Chapter Four

Draco glanced around the neighbourhood, carefully making sure there was no one there to identify him. Fortunately, the street looked legitimately abandoned, though he couldn't figure out why it would have been. It was, or had been, a muggle neighbourhood, but there was something funny in the air, something that Draco couldn't quite put his finger on, an aura that made him believe that the muggles couldn't come back, even if they wanted to, some force was keeping them out. He was sure it had something to do with Harry and his paranoid obsessions.

Regardless of these safeguards, Draco had to get out of here. He needed to go somewhere on the continent where he could rest until he was strong enough to apparate the both of them to America. But where? He would be instantly recognized in any wizarding community and he didn't dare risk the lives of the muggles by showing himself in one of their quiet, quaint villages.

Somewhere safe...

Something triggered in the back of his mind, a conversation that had taken place years before.

"If you ever are in need of a safe haven," a soft, caring voice whispered to him, "if I'm not around to help, I want you to go here." He handed Draco a slip of paper. "You will find friends there, you'll be safe."

Draco only hoped this place still existed, it's occupants still alive, still fighting for the right side. He repeated the address over and over in his head, making sure he remembered it correctly, and keeping this address firmly in the front of his mind, he apparated.

Landing on the doorstep, he looked up at the tall Victorian style house sandwiched between two others. The number on the front read 12.

"Draco, where are we?" Antigone spoke up.

"Somewhere safe. Hopefully."

"Who lives here?" She asked.

"I don't know, sweetheart." He knocked on the door. "Let's find out. Just keep real still, okay, Tig. Can you keep quiet for a bit, let me figure out what's going on?" He felt her nod into his chest. "Good girl."

He heard frantic footsteps scuttling around just inside the door. The occupants obviously weren't used to having company come knocking.

The door opened a crack, a head poking around it, the tip of a wand visible in the owner's hand. "Malfoy?!" The woman on the other side gasped, stunned. The door began to close.

'Fuck.' Draco muttered to himself. He pushed his hand forward, stopping the door from closing. The force of him pushing opened the door slightly and he caught sight of the person inside. "Granger?"

"What are you doing here?" She was curious about the bundle he held in his arms and craned her head around to try and see.

Draco sensed her curiosity and pulled the comforter down from Antigone's face. "My sister. I was told this was a safe place to go."

Hermione opened the door the rest of the way, hesitantly letting Draco and Antigone inside, peering out the door to make sure he had not been followed. "I heard that the manor burned last-" she shook her head, "where did you hear about this place, there aren't any-" Hermione was utterly confused and stopped speaking so as to not give away too much information. "Is she okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine, thank you." Antigone answered for herself, peeking out from where she had been curled against Draco's chest.

Hermione was not quite sure how to proceed, she seemed untrusting of him, and how could he blame her? The last time they had caught a glimpse of each other was the night that Harry had 'died.' "Granger, I know you don't trust me, but I-"

"Actually, it's Weasley." Hermione interrupted, nervously waving her left hand in front of him.

Draco didn't care. "Okay... Weasley then. Look, I just need a place to stay for the night so I can apparate back to America tomorrow. I'm not strong enough to do it today."

"Malfoy, I don't know what to- "

"If the Eaters find me, I'm dead in an instant, and so is she!" He spat, pulling Antigone close to him, hoping somehow she wouldn't have heard him.

She did, and she started to cry. "Daddy wouldn't hurt me, would he, Draco?"

"I don't know sweetheart, I don't know. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell."

"You and Harry were yelling a lot this morning too, I woke up." She spoke innocently.

Draco shut his eyes and breathed out deeply. "Fuck." He whispered to himself.

Hermione stopped dead in her tracks where she had been pacing back and forth. "What did she say?" She whispered, her face as white as a ghost.

Draco did not know how to respond. Fortunately, or unfortunately, he didn't have to, for at that moment, Ron Weasley burst through their front door, and he did not look happy. "Hermione, you wouldn't believe the shit that's happening this morning!" He threw down his cloak in the entrance hall, he didn't realize yet that he and Hermione were not alone. "All the shit that's going on with Malfoy Manor burning is just-" Ron chose that moment to look up towards the hallway where the odd pair were standing. "What the fuck is he doing here?!"

Hermione was still in shock after hearing Harry's name. She shook her head to clear it. "Ron, calm down, please, I think that-"

"No, I will not fucking calm down! Why is there a Death Eater standing in our house?!" He bellowed.

Draco had to admit, Ron had grown up since the last time he had seen him, five years ago. He had grown into his height, and now was terribly intimidating at a height of 6'2" and nothing but muscle. He had the look of someone who was always under stress.

Hermione did not respond to him, she instead turned to Draco. "Let me take her? There's a room of toys upstairs, Teddy Lupin visits often."

Draco nodded, grateful that Antigone wouldn't have to witness what was certain to be an explosive conversation, especially with the new information that Hermione was certain to bring up. Hermione pulled Antigone out of Draco's arms and rested her on her hip. "I'll take you upstairs, honey, there are some fun toys up there. Do you need a glass of water or anything?" Antigone shook her head no and Hemione started towards the stairs. Draco noticed that her gait was uneven, she walked with quite a limp.

Ron's face softened as he watched his wife walk away with the little girl in her arms. "Love, you know you shouldn't be lifting, not with-"

"It's fine, Ron. I'll be back in a minute. Refrain from killing him for a moment, okay, I think he has something to say that we need to hear." Ron nodded and he crossed his arms in front of his chest. He headed towards what Draco assumed was the kitchen, his boots echoing loudly on the floor. A nod of Ron's head indicated to Draco that he wanted him to follow.

They entered the warm, homey kitchen. Ron still seemed extremely unsure of him but trusted his wife enough to know that she wouldn't let anyone dangerous into their home. He was very conflicted. He paced back and forth on the creaky floorboards.

Draco examined the details of this room carefully, the finishings on the walls, the crests, were similar to those in the manor, but he couldn't quite put his finger on where he'd seen them before. "What is this place?" Draco broke the silence. He was determined for Ron Weasley to not get the better of him, he still had some dignity left.

Ron scrutinized him for a moment, but let out a deep breath and answered. "Well, you managed to gain the trust of one of the secret keepers to get this far. But who could have-" He saw confusion drawn onto Draco's face and explained further. "This house was placed under the fidelius charm ages ago, it's location is only known to those who are secret keepers. There are very few secret keepers left, and no one would have given it's location up to you, but obviously there's another person, someone we are unaware of." Ron looked worried. "Who told you about this place?"

Hermione re-entered the room, her hand resting on her hip, her face twisted as though she were in slight pain. "We were just getting to that point when you arrived, Ron." Ron stood to help her but she waved him off. She poured herself a cup of tea from the stove. "Tea?" Draco nodded.

He held the steaming cup in his hands, it was a slight comfort to him, knowing what was coming next. Ron's face became stony again. He went to speak, but Hermione's hand on his arm stopped him and he looked at her curiously. She was still pale as a ghost and tears were forming in her eyes. "What's the matter, Hermione?" He asked her softly, concerned.

"I- I think he's seen Harry."

It was though the world had stopped. There was no sound, no movement, nothing. Ron and Hermione stared intently at each other for what seemed to Draco like an eternity before Ron's head whipped towards Draco, who sat silent, a blank, unreadable expression on his face. "What?" Ron croaked out. Draco didn't speak. He could see the wheels turning in Ron's head and he let him process a bit more.

"Harry's dead, it's not possible." The memories of the night of the Battle of Hogwarts seemed to return to Ron quickly and he rose from his seat in anger. "You! You were there! You took his body, you bastard! What did you-" Hermione held him back.

"No." Draco shook his head, his face buried in his hands.

"How can you deny it? We saw you take his body away! You Know Who ordered you to-"

"No!" Draco's head snapped up, his former fight and fire back in his eyes. There was nothing he had enjoyed more in his childhood than arguing with Ron Weasley, and that hadn't changed.

"Are you saying you didn't do it? Was it not you we saw walk up to him, smile as though it was the greatest thing that had ever happened and then apparate away?"

"No, what I'm saying is, he wasn't dead!"

Ron's next words caught in his throat. He shook his head to make sure he had heard properly. "What? No, he was hit with Avada..."

Draco actually laughed. Ron hadn't changed at all, he was still as thick as ever. "As if that had ever stopped him before." His trademark smirk appeared on his face, finding it's place easily after years of absence. How had he ever thought that Ron was intimidating. "He was alive, I guarantee it."

"For how long? How long did your master keep him alive, torture him until he finally decided enough was enough and put him out of his misery?"

Draco snorted at Ron's assumption. "Think about what you've just said, Weasley. If I had brought Harry back to You Know Who, then theoretically I would have still been in his good books. With that in mind, think about my general absence from this world for the last five years and the multiple warrants for my arrest over that time. I'm sure you know just as well as I that I have not been loyal to him since sixth year. I saved your best friend's life, helped him recover."

"And he's still alive now?" Hermione asked breathlessly.

"If he is alive, why hasn't he come back to us?" Ron asked at the same time, his expression almost as shocked as Hermione's.

"Alive? I suppose you could call it that. What he's doing isn't really living, not in my books anyway."

"And... and you saw him this morning? Is that what your sister was referring to?"

"I did."

"Why? I don't-" Ron stuttered. "If he even is still alive, why would he not- why would he see you- it doesn't make any-"

"Yesterday was the first time I'd seen him in almost five years. I came back from America because my sister was in trouble. You Know Who was there, at the manor. He burned it to the ground."

"You Know Who? Why would he- I thought your father was his closest-"

Draco shook his head. "You misunderstood. Potter was there, at the manor, trying to kill You Know Who, he burned it to the ground to try and get to him. Potter got my sister out, letting You Know Who get away in the process. He was so furious, we had to get out of there, out of his home, I mean. He's obsessed with You Know Who, he won't stop until he's dead."

"Until You Know Who's dead?" Hermione questioned, picking up the double meaning in Draco's words.

"Hard to say, like I said, I wouldn't call what Potter's doing, living." Draco shrugged and momentarily fell into his own thoughts, centred around the brooding, dark haired man.

"I knew it..." Hermione whimpered, tears beginning to fall from her eyes. "I knew he was still alive. Oh, Ron." She stood and buried herself into her husband's chest. Ron wrapped his arms tightly around her, rubbing soothing circles on her back. He still didn't buy it. "Who else could have been keeping this world alive, merlin knows we're trying, but there's so few of us left, and yet, every day there are more victories, we never knew where they came from." She sobbed. "We need to see him."

Ron's eyes bored into Draco. "I still don't believe you. Why should I? We don't know what you've been up to all this time, where you've been. This could all be an elaborate plan to-"

"Believe what you want, that's how it is." Draco stood from the table, tired of being around these people. He'd never been able to tolerate them in school, why would it be any different now. "I'll be leaving first thing in the morning." He strode out of the kitchen and up the stairs, towards Antigone.

Ron watched him retreat up the stairs, he didn't trust the blond man, never had. Hermione was beginning to calm in his arms. "You can't possibly believe him, Hermione?" He whispered softly into her ear.

She nodded against him. "I do. I believe her too, children don't lie. She's a sweet child, Ron, who's been through far too much. Malfoy's all she has left, Lucius killed their mother only months ago. She mentioned Harry when they showed up, he saved her from the manor. If not for her accidently mentioning him, Malfoy would not have mentioned him. It only makes sense though, who else would have given him this address?"

"But if everything else he said was true, Harry didn't seem civil enough to kick him out and then give him a safe place to go. It just doesn't sound like the Harry that we knew."

"Ron, Harry Potter may still be living, but that doesn't mean that the Harry we knew is still alive. You must have noticed it in those days before the battle, Harry was slipping away from us, from Ginny, there was something different about him, something darker." She paused. "Malfoy said he helped Harry recover after the battle, maybe he told him then, as a thank you."

"I don't know... I just don't know." His brow furrowed as a thought hit him. "How are we gonna tell Gin? It's only a miracle that she didn't come home tonight and see this, it would have killed her." Hermione sighed, she did not have a response. "I still don't trust him."

"Well I do. It's only until the morning anyway. He's not going to do anything. He loves his sister desperately, he wouldn't do anything that would separate him from her." Hermione took a sharp breath and clutched her side. A few deep breaths and the pain seemed to pass.

"Love, you overexerted yourself, lifting her. With your injury and the baby-"

"I know, but she was such a sweet little girl, and I don't know if our child-" She dissolved into tears.

"Oh, Hermione, our child is going to be just fine." He kissed her forehead. Truly, their chances were more than likely that they would lose the baby before it was born. After the torture Hermione had experienced under the cruel hand of Bellatrix Lestrange and a broken pelvis in a skirmish only a few months after the battle, Hermione's health had been touch and go. The pregnancy had been a shock, Hermione had been told that they would never conceive. They took a great risk, keeping the pregnancy, but neither had the heart to not at least give it a chance to succeed.

Ron led her to the sitting room and sat her down on one of the couches. He handed her another steaming cup of tea and rubbed her leg soothingly as she calmed down.

"I have to see him..." Hermione whispered once again.

Ron could say nothing, there was no changing her mind.

For the rest of the day, Draco stayed distant from the pair of Weasleys. This was merely a place to stay, he didn't want useless conversation getting in the way. Truthfully, he wasn't sure how Harry had stood being around them all those years.

Other than getting food and water for himself and Antigone, they stayed in the room that Hermione had taken Antigone to. They played, and read books, and rested. Draco could feel his magic slowly returning to full strength, there would be no excuse for not leaving tomorrow. He thought of his neighbours in the muggle apartment building where he lived in New York. They would all be so thrilled to see Antigone, the mysterious sister that Draco had spoken of so often. These friends had become his family and he couldn't wait to get back to them.

Draco kept rubbing at his chest all afternoon, the dragon pendant was slightly warm, confusing emotions flowing through it. What made it strange was that Antigone was not holding the plush dragon that was the pendant's twin. "Tig, where's your dragon?" He asked her.

Antigone shook her head. She stood and pulled the comforter up, expecting it to fall out of its folds. It was not there. "He's missing!" Tears welled up in her eyes. "Where is he? I had him with me this morning. I need him, Draco, he protects me."

'Fuck.' Draco thought to himself.

"I think he's at Harry's, Draco. I need him back!" She cried.

"We can't go back there, Tig, he doesn't want to see us there. Here." He picked up another plush animal and transfigured it into a dragon.

"It's not the same!" She threw it. "He protected us! Me and mommy."

"Shh, Tig, it'll be okay. But we really can't go back there."

Antigone was inconsolable for a while, but finally drifted off to sleep. Draco breathed a sigh of relief when she did. He moved her to the small room Hermione had shown him shortly before and he lay down next to her on the bed. He would need to get a good sleep that night as well. It took him a while, but he finally drifted off, the pendant laying heavily in the palm of his hand, perplexed why such strong emotion was flowing through it, only the touch of someone emotionally attached to the one who wore the pendant would transmit feelings this strong. Draco drifted to sleep, curious hope flitting through his mind.