Chapter 17
Draco had just finished putting down Scorpius for his afternoon nap. For the last day, he could not stop talking about visiting Jamie at the Hospital. It seemed that his son had grown attached to the older boy, and thought very highly of him. Scorpius had just finished telling him stories that Jamie had told him.
He smiled at the thought; it was good for his son to be able to bond with other boys around his age, and get to know other people. He worried for his son at times, for not having any friends that were his age, but he didn't really know how to find him some.
All of his friends he had met through his parents, when he was his son's age, as they were of good families, and were the kind he should be associating with. Sometimes he contemplated putting his son in a muggle preschool, as it would help him make friends. But he worried about his son's magical abilities. While he had not shown any signs yet, seeing that he was still really young, it didn't mean that he wouldn't cast accidental magic if something happened. He knew the amount of trouble it would cause to get the Ministry to obliviate everyone who came in contact with it and it just wasn't worth it.
'Maybe Hermione would have some ideas about it," he mused. It was worth a shot; she was rather brilliant at most things, and if anyone had any suggestions, it would be her.
"Master Draco, Miss Astoria is here to see you," Druin said, as he popped up behind him. When Draco jumped in surprise at the elf's presence, it began to apologise profusely. "So sorry Master! Druin didn't mean to startle you!"
"That's okay, Druin," He told the elf with a smile. "Where is Astoria?"
He was shocked that his ex-wife was coming to see him. After handing her the divorce papers, he had heard absolutely nothing from her. He wondered what she would want; money, power, her son? Probably some combination of the three.
"Miss Astoria is in the waiting room, Master. Shall I prepare snacks for her visit?" Druin asked, lighting up at the possibility of getting to do some work.
"No thank you, Druin. Hopefully it won't be a long visit," he let the elf down softly. "Perhaps you can make something for Scorpius for when his nap is over?"
When he finally got down to the waiting room, he looked at his ex-wife. She had the usual look of elegance about her, with not a hair out of place. Her demeanor had not changed much from their time together. However, he could swear that her face was slightly different.
"Hello, Astoria," he greeted her cordially; might as well make her visit as painful as possible.
"Draco," she greeted him warmly. She rose and placed a kiss on his cheeks. "I take it you're doing well?"
"Is there a reason for your visit? I don't mean to seem rude, it's just…"
"The last time you saw me was when we finalized our divorce?" she asked, reading his mind.
"Yes," he said carefully.
"I know a million ideas are probably running through your head about what I could possibly want, but I want to reassure you first. I do not want your money, or anything of the sort. I think we can both agree that our marriage was not a good one, and seeing how you're doing now, you seem to be much happier," she said softly.
"I am," he said stiffly, as he took a seat, and she returned to hers. Just because she didn't want money didn't mean that she didn't still have an agenda.
"I talked to Daphne," she said softly. "I want to apologise on her behalf. I have no idea where she came up with half the things she said. I set her straight though, and told her that our divorce was mutual. I also told her that you weren't stealing my son away from me, and that it was I who left him."
He said nothing, however he was glad that she did talk to her sister.
"She's in a lot of pain still whenever she sees someone happy. Losing Blake was hard on her, and seeing our marriage fall apart probably reminded her of the pain. She took out her loss on you, and that wasn't fair of her," Astoria explained.
Blake was who Daphne had been seeing during their last few years of Hogwarts before he had passed away. He closed his eyes as he remembered the boy who his ex-sister-in-law was in love with. He hadn't known who he was in relationship to her; not until the end.
"I also wanted to talk about something else. Draco, I feel so guilty everyday about leaving Scorpius, I want you to know that. But I-I can't be a mother. I'm not built that way. I don't know how to raise a child to distinguish right from wrong, or even be able to show him the right things. I tried so hard, but I can't do it, Draco," she said, breaking into a sob.
He reached out and held her hand, "I know, Tori. There are some days when I just want to blame everything on you, but I can't. You're a great woman, but you're right; you and I weren't meant to be. You deserve a chance to be happy, with someone who you love unconditionally."
She reached into her bag and pulled out a stack of papers. "I've been thinking about doing this for a while, but I wanted to make sure that it was what was best for everyone before I did," she said as she handed it to him. "I signed away my rights to Scorpius as a mother. That way, in case something happens, you can make all the important decisions without me; it's not fair of me to have a say when I'm not contributing to his upbringing."
"Are you sure this is what you want to do?" he asked her, somewhat speechless. While he wanted to argue and say that she shouldn't, he knew it was for the best.
"Yes," she said with a deep breath. "Every so often I want to check in and see how he's doing, but other than that, I want him to grow up with a proper family. I want him to have a mother who loves him as a mother should, and I want him to have a mother and father who love each other. I know you're dating Hermione Granger, and if such a time comes when you realise that you wish to take a further step with her, this way you can officially make her his mother if that is what you want."
"And it wouldn't bother you that a muggleborn raises your child?" he asked her, knowing that while she didn't fight in the war, she held beliefs of blood purity back then.
"No," she said gently. "Times have changed since then, and if there's anyone who's suited to being a mother, it would be her. She's always been compassionate, and if it is what you both want, then I feel like she would be perfect for Scorpius. I want to know he'll have two loving parents; Merlin knows it was more than we ever had."
Her parents had followed the pureblood tradition of arranged marriages. However, she had told him once that they fought about everything, including their children. They had blamed their problems on having daughters once, saying that if they had a son, then they could have been happy. Draco knew it had hurt her, and because of frequent remarks of a similar manner from her father and mother, she had grown apart from them. Since their divorce, Draco had given her one of his summer homes, and she had been staying there, knowing that her parents would refuse to take her back after shaming them with the publicity of a divorce.
"Thank you," he said softly. "Any time you want to come and see him, or even just know how he's doing, you're welcome to stop by. You may not want to have the responsibilities, but he's still biologically yours, and if an inclination pops up, then don't worry about asking. I'll understand if you do," he paused. "Hermione and I aren't serious yet, or in a place where I can ask her, but if such a time comes where we reach there, then it will be completely up to her. I'll always love you, Tori. Not as a husband should have loved his wife, but as a friend whom I respect completely. And years for now, if you find someone you love and want to be with, then take the chance; love can surprise you."
She hugged him, "I'll always love you too, Draco. And I appreciate the offer. I'll keep in touch."
She placed a peck on his cheek before walking over to the floo and leaving his home.
Hermione sat at the circular table meant for meetings between their team to discuss matters on the cases they were working on. It had been a long week, and it was time she touched up with her team to see where they were in terms of the investigation.
There hadn't been any new killings in a while, and as much as it relieved her, it meant that their trail was going cold, once again. Other than the hair which belonged Dennis, they had no solid proof that he had anything to do with it.
It was Patrick's job to go through the files Pansy had given them to draw up a psychological profile on the man to see if he was capable of the murders. He had been meeting up with Pansy as well to discuss the case and how Dennis could be tied into it.
"Where are we on the retests of chemicals left on the body?" she asked them, sitting down at the table.
"We found remnants of a fragrance on all three bodies," Smith said. "It was very faint, and it took three or four different potions and spells combined to even draw it out. We think the killer may have been wearing it when they committed the murder, or even used it in the torture, because the odds of all three men smelling the same are slim to none. We're working on getting enough to get a solid sample so we can work on identifying it. While it might not be able to get us a solid ID, at the very least we'll know what kind of person we're after."
"That's great," she congratulated him. While Zacharias Smith was a pain in the ass at times, he was one of the best, which is why she tolerated his annoying tendencies.
"Dennis is shaping up to be a viable suspect," Patrick said as he pushed a set of papers towards her. "Recently he's been seen purchasing books on dark magic, as well as justice books. On top of that, by going through his files, it's clear that he's very distraught, and meets all the criteria of depression, but also severely angry, believing that he's been wronged at times during his sessions. It doesn't exactly mean we can automatically arrest him, but it's a solid lead."
She nodded towards at him, knowing this meant that they finally had a solid suspect.
"Dean?" she asked, turning to the last member of her team.
"I was going over some of the spells used on the body to see what was done to them. I was thinking if they were all tortured in the same way, then maybe one of the spells could help us find the killer, seeing if we could establish a pattern or not. At first, there's a simple binding spell, seeing that the rope marks on the wrists are deeper than any of the other cuts. Next there was some sort of severing spell, I was thinking along the lines of what Harry did to Malfoy back in sixth year-"
Hermione cut him off, "If the marks are the same as that, then it was someone at school around the same time of that incident," she told her team. "The spell you're describing was invented by Severus Snape, and Harry knew it because he found it in Snape's old potions book. The only way someone could know about it was if someone who knew what it was told them. Now the professors kept it pretty wrapped up, so it was either Harry or Draco, both of which are possible."
"So your best friend and boyfriend are now suspects?" Smith asked, his eyes narrowing at her implication.
"Well I doubt Draco would want justice over the deaths of someone who died, and Harry gets all the retribution he could need when he captures the Death Eaters on the run. What I'm saying is that it's possible that someone overheard them talking about it, or they told them by accident. We'll need to bring them both in to ask about who they talked to specifically about it," Hermione told them. "But first, Dean, could you experiment on something nonliving using the spell to see if the cuts it make matches the markings? That way we'll know for sure that spell was used."
Dean nodded. "So how's the research on your end going. Find anything interesting on the case?"
"I was thinking about the security wards. When we arrived, they were all down, but I know for a fact that most purebloods have really strong protection spells all over their lands to prevent muggles from entering. Even Draco's still has a few remaining, and you need permission to get through. So the murderer either knew how to disable them, or they got in because they were familiar with the wards, and once the victim died, then the wards over the entire estate came down. In all three cases, they were the last remaining blood relative on that property, so their wards were tuned to them. We should get Harry to look into it and see if he could figure out how the wards came down," she told them.
She looked down at the notebook which she had been writing in of things to do for the duration of their meeting. "I think we know what we have to do from here on out. Good work you guys. I know this isn't an easy case, and you all are doing an amazing job with the little we have."
Dean and Smith left the room, while Patrick stayed behind.
"Is there something more you need?" she asked the brunette male. She had always gotten on well with him, and found that she enjoyed working in his company. He had a good work ethic and she never had a simple complain about the work that he did.
"I wanted to talk about Ron Weasley," Patrick said softly. "I know he came to see you a few days ago here, but before he did, he was talking to one of the interns, Lana. I know it really isn't any of my business, but from what I saw, it appeared as if she had some sort of relationship with him. It really isn't my place to say, but I heard Diane was looking into a leak of information to Mr. Weasley as well as the Daily Prophet, and I think it could be her."
Hermione closed her eyes. She hadn't been lying when she said she was over Ron. She no longer cared about him the way that one needed to for a relationship. However he had implied to her that he would be faithful from now on, yet he hadn't changed on bit. Sleeping with someone for information is exactly the sort of thing that he would do.
"I'll tell Harry that we found the source of the leak. Thank you, Patrick. And you work here, so don't worry about having to tell me something which isn't easy. You're just doing your job, and as your superior I can handle it, even if it concerns me directly."
He smiled at her before leaving, "I'll check up on the people tailing Dennis Creevey. If we get enough then we can get a warrant to go check in on his place."
Hermione stayed at the meeting table a bit longer. She was writing owls to the people on the Auror force that specialized in matters such as wards and protection spells. If anyone knew how to get information on that, they would be the people for the job.
"So she just gave away her rights?" Hermione asked incredulously, as she sat beside Draco on his couch, eating takeout food. Scorpius was already in bed, as Hermione had to work late, and only remembered to eat because Draco came to her office and reminded her. He had gone to a nearby place to pick up food as she gathered her things, then they flooed back over together.
"Yeah," Draco said, as he finished filling her in about his ex-wife's visit. "Like I get where she's coming from when she says that Scorpius deserves a proper family and Scorpius is at an age where after a bit, he wouldn't remember her much. But what do I tell him when he eventually asks about her? It might not be now, but one day he'll wonder why he doesn't have a mother."
"Tell him the truth. Regardless of what Astoria did, nothing can change the fact that he has a father who loves him unconditionally. He'll always have you, Draco," she said, her voice trailing off slightly.
"What is it?" he asked her, picking up on her tone of voice. It was one of the things she liked about him; he could always tell when something was wrong.
"It just reminds me that Jamie has no one who loves him like a family should," she said softly. "He deserves a family, Draco."
"I know," he said as he placed a kiss on her head. "It's not fair to him, and he deserves so much more."
She took a deep breath before saying the words aloud, "Draco, I want to adopt him."