Chapter 15

Among the flowers

"Perhaps it is time we gave this room a new look," Narcissa states brightly, her eyes roaming the space before her. "Perhaps something a little lighter. What do you think, Cibney dear?" She glances down at the elf at her side and smiles as she watches her survey the dreary room.

"Cibney could be removing the shelves and adding more windows to the gardens," Cibney replies with a small grin. "That way Master Draco is always being able to see the flowers."

"Perhaps we add a patio," Narcissa added thoughtfully. "Yes, that would be lovely, Cibney dear. The open doors would allow the scent of the roses to clear the room out wonderfully."

"And what shall Cibney be doing with the items on the shelves?"

"The books, I believe, will be a wonderful addition to the library. Keep what you wish of everything else and you may dispose of the rest as you see fit. Remove my husband's dreary furniture as well. We shall replace it with something brighter, I think."

The sudden roar of the fireplace pulls Narcissa from her perusal of the room around her. "Miss Granger," she begins, noticing the brunette as she steps from the flames. "I was not expecting you to return so quickly."

"My apologies for the unexpected visit, Narcissa," Hermione says with a small smile. "We needed to speak to Malfoy."

"I am sorry but," her attention darts back to the fireplace as it flares green once more. "Theo," she breathes with a smile. She embraces the man warmly before pulling away and looking up at him. "It is wonderful to see you. It has been too long."

"I had no idea that things were so bad. Why didn't you send for me sooner?"

"I was only just informed of the situation myself," Narcissa explains. "Draco has it in his head that he must face this alone. You know how stubborn he can be."

"Where is he?"

Narcissa's eyes shift toward the windows, her smile falling slightly. "He went out into the gardens immediately following breakfast. He did not return for lunch."

"We'll start in the greenhouse then." Motioning for Hermione to follow, he turns toward the door.

"He may not be there."

Narcissa's response freezes Theo in his tracks and he turns to look back at her. The saddened look that graces her face makes him wince slightly and he runs his hands agitatedly through his hair. "The lake?" he sighs, arms falling once more to his sides.

"Perhaps."

Giving a brisk nod, he turns and hurries from the room. His pace is fast enough that Hermione feels like she almost has to jog to keep up. "What's wrong with the lake?" she asks as she finally catches him. When he doesn't answer, she huffs in irritation before reaching out and grabbing his arm. "What's the lake?" she asks once more when he finally looks down at her.

"You'll see."

They enter Narcissa's garden, the roses nearest the manor currently in full bloom. Hermione gazes at the meticulously kept bushes and flowers around her as they hurry through, though their pace makes it difficult for her to identify most of the varieties they pass. She spots the greenhouse in the distance and gestures towards it. "Are we going to check the greenhouse?"

Theo pauses, his gaze following hers, indecision warring across his face as his eyes dart from the greenhouse to the woods beyond. "What happened last night?" He doesn't look at her as he speaks.

"Last night?"

His eyes finally land on her and she can see the concern written plainly across his features. "Anything unusual? Anything new? I understand that the hauntings are occurring more frequently but, was there anything that stuck out to you?"

"There was a female spirit that we ran into in the hall. She was different from the others."

"How so?"

"She spoke to him. Not to yell at him like some of the others have done. He recognized her and followed after her when she left."

Theo turned and started off toward the woods, grabbing her by the wrist and pulling her along. "Here's what's going to happen, Hermione." He spoke quickly as the trees loomed nearer. "You are not going to ask any questions. Anything you want to know, ask later and I might tell you. That depends on Draco."

"But…"

"No questions." The look in his eyes stopped Hermione's retort before it left her lips and she nodded silently. "Here's what's going to happen. We're going to the lake. We are going to find Draco there. Do not ask why. Do not ask about what you see there. I am going to inform him of how much of a complete dunce he's been. There will be words had between us. You will stay out of it. Afterward, you will tell me everything that has happened. If you witnessed it, heard about it, even if you're just hypothesizing, I want to know about it."

"Excuse me," Hermione exclaims, yanking her arm from his grasp and stopping just outside the treeline. "How dare you."

"I understand that this is your job, Hermione. I appreciate all of the help you've tried to give him, I truly do, but you cannot help with this. Draco's my best mate. If it hadn't been for him and Narcissa, I don't know what I would have done. I refuse to lose him to his own stubborn pride and, if you insist on pushing him, that is exactly what will happen." He rests his hand gently on her shoulders, eyes imploring her to listen to him. "If I bring you to the lake and you start asking questions, he's going to kick us both out. He'll shut down and we'll have to fight just that much harder for him to let us help. Let me talk to him. I can't explain everything; not without his permission. I won't do that to him. Just, please, be quiet and let me handle this bit. You can help again later."

She glares at him silently for several moments before nodding and motioning for him to continue. He smiles softly at her before turning and continuing into the trees, his pace much slower as he moves silently through the trees.

They walk in silence for several minutes, Hermione's eyes darting from side to side as the sounds of the woods echo around them. When Theo comes to a halt, Hermione nearly runs into him, catching herself at the last moment. Stepping to his side, her eyes widen at the sight before her.

The waters of the lake are a clear blue, rippling softly with the gentle breeze that brushes across their surface. Rows upon rows of purple hyacinth decorate the clearing. Each bed of flowers is separated by smooth stones. Hermione's eyes dart around the clearing, mentally counting the many beds, before they call on the man knelt across from them.

He kneels in the dirt, the sleeves of his charcoal gray sweater rolled up to his elbows as he meticulously clears out the flower bed before him. His white blond hair hangs loosely, obscuring his face from her view. Even from a distance, she can make out the tenseness of his shoulders.

Theo steps forward, gesturing for her to remain where she stands, and she complies, watching as he carefully steps around the many beds of flowers.

Malfoy looks up at the sound of his approach, eyes widening slightly in recognition. He stands, pulling his sleeves down his arms and dusting his hands off on his dark trousers. "Theo? What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk," even from a distance, Hermione can hear the anger simmering under the surface of the calmly spoken words.

Malfoy folds his arms defensively. "About?"

"About how you've been going through hell and not bothered to mention it. About how you write every week and pretend that everything is perfectly fine. About how you've been lying to me for a month." By the end of his tirade, Theo's voice has risen just short of a yell. "What did you think would happen, eh? You'd just stop writing letters and I wouldn't worry? You'd just quietly let your own home destroy you and no one would care?"

Malfoy glances away, his eyes falling on the woman across the clearing and she sees them narrow dangerously at her. "Granger called for you." His voice is icy as he finally speaks, eyes not leaving her face.

"Leave her out of this," Theo exclaims. "Yes, she owled me, at Mother's insistence, might I add. You better be damned glad she did because someone needs to pull your head out of your arse."

"This is none of your concern, Theo." Malfoy's gaze returns to his friend.

"None of my…" Theo stutters momentarily before continuing, "You selfish prick. This is completely my business. Mine, Mother's, anyone who gives a damn about your sorry arse. It's all of our business." He shoves Malfoy roughly backwards, advancing on him angrily. "How dare you pretend that everything is alright and then sit here and let yourself drown like this. We all did things in the war that we're not proud of. You, me, Pans, Blaise. We all had to make tough decisions. So, you were a Deatheater. Boo fucking hoo for you mate. You had to make life or death choices? Well, so did so many other people but they're all trying to get on with their lives."

"I killed innocent people," Malfoy exclaims. "I don't deserve to be able to just get on with my life. They should have let me rot along with my father. Why should I be allowed to go on as if nothing happened while they lie buried beneath my feet? I could have done something. I could have stopped it. If I hadn't been such a coward. If I hadn't been so bloody terrified, I could have found a way to help them get out of there. I could have done something."

Grabbing him tightly by the arms, Theo shakes him slightly. "You would have been killed, immediately, if you had tried anything of the sort, and you know it." His voice softens and he stares down at his friend. "You've hated that mark on your arm since the moment you were branded with it. Those who matter have always known that. You were tasked with an absolutely horrible duty while you were still a child, Draco. You were a child. If you hadn't taken it, it would have been one of us. Me or Pans, you know it would have. You saved us as much as you saved yourself and Mother.

"By everything but blood, you are my brother. You and Mother are all the family I've ever truly had. We made it through a war together. Don't make us lose you to your own remorse."

Hermione watches as they stand together for several minutes, silence falling once more over the clearing. Theo releases him, his eyes falling to his sides once more, voice softening back to its normal timber. "They're all dead, Draco, and that is absolutely horrible. That doesn't mean that you don't still get to live."

Hermione can't help the smile that stretches across her face at Malfoy's nod. When Theo motions toward her, she hurries over stopping beside the two men. "So what happens next?" Malfoy asks softly.

"Hermione here thinks you've been cursed. The best place I can think to begin would be to do a full scan over your magical core. If there is something there, I'll take a signature imprint and see what I can do on my end to unravel it. Meanwhile you and Hermione can do what you two swots were so good at back in school."

"I hardly think now would be an appropriate time for us to be bickering with each other," Hermione can't help the small laugh that escapes at his words and he turns to her, studying her silently for a moment before gesturing for her to follow him.

"Where are we going?" she asks as she follows the two men from the clearing.

"To the library."