Hermione waited patiently beside the fire. Draco had headed through to her house to check the place was empty before he allowed her through. She idly ran her fingers over the crack in the wall, surprised Draco hadn't gotten it fixed yet, wondering if he was leaving it there as some sort of reminder of something.
Draco's head appeared in the flames. "You can come through." Hermione glanced over, looking through the door where Rose and Scorpius were sitting with the other woman they clearly both adored. Narcissa Malfoy looked up from the book she was reading with the kids and smiled at Hermione. Somehow, both women had overcome any indifference they once had and were getting along easily. The fact the blonde woman was out from under her husband's controlling thumb help, especially as she understood what Hermione was going through, and encouraged her to do something the older woman hadn't – leave her husband for good.
"Mum?" A small voice pulled Hermione's attention away. She looked down to see her son standing next to her. She glanced once at the fire, noting Draco was still there then turned to her son.
"Hugo?"
"Can I come too?"
Disbelieving, Hermione asked, "You want to come?"
Hugo nodded his head vigorously.
Hermione became unsure what to do. She knew she wasn't going to take Rose back there, Hermione knew how her daughter was affected, but Hugo hadn't really reacted, least not that she had seen. If anything, he showed a lack of emotion, no doubt a skill obtained from his father.
"Why do you want to come?" She asked gently. The boy shrugged, mumbling something too fast and too low for her to hear. She looked back at the face in the fire, which appeared to think for a moment.
"Please? Please Mummy?" The child attempted to put on a puppy dog face. Hermione had to admit it did look a little cute. She turned to the face of the man she had come to rely on. He appeared to think for half a second, before telling her to let him come.
"After all, he can't get in that much trouble..." Draco's voice trailed off as he realised that the young boy could – and probably would, manage to get into trouble no matter where he went. He pulled away from the fire, allowing access through, pacing back and forth until Hermione showed up, her young son in tow.
Hermione took a deep, calming breath as she looked around. On the surface, everything appeared the way she remembered, right down to the silly plastic broom on the floor that had caused so much trouble. She watched as her son grabbed the broom and began racing around, and she couldn't help but shudder as she remembered that the small broom triggered such a big reaction.
Cautiously, Hermione headed toward the stairs, stopping at the bottom. Behind her, Draco walked quietly, startling her when he put his hand on her arm. Hermione seemed frozen, unable to move. Flashes of what had happened flicked through her mind, jumbled up like a giant puzzle. She was only vaguely aware of Draco talking to her, trying to get her to respond but unable to. Her mind was fogged over, and Draco couldn't part the mist.
Unsure of what to do, he stepped in front of her, tilting her head so her brown eyes were forced to look into his own. Her eyes, slightly misted over, didn't appear to acknowledge his presence, so still speaking to her softly he pulled her closer. When his arms came around her she finally came back to reality, a single tear slipping down her cheek as she leaned into the man who held her. She calmed slightly, but the images still fresh in her mind, ran over and over.
His soft voice, whispering words in her ear cleared her mind, if only temporarily, and she found the strength to pull away, if reluctantly. She stepped away and headed up the stairs, trying to hide the fiery blush that had covered her cheeks.
Smirking, Draco gave her the chance to head up the stairs, trying to cover the blush he had already seen. He didn't mention in though, just allowing her to do what she wanted. Glancing back, he was relieved to see Hugo still racing around on his broom, so deciding it was safe enough he headed up the stairs, turning into the room he had worked out to be Hermione's.
When he had first gone to their house, Draco was surprised to find the 'happy couple' everyone believed them to be was not as deep as first thought, with separate bedrooms and nearly separate lives. He wasn't surprised to see Hermione's room had books and bookcases in it, quite a few in fact. She darted around the room, looking around confused. Her flittering around reminded Draco of a butterfly flying in the garden, sampling the nectar from all the flowers and he couldn't help but find himself laughing lightly.
Hermione glanced in the wardrobe. There was no real change in the amount of clothing in it, so she couldn't tell what Draco had taken, if anything. She looked at the clothes she had used to wear, then down at the clothes she had put on in the morning. Her old clothes were frumpy, and despite her earlier dislike of the more form fitting clothing, she had developed a like for them.
Draco snuck up behind her, looking at the clothes in her wardrobe. "If I may suggest something..." She spun on her heel startled. She nodded once, a little confused.
"Leave the clothes." With that he looked away. Hermione looked at the clothes in the wardrobe once more, then down at the green silky layered top and the black pencil skirt she had put on in a hurry. She hadn't really looked out the window to see the storm outside, but a small warming charm fixed her clothes so that she was nicely dressed and toasty warm.
Thinking about what he had said, Hermione began to giggle. She tried to cover it up, but Draco had heard her and sent her a questioning look. She turned away, shrinking some of her books and placing them in a box to distract herself. Draco finally realised what he had said, and he smirked. But looking over at Hermione, he couldn't care less about what he said, he was just glad to see her smile.
A slamming downstairs made both Hermione and Draco jump. She returned to her packing, working faster this time and getting some things for the kids. Rose had told her a few things she had wanted, but the young girl was pretty content with what she had. Hugo hadn't said anything, he had only asked to come, which Hermione felt was odd, but she went with it.
The slamming sound put Draco on alert. Silently he slipped down the stairs, his wand in his hand. Chances were that the noise that they had heard was just Hugo, but Draco wasn't into taking chances, not ones that involved compromising the safety of those he cared about, not if he could avoid it.
A happy squeal rang out through the house, the silence adding to amplify the only noise. Hermione breathed out, realising the slamming sound was just her son, and judging by the happy sounds he was fine. Draco however wasn't so convinced they were alone anymore. A silent spell told him there were four people in the house – one too many.
Inwardly he cursed himself for not setting up barriers, even if only temporarily. Wand held ready, he slipped into the main room, standing so he had a perfect view of both the fireplace and the door. His grey eyes scanned the room, noting there was no sign of Hugo, or of the fourth person.
Draco walked to the door to the living room, nearly tripping on the toy broom that lay abandoned on the floor. Somehow, Draco wasn't surprised to see the red headed man he despised standing in the room – after all, it was his house. What surprised Draco was that the other man was holding Hugo in his arms, talking quietly to him. Neither of them looked up at Draco, neither of them noticed they were being watched.
A sharp gasp drew all the attention, and the males turned to see Hermione standing behind Draco, her hand over her mouth and her eyes filled with fear. Ron smiled as he seen her, not noticing her reaction. He was just happy to see her after having spent a day checking all the hospitals and shelters. He had even sworn to stop drinking if she returned, but the chances of him actually fulfilling that promise were slim.
Hermione had noticed Draco leave the room, and she was nearly done with upstairs anyway, so she followed him. It didn't occur to her that they were not alone anymore, and the second she noticed her husband she found herself gasping automatically, her hand flying to her mouth in an attempt to silence herself.
Ron, still holding his son, strode toward Hermione, intending to hug her, kiss her and apologize. But the second he started toward her she backed away. Puzzled at her behaviour, he slowed a little, but didn't fully stop until he felt a wand stabbing him in the bottom of his chin.
Ron turned, only to find his enemy staring at him, his face set in looking cold and forgiving, though his lips curled in a way that suggested Draco was disgusted in him, not that Ron knew why. Ron was fully confused now; why is Malfoy in my house? With MY wife and MY kid...
"Put Hugo down." Draco nearly growled. It was taking him a lot of effort to stop himself from hexing Ron into oblivion on the spot. He nearly trembled from the effort of restraining himself.
Ron lowered his arm, allowing Hugo to slide to the floor. Only he didn't want to, instead clinging to his father. Ron tried to get him to go, but the little boy wasn't having any of it, squeezing his dad as tight as he could.
"Hugo, honey, please come here." Hermione found her voice, calling softly to her son. The small boy shook his head.
"Hugo, go to your mother." Ron tried telling him, but the kid stayed where he was.
"Hugo." Draco's voice came out gruff, but he didn't care. Hugo lifted his head, looking Draco straight in the eye.
"No. No, no, no, NO!"
Hermione walked over, gingerly trying to get her son away from the man who had caused her so much pain. But Hugo turned his head, glaring at her with the exact glare his father used. Hermione pulled back in surprise. That's when she realised what she had missed all along. Hugo was his father's son. Not hers. He was a young Ron, through and through.
She looked at Draco, who feeling her gaze, looked back. He looked furious, but despite that, he still managed to give her a small cautious glance. Noting Hermione looked calm enough; he looked back at the stubborn kid.
"Hugo, let go." He kept his voice low, just as he tried to keep his temper.
"NO! YOU AREN'T MY DADDY! GO AWAY!" With that, Hugo leant forward and clamped his mouth around Draco's hand, putting his arm out and grabbing Draco's wand, pulling it away from his father's throat. Draco pulled both his hands away, glancing down at the bite marks in his hand that began to bleed. Hermione went to heal his hand, but Draco pulled his hand away, uncaring.
In the other room the fire flashed, and a blonde woman unknowingly led two young children into a dangerous zone.
The quiet sobbing made Hermione turn away, gasping once more. This time it was because she realised behind them stood a crying Rose and the other two Malfoy's. Rose ran over, not noticing the tense atmosphere in the two rooms.
Ron smiled as soon as he seen his daughter, but he very quickly frowned upon seeing the two blondes. And he became thunderous when he watched his daughter run over, not to him, and not to her mother, but to Draco. She wrapped her arms around his leg, and he automatically bent down to hug her.
Ron backed away cautiously, taking advantage of Draco's distraction to back away from the wand. Wisely, he didn't say anything, just sitting down still holding onto Hugo.
Hermione looked over at her daughter, and in her confusion she allowed Narcissa to guide her to the sofa. Narcissa sat next to Hermione, pulling Scorpius up onto her lap.
"Sorry Hermione. Rose, she just burst into tears after you were gone. She wanted you." Narcissa looked over to where Draco stood comforting the crying girl. "Or...Draco...I didn't honestly think that he would be here..."
Hermione held her hand up, silencing her. "It is okay." She looked away, muttering "I didn't know he would show up either."
Narcissa stayed silent, observing the two red heads in front of her. The man, Ron she thought his name was, didn't look all that scary, except for his sallow skin and his bloodshot eyes. Hugo was still clinging to his father, glaring at Draco as much as a child could.
"Rose, honey, what's the matter?" Draco asked her. She shook her head, burying her face into his shoulder as he picked her up. He looked worriedly at Hermione, who shrugged her shoulder. He continued to hold Rose, letting her cry as he rubbed small circles on her back.
Ron watched his enemy and his daughter and became pissed off that they could be so close. He pushed his son away, growling at him when he wouldn't move. Scared, Hugo moved away, not too far from his father, but as far as he could be from his mother. He watched his father drop his hand into his hand, carefully making sure to use the hand that was blocked by his body so that neither of the women could see what was happening.
Draco sensed a change in the mood around him after hearing Hugo whimper. He glanced over his shoulder to see Hugo sitting on his own and Ron out of his view. Subtly Draco shifted in place, turning so he could see the abusive man. Ron's lips began to move and a blue light formed on the tip of his wand. Instantly, Draco put up a powerful non verbal shield around himself and Rose, breathing a sigh of relief as the blue bubble like shield absorbed the electrical spell that could deliver enough of a charge to paralyse a grown man, and kill a small child.
The women jumped in surprise, and on instinct they pulled the two boys close to them. Hugo began to object, but a light hit from Scorpius shut the other boy up. Hermione slid her wand into her hand, ready to toss up a shield if necessary, while she held onto Hugo's arm. Narcissa also held her wand in her hand as she glanced around for another way to get out of the room.
"Hermione, can we apparate out of here?" Narcissa whispered softly. Hermione nodded, so she continued. "I'll take the boys if you can get Rose away. You will have to apparate to the gates of Draco's Manor." Hermione nodded; fairly certain she could get to the gate, so long as she could get Rose.
Hugo pulled away as everyone was distracted, throwing himself full force toward his father, hitting his leg. Ron jerked, and his spell flew away.
Draco paled as he watched the spell fly away and before anyone could blink, the spell found a new target. Ron cancelled the spell, but it was too late. Anger built up through Draco's veins as he watched the victim fall to the floor. Hermione reached out, pulling Rose away from him and freeing up his hands.
Ron shot his foot out, shoving his son away. He didn't notice his son hit the coffee table and remain there unmoving. He didn't notice the women and children all disappear, presumably straight to St. Mungo's. All he focused on was the man in front of him.
Draco, for all his anger, managed to stay calm enough to refrain from sending a killing curse. Instead he focused on reinforcing his shield, making sure it was completely safe before allowing himself to think. Hermione had told him that he wasn't to kill Ron. But that was before everything had gone wrong. Before Ron had hit an innocent with a dangerous spell, a spell meant only for usage for controlling dragons or trolls – creatures with thick skin that wouldn't be affected as strongly by the spell.
Hermione said not to kill him, but he nearly killed someone...Draco had to refocus on the task at hand, stopping himself from worrying about everyone else. Death would be too easy; I need to give him something he will have to live with forever, and something that has a lot of pain, but won't kill him...
Ron growled aloud as he sent the electrical spell back at Draco. Now all his power was behind it and the blue beam shot out bigger and brighter than before. He watched his enemy standing in his shield, and Ron found a shiver run down his spine when he watched Malfoy give a smile.
A beam shot from Draco's wand, colliding with Ron who had no time to cancel his own spell and put up a shield. Ron fell to the ground, pain running through every fibre in his body.
"You...can't...Cruciatus...unforgivable...illegal..." Ron struggled to make his voice work.
"I'm not using the Cruciatus curse." The spell stopped and Ron curled up on the floor, glaring up at Draco with one eye. He found his vision was blurry, Draco looked a little blue, but rubbing his eye revealed that Draco really was blue – he was still securely within his shield. The light headed toward Ron once more and he shuddered with the pain, his voice struggling to scream, but unable to.
"What...doing...me?" His throat felt like he had swallowed a bunch of steak knives.
"What you are feeling is a reflection of the pain you caused your wife. And you only have to feel it for a minute at a time. She went through this for a week." Draco glared at the man on the floor. "Hurts, doesn't it?"
Ron nodded, then trembled as the pain ran through him a third time. This time however, it didn't stop after a minute. He could hear every sound, even as he silently screamed for the pain to stop. He heard the ticking of the clock, Draco's footsteps as he came close, and the murmuring of a string of Latin.
Images began to run through Ron's head as Draco tapped his wand on Ron's sweaty forehead. The images flashed quickly, but Ron managed to single out a few; Hermione lying on the ground, bruises littering her body; Rose sobbing quietly beside her mother who lay in an unfamiliar bed in a deep sleep; a woman in a green robe running spell after spell over Hermione, pausing to run her wand over the unconscious woman; and finally Hermione, this time awake and sobbing uncontrollably, then being comforted by Draco. Ron screamed out loud as the last memory filled his mind.
He knew that the images in his head were not his own, and that somehow Draco had sent those images to him. Weak and unable to move, he lay on the floor, sweating heavily as he struggled to breathe. Draco leaned close, his voice dangerously low.
"Those memories are mine, copied just for you." Draco inwardly thanked his Aunt Bellatrix for teaching him something that actually turned out to be useful. "They will run through your mind a lot, especially at night." Draco smirked as Ron widened his eyes, clearly scared and hating that idea.
Draco stepped back, remembering what Rose had said to him the previous night. "I wish that when he tries to hit another person, he would feel the pain himself."
Draco sent another spell toward Ron, who whimpered, expecting pain but not receiving any. "That one, well, you will find out." A tremor ran through Ron, not as strong as before, but still very painful. Draco laughed lightly. "It wasn't that either."
Remembering the sight of his son falling to the floor as the electric spell headed for him, instantly making the small blond child to fall to the floor Draco kicked his foot out, blood spilling out of Ron's nose instantly. Ron turned his head to the side to spit out the blood from his mouth.
Ron could only watch as another spell was sent his way, this one didn't have any repercussions straight away either. "That's from all of us." And with that, Draco disappeared.