Author's Notes: I'd like to thank xo.A.m.o.r.e.t.t.e.xo, Indeffinate, Persephoniii, Disco Inferno1 and Hannah Loves Lupin for your review for chapter twenty. I'm thrilled you're all enjoying the story, and I always appreciate your support and comments.
Additional thank to Persephoniii for your review for chapter nineteen!
Finally, thanks to the wonderful Karen (IMissPadfoot, User ID:133633) for beta'ing this chapter.
Chapter Twenty-one: Comfort From the Other Side
The remainder of the week passed in a hurried blur for Morrigan and Draco. After Draco had made the decision to speak to his mother at the weekend, he and Morrigan had become so wrapped up in their respective jobs, that neither of them really had the time to dwell on their thoughts.
However, the one bonus of working so hard was that Morrigan and Draco were still about to spend a lot of time together. They were both making a seemingly endless supply of potions; some for St. Mungo's - where Draco was now the main supplier – and some for the Ministry, where Morrigan was the head of the 'Accidental Potions Ingestion' department, which treated the casualties of non-fatal potion consumption, and restored the witch or wizard in question back to their normal state.
They made an excellent team, combining their skills and knowledge of the subject, to enable them to work faster and create more complex potions that they might not have managed on their own.
The friends had fallen into a comfortable routine, where they went to buy supplies in the morning and then went to drop off their potions to St. Mungo's and the Ministry, then they had lunch together, before returning home to work well into the night, stopping only for supper.
It was a life-style that suited Morrigan perfectly, as she was almost always keeping her brain active, instead of sitting around the house idly doing nothing. In addition, although she was a bit of a loner, it was comforting to have Draco working besides her, if she ever wanted a little light conversation, and he kept her amused by playfully teasing her if something went wrong.
During their long evenings working together, Morrigan and Draco exchanged tales of their childhoods – she telling him what it was like growing up in Florence, and attending Rome's 'Accademia di Magia' and Draco explaining to Morrigan what life at Hogwarts had been like.
She listened in awe as he described the huge feasts held in the Great Hall, and laughed until tears were streaming down her cheeks as he regaled her with stories of his, Crabbe and Goyle's late night trips to the school kitchens.
Unfortunately, all the time they were spending together resulted in Morrigan becoming painfully aware that she was deeply in love with Draco, but didn't have a clue how to tell him that.
One morning, Draco had headed off to Diagon Alley on his own, and Morrigan used the time alone to think about her feelings.
"I love him, Lilith," she sighed, staring up at the portrait of her twin.
To Morrigan's great surprise, the painting of Lilith opened her sleepy eyes, and grinned at her sister. It had never done that before, and Morrigan suddenly feared she was going insane.
"Don't worry," reassured the portrait Lilith. "All magical paintings can speak, I thought you knew that."
"Well, yes, I do. I just assumed yours didn't because... well, you know why," returned Morrigan, trailing off and unable to finish the sentence.
"That might have been true in the past, but you've accepted my death now," informed Lilith, and in that instant, Morrigan knew her sister was right. Yes, she still missed her twin so much it caused an ache in her heart. However, since moving into her grandmother's house, and making a new life for herself, Morrigan had come to accept Lilith's death had been a tragic accident, where no one was to blame, and that it was actually more damaging to keep dwelling on the past. Instead, to honour her sister's memory, Morrigan had taken to talking to the portrait whenever she was alone in the house, and for the first time, it had spoken back.
"Oh, Lils, it's so good to hear your voice again," said Morrigan, her own tone choked with emotions. "All these years, I've missed you so much."
"I know you have, Morrigan. I've been watching you, and saw how you blamed yourself for my death," returned the portrait Lilith. "But you can't keep doing that, it was an accident and -"
Morrigan forestalled her twin by holding up her hands, "We don't need to go over this," she insisted. "Before I moved in here, I talked everything over with Mama and I accept what's happened now."
"I'm glad, I didn't want to see you waste your life on bitter memories," replied Lilith. "And I'm so proud of all you've achieved since Grams passed away. You've really made a wonderful life for yourself."
"Thank you," answered Morrigan. "It's partly down to you, you know. I wanted to honour your memory by doing something worthwhile."
"Well, I can think of no better tribute," insisted Lilith with a grin. "Now, what were you saying before about Draco?"
"I've fallen in love with him, Lilith," confessed Morrigan, a blush creeping up her cheeks. "I think he feels the same, I'm not really sure though, as I've never been in this situation before. Do you think I should tell him? Or wait to see if he says anything?"
The portrait of Lilith looked thoughtful for a moment, before replying, ""Well, it's obvious he cares about you too, but maybe it'd be worth waiting until after his spoken to his mother. You don't want to make him feel pressured by confessing when he's got that hanging over his head."
"Yeah, you're right," sighed Morrigan in reply. "What's best for Draco is more important to me at the moment than my own feelings. It's just I'm going insane being around him, but unable to confess the truth."
"Everything will work itself out in its own time," assured Lilith, with a wistful look in her eyes.
The gaze caused Morrigan to wonder if – because she was no longer living – her sister saw things that may happen in the future, and was about to voice that thought when Lilith spoke again.
"I know what you're going to ask, but I'm afraid I can't tell you that," she protested. "Just rest assured that I'm always here looking out for you."
"Thank you," returned Morrigan. "Knowing that is enough for me."
Lilith smiled, and closed her eyes, and Morrigan knew the conversation with her twin was over – for now at least.
"I love you, sis," she whispered, before leaving the room and heading to the kitchen to prepare lunch for when Draco returned home.
Just as Morrigan was serving up two bowls of home-made tomato and basil soup, with some freshly baked bread, the fire-place glowed green and Draco stepped out of it.
"Everything okay?" she asked, as he dusted himself off and took a seat at the long oak table.
"Yeah, I dropped off both of our orders for the Ministry and St. Mungo's, and then picked up some new supplies," he replied. "They asked if you could make a batch of antidotes for shrinking solution. Apparently, there's been an increase in unqualified children consuming it, and then running around their houses two-foot tall."
Morrigan chuckled, thinking she and Lilith were just as troublesome at that age, as she took a seat opposite Draco and they both began eating.
"So, how was your morning?" he asked when lunch was over.
"Pretty quiet," replied Morrigan, thinking it was anything but that, with the revelation that her twin's portrait could speak. "I just did some housework. Are you all prepared for your meeting with your mother tomorrow?"
"I'm as ready as I'll ever be," returned Draco with a small shrug. "I'm actually kind of looking forwards to it. I know once I've spoken to her, we can start taking steps to move on, and I can really think about my future."
"Yeah, it'll be good to have that weight off your mind," agreed Morrigan. "So, if you've been thinking about your future, what plans have you been making?"
"There's something I need to do, and soon too, but I'd rather not say anything until I've gotten everything with my mother sorted out," informed Draco ambiguously, and when Morrigan raised a questioning eyebrow, he added, "But I promise to tell you all about it once I've spoken to her."
"It's ok, whenever you're ready, I'll always be here for you," she insisted with a reassuring smile.
"Thanks," returned Draco.
That afternoon, Morrigan and Draco worked late into the night, making a batch of shrinking solution antidote, as well as bottling up a few vials of Draught of Peace, which Draco needed to drop off at St. Mungo's on Monday morning.
All the while, as they were working besides each other, Morrigan contemplated her feelings for Draco, the advice Lilith had given her about not saying anything until he'd spoken to Narcissa, and Draco's own mysterious promise that he had something to discuss with her soon.
However, what Morrigan didn't know was that Draco's thoughts were very similar to her own, and what he was considering doing once things with his mother were sorted would have a huge implication on the rest of her life.
TBC...