(A/N)
Hello!
I have started working on a few fanart pieces of Photoshop to help my skills. Silvius' diary in the previous chapter was a part of the series of photos that I have worked on so far.
For those of you on Wattpad, you can find me thisgirlsisfiesty and follow me or this story there. I upload images of how I imagine things to be over there. Including the journal of Silvius, how the Manor looks like redone, Malfoy and Hermione in the renovated manor etc, etc. For this chapter I have uploaded a rather important element, a part of how I imagine the Malfoy Family tree to be like on Wattpad.
Anyway, here is the rest of the story so hope you all like it. Keep the love flowing! I have crossed 2,000 reads and that's making me super duper happy! Also, puasluoma reviewed for the previous chapter that she wants Silvius and Adelia's kid to be a baby girl. I am still considering what to do with their story so do let me know your preferences in the reviews.
Now onto the story.
Enjoy!
Mili
Hermione could not feel how miserably helpless a man must get before he has to decide to sacrifice his own unborn child. And what must Adelia have gone through! Losing a child even before it left the womb! Hermione could only imagine the pain. She was feeling moisture starting to pool in her eyes. Hermione Granger did not cry. Not until she was extremely angry and felt like she was helpless enough to not be able to fix or harm the object of her fury. The only rare occasions she cried otherwise was when she was extremely touched by something. She had felt so much pain and empathy the last time during the Battle of Hogwarts when she had seen lifeless Lupin and Tonks lying next to each other, their hands still touching, little Teddy at home, with both his parents dead.
She sniffed back her tears as she looked outside the glass to avoid shedding any tears.
"Hermione?" Malfoy asked gently. He got up and came and sat in the seat next to hers. He put an arm around her shoulders and tried to soothe her. Even though he had his arm around her, he was trying not to touch her anywhere else. Despite the gravity of the situation, he caught a whiff of her vanilla scent and was transported back to that night. He felt perverse and tried to think of how to console her better.
Draco Malfoy had never consoled anybody in his entire life. Not even when his father was given the Dementor's kiss and his Mother had had a breakdown.
He felt uncomfortable. She could feel how, even though he was holding her, he was stiff and rigid. This time she knew it was not because he was disgusted by her blood. But because Draco had never dared to show empathy or any emotion to anyone before. Not even the Mother he deeply cared for.
The blonde Slytherin had always been told that emotions were for the weak. And he had seen a live demonstration when the Dark Lord had tortured those who showed any remorse or resistance in following his orders. Draco had to pack away his emotions. Not just on the outside, but also from within. Draco had learnt how to live like a walking and breathing corpse. And he spent many years in the same manner.
Now he was gradually starting to feel a little more human. He had started to smile when he found something funny, would openly show his resentment, and occasionally when no one was looking, he would take off his mask and let his deeds take over. He let his guilt of past deeds wash over him. He spent many sleepless nights trying to run away from it all. But sometimes, it became too consuming, too intense. And those were the nights where he felt the burden of being the Malfoy heir, of the burden to carry on the legacy of his bloodline, of trying to fight the hatred people felt for his family and of being alone, all alone in this world.
He knew how it felt to be fighting alone. And he would not wish for it to befall on his worst enemies. He had never truly detested Potter, Hermione or even the Weasleys as a child. But he had definitely been immensely envious of the trio. They had found family in each other. Even the orphan Chosen One had a family. Malfoy had no one except his Mother.
As he sat there, trying to make sure that Hermione was alright, he felt her shift in his hold. She was hugging him and had her head resting on his chest. She felt him stiffen, but he gradually relaxed and wrapped his arms around her. She could hear his heart beating and for the first time Hermione realised that this was perhaps one of the rarest occasions, if not the first, that Draco Malfoy was opening up to someone; making himself emotionally available. She sniffed again and was feeling a lot better. Her thoughts clouded with the tragedies that the Malfoy heir had faced and those that his ancestor had to go through.
She heard a murmur. "They had the baby. Healthy and happy. I believe they did, at least." Hermione looked up to see that Draco was looking past the glass wall. He wasn't actually looking at anything, just staring off into the distance. He moved his arms so that she was comfortable as he continued the story.
"Silvius had the time turner with him before the end of Adelia's third month of pregnancy. The two used to owl each other using aliases. She managed to flee the Flawey Estate undetected and moved towards the Forbidden Forests as was decided. She left a trail of Will o'-wisps for Silvius to follow. Silvius found her in the dark of the night and they both had their first fight. Adelia wanted them to elope, Silvius wanted to bid time to get Septimus to listen to him. Silvius knew there was no way that they could ever actually escape. The Malfoys had enough connections that they would be traced even if they fled to the Americas. Silvius wanted his child to get the Malfoy name the child deserved and was willing to wait for it. Adelia did not want to lose her precious child. They devised a plan. They would elope. Using time."
Hermione was startled and extremely confused. She moved out his hold and looked at him, "What do you mean by 'elope using time'?"
"They used the time turner to escape. They probably escaped to some other time period. Who knows? That is the last thing mentioned in the journal. The journal ends with this. Silvius had agreed and they probably went ahead with the plan."
"Why would he leave behind his journal for his family to discover?" Hermione's mind was reeling. She had used the Ministry issued time-turner in her third year for extra classes, but they had a five-hour limit so as to not disturb the chain of events. The one Silvius had got made seemed to be of a much more sinister nature as it let one go back in time by months!
"I have the same question in mind. Why would he leave behind the journal for us to find? He wanted to escape, so why leave the clues behind?" Draco was wondering this aloud more to the Manor than to Hermione. Sometimes he felt as if the Manor was an entity in itself and would lend him answers. The Manor had really old magic within its walls and it was known that when its owners were in danger or despair, that same magic had shown them the way. Draco was hoping the magic had helped Silvius, but more than that, he was hoping for a miracle to help him solve the case. A miracle bigger than Hermione Granger seeking comfort in his arms.
"Can I read the journal?" Hermione asked after a few moments of shared silence. Draco let her go and handed her the said journal. He decided that while she could go through the journal, he could look up some more about time travel and his family history.
He decided to go find the only other Malfoy who knew the answers. His Mother.
As he was about to leave the library, he heard Hermione as where he was off to. "I am going to find my Mother. She might know something that could be of value to us." She nodded as she settled back into the armchair to read and he left.
As he took a left and came across a set of heavy wooden doors, he knocked. "Come in." said a polished feminine voice. As he entered, he saw Narcissa Malfoy sitting on a deep brown plush chaise and reading. She looked up from her book and gestured for him to come sit next to her. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" she smiled. "Don't be like that Mother." Draco said.
"You are spending more time than ever in the Manor, for which I am glad. But, I guess your mother is a little too old to hold any interest for you. Or is it some other young Gryffindor who has bewitched you?" she exclaimed with a glint in her eye. Draco found himself looking away at her words as he denied her accusations. "I just wanted to ask you what you know about Silvius Malfoy, the younger brother of my Great Grandfather, Septimus Malfoy. And if you know anything about us Malfoys in connection with the Marshlands?"
"Strange questions you ask my Son. However, since I know this must be for the case you are working on, I will tell you the best I know. Silvius was the black sheep, as you already must know. What became of him and his beloved, I do not know. But I do know that his disappearance had something to do with him escaping to the Marshlands. He probably spent the rest of his days in there for all I know. But you should check the family tree. I would recommend that."
"Why the family tree mother?"
"Because last I saw it was when you were born and your name appeared on it after your christening. I had seen it before that, of course, right after my wedding to your father. It had a name next to Silvius'. The name escapes me, but it was there. I had no idea who they were and was too mesmerised by the heirloom to pay any heed. By the time you were born, I knew that it was best that I don't ask any questions about them. But the fact remained that when we saw the family tree after your christening, the name next to Silvius' had vanished and there was a blank spot in place of his own name as if he existed but was yet to be christened."
"Where is it?" Draco stood up.
"Ask the elves. They must know. And Draco, don't put too much burden on yourself, okay? You have suffered enough for the sake of this family. There's nothing more that you can do to salvage it."
"I'll keep that in mind Mother."
In a matter of minutes, Hermione was rushing through the halls behind the young Malfoy. He had instructed the elves to find it and keep it ready for them while he fetched Granger. He had filled her in on the news that his mother had told him. It was inevitable that she would not find out the secrets anyway. Plus, he would somehow prefer her knowing his family secrets more than anybody else. It felt like she not only understood his plight but also felt too deeply for Silvius and Adelia to make a ruckus out of it.
As soon as they neared the doors of the attic of the Manor, Draco heard the door open before they even reached the room. Two elves stood on top of two old chests of drawers. They were holding up the silk tapestry of the family tree for Draco and Hermione to view. They had cleaned and dusted it to perfection.
Suddenly he heard Hermione gasp loudly. He whipped his head around and saw her staring intently at the family tree. When he traced down the names to Silvius', he saw exactly what his mother had described. A blank space in place of his name with no mention of any spouse or child. He could not understand why did it surprise Hermione so much since he had already told her of his findings. He looked at her with a puzzled expression.
"No Draco. Look here!" She said pointing a finger a few generations down. Before he could register the fact that she had called him Draco again for probably the second or third time in his life, he saw his own name. An empty counter had appeared next to his own name. It had no name in it, but it sat there waiting.
"Are you engaged or uh...married secretly?" Hermione looked at him with shock written all over her face. "No! I am as single as I could possibly be! What the bloody Hell is happening in here! I have absolutely no idea! Why do I have a nameless wife!"
"Do you think we should ask Narcissa?" asked the baffled witch.
"Absolutely not! She has been after my life to get married. This will only give her more encouragement. No, wait! I sure hope she hasn't meddled and arranged for me to marry one of those pureblood bred bimbos! Oh God!" With that, Draco stormed out of the room with Hermione fast at his heels, trying to calm him down.
He barged into his mother's chambers and bellowed, "Did you fix my marriage to some daft witch without my knowledge?!"
She looked at him in utter confusion and said, "I thought you made it clear that you were not interested in any of them. So, no. I have not fixed you up with any of them. Although, they are not daft Draco. They are a little dull, I may admit. But Astoria Greengrass is better than all of them. I can ask her mother to arrange for the two of you to have dinner together if you want?"
"I want no such thing! And if you haven't fixed my marriage, as you so claim, then can you explain why does our family tree have a blank space for a spouse next to my name? And not only that but an entire branch of my alleged fiancée's family too?!" Hermione held his arm and was constantly trying to murmur things to calm him down. He seemed to be totally oblivious of her presence. Hermione gave an embarrassed and apologetic smile to the Malfoy Matriarch. She did not want to witness this conversation, but at the same time, it did not seem like a good idea to leave a raging Draco alone with his mother.
Narcissa got off the chaise and started walking towards her only son. "Draco I know how alone you get. I only want the best for you, but I swear that I have done no such thing. But, maybe the family tree knows more than I do. Maybe you have secretly picked a bride for yourself and won't tell your old mother about her."
"No. I have not picked anyone as you are implying. I barely know any girl to date let alone to bring home as my wife. Plus, who will want to marry me with the tarnished Malfoy reputation and the ex-Death Eater tag? I am soiled goods mother. And whoever picks me has to pick me for who I am, not for the money I have to my name." Hermione had always seen Malfoy as a proud haughty individual. Even during his trials, post the war, he was always calm and stood tall. Suddenly it felt like she was seeing through the mirage, the reality of who Draco Malfoy really was. It felt as if she was involuntarily invading his privacy as if she was where she wasn't supposed to be through no fault of her own.
Later when the situation had calmed down a bit, the duo returned to the library with unanswered questions. Both of them were scanning the shelves when suddenly Draco heard Hermione speak. He turned to see her with a few books in her hand and a soft yet determined look on her face.
"You are a wonderful person Draco. You are not tainted. You are scarred, just like all of us who fought in the War. You may have started on the Dark side but what matters is that you finished with the Light side. You never let the prejudice you grew up with dictate your inner self. Even if you had to strangle your emotions and put them to rest. Not everyone can do that you know? It's remarkable. Really. I always respected you for the strength you exhibited after the war. But today I feel you should know, you are not alone. I am there for you if you need me, you know? Even Harry. Blaise is also always there for you. So are Pansy and Theo in some way or the other. You need to stop punishing yourself. We are always going to be there for you. You just need to let us in."