A/N: The end is near … Yay!
Hermione leaned her back against the headboard and stared deeply into the dead space in front of her, unable to sleep after everything that had happened that night. Eventually, the Silencing Charm around her room had worn off and it was clear by the sound of Astoria's lonely sobs that Blaise had left. Hermione had tried to talk to her through the wall but she never responded. Only a short time ago had her crying finally ceased. Hermione prayed to Merlin that it was because she was asleep, but she doubted it. Even she still had trouble sleeping in this place at night.
The only thing strong enough to bring Hermione back to a fully conscious state, was the sudden kicking in her stomach. She smiled and looked down at her baby bump.
"Seems like you're as restless as I am," she said, putting her hand on it so she could feel. "But we really should try and get some sleep. Maybe Theo will come in tomorrow and we can all work on our magic together."
Hermione scooted forward and lied down in her bed.
"And, by the way, don't judge your father by your awful grandmother. He's nothing like her. Hopefully, one day, you'll see."
Hermione took a deep breath and closed her eyes. The baby kept kicking. Stroking her hand across her stomach, Hermione did the only thing that seemed to calm it on nights like this. She began to sing.
Are you sleeping under the willow?
Stars twinkling while your heart deep has bled.
Lay yourself down upon the soft pillow.
As true love enters the dreams in your head.
Keeping her eyes closed, Hermione started to think of Draco. Some nights, when she sang, she swore she could almost feel him. Like he was right there beside her.
When morning comes you will find him there.
Waiting for you while his heart deep has bled.
Love may be true but is not always fair.
As visions of true love enter your head.
The baby began to calm at the sound of her words. Hermione could feel herself drifting off to sleep, but that did not stop her from singing the last verse.
The phoenix sings as it cries for you.
Healing the wounds your heart deep has bled.
Together you will leave all that you knew.
True love is no longer a dream in your head.
Hermione could feel him again. There, right beside her. And then she could see him. Eyes closed and propped up in a chair in a hospital room. His hand reached out and grabbed hers, stroking it soothingly before whispering, "Hermione."
Her eyes shot open. "Draco?"
XXX
Draco gasped as he popped up from his chair in Ron's room at St. Mungo's. He was supposed to be keeping an eye on him while his family talked to the Head Healer but had accidentally started drifting off to sleep. Once again, he had heard Hermione singing their song. It had been happening a lot lately. Pretty much every night. This time, he could have sworn he touched her hand. It had felt so real. How could it not be?
After taking several deep breaths to calm his racing heart, Draco stood up and went over to the side of Ron's bed. He looked down at him, his heart feeling a strange heaviness he didn't quite understand. Could it be that he had started to like Ron Weasley? As improbable as that sounded, he had a pretty good feeling that it was true.
"She'll never forgive herself if you die, you know? I hope you realize that."
Ron's whole face seemed cold and blue as Draco continued to stare at it. He reached out and touched his cheek, finding that it truly was frozen. That was really some spell Seth had cast.
"If you can somehow hear me in there, I want you to know that I'm going to get them out. Both Hermione and Astoria. So, when you wake up, they will be here waiting for you. Just a little something for you to look forward to."
The door opened and Draco turned his head to face it. The whole Weasley clan walked in, as well as Harry and Kingsley.
"What did they say?" he asked.
Molly Weasley went over to the other side of the bed and grabbed onto her son's hand while Arthur Weasley went to stand behind Draco. Everyone else gathered around.
"Well, he's still alive, and that's what's most important," said Arthur, looking down solemnly at his son. "But, if they unfreeze him, they are positive he will not survive."
"Is there a way to stop it?"
Arthur sighed. "No. There isn't. But, if this is indeed to work of an Unbreakable Vow, the death of the person he made it with might make it possible for them to revive him."
"He still has to die first, though," said Bill, putting his arm around Fleur. "And that is just too great of a risk. There has to be another -"
"There isn't," said Molly, squeezing Ron's hand tighter. "We should all accept that now."
"Do we know who he made the vow with?" asked Charlie.
Draco and Harry looked at each other.
"It was with Mr. Greengrass," said Harry, pulling Ginny closer as she nuzzled into his shoulder. "He said he made some deal to keep Hermione alive."
"I get the feeling this is why he broke it off with Astoria," added Draco. "Her father must have wanted her back. Only, she's in trouble now too."
"We need to do everything we can to keep this out of the press," said Kingsley stepping forward. "As long as Ron is alive, they cannot hurt Hermione. If they find out he cracked, I can only imagine it will be a matter of time before they come looking for him."
Molly whimpered and wiped her eyes.
"Draco, I know you are eager to go and get Hermione now that we know where she is," said Kingsley, looking very seriously at him, "but the time is not right yet. We need to gather everyone we can together and come up with a proper plan of attack."
"So I guess a war is unavoidable," said George, who was sitting in the chair Draco had vacated, with his wife, Angelina, leaning against him. "That's good. I was just thinking we were overdue for one."
"I'll agree to not act hastily, Minister, but I still want us to go for her within the week. Maybe Hermione's safe right now, but Astoria isn't, and I don't think any of us want Weasley's - uhh … Ron's sacrifice to be for nothing. He did this because he wants us to bring her back alive, and that is exactly what I plan to do."
"I can agree to that," said Kingsley. "We'll arrange a meeting in three days' time. Will that suffice?"
Draco looked down at Ron and sighed. "I suppose asking for any sooner isn't really probable, so I guess I cannot argue."
"Then we must start contacting everyone immediately. I will take care of the arrangements. You all just go home and rest." Kingsley pulled out his cell phone and left the room.
"Arthur and I are staying," said Molly, pulling up a chair beside Ron's bed.
"Do you want us to stay with you, Mum?" asked Ginny.
Molly shook her head. "We'll be fine. Go and get some rest."
All of the Weasleys said their goodbyes to Ron and their parents, and slowly began to file out of the room.
When Draco was the only one left, he looked at Arthur and Molly and said, "I truly am sorry about all of this. Astoria told me she thought her father had something to do with hers and Ron's sudden breakup, and I didn't believe her. I wish now that I had."
"It's all right, my boy," said Arthur. "You couldn't have known."
Draco nodded. He took one last look at Ron and left, unsure of how he was supposed to get any rest when he knew where Hermione was, but couldn't do anything about it.
XXX
Blaise sat on the sofa in Daphne and Goyle's parlor, looking rather satisfied as Astoria twirled a strand of his hair around her finger. She smiled dotingly before leaning in and sucking on his ear.
Quinn was watching from a nearby armchair with great amusement. "I still can't believe you did that." He laughed.
"I got sick of her struggling," said Blaise, turning his head to meet Astoria's lips.
"Mmm … You taste sweeter than honey," she moaned into his mouth. "You are so beautiful, Blaise Zabini. I still cannot believe you are mine."
Quinn laughed some more. "Yes, the most beautifully hideous bastard I have ever seen."
Astoria's head jerked in Quinn's direction and she stared daggers at him. "How dare you call him that! The only hideous bastard I see is sitting right there!" She pointed at him.
Quinn practically toppled over with glee.
"Now, now, Stori. Don't be harsh. Quinn was only joking."
"I'm sorry," she said, leaning in and kissing his cheek. "I didn't mean to upset you."
"You haven't," said Blaise, rubbing his hand along her thigh. "But do you know what would really please me?"
Astoria shook her head and waited expectantly.
"If we could let Quinn here see everything you do for me. Can we do that?" he asked, moving his hand up her skirt.
Astoria was about to say yes, when there was a 'swoosh'. They all looked over to see Daphne stepping out of the fireplace with a suitcase in hand. She froze when she saw her younger sister sitting on Blaise's lap.
"You're back early," he said, smirking proudly as he nuzzled his nose against Astoria's cheek.
"The, uhh … the weather was bad …" Daphne shook her head and focused her eyes. "I'm sorry, but, Astoria, what are you doing?"
"Blaise and I are in love!" Astoria beamed as she hugged him closer. "Daphne, shouldn't you have a bigger stomach than that?"
Daphne looked down at her very un-pregnant stomach. "I, uhh …"
Astoria giggled. "It's okay! Blaise told me everything. About how you two are going to raise Hermione and Draco's baby together. He's amazing, isn't he? You are so lucky! I wish it was me."
Daphne stared open-mouthed at Blaise. He just kept smirking at her.
'Swoosh'.
Goyle stepped out of the fireplace, carrying his own suitcase. He walked up beside Daphne and froze in the exact same way. His suitcase dropped to the ground.
"What the hell is going on here?" he asked, the veins in his neck already popping.
Quinn guffawed and stood up from his armchair. "I'm going to let you deal with this one on your own, Zabini. Come find me later if you survive this, and we'll do that thing we talked about." He winked before exiting the room.
As soon as he was gone, Blaise moved Astoria off of his lap and stood up. She stood up with him and hugged onto his arm.
Daphne's eyes filled with tears as she stared at her obviously bewitched sister. "Blaise … what did you do?"
"What I was told to do," he answered, his smirk never waning. "Astoria found our guest and tried to tell Malfoy about it. I was instructed to punish her, so I have."
"Being with you could never be a punishment," said Astoria, standing on tiptoe and kissing him passionately.
At that moment, something inside of Goyle snapped. His inner core cringed as he saw Astoria, the girl he loved like a sister, being forced to throw herself at Blaise like it was something that she wanted. Without another thought, he lunged forward and punched Blaise in the face, harder than he had ever punched anyone before.
"I'll kill you! I'll fucking kill you!" Goyle shouted, continuing to sock the bastard - who had fallen back on the sofa - over and over again.
"Stop! Please, stop!" Astoria cried while trying to grab at his arm. "I love him, Goyle! Please!"
Daphne dropped her suitcase, grabbed Astoria by the shoulders and pulled her off of him. "You don't love him, Astoria!" she shouted, seizing her sister's wrist and pulling her out of the room with an incredible force.
Astoria continued to struggle and cry as Daphne pulled her through the hallways, shouting for Theo, but he never showed. After wiping at her eyes, Daphne swallowed her pride and marched them both towards Hermione's room. When they got there, she threw open the door and stormed inside.
"I need you, Mudblood!"
Hermione climbed off of the bed and walked over to Astoria. She reached her arms out for her but Astoria cringed.
"They're killing him! Please, stop them, Hermione!"
Hermione shook her head. "Astoria, I don't understand. Who are they -?"
"I think Blaise gave her Amortentia," said Daphne, wiping more tears. "I've never been very good at potions. You need to make an antidote."
"NO! No, he would never! I love him!"
Hermione sighed and wiped her own tears away. "Knock her out," she said to Daphne. "It'll be easier if we leave her here."
Without hesitation, Daphne shouted, "Stupefy!" Astoria fell back and she caught her.
After Daphne and Hermione put her still body on the bed, they went into the hallway and Daphne locked the door. She didn't even bother to bind Hermione as she led her towards the kitchen, since the one thing the two of them had in common was Astoria. They both loved her, and neither of them wanted something like this to happen to her.
While Hermione brewed the antidote, Daphne sat on the nearby barstool, crying into her hands. Hermione wished she could feel sorry for her, but a part of her was happy she was finally showing pain.
"I feel you should know that the Amortentia is new. He definitely didn't use it when he forced himself on her last night."
Daphne looked up and glared at her. "Why would you tell me that?"
"Because it's reality," said Hermione, throwing in some more ingredients. She paused and took a deep breath. "It hurts, doesn't it? When something like this happens to someone you love."
Daphne whimpered.
"Of course, when it was me you couldn't have cared less."
"That's not true," Daphne whispered.
Hermione huffed. "Please. This entire time you have shown no remorse. So you can understand why I might find that hard to believe."
"My husband had just gotten reprimanded. I wasn't about to risk his security by standing up for someone I hardly know."
"You can make all of the excuses you want, that doesn't change the fact that you are not a good person. In fact, other than Astoria, your whole family is rotten."
"How dare you!" shouted Daphne, jumping off of her barstool. "You don't know the first thing about my fam -"
"I know enough."
"Like what?" asked Daphne, crossing her arms.
"Let's start with something simple," said Hermione. "Where is your father right now?"
Daphne froze. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, he has spent almost all of his time here since the day you captured me. So where is he? It just seems suspicious that he disappeared right around the time they decided to keep Astoria captive and punish her, doesn't it?"
"Surely you are not implying that my father knows anything about this?"
"I am doing more than implying it. I'm downright saying it," spat Hermione, unconsciously stirring the contents in the cauldron more aggressively. "I heard the Unbreakable Vow he made with Ron. He promised to make sure Astoria lives a happy life, and he can't exactly keep that if Rita wants to punish her, can he? So what does he do? He stays away! He's a bloody coward if you ask me."
"How dare -"
"I warned you months ago that Rita has it out for Astoria! I knew it was a longshot, but it was one I had to take, and you ignored it! You ignored it and now your sister has been beaten and raped!
"Stop it!"
"By the fucking bastard you cheated on your husband with for a year! I hope you're proud of yourself you stupid -"
"I said, STOP IT!" shouted Daphne, rounding the corner of the counter and raising her wand at her.
Hermione smirked. "Threatening me again? An unarmed witch who is seven months pregnant. Now, tell me, Daphne. Would a good person do that?"
Daphne hesitantly lowered her wand, trying hard not to sob. Hermione met her eyes and glared into them for a moment before returning to the cauldron.
"It's almost finished. Please, get me a phial."
Daphne opened a nearby cabinet and pulled one out. Hermione stirred the antidote a few more times before turning off the heat and using a ladle to put it into the phial. She didn't even get the chance to clean up before Daphne had her arm and was dragging her back towards her room.
Astoria was still lying unconscious on the bed when they got there. Daphne reversed the spell and Hermione held her down while she fed her the potion. Almost instantaneously, Astoria's eyes widened, and then sank. She began to cry hysterically the moment it all hit her.
Daphne tried to hug her little sister, but Astoria pushed her away. She instead sank into Hermione's arms and cried against her chest while Daphne just sat there, unsure of what she was supposed to do.
"Why is she still here?" Astoria said to Hermione. "I want her to leave."
Hermione looked up at Daphne and sighed. "I think you should do as she says."
"But she's my sister and -"
"I said go!" demanded Astoria, pointing punitively at the door.
Looking hurt, Daphne climbed off of the bed and headed for the door. When she reached it, she looked back at her sister one last time and said, "I am so sorry this happened to you, Astoria. You know I never …" She gulped … "I never wanted this -"
"Just go away," said Astoria, turning her head so she no longer had to look at Daphne.
Daphne ran out of the room and slammed the door before Astoria could hear her sob again. When in the hallway, she cast a Locking Charm on the door and sunk down against it, staying there and crying for a while.
When Daphne finally felt somewhat composed, she stood up and headed back towards the parlor. When she got there, Goyle was sitting in an armchair by the fire. He was alone.
"What happened to Blaise?" she asked, walking towards him.
"Quinn came back and stopped me. He put him in one of the rooms and brought in Pansy's mother to heal him. Now he's gone off to tell that Skeeter woman what I did. I suppose she should be coming for me soon."
Daphne whimpered before moving so she was in front of Goyle. She took a seat at his feet and clasped her hands with his in his lap. "I had Granger make an antidote so Astoria is back to her senses now."
"Good," said Goyle, pulling his hands away from hers.
Daphne sighed. "Gregory, when are you going to stop punishing me?"
"After tonight, I don't think I ever will."
"Why?" she asked in a strained voice.
"Oh, come on, Daphne. Do you truly believe I am that thick? That I haven't figured out Zabini was the one you were cheating on me with?"
Daphne wiped at her eyes. "If you had asked I would have told you."
"But I didn't want to know. Only, he's made it bloody obvious. The way he looks at you makes me so sick I can't even stand it. It's like he wants to possess you or something."
"He does," said Daphne, reaching out and grabbing his hands again. "But I won't let him."
Goyle took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "Well, maybe you should."
The entire room was silent, other than the sound of the crackling fire. Even Daphne's breathing had become so shallow that if her hands were not in his, Goyle would have wondered if she was even still there. He opened his eyes again. His wife was staring up at him with glossy eyes that twinkled in the firelight. He had never seen her look so hurt before and, what more, he didn't really care. Goyle wished for the life of him that he did, but everything he had once felt for Daphne was simply gone.
"Why would you say that to me?" she finally asked.
"Because it's true. Look at the facts, Daphne. Around the time you first told me that your cheating days were over, he tried to rape Hermione. Twice. I know he's never given up on having you back because he's Zabini, and that's what he does. He competes and he wins. But, the moment he starts to doubt himself, like when you take me on a trip to try and convince me to be more cooperative so I won't be killed, he goes off and rapes your sister. Your fucking little sister, Daphne. Now, the way I see it, if you had just stayed with him like he wanted, none of this would have happened. Ending your affair with Zabini was the biggest fucking mistake you've ever made since starting it."
"No … No, it's not true," Daphne said, shaking her head. "Blaise has always wanted Astoria. He wanted to marry her, remember?"
"Oh, please. He didn't give a shit about marrying her until he thought Draco wanted her. Like I said. It's all about winning for him, and I refuse to compete any longer. If he wants you then he can have you."
"But … but I love you, Gregory. And I know you love me! You have to! You just have to!"
Goyle shook his head. "There is no love here, Daphne. Not anymore. In fact, I was already planning on leaving tonight. The moment we got back, I was going to grab Pansy and go. Get us both as far away from here as I could before our executions were ordered. But I can't do that now. Not with Astoria here. I refuse to leave her behind. Because she deserves better than your family. She deserves better than you. And so do I."
Without another word, Goyle pushed Daphne's hands away and stood up from his chair. He left her there, sitting on the floor while he walked out of the room and towards the basement.
Goyle headed down the stairs and over to the far left cell, where he took a seat against the bars. Pansy was lying unconscious beside them, her entire body all bloodied and bruised from whatever form of torture they had given her that day, as well as every other day.
Reaching into the cell, Goyle grabbed her hand and held onto it. He had come down here and done this almost every day since they had first locked her up. At first, she would always hold back, but now she was too weak to even notice his presence.
"I know I promised, but you're going to have to hang on for just a little bit longer, okay?"
Pansy's breathing was so shallow. Sometimes he put his hand on her chest just to make sure her heart was still beating. He knew she didn't have much longer, but Astoria was like family to him. There was no way he could just leave her behind.
"Soon, Pansy. We will both get out of here soon."
When Goyle said this, he suddenly felt a light squeeze on his hand. He smiled in relief and squeezed back. Pansy had always been a fighter. It was good to know some things never changed.
XXX
Towards the end of the day on Monday, Draco went to the Ministry to see how Kingsley's arrangements for the meeting - for lack of a better word - were going. The Minister explained that everything was on track and even more people than expected would be attending. Because of this, he was currently trying to find a larger location than Draco's house for everyone to meet at.
Draco immediately thought of the Leaky Cauldron. It had a back room that was fairly well-sized, could easily be rigged with a secret entrance and he was absolutely positive that Hannah would be able to convince Tom to let them use it.
With that decided, Draco left Kingsley to go and try to catch Neville in the Auror Office before he left, so that he could ask him to speak to Hannah. Neville was still there, talking with Harry and Ernie when he arrived. They all agreed that the Leaky Cauldron was the perfect place to have their 'meeting'. Neville left right away to go and ask Hannah and Ernie left right after.
As soon as they were gone, Harry started telling Draco about how he had gotten into contact with all of the former D.A. members and that the majority of them would be attending. Draco found great amusement in knowing that a large group of people he had helped get into serious trouble in school was now helping him. Well … helping Hermione, which he considered to be more or less the same thing.
Suddenly, a door shut nearby. Draco looked over to see a Goyle step out of Wiley Rosier's office. It had been a few months since he had seen him and he wasn't quite prepared for this.
Goyle had lost an enormous amount of weight, his skin was sallow and his eyes were lost behind two incredibly dark circles. Draco wished he had seen him sooner because, maybe then, he would have actually believed he had something to do with this.
"Malfoy … don't."
Draco looked over to see Harry staring at him very seriously. It was then that he realized his whole face was burning and his fists were clenched tightly at his sides. He had been ready to attack. In fact, he still was.
"He knows, Potter," Draco spat, staring back at his onetime friend as he walked over to his desk, still unaware of Draco's presence.
"Yes, but we can't risk them finding out that we know. If they decide to move her then we're back to square one."
"Fine. I won't say anything, just as long as he doesn't push the wrong buttons."
Just then, Goyle walked by to leave. When he saw Draco, he pulled back a bit, but still tried to smile and said, "Evening, Draco."
That was it! Draco lunged forward and grabbed Goyle by the collar, successfully slamming him into the nearest wall even though he was twice his size.
"You fucking traitor! You've known the whole time? The whole fucking time?"
"Draco, what are you -"
"I TRUSTED YOU!"
"Malfoy, let him go!" shouted Harry, pulling at Draco's arms. "Don't be an idiot!"
Draco's grip loosened slightly, but his nostrils kept flaring as he stared intensely at his former friend.
Goyle's eyes darted over to Rosier's closed office door before returning to meet Draco's. He took a deep breath. "I haven't known the whole time, but I've known for a while and I won't make excuses for that," he said in a hushed voice. "But I can't help you get her out. People I care about are being held prisoner in there and unless there's a way to get them all out, I won't risk it. Hermione's safe, I promise you. And if they ever do try to hurt her then I swear that I will act."
Draco released Goyle but his face was still clenched and angry. "All of this for a wife who is having a child that probably isn't even yours?"
"No. This isn't about Daphne at all. I've already told her it's over. And you're right, it's not mine. It's -"
"Gregory."
They all turned to see Wiley Rosier walking towards them.
"What is going on here?" he asked, moving so he was between Draco and Goyle.
"Nothing," said Goyle, looking nervously to the floor. "We were just talking."
Wiley raised his eyebrows. "About?"
"None of your bloody business," spat Draco. Harry grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
Wiley looked at them coldly for a moment before grabbing Goyle's shoulder. "Come along now. We were supposed to meet your father for dinner ten minutes ago."
Goyle didn't even get the chance to say goodbye before Wiley was pulling him towards the lift. He dragged him all the way through the atrium and to the fireplaces, watching to make sure Goyle Flooed to the right location. He followed and they landed in the pub in the nearby town, then walked to the bookstore and Flooed to the Greengrass Summer Estate. When they got there, Rita, Gorden, Orson, Stuart, Quinn, Blaise, Daphne and Theo were all sitting in the parlor.
"Draco was just talking to him," said Wiley, stepping out of the fireplace and pushing Goyle forward. "Theo, tell us what he said."
Daphne stood up with Theo, looking panicked. If Goyle blabbed anything this would surely be it for him. The fact that he was still standing after what he did to Blaise was a miracle in itself.
Theo walked up to Goyle and quickly said, "Legilimens!" Within seconds, he had seen everything and was back out of Goyle's mind.
"Well, Mr. Nott? What was said?" asked Rita.
Theo twisted towards her, pulled something out of his pocket and smiled. "Let me send an owl to my girlfriend and I'll tell you."
Rita rolled her eyes and held out her hand. Theo walked over and gave her the letter. She read it over, did a quick fix with her wand and gave it back to him.
"She doesn't need to know where you are but everything else is fine."
That was perfectly all right with Theo. After what he just saw in Goyle's mind, it seemed that Draco had already figured out where Hermione was. Really, he just wanted everyone to know that he was actually alive at this point.
"Mr. Zabini, please go fetch the Greengrasses' owl for him."
Blaise stood up and walked out of the room, making sure to give an extremely wicked looking smirk to Goyle on his way out. When he returned with the owl, Theo fastened the letter to its leg and sent it on its way.
"Now, you've got what you wanted, Mr. Nott. Time for you to return the favor."
Theo looked at Rita and smiled. "Malfoy is angry. He thinks Goyle knows something because he hasn't spoken to him in months. But Potter pulled him off and Rosier showed up before Goyle could respond. You're in the clear."
Goyle was shocked, but he did his best to hide it. Theo had just lied for him. But why? It was not as if they had ever been close. Though, he had always wondered why Theo entered into all of this so willingly. He had always seemed so detached and callous towards anything and everything. If he turned out to be a spy that would actually make a lot of sense.
"I suppose we should have seen this coming," said Rita. She turned to Gorden. "It is obvious that your son cannot be trusted to go into work again, until this is over."
"You're going to keep me locked up here?" said Goyle, turning white.
"Another victim of Ms. Skeeter's house arrest." Theo smirked.
Rita looked at him and raised her eyebrows. "Do not test me, Mr. Nott."
"Speaking of not going to work," Wiley said suddenly, "Ron Weasley did not attend today." He looked at Blaise and Quinn. "Find out why. It is just incredibly suspicious that he doesn't show up only days after Astoria reached him."
Everyone took a moment to figure out why that might be at their own pace. Eventually, there were 'oh's' all around.
"But Arron would know if the vow was broken, wouldn't he?" asked Orson, one of the last to figure it out.
"From what I understand, he would know the moment Mr. Weasley perished," answered Stuart. "Meaning, there is no way that has happened."
"All the same, I would like to know," said Wiley. He looked at Blaise and Quinn again before motioning towards the fireplace. "Go."
"And when you find him," added Rita, "if opportunity presents itself, perhaps it is time we dispose of him. I'm sure Arron would greatly appreciate it."
"Will do," said Quinn, standing up from where he was seated, heading for the fireplace and Flooing away.
Blaise was close behind him. He tried to catch Daphne's eye before he left, but she wouldn't even look at him. Or couldn't. It was hard to say which one was right. Either way, Blaise was finally starting to realize that maybe he had done wrong. It was about bloody time.
XXX
The following night, Draco sat on a chair in Ron's room. He was fiddling with his cell phone while Harry and Ginny went to get some tea. Kingsley had just sent him a message that everything for the following night was set. He wished it was already then. That way, a plan to rescue Hermione and Astoria would already be underway and he could have her back in his arms all the sooner.
This waiting was even more excruciating now that Draco knew where she was. But he had promised not to be hasty and he intended to keep it. Every time he acted on impulse, someone got hurt. He would not take the chance that it might be Hermione. She had already been through enough.
Speaking of his impulses, Draco found himself extremely worried that Goyle hadn't been at work that day. Even though he was angry with him - and rightfully so - a part of Draco still cared very dearly for his old friend, and he did not want him to be hurt because of a moment of Draco's stupidity. And, more importantly, he didn't want the purebloods to know that he knew where Hermione was.
Shortly after the altercation, he and Harry had contacted Seth and told him to listen in on the purebloods. But, by the time he found them in Goyle and Daphne's parlor, Goyle was just being escorted out and everyone else dispersed. Hopefully, Goyle had kept his mouth shut. Of course, if they used Legilimency on him then they were undoubtedly screwed.
Draco slammed his cell phone down on the nearby table and shot up, rubbing his face in his hands. He couldn't believe he had been so stupid. What if he had ruined everything by confronting Goyle? Merlin, he prayed he hadn't.
The door opened and Harry and Ginny walked in with tea for the three of them. They stayed with Ron until visiting hours were over.
After the Head Healer told them it was time to leave, they all skeptically stood up, Ginny giving her brother a kiss on the forehead before following Draco and Harry out. As they were walking down the hallway, the door to the Janus Thickey Ward opened and Seth and Chastity walked out, hand-in-hand. Seth blushed when he saw them.
"Taken my advice, have you?" asked Draco with a smirk.
"Yeah, well, Chastity wanted to meet her," Seth said quietly.
"Don't be modest, Seth," said Chastity, rubbing his arm. "He's been visiting her almost every day since Christmas. She just gets so excited every time he comes by. And she's even been speaking more. The Healer said she spoke an entire sentence yesterday. 'When is Seth coming?' Isn't that sweet?"
"She calls Chastity, Freckles." Seth laughed.
Chastity smiled at the sight of it. "I think it's endearing."
A Healer walked past all of them, fidgeting with their wand in their pocket. No one noticed as they slipped into Ron's room.
Just then, all of their phones started buzzing. They all reached for them, Draco quickly realizing that he didn't have his.
"Kingsley just sent us information on how to get into the 'meeting' tomorrow," said Harry, noticing Draco trying to peek at Ginny's screen.
"I think I left mine in Weasley's room. I'll be right back."
Draco turned and headed back the way they came. He got to the room and was happy to find it was still unlocked. He opened the door and -
"WHOA!"
A Healer he had never seen before was standing over Ron's bed with their wand pointed at him. They looked up as Draco entered and shot a Killing Curse at him.
Draco pulled the door closed and opened it again the moment he heard the curse hit. He took out his wand and sent a Stunning Charm in the Healer's direction. They fell hard onto the ground.
"Malfoy, what -"
Harry came up behind Draco, but was quickly pushed aside by another Healer. They walked into the room, took one look at their unconscious colleague and raised their wand towards Ron.
"Avada -"
"Stupefy!"
The new Healer fell on top of the other. Draco lowered his wand and looked at Ron. They had found him.
"Fuck," said Draco, once again at a loss for words.
"What's happened?" asked Ginny, poking her head into the room. She gasped when she saw the unconscious Healers on the ground.
"Is anyone coming down the hallway?" asked Draco.
Ginny glanced over her shoulder. She shook her head.
"Seth! Chastity! Go make sure no one is headed this way!" he called out the door.
The sound of feet shuffling was his response.
"Call Kingsley, Potter." Draco put his wand away, grabbed his cell phone off of the table and moved towards Ron. "Tell him to get down here right away." He grabbed Ron and pulled his limp body out of the bed. "I'm getting Weasley out of here. Whether they know why he's here or not, it is clear they are ready to be rid of him."
Harry nodded and took out his phone. While it rang, he asked, "Where are you taking him?"
"ALL CLEAR!" Seth's voice called from outside the door.
"The last place they would ever look," Draco said before carrying Ron towards the door.
XXX
Lucius Malfoy was quite surprised when a knock came at his door at a very inappropriate hour. He was even more surprised when his house-elf, Flukey, led his son into the drawing room, lugging the unconscious Weasley boy.
"Draco, wha -"
"Mother isn't here, is she?" Draco asked.
Lucius shook his head, never taking his eyes off of Ron. "You know she spends every Tuesday evening out with her friends."
"And I was counting very much on her predictably. I'm glad nothing has changed." Draco immediately started walking towards the back of the manor. "What bedroom would you say Mother visits the least?"
XXX
Draco sat nervously in the back room of the Leaky Cauldron. He was at a table with Harry, Ginny, Luna, Rolf, Neville, Ernie, Sophie, Phillip, Seth, Chastity and Caroline, all waiting for everyone else to arrive for the 'meeting'. They had bewitched a wall in an alley outside of the pub to work as a doorway for people to enter. The password to get in was 'Pygmy Puff', chosen by Teddy, who was currently running around with Victoire while Fleur kept an eye on them, also bouncing Dominique on her knee. Angelina was sitting next to her and trying to calm a fussy Fred.
Draco was glad there were other children here. He had been getting the feeling lately that Teddy wasn't getting enough interaction with people his own age.
Draco watched in fascination as both people he knew and ones he didn't know began to arrive. The staff of Hogwarts all came fairly early with Rosmerta and Aberforth. Hagrid told Draco he would also be representing the Giant community, since they were too large to attend but absolutely on their side. Under the rule of Gurg Grawp, all had agreed to fight.
Charlie arrived with all of the members of his dragon club that had previously worked with Draco and Hermione. Annaleigh, Daniel, Jen and Jay all came over to say hi. Chastity gave her cousin a kiss on the cheek and moved onto Seth's lap so Anna could sit down. She and her boyfriend Daniel squeezed in.
Caroline shuddered at the sight of Chastity and Seth. She was the only one who had not warmed up to the idea of them yet and, at this rate, she probably never would. Her own boyfriend, Jack, was actually there that night. Unfortunately, they were currently on one of their infamous breaks, so he was sitting at another table, but still keeping a very close eye on her.
Most of the members of the DA also arrived together. Alicia Spinnet and Katie Bell came in and headed straight over to Angelina, both more than happy to take a fussy Fred off of her hands. Katie looked over at Draco and smiled. He tried to smile back, but still felt a little sick every time he saw her. Almost killing someone, even accidentally, could do that to you.
Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnegan, Lavender Brown, Parvati Patil, Padma Patil and Dennis Creevey all came in and squeezed into their table, even though there really wasn't room for them. Lee Jordan and Oliver Wood headed over to the table where George was now sitting with Angelina, all exchanging high-fives upon arrival.
Anthony Goldstein, Michael Corner, Terry Boot, Justin Finch-Fletchley, and Susan Bones were all there too, but the biggest surprise was probably when Cho Chang walked in with Marietta Edgecombe. Ginny instinctually reached over and grabbed Harry closer.
Cho waved at all of them before going over and taking a seat next to Michael. Draco stared open-mouthed at the girl with her for a while, trying to figure out where he knew her from … and then he remembered. His eyes widened.
"What is she doing here?" he asked quietly, motioning towards Marietta.
"I don't know," said Ginny, "but she certainly isn't welcome." Her eyes were definitely on Cho.
"The other one, Mrs. Potty."
"Same answer."
"You know Marietta, Malfoy?" asked Harry.
"Is that her name?"
Everyone cocked their heads at Draco. He looked shamefully at the table.
"Uhh … yeah. I sort of know her." He looked at Harry. "Remember at my bachelor party, when Weasley asked how many girls I was with at Hogwarts?"
"Yes," said Harry, already positive he knew where this was going.
"Well, she was my spontaneous broom closet experience in our fifth year."
Everyone gasped a little. They all ended up looking at Marietta at the same time. She, of course, noticed and turned away quickly.
"Wait! Fifth year?" repeated Ernie. "As in, the year the D.A. was started?"
More gasps.
"She was sleeping with the enemy the entire time?" shouted Ginny, her ears turning as red as Ron's normally did.
"That hurts, Weaselette."
"Mrs. Potty!"
"Well, no wonder she turned us in," said Neville. "Probably blabbed all of our secrets to you, as well."
"Oh, right! I remember when she turned you all in. It was hilar -"
Fierce eyes bore into him all around.
"- horrible! It was just bloody horrible!" Draco cleared his throat. "If it makes you feel any better, I actually had nothing to do with that. Our relationship wasn't really dependent on speaking, which is normally required in secret telling."
Kingsley began banging a gavel on the table and everyone immediately became quiet.
"It appears we have all arrived. Perhaps it is time we get operation 'Save Hermione Malfoy' underway."
"And Astoria Greengrass!" added Molly Weasley. "It is my son's wish that we keep her a primary focus, as well."
Kingsley nodded before continuing.
Teddy, who had been sitting near his grandma, suddenly ran over to Draco and climbed onto his lap. Andromeda looked over at them and smiled.
Over the course of the meeting, it was pretty much a unanimous decision that fighting would be inevitable. Given Hermione's location, they decided it would be best to confront them on their own territory, meaning the forest surrounding the Greengrass Summer Estate.
Draco, Harry, Phillip and Seth recalled everything they could about the area and helped Kingsley draw up a map for everyone. Harry remembered the lake very well, considering he had gone swimming in it and all.
The forest was massive and - while they were hardly a small group - surrounding the purebloods from all sides was really out of the question.
Zandicus had reported back to Phillip that the amount of people recruited to fight on the other side was currently somewhere in the high double digits. The Dementors would also be among them.
Hagrid announced that he was currently in talks with the Centaurs. Many wanted to help, but not all. Especially since traveling would be involved.
They were, more or less, able to plan everyone's battle positions that night. Draco wanted to be the one to go in and get Hermione out while the fighting commenced, but everyone agreed that this would be a bad idea, since the purebloods would, undoubtedly, be keeping a close eye on him. Instead, Neville was chosen for the job - since he already knew the layout of the house - with Ernie as his backup.
Once everyone knew what they would be doing for the battle, they decided the best time to strike would be Saturday. The meeting concluded and the Thinx employees handed out cell phones to everyone who didn't already have one. While Seth, Chastity, Sophie, Phillip and Caroline explained how they worked to everyone who asked, Draco put Teddy down and went over to talk to Kingsley. When he got to him, he was already in an intimate discussion with Lucius.
"Ah, Draco!" said Kingsley, turning towards him. "I was just telling your father about those Healers you detained in Mr. Weasley's hospital room."
"What about them?" Draco asked.
"Well, I was a bit suspicious when I discovered that neither of them worked on that floor. Both are Healers solely in the "Dangerous" Dai Llewellyn Ward for serious bites. So we tested for the Imperius Curse. Both were under it."
The serious bites ward … "Wasn't that Auror who always hangs around Blaise in that ward recently?" It wasn't really a question since Draco already knew the wizard had been for a vampire bite. He had looked into Quinn a couple of months earlier when he had seen him and Blaise together.
"Yes. We were debating whether we should detain and question him tomorrow."
"Don't," said Draco. "It's too close to the end of this to be taking risks like that. Weasley is safe right now. Let's not tempt fate."
"Those are wise words, Draco." Lucius smiled.
"Minister?"
They all turned to see Katie Bell standing behind them. She glanced quickly at Draco. They both blushed before she looked back at Kingsley.
"I got a letter," she said, reaching into her pocket and handing it to him.
"So he's all right then?" said Kingsley, unfolding the parchment and scanning it over.
Katie nodded. "I think so. It doesn't say much, but it's definitely his writing."
"It seems like they're not taking any risks with their new recruits." Kingsley refolded and pocketed the letter. When he noticed Draco and Lucius looking at him curiously, he said, "Ms. Bell here's boyfriend is the only emissary I have who has successfully infiltrated the pureblood inner circle. Only, he hasn't been able to get much word back to us."
"No word before this," Katie said, suddenly looking sick with worry.
"Who is he?" asked Draco, looking at Kingsley.
"For the sake of his safety, it is probably best if I do not say."
"While I do agree with you, Minister, I am also worried about his safety during the battle. The people on our side won't know not to harm him." Katie took a deep breath. "That is why I have come up with a spell that allows everyone on our side to view each other in a glowing blue light. The other side won't be able to see it. Only us."
"I fear that might be a bit distracting, Ms. Bell."
"Yes, but -"
"Just do it, Kingsley," said Draco.
Katie glanced sideways at him. He smiled.
"It is important that we keep all of those on our side safe. Not everyone here knows each other and mistakes have been known to happen in wars before."
Kingsley looked unsure.
"It is either this or a uniform."
Katie chuckled. Draco smiled at her again.
"All right, all right. You have my permission, Ms. Bell."
"Thank you, Minister!" said Katie, beaming.
Draco looked around and saw that almost everyone had already filed out. His coworkers had handed out the last of the phones and only his usual circle, as well as Arthur and Molly Weasley, remained.
XXX
Hannah looked skeptically at the group that had just entered. Blaise, Quinn, Wiley, Quincy, Stuart, Orson, Gorden, and Arron headed straight for her section and took a seat. All had their eyes on her.
Hannah gulped. She had not attended the meeting in hopes of keeping up appearances. She worked in the Leaky Cauldron every Wednesday night and, if she wasn't here, it would surely arouse suspicion. She took a deep breath before walking over to their table.
"Evening, gentlemen. What will it be?"
Quinn glanced up and smiled creepily at her. "How about some information?" he asked.
"I'm more equipped to serve you drinks," she answered.
"How come so many people seem to be hanging out in the alley behind your pub tonight?" asked Blaise. "Is there a private party going on that we don't know about?"
"I'm not sure what you're talking about but if you're not going to order -"
Wiley's hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. "Where have they taken Ron Weasley?" he demanded.
"Careful," said Arron sternly. "You promised you would not mention his name around me."
"I don't mean anything by it," said Wiley, smiling widely at Hannah. "Just curious."
She pulled her wrist away but Quinn quickly grabbed her other one. "Now, about that alley …"
"Hey!"
They all looked up to see Tom stomping towards them with a large bartender beside him. Quinn stood up and twisted Hannah's arm so she became a human shield in front of him. Wiley stood up as well and hit the bartender with a Stunning Charm. Tom looked down at him and gasped. When his eyes moved back to them, Wiley smiled and said, "Would you mind terribly showing us to the back room?"
Blaise stepped forward and grabbed Tom while the others went around, shooting spells at people while they all clambered for the exit. When the room was clear, Blaise dragged Tom towards the back of the pub with the others following, Quinn still holding firmly onto Hannah.
Blaise made Tom open every door until they finally came across the one they had been seeking. The door swung open and several surprised faces stood on the other side, including that of Draco Malfoy. Their current target.
"Jackpot," said Blaise, shoving Tom through the door.
Wiley raised his wand at the innkeeper and shouted, "Avada Kedavra!"
Hannah screamed as the man fell back, instantly dead.
"Thought we'd beat you to the punch, Malfoy," said Blaise, raising his wand. "Your wife wants to see you."
In a quick moment, everyone scattered. Andromeda hid Teddy under a table and told him to stay there before taking out her wand. Neville, Ernie, Luna and Rolf were doing everything they could to try and get Hannah out of Quinn's grasp, but he was not letting go easily.
Draco ducked behind a table as Blaise came right for him. Kingsley, Lucius and Katie ducked with him to avoid the crossfire.
"Get the fuck out here, Malfoy!" Blaise shouted, setting the table on fire.
Draco took out his wand and jumped up, shooting a Jelly-Legs Jinx at Blaise that just missed.
Blaise laughed. "So juvenile."
"I don't want to kill you, Zabini. You deserve far worse than death."
Draco shot a Stunning Charm that Blaise blocked. He shot back with a Tickling Hex - as a joke - and actually hit successfully. Draco fell back, laughing. Katie, who had been extinguishing the flames on the table, was quick to remove the hex for him.
Draco jumped back up and tried to hit Blaise with a Stunning Charm again but he blocked it … again. To be unpredictable, he then shot Ron's famous Slug-Vomiting Spell at him. Blaise definitely wasn't prepared for that and immediately started choking up the slimy creatures. Unfortunately, Quinn appeared - no longer holding Hannah - and removed the spell.
Looking around, Draco noticed that she was now dueling Wiley with Neville, Luna, and Rolf. He sighed in relief.
Blaise and Quinn shot a few more hexes at him, but Draco was able to block them all. Katie was trying to help him all she could and, luckily, they weren't paying her much mind. That is, until she successfully got Quinn was a Jelly-Legs Jinx. Pissed off, he sat up using his upper body and stunned her. After she fell back, he removed the jinx and stood back up.
Harry, Ginny, Sophie and Phillip were so focused on their duel with Arron - Ginny even aiming to kill in hopes of saving her brother - that none of them noticed when Teddy poked his head out from under the table, looking around nervously for Draco. He spotted him and immediately saw that he was in trouble.
"Dwaco!"
Teddy stumbled out from under the table and darted for Draco. He ran right past Lucius and Kingsley, who had just detained Stuart Parkinson, and Seth, Chastity and Ernie who were having a hell of a time dealing with Quincy Nott. Caroline saw him and jumped in front of a hex cast by Orson Crabbe flying in that direction. She fell back while her boyfriend - maybe ex-boyfriend - continued to fight.
Andromeda looked over from her duel with Gorden Goyle when she saw the little flash out of the corner of her eye. "Teddy!" she screamed.
She ran after him and left Gorden to Molly and Arthur Weasley.
"Dwaco!" Teddy shouted.
Draco turned to the voice and was instantly shot back, his wand flying out of his hands.
Quinn smiled wickedly when he saw the little boy freeze in front of him. "This is for marrying that fucking bitch, Malfoy. Avada -"
"TEDDY!" Andromeda finally reached him and grabbed him into her arms, turning her back on Quinn to keep her grandson shielded.
"- Kedavra!"
"NO!" Draco cried as his aunt fell limp, still grasping Teddy in her lifeless arms.
"Did you just try to kill the fucking kid?" shouted Blaise, pushing Quinn.
"So? You had us kill that one bitch's baby in the womb. What's the difference?"
Blaise couldn't answer.
"This is no time to be getting a bloody conscience, Zabini."
Phillip, who had heard everything, left his duel with Arron and headed straight for Blaise with a fiery vengeance in his eyes.
"Crucio!" he shouted.
Blaise fell back and started convulsing.
"Bloody hell," said Quinn, grabbing his twitching body. "Time to disperse!"
He Disapparated before anyone else even responded. Orson and Gorden immediately followed, but Wiley, Quincy and Arron got Stuart out of Kingsley's and Lucius's clutches before following after them. Neville and Ernie used that new magic to try and go after them, but returned fairly quickly. Apparently, the purebloods had somehow found a way to block this sort of magic, sending them to a completely different location.
Draco sat frozen on the ground, watching as Teddy climbed out from under Andromeda. He was crying hysterically and tried to shake her. Ginny ran over and carried him away, not letting him look at his grandmother no matter how hard he tried.
"But my gwama! My gwama needs help! Dwaco, please help her!"
Draco began to cry as Teddy continued to call to him. He tried to move but he just couldn't. The child had already lost so much and now, because of him, he had just lost the last of his immediate family.
Throughout all of this, Draco had really only learned one thing. All was not fair in love and war.