through such a high-pitched sound-"
"I was not high-pitched!" he growled.
"Only a little love" I couldn't help but giggle at the look on his face. Draco hadn't sounded feminine at all and he certainly didn't come across as weak to me, the flesh was being burnt from the man's arm for crying out loud.
"You are so nasty to me"
"I have to make up for all of those years at school" he scowled at me.
"Do you want to get up?" I asked him, we were both wide awake anyway.
"No…" he groaned. "The sooner I get up the sooner I have to thank Lupin"
"And Neville"
"Longbottom helped?" he asked with wide eyes.
"He made the herbal paste for your arm" I glared at him as he lifted his arm again, as if to make sure it was still there.
"He's good at that sort of thing" I defended.
"I am not thanking Longbottom"
"Yes, you are"
"If I had had my way he wouldn't have come near me"
"Well you didn't and he did, so you're thanking him"
"But I don't want to…"
"Draco, I swear to god…"
Before I could finish my sentence Draco had captured my lips with his, which was more to shut me up than anything, I know, but still I couldn't help but get lost in the passion of it. I felt him reach down and place a hand on my hip, trying to direct me to straddle him, I pulled away.
"Not happening Malfoy"
"But-"
"No"
"I'm the injured one, I get to decide"
"Exactly, you're injured."
"It's just a scratch?"
"And I'm a Hungarian Horntail"
"Sometimes I wonder-"
I whacked him upside his head.
He chuckled at me and brushed a thumb across my cheek.
"You're too easy to tease, my love" was not… "Now since you're so concerned about my health that you won't have sex with me, why not do me another favor?" I cocked an eyebrow at him as he put his hands behind his head and watched me intently.
"Fat chance" I said, looking at him in disbelief.
"Why not…?"
"Because about an hour ago you were woken by Voldemort scorching your arm"
"That was then, this is now" he replied, shrugging.
"And then you woke half the order"
"Their problem"
"So at any time Lupin or Tonks or even Molly may come and check on you"
"And won't they be in for a sight"
"No, they won't. Take this seriously Draco, Voldemort knows you've betrayed him"
"And what can I do about it now?"
"At least show a little concern?"
"Oh I'm very concerned" he purred, crawling on top of me.
"You're impossible!" I huffed, pushing him off and standing up.
"Where you going?" he pouted.
"Downstairs"
"You'll be back" he grinned.
"Don't count on it" he stared at me for a moment before deciding that I wasn't kidding. Sighing he got up as well.
"We need to get me my clothes" he grumbled, throwing his Weasley jumper on.
"I can ask Mrs. Weasley to make you some more jumpers?" I suggested, pulling on a green satin dress which fell to my knees. I was thankful that I had been allowed to keep the clothes from my mission.
"I will murder you in your sleep if you do" he glowered at me.
"Of course darling, now can you tie me up?" I asked, turning my back to him. I heard him chuckle and scowled. "The dress Draco"
"You're no fun" he whispered, running his fingers down my back until they found the two hanging bits of ribbon. He tied them in what I hoped was a bow, and then flipped me around so I was facing him.
"I love you in green" he whispered in my ear, I shuddered at the feel of his hot breath against my face and his hands holding me steadily in place. This man could make every touch, every breath, even every word seem sensual.
"'Mione!" we both looked around as Harry came running into the room, closely followed by Ron. They both looked disheveled as they ran in, Harry with a shirt barely thrown on and his glasses slightly askew and Ron with an open button up shirt and only one sock, the other being half tucked into the pocket of his trousers.
"Hey guys" I smiled, moving away from Draco much to his annoyance.
"Mum told us what happened" Ron said, glancing over at Draco.
"Are you ok?" Harry asked.
"Yeah I'm fine now thanks" I smiled at them.
"Yeah don't worry about me, I'm fine" Draco drawled behind me.
"How's that arm?" Harry asked sarcastically.
"Barely a scratch"
"Voldemort burnt through all the flesh on the dark mark" I corrected. Harry raised his eyebrows while Ron's mouth dropped open.
"Shit Malfoy, you pissed him off"
"Yeah well he'll do worse to you when you're stupid enough to get captured-"
"Let's go downstairs" I said quickly, before he could start a fight.
"Yeah, mum's cooking breakfast for anyone who's awake" Ron added.
"She's cooking already?"
"I think it helps her nerves whenever dad's away" I nodded, only just remembering that Arthur had been sent to find death eaters this morning with Bill, Ted and Andromeda.
We walked down the stairs and into the kitchen with a tense, awkward silence. Tonks was still there sitting besides Remus at the table. Neville was helping Mrs. Weasley wash up as she went. Ginny and Parvati were eyeing a queasy looking Lavender who just turned greener as Draco walked in. Dean and Seamus had stopped mid conversation to stare at Draco, as well as Angelina and Hannah who were serving everyone tea.
"How are you feeling?" Remus asked, standing up immediately.
"Um, fine?" Draco answered awkwardly.
Remus reached into his pocket and pulled out a small block of chocolate, he handed Draco a couple pieces, as well as Lavender.
"It'll help" he assured her, before giving Draco a pat on the back and sitting back down.
"How long has it been in his pocket?" Draco whispered in my ear, remembering that he had accepted chocolate from the man after Bill and Kingsley had beaten him.
"I'm not sure" I whispered back, grinning as he stared at the chocolate with distaste. We all sat down at the table, I made sure Draco was on the end before I sat between him and Harry, Ron sitting on Harry's right.
"Anyone want some tea?" Hannah offered.
"Yes please" the three of us answered in unison. Draco just sneered at the former hufflepuff as if to tell her that he would never accept anything she made.
I nudged him hard in the ribs.
"What was that for?" he hissed.
"Be nice" I snapped back. Harry and Ron sniggered from beside me.
"Shove it Pothead and Weasel" Draco muttered darkly. The two stopped sniggering to glare at him. It had been a long time since they had had to deal with any Slytherin giving them a nickname.
"Make us Ferret" Ron hissed back.
I had to dig my nails into Draco's leg to stop him from getting up.
"Stop it, all three of you" I hissed angrily, trying not to draw everyone else's attention. Tonks and Remus seemed to have heard though and attempted to distract the three with conversation.
"So…Malfoy" Tonks started, scratching the back of her head nervously. "How's the family?" Draco scowled at her.
"You mean my deranged Azkaban escapee father or my recently deceased mother?" Draco snapped.
"My Aunt died?"
"That's what I said"
"When…how don't we know about this?" Tonks asked me in disbelief.
"She would have died around the beginning of the convention, right?" I asked Draco who nodded. "I think it was death eaters who found her and informed Draco… so the order wouldn't have had a chance to hear about it"
"What happened?"
"Murdered, and we now know by who" Draco growled.
"You don't mean…your father?" I frowned. Why would he kill his own wife?
"Yes my father" Draco spat the words like they were poison. "She was meant to be free of him. She didn't visit him in Azkaban, didn't even write to him and when he died, she refused to collect the body, not that it was his anyway"
"She didn't love him anymore?" Tonks asked.
"She hasn't loved him since my sixth year at Hogwarts" Draco said darkly. I knew what he was referring to; Lucius had put Draco's and Narcissa's life in danger by failing Voldemort at the end of our fifth year. She was sick of Voldemort coming before family, before their only son.
"Well mate, I'd say you well and truly need a drink" Tonks said, grabbing the fire whiskey and pouring a small amount in her empty glass for him.
Draco knocked it back gladly, not even caring that it wasn't a clean glass; I was hoping he wouldn't try and offend her by wiping around the top of it.
"Starting already mate?" Draco looked up and glowered at Charlie who had just walked in and sat across from us.
"Awake already?" Tonks asked him.
"I work with Dragon's remember? I'm used to being up at dawn to feed them" Tonks grinned at him, she loved hearing about the dangers of his job.
"Why are you lot all up anyway?" he asked, looking around at the half full kitchen.
"No reason" I smiled weakly. I didn't miss Ron as he mouthed 'I'll tell you later' to his older brother.
Hannah came back and set a cup of tea in front of all of us. I thanked her and took a huge gulp. She had used milk and even put honey in it.
"It's lovely" I smiled. Tonks glared at the cup of tea in front of me.
Molly served up a massive breakfast. Even Draco looked impressed at the assortment of food she had cooked up for everyone. We all fell silent as each of us grabbed a plate and shoveled food on to them. Breakfast was lovely despite Ron trying to make conversation while his mouth was still full.
About an hour later the rest of the order started piling into the kitchen, half awake and still in pajamas. I think Draco must have gone into cardiac arrest when Oliver walked in wearing nothing but pajama pants. His torso was to die for; after all, he focused all of his time to Quidditch.
"Show off" Draco mumbled, shoving more scrambled eggs into his mouth.
"Don't be jealous" I muttered to him, quiet enough so Harry and Ron couldn't hear, I already knew they were watching him for a reaction.
"Malfoy's do not-"
"I know, I know" I think Draco's bad mood only worsened when Parvati and Lavender shuffled closer to Oliver on the seat and began giggling and flicking their hair around like schoolgirls.
We must have waited in the kitchen for hours, playing cards, talking, doing anything to pass the time. It was only as Molly, Ginny and Luna began to make some lunch for everyone that we heard the fireplace in the living room burst to life and then four very somber people walked into the kitchen.
"Remus" Ted Tonks called, motioning him to follow them. Remus excused himself and left to join them in the study where they could discuss the matters at hand in private before releasing the information to the rest of the order.
"Mum" Tonks quickly piped up, making her mother stop in her tracks. "I need to talk to you"
"Nymph you know I can't tell you what happened yet" she scolded, Tonks shook her head.
"No not about that, it's important, please" Andromeda looked at the four departing men and decided they didn't need her so she followed her daughter into the living room.
"You two as well" Tonks ordered, pointing at Draco and me. We stood up and followed, not quite sure why she wanted us.
"I'm glad to see you are better Draco" Andromeda said politely.
"Yeah, yeah, have you heard about Aunt Narcissa?" Tonks interrupted. Andromeda looked taken aback.
"I haven't spoken to your aunts in years dear…"
"Malfoy, tell her" Draco looked at Andromeda nervously.
"Tell me what?" she pressed, her eyes flicking with worry.
"My mother was murdered a couple of weeks ago now, by my father…I believe" Draco said solemnly.
Andromeda stood there for a moment, not saying anything, barely breathing. Her eyes were wide with shock.
"No" she finally said, shaking her head.
"I'm sorry" Draco confirmed.
"No, not Narcissa, not Cissy" she repeated over and over again. "Not my little sister"
I think this was the first time Draco had ever looked at the woman like she was family.
Andromeda's shoulders began to shake as she kept mumbling.
"She was good, she was always so good, and then Lucius came…" she stopped as she took a shuddering breath in, "And she always had Bella whispering in her ear, telling her what she should do…"
"I should have kept in contact…"
"I'm sorry mum" Tonks soothed, wrapping her arm around the older witch. "Let's get you a cup of tea, Hannah makes a really good one so I hear" Andromeda nodded and held her daughter's arm as she led her to the kitchen.
"I don't want to ever do anything like that again" Draco said.
"I know and I'm sorry" I agreed. It wasn't easy, I don't think Tonks had realized at the time just how much her mother still loved her aunt.
"At least it's over now, if anything the lack of contact over the years will make it easier for her" Draco nodded in agreement. I wondered how much he was hurting under the surface at the mention of his mother's death.
"Come on, there's more fire whiskey left" I smiled; he grinned back at me and allowed me to drag him out into the hallway. We hadn't made it to the kitchen door when Bill called out to us.
"Remus wants to see you" he said, waving for us to follow him. Draco eyed him, not trusting the red head anymore, but I followed. Bill had tried to help this morning; that alone told me he was starting to regret the mistakes he had made.
We followed Bill into the study where Remus motioned Draco over to him. I stayed by the door next to Bill and watched as our old professor spoke in a hushed voice to him.
"What did you find out?" I asked Bill.
"Well Andromeda and I caught up with a couple of death eaters at the Hog's Head. Stupid enough to talk about it in public… Lucius is back at Voldemort's side, got back in the good graces by informing him of Draco's betrayal. Narcissa Malfoy is dead as well; Lucius apparently claimed to have killed her as a show of everlasting loyalty to Voldemort" So it was Lucius, that also must have been why they wanted to speak to Draco in private, not that he didn't already know.
"What about Draco's burns?"
"The sign of a traitor… if any death eater sees Draco's forearm now they'll know and he's a dead man. It's as if Voldemort's put a price on his head" Fuck.
"Well what did Mr. Weasley and Mr. Tonks find out?"
"It's not so much what they found out but who they found…" Bill said slowly.
"What do you mean?" I asked, my heart beginning to beat fast. Bill nodded in Draco and Remus's direction. I looked at them only to notice that Draco had paled at something Remus had said. Remus hadn't even finished talking when Draco left his side and walked up to me. His eyes betrayed his fear and I felt my own beginning to rise.
"Blaise…" was all he managed to gasp out.
A/N: Oh yes, Blaise! Want to know what has happened to poor Blaise? Well there's this little button that says 'review' just below! Hope you enjoyed this chapter :) More than the last one anyway, it was like tumbleweed on my reviews page, so discouraging :( Thanks for the FEW who did review though, I cherished them like I would an endangered animal... you know, not having many and all.
Enough of my bitching, hope you enjoyed!
xSiriusxStalkerx