Chapter 12: Things to Come

When Draco had stepped out of the fireplace at Jotunheimen shortly before four o'clock, he was nearly bowled over by the wall of noise that greeted him. A flashback of taking Slytherin over Gryffindor in Quidditch hit Draco hard, although this time he didn't have his teammates to share the attention with. He held a hand over his face, grinning regardless, as Big Swede came over to slap him on the shoulder.

"Welcome back," he told Draco, raising his voice over the din. "Come on, there's cake."

The people on the shift before Draco's hung around for it. Gunvor was there too, which Draco expected. She'd mentioned touching base with him before he got started again with normal employment. Her grin was broad at the centre of the main area, a large knife in hand for the cake before her.

"It's good to have you back," she told Draco. "It's about time things feel normal around here again."

Draco wouldn't have thought he'd been here long enough in the first place to make that sort of impression. The empty firedrakes enclosure probably offered constant reminder of their absence though, and Draco wondered if maybe by 'here' Gunvor meant more than just the reserve. Norway as a whole had been affected these past few months by the Death Eaters using it as their hiding place.

"Thanks," Draco managed, although remained overwhelmed by a couple dozen pairs of eyes on him. "I really didn't expect this kind of hello."

"It's a celebration!" Gunvor sunk the knife into the cake, while Hanna jumped up from beside her to start minding plates. "You and the firedrakes have finally returned, the war is over—on this side of the North Sea, at least—and who in their right mind wouldn't celebrate a war hero among us? That's what all the papers are saying you are."

"They are?" Draco's cheeks warmed. He accepted the first slice of cake almost as an afterthought.

"We've read what information the British Ministry has released about the battle at Hogwarts. They wouldn't say those things if they weren't true, would they?"

"I suppose not."

"So tell us a story, then!" someone yelled. "Tell us what happened!"

Draco hesitated toward it, since he was still quite emotionally close to that night. It hadn't been two weeks since it happened. Then again, telling the story—putting it out there—was a way to begin divorcing himself from its events.

God, how did Potter do this? The entire building was stone silent as Draco attempted to even figure out where to start. Everyone already knew that his father had been a convicted Death Eater, and that Draco was helping Potter try to bring Voldemort down. Could he even talk yet about things like Magnus? That would crack open everything about Luca, Dagmar, and Hildegard's involvement with Voldemort.

A heavily sanitized version would likely satisfy them all. He told them how things started at Hogwarts in the middle of the night with the dementors, Death Eaters getting in, and how the lawn had fallen quickly to earth golems and animated dead. Hogwarts turned into a maze after all the students were evacuated. Draco told them about meeting up with Luca ("one of the seventh-years that stayed behind"), and that they crossed paths with his aunt and uncle.

A pensive silence fell after Draco further sanitized what had happened down in the Chamber of Secrets.

Alex cleared his throat. "So. . .everyone's saying that Voldemort is still alive, even though he was supposed to be dead. It's true, then. But he took a direct Killing Curse back in December, didn't he? At your home? Why was he even there? Why didn't you, you know, say anything? We could've gotten you help."

Draco chewed on his bottom lip. More than what had happened on the fourth of December, he didn't like to think about the weeks leading up to it.

"Dagmar and I were going along with a plan we'd made with Dumbledore," Draco replied. "Nobody else had the opportunity to get that close to Voldemort or my aunt. We needed information about potential vulnerabilities. Our intention was to let them stay as long as they needed to, and then make contact with Dumbledore once it was safe again."

"So Harry Potter and that team of Aurors showing up wasn't a planned ambush, or something?"

"No," Draco answered automatically, then immediately wished he'd lied. That was probably the easiest way to explain how they all wound up in the same place. "They just caught wise. They hadn't heard from us in a while."

"How long was your aunt and Voldemort at your house?" Masha asked.

Draco grew more interested in his cake. "Three weeks."

"Fuck," Alex said, and he wasn't the only one that let out a curse. "What the hell for? Just a place to crash?"

"No," Draco replied. "Voldemort was in rough shape. He wanted Dagmar to treat him. She has some magical abilities through her bloodline that made her partial to what was wrong with him."

"Which was?"

Despite the discomfort that came with reliving all this—as well as a sudden need to see Dagmar just to make sure she was really, truly alive—a hesitant flicker of pride cleared some of the anxiety out of Draco's chest.

"Summer before last, when Dagmar and I still had one more year at Hogwarts to get through, Voldemort asked to meet with Dagmar," Draco said. "She did, since she had no choice in the matter. They ended up in a duel of sorts. She won, and his injuries were the result of that."

Draco could just imagine how Dagmar would wilt and blush at the gaping expressions about the room.

"Dagmar duelled Voldemort," Big Swede hollowly repeated, "and she won."

"Well, the thing about Voldemort is that even when you win, you lose," Draco replied. "Hence him showing up at our house like that. Hence his soul hopping into her body when Potter hit him with a Killing Curse."

"She's being possessed, then?" Alex asked. "Frida said that's what everything sounded like to her, but it's like the British Ministry was talking around that."

Draco nodded. "He's gone for now, hiding, but yeah. It's why her body wasn't at the scene. Voldemort just got up and they all left. She was asleep for a while, until after the Azkaban breakout. She's as close to herself as she can be right now with him still inside her."

"What do you do about that?" Hanna's eyes were wide. "How do you get him out?"

"We're working on it."

A din of questions followed, but Draco grew tired of answering them. He didn't want to get into any deeper of specifics. He already rode the line on how much information about Dagmar's situation she would be comfortable with him giving away. Going any further would cross Draco's.

"All right, everyone." Gunvor finally hushed the room. "Let the man eat his cake so you can all get back to work."

They thankfully listened, and the people that were done for the day started to trickle out of the fireplace. They stopped by Draco on the way to either slap his shoulder or to reassert his welcome home. Draco sighed with an edge of relief when the last one left, crumbs had replaced the cake, and Big Swede told Draco it was time they get on.

As the night ticked along, Draco discerned a new sort of wall between him and his coworkers. It didn't necessarily entail a barrier, but things were certainly different. The new way they looked at him transcended the welcome-back party. Draco had separated himself from them by going through all these experiences. It was a very strange feeling to be looked at with the same respect he regarded the senior dragonologists with.

Their experience mattered far more here. Draco was behind the other apprentices in skill level, and he liked to think that created some sort of balance as he tried to keep up with Big Swede. All in all as midnight approached, Draco felt good about how his shift had gone. The feeling of separateness would diminish as he reasserted his place at the reserve, and he liked that Big Swede had to mind him a little more than he maybe expected. Having a proper mentor again felt like a cushion Draco hadn't realized he'd gone too long without. Charlie was more of an equal when they worked together.

Even though Draco had pushed his bedtime past midnight in preparation for evening shift, he was tired when he left. The jump from Jotunheimen to Bergen to London was thankfully quick due to lacking traffic. He stifled a yawn as he stepped out into Malfoy Manor's great room.

"Hey." Williamson was one of the Aurors on duty tonight. "Heads up, Voldemort came about for a little while."

Draco's fatigue dried up. "What? Is Dagmar okay?"

"She's fine. No one got hurt, or anything." Williamson shrugged. "He's pissed off, naturally. Your dad talked to him a bit before Potter showed up. He took a statement from Dagmar. She said to tell you to wake her up when you got back. You two need to talk about how to handle sharing space now he's roused."

"Right." Draco eyed Williamson, preemptively annoyed. "I suppose the Auror office is recommending that we don't."

"Naturally, but the choice is ultimately up to you two. Fair warning, Voldemort sincerely regrets that his attempt on your life didn't land. Even without magic, you may be at personal risk if vulnerable in his near vicinity. And nobody is more vulnerable than when they're sleeping."

"Noted."

Draco headed for the foyer. Habit from when he used to come home after evening shifts kicked in about halfway up the stairs. He lightened his foot on his way down the hallway to his room, and crept inside through the open door. The Auror currently stationed looked up from his book. He nodded in greeting.

Dagmar slept facing the wall, the comforter up over her shoulders and knees half-pulled toward her chest. Heimdall slept in a tight ball up against her bum. After talking about Dagmar at work, Draco wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and curl up with her. He held off for now to take a shower. He doubted Dagmar would appreciate the vague whiff of dragon stuck to him.

A good wash perked him up. The time came on midnight again with the hour gained crossing the North Sea, and Draco doubted this whole thing with Voldemort couldn't wait for morning. Still, Dagmar had asked him to wake her up. Draco just hoped she'd already made her decision about keeping on sleeping together by crawling in here rather than somewhere else.

He gently shook Dagmar's shoulder. Her next inhale came long, and she shifted. Draco's heart picked up slightly at the prospect he might end up facing Voldemort here if he roused before Dagmar could.

"Hey." Dagmar's voice was gravelly, and distinctly hers in tone. "You're home."

"Yep."

For now, Draco opted to enjoy that. He laid down as she rolled over to face him, sighing as they settled together. Heimdall created a new lump between their pelvises.

Dagmar ran her fingers over Draco's upper arm. "How was work?"

"Fun. They had a cake waiting for me."

"That was nice of them."

Draco pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead. "Heard you had an exciting evening."

"Ja. . ." Dagmar trailed off into a sigh. "He came around for a little while."

"Anything remarkable to tell about it? I'm sure you're tired after telling Potter every single little detail."

"He understands his situation. We could probably leave it there." Dagmar lifted her face so that they could kiss. "We need to talk about sleeping arrangements."

"I don't want to change them."

"Me neither."

"Okay. Good talk."

Dagmar snorted, dipping her chin briefly. She resettled closer to him—as closely as Heimdall's presence would allow, anyway. She turned serious. "You need to be aware of the risks, though. He can't hurt you magically, or do something like hide a knife in the bed. He could still. . .I don't know, gouge your eyes out with his thumbs."

"Isn't something like that the point of having an Auror here?" Draco asked. "If you wake up while I'm asleep, obviously they're going to be paying attention for something like that."

"Ja." Dagmar chewed on her lip. "I just wouldn't take it personally if you didn't want to live like that. Now you're back to work, your sleep is very important. You might find that your rest isn't as good as it could be. Your mind might be half-awake, waiting for if you have to defend yourself."

"I'm not averse to kipping if I have to."

"If it gets bad, you can tell me. I can always go sleep in my room at Ramstad Manor."

Draco wrinkled his nose.

"Just keep it in mind is all I ask." Dagmar ran her fingers through Draco's damp hair. "It's only really waking up that's ever been a problem. Otherwise, I have warning."

"Okay."

For now, it was Dagmar that had warmed the bed before Draco got home. Her hair shone dully in a single torch light, a tiny dot of which reflected in her eye—decidedly blue for the moment. A wave of affection compelled Draco to slip an arm under her pillow so that he could reach around to lightly scratch her scalp. Between that and a nuzzle of their noses, Dagmar's eyelids fluttered shut. Her mouth still reacted to Draco's, lips parting and tongue soft when they grazed.

"You really don't mind?" Dagmar whispered in Norwegian. "It doesn't put you off that he's in here, now he's come out a bit?"

"Don't think I'd be able to snog you if it did," Draco replied. "Probably wouldn't be half-hard, either."

Dagmar started them on a shared, quiet laugh. Yet again, Draco had to push Heimdall on to find a new place to settle so that he could pull the comforter taut over himself and Dagmar. He shivered slightly when her hand found him under the covers.

"Er, do you mind?" Draco asked Dagmar's shadow-Auror.

The Auror closed his book and headed for the door. "I'll be right outside."

"I do think I'd better not go down on you until Voldemort is gone," Dagmar whispered when they were alone.

Draco pinched his face. "There's some extra incentive to sort this out, I suppose."

"Ja." Dagmar pulled Draco out of his pants. "It was nice to do that again while I could."

Her hands were just as nice while they kept on snogging, but Voldemort's current lack of presence became too comfortable for their blood-starved brains to really stick to their wands about it. What Draco loved about always having the one torch lit in his room was how it backlit Dagmar taking him into her mouth. The silhouette of her lips around him and how her throat shifted as her jaw muscles worked was nothing short of exquisite. It was enough for Draco to forget about the risk they took. He trusted Dagmar completely to pull off if anything was wrong, and he was doubly rewarded with a sweet little moan from her as Draco's pelvic floor thumped in release.

He had enough of a head about himself to watch her throat work again, her eyelashes low beneath what Draco imagined was a furrowed brow. Draco ran his hand over her head as she kissed his thigh and then lower stomach before coming back up the bed. Her lips were swollen against his, and slightly salty.

"You're so hot," Draco managed to murmur.

Dagmar snorted. "You're so eloquent."

"Yeah."

She laughed again, laying down with her head on his shoulder. Her fingers settled into a ghostly trace over his abdomen. Dagmar's hair was still slightly cool and damp, although some smaller hairs had escaped the plait she threw it back into for sleep. Draco had warmed up enough from a cold evening spent mostly outside that it felt nice against his cheek.

"Voldemort seemed like he was thinking about it when I mentioned death might be his best option," Dagmar said.

"Yeah?" Draco's heart leapt.

Dagmar nodded. "So. . .that's promising."

Draco turned his nose closer to Dagmar's hair. He closed his eyes as he inhaled long and deep, relishing in the light feeling of hope that filled his chest. After recounting his involvement at Hogwarts to his coworkers, Draco had needed something like that to ground himself anew in the reality of Dagmar's survival.

He lifted her chin with a crooked finger, seeking her mouth again. Since her lips had already been left sensitive, it didn't take much deliberate movement to draw out a familiar exhale. It grazed Dagmar's vocal cords when Draco tugged her bottom lip with his teeth. Dagmar shifted against him when Draco's thumb grazed a hard nipple through her shirt. By the time his hand had reached as far as her navel, she'd rolled onto her back and her legs were slightly parted. Dagmar looked a little lost when Draco broke contact, but grinned anew as he sat up.

Draco shifted down the bed and pulled the drawstring on Dagmar's shorts. "Thankfully, there's no risk at all with me doing this."

With a giggle, Dagmar lifted her hips so he could pull her shorts and knickers off. "Not like it would stop you anyway."

Dagmar's taste lingered in Draco's mouth when he woke up the next morning. Considering a reminder toward it, Draco reached for the other side of the bed. It was empty.

Draco lifted his head. He was alone in his room, and the door had been closed. Draco couldn't feel too dejected about Dagmar's absence when this was a normal circumstance of him working evening shift. Were they in Bergen and Dagmar currently attended classes, this would only mean that Dagmar successfully snuck out without waking him. The real difference here was that she probably sat downstairs with his parents, or down the hall with her mum.

Voices carried up from the dining room. It was close enough to noon that Draco supposed everyone would soon be expecting lunch. His stomach growled at the thought. News that Voldemort had woken up had pushed all thoughts of a midnight snack from his mind when he'd gotten home last night.

He heard his mum's chuckle among low voices when he came down the stairs into the dining room. She sat there with Draco's dad, Mr Nott, and Dagmar.

Dagmar lit up when she saw him, and hopped out of her seat. "Good, you're finally up."

"Something going on?" Draco asked.

"Mhm." Dagmar pressed a swift kiss to his cheek before taking one of his hands with both of hers. "Come sit. Coffee?"

"Definitely. Morning," Draco added as an afterthought to everyone else. Mr Nott lifted a hand on the other side of the table, although Draco's dad regarded him with a narrowed eye.

"There's hardly any morning left," he said.

"Er. . .afternoon, then?" Draco replied as he sat down beside Dagmar.

"Do you normally sleep this late?"

"Lucius," Draco's mum said sternly.

"I wasn't in bed until midnight." Draco picked the sleep out the corners of his eyes. "Then Dagmar and I were up for a little bit figuring out what to do now Voldemort's about."

His dad hummed in a flat tone.

"I'm not going to get up with the sun just because everyone else does," Draco told him. "That's not how my schedule with the reserve works. If you hate me working evening shift so much, I don't know what you're going to do when I switch to nights in two weeks. Other than mind your own business, I suppose."

"Draco," his mum turned on him next. "Enough."

"Forgive me for wanting to see you as much as possible before the end of the month," his dad said, bringing his teacup to his lips. "I honestly don't understand why you couldn't wait to go back to work until the charges against us find which way they'll settle. You wake up at noon, and you're gone before three. These next few hours of yours might not be free, either."

Regret trickled into Draco, for he hadn't thought of that. "Could you at least wait until I have some caffeine in my system before getting on my arse? I'm not really quite with it yet. What do you mean my afternoon isn't free?"

"There's a meeting happening in the drawing room right now." Dagmar was the one to answer. "Hermione came for it, as well as Madam Bones, Madam Prickle, and a handful of Unspeakables."

Draco raised an eyebrow at that. "Any idea yet why the Department of Mysteries is involved in all this?"

"They're talking about finding a way to reverse a Fidelius Charm without needing the person that cast it involved," Dagmar replied.

"They might have a way," Draco's mum gently corrected her, leaning forward so that she could see Draco past Dagmar. "When I was on the island, Hildegard was able to extract Dagmar and the Dark Lord's souls from Dagmar's body. They would've had to give their consent to be completely removed, but the same might not be true for a secret contained within a soul. It's not sentient."

Draco sipped his coffee while he thought that over. "What about the Secret Keeper, though? Is consent necessary there?"

"We'll find out," his mum replied. "We're going to start with me giving up Wes. If it works, I think Helka is going to be escorted out to Azkaban. They'll try with Bella."

"Not Hildegard?" Draco furrowed his brow.

"Bella might be more yielding to Helka," his dad contributed. "I'm sure Bella is as angry at Hildegard as she is the rest of us here."

"It's great and all, but what does this have to do with my afternoon?" Draco still wasn't making that connection.

Mr Nott cleared his throat. "If this works, I'll be able to see Theo today."

"Right." Draco's chin lifted with his understanding.

"Daphne had asked to have her name added to approved visitors," Dagmar said. "Given what might happen today, that went through. I talked to them a bit this morning through the messenger. We could sneak in a visit beforehand."

"Oh, sure."

Mr Nott's return to quietness made sense to Draco then. He'd gotten more comfortable with a voice in Malfoy Manor, but the new dynamic they all attempted to shift into could hardly be complete without the entire Nott family present. Draco figured that the emotions Mr Nott dealt with on the precipice of possibly seeing his son again were better left to his mum and dad to support.

While Draco finished his coffee, Dagmar borrowed their messenger briefly back from Mr Nott so that she could tell Theo and Daphne to meet them at Ramstad Manor. Draco dipped past his mum to kiss her cheek in parting and put his dad into a hug from behind his chair that more resembled a headlock. A pat to his forearm gave Draco the impression he might have dug himself out of the little hole he made with his dad earlier. He'd already forgotten his own annoyance.

Theo came back quickly, saying he and Daphne would get a move on right away to meet them. Draco half-expected them to beat him and Dagmar to Ramstad Manor, but it remained empty spare the current Auror shift. Draco and Dagmar had time to mosey into the kitchen and request lunch before the fireplace worked again. Daphne calling out a tentative 'hello?' quickened Dagmar's step ahead of Draco on their way back through the keeping room. A gleeful scream followed when the two spotted each other.

They met in a tangle of arms and happy sobs. The latter were certainly more from Daphne, although Dagmar's eyes were irritated too when they parted. She moved on to Theo next, who nodded at Draco when he noticed him.

"It's good to see you too." Daphne gave Draco a quick squeeze when he joined where the three of them stood at the line separating the great and keeping rooms. "I can't believe the things the Ministry is saying about what happened at Hogwarts. How come they haven't just announced that you're alive yet? And what's the whole deal with, erm. . ." Daphne glanced nervously at Theo, smile shrinking slightly. "Astoria's heard some pretty wild things this last week. And there's everything the paper is saying about Luca. We wondered if that's why Blaise has been so tight-lipped."

"Well, that and. . ." Theo shrugged, lips pressed. "I kinda really fucked up with Luca, I think."

"Probably," Draco said, which compelled Theo to run a nervous hand back through his hair. "Luca's got a lot going on right now, though. I honestly wouldn't take anything personally."

"I don't mean to pop out of the fireplace and immediately demand answers." Daphne wiped what remained of tears from her cheeks as she calmed down. "It's just strange to be on the outside looking in when it felt like our group was so close last year at school. Me and Theo have mostly been on our own since summer. We didn't expect when we left for Australia to come back to this."

Draco folded his arms. Less than a shrug, he just lifted his shoulders and let them fall. "I don't think anyone expected things to go this way."

"No," Dagmar quietly agreed, then cleared her throat. "Well, for now you do need to know that it's true about Voldemort possessing me. You need to be prepared that at pretty much anytime, he could wake up and I might lose control of myself. He was around for a bit last night, and he's livid about what happened."

Daphne leaned away in a slight manner, studying Dagmar with her bottom lip between her teeth. "So it's true, then. But how?"

"It's a really long story that I don't really want to get into right now." Dagmar sighed. "It just is what it is. He understands that his two choices are to either live in captivity or die. So we're just waiting to find out what he considers the lesser of two evils."

"Bloody hell," Theo said after a moment. "What about Luca, then?"

"That's not mine to tell. Sorry."

"It's okay." Theo waved it off. "I shouldn't even bother asking. I hope I get to see him over Easter so this doesn't have to wait until June to sort out."

"You came hungry?" Draco asked. "Lunch shouldn't take too long."

They all headed to the dining room. The house elves had put out dishes and drinks, but no food had arrived yet. Draco sat beside Dagmar across the table from Theo and Daphne. Daphne looked like she was thinking again.

"I mean, there's all those things you told us after you got out of Azkaban," she said to Draco. "All that about the phylactery and Magnus Norheim and Hildegard. . ."

"Right." Draco set a hand on Dagmar's knee under the table. "So I guess you two pretty much know the whole story, then. There's really not a whole lot to build on that."

"What did you tell them?" Dagmar asked before looking back across the table. "I won't lie, it's much easier if you know. I don't mind you knowing and all that, it's just a lot to tell."

"Dad didn't want to tell us anything either." Theo poured himself some tea. "He said there was a lot to it, and that he just didn't know if he should be the one to say it all. It wasn't his stuff to say, even if, well. . ."

Draco sighed inwardly as Theo's eyes crinkled slightly with amusement when the two of them looked at each other.

"I can't really say I saw that coming," Theo continued. "Him and your mum."

"We heard about it from Aunt Bella when she was at our house." Draco shrugged. "I wasn't sure what to make of it. My mum never talked about it when she visited, and I didn't ask. I didn't want to seem too interested in your dad in case Aunt Bella overheard and started wondering why that might be. She's utterly mad, but sharp."

"Dad says it's serious." Theo paused. "He said it was your dad's idea they keep on."

"Mhm."

"It was odd enough to get a stepmum out of the whole deal. Definitely didn't expect a stepdad, if that's how this is gonna work."

"Hopefully they'll sort out this Fidelius Charm business today and you'll be able to visit at Malfoy Manor," Draco replied. "I think your dad feels a bit like an island. It's kinda hard to blend a family when they're not all there."

"That's what he said. Not that he doesn't like all of you."

"I mean, he must if he's willing to put all the effort into figuring out a polyamorous relationship." Draco poured himself a new coffee. The first one hadn't been enough to fully wake him. "It doesn't feel weird to me, being around them. Our dads were always mates. My mum just looks at your dad differently than she used to."

"My dad thinks a lot of her," Theo said. "Maybe it's the fact that all this bollocks is over too, but I can tell he's different just from writing back and forth. He seems happier."

"He'll be even happier when he can see you again."

"And once he's sat in front of the Wizengamot, provided it goes well." Theo's mouth worked as he exhaled through his nose. "What do you think's going to happen with that? He doesn't really want to talk about it. I think he's nervous."

"They all are, and I don't blame them one bit," Draco replied. "When I did, I knew I didn't do anything wrong. You don't really know what kind of technicalities they might find, or something like that. I had a good advocate with Dumbledore, and the Wizengamot was reasonable. I'm not worried at all about Dagmar or my mum. Hildegard was an idiot to get herself involved in all this, but it's understandable. Your dad and mine worked quietly in the background against Voldemort, but they still have to answer to why they lied about the Imperius Curse back when Voldemort first disappeared. So who knows how the Wizengamot will go on that. I like to think that since my dad helped subdue Voldemort in the end that it'll count for something. Voldemort clearly didn't trust your dad completely, to put him under two layers of a Fidelius Charm. He thought your dad was going to run."

"It's got to be worth something," Theo said. "Otherwise, what was the point of putting himself in that kind of danger? I mean, other than doing the right thing—" he glanced at Dagmar's current shadow-Auror, "but he shouldn't be put in prison for something stupid like the Imperius Curse thing. My dad only joined because what other choice did he have? My grandpa was one of the very first Death Eaters. Where could he have run with me as a baby and my mum ill like she was? No way would we have gotten far. It was easier to ride under the radar until a better chance came along. And it did."

Daphne looked across the table at Dagmar. "You have to go to trial too?"

"Ja," Dagmar said with a sigh. "It should be all right, though. Anything my body did, I wasn't the one controlling it. I could corroborate a lot for Madam Bones, but it wasn't me that. . .did those things."

"Astoria said all the kids that were at Hogwarts could tell it wasn't," Daphne replied. "They said You-Know-Who even hid that it was you until the Death Eaters all ate breakfast at the head table. God, I just can't imagine. They said You-Know-Who left eventually. He walked past them all like nothing. They could see your face, but the eyes. . ."

The food arrived then, so Dagmar busied herself with pushing around her garden salad. "I don't remember any of it. I wanted to sleep right through."

"They say You-Know-Who followed you, Luca, and Potter down to the Chamber of Secrets," Theo addressed Draco again. "That Professor Snape, your dad, and your mum—" Theo looked at Dagmar, "—went down there after him. Then when you came back, Dagmar was herself again."

The lingering stench of death touched Draco's nose again, as if his old wand had dripped onto his food. "Yeah, they showed up before anything bad could happen."

Draco half-wished that the Daily Prophet would just come out with the whole story, so that he could stop reliving it. He was still tired from having done so up at the dragon reserve last night. It grew tiresome to try and remember who knew what, as well as what everyone involved was comfortable in being indulged. Dagmar looked about done with it all, chin down and gaze steady on her food.

"He actually found you?" Theo asked. "It wasn't like you hid and then help showed up while he was just looking around down there?"

"No," Dagmar tersely answered before Draco had a chance. "Voldemort found them. He tried to kill Draco, but not before trying to use me to convince him to give up Potter. Do you want to know what that felt like to be audience to, Theo? Whenever Voldemort was active and I was awake, I was basically just a floating pair of eyeballs. I couldn't stop him from lifting his wand. I could feel him go from excited to calm when he'd made the decision to do it. All I could do was scream inside my head, begging him to spare Draco, and then look away when I knew it was no good. I woke back up expecting to see him dead."

Theo and Daphne fell quiet.

"I'm sure it's all very fascinating for you," Dagmar broke the silence. "Everyone wants to know what happened. It's like you're forgetting how very close to death we came. I shouldn't even be here. Draco probably shouldn't be either. Or Luca. Or Potter, but I don't suppose you care as much about him."

"Sorry," Theo eventually said, hardly louder than a whisper. "It's just. . .things fell as they did, and you're both here. I didn't think it would be that hard to talk about. You just did what you had to, to survive. I thought maybe you'd be proud of that. Not upset."

"I didn't have any choice on anything I did." Dagmar finally looked up. "Voldemort took over my body. He killed Dumbledore with my hands. How am I supposed to be proud of that?"

Theo shifted in his seat. "They make it sound all heroic and whatever in the paper."

"You believe the paper?"

"Considering it was our only source of news, and you seemed excited when we talked, so. . ." Theo shrugged, shrinking a bit more with it. "Sorry."

"I was excited because it was over, and I was happy that I could talk to you again." Dagmar took a deep breath as she looked between Theo and Daphne. Theo still figuratively shifted toward the edge of his seat, and Daphne's eyes had started to shine again. She leaned on the table with her chin in hand, the fingers covering her mouth. "It's just a lot. I don't mean to unload on you. It was terrifying when I first came to in the middle of all the Death Eaters. I didn't understand what was going on. I only knew they were going to Hogwarts, and I was scared who might die because of it. I didn't expect to see Draco there. I didn't expect Voldemort to get as far as he did before he was captured."

"You know we don't ask these sorts of things out of morbid curiosity, right?" Daphne quietly asked. "We love you two. You, we spent three months mourning. With you back, it's hard to feel like any of that can possibly matter. Of course it affects you. We want to know how so that we know what sort of friends you need. Especially with Wes and your parents—" Daphne's eyes darted to Draco, "—it makes us all family. Doesn't it?"

Dagmar tucked some hair that had come loose from her plait behind her ear. "Sorry, it's just harder to fill people in that weren't involved. When it's Potter or one of our parents, there's this mutual understanding that other people can't really give. They know all the things we can't talk about, so there's no need to think before speaking. They went through it too, so you know what kind of place they're asking from."

"I've already felt that with Dad," Theo said. "Like Daph said, it's not morbid curiosity. We just don't want to come here and be like so. . .the weather's been nice, huh? The Falcons are looking good this season. Have you tried the new fish and chip place in Diagon Alley?"

That Dagmar smiled, amused, helped Draco come back from his own stiff defensiveness. She grew serious again after a couple bites of cod. "I suppose it goes without saying that I'm very sensitive about the whole thing. With how Luca's being treated right now, it's hard not to see I'd be getting the same thing if I wasn't cooped up here. I have no idea how being possessed by Voldemort is going to affect my life, even once he's gone. People might not trust me anymore. I might always get a side-eye. People will probably always know my name. Some might think I actually did kill Dumbledore, especially considering all that noise from some people not believing Voldemort is actually still alive."

"Just ignore that," Theo told her. "Those people are idiots. 'Scrimgeour said it, so it must be true'. We went through this nonsense back in '95. Why is Madam Bones not as credible as Scrimgeour, who, by the way—just a small reminder—was assassinated on You-Know-Who's orders. People just want to hear what they already believe. Nobody wants to deal with You-Know-Who, therefore Madam Bones is an idiot. Potter is an idiot. Everyone that witnessed Dumbledore's death is an idiot. You're all idiots."

"Must be nice to think like that." Dagmar rolled her eyes.

"A real luxury," Daphne agreed.

"Plus side for you two is you don't live in Britain anymore." Theo paused to drink his tea. "Do you think it'll be as bad in Norway?"

"Based on what happened at work last night, probably," Draco replied. "They all wanted to know what happened at Hogwarts, and they've been paying attention to what information our Ministry is releasing. Norway was affected by all this, since the Death Eaters were hiding there. It was believed back in December that it was where Voldemort had died. Dagmar and I have personal connections there, with the hospital and dragon reserve. Dagmar was already making a name for herself from using her abilities at Olaf Kyrre. I guess I made a name for myself by returning there as—well, you know. Having participated and all that, and calling Norway home. Everyone at the reserve was proud that our firedrakes could be of help."

"You talked to your dean, didn't you?" Daphne asked Dagmar.

Dagmar nodded. "He said I'm welcome to come back whenever all of this is settled. I'm really hoping that means the end of May. I'll already have to do the first winter term courses later on, and postpone receiving my certificate by a year over this."

"What about your prenatal clinic?" Daphne chased a piece of feta cheese on her plate. "Will you get that back too?"

"I'd like to." Dagmar sat up straighter. "I really loved it, and I was good at it. I don't see why I wouldn't or couldn't. My patients always just had to be informed about what I was capable of, and give their consent to what I was doing with that. I'm a little worried that maybe people won't trust me after this."

"Would it make much of a difference even if You-Know-Who was inside you?"

"Oh, Daphne." Dagmar's eyes widened as she shook her head. "It takes time to tap in on someone, and time to remove myself without potential harm. If Voldemort came around when I was doing that, he could take over quicker than I could shut all that down. I would not want Voldemort to have that sort of access to a patient, given the things he could do."

Daphne chewed her bottom lip, brow wrinkling. "Like what?"

"Like kill it," Dagmar said. "I know the capability is there, even if that's something I put a hard line on with me and Arne figuring things out. If anyone ever needed an abortion, they were referred to do so by other means. That's not something I could personally do, even with consent. I just. . ." Dagmar trailed off with another shake of her head, rougher this time.

"That's completely understandable," Daphne replied. Her shoulders pulled up with a shudder. "That would be horrific."

"Ja."

The four of them moved to the keeping room once their plates were clear. Theo's gaze frequently travelled to the fireplace.

"What do you think's taking so long?" he asked. "What kind of a meeting were they all sitting? Someone would've told us by now if it wasn't going to work, right?"

"I'd think so," Draco said, then nudged his knee against Dagmar's. "When did they even start?"

"Nine." Dagmar bunched her lips. "I don't know, maybe there's a bunch of bureaucracy involved. That's the impression I got from the Department of Mysteries coming."

"What's that all about?" Daphne asked. "Why would they care about all this? Wes said some Unspeakables have been in and out, talking to Hildegard."

"Couldn't tell you." Dagmar shrugged.

"Your mum won't say?"

"Is that really a surprise, Daphne?"

Since Dagmar meant it in jest, the four of them snorted into laughter. Draco still felt after talking to Ollivander that he had some sort of idea what it might all be about, but he didn't want to participate in any sort of speculation. He hadn't bothered to ask Potter about it either.

"Honestly, after everything. . ." Dagmar continued, lifting his shoulders in a makeshift shrug. "I'm all right with my mum keeping secrets. I don't know what would've become of me if I was aware of how Voldemort and I were connected. I can appreciate on this side of everything that she tried to sort it out without involving me, even if the outcome wasn't exactly ideal."

"Yet," Daphne said. "I mean, if You-Know-Who is considering leaving—"

The four of them jolted upright at the sound of the fireplace whooshing. Draco's heart ramped up into an easy pound as anticipation mingled with the caffeine already affecting it. Mr Nott stepped out into the great room. His expression was tight and painful with potent hope, especially after his gaze had found Theo. Theo already stood, his cup on the coffee table. His tea slopped slightly onto its saucer from the haste of setting it down.

"Dad," Theo said in scarcely more than a breath.

He sprinted across the floor, mirroring Mr Nott. Their arms went tight around each other, and their faces buried in the others' neck. Heavy silence fell. Theo's back racked, followed by a sharp inhale. Daphne wiped her eyes anew as she stood. Dagmar looked on the verge of that as well when her and Draco's gazes met.

"We should go," she whispered quietly enough for Daphne not to hear.

Draco nodded, then stepped around the table. Daphne jumped a little when he tapped her shoulder and leaned down to speak closer to her ear. "We'll give you all some space. Talk to you soon?"

"For sure."

Daphne squeezed Draco one more time, then Dagmar when she came over. Theo and Mr Nott had released each other from their tight grip, talking in low, quick tones, and both looked slightly embarrassed at the states of them when Draco and Dagmar approached intent for the fireplace.

"Have a good visit," Draco bid them. "See you later."

The great room at Malfoy Manor was similarly crowded with lingerers. Hildegard, Granger, Helka, Madam Bones, and Madam Prickle had joined Draco's parents there. Draco looked around for the Unspeakables, but they'd either already left or lingered in the drawing room.

Draco's mum had irritated eyes. "It worked, right? It looked like it did, on our end of things."

"Yep," Draco replied. "We gave them some privacy."

It was also coming up on time for Draco to start thinking about getting ready for work. Granger had a strange, strained look about her. Dagmar headed over to say hello rather than follow Draco upstairs. He was halfway into his work attire when Dagmar announced herself on the other side of the bathroom door. Draco joined her in the bedroom when he was decent enough to finish dressing in front of the current shadow-Auror. Dagmar lounged on the bed, lips slightly pursed.

"What's up with Granger?" Draco asked in Norwegian for a slice of privacy.

Dagmar shrugged. "I don't think she can say, and I didn't ask. She had to go back to work, anyway."

"Oh yeah." Draco studied her. "What's up with you, then?"

"Things kind of came together with Daphne and Theo, didn't they?"

"Like with Mr Nott? Yeah."

"Nei, I mean. . ." An impish smile overtook Dagmar's face with fresh amusement. "You didn't realize?"

"What?" With how little Draco caught onto today from the conversations around him, he started to wonder if he might be a drag to lead around at the reserve tonight.

"Come on, Draco. They postponed their wedding because things came up. They didn't go back to planning after I happened to come home. They didn't talk about it after I said I might be free of Voldemort sooner than later. Daphne asked what I plan to do with my clinic at Olaf Kyrre."

Draco's stomach flipped in a pleasant way as he blinked. "You really think she's—? But why didn't they just say that?"

"Could be she's not far enough along yet to announce." Dagmar shrugged. "More likely, they wanted to tell Mr Nott first."

"Well, fucking hell," was about all Draco could think to say. "I guess we'll find out soon enough, yeah?"