Author's Note:
Reviews and Comments: To Sam: Ginny is a charmer! Thanks again for letting me use Mitchell. Harry is definitely not used to losing. Omg, I really want someone to draw big and burly Greg cradling a little tiny baby! Gransy definitely got a copy of the calendar haha. To katelyn453: Thank you! Um… I have no idea how I get inspiration for writing lemons. They just happen. Yes, Andromeda did survive in the books, but not here. Harry will always be slightly possessive and protective of Ginny, but no they don't get jealous any more. They trust each other. Thank you. To Allyriablack8: "My God "as in what I'm assuming means wow great chapter, thanks! LOL. To AQuickRead91: "Oh my…" as in what I'm assuming means wow great chapter, thanks! LOL. To Endinium: I'm glad you were happy reading the chapter for a bit, but yes, they will never get to meet Teddy. Tonks is definitely going to be devastated.
To briana_t: Well, yes all of that is true. Sorry/not sorry. To Daughterof_siriusBlack_Hades: Aww, please don't cry for the next month. To marauders_mowopapr: Well, I needed to start off with some smut to round things out. We'll find out if Snape is compromised or not very soon. And no, Tonks and Remus were planning on having dinner with Ted and Andy on Sunday to tell them the baby name (they were killed on the Saturday). To villainsucker: Yes, Ted and Andromeda. To AnaGPotter: Sorry the smut in the beginning cannot fix the bad things. It's okay to be sad. To Hannah: Poor Tonks, I know. Haha that you're anxiously awaiting to see what pain I've got in store for you next. To GryffindorHealer: Thank you LOL. Yes, now it gets real.
To Eleo: Wow! You read all 306 chapters in under a month, I am wicked impressed and honoured! I very much appreciate the love/hate you have for me killing off characters. To say I make them feel alive is so moving and beautiful, thank you! Thank you so much for enjoying the story and I hope each new update continues to bring you joy! To BadWolfKris: Oh fuck about sums it up. To Fanfis01: We all liked the Tonkses. As to the real Ophelia and did Snape know, well, you will soon find out. To Joyce Foesenek: Thank you very much! I post every week! To PurpleLotus: Thank you very much! To CorbanD17: Thank you! We all love our Hinny and yes, Ted and Andromeda have died. To BleedRedandGold: Thank you for saying you are stunned in the best and worst possible way. To Bellmel: Thank you! It was fun to reunite the family again. But I promise I didn't laugh in the face of Christmas cheer and happiness, I only smiled, a little…
To Ironhidensh: Ted and Andromeda are not super skilled fighters. They were outnumbered once the Death Eaters arrived. I'm sorry you're upset that I killed Andromeda. To JohnDouglas4274: Yes, it was a much more heroic death for Ted. And nope, no toys for Harry, the rules are he can't get off at all, not even with himself. To katie2001: Thank you! To supwood: Yes, Harry's family has had a lot of losses, but the Tonkses needed to go. To Anshul: How do I write smut and kill 2 characters in a single chapter? I don't know, I just do LOL. Moody and Kingsley were fighting Death Eaters. We'll see more of them in this chapter. To Redmatter91: Haha, what the fuck is going on, well lots of stuff. Thank you for enjoying the action scene I am always the most worried about writing them. Yes, Voldemort knows about Malfoy and Zabini. To ladyinwaiting2005: Good guys don't play by the same rules and it's what makes them good and the bad guys bad. To dhnysports88: Yes, it did escalate quickly, I suppose. To Yusraa Ifthikar: Sorry, it wasn't a dream sequence. Tonks will be okay, but devastated. To Chiku11: Yup, Voldemort read Ted's brain. As to who will kill Bellatrix, we'll see.
To scrappy8: Thank you and yes, they were both killed. To Nuno Neves: Thank you! I love writing Hinny as kind of "omg you're so adorable I want to throw up but am secretly jealous" in love couple lol. Ted and Andromeda are dead and yes, Tonks is pregnant and will be upset when she learns of the news. This took place in France. To CarpenL: I accept the "you suck" review here LOL. To the Mandalorian terminator: Ha, I didn't really lure you in with Harry and Ginny at the party so much as that's where the last chapter left off lol. Voldemort knows everything now. To Derpdude32: LOL. To Dianne: You did guess I would kill both of them. Bellatrix is killing off the "blood traitors" in her family. As to Greg, Pansy, Malfoy, and Zabini… they have their own parts to play. We'll see Theo and Sebastian soon. Thank you very much! To Mackie919: Thank you! And yes, Voldemort did have to get wind of their plans eventually. To ITHersey: Everyone seemed to know Ophelia would betray them, I was hoping for a surprise. I accept being called a monster here, it was cruel. But please don't sob uncontrollably in a corner. Thanks for the review!
To ValGrey02: No, sorry, not kidding. To Slaidback: Haha, thanks for saying I am so pretty and evil all in one chapter, I love that. To LilyBlack18: No one expected this one, eh? Well, good, it means I still have some surprises in store. To shivani: Thank you for saying it was a rollercoaster of emotions! Yes, the name of the chapter is ironic, but in my defence, I was naming it after Voldemort finding out they are still alive LOL. To ANewRanger: You guessed as soon as the flask was mentioned, dammit! LOL. I thought I was good hinting the calming draught a few chapters back. To alix33: I know, killing them was a big surprise. To puttyman24: Thank you! Pansy is obviously going to be upset when she learns Lockhart got away. To The Book W0rm: Thank you very much! Don't go too crazy waiting, I won't make you wait too long to find out what happens next. To DeadFish37: I think Bellatrix just knew to cry and she figured the rest would be easy. Andromeda is too good and wanted to help. To VanaFaith: Wow! Since chapter 22, that is a lot to catch up on! Welcome back to my world! I can't tell you why that is the chapter you decided to finish on lol, but I do promise to finish the story.
To Wolf's scream: Nope, no provisions LOL. And no, they didn't go quietly. As to Snape, we'll find out what happened to him soon. To Nightwing2013: Thank you! I really try to be descriptive and steamy without being blatantly pornographic (and trust me, there's a difference). Pansy is a badass and is definitely walking a fine line. Draco is the secret keeper for Malfoy Manor. To JUSTMEHERE: Thank you! And no, I don't plan to not end the story and abandon it. As to how to write a story, it's all about your plots and your ideas. If you don't have a goal in mind then you'll never get there but also I write very much out of order so that makes it difficult as well. To Cristina: I'm glad you thought it was so unexpected for me to kill both of them that you weren't sure I would do it. But yes, Ted and Andromeda's bond is very strong! Occlumency is very difficult to learn and a lot of people cannot manage it. Bellatrix is very smart despite being so deranged. Thank you! I'm really glad people are starting to love my Pansy and Greg. As to why Lockhart wasn't there… it will still be a while before we find out.
To pix25: It will be very hard for Dora! Losing one's parents is always hard, but especially when it's murder and she's pregnant. To JamesTKent: No, they didn't deserve that ending. To ellyann13: Yes, the Borages would be happy to see the antidote worked for Ginny. McLaggen was invited because he's a Quidditch player on one of the teams where Slughorn invited a few players. Yes, Colt and Flo will be cautious! We will see Rolf again soon (after the holidays). Goyle's arse should be on there according to Pansy and she's the only opinion he cares about. Voldemort does know everything. To Sloopyqueen4: Thank you! Sorry it was worse than expected. To Bluerain22: Definitely vomit and a definite thanks to Pansy for saving them. Thank you! To Shouldna: The girls are definitely worried and on high alert themselves. Thank you! To WinkingSkeever: I will.
To Ellieoryan7447: I love the idea of Harry thinking he's okay looking, but worried people only like him because he's famous. As Sam says, he's such a little cabbage. I looovve McLaggen yelling "I win" like a total douche. Hinny is very competitive and I think they definitely made bets on everything. Yes, Harry is a bra expert and Ron is very much not lol. Ha, you think I will kill of Colt and Flo now? I suppose that's fair… Lockhart should make everyone sick and yes, it would have been too easy if he'd just been upstairs lol. Thank you for such a lovely double review! You spoil me!
To hwh3453: Thank you very much! As to Norfolk being farther from Harry and closer to Voldemort, I am not sure what you mean by that? As to me writing sex scenes, no one is ever pleased. I get comments on there not being enough just as often as too much. I will write what I would like to write. I'm sorry you don't have a good relationship with your parents like that. I always had cool aunts and grandparents to talk to about that stuff as well as my mum. As to removing the Horcrux from Harry, I wanted it removed earlier. Thank you for all of your thoughts. To : Thank you for reading. I am sorry you find the fluff repetitive and slightly boring, but I enjoy writing it as it breaks up the big moments and allows us to see our characters get a small chance to be happy even if for only a moment.
My posting schedule: Weekly.
Thanks to Dusk for her amazing editing skills.
As always, thank you very much for reading and please, please review!
Your reviews give me life! They give me inspiration! And they make me want to keep writing for more than just myself! Thank you for all of your continued support!
CHAPTER THREE-HUNDRED AND SEVEN:
The One With the Escape to Wiltshire Manor
Pansy was so nervous that she was sweating. An Auror had taken Grayson from her with a promise that he would be fine, but now that she was sitting in an interrogation room in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, the sheer thought of what she had done was coming to the surface and making her panic. If the Dark Lord found out that she had done this, he would kill her. Or worse — he would kill Greg and Grayson as punishment in order to show her how badly she fucked up. Unable to stop the sudden onset of emotions, a sob tore through her just as the door opened, revealing an incredibly handsome man with bright blue eyes.
"Mrs Goyle, I'm Auror K with the MIA and this is Auror Lupin," he said, tossing a folder onto the table in front of her.
Pansy noticed the other Auror now. She had bright pink hair with turquoise streaks, and was pregnant. She vaguely thought she looked familiar but couldn't be bothered to figure out more. "Grayson?"
"He's fine, Mrs Goyle," Lupin assured her. "He's just outside being entertained by a few Aurors. He's a beautiful baby."
"Thank you," Pansy said, wiping tears from her eyes.
Lupin read off her rights and asked her if she understood, when she said yes, K cleared his throat.
"Mrs Goyle, at approximately thirteen hundred hours you approached Auror Brett at the end of Apricity Lane and gave him this note. I'm going to read it now: 'Please help! Gilderoy Lockhart is being kept in the upper level of the shop Sophistication by Pansy and he is molesting children.' Did you write this?"
"Yes," Pansy said, holding her head high.
"You saved those boys' lives, Mrs Goyle," K told her.
She nodded again, wringing her hands together nervously.
"Mrs Goyle," Lupin said softly. "We know that you were one of the students who was married off last year by Lord Voldemort. We understand that you're afraid, but we want to help you, if you'll let us."
Pansy shook her head. "If they find out that I'm here, they will kill me!"
"We won't let anything happen to you, Mrs Goyle," K promised. "You're in safe hands."
Pansy rolled up her sleeve to show them the Dark Mark. "They will find me. There is nowhere that I can go where I will stay safe. Please. Blanche is just my employee. She's a sweet witch and knows nothing of what's really going on, I can promise you that."
Lupin's eyes softened. "We're still speaking to Miss Dupont. We can protect you, Mrs Goyle. If you cooperate with us, we will make sure that you and your son are kept safe."
Pansy shook her head again. "I can't! I have my shop and my husband is…"
Lupin's eyes met hers. "We know that your husband was the one to free Kata Novak from sexual slavery. Is he as much of a victim as you are?"
"I have to go," Pansy begged. "Please. They can't find me here!"
"Mrs Goyle, your place of employment was allowing a pedophile to molest young boys. It doesn't matter that you're the one who told us what was happening, the fact is that you still knew about it and are therefore subject to charges of accessory," K said.
Pansy paled. "I… oh, gods."
She buried her face in her hands. What had she done? Greg was going to be so worried when he came home tonight and found her and Grayson gone. What was she going to do?
"Accessory to something like this… you're still looking at time in the crypt," K continued, his blue eyes staring at her.
"Please," Pansy begged. "I didn't know what to do! I—I—I didn't know how to get help without them finding out!"
"Did they threaten you Mrs Goyle?"
Tears rolled down Pansy's cheeks. "Yes! Please, don't let them kill me. Don't let them kill Greg! We're scared and we…"
Lupin reached across the table and took her hand in hers. "We can help you, Pansy. We can make it so that Lord Voldemort or his followers never find you. You and your son will be safe."
"What about Greg?"
K pursed his lips. "Your husband? You were forced to marry him, were you not?"
"Yes," Pansy said, quickly. "But it's not like that we… I chose him and he's been nothing but kind to me. He's kept me safe and protected as best as he could and… I love him. Please, he needs to be protected as well. He's not one of them. Not by choice."
"He's wanted for questioning on Novak as well as a few other things," K told her, "but if he cooperates, we'll keep him safe, too."
Pansy stared between them, her eyes wide. "I don't know where he is exactly, but I do know that he's currently following Minister Himmler."
"Why?" K asked, his eyebrow rising. "Why would he be following the Minister of Magic?"
"Because Himmler's under the Imperius Curse and Greg has to keep an eye on him."
K and Lupin exchanged looks and Pansy swallowed.
"That's all I know, I swear."
K stared at her for a moment before he spoke, his eyes never leaving her face. "Lupin, get Baxter and Atwell to Himmler and find Goyle. I want him in my custody within the hour."
Lupin nodded and hurried from the room as K turned back to her.
"We will take you and your family somewhere safe, Mrs Goyle. But first," he said, leaning back on his chair. "Let's start from the beginning and I need you to tell me everything. No matter how insignificant it may seem."
Pansy swallowed, her eyes on his bright blue ones. "Greg and Grayson will both be safe?"
"Grayson will be safe and when we get Greg to the DMLE, we will keep him safe as well. I can promise you that."
"Okay," she whispered. "But I have to feed my son while we talk."
K sent a Patronus out of the room, too quick for her to see what it was, and a minute later an Auror passed her a crying Grayson. She kissed his chubby cheek, carefully unbuttoning her blouse with one hand.
K stood up. "I'll return when you're finished."
"I can talk while he eats, if you don't mind," she said as Grayson latched onto her nipple.
K sat back down. "I don't mind. Let's start from the beginning."
"How far back?" Pansy asked.
"How about when you first learned that you were going to be married?"
Pansy leaned back in the chair a bit, thanking K when he used his wand to adjust the chair to make her more comfortable while she fed her son. "It was around September of last year when my father first brought up the idea of me being married off in the near future…"
~ ASC ~
Draco opened the front door and was greeted to Emmeline Vance marching inside, her arms around a tiny, half conscious witch. He'd met Vance a few times now as the Hit Witch had come by more often than not with Ted and Andromeda. She was a member of the Order of the Phoenix and Draco knew that she was supposed to be helping in France today. He moved out of the way as Millicent came in behind them and his eyes widened.
"Millie?"
"Draco?" she gasped, her eyes wide. "I thought that you were dead!"
"Malfoy, get your elf to bring us some supplies. These witches need some healing." Vance demanded, pushing Millicent more into the front entrance
Draco nodded, his eyes falling on the burned forearm of Millicent Bulstrode to the long scar down the side of her face. She looked like she'd been through hell. By the time he had them settled in the Roman Suite (they insisted on staying in the same room), he found Vance cradling baby Evelyn in her arms as Hestia Jones paced his living room.
"Where are the Tonkses?"
Jones shook her head. "We were attacked. One of the witches betrayed us. Kingsley told us to go."
Draco paled. "Ted and Andromeda?"
"I don't know," Jones admitted. "We're still waiting on news."
Draco glanced over at Vance. "Has Aeliana decided?"
Vance nodded. "Yes. My wife and I are going to adopt Evelyn. It should be finalized by the end of next week."
Draco was relieved to hear that. The witch had become more and more distant from her daughter since she'd arrived and he thought that she might crack if someone didn't remove her from the manor soon. "Good. Aeliana will be happy to hear that. Who's the girl with Millie?"
"Hestia Carrow. She and Millie were both married to Crouch," Vance told him.
Draco winced. "Are they all right?"
"They will be," Jones said. "Bill Weasley said that he knows a good mind healer who we're looking to get in to visit with all of them."
"As long as no one knows where we are, I'm all for it. Most of these witches could definitely use someone other than Blaise and I to talk to."
The door opened, making them all turn, as Kingsley came in with blood soaking through his side.
"King!" Jones exclaimed, jumping to her feet and putting her hands over his wound. "Are you all right? What happened?"
"Ted and Andromeda are dead," he said, his voice hoarse. "And he knows."
"Knows what?" Vance asked, holding the baby close to her cheek.
Kingsley's eyes met Draco's across the room. "He knows that all of you are still alive."
~ ASC ~
Greg yawned under his Invisibility Cloak as he watched Himmler leave the Ministry. The hardest part of following him all of the time was staying invisible and getting through the jostling crowd of workers without being caught, especially at the end of the day. It was tedious following him around and it made him exhausted. He just wanted to go home and lay his head in Pansy's lap, hold Grayson against his heart, and wish for better days.
When the Aurors came towards him, he didn't think anything of it. He was invisible and there was no reason for them to be suspect. Or so he thought, until the cloak was lifted from his body and he was thrown to the ground.
"Gregory Goyle, you're under arrest," the man declared, handcuffing him.
Greg's eyes were wide in shock and when he saw another Auror steer Himmler away, he knew that they had been compromised. How else did they know that he was around Himmler and under a cloak of invisibility? Someone had told them and he closed his eyes as fear washed over him. Who would have betrayed him? Who would have given up his location? He didn't know how much longer he had until the Dark Lord found out that he'd been caught, but he knew that if he didn't get away to warn the Dark Lord, Pansy and Grayson would be the cost.
He struggled against the Auror, head butting him and the man fell to the ground with a shout. Two more Aurors grabbed him, disarming him, but he still had his strength as he shoved at them and made a run for it. He'd almost made it to the Apparition point before he was petrified and fell, completely stiff to the ground, his eyes darting back and forth in panic.
The Auror that he had head butted leaned over him. "Running was stupid, you oaf."
Greg felt himself get hauled up and carried through the atrium, wondering just exactly what he was going to do now. The spell was taken off and he was shackled to a chair and table in an interrogation room as sweat broke out across his forehead.
A pregnant witch with an Auror badge and pink hair with turquoise streaks sat across from him. "You've been a hard wizard to catch, Mr Goyle."
Greg swallowed. "I don't know nothing."
"Let me start off by saying, that's a lie. You know a hell of a lot more than nothing. I'm Auror Lupin and I know that you're the wizard who freed Kata Novak and helped her get home safely to her husband. You saved her life, Mr Goyle."
Greg closed his eyes, his lips dry.
"I want you to know," Lupin continued. "Your wife and son are safe."
Greg's eyes flew open. "What?"
"Your wife and son are here in the DMLE and I promise you, they are both safe."
"I don't believe you," he whispered. "Why would they be here?"
"Mrs Goyle alerted the Aurors to suspicious behaviour in her shop this afternoon. Unfortunately the subject was not apprehended and she and Miss Dupont were taken into custody."
"I want to see my wife!" Greg demanded.
Lupin smiled. "We're looking for your cooperation, Mr Goyle. We found you following the Minister of Magic under an Invisibility Cloak. That alone is very suspicious behaviour. Then, when you were apprehended, you ran. Just today I can charge you with charges of stalking, assault of an Auror, and resisting arrest. The more you cooperate with us, the better it will be for everyone."
"I want to see my wife," he repeated.
Lupin tapped her wand on the table and another witch stuck her head in. This one was a brunette with short hair and a charming smile. "Atwell, bring them in."
A moment later, Pansy was standing in the doorway with Grayson in her arms and Greg's eyes lit up.
"Pansy! Are you okay? Is Grayson okay?"
Pansy nodded, tears in her eyes. "We're both fine, Greg. I promise. I'm sorry. I couldn't… I had to get help. Please cooperate with them. They said that they can keep us safe."
Greg's hands clenched in the handcuffs before he nodded.
Atwell put her hand on Pansy's shoulder and led her back out of the room.
Greg's eyes landed on Lupin. "My wife and son need to have full protection. They can't go back to our home. The Dark Lord will kill them. I want full immunity for them."
"They won't be returning to your home, Mr Goyle," Lupin assured him. "We have a safe house set up for them and your wife is being charged with accessory to pedophilia in the case against Gilderoy Lockhart."
Greg's eyes darkened. "No! You can't charge her with anything! That's bullshit! She's innocent! Give her immunity and I'll tell you everything you want to know."
"Of the crime itself, yes, she is. But your wife had prior knowledge of the crime and did not report it."
"She couldn't," Greg insisted. "They… they threatened to rape her and… she had no choice. She would have been killed. She was protecting herself and our son!"
Lupin tapped her nails on the table. "You and your wife have both done some good here, Goyle. I can see that. But this is a hell of a lot bigger than just the two of you. You tell us everything you know and we'll make you a deal."
"I don't know much," he admitted.
"You don't need to know everything," Lupin said. "But you still know a lot. The faster you start talking, the better it will be for the both of us."
"What's going to happen to my wife and son?"
Lupin stared at him. "We're willing to drop the accessory charges due to her endangerment in the situation, but only if you cooperate with us. She and your son will be brought to a safe house and kept safe and protected until Lord Voldemort and his followers have been found and arrested. Depending on what information you give us, we'll go from there."
"And me?" Greg asked.
"That depends on what you have to tell us, Goyle. As I said, right now I have enough to arrest you and let you spend a few nights in the crypt."
Greg rubbed his fingers over his eyes. "Promise me that they will be safe. Promise me that you won't let bloody Crouch near them."
"I promise," Lupin said.
He nodded. "Okay, then I'll tell you everything."
~ ASC ~
Tonks was giddy by the time she left work. She was three hours late, but it had been more than worth it. She'd spent two hours with Pansy Parkinson Goyle and listened to the young witch tell her everything that had happened to her since she'd been forced to leave Hogwarts a year ago. The way she explained how kind Greg Goyle had been, from tossing out the lust potion so that she would be in her right mind to have sex with him, to the protective way that he took care of her and kept her out of Voldemort's inner circle, astounded her.
When Pansy explained about opening her shop and how Voldemort was taking profits from it, Tonks had been surprised. The business angle shouldn't have surprised her as he clearly needed funding for his cause, but it was an interesting way to go about it. When Pansy told her about the blood status of her customers, she'd listened. She learned about Lockhart writing a biography on Voldemort and his preference for young boys. Pansy hadn't known how long he'd been a supporter of Voldemort, but she claimed that the rumour was he'd been a prisoner until he'd agreed to follow him.
The witch had been threatened, put under the Cruciatus (while pregnant), and threatened again. The only thing protecting her was that she'd been pregnant and even that hadn't truly been enough. Tonks thought that the witch was right about one thing, her husband had saved her life more times than even Pansy was aware of.
Goyle was another story.
He was part of Voldemort's inner circle. He was made aware of plans and ideas and when he told her about the castle that Crouch was building, she leaned closer to listen. Crouch was building Voldemort his own castle, to sit on a throne and hold court if he wanted. Apparently Voldemort did that now, though Greg couldn't give the exact location of where he did so because he wasn't Secret Keeper.
The work Goyle did in Croatia, the ingredients he stole from Hogwarts when the school was attacked, and the things he witnessed… the young man was guilty of a few crimes. He confessed to all of it and Tonks knew that realistically, he could be sent to the crypt for a few years. They led him off to the dungeons to hold him overnight until they could speak to him more the next day.
Kane and Robards both agreed that Pansy's charges could be dropped because of the information she provided. After speaking with a lawyer, it was agreed that she would be under house arrest in the safe house provided along with her son until further note on the charges could be discussed. Tonks and Kingsley had brought Kane into the Order earlier in the week and the look on his face when they told him that not only did they have the witches and wizards who were presumed dead in a safe house, but that that safe house was being unofficially run by Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini, had been absolutely priceless.
"And you've removed their Dark Marks?" he asked, awe in his voice.
Kingsley nodded. "Zabini figured it out. Lupin has gotten a lot of information from them, but we could still use your interrogation techniques and expertise to see what else they might know."
Kane had agreed to do anything he could to help. Moody and Bill came by to help Kane bring Pansy and her son to Wiltshire Manor and Tonks was told to go home and to get some rest. She would be needed in the morning to talk to Goyle again and she had a feeling that it was going to be a rather long day.
Moody touched her arm. "You're one hell of an Auror, Tonks. Great work today."
"Thanks, Mad-Eye," Tonks said, surprised by his compliment.
He squeezed her arm a moment before he left and when she looked at Bill, he gave her a reassuring smile before he followed Moody. Tonks felt like they were both acting a little strange. Moody had been a great teacher for her at the academy and she knew he was proud of her work, but he wasn't exactly one for compliments. She told Pansy that they would talk again in a few days and sent her off with Kane, Moody, and Bill before she finally grabbed her cloak and headed home.
Tonks stepped into the cottage, stifling a yawn. She made to call out for Remus, but found her living room also contained Kingsley Shacklebolt.
"Hi. I didn't realize that we were having company," she said, hanging up her cloak. "Was there something else about the case?"
Remus was at her side in seconds, steering her towards the sofa. "Come sit down, Nymphadora."
Tonks raised an eyebrow, but let her husband pull her into the big armchair with him. "What's going on? Did my work-husband tell you about the Goyles?"
Kingsley cleared his throat. "No."
When he didn't so much as smile at her nickname for Kane, she frowned. "King, what's going on? I thought that you were going to be in France all day today."
"Dora," he said softly. "The latest rescue attempt ran into some trouble today. We secured two more witches and their babies, but the third one was Polyjuiced. When your mother attempted to remove her Dark Mark, she summoned Voldemort and the potion wore off. It was Bellatrix Lestrange, not the witch whom we were attempting to rescue."
Tonks' eyes narrowed. "King, what… where's my mum and dad?"
Kingsley kept his voice quiet. "I'm sorry, Dora."
Tonks shook her head, her arms wrapped around herself. "No."
"We were taken by surprise," Kingsley continued, "and despite my best efforts to get them out safely, they were both killed rescuing the witches and their babies. They died, Dora."
"No," she repeated her voice breaking. "No! No, no, no… No!"
"Nymphadora," Remus said softly, his arms pulling her close.
"No," she repeated, shaking her head. "It's not true. No!"
Remus attempted to hold her, but she shoved him off.
"No! No, they're not dead! They're not dead, Remus!" Tonks exclaimed, falling to her knees. "They're not dead! They're not dead!"
A sob tore through her and she crumpled onto the floor in a ball. She felt lost. Her heart was beating too fast in her chest and she felt like she wanted to scream and throw up at the same time. It couldn't be true. It had to be some horrible mistake. She'd just spoken to them. They were going to have dinner tomorrow night and they were going to tell her parents the choice for the baby's name. It wasn't real. She had to be trapped in some horrible nightmare. But when Remus knelt down beside her, she let out another sob.
It wasn't a nightmare. He reached for her and she pushed him away because if he touched her, if he offered her comfort it would mean it was real.
Kingsley knelt down on the other side of her and she shook her head in denial. "Dora, I am so sorry for your loss. Your parents were amazing people and they died being heroes."
"No!" Tonks screamed. "No… please…"
Remus grabbed her arms, ignoring her protests, and pulled her into his. Tonks' fists pushed him away before she grabbed his shirt and pulled him closer, burying her face in his chest as she sobbed. His hands soothingly ran up her back as his lips pressed against her hair.
"I know, Nymphadora, I know, love. I'm so sorry," he whispered.
Tonks' sobs only grew and she didn't even notice Kingsley leave. She merely clung tighter to her husband and sobbed.
~ ASC ~
Draco was worried.
Kingsley had reassured him that the Fidelius Charm would keep them safe since he was the Secret Keeper, but still hearing the Auror say the words that Voldemort not only knew that they were alive, but knew that they had removed his Dark Mark, sent shivers down his spine. He no sooner had filled Blaise in on everything before Blaise had chucked a vase at the wall.
"Fuck!"
Seeing his friend's rage was enough go snap him out of it. "We're safe here."
Blaise snorted. "Trapped here, you mean. I was hoping to get away over the holiday. Maybe spend some time at Norfolk with Theo and this… fuck, Draco! This is what I was afraid of! If we hadn't come back…"
"He still would have known," Draco said. "If anything, us being here offers us extra protection. He has no way of coming here or of finding the Manor."
Blaise closed his eyes. "Doesn't make it much better. This house is full of kids and babies."
"Bulstrode arrived today," Draco said.
Blaise's eyebrow rose. "And?"
"She looks like she's been through hell and she's very protective over the other girl, Hestia. They were both married to Crouch. I sent Flora in to see her, her twin sister, and the two of them started crying. We're doing good work here, Blaise. We're helping people and it… it feels good."
"Yeah and you have Daphne's sister coming in today. That should be interesting."
"Don't even think about it," Draco warned.
"What?" Blaise asked, feigning innocence.
"If Daphne finds out that you flirted with her baby sister, she will murder you."
Blaise snorted. "Please! Daph thinks I'm dead and if she's anything like Daphne, I wont have to flirt. The bird will find her way to me all on her own."
Draco rolled his eyes. "Theo's right. You are incorrigible."
Blaise grinned. "Hey, I could use a good shag. I'll do what I can."
"You literally just shagged Creevey like two weeks ago."
Blaise shrugged. "Yeah and he definitely had a nice tight arse, but it's not the same as burying myself into a nice, wet, deep —"
"— Got it," Draco interrupted. "Slag."
Blaise winked at him. "Jealous?"
"Clearly," Draco said as Kingsley's Patronus appeared.
The lynx informed him that a new Order member would be arriving momentarily with a new witch and child.
Draco rolled his shoulders. "I'll go."
"I'll come down with you," Blaise said. "I could use a snack."
They headed downstairs and Draco stepped out the front door. He made his way down the path to the property line where he could see a tall man he didn't recognize and the last person he expected to find on his doorstop: Pansy Parkinson. He carefully stepped out of the warding and held out the written address he kept in his pocket. It was only a moment before Wiltshire Manor appeared before them.
Pansy stared at Draco like she'd seen a ghost. "Draco?" she gasped, her eyes widening to saucers. "Blaise!"
Blaise smirked from where he stood at the end of the drive. "Hey, Parkinson. Loving the bigger tits."
"Piss off, Zabini!" she said, automatically reaching down to pull her cloak tighter around her.
The tall man standing behind her made Draco pause. He had dark tousled hair and bright blue eyes and Draco had never seen him before in his life. "And who the hell are you? Kingsley just told me that you were from the Order."
He extended his hand out. "Newly appointed. I'm Sebastian Kane. MIA. King and Lupin assigned me to help. We need to get the mark removed from Mrs Goyle as soon as possible and I was told that you could do it here."
"I can do it," Blaise told him. "But I might need help. I have to grab something from upstairs first. Can you produce a Patronus, Mr MIA?"
"Yes," Kane said.
"Pansy, give Draco the kid because this is going to hurt like hell."
Pansy frowned, her eyes darting between Blaise and Kane. "How bad exactly?"
Blaise stared. "Let's just say that if you don't wish you were dead, it will be a miracle."
Pansy, already sheet white, held her son tighter. "I need to feed him first."
"Come on," Draco said, gesturing for her to follow him. "You can do that in the parlour."
Only once Pansy was settled with Grayson at her breast, did Draco turn to Kane.
"So, MIA?"
"Yes," Kane said. "Now, what do we need to do to remove the Dark Mark?"
Draco still looked skeptical. "Blaise is setting everything up below in one of the old dungeons. She'll have to be chained into place to prevent her from moving."
Kane nodded, his eyes on Pansy. "All right. I'll go help your friend set up."
Draco watched him leave the room and he frowned. If the Magical Intelligence Agency was involved, Draco had a feeling there was something more going on than he knew. He looked over at Pansy, his cheeks heating when he realized that she was breastfeeding.
"Er, sorry."
Pansy rolled her eyes. "Yes, this is my tit. Yes, my tits are bigger because I had a baby. Get over it."
"I'm not…" Draco let out a slow breath. "I just meant, I'm sorry for staring."
Pansy nodded, her eyes on Grayson. "I can't believe you and Blaise have been alive this whole bloody time. Greg and I thought you were dead."
Draco sat across from her. "Blaise got me out. He was the one who came up with how to remove the Mark. I was half-crazed and he was telling me that I had to do this now or I would die and… I figured what the hell, it couldn't be worse than the fate I was facing. Um… how is Goyle?"
"I don't know," she whispered. "They arrested him."
Draco nodded. "And you and he made…"
"Grayson," Pansy said, her lips twitching. "We named him Grayson. And marrying Greg… I didn't expect to fall in love with him, but I did. He's done everything he could to protect me and to help me. We opened my shop and it… I suppose that dream is gone now."
"No," Draco told her. "It's merely on hold. Theo told me all about your shop and how well it's doing… I know it sucks to have to stop, but when this is over you can go back to that."
"When it's over," she repeated. "When is that going to be, Draco? How long until the Dark Lord is vanquished and it will be safe for us to live our own lives again?"
"I don't know," he admitted. "But we have to have hope that it will happen whether next month or next year. But he can't win. Not after all this… not after…"
Pansy's eyes met his. "I'm sorry about your mother."
"Thank you," he said.
When Pansy finished feeding Grayson, Draco took the child from her.
"Come on. I'll hold him while Blaise and K remove your Mark and then I'll show you to your room."
"Can you… can you not bring him down there?" Pansy asked. "I don't want him to see me hurting."
Draco nodded. "I've got him, Pansy. Promise."
Pansy stood on her toes and kissed his cheek. "Thank you."
Draco watched her head down the stairs he pointed to and he wondered how much the world had changed that he didn't even find Pansy Parkinson annoying. He looked down at the baby who stared up at him in wide blue eyes.
"All right, Grayson. Let's go on upstairs and check out your new digs, okay?"
The baby only continued to stare at him as he headed up the stairs to check on Millie and Hestia. The new influx of witches meant he had a few more things to check off his list. He hoped Blaise and K would be okay removing Pansy's mark without his help because being down there was the last place he wanted to be.
~ ASC ~
Returning home to Norfolk Saturday evening, with Astoria Greengrass in tow, had been the last thing that Theo had expected to do. But Kingsley had sent word to him that they were moving more witches to Wiltshire and they thought that it was best to wait to move Astoria until he received word. Theo's home was safe and since Astoria wasn't marked by Voldemort, a few hours wouldn't hurt.
Not to mention that Theo kind of liked her. She was sweet and sassy. She was smart and enjoyed reading and definitely liked to tease her sister, despite the fact that Theo could see how worried she was about her. Blaise's house elf arrived at half past seven Saturday evening with a note from Draco informing Theo that an Order member would be arriving in Norfolk to help escort Astoria and Theo to Wiltshire Manor.
The thought of sending an Order member made Theo rather nervous. Kingsley's message had been cryptic and Theo didn't understand why they had to wait if other witches were arriving as well. It made him think that something else was going on and it couldn't be good. Why did an Order member even have to come? It wasn't like Theo didn't know how to get there. It definitely made him feel a bit uneasy.
Slughorn's Christmas party the night before had been the break he hadn't realized he'd needed. He'd spent the night talking to interesting people, dancing, drinking, and just generally having a good time. He hadn't gone to the Wizengamot session yesterday morning, deciding to stay at school to finish up his last minute assignments. Or at least that's what he had told Neville when he'd asked why he wasn't going, but the truth was… Theo didn't want to see Sebastian Kane.
The way the man barked questions at him about him knowing the royal family of Tara, the questions that he was going to get about Finn, Tiernan's stupid words that made him question everything… it was too much. Finn had died over one year ago now and Theo was still beating himself up over the fact that he had forgot. No, worse than forgot, it hadn't even been something that he'd remembered to forget… it hadn't even been on his mind. Instead Theo was too busy being annoyed at Sebastian for asking him a hundred and one stupid questions. No, avoiding Sebastian Kane was definitely for the best.
There was only one more Wizengamot session this upcoming Friday and then they didn't meet again until the second week of January. Theo would skive off this one as well and it would be a good break. He wasn't obligated to attend every session as it was and it would keep Theo far away from the Ministry and far away from the questions that Sebastian was going to ask him. He didn't want to deal with more questions and he didn't want to deal with the thoughts that Tiernan had put into his head about Sebastian Kane. In fact, Theo had been doing his best to just forget about it all together.
He just wished that his dreams listened.
He'd spent the last three nights waking up from the most erotic dreams he had ever had in his life and Sebastian Kane had been the star of all of them. No, bigger than the star, Sebastian Kane had been the whole focus of them. Yes, Theo definitely needed to avoid him for a while.
It was why he was now urging Astoria to gather up her things as he wondered what Draco and Blaise were going to say when they saw him. He took one more look at the coordinates that Draco had given him in the letter from Blaise's elf before they left Norfolk. He held her arm in his as he Apparated with her to the town of Fakenham. They arrived in an alley behind a pub and they waited, his eyes peeled for anything suspicious.
It only took about a minute for the sound of someone to Apparate nearby. Theo saw the tall figure ahead and kept his hand on the hilt of his sword, eyes wary as the man stepped out of the shadows. His eyes widened in surprised when he found himself staring up at the very man whom he had been trying to avoid.
"You!" he exclaimed.
Sebastian pursed his lips. "Me?"
"You're in the Order?"
Sebastian's blue eyes stared into his for a moment before he held his arm out to Astoria. "We can talk about that later. Let's get Miss Greengrass to safety, yes?"
Theo was still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that Sebastian Kane was somehow part of the Order of the Phoenix when Kane took Astoria's arm and Disapparated. Theo followed suit, arriving outside of Wiltshire Manor with them. Sebastian passed Astoria a small piece of parchment and the moment she read it, the manor appeared before them. Sebastian burned the paper with his wand.
It was only once they were safely inside the entrance way of Malfoy Manor did Theo catch sight of Blaise and throw himself into his arms.
Blaise grinned and kissed Theo noisily on the cheek. "Miss me?"
"Yes, you git," Theo said, hugging him tighter. When he let go, he smiled and gestured to Astoria. "Blaise, this is Astoria Greengrass, Daphne's sister. No."
Blaise gave him an offended look. "Merlin! It's like you and Draco don't trust me!"
"We don't," Draco said as he came down the stairs.
Theo hugged him as well, clinging to him a little longer than necessary, causing Draco to raise an eyebrow at him.
"Everyone okay here?" Theo asked.
"Yes," Draco told him. "We have a full house. Three wizards, nine witches, and eight babies, not including me and Blaise."
"Wow," Theo said. "That's a huge increase."
"It does mean we're getting full," Draco admitted. "Anymore and we'll have to start sharing rooms."
"I'm not sharing a bed with anyone who won't shag me," Blaise said.
Draco rolled his eyes. "And putting up with him is a full time job."
Theo snorted. "Astoria, feel free to ignore Zabini as much as possible. We do."
"I'll remember that," Astoria said.
Draco pointed to where the elf had levitated Astoria's trunk. "You can follow Lia up the stairs and she'll show you to your room. You'll be staying in the Parisian Suite."
Astoria thanked him, turning to hug Theo before she followed the elf up the grand staircase.
Theo waited for her to disappear at the top of the stairs before his eyes met Draco's. "What aren't you saying? What happened?"
"A hell of a lot," Blaise said. "Let's go into the parlour."
Theo tried not to grimace when he saw Sebastian follow them and take a seat. "What's going on?"
"Today Millie arrived with her daughter, Claire, along with Crouch's second wife, Hestia and her daughter, Emery," Draco said. "That was surprise enough, but when they arrived we found out that Ophelia was supposed to come with them."
"What happened?"
"She voted to stay behind and ratted them out," Draco said. "The Tonkses' were killed."
Theo gasped, a hand covering his mouth. "No!"
"And not only them," Blaise added. "But it turns out that Lockhart's alive and still being an absolute prick who molests children making Parkinson decide to turn him in."
Theo's head shot up. "Pansy?"
"Yup," Draco said. "She's upstairs with her son."
"Goyle?"
"In custody at the DMLE," Sebastian said, speaking for the first time since they'd arrived at Wiltshire Manor. "I'm the one who brought Mrs Goyle and her son here."
Theo stared at him for a full a minute before turning back to Draco. "What did she say?"
"Not much," Draco admitted. "We removed her Dark Mark and now she's resting."
"How is the room situation?" Theo asked.
"We're all right," Draco said. "I still have my room in the Draconian Suite and Blaise has the Russian Palace Suite to himself which keeps him from going too stir crazy. Malcolm and Xander are sharing the Austrian Palace Suite next to Blaise. Graham, Shanae, and their son Henry have the Versailles Palace Suite. Flora and her son Ethan have the Greek Palace suite. Aeliana has the Moroccan Suite and is sharing it with Marion and her son, Bennett. Aeliana's been leaving her daughter Evelyn with Juliet and her daughter Penelope in the Siberian Ice Suite, but that won't be too much longer as someone is adopting Evelyn. Millie and Hestia are in the Roman Suite with their daughters Claire and Emery. Pansy and her son Grayson are in the Wiltshire master bedroom suite. And we just moved Astoria into the Parisian Suite."
"So, what's left?" Theo asked.
"Just the Island Suite and the Winter Palace Suite. If we get anymore they will have to either share or be moved into the servants' quarters," Draco told him. "Or now that no one is using the nursery, that can be converted into a bedroom as well. It's getting to be a full house around here."
"Oh and don't forget the most important part," Blaise said. "The Dark Lord knows we're all alive."
"What? How?" Theo exclaimed.
"Ophelia," Draco said. "Whatever happened there, whatever got Ted and Andromeda killed… the Dark Lord knows that we're alive and that all of the witches and wizards here are alive."
"Your ex-girlfriend ruined everything!" Theo spluttered. "What the hell happened?"
Draco let out a slow breath. "Yes, but I don't think that we can blame her entirely. From what it sounds like, Rabastan Lestrange has completely brainwashed her."
"And what about Pansy? How the hell did she turn up here?"
"I brought her," Sebastian repeated. "She was arrested by Aurors and interrogated. We promised her somewhere safe and this is where we brought her."
"Now what?" Theo asked. "If the Dark Lord knows you're alive, now what?"
Draco shook his head. "We don't know, Theo. We stay here and we continue to do what we've been doing and hope for the best."
"You're safe here," Sebastian assured him. "Kingsley said that this place is protected and you have the Fidelius Charm. You're the only Secret Keeper, right, Malfoy?"
Draco nodded. "Yes."
"Then you'll be fine," Theo agreed.
"I was hoping to get out for a few days over the holiday," Blaise admitted. "Maybe even stay with you for a bit."
Theo's eyes softened. "I would love that Blaise, but it's not safe."
"Norfolk is safe," Blaise insisted.
"Yes," Theo agreed. "Finn made sure it was. But you're safe here and I won't risk moving you."
"Finn would be proud of you for this," Blaise said. "For getting us here and for orchestrating this whole safe house thing… he'd be so bloody proud. I'm sorry, Theo. I… I know this week must have been tough on you."
Draco's cheeks flushed. "It's been tough on me. When I woke up on Sunday the first thing I did was upchuck. I still don't know how you can forgive me for…"
"It was your grandfather," Theo said. "Not you. And I'm… I'm doing all right."
Blaise squeezed his hand before he put his arm around his shoulders. "All right. You'll stay for a nightcap? Tell us how the calendars went?"
Theo smiled. "Yeah. Yeah, I can do that."
Sebastian stood up, his hands moving into the pockets of the dark robes he wore. "I need to head back and speak to Goyle more. Theo, can I have a private word first?"
Theo hesitated.
Blaise stood up, blocking Theo from Sebastian's view. "Anything you need to say to him you can say in front of me and Draco."
"Blaise," Theo said, his hand touching his friend's hip, touched by the protectiveness. "I'm fine."
"No," Blaise said, glaring at Sebastian. "This week's been hell for you! The one year anniversary of losing Finn, finding out about Ted and Andromeda, learning the Dark Lord knows we're alive… you've been through enough! I hope Cornfoot's at least giving you the support you need through it all."
"Actually, we broke up," Theo admitted. "About a month ago."
"Arsehole," Blaise muttered. "You deserve better."
Sebastian crossed his arms in front of his chest. "It's Order business and the less you two know the better. Theo, a word?"
Draco stood up as well, standing next to Blaise. "We're not leaving unless Theo says it's okay."
Theo stood, shimmying his way between his friends. "I love you two arses. But I'm fine, really."
Draco looked like he wanted to argue, but Theo kissed his cheek and took a step towards Sebastian.
"Five minutes."
Sebastian nodded and followed Theo out of the parlour and across the entrance to the second parlour, closing the door behind him. "You didn't attend session yesterday?"
"I had work to finish up before the holiday," Theo told him.
"Right," Sebastian said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, I just wanted to check in and see if you were all right. You… you seemed really upset last week after you spoke to that fae and… are you okay?"
Theo couldn't help but smile. Had he really pulled him aside to check his well-being? "Yes, I will be. Thanks."
Sebastian shoved his hands into his pockets. "Right, well… I have to head back but I'll see you on Friday and maybe we can… talk some more. You have my card if you or your friends need anything else. Feel free to use it whenever. Goodnight, Theo."
Theo watched him leave, his brow crinkling in confusion. He really had no idea what was going through that man's head. When Draco and Blaise came to find him a moment later with curious looks, he only shook his head.
He honestly didn't even know what to say.
"What was that about?" Draco demanded when Theo came back into the parlour.
"Oh, um, nothing," Theo said quickly. "Bas just wanted to make sure that I was okay because I didn't go to the Wizengamot yesterday."
Blaise raised an eyebrow. "Bas?"
Theo ignored him and sat down. "Let's talk more about what happened today. What do you lot know?"
"I know someone is artfully avoiding the question about that good-looking MIA dude," Blaise said.
Draco smirked. "He does seem your type."
"I don't have a type," Theo snapped. "Look, Bas and I are nothing, okay? I see him after every Wizengamot session and he asks me questions about my father and Death Eaters I know. That's all!"
Draco's smirk disappeared. "So, he's a prick? If he hurts you, Blaise and I will take him down. This isn't another Macmillan situation, is it?"
Theo stared at his friends. "He asks me questions. Trust me, Sebastian Kane is absolutely nothing like Macmillan."
"True. You never got a hard-on from Macmillan," Blaise said.
Theo immediately let his gaze fall to his trousers before he realized his mistake.
Blaise snickered.
"Look, Bas is… MIA and he is very devoted to his job. He's not interested in me outside of professionally. Now, can we talk about what the hell happened today?"
Draco leaned back in his seat, tucking his arms behind his head. "What do you think, Zabini?"
Blaise tapped his fingers on his knee. "One hundred Galleons, New Year's Eve."
"Way too soon," Draco said. "February."
"Why February?"
"So Theo can squirm in denial a little bit longer."
Blaise snorted. "You're on."
"Two hundred Galleons," Theo said, extending his hand out.
Draco raised a perfect eyebrow. "Two hundred? On what? You don't get to be part of our bet."
"On Bas being bloody fucking straight and not interested in me," Theo said.
Blaise snickered. "Sucker's bet. I'm in."
"Me too," Draco said, shaking his hand. "Good thing you're rich, Theo, because you're about to lose four hundred big ones."
"He's not gay!" Theo insisted.
Draco and Blaise only smirked at him and Theo sighed. Sometimes, the two of them really were exhausting.
~ ASC ~
Ginny stepped into the Burrow with Charlie's arm still wrapped around her shoulders. The sight of her brother at King's Cross had incited more joy in her than she had expected. He levitated her bag upstairs for her and Arthur immediately came to greet her. He kissed her cheek and hugged her tightly before passing her Aydin who looked quite content in her grandfather's arms.
"Hi, Aydin!"
Aydin stared up at her with Charlie's big blue eyes. "Pa-pa-pa-pa!"
Charlie kissed her neck, making his daughter giggle. "Hi, darling. Remember your Auntie Ginny?"
Aydin touched Ginny's face and smiled.
Ginny was pretty sure she fell in love with her all over again. She put her on the floor and when Aydin immediately toddled off, Ginny's heart was so full. "I can't believe she's walking!"
"Me neither," Charlie said. "But she almost says Papa in her baby talk and it makes my heart soar."
Ginny watched Aydin make a beeline straight for Fred.
Fred picked her up, hanging her upside down and making her laugh. "How are you, Ginny?"
"I'm good," Ginny said. "I'm really good."
"Ron says that you and Harry are disgustingly happy again."
"We are, happy that is, not disgustingly so."
"That's because you don't have to see you two making eyes at each other," Ron called out.
Ginny grinned as they left the kitchen to head into the living room. The life-size poster of Ron posing as Mr March in nothing but his Quidditch trousers had taken over an entire wall of the living room. She watched in amusement as the Ron in the poster gave a pout and stretched his legs, spreading them wider in the photo rather provocatively. She felt her brother stop behind her and when she turned to look at him, his face was beet red.
"Imagine that," Fred said, holding Aydin on his hip. "Did you know our brother was Mr March, George?"
"Had no idea, Fred," George said.
Ron shot them a glare. "You're just jealous because I look so fit there."
Charlie laughed. "Best arse, eh?"
"One of," Ron said. "But we all know I should be number one."
"As he yelled out in the middle of the Great Hall before he mooned everyone," Ginny said.
"GINNY!" Ron bellowed at the same time that Molly, who was knitting on the chesterfield yelled out. "RONALD WEASLEY!"
Charlie snorted. "I need to hear this story!"
"It was a stupid moment of weakness, all right?" Ron said.
Fred passed him a quill. "Autograph, Mr March?"
"Piss off," Ron muttered.
Angelina chuckled as Ginny took a seat next to her. "They've been planning this since you sent George the calendar. It sounds like it was a success."
"It was," Ginny assured her. "Getting Harry to pose took some convincing, but he did it for me."
"I'm sure he did," Angelina said. "Speaking of Harry, Fleur and I have some questions."
Ginny bit her lip as George took a seat next to his girlfriend. "Later."
Angelina nodded, winking at her.
Molly asked about Harry and Ginny told her that he would be staying with them for a few days after she spent some time at Black Cottage with him. Arthur asked about Theo and Ginny told them that he was helping another witch get away safely to Draco and Blaise.
"Those poor dears," Molly said, shaking her head. "I couldn't imagine. Ted and Andromeda should have returned to England by now and helped settle in the new witches with those boys."
"We should do something for them," Ginny said. "Help give them a nice Christmas. They all have new babies and could probably use some help."
Charlie nodded. "That's a great idea, Jitterbug. Just because they have to be in hiding doesn't mean they don't get to have a nice Christmas."
Fred clapped his hands together, commanding the room. "Good. Now that the necessities are underway, can we please get back to our darling Mr March?"
Ron groaned as he attempted to remove the giant wall poster of himself for the eighth time.
George snickered. "Like we would make it that easy, Ron."
Ginny had a feeling it was going to be a rather interesting holiday.
~ ASC ~
Snape was starting to worry and doing his best not to let it show. He'd escaped to Spinner's End after leaving the Lestrange flat with orders for the witches to head out at four in the morning. Usually he had word by now on the success of their departure which didn't bode well for him. The last thing he wanted was to get those girls killed.
It was bad enough that he had already lost his chance to save Isabella Shafiq Lestrange.
When Rodolphus had taken her as his second wife, Snape had known her life would be hard. Bellatrix accepting the fact that the witch was pregnant in the first place, had surprised him. She had been nothing but attentive to her, making sure her diet was good, that she was comfortable and well cared for. But once she had the baby last week, things had changed.
Isabella had given birth to a girl named Camilla Bella Lestrange and the moment the child had been removed from her uterus, Bellatrix had changed tactics. Isabella had been chained in one of the dungeons of Avery Castle and tortured. Snape had managed to sneak down to see her on the fourth day, but he'd already known it was too late.
Crouch had skinned one of her legs in thin strips and her hair had been cursed off in patches. Bellatrix had taken the time herself to strategically burn her alive, first a leg, than an arm… the witch was broken. Snape had looked into her eyes only a moment before he'd used the killing curse.
No one deserved to live like that.
Bellatrix and Rodolphus claimed Camilla as their own daughter and the babe was watched by a house elf when they were too busy to attend to her. Snape had even considered whether it would be possible to remove the baby without them knowing, but had decided the risk was too great.
He looked at the clock again. It had been over fifteen hours, he should have heard word by now. He grabbed his cloak, deciding to head to Shoreditch to find Ted and Andromeda himself. He downed the rest of the red wine in his glass just as the knock sounded on his front door. He hesitated only a moment before going to answer it.
Rabastan Lestrange stood there with Ophelia and his heart pounded. Ophelia should be tucked away in a safe house right about now alongside of Millicent and Hestia and their three children.
Had something happened?
Why hadn't she gone?
Where were the others?
He kept his face neutral as he greeted them.
"Rabastan, Ophelia. What a nice surprise. Please come in." He invited them inside and gestured for them to sit. "Where's little Roland?"
"With his grandparents," Ophelia said. "Professor, I told Rab what you told me to do."
Snape gave them a bored look. "My dear. You have steadily been losing your sanity. Without the calming drought I continuously brew for you, you would become even more irrational than you've been. Surely your husband knows better than to take your word on things."
Rabastan reached out to take his wife's hands and kissed her fingers tenderly. "Ophelia is my heart, Severus. I adore her." He kissed her fingers again. "And my wife would do anything for me."
Snape swallowed. Merlin, he had made a mistake. He should have known better than to try to save Ophelia. Any fool could see that she was too much under Lestrange's spell to consider ever leaving him. "I'm sure she would."
"For example," Rabastan said. "When she called me home late last night and told me about the plan to sneak the witches out early this morning, I didn't believe her at first. Then my dear sister-in-law decided that we could use a little Polyjuice and find out. It's so handy that Belladonna just happened to have some freshly brewed for us to use."
"Oh?" Snape asked, his voice bored despite his racing heart. His fingers inched towards his wand and he had it in his hands when he heard movement behind him. Crouch, Bellatrix, and Rodolphus stood there.
"Going somewhere, Severus?" Bellatrix asked, licking blood from the tip of her wand.
"No," Snape said. "Why would I be going somewhere? I was just saying to Rabastan that Ophelia has lost her mind."
"Funny," Bellatrix said. "I would normally believe you because we all know that bint is pretty boring, but funny thing when I turned into her…"
Snape swallowed.
"My sister and her Mudblood husband were there, waiting for them. On your orders, Severus."
"My orders?" Snape scoffed. "Someone is lying, Bella. I would never betray the Dark Lord."
Crouch giggled. "Oh dearie, you are in trouble."
Snape brandished his wand and with a bang, dark smoke filled the room. He ran towards the bookcase that had a hidden door, but Bellatrix's long nails dug into his arm. He shoved her off, but not before those long nails scraped down the side of his face and he bellowed. He made it to the bookcase just before Rabastan slammed him up against it, his wand falling from his fingertips.
"You really are a filthy little spy, Severus. We just had no idea that it was us you were playing the whole time," he spat.
Vines shot out of Bellatrix's wand, wrapping themselves around Snape's arms and legs before levitating him horizontal. Thorns dug into his skin and she licked blood from his finger.
"Our master really wants a word with you," Bellatrix said.
Crouch cackled as Snape's body was levitated forward in front of them and for the first time in years, real fear coursed through Snape, and there was nothing that he could do about it.
End Author's Notes:
I felt like the Malfoys would totally be pretentious enough to name their suites in their fancy mansion. This is what I came up with. Wiltshire Manor I decided to give ten bedroom suites to (suite meaning, bedroom, small sitting room, and private bathroom) plus one master bedroom suite. Wiltshire also has a library, extensive grounds and gardens a huge dining hall, the living room, the ballroom, two parlours, the kitchens, the servant rooms, and stables.
1. Austrian Suite — Malcolm Baddock and Xander Lofthouse
2. Draconian Suite (Draco's room) — Draco
3. Island Suite — Unoccupied
4. Moroccan Suite — Aeliana Avery Ledbury, Marion Lofthouse Belby, Bennett Belby
5. Parisian Suite — Astoria Greengrass
6. Roman Suite — Millicent Bulstrode Crouch, Claire Crouch, Hestia Carrow Crouch, Emery Crouch
7. Russian Palace Suite — Blaise
8. Siberian Ice Suite — Juliet Parker Lofthouse, Penelope Lofthouse, and Evelyn Ledbury
9. Versailles Palace Suite — Graham Pritchard, Shanae Pritchard, Henry Pritchard
10. Wiltshire Master Bedroom (master bedroom) — Pansy and Grayson
11. Winter Palace Suite — Unoccupied
There are twenty extra people staying in Wiltshire Manor with Blaise and Draco and they are as follows:
1. Malcom Baddock (15 year-old Slytherin married to Alecto Carrow)
2. Graham Pritchard (15 year-old Slytherin)
3. Shanae Templeton Pritchard (wife of Graham and 16 year-old Slytherin)
4. Henry Graham Pritchard (son of Graham and Shanae b. 1st October)
5. Flora Carrow Rowle (wife of Caleb Rowle, twin sister of Hestia, 16 year-old-Slytherin)
6. Ethan Caleb Rowle (son of Flora)
7. Aeliana Avery Ledbury (19 year-old wife of Holden who is in Azkaban)
8. Evelyn Avery Ledbury (daughter of Aeliana b. 3rd October)
9. Juliet Parks Lofthouse (wife of Xander, 15 year-old Ravenclaw)
10. Penelope Juliet Lofthouse (daughter of Juliet and Xander b. 4th October)
11. Xander Lofthouse (18 year-old Slytherin, husband of Juliet, brother to Marion)
12. Marion Lofthouse Belby (sister of Xander, wife of Marcus who is in Azkaban)
13. Bennett Marcus Belby (son of Marion b. 7th October)
14. Millicent Bulstrode Crouch (18 year-old Slytherin, wife of Crouch)
15. Claire Maybel Crouch (daughter of Millie b. 4th October)
16. Hestia Carrow Crouch (16 year-old Slytherin, twin sister of Flora, wife of Crouch)
17. Emery Helen Crouch (daughter of Hestia b. 12th October)
18. Pansy Goyle (17 year-old Slytherin, wife of Greg)
19. Grayson Goyle (son of Pansy and Greg b. 28th September)
20. Astoria Greengrass (15 year-old Slytherin)
Thank you for reading and please review!