Unfinished Business: Shattered Pieces
DISCLAIMER: Look at first chapter.
WARNING: Look at first chapter.
Once Done, Now Undone
"Draco, darling," Astoria smiled as she ascended the stairs at Malfoy Manor on Monday morning.
"What is it? I'm going to be late for work," Draco said.
Draco hadn't been back at Malfoy Manor since Christmas, since he didn't want to be anywhere near Astoria. He could have kicked her out but worried who she would run to. Besides that, to the world, and more importantly his mother, he was still married to the usurper.
He had only shown up at Malfoy Manor that morning to pick up a few things for work.
"I just thought you'd be happy to know that I've managed to snag myself a new husband."
"You and Flint?"
"We got married yesterday. I told you we were more compatible together than we were with our spouses."
"So I guess this means that you'll reverse the curse now."
"Not so fast. Unfortunately, since I was so focussed on getting a new husband, I may have over looked a major detail when it comes to removing my spell," she explained unconvincingly.
"You mean making the potion that you need to ingest," Draco said and watched as the other woman tried to hide her surprise. "No worries, I took the liberty of brewing it myself."
"Excellent," Astoria said, trying to feign her enthusiasm. "Then you might want to call in sick today. The next step will take a while. We need to get to the Leaky Cauldron and extract the spell."
Being back at the castle was turning out to be a little overwhelming for the Head Boy. The dirty looks the young McLaggen was getting as he walked the halls was starting to get to him. Though he wasn't sure if it was an improvement over those who pretended he didn't even exist. He didn't know if he could take any more of this. He was once the Golden Boy of Hogwarts, able to do no wrong in the eyes of the student body.
Now he was a pariah.
As much as he wanted to blame his father for the mess he found himself in, he couldn't. After everything he had done, from deceiving James to gloating ruthlessly in order to make Zabini jealous, he had convinced himself that it was for a good reason.
Finally getting the Quidditch Cup.
Ever since he had joined the Quidditch team in his second year, it had been McLaggen's dream to hold up the Quidditch Cup in victory at least once. However, one team was always just a little bit better. After having victory snatched from his team's grasp year after year, thanks to the Gryffindor team, McLaggen's dream had turned into a mission before turning into an obsession. Sadly, only now that his scheme had unravelled did he realize his mistake.
If only he had thought to use a privacy spell whenever he talked to his team, he wouldn't have been caught.
All the time and energy, because James was quite the handful, he had invested in this plan, and it all came crumbling down around him because he got too cocky. Now he had to fix things. His last match was against Gryffindor. If the match against Slytherin was any indication, he needed to smooth things over or James' team would slaughter his.
"Let's get this over with," Draco after walking into the Leaky Cauldron. "I would like to have my family whole as soon as possible."
"Right to business I see," Astoria said mockingly. "You won't even let me have a drink before we start? I'm feeling a bit parched."
"Of course," Draco said before pulling a veil out of his pocket. "I made it especially for you."
"You're too kind," she said, feigning a smile on her face.
Astoria took the veil out of the blonde's hand before uncorking it. When the scent of the potion within reached her nose, she frowned inside. It smelt right. Blast it all. He wouldn't even let her have one day as a free woman before she had to face reality.
Downing the potion in one go, familiar sensations flowed through her veins. It made her feel like she could do anything, like all of her dreams and desires were about to come true. This was how it had felt the first time she had taken the potion, and in the beginning it had been right.
She had gotten everything she had wanted. The husband, the child, the wealth and power had all been hers. Now she was about to undo what she had done and everything was going to change.
She walked over to the window under the stairs, with Draco close behind her, and pulled out her wand.
"You might want to hold onto something," she said in warning before bending down to place the tip of her wand against the floor. "Erised stra eh ymt one caf ymt ub wohs," she whispered.
As Astoria pulled her wand back, a silvery substance came away, stretching from the ground to her wand like a thick translucent strand. The two of them could not mistake the sudden effects within the room as the curse was absorbed by her wand.
Just like their time at the Leaky Cauldron at the beginning of the school year, a large gust of wind suddenly filled the room to the brim with magical energy. Only this time it drew itself towards Astoria's spot on the floor, like a reverse ripple, until it was pulled out of the ground and absorbed into her wand.
Everyone seemed to be in a dazed state before they could shake themselves out of it. When Draco could finally shake the remanence of a life married to someone other than Harry from his mind, he signed in relief. He couldn't believe that this nightmare was finally over.
"It's not quite over yet, love" Astoria said. "I would save the celebrating until after I put the desire back into the mirror."
Draco knew she was right. As it stood now, Astoria could blanket the world with her curse again. Neither one of them knew what would happen if the same curse was pulled over the world again. Though Astoria was curious to find out, Draco was not.
"We should head over to McLaggen Manor now. We need to get to the Mirror before my ex-husband realizes what's happened."
"No need to rush. The Mirror's safely back at Hogwarts," the blonde said, shocking the other woman.
"It would seem like you've thought of everything."
"Are you surprised? My husband is an Auror after all," Draco said before gesturing for her wand. Astoria sighed as she handed it over to the blonde. "Shall we?"
"What was that?" BJ asked as he felt a rush of magical energy pass through the room.
"The curse's been lifted," Scorpius said as the last of his altered life faded away.
"What curse?"
"The one where our family got split up because of some crazy lady," Albus said. "You know, Scorpius' mother," he added with air quotes when he said mother. "Half of our family remembered the truth, but James, Scorpius and I didn't remember anything. But now everything's back to normal. We should go find James," he said the last part to Scorpius.
"No. I'll find him," BJ said, getting up from his seat before the twins made a move.
Taking quick strides out of the Great Hall, BJ started his search for the eldest Potter boy. Now that he could remember everything, his situation with James has changed. Before the spell, BJ had been harboring a quiet crush on his long-time friend since before they had started Hogwarts.
He had once resolved himself to never let James know about his feelings, lest it ruined their friendship. Last year, however, BJ had let his resolve slip and kissed the Gryffindor while they were making a potion in the third floor girl's lavatory. It had shocked James so much that he forgot to put an ingredient on their very volatile potion before it exploded.
The potion had been destroyed, as had the lavatory. Fortunately for BJ, he had sense enough to shield himself and James from the blast. Unfortunately for him, BJ hadn't been able to shield their friendship from his lack of control.
For the rest of the school year, James had avoided him, refusing to talk or even look at him after that. Since it had been the last week of the school year and all of their classes had ended, BJ hadn't been that hard to avoid. After all, James kept his dad's Marauder's Map on him at all times.
But this spell that had coated the world had somehow helped him. Where a past friendship had scared him off from pursuing James, the lack of a friendship gave BJ the confidence to go after the one thing he's always wanted.
However, now the Slytherin worried that everything was going to go back to normal, where a future with James has disappeared along with the spell.
"It's nice to know that even the great Auror, Harry Potter isn't afraid to break into someone's house and steal things from them," McLaggen said as he spotted Draco and Astoria walking up the steps of Hogwarts. "Of course, seeing as how he married a Slytherin, I shouldn't be surprised."
Red flags went off in Draco's mind before he turned to Astoria.
"Yes, my darling wife told me everything. I don't like being kept in the dark, and since you and Potter were keeping secrets from me, I had to take matters into my own hands."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Draco said as he stopped in front of McLaggen.
"It means that you learn a few thing from being married to a Slytherin. For example, using your connections to stop any marriage from taking place for an entire wizarding family," McLaggen said in fascinated awe, "even if they are a part of the Sacred Twenty Eight. Unfortunately, that's bad news for Flint. I know how much he wanted to usurp Astoria from her current husband. I guess he'll just have to settle for the wife he has now."
"Then why would she tell me that they got married?" Draco asked, even though he turned to Astoria.
"How else was she supposed to give you an excuse to force her to remove the spell? After all, I need it gone if I want to cast my own desire spell over the world."
"You actually think that I'm going to let you do that?"
"You will if you don't want your eldest child to get hurt," McLaggen said before showing him his worst fears.
"What in the world?" James said as he found himself bound to a chair in an abandoned classroom.
"Are you comfortable?" McLaggen Jr. said as he sat comfortably across from the Gryffindor.
"What is the meaning of this? Let me go."
"Sorry love," the Head Boy said as he walked over to James. "I can't do that. You'll need to stay like this until I get word from my dad. It's the only way to fix everything."
"Your dad?" The Gryffindor asked in confusion. "But I thought your mother-"
"She's a victim in all of this."
"A victim?" James laughed. "All she's done to my family? She's hardly a victim after."
"It's because of my dad that she does what she does," the other boy defended. "You don't know what it's like living with him. But don't worry, you soon will," he said with a mad glint in his eyes.
"Slytherins are so predictable," McLaggen scoffed as he forced Draco to take them to the Mirror of Erised. "After getting my son to tell me everything about this spell, I knew you would do all the work to get it ready," he gloated to the blonde. "Astoria was sure that you didn't know anything about the potion, but I knew better. I even had her give me the one she brewed," he said as he lifted out the veil from his robe.
"I had no choice," Astoria said in frustration. "You took my son."
"You left him!" McLaggen accused. "I wouldn't have been able to get to him otherwise! You think letting him keep his memories would be enough to keep him close to you?"
"You know I couldn't take him with me. He looks too much like you," she said in disdain, knowing that if she had placed her son with her, it would have raised too many question that she didn't want to answer. Not even the mirror could get around that.
"Yes, well … that's what makes modification spells so handy. Luckily for me, you were never good at charms or it would have solved all of your problems."
"So you're just going to enact the same curse on the world again?" Draco asked, fuming. He felt like doing it the Muggle way and punching him in the face. But that glimpse of an unconscious James bound to a chair had curbed his more violent urges.
"Not exactly," McLaggen said with an unpleasant smile. "Astoria's spell was close to perfection but it did leave a few loose ends. I won't make the same mistake with mine. The first thing that changes is that, instead of Harry being married to that Weasley girl, he'll be married to me. A much more suitable husband if you ask me."
McLaggen also planned on placing Potter's daughter with the Weaslette. It wouldn't do to have the little brat around to ruin another spell.
"And you're just going to go along with this?" Draco asked as he turned to the woman beside him. "You'll lose your son again."
"No I won't," Astoria insisted. "I was promised my son if I did this. If I help him, he's going to change Hector's appearance, make him look more like me. I'll finally have what I've always wanted. You, Scorpius, Hector and I will be the perfect family," she said with an unnerving glint in her eyes.
Draco felt drained. It was only a moment ago that his family had been whole. His son's finally knew who they were. They were finally a family again and the whole world knew it. But now, if McLaggen and Astoria got their way, everything would change again. And this time, he didn't know if his family could get back together again.
"Is this it?" McLaggen said when Draco suddenly stopped in front of a painting of a Sphinx. At the moment, its large body, in the shape if a lion, laid curled up in the middle of a glade. Its great clawed paws visible underneath its head, which was of a woman. And a long yellowish tail ending in a brown tuft was curled around her body.
"Yes," Draco said, standing before the suite Harry stayed in when he was doing lectures at Hogwarts.
"So what? Do we have to answer a riddle or something?" McLaggen asked, knowing about the Sphinx's reputation.
As if to answer his question, the Sphinx, who had been still until now, turned her head and faced the three of them. Then she stood up before speaking.
"Say my name and I am no longer present," she said.
"Sphinx," the former Gryffindor said without thinking. Riddles had never been his strong suite.
Draco merely rolled his eyes at the rushed answer before placing his hand on the painting and staring at the Sphinx. Only a moment of them staring at each other past before the Sphinx bowed her head and the door opened.
"What was the answer?" McLaggen asked curiously.
"I don't know," the blonde shrugged. In all truth, this was actually the first time he had even heard her speak.
As the door moved away, the three of them walked into the room and immediately noticed the tall mirror standing by the fireplace.
"Draco?" Harry asked curiously when he saw his husband's two guests. After getting the message from the blonde earlier that day, Harry had been expecting Draco to arrive with Astoria so they could put the desire back into the mirror. He was not, however, expecting to see McLaggen standing with them.
"It would appear that we have been double crossed," Draco said as he went up to the Auror.
"That's right. Get all of the lovey-dovey crap out of the way," McLaggen smiled as he watched Draco and Harry embrace. "You won't be getting any of that from each other ever again. If you will, my dear," he said, turning to Astoria as he gestured to the mirror.
Without only a determined look in her eyes, Astoria walked up to Draco, who still had her wand.
"You don't have to do this," Draco said as she held out her hand.
"You don't know what it's like living with him," she said as she took her wand. "But you soon will," she said when she turned to Harry.
Walking away from them, Astoria walked up to the mirror. Then moment she stepped in front of the mirror, a fog started to appear. Normally she would see her perfect world standing before her. But since her true desire was still within her wand, the mirror had nothing to reflect.
Taking her wand and placing the tip of it against the mirror, Astoria recited the spell to put her desire back where it belonged. "Erised stra eh ymt ube caf ymt on wohs."
For everyone in the room, they could see the words inscribed at the top of the mirror glow as the desire was extracted from Astoria's wand.
"Excellent. Now it's my turn," McLaggen said.
As McLaggen walked up to the mirror, two things happened in quick succession.
"Reducto!" Harry yelled the moment Astoria moved from in front of the mirror and a bright blue light shot out towards the mirror.
Harry aimed to break it, intent on stopping McLaggen from using it for his own purposes. When a bubbled suddenly surrounded the mirror as the spell hit, Harry turned to his former house-mate.
"I wouldn't try something like that again if you don't want your son hurt," McLaggen said, his wand raised.
A second later, another spell shot out.
"Expelliarmus!" Draco shouted before the spell flew towards McLaggen, hoping to disarm the nuisance so Harry could destroy the mirror.
Ducking out of the way, McLaggen waved his hand in the air and shot a spell towards Harry and Draco, who were forced to split up and duck out of the way.
"You leave me no choice then," McLaggen said as he pulled out a compact out of his pocket. "Kill him. The Potter's don't seem to be cooperating," he said, though noticed his words echoing within the suite.
Harry and Draco shared a smile from their respective hiding places.
"Do you really think I would leave Astoria alone in my house without keeping a close eye on her?" The blonde asked as he and McLaggen shot spells at each other.
"You knew?" Astoria said from her hiding spot behind the mirror.
"It was less about us knowing and more about us not trusting you," Harry said as he continued shooting spells at the mirror, trying to destroy the protective bubble surrounding it.
Of course, Draco's lack of trust led him to ordering the house elves to follow Astoria and reporting back to him about everything she did, everywhere she went, and whoever she talked to. So it hadn't been a surprise to them that the ex-Slytherin had betrayed them. It also hadn't been a surprise to them that they had gotten their son involved with their sad business.
The house-elf, Twinkle, had been especially happy after being given the task of following her charge around school. After telling Harry that James had been kidnapped by McLaggen Jr., Harry had been quick to locate his son, stun the kidnapper, and discretely bring them back to his quarters.
Currently, James was in the room he used when Harry stayed at Hogwarts, while Hector had been placed under a sleeping spell so as to stay out of any more trouble. With spells being shot around the room, Harry was glad he also placed a protection shield on the doors as well.
As Harry continued shooting spells to weaken the shield around the mirror, a curse was suddenly shot towards him. Too focused on the mirror, the Auror was unprepared for the attack. Luckily, Draco was paying closer attention and shot his own protective bubble around the pregnant man.
This was what McLaggen was hoping for.
With his focus now on his husband, the blonde didn't see McLaggen dash towards the mirror until it was too late. Before either of them could stop him, McLaggen had snuck underneath the shield, making it impossible for them to reach him or the mirror.
With two sets of spells now being thrown at the shield, McLaggen stood in front of the mirror and watched as his desire started to appear before him. He smirked and pulled out Astoria's potion from his robe before downing it in one go. As it started taking effect, McLaggen placed his wand against the mirror.
It was now or never.
"Erised stra eh ymt ube caf ymt on wohs," McLaggen said and the desire was pulled from the mirror like a wisp of smoke, similar to how Astoria removed her curse from the world.
McLaggen then turned back to Harry and Draco, a triumphant look on his face as their spells were no match for his shield. Then he bent down to coat the world with his dream.
Finally, all of his dreams were about to come true.
End of Chapter: Once Done, Now Undone
