Hermione Granger-Malfoy had never been so hysterical in her entire life.
Draco, at least, hadn't seen her more hysterical, not even in school before
the NEWTs. She was walking around and around the room, mumbling
unidentified words to herself, which only made Draco more tense. He tried
to concentrate. Think coherently, he told himself.
All right, he thought. You know Monica very well. Where would she go? She was angry and upset, and he totally understood her, but running away like this... it wasn't like Monica. However, Monica WAS sometimes pretty impulsive. She must have done this without thinking straight...
He remembered her telling him in her last letter that Katelyn, her best friend, had traveled to France, and how sorry she was about not being able to meet her in Christmas. So she couldn't be in Katelyn's house.
Maybe she was in that boy, Robin's house? After all, they had become friends the year before, and met several times during the summer. Perhaps she went there?
"Hermione?" Draco tried quietly.
She didn't reply. She kept walking back and forth, muttering to herself.
Draco went out to send an owl to Robin's parents. He had met them in Diagon Alley, when he and Monica went to buy her school stuff.
I truly hope she's there, he thought.
If she wasn't... there were not many other possibilities... and suddenly he realized in terror - if she wasn't there, he might never see his daughter again.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"I ran away," said Monica. She was sitting in Robin's room upstairs, on his bed. She wasn't watching him, but the wall. "I couldn't stay there. It was too much."
Robin, who was sitting on a chair across the room, said nothing. His green eyes were warm and comforting as he was watching her.
"You probably know the whole story," said Monica bitterly and pulled her feet up to the bed, hugging her knees. "Everybody knows it. Right?"
She turned to look at him, and he nodded silently.
"Everybody knew," said Monica, watching the wall again. "Everybody. My grandparents. My parents' friends, whom I thought were my friends, too. Their children knew. The whole school. My friends. My teachers."
"How do you know the teachers knew?" asked Robin.
"Snape knows," Monica answered. "He's my grandmother Narcissa's husband, you know. He knows. And he must have told all the other teachers. And besides, if the students know, the teachers know, too."
"I guess you're right," said Robin.
"And nobody told me. NO ONE. Everybody knew, and nobody told me."
At that point, Robin noticed a tear on Monica's cheek. "Monica," he tried to say.
"It's okay," she said hoarsely. "It's perfectly okay. No problem. After all, I'm sure my parents knew what they were doing. Why telling me the truth about myself? The truth about them? It's none of my business, right?"
"NO!"
Monica raised her eyes, startled.
"No," Robin repeated, more quietly, "they were wrong not telling you. But I'm sure they're regretting it now."
"Oh, that's great," said Monica. "They have been lying to me for seventeen years. But at least they're sorry!"
Robin got up, went over and sat next to her on his bed. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Ad at that point, Monica surrendered. She burst out crying, leaned her face against his shoulder and cried all her bitterness, anger and frustration.
Robin was silent; he simply stroked her hair and waited for her to calm down. It took several minutes, but eventually she raised her eyes and met his.
Her big, dark-brown eyes were red and wet, but their gaze was now suddenly filled with wonderment... Robin was almost unable to control himself... all he knew was that his hands were cupping her face and his lips were descending towards hers. And before he had the time to ask himself whether it was fair to kiss a girl in such a vulnerable situation - their lips met.
To Monica, a thousand falling stars could not do what this kiss did to her. It was warm and loving and passionate, it was better than any of her dreams... she was drowning in it, savoring it... unbelievable, it was...
And after this kiss - there were more kisses to follow...
"Monica," Robin whispered.
"Robin," she whispered back. "Why did you keep me waiting so long?"
"You - " he didn't dare to ask.
Monica's lips curled into a true smile, for the first time in a week. "Didn't you know?"
"I thought... but never mind. Monica, you don't know what it means to me."
Monica giggled. "I think I do..."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
As she entered the kitchen the following morning, Monica's mind was still filled with happy thoughts about Robin. But they vanished immediately as she saw Mrs. McKay face - and she knew exactly what had happened.
Her parents had sent an owl! She could tell by the way Mrs. McKay was looking at the piece of paper.
Robin was standing next to his mother, watching Monica worriedly.
"Monica," said Mrs. McKay, "come over here, please."
Monica came closer. Oh, how she hated her parents that moment. Something good had finally happened to her, and they simply had to ruin it!
"Look," said Robin's mother, and Monica looked at the familiar handwriting of her father.
----Dear Mr. and Mrs. McKay,
I'm Monica's father, Draco Malfoy. We met last summer. Monica and I had a serious fight, and she ran away from home. Can you please tell me if you have any idea where she might be? I thought she might have gone to your place, because I know she's friends with your son.
Please answer as soon as possible, because my wife and I are extremely worried.
Yours sincerely, Draco Malfoy -----
As angry as she was with her father, Monica thanked him in her mind for not telling Robin's parents exactly why she had run away. Enough people knew the truth already, in her opinion.
"Mom," said Robin, "I've already told you, Monica had her reasons."
"I can't," said Mrs. McKay. "I'm really, really sorry, dear," she said to Monica, "but I know what your parents feel like. Robin's older brother, my eldest son Jerry, ran away from home when he was sixteen, because we had forbidden him to see some girl he liked. I can tell you my husband and I went ballistic. I'm sorry," she repeated, "but I'll have to tell your father where you are."
Surprisingly, Monica did not find this information too upsetting. She had thought about this whole running-away thing during the night, and felt a little ashamed of herself. Now that she realized how worried her parents must be, she was even more ashamed.
"It's okay," she replied quietly, "don't worry."
Mrs. McKay patted her on the shoulder. "Good girl," she said, "I'm glad you understand. You two go and have some breakfast. I'll send an owl to your parents, they'll probably be here soon."
Monica and Robin sat down to eat, and Monica discovered, to her surprise, that she was very hungry.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It wasn't even half an hour before Monica's parents showed up. They both threw themselves on their daughter.
"Oh my God, Monica!" Hermione sobbed. "I can't believe it... you're fine... you're perfectly fine... oh, Monica..."
"I think the three of us need to talk," said Draco firmly.
Monica got the hint and turned to say goodbye to Robin and his mother. She gave Robin a quick kiss, whispered "See ya soon," shook his mother's hand and the three of them Apparated to the Malfoy Manor.
"Let's all sit down," Draco suggested, and they sat.
"Where are Sapphire and Samantha?" asked Monica.
"We sent them to Ron and Luna's," Draco replied, "we didn't want them to know you were missing, so we told them you went out for shopping."
"Good," Monica sighed. She didn't want her sisters to know.
There was a silence of several minutes. Monica didn't dare to look at her parents in the eye. Eventually she broke down.
"Mom, Dad, I'm sorry," she said quietly.
They didn't reply.
"I am," she repeated. "I shouldn't have run away... I know I shouldn't have. I just didn't think straight before I ran. I was to angry to think at all. I promise never to do that again."
"Honey, we're sorry too," said Hermione with tears and her eyes. "I'm so sorry I never told you. I should have told you. After all, you were the one thing that made me happy during those six months before your father returned. In fact, you were the one thing that made me happy since the moment I found out I was pregnant, because I was going through a very difficult time, but the thought of having you made me happy."
Monica smiled. "Can I ask you one thing?"
"Sure, sweetie."
"Can YOU tell me this whole story, so I can hear the actual truth and not rumors? I want you to tell me this."
And they told her. They both told her about their own childhood, and how much they hated each other. They told her about the Philosopher's Stone; about the Chamber of Secrets; about Sirius Black; about the return of Voldemort; about the Order of the Phoenix; about the Dark War and how Voldemort was eventually killed. Then they told her how Draco had changed throughout the summer holiday after his father had been killed, and how they both fell in love and how close they were, until this critical night.
As Monica was listening with her eyes wide with interest, her parents told her how Hermione had found out she was pregnant and about Draco's reaction; how angry Harry and Ron were, and how they learned to accept the fact that Hermione was going to have the baby; how much Draco suffered during the pregnancy months and even after it; about the birth and how happy Hermione was with Baby Monica; how Narcissa found out the truth and forced Draco to go and talk to Hermione; how there was an immidiate connection between Draco and Monica, and how Hermione turned him down; how Draco went to ask Ginny what to do, went back to Hermione and how she finally forgave him.
After all this long, long story, Monica felt the relief falling upon her like a heavy sack of potatoes. She suddenly realized how tired she was. Thanking her parents and hugging them, she went to bed anf fell asleep immediately. Her sleep was peaceful, like only babies and people who had revealed a seventeen-years-secret can sleep.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It was midnight.
Draco and Monica were sitting on the roof, as they had done so many times before, since Monica was very young. She was not sitting on his lap this time, because she was much too old, but she was leaning on him and he was hugging her.
"...and then I saw you right there, inside this baby-carriage," Draco was telling her. "It was the first time I saw you, and it was the most amazing thing in the world. You were looking at me with those big, bron eyes of yours, those eyes that reminded me so much of you mother's eyes... and I fell in love with you immediately. I knew I simply had to be with you, to see you every day."
"I've always wanted blue eyes, actually," said Monica quietly. "Because I wanted to resemble you..."
"Oh, Monica, you do resemble me," said Draco lovingly and played with her hair. "Just look at yourself in the mirror. I knew you loved me too at once, because of the way you were looking at me. And since then, we had this special connection between us. Do you feel it too, Monica?" he pressed a gentle kiss to her head.
"Of course I do," Monica responded. "I've always felt it. I love you, Dad. I'm so glad things are right again between us."
"Look!" Draco suddenly said, pointing to the sky.
Monica raised her eyes, and saw the falling star. She closed her eyes and silently expressed the gratitude she was feeling... for everything. For the loving family she had, for the truth finally revealed, for her new love with Robin... but above all, for the extraordinary relationship she had with this precious father of hers. And as she hugged him again, she felt more loved than she had ever felt in her entire life.
THE END.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: And this is how it ends... I must say goodbye to Monica now, and I've become almost a fan of hers, because she's the first main character who is original, my own. I really love her character, too.
So, anyway, I really hope you enjoyed this story as much as I did, and that you loved Monica like me. Thanks to everyone who convinced me to write a sequel, and thank you all for the great, great reviews!!!
See ya in the next story!
Love you all
Roni.
All right, he thought. You know Monica very well. Where would she go? She was angry and upset, and he totally understood her, but running away like this... it wasn't like Monica. However, Monica WAS sometimes pretty impulsive. She must have done this without thinking straight...
He remembered her telling him in her last letter that Katelyn, her best friend, had traveled to France, and how sorry she was about not being able to meet her in Christmas. So she couldn't be in Katelyn's house.
Maybe she was in that boy, Robin's house? After all, they had become friends the year before, and met several times during the summer. Perhaps she went there?
"Hermione?" Draco tried quietly.
She didn't reply. She kept walking back and forth, muttering to herself.
Draco went out to send an owl to Robin's parents. He had met them in Diagon Alley, when he and Monica went to buy her school stuff.
I truly hope she's there, he thought.
If she wasn't... there were not many other possibilities... and suddenly he realized in terror - if she wasn't there, he might never see his daughter again.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"I ran away," said Monica. She was sitting in Robin's room upstairs, on his bed. She wasn't watching him, but the wall. "I couldn't stay there. It was too much."
Robin, who was sitting on a chair across the room, said nothing. His green eyes were warm and comforting as he was watching her.
"You probably know the whole story," said Monica bitterly and pulled her feet up to the bed, hugging her knees. "Everybody knows it. Right?"
She turned to look at him, and he nodded silently.
"Everybody knew," said Monica, watching the wall again. "Everybody. My grandparents. My parents' friends, whom I thought were my friends, too. Their children knew. The whole school. My friends. My teachers."
"How do you know the teachers knew?" asked Robin.
"Snape knows," Monica answered. "He's my grandmother Narcissa's husband, you know. He knows. And he must have told all the other teachers. And besides, if the students know, the teachers know, too."
"I guess you're right," said Robin.
"And nobody told me. NO ONE. Everybody knew, and nobody told me."
At that point, Robin noticed a tear on Monica's cheek. "Monica," he tried to say.
"It's okay," she said hoarsely. "It's perfectly okay. No problem. After all, I'm sure my parents knew what they were doing. Why telling me the truth about myself? The truth about them? It's none of my business, right?"
"NO!"
Monica raised her eyes, startled.
"No," Robin repeated, more quietly, "they were wrong not telling you. But I'm sure they're regretting it now."
"Oh, that's great," said Monica. "They have been lying to me for seventeen years. But at least they're sorry!"
Robin got up, went over and sat next to her on his bed. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Ad at that point, Monica surrendered. She burst out crying, leaned her face against his shoulder and cried all her bitterness, anger and frustration.
Robin was silent; he simply stroked her hair and waited for her to calm down. It took several minutes, but eventually she raised her eyes and met his.
Her big, dark-brown eyes were red and wet, but their gaze was now suddenly filled with wonderment... Robin was almost unable to control himself... all he knew was that his hands were cupping her face and his lips were descending towards hers. And before he had the time to ask himself whether it was fair to kiss a girl in such a vulnerable situation - their lips met.
To Monica, a thousand falling stars could not do what this kiss did to her. It was warm and loving and passionate, it was better than any of her dreams... she was drowning in it, savoring it... unbelievable, it was...
And after this kiss - there were more kisses to follow...
"Monica," Robin whispered.
"Robin," she whispered back. "Why did you keep me waiting so long?"
"You - " he didn't dare to ask.
Monica's lips curled into a true smile, for the first time in a week. "Didn't you know?"
"I thought... but never mind. Monica, you don't know what it means to me."
Monica giggled. "I think I do..."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
As she entered the kitchen the following morning, Monica's mind was still filled with happy thoughts about Robin. But they vanished immediately as she saw Mrs. McKay face - and she knew exactly what had happened.
Her parents had sent an owl! She could tell by the way Mrs. McKay was looking at the piece of paper.
Robin was standing next to his mother, watching Monica worriedly.
"Monica," said Mrs. McKay, "come over here, please."
Monica came closer. Oh, how she hated her parents that moment. Something good had finally happened to her, and they simply had to ruin it!
"Look," said Robin's mother, and Monica looked at the familiar handwriting of her father.
----Dear Mr. and Mrs. McKay,
I'm Monica's father, Draco Malfoy. We met last summer. Monica and I had a serious fight, and she ran away from home. Can you please tell me if you have any idea where she might be? I thought she might have gone to your place, because I know she's friends with your son.
Please answer as soon as possible, because my wife and I are extremely worried.
Yours sincerely, Draco Malfoy -----
As angry as she was with her father, Monica thanked him in her mind for not telling Robin's parents exactly why she had run away. Enough people knew the truth already, in her opinion.
"Mom," said Robin, "I've already told you, Monica had her reasons."
"I can't," said Mrs. McKay. "I'm really, really sorry, dear," she said to Monica, "but I know what your parents feel like. Robin's older brother, my eldest son Jerry, ran away from home when he was sixteen, because we had forbidden him to see some girl he liked. I can tell you my husband and I went ballistic. I'm sorry," she repeated, "but I'll have to tell your father where you are."
Surprisingly, Monica did not find this information too upsetting. She had thought about this whole running-away thing during the night, and felt a little ashamed of herself. Now that she realized how worried her parents must be, she was even more ashamed.
"It's okay," she replied quietly, "don't worry."
Mrs. McKay patted her on the shoulder. "Good girl," she said, "I'm glad you understand. You two go and have some breakfast. I'll send an owl to your parents, they'll probably be here soon."
Monica and Robin sat down to eat, and Monica discovered, to her surprise, that she was very hungry.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It wasn't even half an hour before Monica's parents showed up. They both threw themselves on their daughter.
"Oh my God, Monica!" Hermione sobbed. "I can't believe it... you're fine... you're perfectly fine... oh, Monica..."
"I think the three of us need to talk," said Draco firmly.
Monica got the hint and turned to say goodbye to Robin and his mother. She gave Robin a quick kiss, whispered "See ya soon," shook his mother's hand and the three of them Apparated to the Malfoy Manor.
"Let's all sit down," Draco suggested, and they sat.
"Where are Sapphire and Samantha?" asked Monica.
"We sent them to Ron and Luna's," Draco replied, "we didn't want them to know you were missing, so we told them you went out for shopping."
"Good," Monica sighed. She didn't want her sisters to know.
There was a silence of several minutes. Monica didn't dare to look at her parents in the eye. Eventually she broke down.
"Mom, Dad, I'm sorry," she said quietly.
They didn't reply.
"I am," she repeated. "I shouldn't have run away... I know I shouldn't have. I just didn't think straight before I ran. I was to angry to think at all. I promise never to do that again."
"Honey, we're sorry too," said Hermione with tears and her eyes. "I'm so sorry I never told you. I should have told you. After all, you were the one thing that made me happy during those six months before your father returned. In fact, you were the one thing that made me happy since the moment I found out I was pregnant, because I was going through a very difficult time, but the thought of having you made me happy."
Monica smiled. "Can I ask you one thing?"
"Sure, sweetie."
"Can YOU tell me this whole story, so I can hear the actual truth and not rumors? I want you to tell me this."
And they told her. They both told her about their own childhood, and how much they hated each other. They told her about the Philosopher's Stone; about the Chamber of Secrets; about Sirius Black; about the return of Voldemort; about the Order of the Phoenix; about the Dark War and how Voldemort was eventually killed. Then they told her how Draco had changed throughout the summer holiday after his father had been killed, and how they both fell in love and how close they were, until this critical night.
As Monica was listening with her eyes wide with interest, her parents told her how Hermione had found out she was pregnant and about Draco's reaction; how angry Harry and Ron were, and how they learned to accept the fact that Hermione was going to have the baby; how much Draco suffered during the pregnancy months and even after it; about the birth and how happy Hermione was with Baby Monica; how Narcissa found out the truth and forced Draco to go and talk to Hermione; how there was an immidiate connection between Draco and Monica, and how Hermione turned him down; how Draco went to ask Ginny what to do, went back to Hermione and how she finally forgave him.
After all this long, long story, Monica felt the relief falling upon her like a heavy sack of potatoes. She suddenly realized how tired she was. Thanking her parents and hugging them, she went to bed anf fell asleep immediately. Her sleep was peaceful, like only babies and people who had revealed a seventeen-years-secret can sleep.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It was midnight.
Draco and Monica were sitting on the roof, as they had done so many times before, since Monica was very young. She was not sitting on his lap this time, because she was much too old, but she was leaning on him and he was hugging her.
"...and then I saw you right there, inside this baby-carriage," Draco was telling her. "It was the first time I saw you, and it was the most amazing thing in the world. You were looking at me with those big, bron eyes of yours, those eyes that reminded me so much of you mother's eyes... and I fell in love with you immediately. I knew I simply had to be with you, to see you every day."
"I've always wanted blue eyes, actually," said Monica quietly. "Because I wanted to resemble you..."
"Oh, Monica, you do resemble me," said Draco lovingly and played with her hair. "Just look at yourself in the mirror. I knew you loved me too at once, because of the way you were looking at me. And since then, we had this special connection between us. Do you feel it too, Monica?" he pressed a gentle kiss to her head.
"Of course I do," Monica responded. "I've always felt it. I love you, Dad. I'm so glad things are right again between us."
"Look!" Draco suddenly said, pointing to the sky.
Monica raised her eyes, and saw the falling star. She closed her eyes and silently expressed the gratitude she was feeling... for everything. For the loving family she had, for the truth finally revealed, for her new love with Robin... but above all, for the extraordinary relationship she had with this precious father of hers. And as she hugged him again, she felt more loved than she had ever felt in her entire life.
THE END.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: And this is how it ends... I must say goodbye to Monica now, and I've become almost a fan of hers, because she's the first main character who is original, my own. I really love her character, too.
So, anyway, I really hope you enjoyed this story as much as I did, and that you loved Monica like me. Thanks to everyone who convinced me to write a sequel, and thank you all for the great, great reviews!!!
See ya in the next story!
Love you all
Roni.