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Eleanor sucked in a breath and gave a quick tap on Draco's door. Living under the same roof as him brought back some memories of the previous summer, however their freedom was decidedly less at Grimmauld Place and they wanted it decidedly more at the present moment.
She opened the door a crack but didn't leave the door frame. She was here to deliver a message and couldn't get sidetracked as she often did with him. "Hey, I have to tell you something." She let out quietly. Draco looked up from his broom, which he was just finishing up polishing. "With Harry's birthday coming up there are going to be a lot of people around here for a bit. I just wanted to give you a heads up."
Draco furrowed his brow at her. He had figured it was going to be a full house for Potter's birthday and couldn't tell why Eleanor looked so on edge when telling him. "I suppose that us bunking up is out of the question?" He joked lightly, trying to show her that it didn't bother him. To his relief, she cracked a smile.
"I say you suggest it and see what happens." She laughed in return. "And…" she trailed off, not making eye contact. "There's going to be quite a few meetings going on…" She was dancing around the subject.
"And I'm not invited." Draco finished. Eleanor looked relieved that he read her thoughts and released the tension in her shoulders.
"I've fought for you to be." She supplied, trying to lessen the blow.
"They don't trust me." Draco stated. "I get it. I'm not angry."
"I won't go either." Eleanor vowed. "We can be out of the know together."
Draco chuckled at her offer and shook his head. "No, you need to go so you can tell me what they said." Eleanor smiled at him. She was consistently grateful at the effort Draco was putting in to make this awkward situation substantially less awkward, and how he was working towards being on good terms with the other men in the house. She knew it was hard on him that the fruits of his labor were not often seen, but Draco was tenacious and he would not give up. Eleanor was his future, he knew it, so he had to keep working on her family.
He felt different, and it was starting to feel good to be the Draco that Eleanor had always seen in private. He'd even been able to sustain small talk with Harry twice in the past week and he felt an unnervingly large amount of pride at that, it had felt like a win for 11 year old Draco who was gut wrenchingly jealous of the group of Gryffindors who were surrounding his best friend.
He had always felt the need to protect himself and his family first. He put up walls for everyone else because he and his own were the most important. However the last few months had shown him that sometimes the people you trust the most and try the hardest to protect don't take care of you in return. So he had to make the shift from protecting his parents to protecting the family name, protecting his future children, protecting Eleanor, and by extension, Eleanor's chosen family. So he had to change, he had to adapt. It wasn't easy, but this shift in his nature did feel natural to him, it felt natural to adapt to protect people. Even if those people weren't ever who he would've considered himself protecting.
"Will I get to party with the Gryffindors for a change?" Draco teased, Eleanor let out a laugh and finally entered the room and sat beside him on his bed.
"I don't know if you can keep up, Malfoy." Eleanor smiled at him.
"Well, how rowdy can you get with everyone's mum downstairs?" Draco raised a brow at her. "Say what you want about Slytherin parties, but our parents are nearly always out of town, so the party space is abundant."
"Oh yeah, I forgot that a prerequisite to being Slytherin is having absentee parents." Eleanor rolled her eyes. "That's just Blaise's situation. And anyway, I was going to Floo everyone to my place for the night." Draco wasn't sure how he felt about this revelation. For so long, it had felt like that Castle had only belonged to them. He had foolishly believed that it would be their safe haven forever. "It'll be a bit weird having people over again." Eleanor let out, seeming as though she was reading Draco's thoughts. "But there won't be too many people. Just the Weasleys and Hermione and Harry and you."
Draco nodded silently, feeling a familiar jealousy creeping back and trying to swallow it. It was irrational of him to think that Eleanor would keep the Castle for the two of them forever, and it was unfair of him to think that she was spiting him by inviting her other friends over. He was trying to unpack his emotions as they came. Eleanor watched him quietly. "Are you alright?"
Draco was quiet for a moment, then looked Eleanor in the eyes, deciding to be honest, or at least his version of honest. "I've just been doing a lot of thinking lately." He told her. "I have a lot of growing up to do."
Eleanor grinned at him and put her hand on his shoulder. "It's okay. I do too." Her voice was so sincere that Draco was nearly inclined to believe her, but he knew she was already leagues ahead of where he was in the department of processing emotions.
"Any chance that we will get to sneak away during Potter's party?" Draco questioned with a mischievous look in his eyes. Eleanor smirked at him, feeling herself turn into a puddle.
"I thought we were growing up?" She asked with a laugh. He lunged at her mid laugh and pushed her back on the bed, running his hands all over her hungrily as she continued to giggle into his mouth. He hoped that with his new practice of processing his emotions, his guilt over Bridget would begin to dissipate and allow for him and Eleanor to really be with each other in the way they both wanted. But he wasn't there yet. He couldn't kiss Eleanor without thinking of the pain he had caused her with Bridget, and he didn't want that looming over his head their first time.
He fought past the guilt and continued to kiss Eleanor greedily and happily as she smiled and moved with him on the bed. She loved when they had moments like this. She loved being around him, and hearing his laugh, and sharing in his joy, and watching him grow.
"I love you." She whispered softly in his ear as he kissed her neck. He let out a sigh against her skin and his hand snuck up her shirt and grabbed at whatever he could touch.
"Eleanor!" Remus' voice called up the stairs, causing the couple to pause and let out nearly silent groans. "Hermione and Ron are here!" Draco rested his forehead on Eleanor's for a moment, trying to keep the love of the moment there, wishing it didn't have to be interrupted, but ultimately grateful that it was.
"I love you." Draco returned quietly, sitting up so that Eleanor could head down the stairs. She stood and straightened her shirt and rebuttoned her shorts. Draco began chuckling at the sight of her. "Eleanor, you've-" He began, but Remus called her name again, this time walking up the stairs with several footsteps in tow. Eleanor rushed out of the room, hating to be caught behind a nearly closed door, knowing she would get teased endlessly for it. So she met them in the hallway, trying to look casual. Draco leaned on his door frame smirking at her.
"Eleanor, what is that?" Hermione asked with furrowed brows when she saw her friend. Eleanor looked down at herself to see black streaks all over her legs, her arms, her neck, sneaking out from the neckline of her shirt. Eleanor looked at the marks in confusion.
"I-it looks like broom polish." Ron stated, taking a closer look. Eleanor and Remus both went red as tomatoes as she reexamined how damning those streaks of broom polish were. They truly were everywhere. And the culprit was standing behind her, with blackened hands.
From the door frame came a joking tsk. "She is just so clumsy with the broom."
Eleanor held her head high during the Order meeting, hoping to regain a bit of respect though she knew that Ron had told Ginny and Harry, and either him or Remus had told Sirius who most definitely told Tonks considering the wink Eleanor was given by her when they greeted each other. The room was fully stocked. Some faces were familiar to Eleanor, and others she had yet to converse with. Her and Harry had fought tooth and nail to be included in the meeting. Harry finally used his bargaining chip of being the one that was hunted by Voldemort, which won him nearly every argument.
Kingsley gave updates on the Ministry, and Eleanor felt at ease knowing that he and Mr. Weasley both felt it was strong. Especially after Fudge stepped down. That felt like a victory. "Pettigrew is still high on our priority list, Sirius, I promise." Kingsley added, to which Sirius gave a tight, melancholy smile and a swift nod. It was obvious that he was losing hope. He wasn't nearly as optimistic as the others.
"I've got more company now, so it makes house arrest a bit easier." He supplied. Everyone around the table smiled but they also all knew Sirius, and they knew his restless spirit was tired of being cooped up in his childhood home.
"Diagon Alley is overrun with Death Eaters. Shops are broken into or going out of business every day." Fred relayed sadly as everyone was sharing bits of information they knew.
Molly clutched her chest at the revelation. "Oh you boys, can't you set up shop anywhere else? You're going to give me a heart attack knowing you're down there everyday for work. What if they break into it overnight?"
"That's why we've been living above the shop, Mum." George replied. "Anyone who tries to mess with our shop will find themselves in an absolute maze of boobytraps."
"YOU'RE WHAT?" Molly yelled, obviously unaware that her sons had been living in the Death Eater ridden Diagon Alley.
"The kids can't go and get their supplies there this year." Arthur shook his head. "We can't have them knowing the Malfoy boy is with us."
"Wouldn't that be good, though?" Eleanor piped up. The kids normally didn't speak in these meetings, they simply gathered information. But Eleanor felt like she was the expert on Draco in the group and that she was qualified to speak. "I mean, wouldn't we want Voldemort knowing that Draco is under Dumbledore's protection, and knowing that he can't mess with him?" Eleanor was instantly angry at all of the sweet, condescending smiles she got from everyone in the room.
"Oh, love…" Mrs. Weasley started with a smile. While Kingsley shook his head in an almost laugh, and Tonks winked at her again.
"For the time being, darling, I think that Draco might be on house arrest too." Sirius smiled sadly at her.
"Well I'm not, so I don't understand why—" Eleanor began.
"Voldemort, I'm sure, is currently in a frenzy looking for what remains of the Malfoy family. We prefer to not narrow his scope." Snape provided in an annoyingly drawn out voice.
"He's not an idiot, though. He knows that Draco is with me, and he knows that I'm with you. It wouldn't be a surprise for him." Eleanor answered.
"About that, love," Remus started, "we've been thinking that it might be best if you stay as hidden as possible for the time being as well."
"What?!" Eleanor shouted out. "That's ridiculous. Harry's fine to wonder about and he's the bloody boy who lived. He's only killed Voldemort three times already, I'm willing to bet he's got a grudge."
"We believe Voldemort is biding his time with Harry, however with him losing access to the Malfoys, and by extension you, he's angry and vengeful and in need of resources." Tonks answered. Eleanor began to bite on her thumbnail in frustration. "We also believe that Death Eaters have been ordered to not touch Harry, but we don't believe that same consideration has been given to you or Draco."
"This is fucking ridiculous." Eleanor murmured under her breath as her thumbnail stayed firmly between her teeth. Sirius cracked a smile at her language while Snape made a big production of rolling his eyes. "I mean in what world does Voldemort not have enough resources. Two old families with money is a lot, sure, but he's got dozens more. Do we really make that big of a difference?"
Tonks took another breath "We are unearthing some documents in the Ministry…"
"Tonks." Remus said sharply, warning her to stop. Eleanor waved him off, her eyes fixed on the currently purple haired woman in front of her.
"She deserves to know, Remus." Mad-Eye agreed suddenly. Remus looked desperately to a stoic Dumbledore, who had yet to say a word. Dumbledore simply gave a nod. Eleanor wished Draco was there to calm her heart, or at least hold his hand. But Harry was a fine second as he rested a hand on her shoulder.
"He had plans for you and Draco." Tonks said slowly. Eleanor wanted to roll her eyes, this was information she already knew, and still came back to the money. "In the documents there was mention of a third loyalist." Eleanor furrowed her brows.
"I don't understand."
"It seems Voldemort was expecting you and Draco to have a baby." Sirius finally said. "We don't know why and we don't know how he was going to ensure that, but it is very important to him. We don't know his reasoning or his plans."
"It comes up rather frequently. A top priority, it seems." Mad-Eye put in.
Eleanor was quiet for a moment, it had to be more than money, but she couldn't understand what the motive would be. "Do you have any theories?"
"A few, but it always feels like we are missing something." Tonks said. "We don't want to give you any false ideas."
"I want to hear them." Eleanor nodded.
"Darling, it doesn't matter. If you stay hidden, those documents will never affect your life." Remus urged, eyeing everyone around the table, silently telling them to keep their mouths shut.
"Have we not thought about lighting the bloody things on fire?" Eleanor let out, exasperated.
"I wish it were that simple." Remus smiled sadly, kissing Eleanor's hair.
"We are going to keep you safe." Tonks promised. "That's our first priority." She reached across the table and grabbed Eleanor's hand firmly. "For all of you." She added, looking at all of the kids sitting around the table. "When we find answers, we'll tell you."
"I'll give them the documents my mother gave me. Maybe there is something in there." Draco promised firmly as Eleanor sat in his bed, tucked under his shoulder. She had just recounted all of the information she learned in the meeting as quickly and efficiently as she could despite her brain being fuzzy from all that was revealed.
"Yeah, maybe." Eleanor nodded. "I don't know what he could possibly want with a baby of ours." She let out a sigh.
"We'll just stay hidden." He said. "I agree with them, why risk it? There's too many questions in the air."
"Aren't you curious to know why though?" Eleanor pressed.
"Maybe he's a baby person, El, I don't know." Draco tried to joke, but it only caused Eleanor to frown further.
"And they have no idea where Peter Pettigrew is either, so things aren't looking up for Sirius."
"Pettigrew is with my aunt." Draco supplied casually. "At least until Snape gets back from school, then I think he's staying with him." Eleanor shot up out of him embrace to look at him.
"Snape?" She asked incredulously. "What?"
"That's what I heard my mum tell my dad anyway." Draco slowed his voice and looked at Eleanor's concern with confusion.
"But Pettigrew is with Snape?" Eleanor clarified, her heart racing and eyes wide. "What exactly did you hear them say?"
"They were just talking about what my aunt had said. My mum said that Aunt Bellatrix was staying with Pettigrew, but didn't know if she would stay there when Snape returned from school." Draco rushed out, his anxiety growing at the sight of Eleanor beginning to hyperventilate.
"Snape is a Death Eater?" She asked through breaths.
"I can only assume."
"Come with me." She demanded, dragging Draco out of his bed. "We need to tell Dumbledore."
"Why?" Draco asked. "Voldemort in disguise taught at the school for awhile, Snape's a fine teacher, he hasn't tried to kill Harry yet." He was trying to joke.
"Snape is part of the Order." Eleanor snapped at him, and Draco paled.
"He knows I'm here." Eleanor nodded once.
Eleanor felt huge relief when she walked into the kitchen and Dumbledore was still sitting at the table, looking over documents with Remus, Sirius, and Tonks. Everyone else had left for the evening, and were to return tomorrow, but the four adults had decided to continue to look over the new documents that had been found regarding Draco and Eleanor.
"We need to talk." Eleanor said sharply as she closed the kitchen door. They all eyed the young couple.
Remus nodded. "We do." He agreed. "We might have found something in here." Eleanor's interest was piqued, but she couldn't let it distract her.
"Us first." She insisted, then looked to Draco.
"I think Snape is a Death Eater." Everyone's eyes shot up, except for Dumbledore who remained emotionless. "And I think Pettigrew is staying with him." Sirius frowned and began to grit his teeth. Eleanor could see all of the things he was not saying behind his eyes.
"What makes you say this?" Dumbledore wondered quietly.
"My mother was talking to my father about Pettigrew. They said my aunt was staying with him until Snape returned from school." Draco relayed once more, he had not realized how vital this information had been until this moment. He had never been in an Order meeting, he never knew who was there. He assumed everyone knew of Snape's allegiances.
Dumbledore seemed to be taking in this information and processing quietly. "This is a misunderstanding." He said quietly. "Is it possible that this could have been a joke between your mother and her sister?" Dumbledore suggested. Eleanor's mouth hung open.
"Weird fucking joke." She spat out before she thought better of it. But she didn't have the heart to pretend to look guilty for it.
"I suppose you're right, Miss Cordarri. And I have never known those two Black sisters to be of comedic nature." Dumbledore began to stroke his beard. "This is quite interesting. I'll have to discuss with Severus immediately, if you'll excuse me." Dumbledore nodded, and Disapparated from his chair.
Everyone sat dumbfounded for a moment before Eleanor choked out. "If Snape is a Death Eater, he knows where Head Quarters is." She paused. "He knows where we are."
"You two are safe." Tonks assured. "We won't let anything happen to you." Eleanor believed they would try, but was frightened by the force they would be hit with if Snape let slip their location.
"Tell me what you found out." Eleanor suggested, trying to relieve one anxiety with another.
"It can wait." Remus waved off, and Sirius continued to grind his teeth in anger.
"Tell me." Eleanor demanded.
"Well here in the document there are lists of privileges and consequences having to do with the 'third loyalist'." Tonks began to explain. "A privilege would be a supervised hour with the baby. A consequence would be time away and so on. Since these privileges and consequences are outlined in the contract, it looks like you consent to having it be done, so a plea against it wouldn't hold up in custody court. We're thinking that Voldemort intended to use this baby as a bargaining chip. The more you do on his behalf, the more privileges you get with the baby and vice versa."
"This seems overly complicated." Draco observed, his eyes raking over the spread of new papers.
"That's what I was thinking too," Tonks sighed, "my only theory is that someone on the inside was stalling, taking the most complicated route to try to spare you two. It's all flowery, confusing, and complicated."
"Dad," Draco muttered quietly, everyone still heard him though. He smirked a little too himself. "Sounds like something my father would do."
"It would make sense," Tonks nodded, "he didn't outwardly disobey Voldemort but he made it extremely complicated. It seems like the plan just kept building and building to a grandiose maze when really a simple threat on either of your lives could have gotten the intended result." Tonks shook her head quickly. "Not that you would have given in, I didn't mean like that, just that whoever drew up these plans went the very long way around to buy some time."
Draco, still angry and untrusting of his father, felt a glimmer of pride. His father, unable to be boldly defiant, worked against the most feared wizard to try to buy him and Eleanor some time. It wasn't a win and it didn't absolve him, but Draco saw the tiniest shine of love in that action.
"I'm confused though, I didn't sign it, so wouldn't this not hold up as soon as we're both of age?" Eleanor asked. "If my parents signed it under the Imperius Curse then that signs me away, but once I'm 17, this no longer applies no matter what."
"That's what we thought too." Tonks nodded. "But we also found that this document also finds you to be mentally unfit parents, giving all rights of any baby to your parents, and now, because of this contract, to Voldemort. He knew that neither of you would be loyal to him on your own accord, but rather than just kill you, he wants your resources and your connections to the Order, so he needs a baby to hold over your heads."
Through his anger, Sirius was still able to sarcastically bite out. "Another reason to remain celibate, right?"
