A little over one year ago I posted this story on this website. I was afraid no one would enjoy it. Here I am, 1400 reviews later. And I owe it to you guys! Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I'm so glad I've been able to entertain you! I love this journey and here's the update!
LCailan
CHAPTER SEVENTY-TWO
Ireland
"That's barmy, it is!"
Ginny reached to try and calm her husband.
"No, you don't understand-"
She began to speak to him knowing that ultimately her words would fall on deaf ears for when Seamus got his Irish up he had no patience for anyone – not even her.
"Actually, I think you've gone completely barmy, you have!"
She shook her head.
"Hermione's the closest thing I have to a sister."
"Death Eaters!"
"She can't help what's happened and I-"
"Those heartless bastards invading our home, lives and my very livelihood!"
His blue eyes widened in shock and Ginny reached forward once again.
"It's only to help them get out of England, I swear. Hermione promised that it was all she would ask for! There's only a few of them and Neville's been helping-"
Seamus' freckles had disappeared under the flush of his cheeks.
"Sure, I don't bloody care what he's been doing! He's just as bad as you, Hermione and the rest of that insane lot!"
He flung out his hands.
"England's not my sodding home, all right? This place is! This place is the only thing I've got to call home since the damn war ended and I won't go back there again! I don't care what happens there and I don't care if I never go back! I swear it on me mum's grave! Everything I've build up, everything I treasure is right here and I won't compromise that to help a Death Eater! Merlin's beard, Gin! I spent nearly ten years of my bloody life fighting against them, I did! Now you want me to turn around and help them?"
He shook his head with increasing vehemence.
"Our future, Gin, don't you see? Everything we have will be for the children and I'm not going to compromise that on a reckless whim! We're not children anymore for Merlin's sake!"
Ginny sighed with defeat.
"It's only a small favor. We didn't tell you because I was afraid this is how you'd react. They've been staying at the holding site right near the first shelter we built."
"This whole time, Gin? Even after the terrible things you went through?"
"It's only one night more, Seamus, maybe two. That's all. Once they're out of Ireland it won't matter to us."
Seamus' face turned even redder.
"It won't matter until Zabini finds out, isn't that right? Bastard might no longer have a job at the British Ministry but I believe Dean when he says that part doesn't matter. Zabini's got a following and it's only a matter of time until he secures himself another cushy position. And if it's in the Irish Ministry we're goners, we are! You know what he does to people who cross him! It's as bad as having another-"
Ginny gave him a look and Seamus fell silent.
It was as bad as having another bleeding Voldemort.
He didn't say it this time for he had said it too many times in the past and Ginny had stopped wanting to hear it. But it didn't make the thought any less true. Zabini was a tyrant at best and at worst…
"I just don't understand why you couldn't have told me this earlier! Don't trust me, do ya? You never have, to be sure."
Ginny bit her lip.
"That's not so!" she cried out defensively. "Until you I didn't think my life would move on! I didn't believe I'd ever love again and here I am! I trust you! I just…some things are easier done if…not everyone knows."
She looked up at from under her eyelashes.
"I thought you'd be angry."
The words made Seamus want to be angry but somehow at the same time they caused him to check himself. The silence between them grew lengthy before he spoke once again.
"I'm afraid, Ginny. I know that we've been to blasted hell and back but sometimes it just seems like that's never going to end."
She moved to put her arms around him.
He had done the same for her many times in the past.
England
Neville was uncertain of how much time had passed when he next opened his eyes. The truth was he was uncertain of anything except the hunger he had seen in the pale blue eyes of Fenrir Greyback. He shifted and found that he could not move as he was tied to a hard-backed chair. Neville could see nothing and he took a quick breath and closed his eyes, willing his wand come to him.
There was nothing. The room was pitch black and smelled stale and unused as if no one had been there in years.
"Accio wand!"
His words were echoes of helplessness for Neville knew his wand was not with him. As he willed himself not to panic he tried to make out corners, shapes…anything. He shifted against his bonds and a sharp pain not unlike being hit in the head with a bludger assaulted him. Moaning a bit he fell limply against the ropes that bound him. Unwilling to give up, Neville began to search through the bank of his memory in hopes of coming up with a spell that might break the ropes. He assumed the bonds were magical and nearly screamed in frustration as whispered incantations and spells fell uselessly from his lips.
He needed his wand, damn it!
Here I am, the man who defeated the greatest dark wizard of all time and I can't even free myself from some sodding, magical ropes!
The miserable thought nearly made Neville laugh aloud.
Shifting against the pain and his bonds once again he began to wiggle his fingers back and forth hoping to loosen himself in the old-fashioned, Muggle way. Sweat broke out along his nose and forehead as he concentrated with everything in him.
For a moment Neville feared that he was completely trapped, helplessly waiting for fate to deal her next hand. But then the ropes began to rub against the back of his chair and a rush of elation filled his heart.
I'll free myself yet!
As he wiggled and moved to and fro more vigorously he wasn't aware of the footsteps that moved slowly and deliberately down the stairs and towards the tiny room where he was imprisoned. Only when the door opened with a bang did Neville jump in surprise and stop his attempts at escape.
"Going somewhere, Minister?"
Neville gasped.
"I knew it was you!"
Zabini laughed.
Luna stared incredulously between Draco and Hermione and once more the brunette attempted to explain.
"Listen, I know it seems harsh…this…what you've just seen. I know it seems like I'm betraying Neville but I can-"
Luna stopped her with a sad shake of her head. Instead of acknowledging Hermione's pleas she seemed more interested in Draco's presence.
"How long have you been back? Where have you been? Do you know what's been happening to…to your kind?"
The questions weren't spoken harshly but neither were they casual; Luna's intensity was seemingly overbearing and Draco winced.
"Look, this isn't the time."
Hermione's fingers trembled as they reached towards Luna.
"I swear I'll explain anything you want but not here. Not…not right now. Draco…he's…I've got to get him out of here."
Leo, who had been playing in the distance, chose that moment to bound back towards his mother, unaware of the tension between the three adults.
"Mama, why can't we fly now?"
He yanked on his mother's arm and grabbed onto Draco's sleeve and freezing when he looked up, wide eyed.
"Where Etamin go?"
Hermione bit the inside of her cheek and knelt, blinking rapidly against the onslaught of heat behind her eyes.
"Sweetheart, I'm going to call Seamus and Ginny. It's time to go home."
She hated lying to her son who looked bewildered for a moment. She nearly wept at how much he resembled Draco right then. She could practically feel Luna's chastising gaze and was also aware of Draco's body tensing next to her.
She could barely hear Luna's voice over the rushing in her ears.
"Leo, I'll take you home."
She was kneeling now, watching Hermione over Leo's head.
"Would that be all right?"
Hermione went limp, eyes watering furiously.
"Y-yes, of course…if…if you want. I thought you…you wanted to talk."
"I do."
She smiled warmly at Leo who still looked confused and repeated his earlier question.
"Where Etamin go?"
"He had to rush, didn't he Hermione?"
Hermione nodded furiously.
"He had to work. Remember? He had business in London."
Leo looked a bit put-off and then bit his lip.
"I liked him," he said dejectedly.
Hermione took that moment to glance up at Draco whose eyes shone with frustration and regret.
Neville pulled and pushed against his restraint as Blaise watched him with open amusement.
"Even if you had managed to evade the ropes, the door is sealed, Minister. You're stuck with me."
Neville saw Blaise's smile illuminated by dull wand light. He stopped struggling, his head dropping forward.
"You won't get away with this. Someone's probably already looking for me."
His voice was thick with tension and anger.
Blaise laughed richly.
"That would be the point, wouldn't it? Let's just see how important you are to your family, yes?"
Neville's head shot up.
"Is that what this is? A trap? You leave Hermione out of this!"
Blaise knelt near to Neville's chair.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk…loyal to the end, aren't you?"
There was no mistaking the mocking tone in the black man's voice.
"She is my wife!"
Blaise paused for a welcome moment but Neville began to feel unnerved as the silence between them grew longer. Finally Blaise turned to gaze at Neville solemnly.
"And does such a woman deserve your devotion, Minister? After all, everyone knows the rumors."
He offered a smile that lacked warmth.
"There's a difference between marrying for love and marrying to…move on with life."
Neville, still sensitive from Hermione's earlier revelations nearly broke the magical bindings as he attempted to launch himself at a laughing Blaise.
"Did I touch a nerve, then? Not as trusting as you'd like to be?"
He pondered for a moment and a solemnity fell upon him like a heavy shadow.
"We're not that different, you and I."
Blaise's jaw was clenched.
"Both in love with whores, aren't we?"
Once more the words made Neville jolt forward as if he had been catapulted from a slingshot. The ropes that bound him dug painfully into his torso making him whimper for a moment before falling slack against them once more.
"Don't ever call my wife a whore."
"Have you known all this time what she was? She'd fetch a fair price, I wager. Those men at the alienages were starved for female attention."
His eyes glittered for a moment with a nameless emotion.
"Did you know? I knew. Lavender knew. What did your wife tell you? Surely you've heard about those places! Women offered whatever they could for food…shelter…protection…"
Blaise paused.
"Was she honest about her past? Or does she play games, making herself the victim?"
The questions were met with silence and then Blaise stood up and began to pace slowly through the dark room.
"I would bet you know what it is to feel completely helpless, like the whole world is moving forward and you can't…quite…catch…up."
The man who was bound said nothing, his head still lowered against his chest.
"And you must know the feeling of being completely overwhelmed by someone, thinking they might save you…that they might be the key to all those things so close and yet just out of reach. Maybe that's why you're clinging to that nosy, know-it-all bint? Do you think she can make sense of your life, Minister? The power that's been thrust upon you?"
Neville snorted, realizing his life had been long out of his control – even before Hermione.
"You don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't I?"
The only sound then was the shuffle of Blaise's shoes against the dusty floor.
"I was so sure that if I just did the right things that this…"
Blaise covered his chest with a trembling hand and Neville could feel him stop.
"This…this hole inside me…"
There was an inexplicable sadness in his voice.
"I thought working for Voldemort…having purpose…and then there was her…she was perfect and I thought for sure now…now…I would be complete. And then this power, the Alliance…the Ministry…"
He was mumbling now, the sound melting in with the pounding of Neville's anxious heart.
"I always had a reason for everything, didn't I? And yet, I'm no better off than I was years ago."
The last words fell from Blaise's lips bitterly. He turned on Neville, his eyes glittering impossibly in the darkness.
"But being Commander of the Alliance is something I've earned! This power is something I have put to good use and there will be no one – not even you – that will dare try and take it away from me!"
Neville's head lolled to the left as he attempted to lift it in Blaise's direction.
"So is that your reason now, Zabini?"
The man standing did not react but for a slight twitching of his jaw. After a moment of stillness Neville found the taller man kneeling before him, so close that he could smell the scent of cigarettes on his breath.
"I fought for everything that's been given to me," he hissed. "I put my blood, sweat and tears into that war! I gave up my family for the frontlines and I'm good at what I do! How dare you take that from me?"
Neville felt the faint pinprick of Blaise's wand against his neck and he flinched, his eyes closing.
"You turned on the people that trusted you!"
"They were Death Eaters! Nothing but soulless, hateful vermin! I'm not like them! You would defend them?"
Neville sighed.
"Not what they've done but the fact that you were once on their side and you turned on them. How do you foster trust? It's sad to know how little you actually see."
Blaise grew angry and pointed his wand at Neville vehemently, the tip trembling along the edge of his nose. But the imprisoned man never flinched.
"What do you plan on doing? Holding me here forever? I made my decision."
Blaise cackled.
"Bravado is foolishness, my friend."
There was a small motion and then Neville felt the sharp sting of Blaise's wand as it smacked him along the side of his neck – hard. Still, he remained stubbornly silent and Blaise smiled.
"I'll break you down, Minister. I'll make you wish you never eliminated me from my position."
Neville felt the coolness of Blaise's wand as it slid along his neck. It moved along his throat, stopping right over his pulse.
"What scares you?" Blaise whispered. "Is it being alone? Is it watching your family suffer? Is it losing Hermione and her bastard son?"
Neville twitched and let out a small, choked sound which made Blaise smile.
"What will make you fall to your knees and plead for mercy?"
Neville still said nothing and Blaise grew impatient.
"Perhaps you'd like to experience what your parents did?"
Neville's eyes flew open just as Blaise's wand raised in the air.
"Crucio!"
There was pain and Neville screamed.
Hermione reached down to squeeze Draco's hand for a moment. Then she gazed imploringly at Luna.
"I know this is too much to ask but if anyone sees him like this…"
Within moments Luna had grudgingly restored Draco's disguise. They both gazed at the man that stood before them and once again Hermione was overwhelmed. It didn't matter what he looked like; she would always know it was him.
She met Draco's eyes.
"Can you give Luna and I…one moment, please?"
The plea caused her voice to break and without another word Draco turned and hurried towards Leo not even sparing Luna a glance.
The two women stood facing one another the silence between them so thick it could be cut by a knife. Luna spoke first.
"This whole time, Hermione?"
The brunette shook her head.
"No! You've got to believe me! I would never want to hurt Neville like that! He's my husband and I love him! I moved on because I believed Draco was…"
She choked on the last words the feeling of helplessness washing over her – the same helplessness she had felt for months and months after coming to Cardiff for the first time. In spite of the fact that she had moved on with her life and chosen to love another man her heart had always clung to the futile hope that somewhere Draco was…
"Has he been in England this whole time? Did he send you away but manage to stay alive during the fall of the Ministry?"
Hermione blinked rapidly.
"He…he never…he was imprisoned for awhile but managed to escape during the attack on the Ministry right before the war ended. And he's been on the run since then."
"He came here to find you?"
Hermione's eyes filled with tears at the coldness in Luna's voice and the look of reproach in her soft, gray eyes.
"No…no…he just wanted to make sure I was all right. I…it wasn't…the way you think it was. We never meant…any harm, I swear."
Luna was silent for a few moments as if considering her response. When she finally spoke, her voice was soft.
"How long has he been here?"
"Months."
Luna's eyes flickered in the direction of Draco and Leo.
"Does he know Leo is-?"
There was no hesitation in Hermione's voice.
"Yes."
"Does Leo know?"
"No! Merlin's beard I can't do that to a little boy! He believes Neville's his father and I…I can't do that to either of them. Not with the way the world is now; it would be too hurtful."
But it was clear in Hermione's voice – the regret and wistfulness. Luna bit back the torrent of words that threatened her – words of disappointment, anger and resentment. Instead she dropped her head.
"You've been lying to us for months, Hermione."
The words were terse and flat.
"It wasn't supposed to be this way! I didn't know he was still alive! I didn't want this to happen!"
The two women stared at one another.
"You should be ashamed!"
"Of what?" Hermione exclaimed defensively. "Of loving a man so much I can't stop? Of moving on with my life? Of both?"
Luna was taken aback and Hermione took her silence as a chance to continue.
"You said yourself that sometimes it's hard to move on but eventually you do! You loved your husband so much you never moved on! But I'm not that way! What was I supposed to do, Luna? Mope the rest of my life away? Another chance was offered to me and I did what I believed was right! You can't stand there and really believe that I should be ashamed of loving anyone, can you?"
Luna's cheeks flushed crimson and for the first time her determination was shadowed by a flickering of sympathy. Her voice was a whisper.
"When Draco came back to London, how did you know?"
Hermione hung her head, her cheeks warming at the thought of that first moment in the abandoned, brick house. The way her heart had stopped…the way he had looked at her…the way time had ceased to matter…and the way she had felt to be in his arms once again.
She felt hear body responding still – her heart racing and her skin warming.
"I didn't…I…I was shopping for property and…"
She hung her head.
"He…he was hiding out in one of the houses that had been left abandoned after the war," she revealed in a small voice.
Luna bit her lower lip for a second before letting out a gasp.
"The brick house you bought for the Ministry!"
Hermione acknowledged the truth with a solemn nod and Luna flung her hands out.
"No wonder you purchased that place! It seemed rather odd at the time but…"
She shook her head and Hermione couldn't quite read the expression in the depths of her usually kind eyes.
"So…you've been going to see him since then?"
"Yes."
"Have you broken your vows to Neville?"
The question was such a personal one and yet Luna had managed to get to the core of Hermione's conscience with only a few simple, blunt words. She didn't have to speak, however, for her infidelity was suddenly written on her face like invisible ink upon parchment.
Luna's face fell.
"Oh, Hermione," she whispered.
Hermione reached out with broken arms hoping for comfort but Luna did not move to embrace her.
Draco had never felt joy as real as the moment that his son recognized him once again. It didn't matter that he was in disguise or that his time would not last forever – he was simply overwhelmed by the simplicity of love he felt for Leo. Etamin Black did not exist; he was a figment of Ginny Finnigan's imagination but if Leo could learn to love Etamin, Draco would remain Etamin forever.
He had never wanted anything in his life with such sheer desire as the need to be loved by his own son.
Beneath that were touches of frustration at not being able hear Leo call him 'daddy.' There was pain at never truly being able to love Hermione the way he wanted to. And jealousy for a man that deserved nothing but the utmost respect.
Longbottom is braver than all of us. Bloody hell, I'm a coward if I ever believed to be a better man than he is! And I feel nothing towards him but this jealous and hatred so black-
"Etamin, wassa matter with Mama?"
Draco cleared his throat, swallowing down all his battling emotions to focus on his son.
"Sometimes, grownups have to be worried about things, Leo. Your Mama worries about you and your…d-daddy."
He found the word 'daddy' to be offensive; it pained him to even speak such blasphemy and yet…
Leo was watching Draco intently.
"Is he gonna be fine?"
Draco nodded, swallowing again. It was like something aching and dry had lodged itself in his throat.
"He will be."
There was a solemn silence and then Leo spoke once again.
"My borned daddy is dead."
Draco blinked away the heat behind his eyes.
"W-what?"
"Just like Albus, James and Lily. Say-mouse is not their borned daddy. He just their borrowed daddy 'till they get to see their real daddy again."
Draco nodded and then stopped walking along the edges of the well-kept path between the park trees. He knelt so he was face to face with his son.
"You mean your birth father?"
"Is what I said! My borned daddy. Mama says he was a great whiz and that I look like him! She also says I am lucky 'cause my borrowed daddy is a good man. I love him and I don't want him to be sick."
Draco reached to put his hand on Leo's shoulder.
"I am sure your daddy loves you, Leo. How could he not?"
How could anyone loathe a family like Hermione and Leo? Merlin, if there was a spell, a way to turn back time forever, I would-
"Am I bad because I think about my borned daddy? Am I bad because I want to meet him even though I have a good borrowed daddy?"
"What?"
"I know I should not think about him 'cause I have another daddy now but sometimes I wonder about him. I axe Mama but she gets sad when she talks about that."
Draco's mouth moved but nothing came out. He forgot everything – the danger that surrounded them, the fact that within moments he might never see his son again – all of it.
I'm your birth father! I'm standing here, holding your hand and looking into your eyes and I can't say it! I can't say it! I'm sorry, Leo, I'm so sorry!
"You're not bad," Draco managed to say throatily. Then he said something he immediately regretted.
"I knew your birth father."
Leo's eyes lit up brilliantly.
Luna's face had gone pale leaving only two spots of color high on her cheeks. Her voice had taken on a shrill, indignant quality.
"Your husband nearly died! And even now you can't be honest with him? You can't tell him the truth? Why, Hermione? Are you afraid of losing your precious position as the Minister's wife? Is that it? Or do you enjoy hurting someone that loves you that much?"
Luna's irrational words reached Hermione's heart and she felt it breaking.
"Haven't you been listening even a bit?" she cried out. "This wasn't about hurting Neville! I moved on never believing that Draco would ever return! It wasn't as if I awoke one day and wondered how I could hurt Neville the most!"
Her face was a mask of anger.
I will not cry. I will not let them vilify me!
"I was afraid that he would be angry with me so if I am guilty of anything its selfishness. And Merlin knows I'm selfish; I've long ago determined that and made peace with it! Don't you dare make me out to be some heartless shrew! Not you, Luna! I thought you knew me; I thought you were a friend in this cruel world!"
As Hermione paused to take in a strangled breath her thoughts whirled within her tumultuously. She recalled the pain and disappointment in Ginny's eyes and the realization and ridicule in Neville's. She knew the world would look down upon her.
I knew it. I knew it, so why is this so bloody hard to take?
"I apologize for hurting my husband and not telling him the truth right away. I am sorry for being an awful person and a crap wife. But I am not sorry for loving Draco Malfoy."
Luna would not relent.
"I can't believe you'd stand there and defend your actions," she said with a sigh. "After everything they've put you through-"
"Stop!"
Hermione's demand was angry and shrill.
"Stop it! I've heard it all and I know what I feel makes no sense; it never did! But it is what it is and I'm not going to be sorry. I'm not going to feel guilty. Not anymore. I love him and that's that. I won't ever regret a moment of the time we spent together because while the rest of the world abandoned me I found shelter in him."
Her eyes shone with determination and an everlasting devotion.
"He's a good man and I will never, ever turn on him."
"All while the rest of your life and relationships go down the drain," Luna replied flatly. "You would spit on the devotion and love that Neville's offered you just so you can be with a Death Eater?"
"Stop it, Luna."
Hermione's words were soft but there was no mistaking the strength that they possessed.
"I don't think I ever knew you, Hermione."
The brunette lifted her chin and took a breath.
"And I don't think you were ever my friend."
She turned then so that Luna would never have to see the pain of realizing such a thing.
"That's not true," came Luna's pained reply. "I love you and I love your son like you were family. I just don't understand."
Hermione had steeled herself.
"No one does. I just need you to love me in spite of that."
Luna was silent and Hermione's heart broke.
Neville opened his bleary eyes and retched as waves of pain still rolled over his spent body. He was no longer bound to the chair although he could feel where the bindings had rubbed his flesh raw – but now that pain was only a mild irritation compared to the remnants of pain inflicted by Blaise's latest round of torture.
Still, Neville had not budged or reneged on his decision to remove Blaise Zabini from his Ministry post. The other wizard stood, looming over Neville, his wand raised.
"Go ahead and kill me. It won't make it any easier for you to get back your post. My…choice…has been…made."
Even the words were difficult in Neville's weakened state and they caused Blaise to titter lightly.
"You bloody, stubborn imbecile! Don't you understand that all this pain is for naught? All you have to do is give me back what is rightfully mine!"
He poked Neville with the wand.
"Do the smart thing, Minister. You're already trying whatever's left of my patience."
But Neville would not speak. For the first time since the war he had made a decision that he knew was the right one. Blaise Zabini was dangerous and he would have no more influence in the Ministry.
Not as long as I am Minister for Magic!
His thoughts steeled him and offered some strength which had long become elusive.
"You're a fool," whispered Blaise. "How many of your family and loved ones will have to suffer until you change your mind?"
Blaise had knelt on the dirty floor next to Neville, watching him with curious, black eyes.
"What's most important?"
Neville would no longer look the other man in the eyes and instead lay on the cold, dirty ground staring sightlessly up into the gloomy darkness. When, after a period of time, he did not speak, Blaise jammed his wand painfully into Neville's neck.
"If you can't be persuaded, perhaps I can have your family persuade you."
Neville did not react.
"What if I knock them off…one by one?"
He moved his wand along Neville's torso almost playfully, emphasizing each word with a tap. When Neville continued to stay silent a visible agitation began to blanket the former Commander and he got to his feet with a frustrated flourish, the room suddenly sounding with his angry pacing.
"You're a fool, Minister – the biggest fool if you think I'll just give up what is mine! Hopefully when you hear the screams of your own family you'll see the light!"
Neville offered nothing but a scared, choked whimper as Blaise removed a shiny, gold Galleon from the depths of his pocket. He tapped his wand against it and then waved it with a flourish and the coin shifted and shimmered before the words appeared on it:
Target is uncooperative. Find and bring me his family.
Somewhere in the slums of London, in those areas of the city that healing from the war had not yet begun, Fenrir Greyback clutched a dirty coin in the palm of his calloused palm. When it began to burn against his ruined flesh he glanced down at it for the message.
His new target in mind, the wolf crept out of the decay of London society which was ripe for the hunt.
Leo's eyes grew wide with wonder.
"What you mean, Etamin?"
There was a moment when Draco couldn't think of what to say next, shocked at his own words, kicking himself for even saying them. But before he could actually reply, Luna was there – weird, little Luna whom Draco had never held in any esteem, even back when they had been in school together.
He shouldn't have cared what she thought of him, shouldn't have given a piss that she was glaring at him reproachfully. The sad look in her eyes should not have made him feel like the whole world was disappointed in him.
But all those things were true.
For a moment they only stared at one another and then Luna crouched down and reached for Leo's hand.
"Luna! Etamin knows my borned daddy!"
Her smile was thin and tight.
"You must be confused darling. It's time for me to take you home."
She sounded strange – not like the girl he remembered and certainly not like the compassionate woman Hermione had described. She was cold, distant…she was mistrustful.
"He said it, Luna!"
Leo turned to stare up at Draco, reaching to yank on his hand with determination.
"Didn't you say that?" he demanded.
He's just like me, Draco thought with a distracted wonder. I remember when I was like this and my father would scold me because I was irritating him! How strange that now…
Draco also crouched down and spared Luna a glance even though he didn't want to look at her. Her eyes said it all - not another word.
"Listen, Leo. I must go; I have business in the city. We can talk about this another time, all right?"
It hurt to say the words, to be so close to the truth and not be able to speak it. But he had done enough damage already. Hermione was standing behind Luna, in the distance, in the corners of his awareness and she was already suffering.
"But you said-"
"I know what I said and I promise that if I come see you again it'll be the first thing we talk about."
Leo stared at Draco missing the difference between 'if' and 'when'. Draco knew that he might not see his son again; in fact, he doubted he would. Tears were burning behind his eyes, dry and painful and not even blinking eased the discomfort.
"You promise for real?"
"I do."
"Old people sometimes say stuff they don't mean."
"That may be true but I always keep my promises."
Leo considered Draco once again and finally conceded his desires.
"You come soon, okay? I have a swimming pool and a huge room to play games in! You can teach me more magics 'cause maybe by then I'll have a wand!"
Draco smiled despite his misery.
"That sounds brilliant."
"Good!"
The boy grew a bit shy, offering a smile.
"I like you, Etamin."
Draco wanted to weep.
"And I like you, Leo."
Luna's reproachful gaze had faltered at the exchange between father and son and when Draco stood, their eyes met. No words were exchanged and Draco watched with regret and sadness as his son was suddenly whisked away from him in an invisible whirlwind of magic. He had never felt more alone even though Hermione hurried to his side.
"Come on," she whispered with urgency. "I know this isn't easy but Seamus is waiting at the orphanage near his village. The others are there."
He paused, feeling as if he wasn't actually part of the scene before him but instead staring down at it.
"Pansy?"
"Yes, Draco, yes. She's there…she…she misses you, I'm sure."
And he missed her too; she had been the only one that stuck by him through thick and thin. She was the sort of friend that every person wanted but few would actually have. He loved her; he had always loved her in his own way. Maybe not the way that she had wanted him to but he had loved her.
"Hermione."
She was blinking rapidly as if holding back some powerful emotion. Her lower lip was trembling and she caught it against her teeth.
"We have to hurry, Draco. We can say good-bye there, once we're safe."
"You don't-"
"Draco, please," she urged taking his hand.
Then they, too, disappeared.
St. Mungo's
Ginny stood against the receptionists desk at St. Mungo's, a frown on her face.
"His Healer said that?"
"Yes," said the sprightly-looking witch on duty. "I was told explicitly that the Minister needed to be left alone so that he could fully recover. We've only had one staff member tending to his needs and he hasn't called us for a thing in several hours."
Ginny frowned a bit. It wasn't like Neville to not have contacted at least Seamus.
"Would you mind very much if I visited him? I know he's a high profile patient but I am family."
The woman considered this.
"Well, you don't seem like some of the others that have come through here," she replied. "I've lost track of how many reporters have been here. I even had a wizard from the Wireless inquire if he might have an audience for an interview. It's nearly maddening."
Ginny sympathized appropriately but her mind was on Neville inside his hospital room, not receiving any visitors.
He must be so miserable!
Having to deal with the attack on top of the truths Hermione had told him…well, Ginny didn't want to think about it.
After a moment or two the witch at the receptionists desk allowed Ginny to pass and she hurried down the pristine corridor towards Neville's room. The door was shut tight.
Ginny felt a wave of unease wash over her, coming and fading quickly. She knocked and when no one answered from within the second wave came and stayed, drowning her in worry and causing her fingers to grow icy.
"Neville?"
Her voice was soft as she finally pushed the door open.
The room was in disarray and the bed empty, the sheets having been pushed about messily. She saw the water pitcher spilled on the ground next to the bed, the water glittering from the overhead lighting.
The fear that gripped Ginny's heart grew stronger so that she had trouble breathing. Neville was gone. Would he have left on his own? Or was this another attempt on his life?
Turning, she dashed back out into the corridor, lifting her wand as she went. She sent her Patronus ahead of her to warn the others.