Chapter 55
"I'm fine. We can deal with this later." Draco said as Ginny tried to fuss over him. She'd started casting healing spells on him the minute he'd Accio'ed her wand back. "We need to get through the barriers to Zabini Manor before more of those bastards show up!"
She sighed, but nodded, desisting. At least nothing looked life threatening.
She helped Draco to his feet, and then back up onto the Stallion's back since his knee kept giving when he tried to put weight on it. Once he was seated, he scanned the skies as she picked up Tiger and mounted her own Thestral.
"Where's Potter?" He asked, puzzled.
"He killed off three of them, but then the last Death Eater set some kind of mist after him... he made a run for it. I haven't seen him since." Ginny said, looking around as well.
Draco's eyes went wide, "Mist?!?" He asked quickly, fear creeping into his voice.
She looked over at him, shocked and frightened by such a reaction coming from Draco. "Yes... it was kind of glowing... it came out of some little container he was carrying.
"Bloody Hell! We have to find him!" He said urgently.
The Thestrals launched themselves into the air and flew faster than even Draco thought possible, making the ground below them into little more than a blur.
They banked and slowed a bit as they heard a bird-like screech off to one side. They followed the sound. Draco's heart started beating faster as he saw Harry's Thestral. It was up ahead, circling a tall rock formation, riderless.
As they got closer, they could see Harry on the relatively flat top of the formation. The mist was flowing around him, but some kind of barrier seemed to be holding it back. Despite the barrier, jags of power kept hitting him like bolts of static electricity, making him call out and thrash in obvious pain.
Draco quickly assessed the situation. He knew the barrier had to be from Delse's necklace, as demons themselves had no defense against that particular spell. The pendant was ancient magic, but it wasn't infallible. Given much longer, the spell might be able to penetrate it more completely. Still, that meant he couldn't try to cancel out the attacking spell without risking collapsing Harry's only means of protection. They had to get him to Zabini land before it was too late. Luckily, they weren't much more than a stone's throw from it.
"Wish me luck!" Draco sighed, then slid sideways off the Stallion.
Ginny let out a gasp, but then in a glimmer of light he was a Thestral again. He streaked over towards where Harry was trying to struggle to his feet, having spotted their approach. Draco dipped down, snagging up Harry as best he could as he passed. As he had hoped, he was able to pass physically through the barrier without disrupting it, or allowing the malicious spell entrance. His hold on Harry was tenuous at first, his initial grab catching hold of one arm and a chunk of robe. He grabbed ahold of one of Harry's legs with his last remaining good set of talons, managing to balance the weight evenly enough for a short distance.
He pumped his wings hard, hoping he'd be able to stay aloft long enough to make it. He turned towards Zabini Manor, his Thestral form providing an unerring sense of direction. The other Thestrals followed, taking up guard positions around him. The mist that had surrounded Harry started falling behind, but pursued him doggedly.
Draco felt a rush of relief as he began recognizing the terrain below. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he felt the tingle of the Zabini Manor barrier. He darted a glance back and saw the mist hit the barrier. It sparked and crackled, but couldn't penetrate it. He let out a triumphant screech, the other Thestrals joining in as well.
He flew on. His wing muscles were burning from the effort, but he'd come this far, and besides, he just wanted to get there already! He could see people running out onto the lawn in the distance as they approached the expansive Manor, the barrier obviously having alerted them to the intrusion. From the number of redheads, he could tell the others had already arrived before he could even make out their faces.
He banked as he drew closer, skimming low and managing to get down to a relatively slow speed before depositing Harry on the ground, coasting a good few meters further before staggering to an unsteady halt himself. He turned and looked back at Harry, panting hard from his efforts, his wings drooping down to brush the ground, too tired to even fold up properly.
Harry was struggling up to his knees, looking nearly as exhausted as Draco was. As they contemplated eachother, he actually afforded Draco a little smile. Then the others arrived, Delse hurrying over to help Harry to his feet while Molly Weasley looked on. It was blatantly obvious she wanted to go to him and make sure he was ok, but was leery, having been informed about the demon within him. The others stared at Draco.
"What the bloody Hell is that?" Ron breathed, staring at him.
Blaise looked over at him and smirked. "That would be a Thestral, Ron."
Ron looked over at him sharply, "But how can I see it then?"
Pansy answered first, "The Death Eater in Hogsmeade... we saw him die..." She said softly.
"Welcome to the club." Blaise said with a smirk, clapping him on the back as he passed. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go check on Draco."
Ron looked at him, puzzled as he made straight for the pale creature before him. Blaise walked right up to it, putting his arms around its neck. In a glimmer, Draco slumped against him, held up only by Blaise's gentle but firm grasp on him.
"You knew?" Draco asked dazedly as Blaise scooped him up into his arms effortlessly.
Blaise smirked at him. "Not until I saw you... but things make a whole lot more sense now. I never quite bought the idea that I saw you first just because of Darien being a ghost. I didn't see any of the ghosts in the castle when we returned to it... now I know why."
Blaise turned, carrying him back towards the group as Ginny ran over, then tagged along beside them worriedly, Tiger at her heels. "Let's all get inside before father's creatures start picking off those without active invitations on them." He called mirthfully.
The others needed no further incentive. They filed in, Delse helping Harry along. No one even said a word when the Thestrals followed them right into the Manor.
They went into the first sitting room they came to. The room was so large that the three adult Thestrals settled down beside the huge fireplace without even being in the way.
Molly had trusted that Delse could take care of Harry since he seemed in pretty decent shape, and was now fussing over Draco. Draco rolled his eyes and sighed resignedly as Molly, Narcissa and Blaise all crowded around him. He shifted over, resting his head on Ginny's shoulder as they examined him. She held him as best she could without getting in their way.
"You're so cold!" Narcissa said worriedly, feeling Draco's cheek.
"It's just an insulating spell, mother. It'll wear off by morning."
Molly let out a gasp of dismay as she pulled aside his robe and found a bloody handprint on his side. Draco glanced down. "Oh... that's not mine..." He said, lifting his hands. They still had a great deal of the Death Eater's blood on them.
Kulia, still garbed in her full robe and face cloth, suddenly turned and hurried off, one of the alert Zabini house elves quickly opening the door for her and leading her away. The twins looked at eachother and sighed.
Molly noticed the departure, looking curiously at the twins, but chose not to comment.
Draco looked down as Blaise pulled up his shirt, shaking his head at the nasty bruise already raising on his side. "Can't you keep yourself intact for five minutes out of my sight?" he asked teasingly, examining the damage.
Draco smirked at him. "Oh please. I'll be fine. You're just looking for reasons to strip me."
Blaise just chuckled, starting to cast healing spells on him while Narcissa rolled her eyes, quite used to her son's unusual sense of humor.
Molly gave him a stern glance, but ignored the comment, "How did you get in this state, dear?" Molly asked gently as she cast healing spells on his leg.
"I'd like to know that myself." Mr. Weasley said as he walked into the room. "We were quite dismayed to hear you'd decided to make your own way here. Rather irresponsible, that."
Draco sighed, then blinked. Arthur had been followed by two other redheads he'd never seen before. He grinned. "Hey Ginny, looks like Mum's wedding presents have arrived..."
Ginny looked over and her eyes went wide as she let out an excited trill. Draco shifted off her, letting her spring up and dash over. Bill and Charlie Weasley grabbed her up, wrapping her in a big double hug. "Wouldn't miss our baby sister's wedding!" Bill said with a chuckle.
"Too right..." Charlie said agreeably.
As they released her, Bill reached up, gently brushing a scrape on her cheek. "What WERE you up to?" he asked with concern.
She blushed, covering the scrape with her hand. "I'm fine." She said, then turned, quickly looking to divert the conversation, "This is Draco." She said, indicating him. "Draco... these are my eldest brothers, Bill and Charlie."
They went over, looking down at him. Charlie held out his hand. Draco started to lift his, but then pulled it back. "Um... no offense, but probably best to leave that for later." He said with a rueful grin, looking down at the drying blood.
Charlie flashed him a little smile. "Right."
"We saw your little entrance from the window. I believe you were about to tell us about what prompted it." Bill said, folding his arms across his chest.
Draco sighed, then smirked as he spotted the way Blaise was staring at the eldest Weasley boys. He cleared his throat and Blaise snapped out of it, looking over at him and blushing, going back to work and trying to pretend he hadn't been staring.
Pansy was staring as well. Then she glanced over at Ron and smirked, leaning closer. "Um... Ron..." She started, the imploring tone already working it's way into her voice.
"No." He said with a smirk, not even looking over at her.
She sighed and pouted playfully, then leaned her head on his shoulder. "Fine. Meany." But she couldn't keep up the pout. A smirk worked onto her lips. "But with those two around, we really probably shouldn't have invited my mum for Christmas..." She said with a giggle.
Ron suppressed a snicker, then quickly quieted as Draco started to talk.
He started telling them what had happened since they had left Hogwarts. There really wasn't much to explain, until they got attacked of course. When he told about Ginny sliding off her Thestral, Molly gasped as her eyes darted over to her daughter.
Ginny sighed, reclaiming her seat beside Draco. Tiger, who had snuck up into the seat in her absence, shuffle over into Draco's lap. "It's ok mum. Draco jumped off his Thestral and went right after me. Caught me in mid-air! We were able to make it to a clearing, but he couldn't stop in time and crashed into the forest. That's how he got all banged up."
Blaise snickered, carefully working around Tiger, "Sounds like you're a piss-poor flier for a Thestral." He teased.
Draco snorted, "Bugger off! It was my first time. Let's see you sprout wings and do it better right off the bat!"
"How could that have been your first time?" Arthur asked, furrowing his brow. "It takes years to learn to become an Animagi, and that was a very solid form from what I could see. I can't imagine you just milled about on the ground before."
Draco sighed, "I didn't learn to be an Animagi, Darien did. I had no clue until he initiated the change. It was the first time I had ever changed into a Thestral. The first time I'd flown on my own. He may have the knowledge, but my body still needs some training."
"Pretty risky to jump after her not knowing for sure if you could manage the change." Bill said, eyeing him curiously.
Draco gave a little shrug. "Ginny was falling. Not like I had a choice." He grinned as Tiger started licking the scrape on Ginny's cheek, making it fade and all but disappear almost immediately. He reached up, stroking the Thestral's soft fur affectionately.
"So how'd you end up carting Harry back then?" Ron asked, rising and coming up to stand beside his older brothers, "Wouldn't it have been easier to let one of the other Thestrals carry him?"
"He managed to kill off three of the Death Eaters right nicely, but the last one set a binding spell on him. If it had gotten him, the demon would have been in my father's control again. That pendant kept it from getting through, but it was obviously taxing it. I had to get him through the barrier before the spell broke through... and I couldn't ask one of the Thestrals to do it when I didn't know for sure if it was safe."
Everyone had turned to look at Harry. Delse's eyes went wide as she spotted the pendant. Her jaw dropped as she looked down her front.
"Merlin!" She said, "I never even realized I'd lost it!"
Harry slipped it off, holding it out to her. "Sorry. I found it after you'd left. I was just making sure I didn't lose it."
She took it, holding it in the palm of her hand and staring at it for a long moment. At length she sighed, and lifted it up, slipping the chain back over Harry's head. "You hold onto it for me for now."
Blaise's head spun around so fast he nearly overbalanced from where he knelt beside Draco. He stared at her with open shock. "What?" He asked incredulously.
"What do you mean what?" She retorted, rolling her eyes at his reaction, "He's just holding onto it for me. Hey, if that spell had bound him back to Lucius, Harry would be slaughtering us all right about now! He knew where we were and had an invitation to boot! Personally, I'd prefer that not happen. If he requires the use of my pendant to prevent it, so be it."
Harry smiled at her warmly, feeling an almost overwhelming desire to kiss her. Given that the entire Weasley clan was watching, he had to settle for taking her hand and giving it a squeeze. "Thank you." He said softly, "I'll be sure to return it just as soon as we get rid of Lucius."
"Here here!" Draco said with a smirk. "Tell you what... you accomplish that and I'll have Kulia find you one of those things of your very own."
Harry smirked, then looked around. "Where is she anyway?"
"Who dear?" Molly asked, looking around.
Ron grinned, "Sorry... we just arrived a minute or two before the warning sounded on the barrier. We never got the chance to make introductions..." He said, glancing over at Pansy. "Um... ok... this is my mum of course, and my dad... oh... well I guess you all know that already... um... my older brothers Charlie and Bill of course... The twins are Fred and George..." He said, looking awkward. He went over to Pansy and she got up, blushing and taking his hand as he held it out to her. "This is Pansy..." He stopped before he said her last name, not sure quite what she wanted to go by now. He quickly covered by turning towards Blaise, "And this is of course Blaise Zabini and... um, ok everyone should know Delse Zabini, his mother. This is their home of course. As for Kulia..."
As if on queue, the door opened and Kulia walked back in. Her hair was still tucked into her robes, but her hood and face mask were down. Her face was as lovely as ever, though her normally alabaster cheeks had an unusual tinge of pink to them.
Ron grinned at the shocked looks on the faces of his parents and eldest brothers. "Kulia, these are our parents, Molly and Arthur, and our older brothers Charlie and Bill. That's Narcissa... Black." He said, catching himself just before uttering Malfoy, remembering Draco's earlier comment, "She's Draco's mum."
"We've met." Narcissa said with a smile.
Kulia looked them over, giving a slight nod, but didn't say anything. She then went over to where the twins sat side by side on one of the couches, unceremoniously draping herself across their laps and curling up against them, her back to the others. Fred cradled her head, stroking her hair soothingly.
Pansy leaned over against Ron, releasing his hand and looping her arm in his. "I'm definitely not looking forward to that..." She whispered softly to him.
"You're not looking forward to what?" Molly asked sharply, rising and staring over at her shrewdly.
Pansy's eyes widened and darted over to her, shocked that the woman had heard her soft comment from half way across the large room. She blushed brilliantly, her jaw dropping slightly, but not knowing what to say.
"Morning sickness." Kulia grumbled irritably from where she lay, nuzzling up against Fred more.
Molly's jaw dropped, staring at the impassive snow elf in shock.
There was silence for a few moments. Arthur recovered from his shock first, "Is there something you wanted to tell us, boys?" He asked softly.
Fred and George looked at eachother, both beet red to the tips of their ears.
"This isn't exactly how we wanted to tell you..." Fred started hesitantly.
"We had imagined something a bit more..."
"Eloquent."
"But... um..."
"Since it's kind of..."
"Come up..."
They were looking at eachother uneasily, then sighed, looking over at their parents. "She's pregnant." They said in unison.
Molly clapped a hand over her mouth, staring at Kulia, who hadn't so much as stirred at their pronouncement. After a long moment, she managed to take her hand away from her mouth, "Who's is it?" She asked in a trembling voice, having a hard time even getting that much out.
"They are ours." They said, once again in perfect unison. "Twins."
Molly's eyes were tearing up as she started over towards them, then she stopped in her tracks, turning back towards Pansy wide-eyed. "And what did you mean about not looking forward to that?" She asked faintly.
Pansy looked over at Ron, dumbstruck. Ron was just as red as the twins.
Blaise grinned and got up, going over to Molly and draping his arm across her shoulders. "Well, here's the thing... that pair you're going to have to share, but since you're looking at a total of three little grandbabies of your own, I figure you can afford to be generous. My mum gets one too."
She stared at him, stunned, "You mean...?"
He grinned wider. "Pansy's having twins as well, but hers are fraternal. One's mine, one's Ron's." He said, spelling it out for her so there would be no misunderstanding.
"But he's only sixteen..." She said faintly.
Blaise sighed. "Well, yes... but that's none of Ron's fault. I thought I was dying, and I had made Pansy a promise... so it's really all my fault... I mean Ron probably would have been a gentleman and waited until..."
He was cut off as Molly hugged him so tight the air evacuated his lungs, planting a kiss on his cheek. He gasped for air, letting out a breathless chuckle as she hurried over, wrapping her arms around Pansy much more gently. When she pulled back, she took Pansy's face in her hands, beaming at her. "I knew we'd get you in the family sooner or later! Just never imagined it would be so soon!" She said, beaming at her.
Pansy blushed more and grinned, looking to Ron for any indication that she was supposed to do or say something.
"And you!" She said, releasing Pansy and hurrying over to Kulia, "Oh you poor dear!" She said, kneeling down beside her. "Cramped up on that stuffy old train all day in your condition! Why they probably didn't even feed you proper! Oh my yes. You look a mite peckish. We'll have to get a decent meal in you straight away!"
Kulia looked up at her incredulously, then buried her face in Fred's shirt, clutching her stomach at the mere thought of food.
"Don't you fret, I'll nip down to the kitchens and make you up a nice spot of tea to settle your stomach before we eat."
The elder Weasley boys had wandered over to where Ron and Pansy stood while Molly fussed over Kulia.
"Congratulations." Charlie said, taking Pansy's hand and shaking it.
She grinned, blushing brightly. His hand was hard and calloused, his body a bit stockier than the others and obviously possessing great strength from years of wrangling Dragons. His face was weathered from being out in the sun dusk until dawn every day, but the slight ruggedness of it was offset by the good natured disposition and easy smile that all of the Weasleys seemed to possess. She had a very hard time tearing her mind away from imaginings of what he'd be like in bed.
And then Bill stepped up and shook her hand. She tried not to stare. He was simply drop dead gorgeous! She loved his long hair and especially the fang earring. His hand was warm and comparatively smooth and soft. She quickly released his hand with a slightly embarrassed grin as she realized she had been holding it a bit too long.
The boys then turned their attention to Ron. "As for you..." Charlie said.
Bill reached up, lightly thwacking the back of Ron's head.
Ron rubbed the spot, furrowing his brow and glaring at him, "What was that for?"
"Come along, come along now." Molly said as she passed them. "Let's get cleaned up so we can all get some food in our bellies before bed time." She then paused, smirking at her eldest sons, "So when can I expect some grandbabies out of you two? You better get cracking! Your little brothers have already beaten you to it, now haven't they?" She said with a smirk, hurrying over to make sure Draco had been patched up properly.
Bill and Charlie both folded their arms over their chests, glaring at him significantly.
"Oh..." Ron said with a sheepish grin, "Sorry."
They both broke into grins and grabbed him up, hugging him and ruffling his hair.
-------------
The whole room was bustling as they gathered for their meal. The elves were trying their best to get all the food on the table, looking a bit disconcerted when Molly and several of the others insisted on helping. Everyone (especially Draco) had gotten cleaned up and freshened up a bit. Kulia was even at the table. She was still looking a bit off, but at least she didn't look like she was about to sprint off to the lavatory at any second. Molly had left a steaming kettle of the tea she had given her within easy reach. Seeing that it was in fact helping, the twins (who had of course taken up the seats to either side of her) were sure to top off the cup whenever they saw it was getting low.
Draco watched his mother curiously from where he sat down the table from her. After a few minutes, he leaned over closer to Blaise, who sat on the other side of him. "What's with my mum? She's acting strange..."
Blaise smirked, leaning closer, "She's sober!" he whispered back mirthfully.
Draco's eyes went round. "No way!" He said incredulously. He couldn't remember the last time he saw her in such a state.
Narcissa, obviously overhearing what they were discussing, glared at him. He smirked back and straightened up, falling silent. He subtly slipped Tiger a thick pork chop under the table while the others were still distracted with setting the table. He just grinned, listening to the little Thestral gnawing at it with gusto. The adult Thestrals had remained in the other room, seeing as they were in the smaller, 'family dinning room' and there wasn't exactly room, though the table would easily sit twenty or more people. Besides, the others probably wouldn't have been that comfortable eating their dinners with the Thestrals ripping apart a side of beef at the end of the table.
"So... I thought you couldn't make it this year...?" Ginny said, looking over at her two eldest brothers as she set the rolls on the table, taking a seat beside Draco.
The boys looked at eachother and smirked. Bill grinned and went first, "Well, I still haven't cracked that tomb, but the Goblin foreman for the project just walks up to me the other day, tells me to take the holidays off with pay, and hands me an invitation to the wedding and a clearance card for one of the long distance floo links! Not like I'm going to question that!"
Ginny blinked. "Just like that?"
Draco gave a snort of laughter. "He works for Gringotts. Mum just had to mention that I wanted Bill at my wedding. They have a whole bloody division dedicated to my financial dealings, they're not likely to refuse such a simple request! Especially since they assume my temper is likely to be similar to my father's. I find it's more efficient not to correct that notion."
Ginny giggled. "How about you, Charlie? Wasn't there a sick dragon you were supposed to be looking after?"
"She's being looked after by Andra Linx!" Charlie replied, beaming. He rolled his eyes at the blank stares of those around him. "Andra Linx! She's just about the most famous dragon care specialists in the entire wizarding world! She's written five books on the subject. She just showed up, said she'd be there for the next couple of months, and that we could talk shop when I got back. Then she hands me the invitation. She said she was sent by the Black Foundation. I think I can figure out now who that might be..." He said, grinning at Narcissa.
Narcissa smirked. "Couldn't have a dragon ailing while you were gone. I doubt you'd be able to enjoy the holiday! Besides, Andra will be needed for your new additions. I don't believe you have anyone there versed in their care..."
Charlie furrowed his brow. "New additions?"
Narcissa nodded. "Dragons are nice and all, but I'd prefer them to be in another country where I can just view nice little pictures of them and not worry about them mistaking me for a snack if I should wander out onto my balcony. Lucius' pets have got to go, and I can't think of a better place to put them."
"You have dragons? What kind?" Charlie asked, surprised.
Narcissa waved the question off, "I'm no expert on dragon breeds. They're big and have a lot of teeth. That's all I need to know! To be honest, I think Lucius did a bit of tinkering... Andra wasn't even sure what a couple of the varieties were."
Charlie's eyes went wide. "You mean you have new species?"
Narcissa shrugged. "As I said, I'm not sure. She seemed to think so. Not all of them are flight capable, so I have some people building a huge transport vehicle to just take the whole lot and be done with it. It should be done by the time the holidays are over. Andra is helping design it and the spells needed via owl. Since she's there at the site, the complex should be done much sooner..."
"Whoa! Complex? What complex?" Charlie asked.
Narcissa blinked. "Well you can't expect to shove them in the tiny little beat up terrarium that you have there! I may not want them, but that doesn't mean I want them to be miserable!"
"Would there be room for a few more?" Delse asked, setting a couple of platters of food on the table before sitting down. "I have about a dozen Peruvian Vipertooths... Viperteeth? Whatever. Point is, I find it a bit morbid buying cattle and sending them out onto the grounds knowing what will happen to them once they get into the forest." She shuddered. "My late husband used to tether them out in the open so he could watch... I don't understand the fascination with that..."
"Hold up here..." Charlie said, interrupting. "Not that I don't appreciate it, because I really and truly do, but was Mr. Nizer alright with all of this?"
Narcissa blinked. "Nizer?"
"The owner of the facility."
"Oh, the short bald man in the plaid trousers. Odd little man. I suspect he has some Goblin in his lineage..." Narcissa mused, "Well, he has nothing left to say about it now. He's had it on the market for several months. Seems it doesn't make much money because of your strict rules about only harvesting sellable materials from the dragons after their natural death. He sold it."
Charlie blinked again. "You OWN the place now?!?"
Narcissa chuckled. "Merlin, no! I have enough irritating financial matters to deal with without adding the running of another property to the list."
"Ok..." He said slowly, obviously confused, "Then who does?"
"Well you do of course." Narcissa said as if puzzled.
"Mother!" Draco sighed in exasperation, "You went and ruined the surprise!" He looked over at Charlie, "You must forgive her, it's probably been about twenty years since she's celebrated Christmas, so she's not really used to giving Christmas gifts. Father forbade it."
"What?!?" Charlie said, his voice incredulous.
"Well, I mean it might seem that you got a bigger present than the others, but once you see the mess the paperwork is in, you might well want to trade. The Black Foundation is your financial sponsor now, but running it will be up to you." Narcissa said with a chuckle.
"Um... that's really far more than generous and all... but I was asking how you could have not celebrated Christmas? What did you do over your holiday?"
Draco smirked. This one he could definitely get to like. He shrugged. "Nothing really... I mean we would go to the occasional holiday party thrown by father's friends, and a couple times threw our own of course... but then father did that whenever he felt like it, so it wasn't really special or unique... other than that I usually just stayed in my room and tried to get him to forget I was there. My best Christmases were spent alone with a spellbook or some such. Once I started at Hogwarts, I stayed there most holidays. The Christmas dinner was a nice change."
"Oh you poor dear..." Molly Weasley said, putting the bowls she was carrying on the table and giving Draco a hug. "Well there will be no more sitting about not celebrating on Christmas now that you're in this family!"
Draco smiled warmly at her.
"He's not in the family yet!" Arthur said a bit stiffly from the other side of the table.
Draco sighed, his smile slipping away. Molly looked over at her husband sharply, "He will be by Christmas!" she reprimanded him sharply.
Arthur looked at Draco a bit irritably, "I still don't see why Ginny should have to marry you at such a young age just because you find yourself I a legal predicament!" From the look Molly gave him at this, it was obviously an ongoing argument.
Ginny folded her arms over her chest. "I don't have to marry him! I want to marry him! He asked me before he even found out about that! And I said yes!" She said defensively.
Arthur eyed her suspiciously.
Draco sighed, "Mr. Weasley, you know how I feel about her. I love her more than life itself, and that is never going to change. Whether we get married now or in ten years is just a technicality. I would have waited until she had graduated and we could start our life together fresh, without worries about school and such... choose the path our lives together would take... but it just so happens that this ridiculous issue has been forced on us... we're simply getting the wedding taken care of now so we can avoid a lot of legal issues and headaches. Pansy is a lovely girl, but I have absolutely no desire to marry her. Not to mention I doubt Ron and Blaise would appreciate their children being stuck with the name Malfoy. We now know that the man who signed the contract is not Pansy's real father, but since he acted as her father all her life, and in fact did not even know that, it could still be enforced under the Good Faith clause. And considering how Fudge has been feeling about me lately, I have no doubt he'd do it."
Arthur looked over at Pansy, who was seated between Ron and Blaise, looking over at him pensively and close to tears, obviously worried he would forbid Draco's marriage. Ron and Blaise already had their arms around her comfortingly.
"It's ok, Pansy." Ron said soothingly, "They're getting married. The papers are signed and Dumbledore will be here on Christmas Eve to perform the wedding..." He shot a sharp glance at his father when he didn't immediately confirm this.
Arthur let out a deep sigh, dropping his eyes, obviously feeling a bit ashamed of how he'd made the girl so anxious. He looked over at his daughter resignedly, "Fine. If this is what you really want Ginny, then I'll not stop you. But you can't honestly expect me to be happy about it."
Ginny looked at him with sad eyes, but let the subject drop as Draco slipped his arm around her, pulling her close.
---
The Weasley boys spent the rest of the meal trying to lift the spirit of the evening. They did a half way decent job, despite adversity, and by the time one of the house elves led them out towards the Parlor, they were back to laughing and joking as usual.
Harry slowed his pace, falling behind. When they had all rounded the next corner, he stopped. He listened as their voices faded down the next corridor, but no one even seemed to realize he was missing. He grinned and started back towards the kitchen, keeping his footsteps soft so they wouldn't hear him.
He opened the door to the kitchen, peeking in. He smiled, watching Delse hurrying around, handing out assignments to the house elves. She had told them to go ahead, and that she would be in shortly.
"Go turn down the beds in the Emeric suite. I think that's where I'll put Bill and Charlie... that one has two bedrooms, right?" She looked up from the notepad she was writing on as the house elf nodded fervently, "Very well... that should do. Molly wants to keep the family close together, and that's just down the hall from their suite... I imagine Blaise will be hosting Pansy and Ron in his own rooms..." She said with a smirk. "And Narcissa is down the hall from Draco and Ginny... Make sure the Viridian suite is finished by Christmas Eve. I'll put Pansy's mother in the suite next to it, and reserve the one across the hall in case Dumbledore should stay... that would conveniently leave only that one suite in the main portion of the house for Snape and Hermione... pity... hope they won't mind." She said with an impish grin. The House elf grinned, it's ears dipping down in amusement.
"I'm sure they won't."
Delse looked up in surprise, blushing slightly as she saw Harry walking into the room. They stood there in uneasy silence for a moment. She handed the notepad and quill to the elf she had been talking to and it scurried off.
It was Harry that finally broke the silence. "Sorry. About the pendant, that is. I didn't mean to take it."
She flashed him a little smile. "You didn't take it. You're just borrowing it."
He shifted uneasily, "Still... I'm sorry. I never should have put it on. I never should have tried to make my own way here either. This was all because I couldn't take a little staring and teasing. I doubt four Death Eaters would have attempted an attack on a whole train full of witches and wizards, even if they are just students."
"If you hadn't gone with Draco and Ginny, they might not have made it here at all. It's entirely possible that the Death Eaters were aiming for them in the first place, and would have attacked them whether you were there or not. It sounds like a good deal of the credit for delivering them safely belongs to you."
He blushed, "Well I wasn't much more than a channel for the demon through most of it."
"But the demon wouldn't have been there without you. Besides, now we know we have at least some protection against the demon getting reacquired by Lucius. That's very comforting."
Harry dropped his eyes and nodded. "Ever since the demon got stuck in me, I've lived in fear of hurting those I care about. Before he was bonded to Draco... it was as if I could feel Lucius in him. I've never felt something so blatantly malicious... it wasn't constant, but when he was in battle it was almost as if he was Lucius! With Draco it's... different..." He said thoughtfully. "I mean in Hogsmeade, that was all the Demon... but his defenses weren't properly up then... it was as if he didn't feel those Death Eaters posed any real threat to him... Tonight... as soon as those four attacked, I felt the difference in him. He was ruthless, but... at the same time he made their deaths quick... there was none of the desire to make it linger. All he could think of was killing them as quickly as possible and an overwhelming protectiveness..." He dropped his eyes again, "That's not something I expected to feel from Draco's influence at all."
Delse smiled. "Draco may come off as... well as a bit of an arse at times," She said mirthfully, "But I could have told you he had that deep inside. Even before Darien became a part of him. I only really saw him at parties and such before, but I could see it in his eyes. They may have been the same pale gray as Lucius', but they held none of the callous coldness. I still remember when one of the boys was teasing Blaise at one of our parties a couple of years ago... made Blaise run off to his room crying... Draco didn't stop him or say a thing, but later I saw him follow the boy out. I followed, and by the time I got there, he was giving the boy quite a thrashing." She said with a smirk. "Admittedly, I turned around and left without them even knowing I was there..." She added with a chuckle.
Harry had to grin at that. He glanced over, seeing a house elf standing nearby, obviously wanting to talk to Delse, but not wanting to interrupt.
Delse followed his gaze. "Was there something you wanted?" She asked the pensive elf.
"Begging you pardon mistress." It said, bowing it's head low. "The rooms for tonight are all ready."
"Very good." She said with a smile.
"Should we be leading Master's guests to their rooms now, Mistress?"
"No... not yet. Give them some time to get reacquainted. They haven't seen Bill and Charlie since summer I believe, so they need some time to get caught up. Have guides ready, but no hovering about in the shadows. That tends to make people nervous." She said with a smirk.
Harry grinned as the house elf nodded fervently and dashed off. "Your elves getting along ok with Draco's?"
Delse smirked, "I'd say! Admittedly, since pretty much all of the Zabini house elves are from one family line... and the Malfoy elves are only two families... they don't get to intermingle with other elves they aren't related to much... I believe there's already been a bit of fraternizing going on..." She said, chuckling.
Harry snickered. "Hey, this may be their only chance. Can't blame them really."
Delse giggled and nodded, "Blaise said something earlier about wanting to introduce his elf Vincent to Narcissa's Diamond... but Vincent beat him to the punch. Well... he's been mooning over her from afar pretty much since she got here anyway. I really think they'd be adorable together, but Diamond is very loyal to Narcissa, and Vincent is very loyal to Blaise... especially since Blaise found out about his little painting hobby and didn't even forbid him to continue it. I certainly hope they work something out... Vincent's such a little sweetheart."
Harry grinned, "I'm sure they will if they are really meant to be... love tends to find a way."
Delse blushed and nodded, suddenly very interested in watching the house elves doing the dishes over across the room.
"So... I didn't hear you mention where I would be staying..." He said with a little smile.
Delse blushed brighter, "Oh... um... actually you have the smallest suite I'm afraid. One of the few with only one bedroom."
"Ok..." Harry said with a nod, "Where is it?"
"Um... it's... right across from mine actually..." She said with a shy smile, not quite meeting his eyes.
Harry grinned, then glanced around, making sure the remaining house elves were all thoroughly occupied. He slipped his arms around her waist, pulling her close, then leaned forward, capturing her lips. She let out a little sigh, her eyes fluttering shut as the kiss quickly deepened. She wrapped her arms around his neck as their tongues caressed eachother. They were so enthralled with eachother that they didn't even notice when the house elves quickly and quietly left the room.
When they broke the kiss, she chuckled. "You feel so cool..."
He grinned, "The insulating spell... Draco said it should wear off by morning..." He said softly, kissing his way down the side of her neck. "Might make things interesting..." He said, giving her neck a mischievous nip.
She giggled, shivering as his cool lips found a particularly sensitive spot. She moved back at his urging until she came up against the counter. She let out a laugh as he moved his hands down, lifting her slightly and sitting her on the counter. He shifted his head up, capturing her lips in a deep kiss once again as he slowly worked open the buttons of her blouse, then the clasp to her bra.
She drew a sharp breath, her eyes springing open as cool hands enveloped her breasts. It was a strange sensation, but at the same time oddly erotic. After a few moments of fondling, one of his hands moved down, finding the edge of her skirt and pushing it up. She shivered as the cool fingers traced their way up her leg. Then he slipped his hands down to her hips, pulling her up to the edge of the counter as he pressed up against her.
She groaned, feeling how very excited he was. "I see you're recovering nicely from your ordeal..." She murmured softly.
"Actually, I'm a bit tired... I think I should probably go right to bed. Can you show me to my room?" He said huskily, grinning at her mischievously. He captured her lips again, grinding up against her.
They broke apart, both looking over in shock as they heard a gasp from the doorway.
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After tales of dragon wrangling they were treated to tales of Bill's most humorous incidents while curse breaking. It seemed the workers under him didn't always follow his instructions to the letter... a lesson that most had learned quickly.
They all broke out in laughter as Bill finished his story about his assistant's encounter with a true Egyptian Mummy. It seemed he was a bit too eager to get a glimpse at what was in a newly opened tomb, undoubtedly hoping to pilfer some of the treasure before it was inventoried, and slipped in while Bill was away getting the proper herbs to burn to help make hidden enchantments show themselves. The man unwittingly invoked an ancient Mummy curse, and had the ancient, disintegrating creature following him very slowly, but relentlessly for nearly a month before they were able to break the curse. The most humorous part was that the Mummy was apparently once the male 'companion' of the owner of the tomb, and whenever it actually caught up to the assistant, it started trying to molest him, though it no longer even possessed the proper equipment.
"Hey Blaise, it sounds like an ancient you!" Draco laughed, "You might want to check and see if you're somehow related!"
"Shut up, Draco!" Blaise laughed, glancing over to see what Mrs. Weasley thought of the comment. The smirk slipped off his face when he didn't spot her. He glanced around the room, noting who was there, and who wasn't. "Hey Ron, where's your mum?" He asked curiously.
"Probably went back to see if Delse needed any help." Ron said, still chuckling.
Blaise shifted his gaze over towards the kitchen, making them go opalescent. "Bloody hell." He muttered, standing abruptly. His eyes returned to normal just in time to let him avoid the low coffee table. He dodged it and hurried towards the door. "Um... just have to check on something. Carry on..." He said unconvincingly.
Ron got up and followed him, worried about the urgency in his pace. It was rare to see Blaise hurry without very good cause. "Blaise!" He called after him as he got to the door, but Blaise was already running down the corridor. Ron ran after him, hearing others starting to follow as well.
When Ron reached the kitchen, his cheeks went red, what had happened becoming obvious. Delse and Harry stood beside the counter, Delse clutching her blouse closed and looking utterly mortified. Harry was standing between her and Molly, who had her wand in her hand. As he watched, Blaise slipped between Harry and Molly.
"It's ok... put down the wand." Blaise said soothingly to Molly.
Molly was clutching the wand angrily, "That demon was going after your mother! Don't you even care?"
Blaise grinned, "The demon's not allowed to touch my mother. Harry's the one who was 'going after' her. I do care, and that's exactly why I'm respecting my mother's and Harry's wishes and leaving them be."
Molly's jaw dropped. She looked over at Harry, "Harry!" She said in a shocked, reprimanding voice.
Harry was blushing bright red, looking almost as mortified as Delse. "Mrs. Weasley... please..." Harry said imploringly, glancing at the others, all of which had entered the room behind them, curious as to what the commotion was.
Mr. Weasley took in the situation, and while his wife wasn't looking, flashed Harry a little smirk. He then straightened his face, "Molly, dear. I really don't think Harry's love life is any of our affair..."
Molly looked at him, her jaw dropping. "You can't honestly be alright with this! He's just a boy! She's twice his age!"
"Which makes her an adult, fully capable of making her own decisions... and Harry may be young, but I believe he has earned that right as well." He sighed, seeing she wasn't going to give up on this easily, "Molly, no matter how much it may feel like you're his mother, you are not. Leave the boy be."
Molly looked at the faces of those who had just come in, obviously looking for someone to back her. She wasn't seeing any that looked so inclined. Harry couldn't help but smirk as he saw Bill and Charlie grinning and giving him a subtle thumbs up when she turned her back. "Narcissa." She said, grasping at straws. "Surely you see the impropriety in this! Aren't you going to say anything?"
Narcissa looked over at the embarrassed couple, examining them for a moment. "Well, from the size of the bulge in his pants, I'd have to say 'lucky girl'!" She said, smirking.
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A/N - I know, I'm taking forever to update... sorry, but I've been wretchedly tired lately... perhaps if I got more than four hours of sleep at night before working ten hour days... but no, that probably has nothing to do with it... ;P I'll try to get another chapter out quicker. It won't be too much longer before the wedding, but there are some things I must get through first. I mean they got out a few days early for break, and would have gotten out a couple days before Christmas normally I would think... so they can't have at least four days there with all the Weasley boys and Draco without any further interaction. I don't think it will take more than one more chapter before the wedding, but just chill, ok? I'll try to get the next chapter out quicker.
Special request! - I can't seem to find my copy of the first HP book at the moment... so if anyone has it and can look up the 'rules' on being an Animagi, as in what they can and cannot change into, I would greatly appreciate if you could email it to me or include it in a review (and include a page number in case I can actually locate the book). Thanks!
amy-felton - How Ginny is able to see Thestrals now has only been alluded to. All I've said is she acquired the ability over the summer. At the end of the chapter she would only have been able to hear Draco's comments, not Darien's. But it was pretty bloody obvious since he'd just transformed right in front of her.
Flower4444 - the hints were the fact that he was able to move so fast, even in his human form, a fact that was mentioned several times. When Darien ran into the forest after talking to Dumbledore, when he ran to save Harry from himself and it took Snape a good several minutes longer to get there, and when the demon couldn't outrun him in the forest, even though he was moving faster than humans should be able to. Those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head. Other than that, as I said, even Hogwarts, A History said Darien sported with the wild Thestrals, and the brooms back then had to be wretchedly slow compared to the 'modern' brooms. Back then, the brooms probably wouldn't have been fast enough to be at all entertaining for Thestrals. Darien trained himself to be an animagi, having a pretty good idea what he would become... so he could fly properly with the creatures he felt so at home with. As mentioned in this chapter, Blaise's ability to see him when he could only see Thestrals was also a hint. As for the rest of your questions, Draco wasn't the Stallion. He would be a young male Thestral, yes, but at least in this story, the title 'Stallion' refers to the dominate male leader of a herd. They like Draco, but he isn't their leader. I referred to him only as the new Thestral, or the pale Thestral, since his Thestral pelt retained his natural hair color of white-blond. He wasn't hurt at the time that he grabbed Ginny. She only thought he might have been because he was unable to lift her up, though the Thestrals that had been carrying them could obviously carry the weight of a human without trouble. He was bad at flying at first because he'd never DONE it before! Least not as Draco. Draco's wings had never been used, and I'd imagine it takes a bit of practice to get the muscles properly strengthened and trained. Think of a bird taking it's first flight. He did the best he could. He got hurt upon landing because he crashed into the forest after dropping Ginny. He didn't have enough control yet to pull up or stop himself in time.
Tareein - I hope the mist is sufficiently explained now ;) As for the Death Eaters... since Hogwarts doesn't generally teach killing spells, I would think it is safe to assume that it was the demon working through Harry that did the killing of the Death Eaters. Since they were casting in his direction, it would be considered a threat to his (and especially his master's) well being, and the demon would have taken over automatically. There just isn't a great outwardly visible change when the demon is in control, other than his eyes if the demon chooses to make them glow, but Draco was a bit too preoccupied to be checking him for eye color before zipping off to save Ginny. Well, other than that, there is also the fact that the demon kicks arse amazingly well! ;)
Fiby - action goes where action is needed. It will not be in every chapter. I don't want it in every chapter. Action for the sake of having some action alone is senseless, and in my opinion, boring, not to mention that it degrades the plot.