Many asked and so here we are. I finally decided to continue "Left Behind" again. After much consideration I decided to do a full revamp the "Continuations" I had already written and turn it in to a complete multi-chapter sequel. If you read the continuations when I originally published them don't gloss over these first few chapters as I have changed and added a lot to make it flow better as a full sequel.
I want to say a massive THANK YOU, to all the people who were kind and left positive reviews and took the time to reach out to me via PM. You are all appreciated so very much.
An extra special thank you to Ayr and Aid4 two people who do not know me but who have been incredible supports through my frustrations and kind in ways that people over the internet aren't usually. This chapter is dedicated to you two. Thank you.
After Being Left Behind.
Chapter One: The Morning After
The slow crawl of sunbeams moving across Draco's face as early morning turned to near-noon, finally roused him from the most peaceful sleep he had known. Wakefulness came slowly and he resisted it slightly, wanting to cling onto the dream of being safely in Hermione's arms.
As Draco blinked against the sunlight, he became acutely aware of the weights of a head on his chest and an arm slung over his torso, its fingertips splayed over the fiery orange and crimson of his Phoenix tattoo.
She was here.
This was real, it wasn't a dream.
The tension that had crept into Draco as he resisted waking eased out of him as he let his head drift back down more firmly into the pillow.
He stared up at the simple ceiling above him, a part of him yearning for his own room, his own bed and his wardrobe's secret room. Draco sighed and Hermione stirred slightly nuzzling in deeper against him.
Draco looked down at her beautiful face and his chest squeezed with affection.
It had taken so much for them both to get here.
She had endured so much, and so had he and yet as he looked at her, he saw a small smile grow and creep over her lips as her fingers came alive pressing into his side by his tattoo in order to snuggle in even closer.
You don't deserve her, a small part of his mind whispered, then another voice rang out louder in his head. This voice belonged to Fred Weasely who he had saved from the point of death back at the Manor.
"So become someone worthy of her love," Fred had said.
I will, Draco thought nodding to himself.
No matter what it took, he would do whatever was necessary to be worthy of this bliss to be worth of her.
"You did what?!" yelled Ron leaping up from his chair and facing Fred.
The three young men were standing in the middle of the tiny dining room of the Order's current safe house looking at each other as if in the middle of an old-style western face off.
Ron was pissed.
Fred didn't care.
"I gave her back the wand that Draco gave her at the manor," Fred repeated firmly, enunciating every word. "He," he said emphatically. "Unlike you lot actually trusted her as the capable intelligent witch that she is."
"You had no right," started Ron.
"I had every right," snapped Fred finally losing his own temper which he had been keeping tightly in check while the order argued about 'what to do with Hermione' Fred had never agreed with keeping her in her room and he had been mad enough to almost match his hair when he found out that they hadn't given her back her wand.
Hermione had been through hell at the Manor and only Fred and her knew the truth about just what lengths Draco Malfoy had gone in order to protect the woman he considered a sister. He hated that his brother and Harry, who people who were supposed to love and care for her had thought that they knew what was best for her and enacted it by taking away every ounce of power from a woman who had spent the better part of a month as a prisoner.
You did not take away power from someone who needed to claim it back.
Draco had understood that. Fred had seen Draco give Hermione every ounce of freedom and choice and power that he could within the circumstances. It was one of the reasons why Fred had made the decision that he had to give Hermione her freedom back in the form of a wand.
There was a moment of silence in the room and Fred continue, feeling a flush from his own fury at their thick-headedness. The Twins had always been good natured, it took a whole lot to get him and George mad. Well he was mad about this, and rightfully so.
"You two," he gestured to Harry. "Kept her locked up like a prisoner in her room for three days after we moved. treated her like a prisoner more than Draco did."
"We never tortured her!" yelled Ron.
"No but you made her feel powerless," said Fred voicing what he knew to be true. He had seen how Hermione had looked when he had first gone to visit her to give her the wand. She had seemed smaller-curled up upon herself, and so tired.
"He's right Ron," said Harry. "We shouldn't have done that."
The genuine admission of guilt on Harry's part made Fred feel a little better.
It's a step in the right direction, he told himself.
"We were only trying to keep her safe," said Ron defensively.
Fred rolled his eyes.
"That's exactly what Draco was doing," said Fred pointedly
"Would you shut the fuck up about Draco Malfoy," Ron growled at his brother. "I never hurt Hermione. He did."
He did what he had to do, and risked everything for her in the process. Fred knew it was the truth, just as much as he knew Ron might never understand that part.
"No, you never hurt her on the outside like he did," Fred said Trying to come around it from another angle to reach his brother. "But on the inside, you wrecked her by not trusting her by treating her like an incompetent, incapable witch. Which do you think is more important? Huh?" asked Fred. "You protected her body but not her heart Draco protected and helped preserve the Hermione we all know and love. Do you think she would have survived three weeks of torture and come out that coherent and level headed without some help? She should have been a freaking mess afterwards. She would have been if it weren't for Draco"
"She would have survived plenty fine without him," said Ron "She's strong."
"Ron," Harry tried to interject.
"Yeah she is strong," said Fed. "But she was there in the middle of a house of deatheaters living with the Dark Lord. Do you honestly think she could have survived that without help? I know I couldn't have. I would be dead without Draco's help and so would she."
"You expect us to believe that horse-shit."
"Its not Horse-shit," said Fred. "It's the truth. He saved us, and at great personal risk," Fred emphasized.
"How do you know what he risked?" asked Harry quietly, his voice was only half challenging as if he were trying to put the pieces together in his head in a way that would fit.
"I'm ALIVE," said Fred holding his hands outwards. "What do you think they would have done to him if they had found out he was keeping me safe and nurturing me back to health."
Where they really being that dense?
"It's one thing for him to keep alive the prisoner who is supposed to be bait," continued Fred. "But Me? I'm nothing to them."
There was a silence for a moment as both Ron and Harry seemed to actually hear what Fred was saying. Fred saw the moment that Harry switched to take his side. He saw a shift in the shoulders and a turn towards Ron.
The tiny living room in their safe house suddenly felt much smaller as if all the walls were leaning in close to listen to the conversation.
The three young men all looked at one another each one gauging and assessing.
"It must have all been part of a plan," said Ron breaking the silence. "Some sinister scheme of the Dark Lord."
Fred rolled his eyes.
"A sinister plan that resulted in us having yet another Horcrux?" said Harry taking Fred's side for the first time in the conversation.
Fred smiled, he had been right thinking he had won Harry over with his last argument and he was grateful for it. Ron was more likely to listen to his best friend than he was to listen to an older brother. There was something about an older sibling telling you what was what that made it a harder pill to swallow, especially if that older sibling what pointing out where you had stepped wrong.
Harry Looked at Fred and then back at Ron.
"Draco giving Fred the Felix Felicis resulted in Fred getting us the lost Diadem of Ravenclaw when none of us managed that before," Harry said swallowing. "Draco…must have wanted to help."
Fred could hear how hard it was for Harry to say those words out loud and he gave the younger boy what he hoped was an encouraging smile.
"So, that was just luck," said Ron dismissively.
"Literally!" said Fred rolling his eyes. "That's what Felix Felicis is you dummy: Liquid Luck."
Ron swung a wide punch and Fred.
The gesture caught Fred almost completely off guard having not expected the burst of violence. That said he had been an older brother for a long time and so he stepped out of the way just in the nick of time and slipped Ron into a headlock.
"Let go of me you great git!" yelled Ron.
"Not till you calm down," said Fred, his grip unwavering. Ron wasn't acting himself and Fred wasn't about to let go just to get swung at again.
"Ron what the hell is wrong with you?" demanded Harry.
"Nothing's wrong!" Ron yelled back struggling.
"You just tried to hit you brother!" Harry exclaimed exasperated.
"We are brothers," said Fred with a little bit of a shrug. "It's not the first time we've thrown down."
His words were easy and nonplussed even though he couldn't shake the tension in his shoulders. Ron jabbed wildly with an elbow and Fred let go stepping back.
He looked at his brother feeling weary.
Fred was tired of trying to defend Draco to Ron, it was clear that his brother was beyond listening at this point and Fred was beginning to feel a true rift growing between them. He didn't want to loose his baby brother. He thought of Percy and how the differences between them had created a valley over time. One that was now seldom crossed. He didn't want that between himself and Ron.
"I'm done with this conversation," said Fred, knowing there was nothing more he could say at the moment that could make things better and many things he could say to make things worse.
"I won't accept or stand for any judgement from the two of you for my decision to give Hermione a piece of her own power back." Fred meant the words with everything that was within him. As far as he was concerned he had done right by Hermione and that was enough. "Come find me when you get your heads out of your asses."
Having said his peace Fred turned and walked out.
"You alright?" asked George falling in step beside Fred as soon as he stepped into the other room. The two fell immediately in step with one another and Fred couldn't help feeling a sense of rightness at being back with his brother.
"Listening in were you?" asked Fred hardly surprised, and far from mad about the eavesdropping.
"My ears may be holey, but they do still work," said George with a shrug. "Besides," he added "I happen to agree with you about the Hermione getting her wand back."
A breath of tension Fred hadn't known he was holding let go. George and he hadn't talked much about the drama between everyone since getting back. It was as if they had an unspoken understanding that neither one of them wanted to disagree with the other right now. Fred knew he was leaning heavily on his twin since getting back. George seemed more than happy to be in the position of support for his brother.
"Good," said Fred finally as they rounded the stairs and began to climb upwards step by step.
"So does Ginny."
That statement made Fred pause mid-step on the stairs.
"Ginny's come around?" he asked turning towards George.
"Yeah," said George leaning back on the railing, both hands braced behind him. "She saw how Hermione was and that she wasn't changing even as time went on. I think Hermione talked to her about what happened at the manor."
Fred nodded, his face shadowing with memory from the manor.
It made sense that Hermione would talk to Ginny about what had happened. The two girls had gotten closer as they got older and Fred could understand how Hermione might want a female confidant considering some of what he knew had happened in the manor. There were just somethings that he knew she wouldn't want to tell him about, and Fred was okay with that because as much as he wanted to be there for her there were some things he didn't want to hear about, not for his own sake, but because he knew he wouldn't know what to say or do to make things better if she were to say them. He wanted to be there for her, felt closer to her now than he had before her capture and their respective rescue. They had been through something together, something that had bonded them.
Fred felt a similar sentiment towards Draco, though it was different since he had hated the person Draco had been before the manor.
Fred looked up and saw George waiting expectantly for his response. He wondered how long he had been in thought.
"Well that's good at least, I'm glad for that," said Fred meaning it.
The boys walked in sync the rest of the way up the stairs.
"Oh and by the way you got an owl," said George as if just remembering when they reached the top of the landing.
"An owl?" Fred frowned. Who would be sending an owl to him? Practically everyone he knew was here or in hiding.
"Yeah," said George. "Mum popped back by the house to check and see if anyone had tried to contact us," didn't tell dad she was going. Let me tell you that got a bit of a row going for all of ten minutes between them."
"Who is it from?" asked Fred.
"I dunno," said George. "It just had the initials on it."
"Initials?" asked Fred, his eyebrows drawing together in confusion.
"Yeah," answered George. "Double L's"
Draco couldn't lay in bed one moment longer and he gently extracted himself from Hermione's embrace and pulled on some pants.
"Where are you going?" Hermione asked groggily, her eyes barely opening.
"Just to the loo," he answered softly and kissed her brow. "I'll be back."
"Promise?" she muttered softly and he wondered if she was really even aware of what she was asking.
"I promise," he said with a smile. There was nothing in the world that would keep him from coming back to bed.
Draco straightened and looked down at her laying sweetly on the bed and felt a pull in his chest.
He didn't want to leave her, not even for one moment, a part of him afraid that she would be gone by the time he returned.
Stop being ridiculous, he told himself and padded silently to the washroom.
He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror as he washed his hands and saw that even though he was pale and tired, there was something different about his appearance. It was as if life had been breathed back into him. There was a vitality to his skin that made him seem healthier.
It was because of her.
Draco's lips twitched.
His eyes were drawn back to the mirror and the scar across his eye. The puckered and gnarled white line was the only thing that still looked harsh and dead.
He hated that scar.
But she doesn't, a part of his mind whispered and Draco closed his eyes and looked away.
"Draco?" she heard her voice from the other room and went back out to meet her.
Hermione was sitting up in bed clutching the sheet tight to her chest.
"I thought you had gone," she said looking at him, her eyes wide with just a hint of worry.
"I told you I would be back," he said and kissed her forehead.
"Oh," she said. "Right, I must not have really been awake."
Draco smiled and inhailed the scent of her curls as he stroked a hand down her hair. It was wild from their lovemaking and his pinky caught on a snag.
"Ouch!" she protested and pulled back.
"Sorry," he applogized and sat down next to her.
"Its alright," she said and yawned. "What time is it?"
"Does it matter?" he asked.
"No not really," she answered and smiled at him.
"Lets pretend," said Draco, "Just for today, that there are no clocks, no war and no evil in the world."
Hermione smiled and reached up wrapping her arms around his neck.
"I like this game," she said and kissed him.
The sheet dropped from her chest and Draco reached forward to cup her chest.
"I like it too," he smiled and pushed her back down into the bed.
Narcissa had woke early that morning. Even though she was staying in a suite in one of the best hotels in Paris she had barely managed to sleep. The mattress had been too soft and yet not soft enough and it was so empty without Lucius.
She wanted to hold him, one last time, to tell him she was sorry, and to tell him that she forgave him even if it wasn't entirely true. She wanted his soul to be at peace. She had loved him for too many years not to wish it.
Despite the fact that they had not shared a bed for the last few weeks she still felt the absence...because she would never feel him again. Her fingers had sought him across the bed before she was fully awake to know that he wasn't there. The emptiness she felt was more than just a lack of a body next to her.
If only Lucius were here she would have someone to talk to, someone who would understand. They had always talked, always understood each other and the way of the world. It was a simple constant between them. The only thing they had never seen eye to eye on was the one day Narcissa had seen him raise his hand towards their son.
She knew that Lucius father had not spared the rod against his son, but she was not about to let Lucius do the same to her boy-not her baby. She had told him outright that if she ever saw him strike their son again she would pack them both up and leave, damn the scandal it would cause. It was something she simply would not stand for.
He had known not to push her.
He had promised that she would never see it again.
He had understood it was something that she wouldn't allow.
But he wouldn't understand this, thought Narcissa as she moved away from the window and its view of the Seine and sat on the bed.
She lasted only a moment before she was up and pacing again.
Lucius would never understand or accept her decision to stand by Draco despite his choice to love and be with the Muggle born girl. The knowledge clawed at her insides. It went against everything she believed in. It went against everything she had been taught and if she had been wrong all these years then….
Then maybe it was wrong of you to cut out Andromeda for her choice too. The words circled through Narcissa's head as she rose and made herself some tea.
She betrayed our family, her mind answered back.
For love, just like your son is doing now.
Narcissa closed her eyes and sat down on that chaise near the window.
What will people think? She found herself worrying as she looked out the window at the people milling about bellow.
Their standing in good society would never be the same. There were so many witches and wizards who would refuse to associate with her for her choice not to disown Draco for choosing a Mudblood.
Narcissa scoffed at herself.
They can all sit on a pin cushion, she thought sneering.
She didn't need their approval. If they couldn't see that family should come first then…
Narcissa looked out the window again.
If family is the most important thing, then what you did to Andromeda was decidedly wrong, a part of her mind stated flatly.
It wasn't just me, she defended, the whole family disowned her.
Narcissa lifted the fine china teacup from the table took a sip. The liquid had gone cold. She set it back down not bothering to use magic to heat it once more. She tapped the table with her nails, thinking.
Your sister had a daughter too, you missed out on her life as well.
Nymphadora Tonks,her sister's child. Older than Draco by several years...Family...family that she did not know.
You missed out on your nieces life because of your prejudice.
Would Andromeda ever forgive her if she were to ask?
You are not going to ask your sisters forgiveness, a piece of Narcissa balked.
That was too much. It was too far to go. She could just barely wrap her mind around the idea of accepting them…but asking forgiveness? That was something Narcissa was not good at doing because it meant admitting out loud that she had done something wrong, that She had erred.
To err was to show weakness and Narcissa could never show weakness.
She took a deep breath and finished her tea in an un-lady like gulp.
She looked at the clock.
It was still early, too early for breakfast.
You should have breakfast with them, the thought popped into Narcissa's head.
You should get to know the girl if she is going to be sticking around, her mind agreed. You need to know your enemy and what you are dealing with. You can't let her pull Draco too far astray. He is still your son. Maybe you can coach her a little.
Narcissa let out a most unladylike snort.
She had a feeling that the Granger girl was not the type to follow instruction.
She was top of her class, her mind argued. She is the only one who Draco in almost every class.
At least she is intelligent, thought Narcissa. And more than just book smart. She does seem to have some sense, Narcissa told herself thinking back to the conversation they had in her study.
And she loves Draco, another part of her mind quietly whispered.
She loves him enough to risk dying for him.
Narcissa nodded.
They needed space...and she needed time to think.
Perhaps tomorrow she would return to to the safe house.
Perhaps tomorrow she would learn more about the Muggle-born girl.
Perhaps someone who loved her son that much might…just maybe…be worthy.
The Malfoy manor had been empty for days. It's grey walls were hold and silent save for the sound of soft breaths echoing off their surface.
Voldemort walked across the living room floor and ran his finger across the dust that had accumulated on the mantle.
Dirty, he sneered feeling on edge. He rubbed the dust between his fingers angrily and sparks jumped landing on the carpet and smudging it with black. He didn't care, it wasn't his carpet.
Someone was taking out his Deatheater's one by one and no one seemed to know who.
It made him want to flay his followers one by one in front of each other so that they would feel a little more determined to find out who the hell was succeeding where others had failed. He had not spent all this time building up his numbers again only to have the ranks dwindle down once more at the hands of some rogue vigilante.
When he got his hands on the culprit there would be no death. No Voldemort would keep them alive...for years...forever to serve as a reminder to others what happens when you dare to cross him. He would enjoy breaking them repeatedly and then building them back up just enough so that he could delight in breaking them again, balancing them on that delicious edge so that they would always be able to scream and cry and beg in a way that would make him smile with pleasure.
He smiled inwardly at the thought of making them pay and then his features darkened once more.
He had told Pius Thicknesse to keep the information out of the papers and yet someone else had leaked the story and now people know that there was a vigilante on the lose hunting down Death eaters. People knew. It made him look weak.
He would find them.
He needed to know who it was who dared defy him so openly.
Who was reckless and stupid enough to hunt down HIS followers?
There had been no witnesses, except one.
Voldemort had tortured the young witch for hours only getting one scrap of information out of her about the attack. All she had said, before dying, was that the perpetrator had been injured badly and was a tall thin male. He had poured into her mind and ripped apart her memories trying to see 'who' was responsible, but all he had seen was a narrow hand holding a plain wand and the flash of an angular jaw.
It wasn't enough.
It was a deep blow to come so soon after Narcissa Malfoy's betrayal.
A betrayal that had led to the loss of one of the keys to his immortality.
A betrayal that had lost him a piece of his soul.
Voldemort turned back to Bellatrix who was suspended, arms and legs extended out in a painful stretch, mid-air. She hung suspended as if chained to a cross. He would sacrifice her if need be to find Narcissa, to find the Vigilante.
He wanted revenge above all else.
And he would have it.
He was the most powerful wizard living and he possessed the most powerful wand in existence.
It resists you...his mind whispered.
Voldemort clawed the air as if he could scratch the voice out of existence like pulling a cobweb from a corner.
"My lord," said Bellatrix, breathless. He body strained towards him. The soft black of her dress flowing in an invisible breeze.
"Tell me again," Voldemort ordered.
"I love you my Lord," said Bellatrix. "I serve you, only you always"
Her voice was sincere and laced with pain and liked being held like this, enjoyed his pleasure and pain almost as much as he enjoyed giving it.
Her devotion was undeniable and yet still he pushed her past the point of pleasure. Punishing her for her mistake at trusting her sister with access to her vault. The Vault where he had kept the goblet containing a piece of his soul.
"Why should I believe you?" He asked circling her.
"Because there is nothing I wouldn't do for you my lord," answered Bellatrix reverently.
Voldemort twisted his wrist and Bellatrix let out a scream as her limbs twisted almost to the point of breaking, he could hear her bones creak beneath her skin and reveled in the sound of it. A shiver rippled down his spine and he smiled.
He needed to know.
He needed her to prove her loyalty once more.
He let the spell loosen and Bellatrix let out a sigh of relief.
"Nothing?" he whispered coming close. He lifted her fallen chin from where it rested against her chest and forced her head up so that she was looking straight into his eyes,
"Nothing," she said. "Anything for you."
"And if I asked you to kill her..." He stroked a hand down the pale flesh of her neck. "Kill your sister for betraying me...for betraying us...to prove your devotion…" he let the words hang in the air, let them sink in slowly "Would you do it?"
"Would you do it for me?" he asked and kissed her his mouth cold and demanding. His hand went to her throat swueezing tightly as he pulled back, pressing in against her windpipe.
"Do you love me enough to kill the one who betrayed me? Betrayed us?" he demanded.
"Yes."
Man that ending was weirdly intense to write and edit. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks for coming over to read it. Please leave some love in a review and I'll be back as soon as my wrist allows to give you some more.
ALSO: GUESS WHAT?! I am now trying to write original work on Wattpad and would love it you would check out and follow me there. I've got one story in progress about a young woman who runs across the world to escape a gilded cage and meets a young slave who steals her heart. Its called "Across the Midnight sea" by "Marissa Walker" if you like my work here please check it out just search: MarissaWalkerwriter under profiles to find me.