Disclaimer:- I neither own nor own anything from this story. My plot is my own but the world of Harry Potter is the intellectual property of JK Rowling and associates.

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A/N:- So, here is the next chapter of this story, and I apologise for such a long break between chapters. To be warned there is a minor character death near the end of this chapter, but the person whilst having been mentioned through the story, is not actually present for any of the scenes. I'm still flying along without a beta, so there are probably things I'm missing, but I'm doing my best.

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Chapter Thirteen – The Writing on The Wall

The next morning it was an exhausted Narcissa who got herself ready to take Draco to St. Mungos for his examination. Try as she might she had not really been able to settle once she was back at her townhouse last night, even though she'd tried.

She had thought of taking a sleeping draught, but it was really too late to do that. Besides, Severus wasn't the only thing on her mind, there was also today at St. Mungos. Exhaling a long breath she looked at her reflection in the mirror. You can do this… you can do this for your son, she told herself, and turned from her dressing table and went down to breakfast.

When she'd returned last evening, she'd looked in on Draco briefly to let him know that everything was going to be okay. She also warned him against being intimate, and she'd made certain that Hermione heard her, knowing that the young woman would heed her words more closely than her son would.

The reason that she'd invaded their privacy was because any sexual activity within twelve hours of the examination would register, and since the wizarding legal brethren were still effectively living in the Victorian era, both parties in a pureblood marriage contract were expected to be chaste until their wedding night.

This was not the case with young couples these days, but when things had to be handed over to lawyers these were the costs incurred. Then she thought to her own situation, she and Severus would have to be careful until her marriage was declared over too.

As she'd been contemplating this she'd been traversing the stairs, having sent her elf Mopsy down before her to get breakfast started, and she found a nervous looking Draco waiting for her as she entered the dining room.

"All ready, son?" she asked, noting how nervous he was.

"As prepared as I can be," he answered. "Mother?"

"Yes, love?" Narcissa inquired, pouring coffee into her cup.

"It will be all right, won't it?"

Walking from the sideboard to the table, she patted his shoulder. "I am confident that it will be, yes," she answered.

This seemed to ally his fears a little, but of course, they would not be certain until this was over.

xox

Half an hour later, Narcissa, Draco and Narcissa's solicitor Garrison Ollivander were being ushered into an inner waiting room in the office of the chosen healer at St. Mungos. The healer had been chosen by the Wizengamot, and three representatives from the wizarding governing body were waiting for them to arrive as they entered.

Garrison and Narcissa inclined their heads in respect to the two elderly wizards and one just as aged witch. However, when Narcissa glanced around, there was no sign of the Greengrass family, nor their legal representative, and she raised an eyebrow at her solicitor.

Garrison in turn levelled a scrutinising eye at the healer. "Have you received any communication from the Greengrass family?"

"None," the healer, who was already starting to look irritated, stated.

"I see," Garrison, a stern looking man with steel grey hair and astute pale blue eyes replied. He was inhaling to speak when another wizard was ushered into the room. "Ah, Bainbridge! Why are we all being kept waiting?" he asked the man representing the Greengrass family.

"My clients have been held up, Councillor Ollivander, and pray your indulgence," the wizard called Bainbridge answered, his eyes plainly shifty. "Perhaps," he suggested glancing at the representatives from the Wizengamot. "We could speed things along by shortening the waiting period?" he asked hopefully.

"Certainly not," the oldest and gruffest of the three judicial representatives barked. "Mister Malfoy is already ten minutes into his waiting period, your client has not yet started hers, and will not be starting it until she is present in this room," he clarified further.

"Then, I am afraid that there will be a further delay as the witch in question is not well this morning," Bainbridge replied.

"And she is in a hospital, Councillor Bainbridge," the healer stated, his irritation at the delays clear in his voice. "Bring her straight to my examination room so this can begin. I can examine her for any maladies and she can commence her one hour waiting period while I do so," and he turned to the other parties present. "Are we all agreeable?"

Narcissa exhaled an irritated breath, and her lips thinned. Her family had been Slytherin for generations and one developed a sense of being toyed with by people when it was happening. "I am agreeable," she said softly, and then even softer to Garrison, "If there are any more prevarications call them out on it."

"Understood," Garrison replied.

xox

Meanwhile, knowing that Hermione wanted to keep herself occupied, Ginny had invited her to have morning tea at number twelve, and they were discussing the events of the evening before in the Shrieking Shack.

Harry exhaled, and nodded, but he looked disappointed.

"He's living in the Ley Lines, Harry," Hermione said, pinning her friend with her serious gaze. "So you never know when he might pop up again."

"So, he's not dead?" Harry asked hopefully.

"No, he's dead, he's just moved on to another type of existence; powerful magical people often do. There are many more planes of being than the one we reside in," she lectured, just as the Floo flared into life and a smiling Draco walked out. "Draco!" Hermione cried, her chosen subject instantly forgotten. "You look happy," she added, hurrying around the table to him.

Harry and Ginny watched on as the blond swept Hermione up into his arms and swung her around.

"I've got good reason to be happy, my betrothal to Astoria has been pronounced unlawful."

Hermione giggled as she swung around, but then said, "That was quick, was it what we'd thought?" she asked enthusiastically.

"It was, and worse still they presented a Polyjuiced witch to try and fool everyone," Draco confirmed, laughing and utterly unable to wipe the grin from his face.

Hugging him again, Hermione added, "That's wonderful," but then they were staring intently into one another's eyes and kissing, obviously having forgotten they had an audience.

It wasn't until Harry cleared his throat that they came back to reality. "It's good to see you two so happy, but…"

Draco smiled cockily, but apologised. "Sorry about that, it's just that I'm free, so we," and he kissed Hermione's lips once more. "We can be together now."

A grin had slipped onto Ginny's face too, but she said, "Yes, we both get that bit, how about you tell us all now what happened."

Sheepishly, Hermione glanced towards her friends, and then pulled Draco back around the table and sat him beside her as Ginny summoned a fourth cup and poured the excited Slytherin a cup of tea, and Harry considered exactly how surreal this all was. Even last year he would not have ever thought that someone he knew would be friends with a Slytherin, let alone be snogging them in the kitchen so openly, and it made him realise exactly how far they'd all come since the end of the war. It also made him realise that he was very pleased how things had worked out, and he listened as Draco started telling what had happened.

"When we arrived at St. Mungos they did not turn up, but then after keeping us waiting finally they produced an Astoria who looked very green around the gills. The healer who was there to do the examinations came back from looking at her and informed everyone present that the witch in the examination room was suffering from a boomslang skin allergy."

"Merlin, where does someone come into contact with snake skin?" Ginny wondered aloud.

"Polyjuice Potion," Hermione said knowingly. "Who was it?"

Draco shook his head. "Don't know, don't care, but after the Wizengamot is through with them for wasting their time, they'll not be too happy."

"And Astoria?" Hermione asked.

"That's the best bit, after all her high and mightiness, she is pregnant, and a Paternity Potion proved the father to be Adrian Pucey."

"Isn't that who she was sitting next to at the Yule Ball last year?" Hermione asked.

Draco smiled. "It was."

"But I don't understand, if she was in love with someone else, why were they pushing for her to marry you?" Hermione asked.

Leaning across and kissing her temple, Draco stated, "Now, I know that this is going to come out sounding conceited, and Potter's likely to poo-hoo what I'm about to say, but the Malfoy family is the richest in England, many people in the next spheres down are trying to get a piece of that."

"I don't care about any of that," Hermione proclaimed.

"And that's the best part," Draco told her. "I know that it's me that you're interested in and not my money," and he could see that she was about to express her ire at that idea, so he cut her off with another kiss and then changed the subject. "So, what were you guys discussed before I crashed in?"

"Oh… Umm, oh yes, I was telling Harry and Ginny that Dumbledore did not appear again last night, and how we think that he might be living in the Ley Lines. He wants to see him."

"You know that's a very slim or near impossible hope, Hermione," Draco told her softly.

Hermione smiled. "This is Harry Potter," she replied quietly, glancing back at her friend. "Look what he's achieved so far. Many people said it was impossible, but it wasn't, who says he won't be able to find someone he really wants to find. At least perhaps he can ask Professor McGonagall if he can try."

Draco kissed her temple. "Yes, I suppose you're right, but I still think it's not likely," he whispered so that only she could hear.

After that they turned their conversation to more mundane things, but Harry quietly decided that he would ask Professor McGonagall spending some time in the shack. What did he have to lose.

xox

Therefore, over the next few days as the scandal in the Greengrass family surfaced in The Prophet. Hermione and Draco quietly laid low only seeing one another at Andie's or his mother's town house, and not venturing out in public. Harry on the other hand did approach the headmistress about the Shrieking Shack.

In fact, Harry had come to the shack every evening now for five days, and tonight was the full moon. He did not know that the Ley Line were in the habit of being closest to the surface at that time. It was a habit they'd picked up when protecting Remus from being exposed when he'd been a student at Hogwarts.

This also went a long way to explaining how Professor Snape had been able to protect them the night Remus had been caught out under the full moon, but again, this was not something that Harry was interested in. At the moment he was just starting to think about giving up as he continued to stand alone in the dusty old room. He sighed and sat gingerly on a rickety looking chair, all he wanted was some closure.

It was something that until Hermione and Draco had found Snape here that he hadn't realised that he'd wanted, but now it was burning very brightly inside him, and he wanted some answers.

Without warning, a voice sounded close to him. "Why so discouraged, Harry?" Dumbledore said, as he materialised in front of the dejected looking wizard.

"Sir?" Harry cried, rocketing to his feet.

Albus held out his hand. "Come, young Harry. I was hoping we'd meet again, I have something for you."

With utter trust in the wizard he thought of as a father figure, Harry took his mentor's hand and allowed himself to be drawn into the Ley lines. He hadn't given a thought to what he might expect, but suddenly he was surrounded by all the people that he'd lost, and he was being hugged by his mum and dad, and it was like a blissful dream.

He forced his eyes open and he looked at the old headmaster, and he saw the genial old wizard smiling at him with tears trickling over his cheeks.

"I'm so sorry that you've missed so much, Harry," Albus admitted. "I should have double-checked who your parents had chosen as their secret-keeper, but I didn't. Please don't blame Severus, my boy. He is not to blame for what happened to your parents, I am," the old man admitted. "Will you make certain that you treat him well? He deserves your respect after everything he's done to protect you over the years. Everything that happened to you after the death of your parents was a knock-on effect from my first mistake. Please accept my apologies for what I could never tell you in life."

Harry realised that he was crying too, and he heard the people that he trusted most agreeing with what Dumbledore had said. "Albus is right, my love," Lily told him.

Even Sirius and his father were nodding, and they had sheepish expressions on their faces, but then everything swirled and started to fade again. Harry landed with a thud back into the empty room he'd left from, and he wrinkled his nose up at the smell of burning ozone—the result of dissipating strong magic—and took off his glasses, wiping roughly at his eyes as a burning empty hole seemed to material in his chest.

For precious moments he'd had his mother and father, with Sirius and Remus patting his shoulders, he'd felt loved and wanted. Literally anyone who would have, or even could have fulfilled a parent's role in his life was dead, and all because of the same thing, and now they were telling him that Snape might… might what?

Forgetting about everything else, Harry wanted to get back to the one witch he could call his own, the witch who completed his life; he needed to feel her arms around him right now.

Therefore, Harry bolted from the shack and made for the front gates at a flat run, not even noticing that in his haste that his footfalls had changed from that of a running man to a galloping beast. He'd made an accidental animagus transformation borne of his high emotion and pent up frustration.

The majestic stag thundered down the Hogwarts' drive and out the front gates. It was only when he clipped an antler on the gate that he realised that something was amiss. Suddenly feeling uncoordinated Harry stumbled, but quickly righted himself and carefully looked down in the bright moonlight. The moon was being helped on by the fact that the flying hogs on the gates had lanterns, and in the light he saw that he had long dark grey legs and black cloven hooves.

A splinter of panic shot through him as he considered this unforeseen situation. He craned his neck around and saw an elongated, furred body, and he yelped, even though it came out as an animalistic grunt. He started pacing. Should I go back and see if I can find Professor McGonagall? he wondered, glancing back at the gates that had closed once he'd gone through. Mind you, even if he did convince the gates to open again for him he didn't like his chances of explaining to the headmistress that he was Harry, and that he'd had a bit of a mishap. Besides, it was a bit embarrassing, being that it was accidental magic.

Then his sensitive nose picked up a scent on the breeze, an earthy smell. The aroma was the damp earth and the summer night, and it was intoxicating. It seemed to centre him, so much so that he regained some of his sense. He pawed the ground with one front foot, and then raised his head to smell the air again; he wanted to explore this much more, but not now, and his need to reach Ginny rose up desperately inside him again.

However, it was then he thought, what would 'Mione do? Heconcentrated on thinking about this for a time, and he calmed down a little more, which made thinking even easier. Wait, he answered himself. I've read a book on this.

Just lately, now that he had the time, he'd started to read up on animagus transformations because both his father and godfather were animagi. He remembered what the book had said, it had echoed something Sirius had told him too, that to transform back to yourself required focus on your human self and that it got easier with time.

Holding himself very still, he concentrated so hard that he was certain that his legs were shaking, and after a time he felt himself slipping back to his human form. "Fuck!" he gasped in relief, suddenly feeling his face with his hands. He patted the top of his head and grinned; no antlers. Taking a deep breath, he willed his breathing back to normal and with it his racing heart, but then he smiled and whooped to the night sky. He had the same animagus form as his father, he would definitely be going to see Professor McGonagall tomorrow to find out how to make controlled transformations, but right now he just wanted Ginny, and he turned on the spot and apparated away.

xox

As Harry was hurrying to get to Ginny, Narcissa Malfoy was receiving some news, only she was not certain what she felt about this news. She stood immobile in her front hall way as two Aurors spoke to her and Draco quietly.

The two Aurors were polite and softly spoken, but their message seemed to make her ears ring.

"I'm afraid there has been an incident in the exercise yard at Azkaban prison, Madam Malfoy. Your husband, Lucius Abraxas Malfoy, was involved, and unfortunately we are here to inform you that he passed on earlier this evening," the older of the two told her.

"Passed on?" she whispered. "What?"

Draco drew his mother to his side with an arm around her waist, and a hand on her arm to support her and he faced the Aurors. "Thank you for coming to inform us, could you send all further details for Garrison Ollivander, at Ollivander and Associates, Diagon Alley, please?"

The two officers handed Draco the Death Certificate, and inclined their heads. "Please accept the department's condolences," they chorused and then turned and walked away.

Draco watched them, his brow furrowed. They didn't care, but he did appreciate their cordiality for his mother's sake. His father was dead, he glanced at his mother and he knew that he should get her comfortable. He was very aware that his parent's marriage had not been a happy one, but they'd had him together, and they'd always showed the world a united front, and even though he knew that his mother had been in the process of divorcing his father… this was still a terrible shock.

Pocketing the certificate the Aurors had handed him, he started leading his mum into the sitting room, but she objected.

"No, take me to my rooms, please, Draco," she said softly, suddenly appearing frail and vulnerable.

"Would you like me to get Aunt Andie?" he asked as they started walking up the stairs.

"Yes, please," Narcissa replied absently.

Leading her into her private sitting room, Draco lead her to the lounge before coming back out. He shut the door behind himself and hurried back down stairs. Without a second thought he threw Floo powder into the grate and walked straight through into his aunt's home.

"Aunt Andie?" he called.

Both Andie and Hermione arrived together, hearing the distress in his voice.

"What's wrong, what's happened?" Hermione demanded, walking straight up to him and taking his hands.

"It's Father…" Draco said, clearing his throat. "H-He's d-dead."

"Oh, Draco," Hermione cried, pulling him into her arms.

He looked at his aunt as he allowed Hermione to offer him comfort. "I think mother might need you," he told her, only relaxing into Hermione's comfort once he'd said his piece.

"Are you two all right here with Teddy?" Andie asked, pulling her apron off, and watching Hermione taking care of Draco.

"Yes, we'll be fine, you go," Hermione assured her.

Little Teddy was already in bed, and they'd just cleaned up for the night in both the kitchen and in Andie's lab. They'd both been about to go to bed, and Hermione kissed Draco's temple as he clung to her. "Would you like to sit on the lounge or should we make ourselves comfortable for the night in bed?"

"Bed, please," he answered, his voice bubbling over with emotion as he tried to speak.

"Okay," she answered, and mentally checking that everything was locked down for the night, she doused the lights all except for one in the family area. She wasn't really expecting that Andie would be back tonight, but she thought it wise to leave one light on for her just in case.

Turning them, she guided Draco towards her room. Ushering them inside, she left the door ajar so she could hear Teddy if he stirred, and she lowered the lights and sat Draco on the edge of the bed. Pulling back from him, she could see that he appeared to be numb with shock, so she started undressing him and leaving his boxers on she encouraged him into bed.

"Lay there a minute I'll be right with you," she told him, concerned when he simply nodded to her. This had most definitely blindsided him, and she quickly change into a summer nightie and climbed in beside him.

He instantly snuggled back into her, and without any prompting he started talking.

"Most of the time he was an utter bastard, but he was my father, and he'd been made like he was by his own father. I know that's not an excuse, but…" and his sentence trailed off. "T-Thank you for b-being here, love."

Slipping her hands up to cradle his moist cheeks, Hermione smiled at him, and kissed him. "I will always be here for you, Draco."

"I do hope so," he replied, this time giving her a gentle kiss. "I love you, Hermione."

Her smile increased. "I love you too… Do you think you can sleep?"

"I don't know," he replied.

"Well, let's just lay here and be together," she said, feeling him nodding slightly in answer.