Chapter Thirteen

Elaine opened her eyes to see a concerned Severus and Lucius Malfoy hovering over her. She blinked a few times, taking in her surroundings. The Malfoy Manor, she realized, but what on Earth was she doing there? It took a moment, but when she remembered what had happened, she sat up quickly, her head spinning. She focused on Lucius. "You - You're lying to me." Lucius shook his head.

"Why would I lie to you? My wife is in danger." His voice was strained as he walked over to one of the windows, looking out. "He hit me with the full body bind curse from behind so I couldn't stop him, and took Rowan and Narcissa. I didn't even know he was really alive, and," he added snidely, looking back at Elaine, "I'm guessing you didn't, either."

Severus held out a hand to help her up and she stood, shaking. "We'll go to Dumbledore," he informed her quietly. "He'll help you get Rowan back."

Elaine shook her head. "No, I know where he'll take them." Both Lucius and Severus looked at her with surprise evident on their faces. She cleared her throat, her fingers gripping her wand tightly. "Our house in London," she explained. "We had a - a panic room, of sorts, that we had made. Undetectable by nearly anything, magic or otherwise. He'll probably have taken them there, to keep them hidden."

"I'll go with you," Severus said quickly, but Elaine shook her head. "No. I'll go alone."

"No you will not," Lucius snapped at her, whirling around. "My wife is in danger, as I've said, and therefore I will go with you. Severus, too. You risk both your son and my wife if you go alone, so you will have backup."

Elaine hesitated, before she agreed. "Fine. But you will get Narcissa and get out of there, leave Ben and Rowan to me."

Elaine stood outside her home in London, staring at the building with a mixture of grief and anger. That night, when she'd fled the children's home with Ben, he'd brought her here, informing her with a wide grin that he'd just bought the place with his father's permission, and that he wanted her to live with him, marry him, and they'd have a bright future ahead of them. Rowan had even been born in this house, with a healer by Elaine's side as the eighteen year old went through a hard labor. Here Rowan had taken his first steps, said his first word, used his first piece of accidental magic. So few years but so many memories had occured here, and she'd just up and left without a look back all those months ago.

She never would have even thought to think about Ben truly being alive. It had been a dream of hers, true, for she'd really loved him, but the person she loved would never have faked his death. If this was real - if all of this was really happening - she didn't know how she'd continue on.

Elaine took down the wards surrounding the home and stepped up to the front door, hesitating as she let her hand linger on the knob. "Elaine," Lucius hissed. "Now is not the time for your petty regrets."

"Shut up," she hissed back, opening the front door. She swung it open and it revealed a dark entryway. She took a deep breath, gripping her wand tightly as they moved through the home, entering her bedroom. Severus and Lucius watched as she cast the revealing spell they'd used to create their safe room, that Ben, really, had created, and a door appeared. Severus took a look at her before stepping ahead and pushing it open, wand tip lit.

The dark hall ahead of them stretched out and Elaine sighed, walking down it until the three reached another door. But before either of them could open it, it swung open.

A dark haired man stood in the doorway, wand pointed at the head of Narcissa Malfoy. "No further," he snapped at them. "You will stay right there."

"Ben," Elaine gasped out, her wand clattering to the floor in her shock. After all of this, she'd never expected to truly see her husband again, but here he was, right in front of her. Alive. "Ben, what?"

He let out a sharp laugh. "I went to the Malfoy's house before the trial. Did you really expect I'd leave anything to chance? Good thing I did, that soft mudblood lover just gave Rowan over to you."

"Hardly a mudblood lover," Severus commented, eyeing a flask sitting on a desk. "But you know that, don't you? You were there."

"What are you talking about, Severus?" Elaine questioned, looking over at the potions master. "He wasn't there. I would have recognized him."

"Not if he was polyjuiced," Narcissa whimpered. "He's been Chester for months, he told me so."

"Then where's the real Chester?" Elaine whispered, looking back at her husband. "And who was it that hit Kyle and Roger?"

"I met someone interesting a few years back," Ben said, ignoring her questions and pressing his wand tip into Narcissa's neck. "Name of Barty Crouch Junior, but he went by Alastair Moody for oh, about eight, nine months. He faked his death to get out of Azkaban, and his own father hid him for years before he escaped and helped resurrect the Dark Lord. I knew I'd never get you to hide me, Elaine, so I had to come up with something else."

"Why?"

"I got too deep into the Order. Dumbledore knew everything; he would have turned me in." He took a step towards Elaine, dragging Narcissa with him. "I have to say, Elaine dear, I never in a million years would have thought you would move on so quickly. And to Severus, too, how charming. I'm sure he's told you all he's done in the name of the death eaters and the dark lord? No? Hmm." Ben tossed Narcissa to Lucius, who caught her by her upper arms. "Take your wife and go, it isn't you I want at all." The Malfoys looked back at Elaine before hurrying out without a look back. Elaine turned her eyes to Ben, unflinching as he smirked at her, turning his wand to her heart. "I think you'll find Chester is locked in the basement of our family home. Roger and Kyle found out, so they of course had to be removed from public until I figured something out. Up until then they believed I was truly dead. I felt bad for deceiving them, I did, but I had no other choice."

"What about me?" Elaine questioned, her voice cracking. "Did you not care about me?"

"Oh, I did. To begin with." He stepped forward, running a hand across her cheek. She pulled away, and Ben sighed. "I did love you, when we first wed," he informed her. "Things change. People change. Your mother was a filthy mudblood, which is bad, but at least you weren't, which was, of course, better."

"You had no idea who my mother was," Elaine snapped. "I didn't find out until you- you-"

"Died?" Ben said with a dry laugh. "I assumed Dumbledore wouldn't tell you anything. Thing is, Elaine, Chester went to school with the Potters. He remembers Lily, he remembers her getting pregnant and giving the baby away. They were friends, after all, from the time he started school up until she died. He was closer to her at one point, Snape, than you were." He said this with a sneer towards Severus, before continuing. "Chester was surprised when a child named Evans showed up at Hogwarts, of course, and asked me to get closer to her to see if it was, indeed, the child of the woman he once loved."

"I don't understand." Elaine could feel everything around her slipping away, felt everything she'd ever thought she knew rushing away from her fingers. She felt herself waver, slide to the floor as Ben took a step toward her, then another. "Wh-why?"

"Because I had to." Ben sneered at her, grabbing her wrist and yanking her up so that they stood, face to face. "I would have had you join me, but Rowan needed someone in his life. Little did I know you'd go running to that mudblood lover, Dumbledore. I can't let Rowan be raised like that, so I will take him from you. I will take everything from you, Elaine, because you betrayed me."

Elaine yanked herself away, pointing her wand she'd snatched up while on the ground. "You will never take Rowan from me," she hissed. "Stupify!" Ben collapsed to the ground and Elaine hurried around him into the back room. Rowan was there, seated on a small cot. He saw his mother and reached out for her, tears staining his little face.

Chester was also there, despite what Ben had told her about him being locked away in the Davies family dungeons. Elaine wasn't too surprised Ben had lied, however. She'd mostly expected him to.

The older man sat on a second cot, his wrists and ankles bound, a gag in his mouth. He was pale, thin, not the same man Elaine had seen earlier that afternoon.

She rushed to Rowan first, taking him in her arms, as Severus performed a small spell, the bonds on Chester falling to the ground. He ripped the gag out of his mouth. "Elaine," he rasped, rising slowly and attempting to walk toward her. He stumbled once, catching himself on the wall, before grabbing Elaine and pulling her into a hug, warm tears dripping on to her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Elaine, I'm so sorry."

Elaine managed to gently extract herself from his embrace. "I understand," she told him softly. "Come on. Let's go."

Ben was in Azkaban. Elaine wasn't sure how long he'd be locked away, given the Dark Lord's forces were gaining momentum, but she hoped he'd rot until the end of the war, at least.

He'd spoken of her betraying him, but all she could think of for weeks after was his betrayal, one that ultimately lost her her child until the war ended.

Chester had Rowan, Kyle, and Roger, and ha taken them out of the country until the war ended. As she'd bid her son goodbye, Elaine could only hope that they'd all survive this. But if she didn't, at least she knew Rowan would be safe. Chester had informed her they were going deeply into the muggle world, that no magic would be used in order to keep their secrets.

Elaine stood at the castle gates long after Chester had dissapparated with her son, before turning and slowly making the trek to the Hogwarts dungeons. Severus was in mid lesson when she reached the potions classroom, but he immediately dismissed his class when he saw her standing at the door.

"Elaine," he said, once his students had all left and they were alone, once she let the tears start falling down her face. He went to her and pulled her into a hug and she sobbed into his shoulder.

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