The First of Many Reunions

It was almost Harry's birthday. And I was freaking out, because I hadn't heard anything about him. Draco said he'd tell me if he heard anything, which so far, was nothing. Apparently he was Death Eater enough to go to the meetings, but when it came to secret Harry Potter ambushes he was totally out of the loop. But to be honest, I was a little grateful for that, because if he was in the loop, that would mean he was actually going on the mission. And I knew he could handle himself, but it was still dangerous.

I was in the middle of cleaning the floor, like sweeping and mopping and stuff, when I saw Bellatrix, Narcissa, Draco, and a few other Death Eaters enter the dining room for lunch. Draco saw me and gave me a tiny head nod, which meant he was finally going to learn something. I was so excited that once they were all in out of the room, I took out my wand and finished everything with a flick of my wrist. I ran up to my room, and started pacing until Draco finally walked through my door, with a strange expression on his face. It was relieved, but also a little… something else.

"Well? Did you learn anything?" I asked him, and he nodded.

"Yeah, I did. And most of it is good."

"Harry's alive?" I asked, hopeful.

"Harry is alive." I was so relieved at his words that I sagged down to the floor. I'd had no idea how much I was tensing up until that point. He followed me to the floor, and then went on.

"There's more." He said.

"Shit. What is it?"

"Well, there were a lot of people. Apparently, they decided to have 6 of Harry's friends take some Polyjuice Potion, and all take different routes to the safe house."

"Oh, I bet Harry wasn't too keen on that idea." I said, and Draco chuckled and then continued.

"Anyway, the seven Harrys all went with other people who weren't turned into Harry. And one of the Harry's was with that ex-auror, Mad-Eye Moody? The one who was our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher fourth year?" He asked, and I gave a small laugh.

"Remind me to tell you that story sometime."

"What?"

"Never mind. What about Moody?"

"Well, the Harry that was with him bolted at the first sign of danger, and one of the Death Eaters killed Moody."

"Oh no." I said. I couldn't believe Moody was dead; he was the toughest of all of us. "Did anyone else die?"

"No. Well, not any people, anyway." What?

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, they were able to find the real Harry because his owl tried to fend them off him. They killed the owl."

"Shit! Hedwig!" I said. This was so fricken depressing. Next, he was going to tell me they kicked some puppies, I swear.

"And there's one more thing."

"Oh, give me a break." I said, not wanting to hear about any more deaths.

"Don't worry, no one else died. But someone did lose an ear."

"What? An ear?"

"Yeah, someone cursed off someone else's ear."

"Oh man. I bet Fred and George are having a field day of jokes about that." And then I remembered something else he said. "Wait, did you say they found the real Harry? What happened?"

"Well, The Dark Lord got to him and tried to kill him—"

"What?!"

"Will you just let me finish?"

"Okay, sorry, go ahead." I said, freaked. I couldn't believe Harry faced Voldemort again.

"Okay. Harry and Voldemort faced off, but something went wrong. Harry won, because there was something wrong with Voldemort's wand."

"You mean your father's wand?"

"Yeah! It's like, no matter what wand he uses, Harry's wand is always going to win."

"That's good news."

"Yeah." He kissed me, and then stood up. "I shouldn't stay long, but I'll see you later, okay?"

"Okay."

…

Draco POV

I left Talia's room in a good mood. I just hoped that no one did anything to screw it up. I went downstairs because Bellatrix had wanted me to do something for her, which was never something I actually wanted to do, and found her in a little bit of a hurry.

"Aunt Bella, what is it you wanted—" I started, but she cut me off. Rude.

"Not now, Draco. I'm in the middle of something. Why don't you go back up to your room and read a book or something?" Is that all she thought I did?

"Uh, well, okay then…" But she had already started down that hallway that she had yelled at Talia about before, and my curiosity started to burn. I had obviously been down that hallway before, but not since she moved in here. She had forbidden any of us to go down there, like she had any authority at all in this house. So, naturally, I followed her. As I passed a window, I saw something out of the corner of my eye. It looked like a person running into the trees, but when I stopped to look, it was gone. Was that what Talia had seen outside her window? Whatever, I had to get back to following Bellatrix, or I would lose her.

She walked almost to the end of the hallway, where for some reason we had some small suites. Why was our house so goddamn big, anyway? It was maybe five minutes, and then she stopped outside a door. I wondered why, when her room was in a completely different wing of the house, but then I saw the light coming from the crack under the door. There was already someone in there. She opened the door slowly, and spoke to whoever was inside.

"Let's start from where we left off yesterday, shall we?" And she stepped inside and closed the door. What was that about? I heard some voices, sometimes raised, sometimes just mumble. And then about twenty minutes later, she emerged, looking unhappy. I waited until she was completely out of sight, and then went up to the door. I paused before going in, not sure if I wanted to know what (or who) was on the other side.

But when I did, I was utterly surprised.

…

Talia POV

I was sitting on my bed, reading as usual, and the sun was setting. I was in my bra and underwear, because I had taken a shower a bit earlier, and not bothered to put on pajamas. I almost fell off the bed in surprise when Draco barged in, unexpectedly, with a huge grin on his face.

"What the hell—" I began, but he ran over and grabbed me, cutting me off.

"Don't have time—have to hurry—hurry up." Was what he said, and then he started pulling me toward the door.

"Draco, stop! I'm so not walking through the manor wearing this!" He looked at what I was wearing, and paused to appreciate it for just a second. And then was back to being excited.

"Well then throw some clothes on, and hurry up! I have to show you something!" And then he started hopping in place while I changed into a more comfortable bra. "No no, you should keep that one on." He said, suggestively, his eyes burning. I smiled, and did as he wished. He resumed his hopping as I threw on some jeans and a long sleeved shirt, one of those ones with the little thumb holes. I ran a brush through my hair, and then Draco must have assumed that I was done because he started to drag me by the hand out the door again.

When we got about halfway down the stairs, of course, we had to slow down and I stayed behind him. There was no one around, but it was always good to be safe. I paused when I saw where he was leading me, and he kept going a few steps before he realized I wasn't following.

"Come on, it's okay. No one's around." He said, coming back for me.

"But, Bellatrix said…"

"Forget what she said. Trust me, this is worth it."

"But—"

"Just trust me!" It took me a few minutes, but I nodded and, reluctantly, followed him. I would always follow him. We went all the way to the end, and came to a stop in front of a door with light coming through the bottom. Why would someone be living all the way down here?

"Okay, what is this all about?"

"You'll find out in a second, just go in."

"What will I find?" I asked, nervous. He seemed pretty excited about this, but I was feeling a little apprehensive. He didn't answer me. Instead, he opened the door for me, and gently nudged me through. I looked around the warm room, lit by a fire in the fireplace, to see two people sitting on the couch in front of it. I was so incredibly confused, until they turned to face me. Right at that moment, when I saw their eyes and the tears forming in them, I knew exactly who they were.

"Mum? Dad?" I asked, although I didn't need to. I was already moving quickly over to them, where we hugged each other like we've never hugged before. "Mommy. Papa. I missed you." I said to them, in between sobs. I was finding it hard to breathe; it felt like I'd had the wind knocked out of me.

"We missed you too, baby." My mum said, which made me cry even harder. We had somehow made our way to the couch and were all sitting down, though still talking. My dad was stroking my hair, trying to soothe me. It worked. Pretty soon, we were talking, and laughing, and I was happier than I'd ever been. Well, right before getting together with Draco, of course. This reminded me that he was still in the room, and I looked over to him.

"Draco, come sit down!" I said, and my parents looked over to him.

"And who is this young man we've completely ignored?" My dad said, and I smiled shyly.

"My boyfriend, Papa. We've been seeing each other since sometime last fall." My dad gave Draco a very stern look, and he started to back out of the doorway a little nervously.

"Actually, I think I'll just let you guys catch up by yourselves—" He started.

"Draco Malfoy, come sit down." I said, giving him no choice.

"That's my girl." I heard my mom whisper to me, and I smiled at her. Draco sat next to me, and I looped my arms through his.

"I should've known you were a Malfoy. You look just like your father. Just happier." My father said to him, and then Draco got a little uncomfortable.

"He's not like his father at all, honest."

"Oh, I can already see that. The fact that he's with my daughter proves it." He said, and I patted his shoulder.

"If Talia loves you, then we do too, Draco." My mother said, and Draco relaxed. My father got up to use the lavatory, and I took the opportunity I'd been hoping for for years.

"Okay, mum, spill." I asked her, which understandably confused her.

"Spill about what, dear?" She asked me. I gave her a deadpan look.

"Sirius Black? Remus Lupin? I know about how you… knew them." She looked surprised, once she caught on.

"How on earth do you know that?"

"They told me. Or, at least, their faces told me. The way they looked when I talked about you."

"You talked to Sirius? I thought he was in prison."

"He broke out when we were in our third year at Hogwarts. And then Harry and I worked our bums off to clear his name."

"Harry?"

"Harry Potter. He's one of my best friends."

"Oh, I'm so glad!"

"Don't change the subject, mum! Tell me about Lupin and Sirius!" I yelled, not letting her avoid the subject. Filled with defeat, she spilled the figurative beans.

"Well, yes, I did have brief… intimate occasions with the both of them. Before I was with your father, of course. And I would appreciate it if you didn't tell him this; I've worked very hard to keep this to myself."

"Mum's the word, mum." I said, giggling at my joke, which made Draco laugh at me, which made my mum smile at the two of us.

"How serious are you two? Or is that not my information?" She asked, and I scooted closer to her.

"Are you kidding? I've been dying to be able to talk to you about sex ever since I had it for the first time!" I said, hoping she wouldn't disapprove of me. She only smiled.

"So you have had your first time. I'm so happy for you two!" She said, and I gave a nervous laugh. "What?"

"My first time was with Draco, mum." Now she looked a little nervous, but she asked anyway.

"Then who was it with?"

"Blaise Zabini, his best friend." I said quickly. I knew Draco didn't have a problem with me talking about it. My mom looked at me with a strange expression. It looked like… pride.

"I know I should be upset that my daughter has already had sex with more than one person, but I'm really just dying to ask how it was." She said, which made me laugh.

"It was so good. Not as amazing as Draco, of course, but still good."

"Oh, how you take after your mother." She said, and I hugged her.

"That's what Sirius said. I blame it on growing up so close to Fred Weasley. He was a horrible influence on me, but I still love him."

"You grew up with the Weasleys?" She asked.

"Yeah, I did."

"I'm so glad. They're amazing people." That when my dad walked back in, and we started catching up once more. No more sex talk, of course. That would be much too uncomfortable

"Who are amazing people?" He asked.

"Talia was just telling me how she was raised by the Weasleys! Isn't that wonderful?"

"Very wonderful."

"And she told me how she's been in contact with Remus and Sirius, as well."

"Even better! All that's missing is James and Lily." He said, a little sad.

"Well, if it helps, I've been best friends with their son, Harry, from our first ride on the Hogwarts Express."

"That does help. What's he like?" My dad asked, and I smiled.

"Just like his dad, everyone says. But he has his mother's eyes."

"She had such wonderful eyes." There was a moment where it was silent, so I took the opportunity to make things serious for a minute.

"Where have you guys been? And why are you here, at Malfoy Manor?" I asked them. My dad cocked an eyebrow.

"We could ask you the same question."

"I asked you first!" I said, smiling a little. My mum was the one to answer me.

"Bellatrix has been keeping us prisoner ever since they came to our house all those years ago. For the longest time, all she wanted to know is where our other daughter was. But recently, it's been more about how to control you."

"Which brings us to: why are you here?" My dad asked, and I sagged back in the couch a little bit.

"Well, it's a funny story, really. Turns out I'm a prisoner here, too!" They stared at me with these horrified looks, so I went on. "They found me at Hogwarts. They know what I am, and they're using me in this awful war. The only good thing is that because of them, I've learned how to control it. And I know they think I'm going to cooperate, but they're wrong. The minute this war starts, I'm running to the other side." They looked at me with such pride, it brought tears to my eyes.

After a few hours, we were having such a good time that I almost didn't hear Bellatrix yelling for me from somewhere in the Manor. I shot up, panicking, but also depressed that this had to be cut short.

"I have to go. She can't find me here." I said, and Draco followed me to the door.

"Wait, Talia. Here, take this." My mother said, and handed me the bracelet she had been wearing on her wrist. I thought it looked like a child had made it, and that thought was confirmed when my mother continued. "Your sister, Kayla, made it for me the day she was killed. I've worn it every day since. But I want to you have it." She put it on my wrist, and I vowed to follow her idea and wear it every day for the rest of my life. With one last hug, Draco and I departed.

But no matter what, nothing could dampen this new good mood I had. Not even doing the Crazy Bitch's dirty work. I had my parents back!

A.N. Just so you know, I'm aware that I said "Mommy" in this chapter. I felt weird saying "Mummy". But I know that British people don't say it! It was deliberate!

Also, I apologize for the shortness of this chapter. I was too lazy to embelish.