hiya :) lovely day, innit? Lovely day for an update, methinks...
Chapter Seven, Bad Things
"Let me be the one you call,
If you jump, I'll break your fall,
Lift you up and fly away with you into the night.
If you need to fall apart,
I can mend a broken heart.
If you need to crash,
Then crash and burn,
You're not alone." -'Crash and Burn', Savage Garden
Mia was sitting at the counter sulking when the phone rang. The past few days had been harder than she'd expected. Without Ginny and Draco there, not only did she not get a physical break, no one was there to hang out with her and make her laugh, or vice versa. Mike was around here and there, but that was a bit different.
"Good Morning, Harrison's Diner, this is Mia. How can I help you?"
"I need to talk to Mike," said a breathless and broken voice from the other end. "Please, Mia, now." It cried.
"Who is this?" She asked curiously. She heard a sob come from the other end.
"It's Ginny, please, I need to talk to Mike." Mia's heart stopped. Ginny never cried. Like...never. Mia could only remember two or three specific instances when Ginny actually shed a tear. But she was definitely sobbing on the other end.
"Gin, what happened?" She asked, alarmed. More sobs,
"I don't know...Draco...arrested...Azkaban...kids...Mike... Rousseau... Mia I just don't know!" She cried.
"Alright, alright, calm down, Gin. It's ok, I'm sure whatever it is, it'll be ok. Just breathe for a second, get a glass of water or something."
"Mia, I could barely get here, I can't hold a glass...how am I supposed to tell the kids? What am I supposed to tell them? Merlin, that stupid prat!" Mia wasn't really sure what she was talking about, because she'd only gotten bits and pieces of the answer herself, but she wasn't about to make Ginny go through it again.
"Alright then, just stop for a sec, ok? Breathe. Now, Mike's not here --" Just at that moment, Mike strolled in. Mia saw him and waved her arms wildly, trying to get him to come over as quickly as possible. Pretty quickly his amused smile turned into a look of alarm when he realized how upset she looked. "Speak of the devil, Gin, hold on one second." Mia put her hand over the receiver, "Were you expecting a call from Gin?" Mike looked at her, confused.
"Well...Draco did mention something about...they might need help," he said tentatively.
"She's in hysterics. Something about Draco, something about you, something about...words I don't know." Mia said, shaking her head, "here, you try and talk to her." Mia handed over the phone, and from then on only heard half the conversation.
"Hey, Gin...yeah...what? ... they what? ...he WHAT? ... you've got to be kidding... WHAT? Alright...no, alright, alright...no, calm down...Gin, just listen to me...yes, that's what I said! Listen to me! ...Gin, breathe...calm down...we'll...figure something out, find this Rousseau lady - wizards know how to Google, right? I'll be there as soon as I can...well, I can't exactly walk through a fire like you did...yeah, probably a plane...I know, but it's the quickest I've got, they shut down the Concord...Gin, I'm sorry...the junk drawer? Are you sure? ...put Damon on the phone. ...you what? ...no, put Damon on." There was an elongated pause in the conversation, and Mike looked at his mom, frightened. He jerked in just a moment, though, and went back to his conversation.
"Damon? Hey, it's your Uncle Mike...yep. Well, see, your dad asked me a favor...yeah...we're gonna come see you guys...your mom needs some time alone...right...can you take Alex and Izzy and Julia outside for awhile? ...Right...you know the rules, right? ...Tell Emma...make sure - I know you know, I just need to remind you...tell Emma, too. And don't -- ...right. I mean it, though, buddy, alright? No one. Only your mom, Aunt Mia, or me. ...yes, I'm serious...alright...we'll be there soon. Alright, tell your mom I said bye...yeah...bye." Mike handed Mia the phone back and she hung it up. She looked at him and waited for the details, but he sighed and put his head in his hands.
"Well?" She prodded impatiently.
"They arrested Draco." He said flatly through his hands.
"They what? Why?" Mia exclaimed. Mike rubbed his hands across his short brown hair. He looked up at his mother with sad eyes.
"Apparently he murdered three people." Mia smiled. She even laughed a little. That was a problem she had, whenever something really bad happened to someone, she couldn't help but smile...it was like a defect.
"That's ridiculous," she said quietly.
"Mom, this is so far beyond not funny..." Mike said seriously. She cleared her throat.
"I'm sorry...but really, that's ridiculous. How could they think that?" She asked, wiping her face of the smile.
"I don't know, but Ginny needs me there, so...Draco said something to her about the junk drawer..." Mike made his way around Mia and to the junk drawer. She couldn't understand why Draco would say to go in there - they rarely did. They just shoved stuff in, stuff rarely came out.
When Mike opened the drawer, though, there was an envelope lying on top that Mia didn't recognize. Well, it was an envelope and she recognized it as an envelope, but she hadn't seen it in there before.
Mike opened it and took out a letter, and out fell two plane tickets.
"That dumba--"
"What's it say?" Mia interrupted.
"That he gave them three days to catch him, and if, after three days they haven't caught him, he figures they don't know. And if I'm reading this, it means they need us there...or one of us finally got around to cleaning out the junk drawer." Mike grinned at the last line. Mia looked at the plane tickets, and sure enough, they were for tonight.
"He bought these? Where did he find that kind of money to just waste?" Mia said, amazed.
"Well, Gin did say he was rich."
"Was - past tense - was rich. As in, not anymore cause he cooked for a diner for twelve years..." Mia chuckled.
Mia didn't know what to do. She told the regulars there that there was some trouble with Gin and Draco, and she had to close down for awhile, but that she'd be back in a week or two - she hoped.
She put a sign on the door, kicked everyone out, packed, and boarded the plane. And the next thing she knew, she and Mike were landing in London.
"You ever been here?" Mike asked, leaning over her to see out the window. She just shook her head. "You know where to go?"
"Not a clue." She said seriously. When they got off, though, they saw almost the whole gang waiting for them.
"Hey guys!" Mia cried, as Izzy ran into her arms. Hugs were exchanged, greetings said, and eventually they made their way out to the car. The squeeze was tight, but Ginny had enchanted it to be bigger on the inside than it looked, so everyone fit.
When they finally got back to Ginny's new house, Mia stood outside and marveled at it.
"And...everyone has their own bedrooms?" Mia marveled. Ginny just nodded, not saying a word. "How did you get this place?"
"An old friend of Draco's," Ginny cleared her throat, "owns a real estate company...very expensive stuff..."
"And he just gave you a house when you asked for it?" Mia asked, not comprehending how this worked. Ginny smiled bitterly,
"You'd be surprised what the Malfoy name does around these parts, even though the War's over...Merlin, Mia, how could he do this?"
"Alright, kids - who wants food?" Mike announced, ushering the kids inside. The two girls stayed outside and sat on the step.
"How...how could he do this? He said...he's not a murderer, Mia...I don't understand what's going on...Merlin, I feel like I'm sixteen again..." Ginny trailed off.
"Of course he's not a murderer," Mia assured her, "He's Draco, for crying out loud. There's gotta be a mistake --"
"I don't think there is, though." Ginny interrupted dispassionately. "The look on his face...you should have seen the look on his face...it was like he'd been waiting for this. Like he knew it was going to happen..."
"He did." Came a voice from behind them. They looked up to see Mike standing there.
"Kids?" Ginny inquired.
"In the kitchen, having a bedtime snack." Mike answered. "Anyway, before you guys left, he pulled me aside to make sure I'd be willing to come at a moment's notice, and then in the letter, he mentioned them catching him."
"Why didn't he tell me?" Ginny asked quietly.
"Well, really...how do you tell someone something like that? It's not exactly dinner conversation." Mia pointed out. Ginny sighed, and Mia put her arm around her friend, holding her close.
"It's ok, he won't be in there for long, right? I don't know what the system is like around here - bail? Bonds? Parole? Manslaughter? Hung jury? Jack McCoy wouldn't let Draco go to jail." Mia pointed out, matter-of-factly.
"Maybe, but Arthur would. Crazy politicians." Mike said frustratedly. Ginny laughed bitterly,
"You two watch entirely too much television."
"Only Law & Order," Mia said defensively.
"Yes, and you watch entirely too much of it," Ginny said, actually smiling a bit. Mia felt triumphant at that point, but remembered why she'd brought up Law & Order in the first place.
"So what's it like around here? Should we go visit him in jail or something tomorrow?" Mia asked, but Ginny shook her head.
"No, you shouldn't go visit him at all, and I dout they'll let him out before the trial, or during, or after. Or ever." Ginny sighed heavily, and Mia watched her intently. "The prison here...it's different. The creatures that guard it --"
"Creatures?" Mia squeaked.
"Yeah...dementors...you won't be able to see them, but they suck the happiness out of their environment...make people only remember the worst times in their life. Drives most of the prisoners crazy, so they won't escape...And I certainly can't take children there...not only would they not be able to stand it, they already had a heart attack with the goblins..." Ginny explained hopelessly.
"Goblins? God..." Mia whispered. Mike sat down next to them, and said the kids were just about ready for bed. Ginny took a deep breath, got up, and left them there. Mia just shook her head as she watched Ginny walk inside.
Mia sat with her son in silence, trying to wrap her head around everything that was going on. She had tried to seem collected, for Ginny's sake, but she really didn't have much of a clue.
She saw someone walking up the path, toward the house. A tall, thin man with brown hair, who was wearing a cloak like the one Draco had worn when they left. Mia stood up to meet him, and Mike followed her lead.
"Can I help you?" She asked politely. The man just eyed her curiously.
"I'm here to talk to Ginny Weasley..." he said tentatively. "Is she here?"
"I'm sorry...she can't talk right now. Maybe if you call her tomorrow. Well...maybe if you just wait awhile." Mia suggested.
"Who are you?" The man asked suspiciously.
"Who are you?" Mike shot back.
"Michael, stop it." Mia chided. "Mia, Michael." She said, gesturing to herself and then her son. "And you are?"
"Harry, an old friend of Ginny's."
"Not Harry Potter?" Mike said with a small smile.
"You've heard of me? I thought you guys were Muggles." He said confusedly.
"We are," Mike assured him, "but they were talking about you last week. Doesn't seem like Draco likes you much." Harry rolled his eyes and smiled.
"Draco Malfoy doesn't like anyone much." He said dryly.
"He likes us." Mike pointed out.
"Doubtful...look, can I please just talk to Ginny?"
"She's really not in the mood to talk to anybody tonight, Harry." Mia said gently. "Draco's in some trouble and she's pretty upset."
"I know, I was the one who arrested him." Harry said, agitated.
"You did what?" Mike demanded, lunging at Harry. But Mia was ready for that one, and held him back.
"You did what?" She repeated quietly, as soon as Mike calmed down.
"Ron and I arrested him." Harry replied.
"Ron? Who's Ron?" Mia asked.
"Ginny's never mentioned Ron?" Harry asked, appalled. Mia looked at Mike, who shrugged.
"Nope, sorry. Who is he? An old boyfriend or something?" Mia asked. Harry looked at her like she was crazy.
"Ron's her brother, I'm her old boyfriend." He said slowly.
"Gin has a brother?" Mike asked, confused.
"She had six of them."
"Six brothers?" Mia repeated, "Seriously? She's been holding out on us!" She said amusedly. "Six brothers, jeez..."
"Well, now there are only five, but..."
"Five? Why?" Mia prodded.
"You have some nerve, Harry Potter." Ginny's voice came from behind them, vicious and low. She moved up between Mia and Mike and stared at him. "How dare you come back here. What do you think you're doing?"
"Ginny, I just wanted to talk to you, tell you --"
"I don't want to see you, let alone speak to you. How could you! I thought you were my friend!" She exploded.
"Ginny, I am, but --"
"Not even telling me!"
"Hey, now that was Malfoy's fault."
"His name is Draco." She hissed. He froze.
"It was for everyone's safety. There was an outstanding warrant for his arrest, we had to do it." He tried to explain.
"I don't want to hear that!" Ginny yelled. "There are five children upstairs that are now without a father because of your stupid little revenge schemes!"
"My? My revenge? Ginny! I didn't want to do this! Ron was the one --"
"Don't even get me STARTED on that stupid git! I don't ever want to see him around here, you make sure he knows that! Merlin, Harry, what am I supposed to do now? Hm?" She said, turning back around indecisively. "I don't know what to do. How could you do this?"
"Ginny, listen to yourself! Hemurdered three people!Doesn't that make any sense to you? He's dangerous! He's a bad guy!"
"Hey!" Mike interrupted, taking another aggressivestep forward, "Magic or not, you better watch it. Draco isn't a bad guy, and he's not dangerous. I don't know what planet you live on or come from, but that guy couldn't hurt a person if he tried."
"You obviously don't know him that well, then," Harry said quietly. "He's got a bad temper, and he killed those Ministry workers. He almost killed Dumbledore, too. He's not to be trusted."
"I said watch it." Mike growled.
"Almost killed who?" Mia interjected, her hand on Ginny's arm comfortingly.
"Dumbledore, the old headmaster of Hogwarts."
"Right, whatever - but you said 'almost'. Meaning he didn't." Mia pointed out.
"Well, no, but...he was there..."
"And yet here you are, proclaiming your own innocence in his arrest. But you were there, right?"
"I'm not proclaiming my innocence," Harry said uncomfortably, blushing.
"Then what are you trying to do? Justify it?" She shot.
"I don't know who you two are," he said, a bt more confidently, "But Draco Malfoy is dangerous. He's a murderer and he's going to Azkaban for a very long time."
"Stop it! Just shut up!" Ginny screamed, beginning to cry again. Mia couldn't help but feel completely uncomfortable seeing Ginny so...not in control. "Just shut up and go away!" Ginny yelled.
"Mike, take her inside, I'm going to have a chat with Harry, here." Mia said quietly. Mike glared at Harry for a moment, but eventually complied. Once they were out of sight, Mia advanced on Harry.
"Look, I don't know who you think you are, but I have spent almost every day of the last twelve years with those two. I was there when their kids were born, for all the birthdays, for all the late nights and for all the hard decisions they had to make. You obviously don't know Draco that well, because he is a good man, a good father, and a good friend. Yeah, he can be a jerk at times, but he would never kill someone. So whoever it is who gave you that little piece of information is either lying, or there were some serious situational factors."
"I went to school with Draco for seven years," Harry began, "and he did nothing - and I mean nothing - but try and make my life as miserable as possible. He taunted and tormented all of my friends. He terrified everyone younger than him. He's a mean person. I don't know what kind of facade he's put up these past years, but I'm telling you - that's all it is, a facade. He's a murderer."
"I swear to God. If you say that one more time..." Mia took a deep breath and collected herself. "Why would you do this?" She asked sadly. "You, and her brother, of all people? Why would you try and make her life more difficult? Do you know how hard it was convincing those two to come back? Convincing them that it was best for Damon and Emma? Actually getting them back here? Do you care about her at all?"
"Of course I do," Harry said sadly, "that's why I'm here."
"I hate to break it to you, but your presence is counter-productive." She stated.
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"You here is just shoving the whole thing in her face. She wanted to do what's best for Damon and Emma, and now Draco's in jail. I think you should leave." She finished forcefully.
"What? But...she was...at school...we were..." he stuttered.
"She's almost thirty years old. She's not a teenager anymore - she's not in school anymore. You. Should. Leave. If Michael finds you out here when he comes back, I can't say I know what he'll do." Harry just looked at her in amusement.
"I'm a wizard, and I'm older than he is." Harry said matter-of-factly.
"Ah, yes. But you also arrested his best friend and father figure this morning. Draco's been there for him almost as long as he can remember, and in any situation, passion is a large factor that helps determine the outcome." Something she said seemed to strike a chord with Harry, because his expression changed and he sighed.
"Alright, fine. Just tell Ginny that I'm sorry."
"Will do." She promised. She watched him turn reluctantly and walk away, shoulders slumped in defeat.
Mia took a second to gather herself before she walked into the house to find Ginny. She found them sitting at the kitchen table, as very little else had been unpacked or bought yet.
"Is he gone?" Ginny asked flatly.
"He's gone." Mia confirmed, taking a seat. "Well...this is a nice house," she commented offhandedly.
"Blaise!" Ginny said, lighting up. It seemed whatever she said had flipped a switch in Ginny's head.
"What?" Mia asked.
"Blaise would know how to find her!" She said, almost excitedly.
"Who?"
"Stefanie Rousseau." Ginny clarified. Although it didn't really help much.
"Who's that?" Mia asked. Ginny stopped for a moment and furrowed her brow in thought.
"You know...I'm not sure...but Draco said to contact her, so..." she shrugged and went out to the fire. She lit it and threw in the powder they'd seen the day they left for England, and the flames turned bright green. But instead of stepping into the fire, Ginny knelt down and just stuck her head in. This confused Mia to no end, and she couldn't help but watch. She exchanged a few confused looks with Michael, who seemed to be just as lost as she was.
Mia decided she needed a glass of water instead, though, so she left the scene for a moment and just took a deep breath, getting a glass of water and trying to figure out what they would do if Draco didn't get out of jail soon. Drag Ginny back to New Jersey. The kids could still go to the school and all, but Mia didn't want Ginny anywhere near people who were that awful to Draco. Maybe they were right, maybe she didn't understand what kind of a kid he'd been, but she did know what kind of a man he'd grown up to be, what kind of a father. And that was much more important.
When she came back she found Ginny sitting at the kitchen table again, looking more unhappy than before.
"What happened?" Mia asked concernedly.
"Blaise won't help." Ginny said hopelessly.
"What? He'll find you a house but not a person? That doesn't make a whole lot of sense."
"He won't help a suspected Death Eater." Ginny said quietly, rubbing her forehead. When she realized neither Mia nor Mike knew what she was talking about, she rephrased. "He won't help because Draco's in trouble."
"What the heck is a Death Eater?" Mike asked, trying not to laugh at the name. "Sounds pretty silly, if you ask me."
"Yeah, well, they weren't silly." Ginny said a little too aggressively. "They were terrorists, to put it in perspective. They ran around killing wizards, Muggles, Squibs. They terrorized everyone, killed anyone - men, women, children, with little exception. They were branded with a skull on their left forearm. They were murderers." Ginny spat, flushing a bit. Mia quickly got her a glass of water.
"And...Draco was one of them?" Mia asked quietly. Ginny nodded reluctantly.
"He didn't kill anyone, though...I mean...I don't know...I've been trying to figure out all day when those people were killed...when we first started talking, that was his whole problem, was that he couldn't kill anyone. He...he couldn't believe in that." Ginny just shook her head, and Mia felt awful for her. She couldn't imagine going through what Ginny was.
"Mommy, I can't sleep," came a small voice from the doorway. Ginny moved to get up, but Mia beat her to the punch. Picking Izzy up and walking out with her, Mia felt that whatever she could do to help would be appreciated.
"C'mon, let's go sit up in your room, ok?" Mia said softly. She'd always wanted a little girl, and ever since Emma and Izzy, and even Julia were born, she'd been living vicariously through Ginny. Even stealing some of her moments if she could. Like now, putting Izzy back to bed.
They went into Izzy's relatively empty room and sat on a rocking chair, just rocking back and forth, holding Izzy in her lap.
"I love you," Izzy whispered tiredly. Mia smiled, and nearly cried.
"I love you, too, sweetie." She replied. She couldn't understand what sort of person could look at this little girl, and not think her parents were fantastic people.
"Aunt Mia?" She whispered, her eyes still closed.
"Yeah?"
"Where'd Daddy go?" That small, innocent question just broke her heart in two.
"Your dad had to go away for a little bit," she didn't know what else to say.
"When's he coming back?" She asked innocently.
"Soon, I hope."
"Oh..." she sighed, "I miss him." Mia stroked the girl's hair and rocked her back and forth, hoping that she would fall asleep before Mia broke into tears.
"Me too, sweetie, me too..." After a few minutes of silence, Izzy seemed unresponsive. So Mia stood up and gently put her back into her bed. She stood at the door and watched the beautiful little girl sleep before leaving the room and marching back downstairs with newfound confidence.
"Call Blaise back." Mia ordered. "There's got to be some sort of Yellow Pages we don't know about. Google, or something for this crazy place."
"Mia," Ginny sighed, "there's nothing."
"I won't accept that. Call him back and make him help."
"No one wants to be associated with a Death Eater, Mia."
"Draco's not like that and you know it. Call him back and make him at least give you a phone number." Mia commanded, but Ginny hesitated. "Gin, really. This is not the time to hesitate - what would Draco do?" Mike couldn't help but laugh at the parody, knowing where Mia had gotten that. Mia couldn't help but let a chuckle slip, which in turn made Mike laugh harder, and soon enough everyone was at least smiling.
Ginny went back to thr fire with more confidence, came back a few minutes later and wrote a number down on a piece of paper.
"That was easier than I thought it would be." Ginny said, satisfied. She stared at the piece of paper, and her face began to fall. They heard a cry come from upstairs, but before Ginny could move, Mike was on it, and had gone to take care of it. Ginny smiled and shook her head. "You two are too good to me." She smiled softly. A few seconds later, though, her smile fell. "It's just so hard to smile when I know he's rotting in there, reliving everything bad that's ever happened to him. All his worst memories...with no one there." She shook her head, and Mia sat down next to her.
"I know, Gin, we miss him, too. You have no idea how weird the diner is without you guys." she smiled in spite of herself, and rubbed Ginny's arm comfortingly. Ginny rubbed her own forehead and sighed.
"When does it end, Mia? Really...I thought...when we left...we left this all behind, this whole world. And it wasn't easy, but we did it, we survived. I thought coming back here would...I dunno...be good for the kids, good for us, for my family, for everything. It just...no one can ever let anything be. They can't just...ugh, let it be." Ginny said, frustrated.
"Whisper words of wisdom," Mia sang, "Let it be..." She got a less than amused look from Ginny, though, so she stopped and changed tactcs. "C'mon, you know how the story goes, Gin. The heroes don't ever get a moment's rest until the end, when the story's over. Val Jean's salvation doesn't happen until he's dead. Gin, if everything's coming your way - you're going the wrong way." She rambled incessantly. She had so many examples, and she couldn't help but keep going. "Holden Caulfield - the only reason he gets to rest is cause they throw him in a mental institution. Dorothy's not ok until she's gone from Oz. Heck, Prometheus in Anthem is only ok once he's completely aliented himself and Gaea from all of society. Even in Toy Story things don't end up ok - Andy gets a puppy. The Incredibles - at the end, they're getting ready to fight someone new --"
"Mia! Alright! I get it, I'm not alone." Ginny interrupted with a smirk. "You could've gone on forever, couldn't you?" Mia just giggled,
"I probably would've if you hadn't stopped me," she admitted sheepishly.
"Probably would've what?" Mike asked, coming back in.
"Your mother and I were just talking, and she started on one of her rambles again."
"Uh oh," Mike said jokingly, "what'd you start her on this time?"
"It was nothing," Mia said sheepishly. "I was just trying to point out that if bad things aren't happening, you're either dead or not paying attention."