A/N: Thank you, SometimeSelkie. Thank you to the wonderful reviewers who keep me motivated to work on this again every week.
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The Safe House
Chapter Twenty-Five
By the evening of Tuesday, August 28th, 2007, nearly every witch and wizard in Britain knew that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had been defeated. Celebrations were happening everywhere, in small wizarding villages and in large magical communities within the Muggle cities. The Weasleys had stayed at the Burrow throughout the day and late into the night. Harry had eventually joined Ron in some drinks and began to enjoy the victory. The family did acknowledge that Ginny was still missing, but Molly had given the large group almost the same speech she had given to Harry, adding that she was relieved to know that Ginny had not been living with Voldemort. Seeing her and Arthur's peace over the unexplained absence of their daughter prevented anyone from pointing out that she may have been hidden away by Voldemort, and now there was no one left to tell them where that could be.
George had sat quietly, talking with Harry, when he remembered the memories that Lucius had handed Narcissa the night before. For a brief moment, he hoped that they contained the answer to Ginny's whereabouts and looked expectantly at Harry, interrupting the conversation.
Harry paused mid-sentence and tilted his head. "Something the matter?"
George had watched Harry struggle all day to smile, seen the way he would constantly check the family clock, and decided to not give the hero any false hope. "Just remembered that I promised to check on Narcissa."
"Oh." Harry pressed his lips together. He rubbed the back of his neck and then continued, "I haven't seen Pansy. I don't really want to see her right now, but could you tell her I will owl her soon?"
"Yeah, sure. I'm going to go now. I will see you later, Harry." He stood up and Harry stood with him. He felt guilty. Harry deserved to be happy, but George wasn't sure if he deserved either his sister or the dark-haired witch that was waiting for him. He hugged Harry to him and said his goodbyes to the family before leaving.
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Arriving at the small flat, George was prepared to comfort Narcissa. Bill had told him that he had gone straight to the woman to tell her about her husband. He knocked on the door and waited. Pansy had heard the knocking and dashed through the small sitting room, hoping to find Harry at the door. She was already smiling brightly when she pulled it open.
She rolled her eyes and held the door open for him to enter. "Oh, it's you."
"Well, your boyfriend couldn't make it, so I thought you might be lonely." He frowned to himself. That wasn't what he had intended to say. He saw the hurt flash across her face, and he damned Harry and himself. "Seriously, Pansy. He said he would be owling you soon. It's been a rough day for him."
She lifted one perfectly manicured brow. "Yes, I'm sure. Defeating the evil wizard that has destroyed your entire life must really be a drag. What's poor Harry going to do now? Oh, that's right. He's going to have a house-full of little redheaded brats with your sister." She slammed the door shut behind him and leaned back against it.
George stepped away from her and gave her a curious, but sombre look. "You don't know?"
She snapped her mouth shut, immediately regretting her words. Bill had not mentioned Ginny in his brief visit to Narcissa that morning, and the three women had not heard from anyone else the entire day. She shook her head slowly and was surprised that she felt nothing but sadness that her competition, the girl she had never really known, the long-lost sister to the man in front of her, was gone.
"I'm so sorry, George." She threw her arms around him and held him to her.
George wanted to laugh at her misinterpretation, but then she had flung herself at him and all humorous thoughts left him. "She's not dead."
She shoved him away and wrinkled her forehead. "What? But? Where is she?"
"We don't know. But she wasn't there. She's probably gone forever at this point. Harry will be needing you, after all." He avoided her eyes and turned towards the kitchen. "Is Narcissa in here?"
She watched him walk away from her and mumbled a yes to his question. She couldn't help but feel angry that Harry had not come to her. Learning that Ginny was still missing didn't make her feel any better. In fact, she felt worse. How would she ever be able to compete with a ghost? And in the depths of her heart, she wasn't sure if she even wanted to any more.
George walked into the kitchen and found the two sisters talking about their husbands, sharing old stories from when they had first been married. He was glad to see them smiling, especially Narcissa. He had grown fond of the older woman during his time with her in the other house.
"Narcissa? I'm sorry it's so late. Thanks to Pansy's potion, I haven't been able to rest all day, and I thought you might be up as well."
The blonde stood up and greeted him with a warm embrace. "Yes, I'm afraid it hasn't worn off a bit. Is everything okay with your family?"
"Yes, well, mostly." He heard Pansy entering behind him. "Ginny is still missing, but according to the clock, she is still alive and at home, wherever that may be."
"He must have had her hidden away." She closed her mouth and took a deep breath. She glanced briefly at Pansy before returning to George. "Is he going to continue searching for her?"
"I don't know." He noticed that there was a silent communication going on between his two former housemates. "That's not really why I'm here, but it might have something to do with it. I haven't told anyone about them yet, but we need to see the memories." Immediately her eyes flew back to his, and he noticed a hint of fear.
"I haven't seen them yet. We don't have a Pensieve. Please, George, let me view them first."
"Of course, Narcissa, they are yours," he soothed. "But he might have known where Ginny was being kept. And I have a Pensieve. I got it to better remember Fred. I'll get it to you, and then you can take your time. I'm sure it will be difficult. After you look through them, we can sort out the ones to give to the Order."
"Thank you." She embraced him once again. "I'm not ready to do this tonight. Let's celebrate a little. As much as we have lost, we still have so much."
The four poured tall glasses of Firewhisky and drank into the night.
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oooooOOOooOooOOOooooo
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Ginny had awoken to Thuban calling out for her. She groaned into her pillow, exhausted from the previous night's patio activities. Draco was still snoring peacefully next to her, completely unaware of his child's cries for attention. Figures. It's always the mother that can hear her child, even in the deepest of sleep. She slowly rolled out of the bed and crossed the hall, opening the door just before the little boy started screaming. She chuckled as she watched his angry little face instantly melt into a smile upon seeing her.
"Good morning, Snitch. Did Mummy leave you alone for too long?" She picked him up from the cot and sat with him in the rocking chair. Yawning a few times, she slowly rocked him as he cuddled up to her. He was so sweet sometimes, and thinking of him meeting her family brought tears to her eyes. Eventually, he was done with snuggling and wanted to eat. "All right. Let's go wake up Daddy, and then we can eat some yummy breakfast!" She hoisted him up in the air, earning a few happy gurgles, and carried him back into their room.
Ginny sat the baby on the bed, and he quickly climbed on top of Draco. "Dada." He reached forward and grabbed the noisy snout and laughed loudly when Draco jerked awake. "Dada!"
Draco smiled at the baby, picked him up, and kissed his cheek. "Did you grab Daddy's nose? Where is your nose?" Thuban happily pointed to his own little nose that was already showing signs of looking like his father's. "That's right. Morning, love. Sleep well?" He looked up at Ginny, who was still yawning.
"I'm so tired. I'm going to make breakfast. Get him dressed." She gave him a sleepy grin and headed out the door.
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After they had read the Muggle newspaper several times each, they had decided that one of them should make a trip to Norwich. Draco was not wanting for them to be apart any longer than necessary, but Ginny agreed that it would be wise for one of them to find the magical community within the city and get as much information as possible before they would all leave the house. After much debate, Ginny was chosen to be the one to make the journey. She would fly to King's Pike, take the morning train, and then Apparate back to the Safe House. She would also be taking the wand with her. This was the worst part of leaving the others behind, having only one wand. She hoped that possibly she could find another wand in the city, but she didn't want to draw any attention to herself whilst there. The deciding factor on her being the one to go was that Draco may still be considered a Death Eater, and they could not risk him being recognized or captured.
They were seated on opposite ends of the sofa, Ginny deep in thought and Draco still perusing the paper. He looked up from the sports section. "Since you missed this morning's train, we should use today to plan what we are taking with us."
"Yes, that's a good idea." She handed a toy back to Thuban who had crawled over to her. "I actually can't imagine leaving anything here. This is our home." She picked up the baby, who had pulled himself up on her legs.
He folded the paper and put it aside. "I know, but when we get back and you see the Manor, I promise you won't mind only visiting here."
"Malfoy Manor?"
"Yes, Mrs. Malfoy. I am Mr. Malfoy, and that child is the Malfoy heir. And as such, we will be living at Malfoy Manor."
She gave him a deadpan look. "I know who we are, Draco. I just never thought about living there. I mean, we had just agreed only a few months ago that we would be here for ten more years. Frankly, I had not even considered where we would live after we left."
"Well, if it's still there, I would like to live there," he stated calmly, but there was a hint of demand in his voice.
"Okay. It's just a little weird for me, knowing what has happened there."
His eyes remained serious for a moment as he watched her quietly. Then he gave her a sexy smile. "I happened there."
"Yes, you did." She sat a restless Thuban back down on the floor, and he crawled over to his pile of toys. Her one leg was on the sofa, and Draco had reached over and began stroking her calf, giving her a look that promised more to come. She held his gaze and smiled seductively. "Our anniversary is in a couple of days."
"I know. I've been thinking about it. We should be here. I know you might find out that we can leave tomorrow, but I want to wait until Sunday." He sounded a bit severe.
She watched him for a moment, wondering about his mood. "I think that we should always spend our anniversaries here." She moved closer to him and leaned into his chest.
"Good. It's settled then. We will plan to leave on Sunday."
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oooooOOOooOooOOOooooo
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It was mid-afternoon on Wednesday when George slowly opened his eyes and found himself in a strange room. A strange room and a strange bed and a strange person lying next to him. Upon closer examination, he discovered that the stranger was Pansy, fully clothed and still sleeping. A mixture of emotions passed quickly through his mind. There had been much alcohol consumed the night before. Andromeda, who had not been under the influence of any potions, was the first to retire. Narcissa followed quickly after, the drinking, in combination with her grief, having finally overcome her forced alertness. He remembered watching her go to bed in her sister's room. That had left him and Pansy alone, very much awake and yet very intoxicated. He didn't remember much beyond that, but he decided to quickly leave and get the Pensieve before the dark-haired beauty woke up and began screaming at him.
When he returned to the flat, all three women were drinking tea in the kitchen. Teddy cheerfully greeted him at the door, asking when Harry would be coming. After promising to bring Harry over himself, he left Teddy with his toys and joined the witches.
"Here it is." He smiled at Narcissa as he sat the Pensieve on the table.
Pansy glanced up at him and turned pink when she caught his eyes.
Narcissa breathed heavily and took her sister's hand. "Thank you, George. I think I will just take it to my room." She stood up and began carrying the heavy bowl with her. "Dromeda, will you come with me?" The older sister jumped up and quickly followed her out of the room.
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Narcissa looked at the three vials for a minute, debating which one to open first. Deciding that the one marked 'Lucius' would probably contain any information needed by the Order, she emptied its contents into the Pensieve. Looking at her sister for reassurance, she slowly lowered her face to the swirling waters.
She was in a room, or rather a dungeon, filled with a circle of Death Eaters, and someone was writhing in pain on the ground. They were taking turns at firing various curses at the man. She slowly walked out from behind Lucius and her breath caught at seeing him so close once again. She saw his eyes widen just slightly, and she turned back to the centre of the room and looked straight into the eyes of Severus Snape. She had never seen the wizard look so weak, but before she could comprehend the situation any further, the memory started shifting, and she felt as if she were being sucked into something new.
Images of Snape running through a dark corridor flashed before her. He was being followed by someone. A girl. A girl with red hair. Narcissa felt her own heart begin to beat faster. Suddenly, she was back in the dungeon. Voldemort was speaking to Severus, taunting him. The fallen man had closed his eyes, but when the Dark Lord began circling him, he quickly made eye contact again with Lucius.
This time, she could clearly see the face of Ginny Weasley, passed out in his arms, beaten and bloodied, but alive. He was tenderly placing her on a sofa when the dungeon unexpectedly reappeared. Severus was crying out in pain, and tears were streaming down his face. She could see the great effort it took for him to once more look at her husband. Knowing what to expect, she quickly looked at Lucius and could see the confusion and fear in his eyes.
As before, the room snapped into the images that Severus was sending Lucius, and Narcissa was shocked to see her son. He looked happy and healthy. She started running towards him only to come face to face with Voldemort. He had once again stepped between her husband and the dying potions master. She screamed in frustration and could see her emotions mirrored in her husband's eyes. She watched as Lucius looked between his friend and his master. She could tell that he was coming to the same conclusion that she was reaching. Severus was losing control, and it was only a matter of time before Voldemort would break into his mind. Relief flooded through her when she saw her husband raise his wand at their son's godfather and send him the final curse.
The memory ended and another one was beginning.
She was in a loo that she did not recognize. Lucius was alone, sitting on the edge of the tub, and staring into the room. He looked exhausted and older. She wondered if she had been too overjoyed at seeing him to notice the fine lines and pallid skin when he had come to her just days before. He sat silently for a moment, and then he lifted his head and began speaking.
"I killed Severus Snape. The other memory shows the night that he was killed. It was on the 2nd of March, 2005. I don't know what he was trying to tell me, except that he had rescued Ginny Weasley. She had been taken the night before by Nott Sr. and locked away in his dungeons. Severus was somehow able to get her out before the Dark Lord had arrived to collect her. When the meeting was called, he showed up as if nothing had happened. It would have worked, too, but he had been seen. I was shocked when he began sending me images of the girl … and of my son." He clenched his jaw shut and closed his eyes; reining in the emotions that Narcissa could see beginning to surface.
"As much as I wanted to know more about Draco, it was obvious that Severus would be broken soon. I also knew he wanted me to kill him. It was his last effort in protecting the girl. I was not severely punished, and I thought I was able to get by with it because I claimed to have felt betrayed by such a close friend. The Dark Lord then turned his anger towards Nott Sr. He performed the Curse of the Mark in front of us for the first time that night. There had already been rumours about some mysterious deaths, but then we had live proof of what he was capable of doing. He made an example of Nott, enraged that Miss Weasley had been taken and also because he had found out that she had been abused. I believe the only reason he did not perform it on Severus was because he needed the information." He paused again, and his face became very serious.
"I killed my friend to protect Ginny Weasley, to make things right between us. And as for Draco, I do not know what that image meant, other than Severus must have been the one to help him hide. At that point, I was grateful that Draco was alive. Of course, within the next twenty minutes, we all had to face the cold reality that there was simply nowhere left to hide. My real punishment came when Voldemort killed Draco on his birthday only a few months later. Any ounce of doubt over what I had done the night Severus died vanished as I was watched Voldemort laugh in my face whilst he was killing my son."
The memory faded into another one of the same room. It must have been made only moments after the previous one.
"Narcissa, I love you, my darling. The other vials are for you only. They are the memories that have kept me alive. They are what have given me the courage to meet with you tonight, to do whatever I can to help you find happiness again. And please, I want you to find it again. I am sorry, Narcissa. I did not give us the life I had planned. Forgive me. I love you."
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A/N: Thanks so much for reading. Now let me know your thoughts!
What did you think of the memories? I debated about writing them out as scenes, but I thought it was better to see them as memories and experience them with Narcissa. And finally, we know what happened to Snape. For those of you who wanted him to be alive, I hope his death wasn't too upsetting.