Previously on A Tale Of Two Wizards Full Circle: Chapter 9
"Daddy gone. I want my Daco mum."
It took several seconds for Hermione to realize she'd been so busy trying to get back to some semblance of normal she'd forgotten that their home was the last place Scorpius had seen his father. All the running from room to room and up the stairs was because he was trying to find Draco.
Hermione hugged Scorpius tightly as she fought to hold back her own tears. Carrying her son to the bedroom she used to share with Draco, Hermione sat Scorp down on the bed as she summoned the slightly worn family photo which would be one of the only things to keep him connected to his Daco.
Pulling Scorp onto her lap, Hermione began to explain that his daddy was gone and he would only be able to see him in his photo.
Scorp smiled at the photo as he ran his hand across the face of his smiling father, and like before, the fatherless child calmly remarked, "Daddy gone mum. My Daco gone."
Hermione smiled back at her son because, for the moment, he understood.
A Tale Of Two Wizards Full Circle: Chapter 10
Hermione sat on the bed for an hour holding Scorpius, and probably would have sat there a lot longer if Embers hadn't popped in to check if she wanted lunch.
Hermione sat Scorp on the bed as she stood and stretched. Life must go on. If she didn't have her son, she probably wouldn't even think about food. However, she did have a son. A son who was probably half starved. He'd only had a piece of toast and the few crackers from Kim, so she asked Embers to put out chicken soup and chips for Scorp and a cucumber and onion salad with a half tuna sandwich for her.
"Yes Mrs. Embers be doing that very fast."
Then, before Embers could pop away, Hermione questioned the elf about something that was puzzling her. "Why was Crissy here?"
Bowing, Embers gave a ready answer. "Crissy been coming here to check that you and Master Scorpius is okay. She knowing the bad news about Mr. Draco and was thinking something happened to you and the young master too. We been telling her you all is alright, but she made herself in charge and wouldn't leave until she saw you and young master for herself. Crissy a bad elf."
"No," countered Hermione. "Crissy is a good elf just like you and Dusty. It's her job as it yours to make sure the family is safe. Crissy is a Malfoy Manor house elf, but she is welcome here at all times. However, I will speak to her about coming in and putting herself in charge of Malfoy Estate. That won't do, because you and Dusty are in charge of Malfoy Estate when I'm not here. Even though Draco is gone, the rules remain the same. Thank you."
With his head hung down, Embers solemnly replied that he understood before disappearing with a pop.
/*/
While Hermione was speaking to Embers, Scorp had slid off the bed and left the room. Hermione found him sitting nonchalantly on his potty playing with her mobile.
She sat on the side of the tub watching her handsome son her heart overflowing with love. Except for his darker blonde hair, Scorp looked so much like Draco it was uncanny. "My big boy. My big, handsome boy," she cooed running her hand through his hair. "You and I are going to have a wonderful life. I'll see to it. Let's go have lunch then you can have your nap."
No sooner had the words left Hermione's mouth than Embers appeared calling her and Scorp to lunch. With a clean bum, Scorp pulled up his own pants and turned to Hermione with a grin.
"Lunch mum?"
"Yes love, lunch."
/*/
Crissy appeared at the table as Hermione and Scorp were just finishing up, so Hermione took that moment to set Crissy straight about the rules at Malfoy Estate. Crissy stood stock still listening to everything Hermione said before two huge tears rolled down either side of her cheeks.
Hermione felt like an imbecile. All alone at Malfoy Manor, Crissy had been suffering just as much as the rest of the family. She would never again see the beloved master she'd known since his birth. Lucius was gone. Narcissa was gone, and now Draco.
Getting hastily up from the table, Hermione walked over to stand directly in front of the elf before resuming her talk.
"Scorp and I understand how painful it is to be left alone. Draco meant the world to us as he did to you, Dusty and Embers. Just because he's gone doesn't mean we'll be any less of a family. I propose that you keep Malfoy Manor neat and tidy until such a time Mr. Matt and myself decide what will be done with it, but spend your time here with Dusty and Embers. That way, you won't be alone. With that said, I'll remind you once again that you, Dusty and Embers are to work together. You will not take over. Are we clear?"
"We's clear Mrs. Hermione," she mumbled, looking down at her feet. "I be keeping up with my work at the Manor, but Ise going to be living here with you, young master, Embers and Dusty. Ise so glad Ise going to be living with my family. Nobody been checking in on Crissy since my Mr. Draco died. I really been missing him so bad. Thank you my Mrs. Ise going to tell Embers and Dusty, but I won't be taking over. I just be telling them."
With a pop, Crissy disappeared.
Hermione couldn't help but smile. Scorp wouldn't ever want for anything with those three elves in the house.
During the time Hermione had been speaking to Crissy, Scorp had laid his head on the table beside his plate and fallen asleep. Hermione conjured a cloth to wipe Scorp's face and hands before carrying him up to his bed.
/*/
With Scorp down for his nap, Hermione wandered into Draco's study and sat down at the desk which was piled high with condolence messages from as far away as California USA. The mates Draco met back in 2002, and who had come all the way from California to attend their wedding had sent individual as well as collective messages. They were a great bunch of guys.
As she went through the messages, Hermione was overwhelmed by the sheer number of well wishes for her and Scorp. She could feel herself welling up as she read through the personal sentiments. It was gratifying to know Draco had been so well respected. It was a given that she would save these along with the obituaries and visitor books for when Scorp was old enough to appreciate them.
Hermione decided she would start sending the thank you replies. Checking the desk drawers she found a box of blank cards she had used from time to time to send out thank you notes. Summoning her wand from the kitchen, Hermione transformed the plain looking cards into beautifully embossed cards. Picking three of the cards, she filled in three different thank you messages. With another twist of her wand, Hermione replicated the three messages onto the rest of the blank cards before addressing the envelopes.
Hermione had then called out softly for Embers who appeared before the last syllable left her mouth.
"Yes, Mrs."
Grabbing all the envelopes from the desk, Hermione asked Embers to take them to the owlery and mail them out.
Giving Hermione a half bow, Embers took the envelopes and disappeared with a pop.
/*/
For no other reason than she could, Hermione began looking through the desk drawers. There was correspondence that she spent a few minutes reading, but as most of it related to the businesses, she figured Gas and Matt would sort it out. The other drawers contained little else of interest until Hermione opened the bottom drawer on the left side. The drawer contained a large folder with lots of receipts, brochures and remnants from the sports adventures Draco had taken and planned to take.
After a quick look through, Hermione went to return the folder to the drawer when a bright, red bit of something fell onto the desk. Putting the folder aside, Hermione picked up the bit which turned out to be a tightly folded napkin. Hermione thought she recognized the distinctive napkin, but wasn't sure until she unfolded it. Smoothing it out in front of her, Hermione immediately recognized the crest of the Langass Lodge. She and Draco had stayed there on several occasions when he wanted to get away from the bustle of work, London and Wiltshire.
There was writing on the napkin. It was a bit faded, but holding the napkin close to her eyes, Hermione could just make out the words. As the words and meaning sunk in, Hermione quickly pulled her hands away as though they'd been stung. Thanks. Hope you'll have more time next trip. It was signed PP. Hermione nearly gagged. Her senses obviously had been on point. The PP had to be Pansy Parkinson, and the greeting obviously meant she and Draco had spent time together when she was in London for that conference week. In a rapid movement, Hermione used the back of her arm to swipe the entire folder onto the floor before breaking into heart wrenching sobs. The love of her life, the wizard of her dreams had met secretly with a former flame. Whether anything intimate had gone on between them wasn't the reason for her tears. She was crying because she'd been right. Her and Draco's relationship had been deteriorating and he'd rather meet some bitch witch in secret rather than try to get it sorted with her. Hermione felt betrayed. She felt small like some pitiful wife who had kept holding on after the relationship had soured.
With tears still falling, Hermione waved her wand to gather the folder and its contents which were lying strewn across the floor.
"Accio. Accio," she called out. As the contents slid back into the folder, Hermione held the napkin tightly in her hand. Once everything was back in place, she returned the folder to the bottom drawer.
In the back of her mind, Hermione didn't know why she was holding onto the napkin. Was it the fear someone else would see it and know Draco had been stepping out with another witch? It couldn't be that, because even if one of the cousins or mates came across the napkin, she knew they would never mention it.
Hermione read the words once again then started to call out an Evanesco to vanish the napkin away for once and all, but she hesitated.
Hermione remained in the chair with silent tears slipping down her face. She hadn't imagined anything. Draco had stepped out on her at least one time, maybe more. The thought took her breath away. As silly as it sounded, the knowledge of Draco meeting up with Pansy, especially at a place they had visited together, was like a catharsis. After the cry, Hermione felt cleansed. There wouldn't be any more illicit meetings. There wouldn't be any more wondering if their relationship would last. She had won by default. Then and there, Hermione vowed to live her life as though she'd never seen the napkin.
/*/
After her sojourn in Draco's study, Hermione felt she should have Embers box all Draco's correspondence and have it removed from the study. She didn't need or want it. Let Gaspare and Matt deal with it. However, when Hermione explained what she would like done with the contents, Embers threw caution to the wind and offered an opinion.
"Ise not trying to dispute my Mrs., but Mr. Gas and Mr. Matt will be needing this information. Might be important. I can just be moving it to the closet."
Hermione thought about it. Just because she was annoyed with her deceased husband, wasn't a reason to interfere with information that would probably be needed down the road.
Although he had spoken out of turn, Embers was only looking out for the family business, and was quite correct. "That's a fine idea Embers," Hermione replied. "Move it all to the closet. I'll inform Matt and Gas where they can find it. Thank you. After you've finished with that task, please go check on Scorp. I'd like a few more minutes to myself."
"Yes Mrs.," answered Embers as he cleared the drawers with a wave of his hand and moved it all to the closet. "I'll see to the young master right away."
Before Embers could leave the room, Hermione informed him that she'd spoken to Crissy and he and Dusty should allow Crissy to help out around the estate.
With a wide smile plastered across his face, Embers assured Hermione that he, Dusty and Crissy had everything worked out. The Manor elf would be living with them, but she wouldn't be taking over.
Hermione held back a smile as she nodded at Embers. There was no putting anything over on Embers.
Slipping off her shoes, Hermione put her feet up before Summoning the white wine and a glass. She filled her glass to the top, sat back in one of the big chairs and took a sip.
So much had changed. No longer would she sit in the study, den or library with a glass of wine waiting for Draco to come through the door. She could have her wine, but she couldn't have her husband. What the hell would she do now? After a few more sips, Hermione set the glass of wine aside and began to think about her future. Should she keep Malfoy Estate, or should she find something more manageable? Should she find a position? Carmella suggested she come back to DLM, but that would mean moving back to Italy and that wasn't something she was prepared to do. At least, not at the moment. Reaching out for her glass, Hermione realized she was putting the cart before the horse, so to speak. She hadn't even buried Draco. These kind of thoughts could wait. Finishing off the wine, Hermione placed the glass back down on the table. It was time to go see about her baby boy.
/*/
Harry was having a busy day. It was case after case. By late afternoon, he was annoyed he hadn't been able to get away to check on Zacharias' progress with the vault. Smith had assured him it would be ready for Sunday, but Harry wanted to see for himself. In addition, he wanted to be able to show it to Hermione before the funeral. Finally, at 4:15 Zacharias rang Harry to let him know everything was in place.
Harry,
Zacharias here.
The vault is finished. You may stop by and have a look anytime you wish. I have it enclosed in a shrouding charm to keep the nosy Nellies away until the funeral. A simple swish and flick Deshroud will bring it into focus. If you plan to stop by, please remember to replace the spell when you leave. I'd like to keep it a secret until Mrs. Malfoy has a chance to see it. Let me know what you think. I'll see you on Sunday.
Harry was happy.
Fantastic Zacharias. I'll stop by tonight and have a look. I'll call Hermione tonight so we can visit it tomorrow morning. Thank you for your time and hard work. I know Hermione will appreciate it. We'll see you Sunday.
After disconnecting the call, Harry let out a loud, satisfied sigh. Everything seemed to be turning out well. It was the least he could do for Draco, Hermione and Scorpius.
Seated behind his desk, Harry hurriedly moved through case file after case file. By the time he finished, his Aurors had already checked in and left for the night. He was ready to go have a look at the vault. On the way out the door, his mobile rang. Hannah was calling to see if he wanted anything special for dinner. Harry suggested baked chicken. The conversation was quick because Harry wanted to get to the vault.
/*/
Although small by Malfoy standards, the vault was perfect. Zacharias had outdone himself. Gray marble throughout, three separate vault drawers with space to add more and the Malfoy name embossed over the door. Zacharias had already had Draco's name embossed on the center vault drawer. Draco would have his family on either side of him for all time.
Harry thought Hermione wouldn't mind the size of the vault, because there was room to expand when Scorpius married. For now, there would only be three Malfoys to bury. If Hermione remarried somewhere down the line, she would take her husband's name and most likely be buried beside her husband. Scorpius, on the other hand, would want to be buried next to Draco.
Ah Scorpius. A feeling of sadness washed over Harry as he thought about the two year old who wouldn't ever see his father again. It was such a tragedy.
Harry walked the interior one more time before leaving. His most fervent hope was Hermione would be pleased.
/*/
Things had been ridiculously intense since Draco died. Gas was being inundated with calls, notes, messages and letters from Malfoy investors wanting to be reassured that the Malfoy businesses would remain solvent. It had finally come down to Gas sending out a blanket message explaining that everything was on point, and he was setting a mandatory meeting in the London offices for 11:00 am on 4/27, the Monday after Draco's funeral.
Gas was exhausted. Between the nervous investors and his pregnant wife, he was done in. Not that he was complaining, but going home to a nauseous, irritable wife was the last thing he needed after dealing with seven mainline companies and three satellite companies on a daily basis without Draco. Draco had done it with ease, but he wasn't Draco. If he'd known the bloody fool was going to kill himself, he'd have made a greater effort to learn every aspect of the Malfoy holdings.
Gas sighed, silently chastising himself. He was being too hard on himself and his now deceased mentor. After five years, he knew the business almost as well as Draco. It was just that he didn't have the Malfoy name, and the name made all the difference. Gas was looking forward to the day Matt was officially inducted into the Malfoy line of heirs, because he needed a break.
/*/
Emilio was in the middle of a late meeting with James Wooley when his mobile rang. Glancing at the caller-ID, Emilio let the call go to voicemail and resumed his conversation. He and James were discussing James' acceptance of the Minister of Policy and Procedure position.
"Thank you for accepting the position James. I know Spain will be sorry to see you go, but Italy will be glad to have you back."
James was more than excited. Securing a position in his old Ministry was awesome. He had come to enjoy his position in Spain, but coming back to where he considered home was even better. "I appreciate all the assistance you've given me Emilio. I will do the Ministry proud."
"I have no doubt of that," Emilio answered easily. "I know you'll have to give notice in Spain. When does your position start?"
"HR has given me thirty days to take care of any loose ends in Spain. I'll be back and forth setting up my office, but my first official day is scheduled to be sometime during the first week of June. I look forward to getting back into the swing of things. I'll also need to find a flat. I imagine I'll be quite busy between now and June."
Emilio had a quick thought. "Matt's wife is a well known realtor. Why don't you speak with him. I'm sure he'd be willing to set up an appointment with Kim. Tell her what you are looking for, and she will see to it. Hiring Kim would give you one less thing to worry about."
"Great idea Emilio. I'll put a call in to Matt. I know you have calls to return so I'll be on my way. There are a few people I'd like to see before I return to the hotel. I look forward to our Friday evening adventure. See you soon."
"Yes. I'll meet you at the hotel about 8:00. We'll stop by my parent's home so you can give them a shout. If my mother doesn't try to keep you all night, I figure we can find some entertainment at that gentlemen's club you favor."
Putting on a cheeky grin, James nodded at Emilio before leaving the office.
/*/
Hermione was upstairs reading to Scorp when Hannah stopped by the Estate to check how she was getting on.
"Hello Hermione. Hello love," Hannah greeted as she gave Scorpius' cheek a pinch. "Have you been taking care of mummy?"
Scorpius lifted his eyes from the book to grin at Hannah. "Hopping Pot Anna."
Hermione shrugged, knowing full well what Hannah was thinking. The Wizard and The Hopping Pot should be ingrained on Scorp's brain by now. There were other books he liked to have read to him, but Hopping Pot was his all time favorite.
Hermione wanted to talk with Hannah so she gave Scorp his favorite toy, her mobile, to keep him entertained.
/*/
Hannah had sensed Hermione had something on her mind, and was curious about what it could be. Her first thought was it must have to do with Draco's funeral. Hannah hoped nothing had gone wrong with the plans.
As soon as the two witches sat down on the sofa in the corner of the bedroom, Hermione began stringing words together. No semblance of a sentence anywhere, just a bunch of words.
A surprised Hannah held up a hand to slow Hermione down. "You're rambling love. Slow down. The most I could make out was red napkin. Don't tell me some lunch mishap has gotten you this annoyed. What's going on?"
Shaking her head, Hermione assured Hannah that it was nowhere near as simple as a red napkin. From there, she explained in detail about finding the red napkin with the note from Pansy Parkinson.
Then, it was Hannah shaking her head as though that action would Obliviate the words coming out of Hermione's mouth. Hermione was her best friend, but she had found it hard to believe when Hermione first suggested Draco might be dallying around outside of their marriage. She had commiserated with Hermione, but thought her friend was being overly dramatic. Draco had taken a hard line on a lot of things, but Hannah knew he was in love with his wife.
The information Hermione was sharing wrenched at Hannah's heart. From the sound of it, the napkin was physical proof Draco had stepped outside of his marriage. It didn't matter if he had simply slipped away to meet Pansy Parkinson and done nothing else. His behavior had been sneaky, disgusting and immoral. Hannah thought silently how hard she would have laid into Draco if he had still been alive, but belaboring the point wouldn't do anyone a bit of good.
"Throw the bloody napkin away Hermione. Vanish it into nothingness. Draco's gone. Whatever that did or did not happen between him and Pansy is over and done. Don't torment yourself over something you cannot change or correct. As bad as this seems, Draco loved you and Scorp, and no red napkin can change that. You have a long life stretching out in front of you. Don't let this one misstep on Draco's part color your perception of life and the wizards you might meet in the future. Throw it away."
"I'm not tormenting myself. I'm simply sharing a bit of information with my best friend." Hermione assured Hannah. "Besides, I wanted you to know I wasn't going mad when I spilled my guts to you and Carmela about my suspicions."
Taking Hermione by the hand, Hannah quickly assured her she hadn't ever thought she was going mad. Maybe a little off center, but not mad.
The corner of Hermione's mouth turned up in a sad smile as she questioned what could she have done that would have prevented Draco from straying.
"I knew you were blaming yourself. Don't even go there," snapped Hannah. "It takes two to make a marriage work. Even if you had become the worst shrew, Draco should have tried to work it out instead of seeking some witch to stroke his ego. However, the man is deceased. I'm not going to sit here disparaging him. I know it must hurt, but you need to keep your face forward. After the funeral, you might want to think about a short holiday. I'll even volunteer to go with you."
A genuine smile appeared on Hermione's face. "Thank you for that lovely suggestion Mrs. Potter. I certainly admire the way you have inserted yourself into my implied holiday."
Both witches let out a giggle.
Hermione's little chat with Hannah had put her in a better frame of mind. This hadn't been a case of an overactive imagination. The napkin had proven she was sane and overly intuitive. In that moment, Hermione realized she didn't need to hold on to the evidence. Pulling the red bit out of her pocket, Hermione Vanished the napkin right in front of Hannah, then finished up by swiping her palms together in a gesture of being all done with it.
"That's the way to do it love," Hannah remarked softly. "Just remember the good, because the bad has just been Vanished into nothing."
Nodding and letting out a big sigh, Hermione looked over at Scorp to see his little head drooping down on his chest.
Picking Scorp up, Hermione murmured in his ear. "Come on love. Mum doesn't want you to fall asleep right now. You'll be up all night."
When he heard his mum's voice, Scorp's head popped up like a jack-in the-box. Holding up the mobile, Scorp waved it at Hermione. "Mela mum. Mela."
Hermione glanced at the mobile to find four missed calls. Carmela had called, and so had Harry and Matt.
Hannah grinned when she saw the look on Hermione's face. "Let me guess. Scorp is right on the money. Both your mother figure and brother figure have called."
Returning Hannah's grin, Hermione nodded in amazement. "Add Matt to the mix and you are right on the money. I'll return the calls later."
"Anybody home?" Shouted a voice from downstairs.
"Well that's one less call you have to return. Auror Potter is in the house."
/*/
It had only been hours since Hermione and Scorpius returned to Britain, but Matt wanted to be sure they had settled in. He was especially concerned that the very quick Scorpius wouldn't be able to process the fact that his father was still missing. Both his attempts to contact Hermione had been unsuccessful as both calls had gone directly to voicemail. Making a mental note to try again later, Matt turned his attention to the work in front of him. However, it was a bit of slow going because he had other things on his mind.
The Head of Ministry Italia had announced a mandatory meeting for all his Ministers at 5:00 pm in his assembly room. Matt had discussed the probable content of the upcoming meeting with Emilio, and they were both in agreement that an announcement was imminent. There were rumors floating about the Ministry, but Matt knew better than lend credence to any of them until he got confirmation directly from the HOMI's mouth. After that, the sitting Ministers would act accordingly.
Let the backbiting begin, thought Matt
/*/
Back at his own desk, Emilio was thinking along the same lines as Matt. If the HOMI was turning in his papers, there was bound to be at least a few personnel shifts. Emilio thought it was beneficial that James had secured a position when he had, because after tonight, the dynamics of the Ministry might change. Although happy in his position as Minister of Acquisitions, if a choice position became available, Emilio planned to put himself in for consideration. Perhaps it was time for him to step away from Acquisitions. Italy didn't have a Wizengamot, per se, but Emilio had thoughts of getting back into some aspect of the court system. He'd been on the administrative side of things long enough.
The thought of possibly returning to a position in the court system became just another thing to remind Emilio of the days of wine and roses with Hermione. Those days just before Draco Malfoy had wandered into their lives. Those days before he'd acted an ass and run Hermione out of his life.