Following the attack on Diagon Alley, and the news of George's 'death', Draco found himself with more time on his hands. The Dark Lord wasn't constantly wanting him to prove himself, and he'd given Draco a couple of free weeks where he wasn't needed. In fact since just after the attacks, Draco had barely seen Voldemort. He knew The Dark Lord was still staying at the manor, but neither he nor Bellatrix were around that much.
In those couple of weeks, Draco had also adopted a new positive mind set. Following his mini-meltdown, he vowed never to give into his dark thoughts again. He was going to have faith that everything was going to work out, and that he would be reunited with Hermione and Lyra. In fact he spent a lot of his time thinking about the future, and making plans for when they were finally free of Voldemort.
The first thing Draco wanted to do was ask Hermione to marry him. Even though they were a solid couple and along with Lyra, they were a family, he wanted to make it official. He wanted Hermione to be his wife. Another thing Draco had been thinking about was adding to their family. He didn't want Lyra to be an only child, he wanted her to have siblings to play with. In fact Draco had decided he wouldn't mind having another couple of kids, so he had the big, loving family he'd never had as a child.
Thinking of the future kept Draco sane in the weeks following the attack on Diagon Alley, but his thoughts drifted back to the present when the Easter holidays rolled round. He was worried about Theo, and what would happen to him once he was home and Voldemort wanted to see him. Draco wasn't really concerned with Blaise, as he doubted his other friend would have came home with Theo and there was no way anyone could make Blaise leave Hogwarts. However, it was a different story for Theo. Draco was just hoping that when Theo returned home, he wouldn't be forced into the same situation he was in. He would hate to think his best friend ended up being forced into being a Death Eater for supporting Hermione while Draco himself couldn't be there for her.
On the night Theo and the others were due home, Draco half expected Voldemort to call a meeting. However, Voldemort was nowhere to be seen that evening and it was just the three Malfoys for dinner. Draco didn't question Lucius about what was going on, but before he'd returned to his room, his father had informed him that he would be required by The Dark Lord the following day.
When Draco was summoned to one of the smaller living rooms the following morning, he knew it was about Theo and Blaise. However, when he entered the room he didn't expect to find several of his Slytherin friends and their fathers in the room. Pansy, Daphne, Crabbe and Goyle were all present with their fathers. However, Theo's father sat all alone, looking incredibly nervous.
"Take a seat, Draco," Lucius ordered as he followed his son into the room.
Aware that everyone was watching him curiously, Draco settled himself in a chair as far away from them all as he could manage. Judging by the looks he was receiving, it was fair to say the teenagers in the room were no longer his friends. Not that he was surprised by any of this in the slightest, as he'd always thought the only people who would stick by him would be Blaise and Theo.
"The Dark Lord will be here shortly," Lucius announced, giving Theo's father a pointed look.
Draco spotted the way Mr Nott nervously gulped, and he wondered what was going on with Theo. Had he just failed to come home, or had his father told him not to return? Draco knew Mr Nott was only a Death Eater these days because it was a choice he'd made years ago and he couldn't escape his fate. Unlike Lucius, his opinions had changed over the years, and if given the option he likely wouldn't have returned to serve Voldemort. As such, Theo hadn't grown up quite as bigoted as Draco, and it had been he and Blaise, along with his feelings for Hermione, that had shown Draco the error of his ways and helped him see things in a more rational light.
Draco was still wondering about the situation with Theo, when Voldemort swept into the room. Voldemort immediately scrutinised the four teenagers in the room, before his attention fell to Theo's father.
"Well Nott, where are they?" Voldemort demanded.
"Not here," Nott replied in a quiet voice. "The Zabini boy refused to accept our invitation, and Theo wasn't on the train. He was supposed to come home, but he failed to show."
"And you definitely sent for him?" Voldemort checked.
"Yes, My Lord," Nott replied. "I have no idea what's going on."
Voldemort was quiet for a few minutes as he studied Nott. Draco suspected The Dark Lord was reading Nott's mind as he scrutinised the other wizard. Eventually he seemed satisfied with what he'd found and with a nod he turned away from Nott and focused on the four teenagers.
"Can anyone shed some light on this situation?" Voldemort asked.
"We don't know where he is," Daphne answered after a moment's pause where it looked as though no-one was brave enough to speak directly to Voldemort.
"But we can guess," Pansy sneered, glancing in Draco's direction.
"Do guess, Miss Parkinson," Voldemort urged.
"The mudblood," Pansy spat. "Theo received his letter the same time we all did. He was also supposed to be coming home with us, but before the train left he went to see the mudblood and her brat. He must have missed the train."
"Indeed," Voldemort said with a nod. "But the question is, did he miss the train by accident, or was it deliberate?"
"If it was deliberate, he played us all," Daphne volunteered. "He'd been complaining about having to come home for weeks. He packed his bag like everyone else, and we all thought he would be on the train."
"Would your son deceive us like that?" Voldemort asked Nott.
"I don't know, My Lord," Nott replied fearfully. "All I know is that I told him to come home, and as far as I knew, he was arriving home last night with everyone else. I was shocked to find he wasn't on board the train."
"Have you contacted the school?" Lucius questioned.
"No," Nott replied. "But I will, if that's what The Dark Lord wishes me to do."
"I can handle this," Voldemort said. "Lucius, your arm please."
Lucius quickly rolled up his left sleeve and held his arm out in front of Voldemort. Removing his wand, Voldemort pressed the wood against Lucius's mark and under his breath whispered a name. Nodding to Lucius, he let the blond wizard take his arm back and cover it up, as he waited. Less than five minutes later a house elf rushed into the room, announcing that Snape was here.
"Show him in," Voldemort ordered.
The elf hastily backed out of the room, and returned a couple of minutes later with Snape. If Snape was surprised to see so many of his students, he didn't show it. Instead all his focus was on Voldemort, he didn't even give Draco a second glance as he lowered his head in deference to The Dark Lord.
"Severus," Voldemort greeted as Snape stood back up. "How are things?"
"The same as ever," Snape replied.
"I want to know about the Nott boy," Voldemort said. "And the Zabini boy. I hear they've been supporting Draco's mudblood."
"They have," Snape confirmed with a nod. "Since Draco left school, they've spent all their free time with Hermione and the baby."
"And you've allowed this?" Lucius questioned suspiciously.
"I can't dictate what my students do in their spare time," Snape replied snappishly. "I spoke to both Blaise and Theo in private and tried to dissuade them from associating with Hermione and the baby, but they didn't listen. There wasn't anything else I could do without arousing Dumbledore's suspicions."
"Severus is right, his hands were tied," Voldemort said with a nod. "But I would like to know if Theo is at school."
"I was under the impression he was going home for the holidays," Snape said, glancing towards Theo's father.
"We all were," Nott mumbled.
"He failed to disembark from the train," Voldemort told Snape. "In fact, it doesn't even look like he got on the train in the first place."
"I can go back to school and see if he's there," Snape offered. "I left that same morning, so I assumed he was on the train with the other students."
"Why did you leave?" Lucius questioned. "You don't take every holiday off."
"It wasn't my turn to stay at Hogwarts," Snape explained. "For the last couple of years, Dumbledore had operated a rota system due to arguments about some people having to do more work than others over the holidays. It just so happens, I have the Easter holidays free."
"In that case, I don't think it's wise for you to go back," Voldemort said. "Besides, I think it's obvious that since Theo isn't here, he's still at school."
"So you're just going to leave him?" Lucius questioned.
"I haven't decided yet," Voldemort replied with a casual shrug, even though he knew exactly what he was going to do about Theo. "Right now, my focus is on four more young people." Voldemort swept his gaze over the four teenagers, and Draco was disgusted to see the way they all sat up and preened at the attention. "I will give the four of you a choice. You can pledge allegiance to me right now, and I will give you the mark as painlessly as possible, or you refuse and you find yourselves in the same position as Draco. And also the same position young Mr Nott now finds himself in. I expect all of you to serve me, and I have no problems with forcing you to do so. However, I'm more than happy to let you willingly join me."
"I'll join," Pansy offered immediately.
"So will I," Daphne agreed.
Crabbe and Goyle also willingly agreed to join Voldemort and Draco watched in sick fascination as four people he'd once thought of as friends willingly had the Dark Mark branded on their left forearm. Surprisingly Voldemort was true to his word, and apart from a brief moment of pain, none of his former school mates seemed bothered by the mark being applied. They certainly weren't in the agony Draco had been when he was branded.
"You may go now," Voldemort said dismissing the teenagers and their fathers after he'd added concealing charms to the four teenagers' new marks. "Nott, I want you to stay. You may also go Severus, as can you Draco. Lucius, I think we'll retire to your study, we've got things to discuss."
Draco slowly rose to his feet as Voldemort swept out of the room with Lucius and Theo's father following after him. Unsure of how much time he would have with Severus, before Lucius or Voldemort realised they'd left them alone and returned to make sure they weren't talking, Draco approached his former Professor.
"How's Hermione and Lyra?" He asked.
"They're both perfectly safe," Snape reassured the young blond wizard. "Hermione's made the decision to leave school, and she's now at Order headquarters. Blaise and Theo are with her."
"So they're alright as well?" Draco checked with a relived sigh. At least now he knew Voldemort couldn't do anything to punish Theo.
"They're fine," Snape said. "How are you?"
"Better now they think I'm responsible for someone's death," Draco replied. "But it won't last. I've had a couple of weeks of doing nothing. Sooner or later, they're going to want me to do something again, and they're going to use Lyra to get me to do it. I just hate the thought of my little girl being in pain and I'm not there to help her."
"You're helping her by keeping yourself alive," Snape said. "Just focus on surviving, Draco. Leave everything else to the Order. You just make sure when this is all over, Lyra still has her father. I better be going before someone comes to check I've gone."
"Thanks," Draco said to his former Professor. "And when you see Hermione and Lyra, give them my love."
"I will," Snape vowed as the two wizards went their separate ways before anyone caught on and realised they'd been talking.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
After leaving the manor, Snape went home and stayed there for a few hours, before heading out to grab some bits and pieces. It was while he was out that he decided to call at the Order headquarters to see Hermione. Snape was never sure just how much Voldemort watched him when he was out of his sight, so he never headed to Order headquarters from his home, hence the small shopping trip before hand.
When Snape arrived at Grimmauld Place, he was given his normal frosty reception from Sirius and Remus. The pair were still sceptical about which side he was on, but Snape didn't care what the pair thought. He knew where his loyalties lay, as did Dumbledore and anyone else who mattered like Hermione and Draco.
"I've come to see Hermione," Snape explained to the two wizards he'd went to school with.
"Have you seen Draco?" Remus asked. He was always more civil than Sirius towards Snape, therefore Snape liked him marginally better than his friend.
"I have," Snape replied with a nod. "Which is why I want to see Hermione. I want to reassure her that he's coping."
"I'll go and get her," Sirius offered as he got to his feet. "I think they're all in the library again."
Despite his curiosity, Snape didn't ask who the all included, or what they were doing in the library. Not only did he doubt Sirius would tell him anything, but it was really better if he didn't know too much. He and Dumbledore had long since decided it was safer for everyone if Snape didn't know too much about what the Order were up to. Of course he knew enough to pass bits and pieces onto Voldemort, but they deliberately made sure he knew nothing major in case The Dark Lord used underhand tactics to get information from him.
A few minutes later, Hermione entered the room with Sirius. Much to Snape's surprise, there was no sign of Lyra, but Hermione mentioned she was being looked after by some of the others.
"It seems like she's gained dozens of uncles," Hermione chuckled. "Everyone is being great, and Lyra is loving all the attention."
"Nearly everyone is being great," Sirius corrected with a frown. Ron was still being offhand with Hermione and Lyra, and Sirius wasn't at all impressed with the teenager's attitude.
"I'm not going to worry about Ron," Hermione said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "If he wants to sulk, let him. I've got more important things to worry about. Like Draco. How is he?"
"He's coping," Snape replied. "The ruse with George gave him some breathing space."
"Good," Hermione said. "But it won't last, will it?"
"I doubt it," Snape said with a rueful smile. "In fact, I think The Dark Lord and Lucius are planning something as we speak."
"Any idea what?" Remus asked.
"Unfortunately, no," Snape said, shaking his head. "They went off in private to talk, but it might have something to do with Theo. Before that, Voldemort discovered that he didn't go home as he'd been told."
"Theo's safe here, isn't he?" Hermione checked, turning to Sirius and Remus.
"Yes, he's safe," Sirius said, placing a reassuring hand on Hermione's shoulder. "You all are. Whatever he's planning, Theo won't be involved."
"I'll let you know if I hear anything, but unless they're going to involve me directly, I'll probably not hear anything," Snape said.
"He really doesn't trust anyone, does he?" Remus remarked.
"He does actually," Snape corrected. "He trusts Lucius and Bellatrix. They both know practically everything that The Dark Lord is planning. As for everyone else, they're only told what they need to know."
"I wonder if we can get our hands on either of them," Sirius mused thoughtfully. "They could be a mine of information."
"And you honestly think either of them would talk?" Snape raised a sceptical eyebrow at Sirius. "I hate to tell you this, but they're totally committed to The Dark Lord. They'd both die before they betrayed him."
"I suppose you're right," Sirius conceded with a sigh. "But it would be so handy to have an inside track on what he's planning."
"It would, but all we can do is stay alert," Snape said as he rose to his feet. "I better be going in case I'm needed. But don't worry about Draco, Hermione. He's coping just fine. You concentrate on yourself and Lyra. Make sure he's got a family to come back to."
"I will," Hermione promised. "And thank you for coming to see me. It really helps knowing that he's coping."
With a brusque nod, Snape said his goodbyes and departed Grimmauld Place. He then headed back home, his mind firmly on the young couple torn apart by Voldemort and the war he'd waged on the wizarding world. Snape couldn't help but compare Draco and Hermione to himself and Lily, even though they were a proper couple whereas he'd lost that chance with Lily by lashing out when he was hurting. He just hoped that things ended better for them than it had for himself and the witch he loved. Hopefully Draco and Hermione would come through this ordeal stronger than ever, he certainly hoped so.