Title: The Perfect Wife
Author: slytherin-nette
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters you recognize from the HP books in this story. All I own is the plot. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. She rocks.
Pairings: DM/femHP, RW/LrM, BZ/HG, SB/RV, BM/??, AM/?? and many others.
Warnings: This is a Post-Hogwarts story so it will be slightly more mature than TPG but equally insane. Wahaha. Also, this story contains PREGNANCY, RATED scenes and SLASH relationships.
A/N: Nothing much to say here but enjoy the chapter! A tad bit of drama here…I couldn't resist. :D
Chapter 16 – Past and Present
Harry's face was pale and her entire form was trembling violently from she stood outside Draco's hospital room – watching silently as a whole horde of healers surrounded her husband's lifeless figure. She had been waiting for nearly five hours that night – standing like a lost, wide-eyed child just outside of the open hospital doors while at the same time, fighting desperately to keep herself together in the presence of the other Malfoys and her friends.
Although Regina had brought Garrett and Gabriel home with her that night, Sirius had opted to stay with Harry instead and had been standing right beside her since Draco had been rushed into the emergency room of the hospital. Both her sons had been screaming for their father all night when Harry had handed them over to Regina, promising both crying toddlers that everything would be fine.
To be quite honest, she wasn't so sure if she had any credibility to promise them that.
For the past half hour, Harry felt like a complete zombie – blinking and staring blankly through the glass windows through Draco's room. Sirius had been doing nothing but offering her comforting pats on her shoulder and encouraging her to drink some water but she barely heard him, keeping her red, teary eyes focused completely on Draco's completely still figure.
The Malfoy Head had already lost consciousness when they had rushed him into the emergency room of St. Mungo's that night and had pretty shown no signs of movement since then. The seizures that had wracked his body had stopped by now and were now replaced by the bruises that were beginning to appear all over his skin – much like Blaise's condition had been the other night.
His chest rose unevenly with shallow, labored breaths – almost as though he was having difficulty breathing – and the monitors behind him indicated the weak beating of his heart. Behind her, Jaimee could hear the hushed sobbing of Narcissa and Genevieve – both of whom had rushed into the hospital the minute they had heard of Draco's condition and had pulled a crying Jaimee into their arms. Lorraine soon joined them and pretty soon, all four women were crying against each other and had pretty much stayed that way until Byron had ushered them all gently to the seats behind them.
Lucius, Lawrence, as well as Reggie, Anton and the rest of the Malfoy sons had rushed in soon after them and now sat talking tensely amongst themselves in a corner near the end of the corridor. Jaimee paid their questions and their attempts at comforting her no attention, however, and for the life of her, she couldn't even hear anything in her head except those last words Draco had said to her.
"I thought she was you…Harry…Please…You have to believe me! TRUST ME!"
Jaimee felt another single tear slipping from her eyes and rolling slowly down her cheek. A soft sob threatened to escape her lips but she bit her tongue and held it back, blinking her eyes rapidly in a vague attempt to prevent any more of the forming tears to fall from her eyes.
It's my fault…Good God…It's my fault…It's all my fault… She blinked again and sniffed softly, reaching a hand up and hastily wiping the tears from her eyes. H—he asked me to trust him… I sh—shouldn't have left him in there…B—Byron told me to go find him…I should have— She shook her head and clenched her hands, wanting nothing more than to pound her fists against her head.
I should have listened to him, damn it! I saw him there…Th—that woman was on top of him…I overreacted! ARGH! It's my fault! It's all my FUCKING fault! Another sharp sob escaped her lips and this time, Sirius heard it – causing her godfather to turn around and inspect her pained features.
"Prongslet—" He began softly but Harry cut him off, whirling around and meeting his consoling gaze with wide, crazed green eyes. She squelched another sob that was threatening to escape her lips and stared desperately at him, tears now beginning to pour down her pale face.
"I—it's all my fault, Sirius! I—it's my fault! I—it's all my damn fault! I—I'm such a screw-up!"
The tears continued to escape her eyes now as Jaimee broke down entirely, burying her face into her hands and collapsing into a fit of soft, harsh sobs. Sirius sighed and pulled her trembling form against him in a tight embrace, allowing his goddaughter to muffle her cries against his chest.
It took a couple more minutes for her to actually lean against him, her sobs echoing clearly in the silence of the white, St. Mungo's corridor. Harry continued to murmur stuttered phrases against him, her words drawing the concern of Ron, Hermione, Ginny and a couple more of her friends nearby.
"I—I've been a h—horrible wife to him…I—I've been a horrible mother…I—I should be the one in there…N—not him, Sirius! N—not him!" Her voice broke off and she began crying again, her shoulders beginning to tremble so violently that Sirius was worried how she was able to breathe.
"Prongslet… Calm down… You're going to hurt yourself like this…You have to calm down." He tried to offer her another glass of water but Harry pushed it away, shaking her head and trying to wipe her tears away. She straightened herself back up and wrapped her arms around herself in self-comfort, walking back over to stand directly in front of the glass window overlooking Draco's room.
Ignoring Sirius calling out softly to her from behind, she raised a single hand and laid it gently on the cold glass plane – watching silently as several more Healers began rushing into the room. Just as Richard Wickham moved to the side, she was finally able to catch a glimpse of her husband's face.
Although his cheeks were deathly pale and he looked as though he was barely able to keep himself awake, Draco had somehow managed to regain consciousness and was now turning his head weakly towards the side window. He winced in pain and flicked his dull gray eyes up, locking them intently onto his wife's teary green eyes through the glass window.
For a moment, Harry felt like her insides were being twisted right out of her and she bit her lip, straining to keep the tears from blurring her eyes. She met his weak gaze easily, somehow managing a shaky smile and pressing her palm up against the glass window again so he could see it.
Then – shoving her hand back into the inner pocket of her robes – she pulled it out again and held it up, pressing it back against the window so Draco could see the sparkling chain dangling from her trembling fingers. At the sight of the beautiful rollercoaster charm necklace, Draco's eyes seemed to soften and one corner of his lips quirked upwards weakly into the ghost of what almost seemed like a smile – the sight of which accomplished nothing but make Jaimee's eyes tear up even more.
Her shaking fingers tightened around the necklace and her face slowly began to crumple before she could stop herself, eventually causing Draco's own gaze to cloud over when he saw her fragile expression. He continued to watch her silently, cringing to himself in pain as he ignored the protests of the Healers around him and forced a hand out to reach toward her form.
Through the glass window, Jaimee didn't realize that Draco actually mouthing her name in an inaudible whisper in an attempt to call for her. Just as stubborn as ever, Draco ignored the protests of the group of Healers circled around him and began to whisper her name out even louder – only to cause more Healers to panic when he began coughing up more blood immediately after.
Harry covered her mouth with both hands to hide the trembling of her bottom lip, watching helplessly as Draco struggled to breathe through all his violent coughing. His strong, normally lean frame looked so strangely fragile against his hospital bed that she almost refused to believe it was him lying there. She shook her head furiously and placed the necklace back into her robe pockets.
I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…This is my fault…I should be in there…Not you…Not you, Draco.
"Mistress Malfoy…?"
Jaimee immediately froze up and forced herself to turn around slowly, looking up and meeting the older, comforting eyes of Richard Wickham standing right behind her. At the sight of her swollen eyes and the weariness of her face, he offered her a small smile and gestured to the hospital room.
"Your husband is calling for you—" Harry nodded at this but he sighed again and gave her an apologetic grimace. "I'm afraid you only have five minutes, Jaimee…We'll need to put him to sleep soon. He'll lose more blood if we don't. I'm sorry—" He explained gently, looking slightly embarrassed as he spoke to her but Harry nodded again and offered him a weak nod to signify that she understood.
"I—I understand…Th—thank you…W—will the others—?"
Wickham interrupted her firmly by shaking his head again and looking around to offer the rest of Draco's gathered relatives another apologetic glance. "I can only allow one visitor to talk to him right now, Jaimee…And I believe he wants to see you." He gave her a small, encouraging smile at that – to which Harry winced and shook her head to herself as more tears flooded her eyes.
"I—I…Th—thank you…" Was all she managed to whisper again and before Wickham, Sirius or any of her other friends could say anything; she had turned around and hurried quickly into the hospital room. The other Healers in the room were on their way out when she paved her way in, stopping at the area beside Draco's bed and sitting carefully on the small space at his side.
The minute he saw her, Draco forced his eyes open and tried to smile up at her. Unfortunately, the seemingly simple effort seemed too much for his weakened state and he ended up into another coughing fit again, causing a fresh round of tears to glisten in Jaimee's eyes.
Forcing one of her own smiles at him, Jaimee blinked rapidly to clear her tears away and reached a shaky hand out to touch his cheek, biting back a sob when she felt his cold, clammy skin. Despite her efforts to hide her emotions from him, however, Draco saw through her easily and quirked one corner of his lips upwards into a semblance of a teasing smile in a gesture to comfort her.
"T—tell me, Potter…How horrible d—does my h—hair look…?"
At his words, the tears gathering in Jaimee's eyes finally slipped down her cheeks and in spite of herself, a strangled, choked-up laugh escaped her lips. She swiped hastily at them and managed to reward him with a shaky, teary smile that betrayed the turmoil and aching fear raging in her chest.
"W—well…L—let me put it this way instead…Y—you won't win any b—beauty pageants, Malfoy…B—but you'll have to do for me…" She teased tearfully, using the same hand she hand on his cheek to gently brush away the strands of limp blonde hair that had fallen over his gray eyes.
Draco would have smiled at her quip had he the strength but instead, Jaimee settled for the familiar twinkle of amusement in his eyes. When he looked as though he wanted to say something, Jaimee swallowed the lump in her throat and leaned down closer so he could whisper into her ear.
"Wh—where are th—the t—t—twins—" He words ended up into another violent coughing fit that Harry had to bite her lip to keep from crying again, reaching a shaky hand out to wipe the blood that had issued from his lips. She waited until he could breathe more freely again before bending down once more to answer him, leaning closer to place a loving, soothing kiss onto his cheek.
"Th—they're with Regina…E—everyone else is staying here in the hospital tonight…I—I didn't want them to s—spend a night in a p—place l—like this…Th—they're fine, I—I promise…" Her voice broke slightly and she had to bite her lip to keep it from trembling again as she met his weary eyes.
Draco nodded weakly at her words and made to move his left hand feebly towards hers. When he couldn't seem to do it, however, Harry reached her hand out and placed it tightly over his instead, wrapping her fingers around his cold ones and bringing it up to give each one a soft kiss.
He tried to speak again, causing Harry to shake her head furiously at him. "D—don't talk anymore, Draco…Please. Save your strength for me, okay…? Please—"
"H—Harry…I—I'm s—sorry—"
He winced and began coughing again and if anything, his feeble attempt at an apology now did nothing but to induce more tears to gather in her eyes. "Draco, PLEASE don't talk anymore…You don't have to apologize for anything! I—it's me who should be saying sorry, okay? Please stop—" Her voice broke off when Draco stared up at her again and continued to speak anyway.
"Th—the party…P—penthouse…Natasha…I—I th—thought sh—she was you…I th—thought—"
His paused in the middle of his hoarse whisper to wince and take in a shallow inhale of breath but Harry interrupted him again, shaking her head more frantically and tightening her fingers around his hand. She had long given up on trying to stop the tears from falling now and let them flow freely down her cheeks – trailing all the way down her beautiful face until they fell listlessly to the floor.
"Draco, don't—"
"I w—would never…N—never…N—no one else…J—just you, Harry…" Draco looked up at her again and stared into her flushed, crying face, his fingers making another weak attempt to squeeze her hand back. Harry barely felt it, however, was straining desperately to see him through her blurred vision, her body trembling so much from her sobs that she could barely find the breath to speak.
"I—I know that now, 'Co…I—I know…I sh—should have known that all a—along…I'm sorry—"
"No…D—divorce…C—can s—still…fix…th—this—" Harry understood what he meant but by this time, her restraint over her emotions had given out entirely and she finally collapsed against him – pressing her face gently against his shoulder so she could muffle her soft, heartbroken sobs.
"Th—that was my mistake. I—I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…F—for everything… I—I'm sorry I did this to you…I'm so sorry I wasn't there…That I was never there…I—I can not do this without you…P—please…I'm so sorry…I d—don't know what e—else to say—" Her voice cracked and she had to take in a couple of breaths to calm herself down, her face flushed entirely and her body trembling against his.
In spite of himself, Draco waited until she pulled away to look back down him before he offered her another teasing, comforting smile. "I—I'll b—be fine… I—I p—promise… S—silly…O—overemotional…Gryffindork…D—don't c—cry a—anymore…Okay…?" His words did nothing but spawn off more tears in her eyes but before she forced herself to nod at his words anyway.
"N—necklace…? H—Harry…Wh—where—" He stopped when Harry reached down into her robes and pulled it out of her inner pocket, holding it up so that the diamond charm sparkled beautifully against the light. "I—it's here…I—I never got to thank you for it, 'Co…I—it's beautiful…I—I don't—"
"W—wear it f—for me…"
Harry blinked and looked down to meet the soft expression in his eyes, watching as Draco's gaze lingered longingly over her face. "Wh—what do you mean, 'Co…? Y—you mean now—"
"W—wear it for m—me…N—never t—take it off…P—promise m—me…?" He blinked once, took another shallow breath and stared up at her, obviously waiting for her response. Harry wasted no time in obliging his simple request instantly – reaching up to clasp the beautiful diamond necklace around her neck. Sighing, she raised a single hand and wiping hastily at the tears from her puffy red eyes.
"I—I promise…I promise, Co…" She bent down and placed a kiss onto his forehead, resting her chin gently onto his shoulder and closing her eyes. Draco blinked once and used the advantage of her nearness to turn his head very weakly to the side, grazing his lips just barely over her soft cheek.
"I—I l—love you…"
Harry blinked a fresh round of incoming tears that began to flood her eyes and nuzzled her cheek gently against his in response, trailing her hand back down and intertwining her fingers with his.
"I—I love you too…"
She tried to pull back to meet his face again but just when it seemed as though Draco wanted to say something else to her, she felt him beginning to shake and jerk violently in her arms – immediately causing a gasp escape her as she pulled away and looked down fearfully at his form.
Draco's features had creased into another pained grimace as another vicious cough began to wrack his frame, forcing him to turn away from her as more blood began to spill from his lips. The hand he had used to touch hers was now trembling very rapidly and this was followed by more seizures beginning to spread throughout his entire body – eventually forcing Jaimee to pull away.
She bit back a scream and stumbled backwards away from him, her feet barely managing to take a few step backwards before she found herself backed up against the far wall right at the end of the cold, empty hospital room. Save for Draco's harsh coughs and the fact that she heard her own heart pounding very loudly and painfully against her chest, Harry began to drown out the rest of the sounds and happenings around her – including the heavy footsteps of the St. Mungo Healers as they began rushing back into the room and screaming loudly at each other in growing alarm.
"NOTIFY WICKHAM! HE'S GONE INTO ANOTHER SEIZURE! CALL FOR SNAPE! TELL HIM WE NEED HIM TO ADMINISTER THAT VITALITY POTION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! HURRY!"
"SIR! HE'S LOSING A LOT OF BLOOD! WE HAVE TO PUT HIM BACK TO SLEEP!"
"EMERGENCY! I SAID CALL FOR WICKHAM NOW!"
Harry continued to stare blankly at Draco's convulsing form across the room – oblivious to the fact that several of the Healers had now approached her and were trying to usher her out of the room. Deaf to their pleas, she wrapped her arms around herself and sank down onto the floor until she was hugging her knees – rocking back and forth and hiding her tearful face against her hands.
"MISTRESS MALFOY, WE NEED YOU TO GO BACK TO THE WAITING ROOM NOW!"
"JAIMEE, PLEASE! YOU HAVE TO WAIT OUTSIDE NOW, OKAY? PLEASE—"
"YOUR HUSBAND IS GOING TO BE FINE, JAIMEE! YOU HAVE TO WAIT OUTSIDE—"
Feeling more helpless than she had ever felt in her entire life, Harry was lost to their protests.
Overcome with such a feeling of frustrating feeling of uselessness, self-loathing and utter, bitter-regret, Harry shook her head fiercely and did the only thing she could do. She curled up into a small, fragile ball, hid her face behind her hands and collapsed into a fit of terrified, heartbroken sobs.
I can't believe this…First Blaise and now Draco…I don't know WHAT is going on anymore!
Anton let out a deep, agitated sigh and shoved his hands into the side pocket of his robes, his footsteps echoing loudly along the long, deserted corridor of St. Mungo's later that same night. He had just come back from talking with several Healers about Draco's condition and was now making his way back towards the waiting area near his cousin's room with a grim expression on his face.
As he neared the brightly-lit waiting room, he could already make out several of his family's worried voices – as well as Ginny's familiar voice as she spoke with Anton's grandmother in hushed whispers. In spite of himself, Anton felt his lips tugging upwards into a reluctant smile of amusement.
At least…If anything…This has been bringing the entire family closer.
He was just about to turn the next corner towards them when a familiar, seductive drawl suddenly interrupted his thoughts, bringing his attention to the other end of the narrow hallway. As soon as he caught sight of the stunningly attractive brunette leaning against the wall a couple of feet away from him, however, his eyes immediately hardened and an unwelcoming sneer crossed his face.
"Sophie…? Is that you…? What are you doing here?"
He made particularly sure that he had spoken in a low whisper so as not to be heard by the rest of the Malfoys nearby, pausing after he had spoken to turn back around and check if someone had heard him. Once he was certain that his family was still a couple of feet away and weren't likely to see him from beyond the corner of the hallway, he turned to face Sophie's flirtatious smile again.
Her smile widened and she merely giggled at him, taking a few steps forward and wrapping her slim arms coyly around his neck. "Aw…Is zat any way to greet your lady, darling…? I 'ave meesed you so much zeese past few weeks…What 'ave you been doing zat you've been so busy?" She pouted up at him and reached up to place a kiss onto his lips, unaware of the way Anton tensed against her.
He held back a frustrated growl and placed both his hands onto her shoulders, gently trying to push her away from his body. "Sophie…I'm sorry, darling… But I hardly think that this is the proper time and place to do this right now…My entire family is just right around the corner and I'm here because my older cousin, Draco, just caught the disease. I really would appreciate it if—"
To his surprise, Sophie's carefully made-up blue eyes suddenly widened and a gasp of concern escaped her lips – causing Anton's eyebrows to rise up in disbelief. Just as he thought that she was actually concerned about what he had said, her next words immediately forced his thought away.
"Oh no! Oh dear…Zat is 'orrible, darling! I can not believe it…I am so sorry! It ees such a shame really…And your cousin Draco was always so rich and 'andsome too…" She feigned a sob, the evident falsity of her saccharine voice causing Anton's eyes to harden even more in spiteful anger.
"Oh…Really?! Is that all you can THINK about, Sophie?! The fact that he's rich and handsome?! What kind of woman are you?! What are you even doing here?! Are you here to see me?!" He snapped, his hands tightening on her shoulders and shoving her away in growing impatience.
When she heard his words, Sophie couldn't help sighing dramatically and giving him another pout – moving towards him again so she could link her arms around his instead. "Of course not, my love…I am 'ere because my 'usband 'as also caught the disease…Just last week. I'm terribly worried about 'eem so I sometimes stay the night." She told him, earning herself another sneer from Anton.
"Oh I'm sure you're worried about him…Where is he anyway? Is he still unconscious? If he is, does he know that you're flirting with me right now?" He narrowed his eyes at her and waited for her to answer him but instead, Sophie smiled again and began tugging him backwards with her arm.
"'e is here…In zis hospital room…Come 'ere and I'll introduce you to 'im."
Before Anton could even make a move to struggle or protest against her, Sophie had tugged him backwards into the open hospital room behind them and practically shoved him up against the wall – throwing herself over his body and catching his lips in hers with a heated, passionate kiss.
Thoroughly surprised at the unexpected maneuver, Anton had to blink for several seconds as though to process his thoughts. Sophie seemed not to notice that he wasn't kissing her back and continued her ministrations, reaching her hands up and eventually linking them around his neck. As she did this, Anton grimaced and managed to open his eyes long enough to stare over her shoulder – his blue orbs immediately widening in utter mortification when he caught sight of the pale, unconscious form of Sophie's husband laid out on the hospital bed several feet in front of them.
For several shocked moments, Anton stared blankly at him in dismay – his hands going up over Sophie's curvaceous form again and resting just below her shoulders. Then, shutting his eyes and letting out one single, disgusted grimace, he let out a harsh grunt and shoved her roughly off his form – growling loudly and watching as she stumbled backwards a few steps from his strength.
"Darling?! What ees ze matter?! What ees wrong?!"
When she blinked several times in disbelief and gaped up at him in question, Anton clenched his jaw and gave her a disdainful sneer, shaking his head at her unbelievable audacity. "I can NOT believe you, Sophie! What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?! You're…You're SICK!"
He didn't bother waiting for her to respond as he whirled around and made to storm out of the hospital room – only to be stopped by Sophie clutching onto his arm again from behind. She forced him to turn back around and glared up at him, her long-lashed eyes flashing angrily in slight confusion.
"What are you talking about, Anton…?! What ees wrong with you?! 'ave I done something—"
Anton gave single derisive scoff and shoved her off him again, shaking his head and dusting off the part of his arm where she had touched him. Sophie gave a surprised shriek and stumbled backwards onto the floor, cursing and scowling angrily as she looked back up and met his sneer.
"You…You JERK—"
"I can not believe your audacity…Your husband is RIGHT THERE…In COMATOSE and you drag me in here to try and seduce me?! You insensitive, good-for-nothing, shallow bitch!" Anton shook his head to himself again and gave her one last glare, his eyes narrowed into tiny, angry slits.
Sophie gaped and looked as though she was about to answer him but at this point, Anton couldn't bear looking at her face anymore. He gave her one last snide glare before whirling around and stalking right back out of the room, his terse footsteps loud and heavy along the silent hallway.
WOMEN! Disgusting…Shallow…Materialistic bitches…I want nothing more to do with them! He thought angrily to himself as he walked away, ignoring Sophie's shrill protests behind him. He finally managed to reach the end of the hallway and rounded the corner into the waiting room, walking in just in time to see both Ginny and Genevieve looking up and meeting his eyes across the room.
As soon as she caught sight of him, Ginny's face lit up beautifully and she jumped up from her seat, walking slowly towards him. Anton blinked once and took a step backwards away from her, clenching his jaw tightly as he tried to prevent his previous irritation from showing on his face.
Unfortunately enough, she seemed not to notice his agitated expression and offered him a small smile as she reached him, reaching into the pocket of her bag in obvious search of something.
Anton forced himself to nod back stiffly at her, shoving his hands back into his robe pockets.
"Look…Gin…I'm going to take off for now. I have several things I have to take care of back at the office…I'll be back tomorrow morning to check up on Draco. In the meantime, maybe you should stay with grandmother or if you want, you could go home with me right now to rest—" He stopped when Ginny interrupted him with a small, uncertain smile – shaking her head at his tense words.
"Anton…Wait…Before you say anything else, I just want—"
Before Ginny even had a chance to finish her sentence Anton's hold over his bottled-up anger finally snapped altogether and he suddenly exploded out at her, his harsh shouts drawing the surprised attention of all the other Malfoys gathered around the large hospital waiting room.
"WHAT?! What the HELL do you want NOW, WOMAN?! I'm EXHAUSTED and quite frankly, I am not in the MOOD to deal with your bloody whims right now okay?! If I could just—" He paused right in the middle of his tirade and looked up when he heard her soft gasp, immediately regretting his words soon after when he saw the shocked and offended expression on Ginny's pale face.
Oh shit…Damn it…Is she going to start crying now? Ugh…Women…What the hell… Anton thought irritably to himself, arching an eyebrow coldly at her and waiting impatiently for her to speak.
"I—I'm sorry…I w—was just…I w—wanted to give you this…" Ginny raised her trembling hand up and promptly handed him the light blue material cradled between her fingers – waiting awkwardly as Anton froze and took it carefully from her, holding it up against the light to inspect what it was.
"What's this—"
Ginny let out another forced laugh and took a hasty step away from him, trying – and pretty much failing – to hide the hurt look in her bright blue eyes. "I—it's a s—scarf…I—I made it myself…Your grandmother has been teaching me how to knit this past week and w—well…th—this was the first time I actually managed to make s—something halfway d—decent…I—I'm sorry…I have to—"
Anton's eyes instantly clouded over in guilt the moment she said this and he looked back up to stare uncertainly into her face. His fingers tightened gently around the scarf in his hands. "O—oh…G—Gin…I—I uhm…I—I'm sorry…I—thank you…I d—didn't mean to snap at you for a minute there…I—"
Shaking her head frantically at his poor attempt at an apology, Ginny forced out another laugh and pretended to wave his words away. "O—oh don't worry about it, Anton…I—I uh…I realize you're tired and I p—probably should leave you alone now…I'm sorry the scarf is so poorly done…I—I should probably get going now…I uh…I'm…" She didn't bother finishing the rest of her sentence as she whirled around and quickly stormed out of the room – ignoring Anton's protests as he called after her.
"Ginny…WAIT! I…I…Thank you… I'm…sorry…"
He let the rest of his words trail off into an inaudible whisper, flicking his eyes down to inspect the modestly made scarf in his hand. Noting the skillfully-made knots and the fact that Ginny had particularly chosen his favorite color, Anton's eyes softened with an unfamiliar feeling of tenderness.
I…I don't really understand that woman…Why did she even bother…?
Sighing and slinking backwards to collapse down onto the nearby chair behind him, he flicked his weary blue eyes up and managed to meet his grandmother's fiercely admonishing expression across the room – the sight of which causing the Malfoy son to wince and offer her a weak, fond smile.
I know grandmother…I know…You don't have to tell me…It's not everyday we meet an actual woman who sees us as more than a pretty face and a bank account…He lowered his gaze back down to the scarf in his hands, his pale fingers trailing gently and caressingly over the soft, blue fabric.
Unfortunately…That's just the kind of woman I'm particularly afraid of.
Taking a long sip from the cup of coffee balanced in his hand, Sirius looked up just as his goddaughter walked back into the waiting room that night, drawing the attention of all the other occupants around them. Noting the way she had wrapped her arms around her shivering body, Sirius sighed and stood back up – shrugging his jacket off himself and wrapping it around her in comfort.
Harry didn't say anything and allowed Sirius to usher her down onto the seat beside him, offering her the other cup of coffee in his hands. Although she took it gratefully and held it in her hands, her blank green eyes continued to stare off blankly at the white wall in front of them in thought.
Sirius watched the expression on her face carefully, noting the dark circles under her eyes and the definite ashen color of her cheeks. "How is he…?" He asked uncertainly, waiting patiently as Harry managed a weak smile at him and nodded, lowering her eyes down to the coffee in her hands.
"H—he's better… Snape just injected about two batches of vitality potion into him to replace all the blood he's lost… T—the healers just put him to sleep now…T—the rest of the Malfoys a—are in the room now to w—watch over him…" She explained in a soft whisper, stroking the hot cup in her hands.
Sirius nodded in understanding but continued to peer intently at her face. "I see…Why aren't you in there…?" He asked her gently, pausing for several minutes as Ron got up from the other side of the waiting room and took the seat beside Harry, slinging a comforting arm over her shoulders.
Harry managed another weak smile at this and returned Ron's concerned look with a similar nod. She took a deep breath and finally raised the cup of coffee to her lips, taking a small sip before she answered Sirius' question. "I—I just…I—I needed to get away…I—I c—can't stand being in there…Looking at him…S—seeing him in such a s—state…I—it h—hurts to see him like that…" She let her voice trail off and shook her head again, fighting to keep the emotions from showing in her voice.
Instead, she looked up and turned to Ron – feigning another smile at her redheaded best friend. "Wh—where's Hermione, Ron…? I h—haven't seen her since this morning—" Ron shook his head and answered her with a slight grimace, reaching over to take a magazine from the nearby table.
"She went back to Blaise's room, Harry…She's probably as much of a mess as you are right now. Perhaps worse…" At this, he took one look at her aghast features and winced. "Since Lorraine and the rest of the Malfoys are in the room with Draco right now… Maybe you should consider going home and getting some rest tonight, mate. You look really horrible—" He was cut off when Harry's eyes flashed and she shook her head fiercely at him again, her hands clenching into tight fists.
"I'm not going ANYWHERE, Ron! You think I CARE about how I look right now?!" She growled back, the snappiness of her voice causing both Ron and Sirius to wince to themselves. Before either of them could say anything, she continued, slamming her cup of coffee down onto the table.
"Don't either of you two GET IT?! This is MY FAULT! It's MY FAULT!" She clenched her teeth and ran a frustrated hand through her mane of tangled black hair. "I should have been THERE, DAMN IT! I was right THERE and I SAW HIM before he got attacked! I should have been able to DO something! It's MY FAULT he's in there right now! It's all my GODDAMN FAULT!" She slammed her fist against the arm rest of her chair, barely registering the pain that soon plagued her hand.
While Ron winced at her words and looked uncertainly at her, Sirius clenched his jaw and glared at her, reaching his own hand out and grabbing hers in mid-air when it looked as though she was going to slam it down against the chair again. The minute he had done this, he watched as Harry immediately froze and glared right back at him through angry, slightly blurry green eyes.
"Harry, STOP IT—"
"I'm such a screw up! I don't know HOW I'm going to make things right anymore, Sirius! How could I have been so stupid—" She stopped when Sirius growled and slammed his own fist against the nearby table in front of them, shaking his head at all her insistent self-mockery of herself.
"So you've made a lot of mistakes early in your marriage, Harry! WHO HASN'T? You're hardly perfect and neither is Draco…You're both SO YOUNG, SO HOT-TEMPERED...SO STUBBORN! It's only natural you'd have a problems every so often! Get over it! Move on! That's what marriage is about!"
Harry glared at him, her eyes flashing dangerously and her jaw clenching in indignation. "A FEW problems?! I've practically FUCKED UP my marriage, Sirius! I nearly got my husband killed—"
"That was NOT your fault—"
"—my own children HATE me! I know NOTHING about being a parent OR a mother—"
"You hardly had ANYBODY to learn from! You grew up with the Dursleys screaming at you for every single mistake, Harry! You have got to stop blaming yourself for everything! That's the whole problem with you! You think EVERYTHING is all up to you and EVERYTHING is your responsibility!"
Harry blinked and looked at him in confusion but Sirius continued on shouting anyway.
"You keep FORGETTING that you do NOT live your life for yourself anymore! I already told you! You have your own FAMILY now, Harry! You have people all around you who LOVE you and CARE about you and want to help you! You keep forgetting that and keep accepting all those damn responsibilities onto YOURSELF without asking for help! You're NOT invincible, Harry! Far from it!"
Unable to do anything else, Harry continued to stare at him in stunned realization, blinking away the rapidly forming tears in her eyes. "S—Sirius, I—I d—don't understand what you—"
"That's what I've been trying to tell you ALL ALONG, you stubborn prick!You continue to live your life as though nothing has changed! As though you're still ALONE, Harry! Well you're NOT, okay? One of these days…You're going to have to wake up and realize that we're… RIGHT HERE! We want to help you…We love you! You're not alone anymore, Prongslet…Do you understand that now?!"
Harry swallowed the forming lump in her throat and nodded slowly, a look of regret and understanding finally dawning in her bright green eyes. "I—I'm sorry, Paddy…B—but I just…I was always scared of l—letting people into my life…Th—they either always got h—hurt or k—killed or—"
Ron let out an amused laugh when he saw her expression and reached over to ruffle her long hair affectionately. "Amen to that, mate…Merlin knows the kind of death-defying adventures you got me and Hermione into from the moment we met in first year. Well at least school became more exciting because of you." He teased and in spite of himself, Harry had to smile weakly at his quip.
"Prick—"
Sirius also grinned and reached over to give her an affectionate tap on the cheek. "Hey…Don't forget… If it wasn't for those crazy, death-defying adventures…I probably would have ended up making out with a dementor." He pretended to shudder at this and if anything, this caused both Harry and Ron to end up laughing softly – both former Gryffindors shaking their head at the memory.
Ron turned and followed this comment up with another snigger, reaching back up and slinging an arm around her shoulders again. "And don't forget, mate…If it wasn't for all our adventures together…We never would have gotten to see Draco Malfoy turning into the incredible bouncing ferret." This time, Harry laughed loudly –her eyes twinkling with mirth for the first time in months.
Sirius smiled when he saw this and reached over to place a hand over hers, giving her smaller fingers a firm, comforting squeeze. When Harry finally stopped laughing long enough meet his soft, encouraging gaze, he gave her a pointed, reassuring look. "You see…? You can't live your life alone, idiot. You realize how stupid you've been acting lately by taking everything into yourself, right?"
Harry sighed and the smile on her face disappeared again – only to be replaced by a small frown. "Th—that's just it, Sirius…How can I even hope to start over now? Draco has every right to hate me…I've been such a horrible wife and mother that I don't even know where to begin—"
As though having lost patience with her altogether, Sirius finally let out what sounded like a frustrated growl and raised a hand – using it to whack her hard upside the head. Thoroughly shocked at the unexpected move, Harry stumbled forward and promptly let out a sharp curse of pain – whirling around moments later and shooting her so-called godfather a dangerous glare over her shoulder.
"OW! BLOODY HELL, SIRIUS! WHAT IN MERLIN'S NAME WAS THAT FOR?!"
She grumbled angrily and rubbed at the forming bruise behind her head. Ron turned away from them to bite back a round of sniggers threatening to erupt from him while Sirius just smirked at her and shook his head, whacking his fuming goddaughter again with a rolled up newspaper.
"DAMN IT! BUGGER OFF, SIRIUS—"
Sirius glared pointedly at her and gave her a warning glare. "I don't know about you, Harry… But your father has always been such a whiny git himself. These were kind of the few moments I had to punch his lights out to knock sense into the silly prick and I'm going to do the same with you!"
When Sirius made another move to hit her upside the head again, Harry gaped stupidly at him and ducked again – inadvertently causing Sirius' fist to collide with Ron instead. At the harsh impact of the marauder's hand against Ron's jaw, Harry cringed to herself and bit back a snort of laughter when the redhead let out a single grunt of pain and ended up stumbling backwards onto the hospital floor.
Turning back around to face Sirius' infectious grin, Harry continued to gape at him as though he were insane and shot him a furious glare. "Are you CRAZY?! I'm a WOMAN now; you can't just go hitting me like that! It bloody hurts now—" She ducked when Sirius aimed another newspaper at her again and in spite of herself, she began laughing and fighting his efforts away to fend him off.
"DAMN IT, SIRIUS—"
"So you made a few mistakes along the way…Quit whining like your annoying father, get your lazy arse up! Just…DO SOMETHING about your mistakes, Harry James Potter! You've done nothing but whine like a girl this entire year. Get up and be a man again." He looked up and let her see the grim, pointed expression in his gray eyes – the sight of which finally allowed Harry to understand him.
"I—I understand, Sirius…I—I realize I've been a jerk—" She stopped when Ron let out a loud groan of pain from the floor at their feet and got up, rubbing the forming bruise on his head with a scowl. "Bloody hell, Sirius! That HURT! I can't believe you HIT me! I ought to pop you one right now!"
To his surprise, his poorly formed threat accomplished nothing but causing Harry and Sirius to blink, look at each other and end up laughing again. Whilst Ron stared up at them in bewildered confusion for several seconds, Harry finally leaned forward and pulled her godfather into a tight hug – her muscles sagging with exhaustion but the tension and guilt on her face finally fading away.
"Thank you, Paddy…"
Sirius chuckled and answered her by ruffling her hair and giving her a kiss on her forehead. "You know, kiddo…As much as you look so different now…You're still the same stubborn-headed, scruffy-haired kid I met back then when you were at your third year at Hogwarts." He teased.
Harry scowled and was about to retort when a low voice suddenly spoke up behind her.
"Ahem… If I may have a private word with my granddaughter-in-law for a couple of minutes…"
Ron and Sirius both stiffened and looked up over Harry's shoulder, glancing awkwardly at the proud, intimidating figure of Lawrence Malfoy just as the man strode out of Draco's hospital room. Tensing at his familiar drawl and following her godfather's eyes up, Harry froze for a split second before wincing to herself and whirling around frantically – nearly falling off her chair in her haste.
"L—Lawrence! I—I w—was just…O—of course. E—excuse me, Sirius…Ron…I'll be right back." Pale with nervousness at the older Malfoy's nod at her, Harry swallowed the dry lump in her throat and slowly followed him – glancing back and shooting Ron and Sirius a grimace to indicate her apology.
They both nodded back at her and gave her a sympathetic look, watching as Lawrence led the young Malfoy Mistress to the far corner of the waiting room. As soon as Lawrence had ascertained that they were alone and away from the curious ears of the other hospital guests around them, he finally turned around and met Harry's nervous eyes again, raising an eyebrow and giving her a small smirk.
"Calm yourself and settle down, young Jaimee…I am not here to chastise you for anything. I merely have something important I would like to give you." He told her softly, his smirk growing a bit when he noticed the way she was fidgeting like a child in her place. At his simple words, Harry seemed to relax instantly and let out a breath of relief, nodding and looking up to meet his silver eyes.
"O—of course, L—Lawrence…Wh—what can I do for you? I r—realize I haven't been around much f—for the family lately but I promise th—that all that's going to change and I—" She stopped talking altogether when Lawrence raised up a hand to silence her, shaking his head at her words.
"You will know your place in the family and keep quiet until an elder Malfoy addresses you first, Jaimee. Do not be rude…Surely after five years in this family; you should know that by now?"
If anything, Jaimee's cheeks colored further at his sarcastic tone and she bit her lip nervously, nodding frantically and bowing her head down in apology. "O—of course, Lawrence! I a—apologize for my rudeness, i—it won't happen again! I'm just a little s—stressed out right now and I'm nervous —"
"Silence!"
Jaime winced again and cringed to herself in utter embarrassment, inwardly screaming at herself in her head for her own stupid rambling. Had she looked up into Lawrence's face, however, she would have noticed the way that Lawrence was fighting desperately to hide his fond amusement at her.
What the hell…?! I'm so bloody horrible at this! Why did I ever think I could learn to fit into this family?! I'm such a clumsy idiot who can't do anything right anymore— She shook her head and tried to drown her own thoughts away, sighing and forcing herself to glance up at him again.
The minute she saw the way that the corner of his lips was tugging upwards into a smirk of amusement at her, however, she blinked and stared openly at him in confusion. Is he…Laughing at me?! Does he think this is all amusing?! Scaring the hell out of me like this when I'm in this state?!
Ignoring her glare at him, Lawrence let out a soft chuckle again and reached into the inner pocket of his robes – pulling out what looked like a long, slightly wrinkled up envelope. When she merely stared at it in query, he smirked and held it out to her, waiting until she took it from his hand.
"U—uhm…I don't understand—"
Lawrence ignored her question and gestured briefly to the envelope in her hand. "My wife wrote that letter for me about… thirty or so years ago…Back when I was young…reckless…and stupid. In other words, back when I was still the Head of this family." He explained slowly and despite the awkward tension plaguing her, Harry couldn't prevent a weak laugh from escaping her at his quip.
He continued speaking anyway and let his eyes linger on the envelope in her hands, one of his eyebrows arching up in deep thought. "…Like any other married couple…Genevieve and I had our own…problems…back then…And this was the letter she wrote to me the night I made the biggest…stupidest mistake of my life." He paused and turned his eyes up to meet hers, shocking Harry completely into stunned silence when she caught a glimpse of the softness in his normally cold eyes.
"As the current Mistress of this family, I want you to read it, Jaimee…Just like I asked the previous generation of Malfoy wives to read it back then…Just like I want every succeeding wife of any son of this family to read it thereafter." He fell silent after he said this and just stared into her eyes, watching as her green orbs began to brighten slowly in genuine amazement and understanding.
"I—I…Th—thank you—"
He shook his head and cut her off abruptly, breaking their locked gazes and answering her with a single, mocking sneer. "Under no circumstances…Must this effort trace itself back to me…Do NOT tell Genevieve either. Please give it to young Ginevra once you're done…Is this clear, Jaimee?"
Unable to prevent a knowing smile from breaking out onto her face, Jaimee managed another weak nod and smiled at him in newfound, unspoken respect. "I understand…Grandfather."
Lawrence merely nodded curtly at her words and before she could say anything else to thank him again, the older Malfoy aristocrat had already turned around and stalked back off towards Draco's hospital room once more – leaving Harry staring after his retreating back in thoughtful silence.
Then, ignoring both Sirius and Ron's questioning looks at her from across the waiting room, Harry held the slightly aged letter up against the light and unfolded it slowly – taking great care such that she didn't rip or damage the yellowing parchment. Then, taking a deep breath, she began to read.
Lawrence,
I know you're probably looking all over England for me as I'm writing this and I can assure you…Until I'm ready to face you and talk about everything that's happened lately, you won't find me. At least…Until I'm ready enough to want to talk to you. Please stop harassing my friends and my family members for my whereabouts. I promise you that I'm perfectly safe and well taken care of.
Actually…The reason I'm writing this letter to you right now isn't to talk to you about what I saw in your office that night…Nor is it about the fact that you've been so cold and distant with me in our marriage lately…Especially whenever you'd be so involved in your work that you'd forget all about me or your family. The reason I'm writing to you right now…Is actually to tell you something that I've been meaning to for quite some time. I'm sorry I never got the chance to say it until now.
I'm pregnant, Larry. I'm pregnant with our second child. I know that given everything that's happened and the state of our relationship right now, a child may not necessarily be the best option at the moment but if anything, I'm taking him as a blessing now more than ever. Yes, you heard right. You have another son, Larry…I'm planning to name him Louis after my grandfather…I hope that's okay.
Lucius is with me right now and I promise you that I'm taking good care of him. He misses you terribly but I assured him that I'd let him see you again very soon…I'm not going to take your son away from you, Larry. I know how much you love him despite how busy you've been all these years.
There's so much more I wish I could say to you right now…But I fear that whatever I put in writing may not capture all the mixed feelings I wish to convey. So I'll try to begin with the most important one of all… I still love you. Perhaps so much more now than the day we first got married. That's never changed and I can assure you that it never will…No matter how many mistakes we both may make in the future as we continue living together and living with each other's imperfections.
I don't hate you and before you make any other assumptions; I want you to know that I already forgive you for what I saw that night. I hadn't really meant to visit you in your office and to be quite honest, things would have been a lot less painful for me if I didn't have to live with the experience of catching you in bed with that horrible woman. I don't know who she is and I'd rather NOT know, Larry…I won't even ask you anymore who she was to you or how you met her.
In fact, I don't want to know about anything else that happened that night and I'm going to cast it aside in the very back of my mind as though it never even happened. I don't want to remember seeing you with her…You kissing her…You holding her in your arms and making love to her the same way you always did with me. I don't want to remember running out of your office in tears… I don't want to remember you running after me out in the pouring rain or even the harsh, hurtful words we screamed at each other as I packed my bags and stormed out of the manor that cold night.
I don't want to remember anything about what I said or what I saw and I never want you to talk about it again – nor will I ever even mention it to you, your sons or even your grandsons in the future. I don't need an explanation about why you did what you did, Larry…Because I doubt I will ever understand the reasons behind your hurtful actions or why you've been acting the way you have.
The day I married you and accepted the responsibility of being your wife, I took it upon myself to love you exactly as you are – whether or not we may not always see eye to eye. Marriage, especially in such an elite society as ours, is not some magical fairytale ending in which people can expect everything to be all bliss and happiness everyday of their lives. It is, first and foremost, a deep and meaningful commitment to share your life and your entire being with another separate and very different human being. It is a heavy responsibility and a decision…I finally understand that now.
There is no such thing as a perfect marriage.
It's all about making things work. It's all about compromise. It's all about knowing the other person's faults and loving the other as he or she is whether or not circumstances, problems, or even reason may dictate to you otherwise. So…Against all my better judgment…and all those tears I cried for you that night…I forgive you. Not because I have to…But because I choose to….Because I love you.
Sometimes…Marriage really is both that simple and that complicated.
There's nothing else that needs to be said between us. I know that you still love me, Larry…And I know that you're aware of your mistake. I only hope you've learned from it as well and that I can eventually learn to trust you again in the future. I still want to make this work with you.
I know we can.
I promise that I'll come back home as soon as I'm ready to see you again.
Love, Genevieve
Blinking back the tears of amazement that were gathering in her eyes, Jaimee's lips tugged upwards into a small fond smile as she slowly set the letter in her hands back down, folding it up and placing it back into its small envelope. Taking a quick glance around her, she was only vaguely aware of the fact that several Unspeakable agents had begun to enter the room around her. She continued to stare off into empty space instead – Genevieve's beautiful words still echoing clearly in her head.
There is no such thing as a perfect marriage…It's all about making things work… She smiled slowly to herself again and slowly slipped the envelope into the pocket of her robes. Lawrence…Was never the perfect Malfoy Head after all…He…Actually cheated on his wife…He actually cheated on Genevieve…And she…She forgave him…I don't know how…But she actually forgave him… She blinked several times and glanced up in the direction of the door leading to Draco's hospital room.
That's why he raised his sons and grandsons with such tight upbringing…It's because he learned from his own mistakes…I never knew that… Despite herself, a newfound feeling of respect for the former Malfoy Head began welling up in her chest – causing her to shake her head in amazement.
These Malfoys…They never cease to amaze me every damn time…Actually makes me proud to be a part of this family. Harry thought to herself in a mixture helpless amusement and admiration, finally managing a weak chuckle as she reached up and wiped at the tears from her eyes again.
"Harry!"
Shaking her head several times to clear her thoughts away, Harry looked up sharply just as Byron, Spencer, and a few other Unspeakable agents entered the waiting room and began heading towards her, stacks of papers in their hands. As soon as they had crowded around her form, it was Byron who began to speak first, guiding her down to sit onto the row of waiting chairs behind them.
"Harry…Did you manage to ask Draco who his attacker was before he collapsed? I mean… We know now that this Natasha is a metamorph but I'm certain there's someone else working with her. We've informed The Minister of our recent developments and he wants the ENTIRE Auror and Unspeakable departments to convene tonight to formulate a plan of action. We need answers NOW." He told her, his words instantly igniting a spark of indignant, frustrated anger from within her eyes.
"CONVENE?! Is he fucking NUTTERS?! We have to move NOW, Byron…" She coughed to clear the shakiness from her voice and stood back up, yanking out a horde of parchments from her pockets and slamming them down onto the nearby coffee table so the rest of the Unspeakables could see them.
"I spoke to Wickham awhile ago...He told me that he scanned Draco's memory and that it was already tampered with. There was NOTHING that could give us an indication of who his attacker was. We have to move NOW before—" Nicholas cut her off by shaking his head and giving her a fierce glare.
"We can't afford to be so goddamn reckless, Potter! I'm sure your husband has a good two or three days before he falls into comatose. We have to do as the Minister says and convene with the other departments to formulate a plan of action. You KNOW that's the proper thing to do—"
"DRACO DOESN'T HAVE TWO TO THREE DAYS! HE MAY NOT EVEN HAVE ONE!" Harry practically exploded at him, her angry voice slicing right through his words and causing the rest of the Unspeakable agents around them to take a step backwards in alarm. At the sight of the familiar fires in the Malfoy Mistress' eyes, Nicholas relented and fell silent, listening intently to her next words.
Clenching her teeth in an effort to quell her anger, she pointed sharply to the parchments laid out in front of her again and drew their attention to one particular symbol. "There! Do you see that symbol? I came upon it in the course of my research tonight! It's the symbol of the FOURTH full moon! It's indicates the exact TIME that the ceremony of Magical Infusions is to be performed." She stopped but would have followed this up had Byron not second-guessed her next words anyway.
Her cousin-in-law snatched the parchment up from the table, holding it closer to his face so he could read it. The minute he saw what she meant, however, he paled and flicked panicked brown eyes back up to Nicholas' confused, questioning gaze. "Bloody hell…She's right, Nick! The fourth full moon is TONIGHT…We have to do something right now!" He blurted out in panic but even at his words, Nicholas shook his head again and peered down to read through Harry's research once more.
"Slow down…We have to talk about this, you two! We don't even know how this ceremony is performed or how to stop it! There are HUNDREDS of those ceremonial sites scattered all over the bloody world, how do we know which one our perpetuator is planning to use?" He asked but Spencer shook his head and answered Nicholas' question for him, holding up a piece of paper in his hands.
"I believe I would have the answer to that, Ambleton…Look here…" He laid the paper down onto the table again so the other Unspeakables could see it. "There has been recent irregular magical activity in one particular ceremonial site in Egypt just north of here. It's the same site you guys dug up a couple of weeks ago." He told them with a quirky grin – to which Harry responded to with a nod.
"That makes sense…Good work, Spence! About the ceremony itself…I only know the basics…Just as the full moon appears in the sky, the person performing the ceremony simply shouts out a series of weird, ancient incantations. After that…For the entire duration the full moon remains in the sky, all of the magical blood he collected will magically infuse itself into some ancient artifact…Once the moon is gone and the blood has been infused successfully into the magical artifact, all the purebloods will die." Harry's voice shook slightly near the end of her sentence and she took one glance at her watch, wincing when she literally felt as though precious time was ticking away.
The rest of the Unspeakables around her nodded in understanding. "How much time do we have left before the full moon appears?" One of the older Unspeakables asked, waiting patiently as Harry checked her watch again before answering. "Barely an hour…" She reached down and grabbed another piece of parchment again, holding it up against the light to explain some more.
"Now…The reason the purebloods are so weak now is that in preparing for tonight's ceremony, the perpetuator uses all the blood samples he's collected thus far and stores it in the chalice used for the ceremony. This allows him to access some of the purebloods' magic despite not having performed the actual ceremony yet…Until it's infused, the blood HAS to remain in that chalice. If at least ONE drop of it spills…The ceremony is impossible. That means—" She finally looked up and met all their grim expressions, a fierce, similar look of determination in her flashing green eyes.
"So you mean…This creep is ALREADY leeching off their magic? What kind of sick bastard—"
Byron cut off the rest of Spencer's enraged shout and answered Harry with a triumphant smirk. "That MEANS…We get our hands on that chalice and spill all that blood, we stop the ceremony!" He concluded for her and if anything, his words caused the gleam in Harry's eyes to brighten even more.
"Precisely."
She ignored the wary looks of the other Unspeakables around them and began gathering her research back into her arms, folding them back up and handing them over to Nicholas.
"Nicholas…Since Minister Fudge so ANNOYINGLY insists that the Unspeakables and Aurors convene tonight to discuss certain matters…I want you to take these and explain everything to them. Tell them EVERYTHING we've discovered so far. The rest of you come with me—"
Nicholas took the offered parchments from her hands but gave her a slightly reluctant look.
"B—but…I don't understand, Harry. What are you going to do? You CAN'T issue out a sudden order to go rushing into Egypt NOW, the Ministry won't give you the proper authorization papers to do so! EVERY AUROR and UNSPEAKABLE agent is required to convene with the Minister TONIGHT! You're being utterly and COMPLETELY reckless, Potter! If you think we're just going to go storming in there without forming a plan of action and coordinating with the others, you're crazy! We'll all die—"
Harry narrowed her eyes and scoffed at him, shoving the folders he held into his face. "SCREW the Minister, Ambleton! We can't afford to waste any more fucking time talking like this when we CLEARLY have to get moving before—" Byron cut her off by placing a firm hand on her shoulder.
"Ambleton is right, Harry…We can't afford to go storming in there when we clearly aren't aware of all the details or what we're up against. Our safest bet is to get to the Ministry as fast as we can…Inform the Minister, CISO and the Auror department of what we know…And THEN organize a detailed operation. If we leave now, I'm CERTAIN we'll make it in time—" He stopped when Harry growled and shoved him away from her, causing the metamorphagus to crash against Spencer.
Spencer winced at the impact and took several steps backwards of his own, forcing more agents behind him to take even more steps away from Harry's seething form. At the look of anger and frustration on her face, however, Byron stood back up and raised his hands at her to calm her down.
"Harry…I'm worried about my cousin too…I'm also worried about Vincent and I understand completely what you're feeling right now but NOW is not the time to be so stupidly reckless…We have a much better chance of saving them if we get more people to help us. Do you understand…?" He asked her gently, reaching his hands out and placing them firmly onto her heaving shoulders.
Harry stared blankly at him for several tense moments, her eyes wide with anger and her hands clenched tightly into angry fists. After a couple of deep breaths, she finally managed to calm herself down and closed her eyes – willing herself to count to ten so as not to explode again. As soon as she had gotten a semblance of control over her raging emotions, she looked up and met his eyes again – finally nodding at him in understanding and quirking her lips into a small, weak grin.
"Y—you're right, Byron…Th—the best course of action right now…As Head Unspeakable…Would be to convene with the others and to get as much help as possible before surging in there—" She agreed carefully, reaching into her robes again and digging through her inner pockets as she spoke.
Byron nodded gratefully at her words but fused his eyebrows together in confusion immediately right after as soon as he saw her taking her Unspeakable badge and ID out of her pocket.
"Harry…What are you doing—"
"—which is why I am OFFICIALLY resigning from my position of Head Unspeakable."
She raised a hand up to silence the sudden outbreak of gasps and protests that had suddenly erupted from the other agents gathered around her – all of which now stared and gaped stupidly at her as though she had just grown an extra head. When none of them managed to say anything for the next couple of seconds, Harry managed a weak smirk at all of them and turned to Byron again – reaching out and placing her Head Unspeakable trainee license and department badge into his hand.
She squeezed his fingers and nodded firmly at him, returning the disbelieving look in his eyes with an encouraging grin. "Take the rest of the Unspeakables and convene with the Minister tonight, Byron. Explain everything to them and please inform them of my resignation…After which, PROMISE ME that you will get up off your arses and head to Egypt after me as soon as possible."
Byron gaped and paled at her words, his own fingers tightening around her hand and preventing her from pulling away. "WHAT?! Are you bloody NUTTERS, Harry?! You're going to Egypt by YOURSELF?! That's BOLLOCKS! I'm not going to let you! I'm going with you! You can't expect to be able to defeat whoever's waiting there for you all by yourself! You're being so RECKLESS—"
Harry's eyes flashed and she glared warningly at him, tightening her fingers around his hand in an effort to silence him. "You can't go with me, Byron! SOMEONE has to stay with the rest of the Unspeakables and convene with everyone else for a PROPER ATTACK in case I fail! Which I assure you may happen and in that case, I'd need someone like you to save my arse." She tried to laugh to pass her nervousness off as a joke but Byron's eyes only hardened even more at her in anger.
"Harry, I am NOT letting you to go there alone—"
"She won't have to."
Byron, Harry, and the rest of the other Unspeakables gathered around them all froze up and whirled around at the sound of Hermione's voice not too far away behind them. They found the Zabini Mistress just by the entrance of the waiting room with a fierce, determined expression on her face.
At the implication of her words, Harry seemed to pale even further and shook her head fiercely at her. "Hermione, I can't let you do that! This mission could be dangerous and you're hardly trained enough to go with me! You could get hurt a—and—" She stopped when Hermione let out a soft chuckle, shaking her head and answering Harry's concerned protests with a pointed smirk.
"When has that ever stopped you from taking me with you on your adventures before, Harry…? I don't need to be a fully trained Unspeakable agent to want to save my husband." She clenched her hands into fists ad flicked her eyes down to the floor. "All this was partly my fault…Or my department's fault at least…I—I want to make up for it. I—I want to help you. Let me, Harry." She looked up and met Harry's hesitant green eyes again, waiting in bated breath for her response.
In spite of the disbelieving shakes of heads Harry knew she was receiving from the other Unspeakables circled behind her, she sighed and rewarded her brown-haired best friend with a helplessly amused, defeated smile. "…What the hell…We always did make a good team, 'Mione…" She agreed softly, her words bringing a similar smile of genuine gratitude onto Hermione's face.
"Thank you, Harry—"
"What about me?!"
This time, Harry couldn't prevent another helpless laugh from escaping her lips as soon as she recognized Ron's voice calling out to them from behind. Their redheaded best friend had stood up from the corner of the waiting room and eventually ran up to stand a couple of steps behind Hermione – a similar look of stubborn determination etched onto his features. His sudden protest had accomplished nothing but make Byron and even more Unspeakables groan in exasperation.
Ron ignored them, however, and eventually looked up to grin widely at Harry – turning slightly to his side to reward Hermione with a conspiratorial wink. "I was always a part of this team too, wasn't I…? I can't believe you guys almost forgot about me…I want to help you too, Harry." He told her firmly and if anything, his words earned him a reluctant, amused smile from Harry.
Pointedly choosing to ignore the hesitant looks she was receiving from the rest of the Unspeakables standing behind her, Harry nodded once to her two best friends before turning to meet Byron's worried brown eyes again – rewarding her cousin-in-law with a firm, reassuring smile.
"Well…There you have it, By…I have my team…You have yours. Now please…Don't worry about me. I'll be waiting in Egypt for you guys…We're wasting time. We have to go now." She watched as Byron seemed to hesitate again for a couple more seconds and bit his lip in thought. When Harry continued to glare imploringly at him, however, he finally relented and let out a defeated sigh, nodding and turning around to address Nicholas, Spencer and the other agents circled around them.
"You guys all heard what she said…I'm assuming temporary leadership and right now, I want you all to head to the Ministry as FAST as possible! Now! Do it NOW! There's no more time to spare! I don't want anyone slacking off! NOW!" He ordered briskly, watching as the group of Unspeakables all scattered off at his instructions and began apparating away from the hospital room one by one.
As soon as everyone else had left and the room had fallen into heavy silence once more, Byron turned around one last time and met Harry's eyes again – a look of worry and uncertainty creasing his handsome features. "Harry…Are you sure about this…? I—I could still go with you…"
Instead of answering him directly, Harry gave him a grateful smile. "Just…You know…In case we all end up getting our arses kicked and all…Well…Don't be late." She reached a hand out and rewarded her cousin-in-law with a light, playful punch to his shoulder. "Go get 'em, By…Go now."
Byron sighed but gave her one last nod and wink before apparating off with a loud 'pop', leaving Harry staring after the empty space where he had once been standing. As soon as he had gone, she finally turned and met both Ron and Hermione's encouraging faces again – her lips tugging upwards slightly when she caught sight of the familiar, agitated look of excitement on Ron's face.
As though having read right through her thoughts, Ron's grin widened even more and he walked over to both girls – slinging his arms over their shoulders. "So…Harry…Mione…Doesn't this feel wicked…? Just like old times, eh…?" He kidded, his words eliciting a laugh from both his best friends.
Giving both former Gryffindors a nod of acknowledgment, Harry twirled her wand once in her fingers before shoving it into the pocket of her boots. Flicking her eyes back up, she met Ron and Hermione's slightly nervous expressions and rewarded them with her familiar, mischievous wink.
"Let's kick some arse, shall we…?"
A/N: Phew! Now that we're all pumped up for some action, let me just say…WOOHOO! :D Oh and if any of you are wondering…Harry's penance for her mistakes isn't exactly over JUST yet. You'll see later on what I mean, I promise. And another thing…YES, there WILL be more of our adorable little Garrett and Gabriel. Heehee. You'll see them both again in the last two or three chapters I think. As well as one last rated scene perhaps in the epilogue. *winks*
Next Chapter: Draco tries to go after Harry, Fights and Confrontations :D (dun-dun-dun!)