"Blackjack anyone?"
"Ronald Weasley! Your son is down god knows where, your best friends daughter is fighting his fiancée-"
"Sure, I'm up for a couple rounds." Harry said, cutting Hermione off.
"Well I never-"
"Deal me in as well." Seamus said. He glanced at Hermione and shrugged. "Canna help what you can't change. Hit me."
Hermione looked at Draco, reading his newspaper quietly in the corner. "This is madness." She said, sidling in to sit next to him.
"People deal with their anxiety in very different ways, Hermione."
"Doesn't look to me as if they're worried at all."
"They don't want you to worry about them." Draco said patiently.
"What if they're not okay, Draco?" Hermione whispered, her face suddenly pale.
Draco folded up his newspaper and rubbed his chin. He steepled his fingers and spoke carefully, deliberately, as though he was speaking to a child, but the words he spoke were far from those you would tell a child. "Then there will be another war. And we will have to fight again, and this time we will probably lose. If we lose we'll be killed. Our remaining children will probably become death-eaters because they're too young to be able to stand up for their beliefs. Muggles will die out, and, ultimately, so will the human race. There will be waring over power until there is no one left standing."
"Hit me." Harry said in the background.
"Exactly." Draco said. "We play until we go over. And between you and me, I don't think Elisabeth has it in her to lose." He smiled. "Hey Weasley, hit me."
Hermione sighed. Draco was probably right, but she hated when Draco was right.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
Harry looked up from his game as the door to Lupin's office opened. They had been playing for almost an hour, Hermione was on the far side of the office, glaring at them occasionally, pacing more.
"Elisabeth! Oh sweetie! Are you okay?" Harry got up and went towards his daughter, picking her up and hugging as though she was a doll.
Hermione too, got up and held her son, sobbing on his shoulder until his father came to rescue him. Seamus took his daughter on his knee, mildly scolding her, alternately hugging her.
Draco sat quietly in his seat, watching it through dry eyes. Harry and Elisabeth came towards him. "I notice you have no offspring to embrace. Shall I lend you mine?"
Draco smiled and held his arms open for Elisabeth to collapse into. Harry sighed and dropped down next to them. "Where did Marit go?" He asked Elisabeth.
She shrugged. "I don't know. But dad! Kris was down there! I swear! He was down there and he helped me lift Caroline out of the sink. The sink opened, did you know that? I can talk to snakes."
"What do you mean? What happned down there?"
"Not much. I just yelled and we left, we like, just ran."
Harry looked up, startled. "Oh." But he was distracted by Caroline.
"Marit told me I was the daughter of Ginny Weasley. Is that true?"
Seamus pursed his lips and looked at Ron out of the corner of his eye. "Uh. I don't know?"
"Yes you do! You do know, don't tell me you don't."
"Okay. Uh, yeah. She uh, yeah." He rubbed the back of his neck. "A little help here?"
"Yes. Ginny was-is your mother." Hermione said gently.
"Then why didn't I go live with her family? No offence dad, or anything."
"Because nobody in our family wanted any association with anything Ginny. Including Ginny." Ron said, swallowing.
"Oh." Caroline looked at her feet.
"But Seamus jumped at a chance to take you." Hermione said nodding.
"Why?" Caroline whispered.
"Because I wanted you! I felt left out, actually. All my friends had little babies and stuff. I wanted a baby. It didn't really help quash the gay rumours." He smiled. "But I wanted a baby."
"Really?" Caroline whispered, looking up at him.
"Of course. It meant that I only had to fight sixteen hours a day instead of twenty. I was on cloud number nine." And then, suddenly serious, "And I made a promise to Justin before he died. I promised to look after his baby."
"And a smashing job you did of it, Finnigan. Now, I think we should go inform everyone of our okay-ness." Ron said cheerfully.
Hermione looked at them all. Ron and Harry, shoulder to shoulder, hands shoved deep into their pockets. Seamus walked next to them, leaning close to them, whispering crude jokes and vile sayings. Draco walked with them as well, his arm around Elisabeth's shoulders as she chated quietly with Will. Caroline stood back from the group with Hermione, both of them thinking, perhaps, of how much they were outsiders in this clan. It wasn't your lineage that let you into this select group, Hermione knew, it was something deeper than your roots. It was something that you had to have inside you.
Something that she didn't have.
"Ronald Weasley! Your son is down god knows where, your best friends daughter is fighting his fiancée-"
"Sure, I'm up for a couple rounds." Harry said, cutting Hermione off.
"Well I never-"
"Deal me in as well." Seamus said. He glanced at Hermione and shrugged. "Canna help what you can't change. Hit me."
Hermione looked at Draco, reading his newspaper quietly in the corner. "This is madness." She said, sidling in to sit next to him.
"People deal with their anxiety in very different ways, Hermione."
"Doesn't look to me as if they're worried at all."
"They don't want you to worry about them." Draco said patiently.
"What if they're not okay, Draco?" Hermione whispered, her face suddenly pale.
Draco folded up his newspaper and rubbed his chin. He steepled his fingers and spoke carefully, deliberately, as though he was speaking to a child, but the words he spoke were far from those you would tell a child. "Then there will be another war. And we will have to fight again, and this time we will probably lose. If we lose we'll be killed. Our remaining children will probably become death-eaters because they're too young to be able to stand up for their beliefs. Muggles will die out, and, ultimately, so will the human race. There will be waring over power until there is no one left standing."
"Hit me." Harry said in the background.
"Exactly." Draco said. "We play until we go over. And between you and me, I don't think Elisabeth has it in her to lose." He smiled. "Hey Weasley, hit me."
Hermione sighed. Draco was probably right, but she hated when Draco was right.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
Harry looked up from his game as the door to Lupin's office opened. They had been playing for almost an hour, Hermione was on the far side of the office, glaring at them occasionally, pacing more.
"Elisabeth! Oh sweetie! Are you okay?" Harry got up and went towards his daughter, picking her up and hugging as though she was a doll.
Hermione too, got up and held her son, sobbing on his shoulder until his father came to rescue him. Seamus took his daughter on his knee, mildly scolding her, alternately hugging her.
Draco sat quietly in his seat, watching it through dry eyes. Harry and Elisabeth came towards him. "I notice you have no offspring to embrace. Shall I lend you mine?"
Draco smiled and held his arms open for Elisabeth to collapse into. Harry sighed and dropped down next to them. "Where did Marit go?" He asked Elisabeth.
She shrugged. "I don't know. But dad! Kris was down there! I swear! He was down there and he helped me lift Caroline out of the sink. The sink opened, did you know that? I can talk to snakes."
"What do you mean? What happned down there?"
"Not much. I just yelled and we left, we like, just ran."
Harry looked up, startled. "Oh." But he was distracted by Caroline.
"Marit told me I was the daughter of Ginny Weasley. Is that true?"
Seamus pursed his lips and looked at Ron out of the corner of his eye. "Uh. I don't know?"
"Yes you do! You do know, don't tell me you don't."
"Okay. Uh, yeah. She uh, yeah." He rubbed the back of his neck. "A little help here?"
"Yes. Ginny was-is your mother." Hermione said gently.
"Then why didn't I go live with her family? No offence dad, or anything."
"Because nobody in our family wanted any association with anything Ginny. Including Ginny." Ron said, swallowing.
"Oh." Caroline looked at her feet.
"But Seamus jumped at a chance to take you." Hermione said nodding.
"Why?" Caroline whispered.
"Because I wanted you! I felt left out, actually. All my friends had little babies and stuff. I wanted a baby. It didn't really help quash the gay rumours." He smiled. "But I wanted a baby."
"Really?" Caroline whispered, looking up at him.
"Of course. It meant that I only had to fight sixteen hours a day instead of twenty. I was on cloud number nine." And then, suddenly serious, "And I made a promise to Justin before he died. I promised to look after his baby."
"And a smashing job you did of it, Finnigan. Now, I think we should go inform everyone of our okay-ness." Ron said cheerfully.
Hermione looked at them all. Ron and Harry, shoulder to shoulder, hands shoved deep into their pockets. Seamus walked next to them, leaning close to them, whispering crude jokes and vile sayings. Draco walked with them as well, his arm around Elisabeth's shoulders as she chated quietly with Will. Caroline stood back from the group with Hermione, both of them thinking, perhaps, of how much they were outsiders in this clan. It wasn't your lineage that let you into this select group, Hermione knew, it was something deeper than your roots. It was something that you had to have inside you.
Something that she didn't have.