Disc: Making nothing out of something for many years strong.
Chapter Thirty
The house was quiet, dark even, it's inhabitants sleeping, all but one. Lily stood, arm cross her body, at the window, looking out at the night that stretched before her. She could hear Scorpius' steady breaths, knew he was far away in a dream world. She sometimes watched him sleep, wondering what he dreamed of when he closed his eyes. She never asked. She stopped asking much of him in the last few months. He looked a lot like Theron when he slept.
She could imagine what he looked like sleeping, the last of his nights at Hogwarts before summer, surrounded by the silver and green curtains. She wondered what his dreams entailed. She imagined probably Quidditch or flying. His letters home had lately been of both, and he was planning on trying out for his school team next year. Lily paced the bedroom for a minute or two, thinking.
Damon, he was probably asleep in his room, just on the other side of the nursery. Lily had taken to leaving the door open, still creeping in to check on Gentry a few times a night. She had the original window removed, putting in false windows that looked like daytime or night time in the country, depending on the charm setting. She thought about the charms, they had the house locked up tighter than Gringots. It was the one concession to returning to the flat that Lily had insisted, on that the boys complied so willingly for.
"I can't go home with that monster out there, still trying to get to me," Lily had fought, Scorpius holding her still. Damon cradled their son, the good news of his discharge from St. Mungo's over shadowed by the minister's ill-timed visit.
"You will be safe at home, I promise Lily," Scorpius held her tightly. "We'll put charms and enchantments and spells. I'll even get a three-headed dog from Hagrid if I have to. Whatever we have to do."
"He'll get me," Lily cried. "He'll never stop."
"We can keep you safe," Damon promised. "If we have to get top secret protective spells from Draco, we will. We will do whatever it takes."
She had yet to sit down with Draco. He'd requested it a fair few times, but each time she'd declined. She didn't want to hear his side of the story, she couldn't confirm or deny her mother's side. It was one of the few times she'd wished her mother had kept a diary. Lily would have loved to get the story straight from the horse's mouth, then disowned her for betraying her father. Had he known? Were the minister and Draco the only ones, or were they just a long list of men to frequent her mother's chamber? Lily felt ill.
"Lily, you okay?" Damon asked from the doorway. He had the baby in his arms, patting the now four month old baby's behind. He'd taken middle of the night diaper duty since Lily's sleep was diminished by leaps and bounds.
"Yeah," Lily murmured as she walked over to him, casting a glance at Scorpius who was still lightly snoring. She held her arms out, and Damon relinquished the small boy to her. Lily walked back towards the nursery, Damon on her heels.
"You really need to try and get more sleep," he chastised gently as she settled into the rocking chair. Lily glanced up at him, frowning.
"I'm fine," she lied.
"Lily, it's been months and no one has seen hide nor hair of him," Damon pointed out gently.
"He'll never give up," Lily mumbled, adjusting the baby. "The minute I let my guard down..."
"Hey," Scorpius yawned from the doorway.
"Hey," Damon and Lily both responded.
"Are we having a middle of the night meeting I wasn't invited to?" Scorpius prompted as he stretched.
"No," Lily responded as Damon said yes.
"Look, I know you're against co-sleeping," Scorpius gestured to them. "But maybe tonight it would help you get some sleep, Lils. You look dead tired."
"I'm not against co-sleeping," Lily pointed out with a glance to Damon. He frowned.
"I know how Scorpius sleeps," Damon answered.
"I'll sleep in the spare room," Scorpius offered.
"I can't sleep alone!" Lily protested shrilly. The baby startled and started to cry, which caused Lily to cry. Damon and Scorpius looked at each other.
"Lily, come on," Damon urged her up, handing the baby to Scorpius. He led her back to her bedroom, tears and all, tucking her in the bed.
"He's not done," Lily cried as Scorpius handed her the baby. Lily curled to her side, sniffling, while the baby was tucked against her to finish his middle of the night snack.
"I'll stay right here," Scorpius promised, taking a seat in the chair by Lily, him nodding at Damon. He took Scorpius' place in the bed, glancing at her. After a few minutes, both Lily and the baby nodded off. Damon glanced up at him.
"We have to do something," Damon murmured quietly.
"Agreed, she's getting worse and all this stress isn't good for her," Scorpius sighed, rubbing his face. He sighed again.
"It's not good for either of them," Damon pointed out, stroking the baby's cheek. "Gentry's been fussier than usual, lately. I come home on lunch and Lily's still locked away in here, curtains drawn or peeking out them."
"Maybe... maybe we should stop waiting for him to come to her, and we should go to him," Scorpius suggested.
"One last trip to Argentina?" Damon asked him, looking away from his son. The two men looked at each other for a few minutes, an unspoken conversation happening between them.
"She's not going to be happy," Scorpius admitted. Damon chuckled.
"She's going to be pissed, which is why we should wait until we clear it with your dad first, and of course plan to leave after Theron gets home," Damon suggested.
"Yeah, and you know my dad's going to be another challenge. He's still trying to get me to have Lily sit down and chat with him, and you know she's against that," Scorpius frowned slightly. The baby whimpered slightly, curling against Lily and settling down. "Lucky little boy."
"She's still not-"
"She doesn't want to be touched," Scorpius shook his head. His voice took on a growl. "I can't say that I don't understand. My dad believes that the minister was pretty brutal. I want to kill him."
"I'm with you," Damon agreed. He ran his hand through his hair as he stood. "I hate who he's made her into, who she's become. I miss the old Lily."
"Me too," Scorpius agreed. "Maybe if she didn't have to look over her shoulder anymore, she could heal. I miss my wife."
"I miss my lover," Damon teased, Scorpius shooting him a death look. Damon laughed, hands up in defense as the two headed into the Malfoy's living room. "Only kidding, brother, only kidding."
"Better be," Scorpius grumbled with a smile. He yawned and looked at the clock. "Guess I should be heading to work here in a bit. I want to catch my dad before everyone else gets in. I don't see this going well."
"You never know," Damon shrugged. Scorpius raised his eyebrow and Damon laughed. "You know, sometimes your dad can be reasonable."
"Uh-huh," Scorpius smirked as he pulled some clothes free of the dryer and started folding them. Damon jumped up, helping make short work of the tiny socks and burp cloths.
"I don't remember Theron's clothes being so small," Damon commented, holding up a little tee shirt.
"Yeah, well you and I didn't exactly sit around folding nappies and small shirts, did we?" Scorpius laughed. "Back in Hogwarts, I certainly never thought I'd be folding baby clothes."
"Especially belonging to me and Lily?" Damon taunted mercilessly.
"Not nice, Damon," Scorpius growled.
"How about tonight you and Lily go out for dinner? Gentry and I can stay home and watch the Quidditch match," Damon offered. Scorpius hesitated.
"I don't know that she'll be okay with-"
"It can't hurt to ask her," Damon offered. "One night away, only a couple of hours, and Lily's made up those bottles just in case. I can defrost one if he needs one."
"Okay, yeah, it'd be nice to have a night away before Theron returns," Scorpius nodded in agreement. He headed back to the bedroom, glancing at Lily before heading into their en-suite. He stripped off his sleepwear, climbing into the shower before work. Damon had finished the laundry, storing away the clothes in the nursery, and retrieving the dirty clothes out of the hampers, starting the next load. Scorpius paused, looking at the three of them sleeping in his bed. He frowned and wondered for a moment if he'd done the right thing, the unselfish thing, returning to claim his life.
Gentry sighed, his big blue eyes staring at Scorpius as he kicked around, waving his fat little fists. Scorpius debated on waking Damon up, to get out of his bed and change his son, but the man was looking nearly as tired as Lily had. Scorpius scooped up his stepson up, the baby reaching immediately for him, a toothless smile blossoming on the chubby baby's face. Scorpius held him at arm's length until he had changed the fouled nappy, tossing it in the soiled bin.
"For someone so small, you sure do make a big stink!" Scorpius told him, poking the baby's belly before snapping the footed pajamas. Gentry waved his fists around, causing Scorpius to laugh. "Tough guy, eh? You want to fight?" Scorpius held his hand up to the baby, Gentry's eyes widening in surprise before he let out a squeal and kicked harder, swinging his fist until he connected with Scorpius.
Scorpius picked him up off the changing table and tucked Gentry into the crook of his arm, pacing the full spans of both apartments until Gentry's eyes drooped and the baby went limp with sleep. Scorpius brushed some of the baby's newly growing blond hair off his forehead, kissing the curls before tucking the baby into the crib. Scorpius took one last look at Lily and Damon before he headed out of the apartment, insuring that the charms and spells were still in place to keep his family safe.
Scorpius wasn't surprised to find his father alone in command central, the man pouring over a giant map of the world. He glanced up, surprised to see Scorpius standing there. Draco checked his watch, frowning to see that he wasn't really late but that his son was uncharacteristically early.
"I'm going suppose that this is a social call," Draco offered calmly. Scorpius shook his head.
"No," Scorpius took a seat without being offered one.
"What can I do for you?" Draco asked.
"Damon and I would like one last go, to Argentina," Scorpius told his father. If Draco was surprised, he didn't let on to it. "This time, we'd like to go in under execution orders."
"You know, I can't sign off on execution orders for the minister," Draco explained. "He's not been tried or impeached, yet."
"We know," Scorpius nodded.
"You two still want to do this?" Draco asked. "Damon's got a baby at home, you a wife. You'd be risking never coming home if things go badly."
"I have to. We have to," Scorpius protested. "She gets no peace, no rest. Every moment of every day, she lives in fear. I have to do something."
"Maybe, if she's ready, I could help her," Draco suggested.
"She doesn't want to see you," Scorpius looked away.
"She's one to hold grudges," Draco murmured. Scorpius glanced up at the man he used to idolize.
"Dad, she basically learned that her mother chose you and all those other men to a peaceful, loving existence with her and her brothers, and her father," Scorpius explained. "I mean, I'm not thrilled you could go behind Mum's back when I was so little, but Lily, it goes against everything she believes in her heart. When she was younger, and she thought she was betraying Darla and I- Dad, you didn't see how it wrecked her, and that was just a few kisses."
"I never wanted to hurt Lily," Draco promised. "Its why I never told her, even after her parents were gone. That bastard of a minister- What could he have hoped he'd do by telling her?"
"He wanted to hurt her," Scorpius frowned, looking away. "He can't punish you, he can't punish mum, or Harry, or Ginny, but he can punish her."
"I'm so sorry," Draco offered, putting his hand on his son's shoulder. "I love Lily, she's the daughter I never had."
"Is the thing with Ginny why you and Mum never had any more children?" Scorpius asked hesitantly. Draco glanced away, dropping his hand.
"Your mum and I, we had our problems. She wanted a house full of children, and when she found out about what I'd done with Ginny, about what it could possibly have meant, well, Infamy and I didn't come together for a long time. I broke her heart," Scorpius confessed. "We all waited with bated breath to see if Ginny's youngest child belonged with our last name or hers. Even with the relief that Lily was undoubtedly Harry's offspring, it was a few more years before she and I were together again. By then, you were older and my father was forcibly inserting himself in our lives. Your mum told me that she'd changed her mind. She wouldn't have any more children with me while your grandfather ruled the roost."
"I want more children with Lily," Scorpius explained quietly. "While the minister is out there, I can't see Lily getting past what he did to her to be intimate again. She can't heal while he's still threatening her."
"Has he been in contact?" Draco asked. Scorpius shook his head.
"I think that's been worse," Scorpius confessed. "At least with him popping up, she knew that he was there. She didn't sit on edge, like she does now. She's making herself sick with worry. Damon and I have to do something, for our family."
"I can't give the order for his execution," Draco repeated.
"But you can give the order allowing us to go to Argentina," Scorpius pressed. Draco thought a moment.
"I can, if that's what you two really want," Draco nodded once.
"Damon and I talked about it," Scorpius explained. "Its the only way."
"When would you want to go?" Draco asked.
"A few days after Theron returns home from school," Scorpius advised. Draco raised his eyebrow slightly. "We want Lily to be settled in with our sons before we go. She'd fret over having to go pick him up if he wasn't home yet."
"Maybe, she could visit your Gran while you two are gone," Draco offered. Scorpius looked at him and Draco raised his hands in defense. "Just for her own well-being. Gran is getting up there in age and I know she'd love to see the boys. I wouldn't even really be around."
"I... I'll mention it to her when we tell her," Scorpius nodded.
"So, say we'll aim for June 6th, okay?" Draco offered up. The two men shook on it as Damon entered the briefing room. Damon nodded once, knowing Scorpius would fill him in on whatever details needed to be passed along.
"How's Lily?" Scorpius asked. Damon cringed slightly.
"She was a little, how should I put it, pissed to wake up and the baby be gone," Damon frowned. "She flipped out and while she was happy that Gentry was in his crib, she was quite peeved at us."
"Why you?" Scorpius asked. Damon shook his head as the two of them left the briefing room.
"You've got me, bro. Your wife is a bit, intense, sometimes," Damon suggested. Scorpius laughed.
"Yeah, she is," Scorpius agreed as the two of them entered their shared office. Damon closed the door and Scorpius turned to him. "Dad says we leave on the sixth of June."
"That was easy," Damon frowned.
"A little too easy, I agree," Scorpius nodded.
"You know, being a pawn for the ministry sucks sometimes," Damon pointed out.
"If Obadiah Parker ends up dead, I don't even care anymore," Scorpius promised. "I'll tell her at dinner tonight. In a public place so she can't flip out."
"Dude, this is Lily we're talking about," Damon snickered. "If she wants to flip out, she's not going to care who's around."
"Shit, you're right," Scorpius hung his head, frowning. "Well, here's hoping she doesn't go too ballistic, then."