Chapter 14
Becky makes a face at the taste of the potion, but drinks it all down and sets the bottle down. "Headmaster?" she asks. Gus has gone to his room to lie down, and she and Draco are alone.
"Yes?"
"Do you think my father's portrait would talk to me, if you asked him? Alone, I mean," she clarifies.
"I can ask him," Draco says. "But he's a stubborn man. Or at any rate, he was a stubborn man in life, and he's a stubborn portrait now."
"I can see that."
"Are you sure you really want to?" Draco asks. "He's not the same man you knew. He's likely to say something hurtful."
"I know," she says.
"I know what it's like," he says. At her puzzled expression he continues, "Having a father who says hurtful things."
"Your father is wonderful in our timeline."
Draco sighs. "I wish I could have known that Lucius Malfoy."
"Me too," Becky says. "You're the only one I like better in this timeline."
"Gus said something similar." He gives her a sad smile. "Makes me almost want to Obliviate all of you and call it a day. Almost," he reassures her when he sees her widened eyes. "But not quite."
"Because you love Mum," she says.
"I thought you called her Professor Granger."
"She said I could call her Mum."
He hesitates. "Would you like to call me Draco?"
She nods.
"Tell me about my daughter," he says.
"She's very beautiful," Becky says wistfully.
"I could see that," he says, "but what is she like? What kind of person is she?"
Becky chews her lip awkwardly.
"You're not friends, are you?"
"We were when we were younger, sort of. Now we're more like…frenemies."
"Frenemies," Draco chuckles. "That's better than your Mum and I used to be."
"Draco, why did you hate Mum when you were in first year?"
"Because I'd been raised to despise Muggleborns. My parents did, my grandparents did, and so I did, too. Children believe all sorts of idiotic things when they're too young to know any better."
"But you know better now?"
"Yes. I've known better for some years now," he says, then grimaces and clutches at his left arm.
"What's wrong?" Becky asks.
"The Dark Lord is summoning me. Tell your mother," he says grimly, and Apparates away.
Becky is trying without success to read one of the books on the small bookshelf in her room when Hermione returns. "The Dark Lord summoned Draco," she says without preamble.
Hermione takes a deep, shuddering breath.
"What will happen?" Becky ask.
"Sometimes he asks Draco how things are going at Hogwarts, and Draco tells him, and that's the end of it."
"And other times?"
Hermione expels an audible breath. "The other times are why you need to go put that Horcrux back where it was."
"Does he hurt Draco?"
"Sometimes."
"Badly?"
"Yes," Hermione says.
"And you take care of him, after?"
"Yes. On my own when it's not too bad, with the Mediwitch or a Healer when it is."
"How often does it happen?"
"There's no pattern. He'll go for months, sometimes even a year, with only routine visits to report on the status of the school, then he'll be tortured two or three times within the span of a month. It's one of the ways the Dark Lord keeps people off balance, keeps them always wondering, always fearing."
Becky shudders. "I can't even imagine."
"No, you can't. And I'm glad you can't. I'm glad your world is one where children don't have to imagine things like that."
"Has he tortured you?"
"The Dark Lord? Not with his own wand, but he's ordered…someone else to do it."
"I'm so sorry, Mummy. It's all my fault. You getting tortured…Draco…all of it."
"But we're going to fix it," Hermione says.
"I know you don't want…" Becky hesitates awkwardly. "You really do love him, in our timeline. My father, I mean."
"It appeared that way in your memories," Hermione says.
"Do you want me to tell you about him? Or show you? Let you see more of my memories?"
Hermione hesitates for a moment, then sighs. "I don't see what the point would be. We're going to do what we're going to do, and how I feel about it is irrelevant. Once you go back and replace that Horcrux, there won't be any me to feel anything, only her."
Both of them lapse into a silence broken by the pop of Blinky's Apparition. "Missy Professor Granger, the Headmaster's wife is asking for you."
Hermione sighs. "Because I was stupid enough to think that this day couldn't get any worse," she mutters. "Thank you, Blinky. Tell her I'll be right there."
"No, Missy, I is to take you there now," Blinky says, taking Hermione by the hand and disappearing along with her.