Chapter Thirty Three: Scent
"Shit."
Ron tossed down the newly arrived letter, his eyes literally on fire. He couldn't believe that Draco had allowed this to happen without letting him know. He was enraged…what the fuck were they thinking?
"What's happened?" Hermione asked, picking up the letter that Ron had tossed aside. She read quietly, Ron allowing her to finish while he remained silent. "Oh no…no, why did this happen?" She asked, clearly panicked.
"I have no idea," Ron muttered as he slouched down in his seat. "They didn't fucking tell me anything…I'm going to strangle Draco when I see him next." Hermione placed a hand on Ron's shoulder, rereading the letter once more.
"We can't tell Charlie." She said, handing the letter back to Ron. "It would kill him."
"And it would kill him if we kept this from him." He said, standing up from his seat and slowly folding the letter. "He has to know…everybody has to know so that they're aware of what we're dealing with." He looked to Hermione, offering her an awkward half smile. "We'll tell everyone at dinner…and I want you to sit with Charlie, he's going to need somebody." Hermione quickly nodded, hugging Ron close and breathing in the scent of his sweater.
"You're a good brother," she told him. He sighed, kissing her temple.
"Glad that somebody thinks so."
They spent the rest of their day in silence, Ron all the while trying to figure out what he was going to say. This was a major development and he wasn't quite sure how to handle this. He was thinking about this all through dinner and when he stood up to speak, he still wasn't sure what to say.
"Everyone, could I please have your attention?" His friends and family settled, all eyes on Ron. He glanced briefly to Hermione to see that she was seated beside Charlie just like he had asked. "There's been a…development…and it's very serious." He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I received a letter from Draco Malfoy today, informing me of a change of plan…Regan is pregnant."
"That's not possible." Narcissa quickly said. "We took precautions to prevent this from happening."
"They removed the spell…it was Regan's idea in an effort to keep Lucius from traveling and making any progress. She's only three weeks along, but it's already been announced in the papers." Ron looked to Charlie, who had his head lowered with a vacant expression on his face.
"Nobody's gonna wanna take care of that baby." Dean Thomas called out, earning hearty agreements from those around him.
"There are no plans to keep the baby." Ron said, sending a chilling silence through the crowd. "In three weeks, Draco tells me that they will force Regan to lose the baby."
"That poor girl." Molly muttered, slowly shaking her head.
"This is an obstacle, but it doesn't change our plan. They are just doing everything that can to make sure that Lucius remains distracted…" Charlie quickly stood up, rushing out of the room with his cheeks a bright red. Ron sighed, insisting that everybody should get plenty of rest before he followed after his brother. He found him in his room, sitting on his bed with his head in his hands.
"How could she do this?" Charlie asked, knowing that Ron was standing in the doorway. "How could she put herself through this?"
"She's desperate," Ron said. "She's doing whatever she can to hold Lucius's attention."
"We should have sent somebody else!" Charlie insisted, picking up his head to look at Ron. "We shouldn't have just thrust her into that situation."
"We didn't have a choice." Ron said, shaking his head. "Lucius wanted her and wasn't interested in anyone else…he fucking killed for her." Charlie sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Is there nothing that we can do?" He asked. Ron slowly shook his head.
"We just have to keep moving forward…when she's lost the baby, Draco promised me another letter. After that, we move back to England and…then we wait."
…
It was raining on the night of June 7th. It was a Sunday, something that made Regan feel eerily calm. She had never been much of a religious person, much like her parents, but she figured that if anybody was going to die, especially somebody innocent, Sunday was the best day to do it. She waited for Draco at the top of the stairs, being careful not to make a sound out of fear that she might wake Lucius. She was nervous when it was ten past one and he still hadn't arrived. The rain and thunder outside didn't help her mood. Finally, with slow footsteps, Draco came shuffling up the stairs, his robe cinched tightly around his pale body. He obviously knew that he was late, heavily sighing when he approached Regan.
"I had difficulty waking up." He quickly explained before Regan could ask.
"Why didn't you have Astoria wake you?" She quietly asked, almost unable to hear herself because of her hammering heart.
"We sleep in separate rooms." He answered, his eyes darkening slightly. Regan sighed, slowly nodding. She wasn't sure what to say next, but she could tell that Draco was having reservations about this whole thing. So was she, but they had little choice in the matter. No matter how innocent the child was, Regan could not give birth to the child of Lucius Malfoy. It would act as the last hope for the death eaters and they could not have hope; it would make their defeat impossible.
"It's funny," Draco muttered. "When I was little, I always wanted a brother or a sister…perhaps it was because I was so alone. And I always thought…I would never be alone if I had a sibling…and now I have to kill the opportunity to fill that lonely void."
Regan's eyes softened slightly, though she found it hard to have immense pity for Draco. She remembered his cruelty at school and she saw how he lived now. He had nothing to complain about, but Regna quickly pushed down that thought. Draco knew that he had done wrong and was now trying to help. Regan knew that she couldn't hold onto any anger towards Draco, especially considering what he was about to do.
"I'm sorry," Regan whispered, though she wasn't really sure what she was sorry for. It seemed like it was something that just needed to be said. Draco shook his head, shutting his eyes.
"No, I'm sorry."
Regan almost asked him what for, but she never got the chance. In the blink of an eye, Draco shoved her as hard as he could with her back towards the stairs. She gasped, her feet completely leaving the ground as she fell down the stairs. She tumbled with a sickening crunch, feeling a step dig into her stomach as she awkwardly fell. Tears sprung to her eyes as her limbs were unnaturally bent with each thud against the stone floor. After she felt like her body could no longer take the torture, she came to rest at the second landing, the blood beginning to pool around her. As much as she wanted to, Regan refused to let herself cry out. If somebody were to find her now, the baby could be saved. The only ease she felt was the churning in her lower abdomen and the blood trickling down her thighs. The pain was immense, but it was also very sweet.
With quiet footsteps, Draco rushed to her side and crouched down beside her.
"Are you all right?" He asked, placing a warm hand on her arm. Regan nodded, finding that she couldn't speak. Draco nodded, letting out a small sigh. "I'll come back in an hour…can you manage for an hour?" Again, Regan nodded as she felt a sharp stab between her legs. "If you can't stand it, you scream as loud as you can, do you understand?"
"Go before you're seen," Regan insisted as she pushed away his hand. "Besides, death doesn't scare me."
"Don't say that!" Draco quietly insisted. "We need you alive, so don't even think about...just don't think about giving up, okay?" Regan nodded as she continued to push him away.
"Go…go…" She kept muttering, feeling herself become woosy. She knew that she was going to pass out, but she didn't want to do it in front of Draco. If she did, he might be tempted to call out for help.
"Just hold on a little while longer." He told her before rising and swiftly returning to his room. Regan waited until she heard his door close before she clenched her teeth and let out a low, painful groan.
Darkness could not claim her fast enough.
...
A/N: Well, tomorrow I leave for LA :) The next time I update my story, I'll be in a completely new and different place! Anyway, long drive ahead of me tomorrow, so I'm going to go to bed...and then wake up in four hours...
RashaTemple: I think you're going to hate me later...but we'll get to that in a bit. The way that I see it, Lucius views Regan as an object for him to manipulate and play with whenever he wants.
Guest: Thank you, that's very nice of you to say. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and I hope that you'll continue to read :)
