Hoorah, the last chapter got loved!
:Malfoy Castle in the Afterlife:
"Relina?" Draco approached his grandmother. She was a wise woman and could help them get through the Gateway.
She turned and saw him from her seat at a table across from a polo match happening between men married into the family and men born to the family. "Yes?"
"I was wondering if you could help me," Draco seated himself in a chair that materialized next to the older woman.
"Of course, where's your Match?" she looked around for Harry but didn't spot him.
"He's with his parents right now, they're catching up," Draco explained, he accepted a cup of cocoa that a goblin sized fairy offered him.
"Ah, I see. What is it you needed help with?"
"When we return to earth, will there be any...difficulties, problems or interferences we'll have to worry about?"
She thought for a moment and then extended her arm to greet Helene as she came over. "Darling," they pressed their cheeks together and Helene seated herself on Draco's other side.
"I saw you two talking and decided to join in," the auburn haired woman explained, taking a glass of wine from the fairy creature.
"Draco was wondering about troubles returning to earth that he and Harry may have. You have a book of Reincarnation Magik, don't you? It would say there," Relina said, casting her eyes for only a second on the polo players.
"I do," Helene raised her left arm and, in an elegant motion to a fairy, a thickly bound leather book was brought to her. The clasp was gold and was the crest of Troy twisted with that of Sparta. Draco smirked a little, Harry had asked if his ancestor was the Helene of Troy, she was.
The woman flipped slowly to a page somewhere deep in the bowls of the book and her finger moved down the ancient text in a long dead language. "Here," she tapped a passage with the heading Viv Deserlax Morinua. Draco knew this language, for it was his heritage to know such things. Life after Death is what it read, properly translated.
Helene scanned the page and then the next. She read on for another two pages, Draco and Relina waiting patiently by pretending to watch the game. Kristofer leant over the side of his unicorn and smacked the ball with his club sending it into the face of Oleandar, a man who'd married in during the 15th century.
"My book says," the two snapped their heads to look at her, "that the potential problems in entering life through the Gateway are numerous. Arriving in a country you aren't prepared to be in is one of them, you could end up in Burma for all we know.
"If there's been a funeral then a special spell is required, an obscure form of Destrium Encanta that would reverse the finality of your death on earth. Then to make sure you readjust to earth a potion called Nuras Vive is required, to remove any habits you picked up while "dead." I think it'd be good for you to take a temporary wand with you as well," she said, listing off these things on her long, elegant fingers.
Draco repeated these things in his head. "Destrium Encanta and Nuras Vive. How long does the potion take to brew? Mrs. Potter said we should leave by this afternoon, spending much more than two earth weeks here can cause problems once we return," he said.
"The potion, you'll be happy to here, is always kept in stock here at the Malfoy abode, for cases just like this," Relina said, sounding herself very proud.
Draco smiled with relief, finally the Malfoy's were good for something. He wondered fleetingly if they would let Lucius stay here when he died.
"No."
"What?"
"Lucius won't be allowed here after his death, his soul and that of all Death Eaters who refuse to repent will be sent to a deeper, darker level of the Afterlife called Satinis."
"H-how did you know I was thinking that?"
"I was a very powerful sorceress in my time," she said, smiling coyly. "Now," she motioned to a fairy thing, "retrieve two vials of the potion Nuras Vive and a copy of Destrium Encanta. Oh, and get me a nice bowl of strawberries," the thing floated off, bobbing a little in tune with its wings.
"Draco?"
"Yes Grandmother Relina?"
"I will miss you," she sounded as though she was trying to assure him with an emphasis on "will."
"Thank-you Grandmother, it was wonderful to see you again," he leaned over and kissed her cheek. She blushed a little and smiled at him.
"I wish you and your Match the best of luck," Relina said.
"That's sweet of you," Draco answered.
"I have a gift for you, really it's from us older women, but I'm giving it to you so it's from me," Helene stood and moved her hand in a vertical circular motion going clockwise and as it came back she turned her hand palm up and a box carved of black wood appeared. Silver hinges and intricate lines of silver created a design on the top. The design was a pair or roses with their stems woven around each other and held again by English Ivy.
She moved the box so he could see inside and she lifted the lid slowly. On a puff of cloud sat two of the most beautiful rings Draco had ever seen. Silver bands with diamonds studded around them, on one the centre stone was a sapphire flanked by heart shaped emeralds that glowed. The other was the same design inverted, with a central emerald and two heart sapphires. Draco heard himself gasp and even Relina drew in a breath.
"They were cast by Vulcan himself, in the fires of Pompeii and the stones are cut from jewels taken from the deepest ocean vent," Helene was proud of these rings. "He made them for the Match made from the soul of Aphrodite's daughter Menia. They were given to me when I discovered Paris and I were a Match. I never met another to pass them on to, but now, here you are," She handed him the box. Shakily he accepted it.
"They are to help control your magic during more…loving moments," she explained.
Draco slowly lowered the lid on them and smiled at her. "Thank-you so much Grandmere, they're exquisite." He stood and hugged the Roman woman. She hugged him back, Draco turned and hugged Relina, "thank-you Grandmother, I know you had something to do with this."
She had, Helene had forgotten the rings had even existed, she and Paris didn't wear them anymore, with no need to control their magic. Her Match was on the field then, galloping around with the young men, still preserved as a youth since the war had ended.
The fairy returned and Helene handed him the two vials and roll with the spell on it. Draco set them next to the box and reseated himself.
"How do I know if there's been a funeral for me yet?"
"Do you feel a little like you've got a weight keeping you here?" Relina inquired.
"No ma'am," he answered, a little confused.
"You've not been given a funeral then," she said, sipping her warm drink.
"Oh," Draco nodded.
:At Hogwarts:
"No!" Blaise yelled and threw the cup of tea in his hands at the Headmaster. The cup shattered against the wall behind him and tea dripped down from where it had impacted.
"Mr. Zabini, it has been six days, the stones are nearly all removed and there's not been a single trace of either boy." Dumbledore was very short with the boy.
"He's not dead!" Blaise yelled.
Srene was seated on the couch nearby, he rested his head against his hand and sighed heavily. The dead magic was strong, he worried it could take him. As a vampire he was soulless and had been in the Afterlife for the briefest time before he'd been taken back to life. Dead magic was the thing that could take him back, this form of life he had depended entirely on maintaining a high level of magic.
"I think you should listen to him Albus," Srene said, looking at them.
"Why?"
"Who else can claim a family history for feeling the life presence of people?"
It was true, the Zabini family was regarded as the best family for tracking or finding a person, they were commonly called Sensors. Employed for hundreds of thousands by the Ministry they were always on hand in missing-wizard cases.
Dumbledore shook his head. He didn't want to postpone any more, the media was becoming incessant. "How much longer should we wait?"
"Until I say so," Blaise snarled.
"How long will that take?" Dumbledore felt like screaming.
"As long as it takes for Draco to die," Blaise responded sharply. He had little tolerance for the aging man.
"Can you say anything about Harry?"
Blaise pictured the Boy Wonder and searched his feelings, as his grandfather Xaviar had taught him. A bluish green aura surrounded the Harry in Blaise's mind. He was alive, but distant, like Draco, it was weak but there.
"He and Draco are in the same place, alive," Blaise said, his muscles relaxed a little.
"So now nothing can be said about either one!" Dumbledore threw his hands into the air in exasperation. "You try my patience Mr. Zabini."
"And you try mine Professor. Accept this, tell them what you will but I refuse to allow you to bury my best friend when he is alive. Consider your options sir, and get the media away from the gates, people want to go to Hogsmeade tomorrow," Blaise snarled the word "sir" and then slammed out of the room.
Tomorrow night was the hoorah for Draco, it was gorgeous, the Greol was decorated perfectly, the door guard was set, spells applied, alcohol acquired, persons invited and even a window added so the smoke from cigarettes would be less oppressive. Just as Draco had intended, his notes had sketches and lists of décor items and drinks lists and guest lists.
Blaise was calling the party the Ovation, in reference to honoring Draco and his personality. Blaise stormed through the castle, without the blonde he'd taken over the prefect duties to help Pansy and they had been left to guide the younger Slytherins as Malfoy had always done. He was a very busy person.
Quidditch, prefect duties, O's in most every class (and he was taking advanced courses as well), parties, looking good, sharing time with his friends, tutoring, advising, faking being a Death Eater-in-training, answering his parent's (very long) persistent letters, and he still had time to help Snape brew potions in his spare time.
Blaise found himself standing by the gaping hole where the door to the Astronomy tower used to be. There was a charm to keep cold winds out, but it was still a hole. There was dust and fragments of rock littering the ground, some still left over from the time a few weeks ago that two stair cases had collided and students had been locked all in their dorms. Blaise knew now that that had been from the Match kissing. With a heavy sigh Blaise walked through the hole and was hit by a bitter wind that rushed over the field. Classes had been canceled for the past week and he'd found himself grateful, assuming Draco's responsibilities was difficult. He wasn't sure how Pansy did it either.
"Hey," Blaise turned and saw Ron step through the hole onto the small mounds of stones that remained.
"Hey," Blaise responded. He dug his toe under a rock and chipped it out, sending it flying into the grass nearby.
"You want to go for a walk around the lake?" Ron asked, his voice soft.
"Sure," Blaise breathed out heavily, he took a step down from the mound and his feel hit something that clicked like metal. "What?" he lifted his heel and saw a steel chain stuck between two rocks. He bent down and lifted it out. On the chain were three crests.
One was the Slytherin crest, green with a snake twisted through the centre.
To the left was the Zabini crest, two glowing Italian Harpies wrapping themselves around a crown.
To the right was the Malfoy crest. A silver snake curled at the bottom looking up at, a raven stretched across the centre of the crest, the heavily pregnant moon creating a white halo behind the bird's head.
The necklace was Draco's and matched one that Blaise wore, at eleven they had exchanged crests, a symbol of incredibly friendship. To allow another person to wear your family symbol meant you regarded them as family, closer even.
Blaise let out a strangled cry and fell back on the pile of rock. The Slytherin Prince never took this off. Ron rushed over and knelt beside him, he saw the necklace, the crests and though he wasn't technically higher class he knew what this necklace symbolized.
"Blaise, I-"
"I have to be alone," the Italian hurriedly stood and rushed into the castle then down to find Pansy.
Ron watched him go and felt a sinking sad feeling. Does he think they're dead now?
:At the Gateway:
It was a huge river that flowed with silver, white and gray forms of people. Dead souls flowing in. The river, called Styx, was running about a foot and a half deep and was plenty wide. Apparently the level of the Afterlife they resided in was meant strictly for wizard folk, muggle souls were taken elsewhere. Draco didn't understand how they could get in if there was no magic in them, however he refrained from asking.
A tall black archway rested with its back to a mountain covered in ice. In the ice Draco could see scenes of earth flashing by. The arch itself had huge thorns coming out, vines carved into the mountain that stretched for meters at a time. Intricate with tiny leaves on them, this was a magnificent piece of art. Harry was at his side, sending questioning looks at the box Draco held.
Helene was standing not far off with Lily and James, both looking proud, sad and nervous at the same time. Helene looked as though she was watching another polo match, sipping a glass of wine.
"Here, drink this," Draco handed him a vial of the potion.
"What is it?"
"It'll help us reacclimatize to earth," Draco said and drank his, it tasted like rainwater. Harry drank his and looked at the empty vial before setting it aside.
"What's in the box?" Harry finally asked.
"Sit down," Draco motioned to the rock near the bank of the river.
Harry gave a weird look at seated himself. Helene grinned broadly while the Potters moved around to see what it was. Draco lifted the lid and himself gasped again at the beauty of the rings. Harry's jaw dropped open and his eyes widened to twice their normal size.
"They're incredible," he whispered.
"Made especially for a Match," Draco said with a grin, he took one and held it out for Harry. Lily and James had moved enough to see the jewelry and were stunned.
"Those are…" they searched for the words.
"The Amoras rings, made for Menia, given to myself and Paris now, their third owners," Helene said, she nodded to the two boys.
Harry put on the ring with the two sapphires flanking the emerald, finding it a perfect fit. Draco put on the other and closed the box, he turned and gave it to Helene, she smiled, touched the roses and it shrunk down, then she pushed it back to Draco. He smiled and put the box into the pocket if his white robes. He extended his wings and when he hugged her wrapped them around her. Helene laughed charmingly and did the same with her own wings.
"You two should go," Lily said. The Gateway showed it was nearly eight o'clock in England. A few more hours and the returning would triple in difficulty.
They nodded, and Harry extended his hand to Draco. They wore their rings on opposite hands, Harry being right-handed wore it there and Draco being left handed wore it there. So when they held hands the rings touched and filled each with a safe, loved feeling. The time he spent in the Afterlife was the most beloved time Harry had ever had, he was cared for by everyone.
He kissed his parents and then the Match walked to the banks of the river.
They stepped in, barefoot, and felt the ice cold waters chill them. It was a deep cold, so cold it almost burned and the river was swift, it dragged at them, grabbing their robes as the waded deeper, nearly to their knees. The two moved back up the river, feeling it try to coax them under the surface, promising a safe ride. Draco nearly slid under, dragged by the presence of the souls. But he continued on, until they stood at the change of the worlds. Beyond Draco caught a glimps of an ice-castle, belonging to a Veela queen, then a tree house of an Elven family, St. Mungos Hospital, a tiny hut it Africa, then a house in America. They watched for a second, then moved to go through.
AN: (NOT AS IMPORTANT AS THE LAST ONE): This is chapter 31, hope it's not too long for ya'all. Yeah it's a cliffy, yeah it's mean but hey, there's another… someodd days until they can have a party. I'm going away to Ashland from the 11-19 so I'm putting this up for you. Review 30 so I don't feel bad about cutting off it's potential by updating too quickly. Lol. Review this one too though.
:love to reviewers:
I don't respond very often but I did last chapter, everyone has been awesome, a lot of the same people give reviews which is AWESOME I adore you for it. But new persons giving reviews are totally appreciated :hint hint:
okay.
That's all.
:passes out holographic trading cards (of Harry and Draco making out) to all reviewers:
There.
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