A/N: Thank you SometimeSelkie for the great suggestions for this chapter. I made the changes, I hope you like them.

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The Safe House

Chapter Twenty

As Thuban grew bigger and became more active, he continued to sleep more often throughout the night. Draco gladly kept his son very busy each evening in order to ensure another long night of sleep, and on most nights, another chance to enjoy his wife. The little Malfoy was also starting to pick up everything he could get his tiny hands around. He had scared his parents terribly one morning when he grabbed Draco's wand from his pocket.

Draco had listened to the banging sound on the floor of the office for several minutes as he updated the food inventory. He smirked as he thought about how his own father probably would have demanded silence within ten seconds of the racket. He started to tap his toe along with Thuban's unsteady beat. Ginny entered the office and chuckled at the strange music being made by the two Malfoy men.

She tilted her head in question since she could not see the baby from her side of the desk. "I hope whatever you gave him isn't valuable. Then again, we can always Reparo it." She sat on the corner of the desk and peered over the side looking down at her son. "Draco! He's got the wand!"

Draco finally turned and looked down at his son who was happily beating the wand against the floor. Thuban looked up at his Daddy and grinned. Draco reached down and yanked the wand from Thuban with such force that the baby fell backwards.

Thuban began screaming loudly, and Ginny ran around the desk to pick him up. "Give me that wand, Draco. And take your child. You just hurt him."

"I didn't mean to hurt him, Ginevra. You do realize what would happen if we lost or broke that wand? We could not survive without that wand." He took the baby and held him close to his chest, rubbing his back and rocking him back and forth. "You cannot touch the wand, Thuban. Shh…shhh…it's okay, baby. Daddy's so sorry. Please stop crying. I am so sorry. Shhhh." He started pacing around the room with the crying baby, and after another few minutes, Thuban finally began to settle down.

Ginny had sat back down on the desk. She felt her eyes stinging with tears as she heard Thuban's cries and thought about the consequences of them losing the wand. "Oh, Draco. We have to keep it out of his reach at all times. Can we cast a spell on it to keep him from it?"

Draco walked over to her, still rocking the whimpering baby. "Yes, I think I know of something that might work. I'm so sorry, Ginevra. I had no idea that he even had it. I cannot believe I let him get hold of the wand." He looked guilt-ridden as he sat next to her.

"It could have happened just as easily to me. I'm sure almost every wizard or witch with a baby has had this happen at some point. I'm just so grateful that he didn't break it or hurt himself." She stroked Thuban's soft cheek and smiled as he lifted his wide glassy eyes to her.

Draco kissed the soft blond hair of the baby. "Daddy loves you, Snitch."

Later that night, Draco was holding Ginny, and they were almost asleep when he whispered. "Do you think he will remember?"

Ginny snuggled in closer to his chest, and yawning, replied, "Remember what, darling?"

"That I scared him. That I was the first person to hurt him. That until today, he never had a reason to be afraid."

She propped her chin on her hand resting on his chest and looked at him. "I hope he remembers – which he won't – but I hope that he learns to be afraid of things that are bad for him. You taught him a valuable lesson today. He needs to learn that there are consequences."

"He's a baby – "

"He's a baby who will be crawling and then walking and then climbing. He is only going to get more curious, and we have to protect him from himself right now. You were a good father today, Draco. Just remember to say no next time. He understands that word."

"I just feel terrible. Will it always feel this way?"

"Unfortunately, yes. So get used to it. After all, I will not allow my child to grow up and act like you did at Hogwarts."

"Hey, I'm having an emotional break through here. Can you at least show me some more sympathy? And I was not that bad at Hogwarts." He glared at her and then amended, "Okay, fine. I was fairly rotten."

"Yeah, but you turned out pretty good." She leaned up and kissed him.

ooo

True to Ginny's word, Thuban began crawling over the next several weeks, and the parents had to continually baby-proof all of the rooms. As he was still afraid of the swinging doors, the kitchen was an easy place to let him roam. One afternoon, whilst the two of them were reading, Thuban had been playing happily on the floor next to the sofa.

Ginny's feet were propped on Draco's lap, and his hands were propped on her feet, holding his book. Occasionally, one of his hands would drift up her leg and caress her thighs, and the two would share a sweet smile. Draco's hand had just ventured slightly higher than the previous times, and she dropped her book on her lap as she gasped at his intrusion. He slanted his eyes towards her and smirked. Rolling her eyes at him, she picked up her book and continued reading. After a few more minutes of reading, Ginny paused and realized that the room had been very quiet for quite some time. She turned her head and lowered her book, noticing that her baby was no longer on the floor nearby.

Bolting upright, she kicked Draco's book into his face. "Thuban! Thuban!" She jumped from the sofa and began searching the sitting room. "Draco, don't just sit there! Our son is missing!"

"I think you broke my nose," he whinged as he sat with his hands to his face. "Ginevra, he's fine. I mean, how far can he be?"

Ginny turned to her husband, a mixture of anger and guilt on her face. She dragged his hands from his face and cringed. "Sorry. Here, give me the wand." He grimaced as he handed her the wand. "Episkey. Now, get up and help me find him!"

He stood up and gently touched his nose, following her into the dining room. "Thuban!"

They both paused as they heard a small cry coming from the other direction. Draco ran back through the sitting room and into the hall. Ginny quickly passed him and ran into the office.

It only took a second to check the loo, and the hall was clearly empty. Draco frowned before calling his son again. "Thuban, answer me!"

Draco almost jumped in the air as the loud cry sounded directly into his ear. He turned towards the stairs and was met with two large grey eyes, filled with tears. His little boy was clinging to the banister, his face contorted with fear. He sighed in relief and called for Ginny, who came running out of the office. "Look who thinks he's old enough to go up the stairs." Draco tilted his head towards the baby and started to laugh.

"Oh, Thuban! Mummy is so sorry. Don't be scared, baby." She ran up the stairs and rescued him. Cradling him to her chest, she paused in the hall on her way back to the sitting room and glared at Draco. "You can stop laughing now. He could have fallen. He could have been hurt. I can't believe you!" She stomped away from him, cooing the baby.

"He's fine," he called after her, then grumbled to himself, "I'm the one that was hurt."

"I heard that! You can just forget about me removing those bruises!" she retorted from the other room.

Draco immediately ran to the loo and stared into the mirror. Both of his eyes were already turning a very lovely shade of purple.

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oooooOOOooOooOOOooooo

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It had been a few weeks since Pansy and Harry had informed Narcissa of Gregory Goyle's arrest and subsequent confession. It had been nearly three years since she had seen her son, and only a few months less than that since she was told that he was most likely dead. It had taken her months to accept that he was not returning, to realize that his betrayal to the Dark Lord was putting her in jeopardy. Her depression and grief were seen as signs of weakness. She was supposed to have been happy that her traitor son was no longer alive. At first, she didn't care if she was questioned. She felt like dying because she blamed herself for Draco's death. She had let him down as a mother the moment she let him be branded by Voldemort. It really had been Lucius who convinced her to save herself. He had said that he could not bear knowing they both were gone. He begged her to flee. Finally, she consented, and taking only her most treasured items with her, she left her husband and her home with no expectation of ever seeing them again. And still, after all this time, it felt like a dagger to her soul when she learnt the truth about Draco's death. The only comfort it brought her was the thought that he had had almost a year to live without serving the Dark Lord, a year that she hoped was not filled with fear, but with some kind of happiness.

Narcissa was holding Teddy in her lap, reading him his favourite story, when Harry and Pansy returned. She had grown very fond of the boy whilst she was living with him. He had also grown very attached to her, as it was she that had been the one to comfort him when his grandma was still reeling from the loss of his parents. Teddy had stayed very close to his aunt the last few days, sensing her sadness, and he narrowed his eyes at Harry, who took the seat across from them.

Harry waited for Pansy to pull up the other chair and noticed that Narcissa had continued to read to his godson. He saw the angry look Teddy had given him, and he realized for the first time how close the Malfoy witch had become to the little boy. It bothered him to think that she had a better relationship than he did with his godson, but he comforted himself with the idea that once the war was over, he would be the father that Teddy deserved. He pictured a life with Ginny and Teddy and eventually his own children. He was enjoying his little fantasy until he felt Pansy's hand on his arm. He looked over at the beautiful witch, feeling guilty for the way he was using her. But he still gave her a warm smile that she quickly returned.

Finally, Narcissa finished the story. "The end. Teddy, I would like you to go check on your grandmother. I have some business to attend to right now." She helped him down from her lap and gave a soft pinch to his nose.

"I don't wanna leave you, Auntie. You're always so sad." He slightly turned his head, darted his eyes towards Harry, and then gave her a determined look.

"I will be very sad if I have to argue with you. Go on, your Auntie will be fine. Right, Harry?" She levelled her cool gaze at Harry.

"Oh, er, right! We have some exciting plans to make, Teddy. Maybe after, we can play a game?" Harry grinned at the little boy, but Teddy wasn't buying it.

Teddy turned back to his aunt and, in a very serious tone, said, "I'll be here for you, Auntie." He gave her a quick hug and then ran from the room.

"Mr. Potter, what has been decided?" Narcissa sat up straight and regained her normal regal stature.

Harry noticed that she had returned to his formal name, and he realized that her using his given name was done only to make Teddy more comfortable. "We are going to have a funeral, including a body. Is there any chance that we could find a personal item of your son's, like maybe a ring or something, at the Manor?"

Pansy leaned forward. "Narcissa, we will need you to get us onto the estate. But I can go into his room and search for something for you. You do not have to go past the gates if you do not want to."

"Thank you, Pansy. I will probably have to get past the front door in order to let you in. I am not sure what kinds of wards will be in place. I'm not even sure there will be anything left in the Manor. Lucius had transferred as much as he could of our Gringotts account to my Black account. The Dark Lord was burning through our assets even before I left."

Harry frowned, never having considered that the Manor may be empty. "Well, let's hope that is not the case. Either way, we will have the funeral, preferably with a body made to look like your son. No one outside of the Ministry officials will ever see it, but we need to make this as real as possible. According to Goyle, Draco was killed almost two years ago. Hermione Weasley believes she will be able to transfigure the corpse to resemble any possible identifying characteristics that would remain after so much time."

Narcissa swallowed back her tears and clenched her eyes shut. Pansy pinched Harry's arm in warning before she took over the conversation. "You may have to identify the body, Narcissa. I will be with you the entire time. They should release the body to you, and then we think you should bury him at the estate. The papers have already been declaring that the Dark Lord is in hiding. Luna Lovegood has consistently been publishing stories about the captured Death Eaters and their victims. It will be a perfect way to announce that he has been found. She will then do a follow-up piece with an interview with you, discussing why he was killed by the Dark Lord. It will be in this piece that you will describe burying him with his Malfoy ancestors. We are hoping that Lucius will eventually get a copy of the piece and be motivated to come to the grave. He should feel safe because it will be on his property. He trusts you Narcissa, and I think he will not think of this as a trap."

Harry interjected, "Also, if there is any way to hint to him in the interview that this is not some sort of trick, then you should do that as well."

"Yes, of course." Her voice sounded hollow and her eyes had resumed the empty stare she had adopted after their last meeting. "When will we be doing this?"

Harry answered, "Hermione has begun working on the … with the, erm, well she has been working on it. We can go to the Manor as soon as you are ready, but we will have to wait for the …body to be finished to proceed. As you mentioned, his birthday will be significant, so we would like to have the article appear by mid-May at the latest. That only gives us a few weeks."

ooo

Narcissa agreed to meet with them the next day and take them to the Manor. Bill Weasley had accompanied them in case they encountered some difficult curses or wards. When they reached the gates, she had stood for a moment, taking in the view of her old home. She raised her wand and felt nothing out of the ordinary as it passed over the gates. Bill also checked the gates and nodded to the rest of the group before they passed.

As they walked along the path up to the Manor, Harry and Bill exchanged several incredulous looks. Neither had been to the estate before, and it became very clear why the Malfoys had always carried themselves like royalty. Ahead of the two wizards, Pansy had joined Narcissa and had taken the older witch's hand. Narcissa stopped approximately halfway up the path and waved her wand once more. She looked back at the men and smirked before continuing to the front doors. Pansy shrugged and rejoined Narcissa. Bill frowned and continually started checking for more hidden spells.

Narcissa opened the massive front doors and motioned for the others to stay back. She took three steps into the large home and waited for a few minutes. Then she gestured for the others to join her. Entering the expansive foyer brought tears to both of the witches' eyes. It looked almost empty to the women, but Harry and Bill were in awe of the size and beauty of the home. Narcissa walked over to the entrance of the drawing room. Her eyes scanned the room quickly, and she turned back to the others. "Many things are missing, but it is not as bad as I feared." She sighed heavily and her eyes looked down. "I would like to go alone to Draco's bedroom."

Harry stepped forward, but before he could speak, Pansy glared at him. "I'll come with you, but I will wait in the hall."

Narcissa watched the silent exchange between others, seeing that Harry did not trust her to be alone. "Fine. Let's get this over with." Very quickly, she headed towards the grand staircase, and with Pansy following, the two swiftly climbed the stairs and disappeared into the darkness.

Narcissa slowly opened the door to her son's room. He had not spent much time in the room after he had returned from Durmstrang. He had immediately moved in with Snape when he finished his apprenticeship at the school. After officially becoming Voldemort's spy, he had returned to the Manor, but he spent as many nights out of the Manor as he had in it. The first thing that she noticed, upon entering the vacated room, was that it had remained virtually untouched. She took in the bed, covered in dark green bedclothes, the Falmouth Falcons posters hung on the wall, and the matching armoire, bedside cabinets, and desk. She started to sob and her body shook with her attempt to hold in her cries. She fell into the bed and held the dusty pillow to her face, breathing in the ghost of a scent that would remind her of her child. She lay in the bed for several minutes, willing her sense of smell to find another trace of Draco. Finally, she sat up and looked around the room again, searching for something that could fulfil her mission. After wiping the tears from her eyes, she crossed the room to the connecting loo, hoping to find anything that would be significant. She quickly rummaged through the drawers, finding a long-lost comb with several white blond hairs. She quickly wrapped the comb in a towel and pocketed it before resuming her search in the bedroom. Returning to the bed, she knelt down by the bedside cabinet and pulled open the small drawer. There was a small wooden box within that contained a ring with the Slytherin emblem that Draco had worn in school, a pocket watch that had been her father's, and some Galleons. She sighed in relief at finding the items. On the way to the door, she stopped at his desk. Sitting alone on the desk was a dust-covered photograph of her family. She picked it up and then exited the room, rejoining Pansy and, eventually, the two wizards downstairs.

Bill looked up at the two witches as they descended the staircase. "Did you find anything, Mrs. Malfoy?"

"Yes, I found a box with a couple items that may work. The house-elves had been told to stay away from his room before I left. Lucius must have kept them out as well."

Harry suddenly looked around him. "House-elves? Are they still here? They could report this to your husband."

Narcissa narrowed her eyes at him. "I could call for them if you would like. My personal elf would come from anywhere to my calling." She looked smug as the fear spread across his face. "No, Mr. Potter. I did not bring us here in order to have an elf betray your mission. They have either been sold, which is most likely, or they have gone with him."

Harry became angry and started to turn red as he barked out, "But you didn't know that for sure, did you? There was no way you could have known if they were here!"

"I would have thought that after living in the wizarding world for as long as you have, Mr. Potter, that you could have foreseen the risk for yourself. You, after all, have inherited my cousin's elf, have you not? You should know that I would have been greeted upon entering the house. I would have dismissed them to the gardens before bringing you in."

Harry was still red in the face, but Bill took the opportunity to respond. "Thank you, Mrs. Malfoy, for bringing us here. It would have been much more difficult to do this without your help, and most likely, your husband would have been alerted of our breaking the wards. I think we can leave now; I am sure this has been a stressful day for you."

She looked over at the man's scarred face and realized how handsome he had been. "My son deeply regretted what happened that year, but it was my fault. I should have run with him then. I allowed him to be taken into the inner circle, to be faced with that impossible task. I am very sorry for what happened to you."

Bill's eyes widened at her speech. It was unexpected, yet he appreciated her apology. Harry had told him years ago about what had happened on the tower the night Draco was supposed to kill Dumbledore. They had felt sorry for the young wizard, forced to make terrible choices in order to save his family. "It is in the past. I forgave him a long time ago."

Her lips pinched together as she nodded. She looked close to tears, but she took a deep breath and handed the small wooden box to Harry.

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A/N: Thanks for reading. Please review.

Thank you so much for all the great response after the last chapter. It helps so much – especially to keep me motivated to get this fic finished!

Some of you thought that I meant it was almost finished, as in it being near a conclusion. No. Not even close. It has been written for a while now, but there are still lots of places that need editing and cleaning. And even some spots that need rewriting, like in this chapter. In fact, it's the fact that it has been mostly done for a while that makes it difficult to open back up and work on it. I was definitely burnt out by the time I sent the last few chapters to my beta.

Anyway, the point is that I really do appreciate the support and encouragement. My goal is to update weekly. So keep those reviews coming, please. I do listen – I even already edited a chapter due to someone's thoughts from last week.