"Daddy won't control you, Mummy. He loves you." The small boy smiled up at her.
"I know." She sat beside the river with him as they talked.
He leaned his small head against her side and she put her arm around him. "I think it's almost over."
She sighed and kissed the top of his head. "I am going to miss you."
He beamed at her. "I'll still be inside of you."
"Yes, but I won't get to look at you." She pulled at a blade of grass next to her and tickled his neck with it. He giggled and squirmed around.
"Mummy!" She stopped and smiled lovingly at him. "Just have more babies and maybe you'll have one that looks like me."
BREAK
"We have a development." Kingsley informed Ginny, Harry, Tonks and Ron the next morning as they met, once again, in the conference room. "I have asked for Hermione to join us and as soon as she arrives, we will begin."
Hermione opened to door slowly and moved over to sit with Ron. "I got here as quickly as I could." She smiled apologetically at the head Auror.
"It is fine, Hermione." He rose and moved towards the door. He exited and returned quickly with a young woman who Ginny recognized instantly as Tracey Davis. She has a small child in her arms and she looked terrified. Dawlish and Fraiser followed in behind her with their wands trained upon her. Kingsley led her to a seat at the head of the table and the two men stood behind her. Kingsley returned to his seat before speaking again. "She showed up at the house to bring food to Malfoy and we apprehended her."
She looked around nervously at everyone before her eyes fell upon Ginny and Harry. "I'm sorry he is doing this to you."
Ginny nearly gasped but held it back. "What is your name, Tracey? Your last name, I mean." When the other woman hesitated, Ginny went on. "Who are you bonded to?"
Tears started to trail down her face and her toddler seemed to try and bury himself into her arms. She tightened her arms around his slight frame before answering. "My name is Tracy Nott. I'm bonded to Theodore Nott." She sniffed quietly. "I know what he's been up to and I've been helping him do it although I really didn't want to. He kept threatening to hurt Austin if I didn't cooperate." She kissed the top of her son's head and Ginny was reminded forcefully of her dream from the previous night. A wave of sympathy hit her, for the other woman who was obviously also a victim.
"Can you talk to us about it?" Ginny asked gently.
"I…" She took a steadying breath and a determined glint came to her eyes. "If you get my parents here to take Austin then I'll talk."
Kingsley motioned to Fraiser who nodded and left. "We will get them here as soon as possible. You have my word."
"Thank you." She whispered. "They will take care of Austin."
Ginny could not see them throwing the woman in Azkaban for being forced to aid Nott but she did not say anything. "Do you want to wait until they are here or talk now?"
"I need to talk now or else he might realize that I am gone." Tracey ran a hand over her son's hair. "I suppose I should start at the beginning. It was the last battle and Theodore was watching Harry kill You-Know-Who. He was hit by a green light and found that he was possessed, in part, by You-Know-Who." Hermione looked as though she wanted to interrupt but quickly shut her mouth. "He stole the sword of Gryffindor while Harry and Ginny weren't looking and hid it. He was never a Death Eater so he was able to escape Azkaban."
"Then what happened?" Kingsley asked her.
"Theodore went home for the summer and accidentally found out what he could do with the sword. He was tired of his aunt controlling him and they had a fight. His father had left his aunt in charge of their estate since his mother is long dead and his father died in the final battle. It all started with the sword, though. Theodore had taken to wearing it under his robes and he had yelled at Allison, that's his aunt's name, that he wanted to control their estate. She immediately turned over control of it to him. He confided in Blaise Zabini what had happened and realized quickly that he could also control Blaise. Theodore and Blaise were best friends but Blaise was a Death Eater who managed to not get locked up. It turned out that those who bore the dark mark were under his influence but it was not complete. He just had to be wearing the sword."
Tracey glanced around nervously. "Theodore also realized that the part of You-Know-Who that resided in him was trying to take over. He had Zabini look for a solution and he found out about bonding. Zabini's grandfather was an Unspeakable and he had records of the process in his study. The two of them kidnapped me and I was bonded to him. He was then free of You-Know-Who's control and that part of You-Know-Who was destroyed. Theodore always thought that he was able to fight the possession because he had never been possessed by You-Know-Who before and Harry and Ginny had been."
Ginny closed her eyes as she realized some of the horrors that Tracey must have faced. She felt Harry squeeze her hand and she opened her eyes to watch the young woman continue.
"I was seventeen and straight out of Hogwarts but not only that, I'm a half blood so they had never paid attention to me before." She laughed derisively. "It turned out that Theodore was never a Death Eater because he did not really care about blood. He thought Voldemort was an idiot to try and fight a war over blood but he did want power. He just never believed that the fight should be over blood. He… he raped me until I was pregnant and then left me locked in his house. I gave birth to Austin with Allison's help but she was only there because Theodore made her help me. She hated me because my mother is a muggle born. Obviously, she was also a Death Eater."
"Why was Theodore trying to get Harry and Ginny?" Hermione asked her kindly.
"He realized that they were hit by the green light as well and that he could control them. He made them forget what they knew so that they would not rid themselves of You-Know-Who like Theodore had. He planted false thoughts in their head, using the control that he had through the sword and he made Ginny feel horrible about herself. He would send her dreams that reminded her of all of the humiliating things that had ever happened to her so that she would not try and get close to a man. Theodore wanted her to believe that no one would want her so that there was no risk of her bonding. He even had to make her forget a report that she did while at Hogwarts." She bit her lip before going on. "He tried to control Harry and he was able to do some things through him, but for the most part, Harry's mind was impenetrable. His only hope of gaining more power was Ginny."
"How could he gain more power through me?" Ginny muttered and apparently Tracey had heard her because she answered.
"Theodore thought that if he killed you with the sword that the part of You-Know-Who that lived inside of you would transfer to the sword."
"Of course." Hermione pushed her hair behind her ear as she spoke. "That makes so much sense! He wants to get Harry and Ginny to reform Voldemort."
Tracey flinched and shook her head. "No, he didn't want to reform him but he did want to wield his power. You-Know-Who could not reform anyway, since part of him was destroyed when we were bonded. Theodore ended up being right about the sword. He finally managed to break Lucius Malfoy out of Azkaban by sending him a portkey. Blaise questioned Lucius about what he knew of the ceremonies that You-Know-Who had performed and we also learned about why the dark marks could be used to control those who had the mark. This is where Theodore came up with the plan to finally get Harry and Ginny so that he could kill them. He knew that they had been assigned to capturing Malfoy so he would have Blaise pretend to be Malfoy using Polyjuice potion to lure Harry and Ginny out. He wanted to do it several times until they got lazy in thinking that he wouldn't be there. Then Theodore was going to capture them and kill them with the sword, which would absorb the last remnants of You-Know-Who. He would have ultimate control over all of the remaining Death Eaters and with Lucius Malfoy, he would be able to mark more followers."
"Why did he try to blow us up in France, then?" Harry asked her.
Tracey glanced down at the table remorsefully. "He didn't. You were supposed to go into the house and Blaise would have captured you two. When he realized that you two didn't enter, he blew up the house so that there was a diversion and he would be able to escape."
"So what happened when Blaise was captured by us?" Ron's voice was hoarse and he seemed to be fighting back several emotions. Everyone was tense and the room was silent as they listened to Tracey talk. Even her son stayed still.
"I had to take over his duties of feeding Malfoy and making sure he was still at the house. That is also when he brought in Niggs. He was not a Death Eater before but through Malfoy, they were able to mark him while he was stunned and then Niggs was under Theodore's control. A strange side effect was that all of the dark marks came back when Theodore marked Niggs. We don't really know why, though. Malfoy thought it was because Theodore was claiming his place as the new dark lord and the marks were responding to it." More tears slipped down Tracey's face.
Tonks shifted in her seat. "Did Niggs really kill himself?"
"No." Her voice cracked. "Theodore made him smuggle in a knife so that he could kill himself once he had given you the false information."
"How did he get into the Department of Mysteries?" Hermione asked.
Tracey shrugged. "I don't really know. Theodore told him to just walk in although he made Niggs feel like he had a purpose. Theodore told Niggs that he was to stop the bonding if he could but he had lost hope that it could be stopped." She glanced up guiltily at Harry. "Theodore thought that if a fifteen year old could sneak into the Department of Mysteries then Niggs could."
Hermione folded her arms on the table and laid her head in them. Ron ran a hand over her back, comforting her. "How do you know all of this stuff?"
Her brow wrinkled. "I'm nothing to him so he always talks around me as if I am not there. I wanted to leave but he said I would die if I left and I tried once but it became hard to breathe so I went back to the house. I am his servant especially since his aunt died a month ago."
"It's the truth." Hermione looked up at her. "You need to live with your bond mate. If you left him then you would both die."
Her eyes widened. "He never told me that. After I tried to leave that time, he threatened to hurt Austin if I went against him so I didn't, but…" She let out a sob. "I can't do this anymore." She straightened her shoulders and nodded, as though to herself. "You'll make sure that my parents and Austin are protected, right? I cooperated with you so that you'll make sure they are safe. I don't want Theodore to hurt my baby. He doesn't care about us at all. He just used me."
"We will make sure that they are safe." Kingsley assured her and looked over at the door as it opened. An older couple came in and immediately rushed over to Tracey.
"Tracey!" The woman hugged her and ran a hand over the small boy's cheek. "He's beautiful."
"Where have you been?" Her father asked her softly as he too hugged her.
"I was kidnapped and then bonded to Theodore Nott. This is Austin."
"Hello Austin." Mrs. Davis said softly.
"I need a favor." Tracey whispered and gazed pleadingly at her parents. Her face took on an even more determined look. "I need you to raise him."
"You can raise him!" Mr. Davis tried to go on but he became choked up. Ginny was about to tell her that she would not be going to Azkaban when Tracey went on.
"He's… I don't think he is magical." Tracey informed her parents.
Mrs. Davis nodded. "You know that doesn't matter to me. We can raise him, if that is what you need Tracey."
"That is what I need." She hugged her son and kissed him several time. "I love you." She told him. "You be good for your grandparents, all right?" The toddler nodded and she passed him over to her parents. "Please leave and tell him often that I loved him."
"Tracey…" Mr. Davis started but Tracey held up a hand and he stopped speaking.
"Please, you need to go. The Aurors will protect you until Theodore is captured and then you will be free."
Mr. Davis nodded and followed his wife and grandson as they left. Fraiser went to follow before turning to her. "I'll set up a safe house for them right now."
"Thank you." She whispered. She looked back at those who were sitting at the table. "Theodore is living in his country seat in York. Do you know how to find it?"
"Yes, we can locate it." Kingsley replied.
"You need to go immediately and get that sword or one of his followers will take it and try to control the others. Take care of my son." She said before closing her eyes. "I am leaving you Theodore Nott!" Tracey's voice was firm as she spoke the words.
"NO!" Ginny jumped up and tried to run to her but Harry caught her and held her back. Tracey seemed to be struggling to breathe. She fell to her knees before collapsing on the floor.
A/N: Okay, so now you know! There is one more chapter of explanations and getting Nott and then a short epilogue. If you didn't like it, go ahead and tell me why. I really do want to know.
Thank you for reviewing! You have been
wonderful!
I had two people help me out on this chapter. You know
who you are and I really appreciate all of your help and support!
Rivenn: So were you close?
SaintEmo: Your cd player is in the back of your closet.
Agloechen: I had fun leading everyone on…
xiaoxiao: I did not want this to be like anything else… anyway, what do you think? You can be honest if you didn't like it, by the way.
wvchemteach: Thank you!
Wolf's scream: There is a book called "The Girlfriend's Guide To Pregnancy" by Vicki Iovine and it is extremely funny and very accurate. Anyway, if you ever have the insane urge to read more about pregnancy, that's the book to read. Again, thank you for all of your help!
kazziedal: I can hardly believe it is over either! I will miss this. I'm glad your child is starting to feel better!
Beauty Eclipsed: I've tried to write more but it never works out for me. I have a huge time constraint and I like posting daily. Anyway, what do you think of this chapter?
GiGiFanFic: Thank you for letting me know! I'm sorry about your sinus'… that really sucks. Anyway, I'm glad you liked it.
Neni Potter: The bad guy… it was impossible to see it coming and I did that on purpose! Anyway, I won't have another story up until after HBP although I might do a few one-shots. I'm having surgery very soon and then I'll be recovering and then I'll be out of town until the beginning of July so I won't have time to write. Anyway, look for the one-shots sporadically throughout the next few months.
mysticruby: She is really having a baby, I promise!
Nytel: I have to take time off for surgery and then I'm going on a month long vacation after I've recovered so I won't write anything more than a few one-shots until after HBP.
AllylovesHarry: YAH! Pictures! Thanks!
Harry and Ginny 4eva: So is your question answered fully?
MusicalDragons: Zabini is a guy but nope… anyway, I hope you still liked it even though it wasn't him.
