"What do you mean you're married?!" Pansy and Astoria shrieked at the same time when Draco informed his friends that his wife would be moving home to the manor in a few short weeks.

Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott were not the only ones in attendance that did not look surprised by his revelation. Vincent and Greg nudged each other with a secret smile as gold was exchanged. While they suspected a lot of things, a wife was not one of them. The blonde just shrugged his shoulders and waved a hand to invite the women to take a seat.

"Did you really not notice?" Draco asked drolly, pouring himself a drink and sat on a high wing back chair with an amused smirk. Slowly, he raised his hand to show not only the Malfoy family signet ring but also a thick platinum band, intricate runes deeply engraved into the metal.

"You never said!" Astoria whined, Pansy sat beside her, looking sullenly at the floor.

"I've worn my wedding band for the last two and a half years, when I'm not at work or on a mission, I'm with my wife in France." Draco said smugly as a small smile graced his features. Pansy watched her one time boyfriend shrewdly, it was true he was like a completely different person since his mission to kill the headmaster. However, the triumph and superiority in his gaze made her pause. She had not seen that look since he was the one who captured Marrietta Edgecomb and forced her confession with Umbridge.

"So, you've hidden her in France? She must be hideous if she hasn't even come to any of the seasonal events. After all, my mother was just speaking to Narcissa about..." Pansy started boldly, her mouth twisted in a condescending sneer but she trailed off as Draco's gray eyes turned to glare at her.

"My wife is a lovely witch, she's been recuperating from the attack on our wedding. I will be having an...intimate gathering with you all when she arrives in a few weeks time. I hope you embrace my wife with open arms." Draco said blandly, not taking his eyes off one of his oldest friends. She may have deluded herself into thinking she could possibly be the next Mrs. Malfoy but she was loyal, never swaying from his side since they were but babes.

"Does she enjoy shopping?" Daphne asked primly, if a bit excited, speaking for the first time. Theo smiled at the woman beside him, his eyes shining with fondness.

"If it's books." Draco shrugged dismissively.

"Oh, what kind of books does she read?" Astoria asked with a little more enthusiasm. While she was told from a young age she would one day marry Draco, she wasn't that upset by the news of him already married. They hardly ever spoke and she felt she probably wouldn't even be there if she wasn't Daphne's sister. However, becoming allies with Draco's new bride could certainly have its benefits.

"Everything she can get her ink stained little fingers on." Draco sighed with exasperation and rolled his eyes, taking a long drink from his sifter. Theo and Blaise exchanged a look behind their friends head and silently chuckled.

"Where's Ginerva?" Astoria asked suddenly as it dawned on her that the fiery red head was absent.

"At her mother's." Blaise said bluntly with a sneer, the men in the room chuckled, all of them heard the Italian lament his in-laws for hours. Usually, it meant that she had been called home or they were fighting when his redheaded wife disappeared to her family hovel.

"Oh, but won't the angry sex be worth it?" Daphne asked cheerily as Pansy choked on her drink. "Please, lighten up!"

"Theodore, you've corrupted my sister." Astoria glared at the man who was looking at her sister with clear devotion. It was disgusting, they had been betrothed since Daphne had been born and never had eyes for anyone else.

"Yes, I did." Theo purred into Daphne's ear, making the pregnant woman giggle. His large hands cupped her stomach, both of them turning to stare deeply into each other's eyes as if they were all alone in their own little world.

"Could you be any more nauseating?" Draco rolled his eyes, after so many years of sharing a common room and a dorm room with his friend he was accustomed to their amorous displays. It didn't make them any less nauseating.

"So, why haven't you told us about her before? I thought you just had a bird on the side...we were taking bets on if she was a muggle." Blaise whispered as the room focused on Vincent and Greg teasing Daphne for being so outspoken.

"I wanted to wait until it was safe to bring her home. The attack left her weakened." Draco said bluntly, an indecipherable expression flitting across his features before it hardened into a glare.

"So, it's safe to bring her home now?" Blaise pondered aloud, his eyes drifting back to where Daphne was laughing happily on her husband's lap. Greg dramatically climbed onto Vincent, slapping his chest and giggling coyly in an over embellished imitation of the couple.


"Mother, where is my wife?" Draco asked briskly after apparating directly into the sun room. Narcissa raised a delicate brow at her son's demanding tone, he was a good boy who hardly ever argued since being bonded to his wife.

"She went shopping with Daphne Nott, they should be back soon." Narcissa smiled warmly as she took a sip of her tea.

She closed her eyes a moment, thinking of how different her son had acted since she gave her son his wife. Before he was so unhappy, the constant pressure of living up to his father's expectations dragged the poor boy down. Now, she saw him laugh more, when he came home from particularly brutal missions Maia would be there to wipe the blood from his brow and soothe him like she never could. The girl surprised Narcissa, it seemed that she could easily handle Draco in his worst moods and was a true embodiment of Black witch.

"She's not wearing her ring." Draco ran a nervous hand through his hair, his face falling into a frown. There were only so many reasons she would take off her ring, her memories returning being the least likely. The more likely reason was someone removed it, the people that could were limited to his bloodline. He froze, Andromeda. It was so easy to forget the third Back sister who ran from her family and she had a child…Naomi? Nevaeh? It was something like Nymphomaniac.

"Why would she remove her ring, Draco? Has she been having any difficulties?" Narcissa asked in a panic, while in the beginning of their marriage she loved the girl for making her son happy. Now she loved the girl for who she was, the bright young woman who spent many afternoons debating with her over tea.

"No, she's been ecstatic since she's figured that she will be done with her studies by the time Scorpius is born." Draco shook his head vehemently, as he rubbed his own platinum wedding band.

Their wedding bands allowed them to feel each other's emotions, it was something he had come to rely on throughout the day. Originally, it had been because his wife had been so lonely in France, if it got too much he could slip away for a visit or send his mother or Bellatrix. Since they've learned she was pregnant, her emotions were like a drug. He had to know how she was feeling at all times, the happiness and excitement were so much stronger than anything he had ever felt. She in turn, reveled the encompassing warmth of his love. Draco had never been described as warm until she admitted it was his love that kept her warm late at night when she was alone.

"Oh, you chose a name? Maia didn't tell me that." Narcissa said cheerfully as her mood was always lifted at the reminder she would soon be a grandmother.

"I just felt her panic and by the time I was able to get away, I couldn't track her anymore." Draco's thoughtful frown turned into a murderous scowl, furious that even with their bond he could no longer feel her. It was more than he had feared, his wife was in danger. "I'll return, perhaps call Aunt Bella. She always enjoys a good hunt."


"Theo, where's your wife?" Draco bellowed as soon as he landed in the spacious ministry office. His former roommate looked panicked for just a moment before his shoulders relaxed when the black smoke cleared to reveal the blond.

"Hello, Draco. Why, I'm just lovely today, auctioning mudbloods into homes and brothels, so kind of you to ask. How are you?" Theo said sarcastically, not pausing in his work, sending off five copies of the same memo to department heads.

"Don't play cute with me, Nott. Where's your wife?" Draco snarled, his face set in a furious snarl. His magic was reacting to his emotions, burning the memos without command. His wife was missing and his friend wasn't taking it seriously.

"I don't know, out spending a fortune on bloody footwear? That woman is trying to spend her entire dowry twice over on shoes!" Theo groused and peaked up at his friend, making him freeze in his chair. He had known Draco long enough to recognize the obvious signs of rage, however this was not his typical tantrum for getting second place in potions. "What happened?"

"My wife's ring was removed and I can't feel her in our bond. That means that Andromeda's whelp probably stole her and is keeping her behind heavy wards. Do you have a way to contact Daphne?" Draco immediately rattled off the most important information in a chilling tone, his face set into a harsh frown.

"Yeah, yeah...just a tick." Theo said absently as he was already rummaging through his desk drawers to pull out a single knut. Draco raised a brow at his friend, obviously unamused. "We got the idea from that little group Potty ran in school, took us bloody forever to get it right."

"The proteam charm?" Draco asked with a raised brow, his wife was the one to charm those silly coins. Who else could have the knowledge or the power to cast such a complicated bit of spell work. While normally he would bask in the genius that was his darling wife, he was far too panicked. He needed a plan, the Order headquarters remained a mystery to the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters for years. It was the most likely place they would take her. They had surveillance on most of the Order members' homes, even if they managed to cast the fidelius charm.

"Yeah, Daph wanted to get some of the spellyfones. Apparently they can let you talk to anyone anywhere but urgh, muggles!" Theo exclaimed as he kept his eyes glued to the little coin in his hand. They were both still, focusing on the coin with baited breath. "She's not replying, she always has it with her..."

"Well, my wife was with her...do you know where they went?" Draco asked impatiently, wondering how they could have possibly been taken in Diagon Alley. The Dark Lord had placed lower level foot soldiers at every corner. Lady Malfoy could not have been kidnapped in broad daylight.

"She said she wanted to look at clothes for the baby but knowing her...they probably went to the muggle world." Theo whispered in anguish, looking up at one of his oldest friends in dread.

Theodore Nott may have worked his way into a pivotal role as an administrator but Draco Malfoy had been trained into a blade that never failed when sent out for missions. Sure, they were actually friends through years of hardships but he was also aware that there was nothing in the world Draco loved more than his wife. The same naive wife his own beloved brought to the muggle world, unprotected. Probably after more shoes, even when she was a month overdue for their last child, her feet swollen twice their normal size, Daphne still wore her stilettos.

"Do you know where?" Draco was already moving, banishing Theo's cloak to him, all business.

"Someplace I would never step foot in? Blasted muggles." Theo sneered as they both flooed to the Leaky Cauldron. "I blame her father! Guisse was always happy to make money, no matter the means."

"She never mentioned where she goes when she gets her shoes?" Draco asked as soon as they were outside the pub, his skin crawled as he was surrounded by muggles. It wasn't even that he cared enough to hate them anymore, he had grown from that ignorant little boy. Now, he just wished he never had to breathe the same air as them.

"No but I did hear Daph talking to Tori about something called...Foyles?" Theo frowned, desperately trying to remember his sister in law's babbling. She had gushed about the store for days after, not even caring that she was showing off muggle books. "Yeah! Biggest bookstore Tori ever saw, wouldn't stop raving about it."

"Well, let's go then." Draco nodded curtly as he walked briskly down the street. He vaguely remembered a large storefront not far away that proclaimed it was the largest book store. While he had never gone in, always rushing on missions, he had idly wondered if Hermione Granger had ever visited. They garnered some strange looks but neither wizard had the patience to care.

"You!" Theo slapped his hand on the counter, pushing past all of the muggles standing in line. The blond stood at his shoulder, glaring at the muggles who had opened their mouths to protest. "Was my wife here earlier?"

"What is this? Was there a convention today and I didn't hear it!" A sales girl walked up to the counter with a bright friendly smile, Draco and Theo sneered at the girl, not in the mood to recognize pleasantries with muggles.

"I would need a description of your wife..." The tall man behind the counter said slowly, his eyes darting to his coworker in confusion.

"Daphne Nott, blonde hair, blue eyes, she may be wearing her glasses...uhh she's pregnant and she was wearing her emerald green pointy shoes." Theo rubbed his chin as he thought about his wife and what she was wearing that morning before he left for the ministry.

"Was she wearing a costume too?" The girl chirped happily. "She was here with another woman in those fancy dresses, sweet girl. Chattering on and on about our pregnancy sectio-"

"Where are they?" Draco snapped, advancing on the perky girl. His eyes were cold as he scowled at the stunned muggle. Her coworker was quick to pull her away from the irate blond man.

"Listen, you can't talk to people like that. I'm going to need to ask you to leave." The man said firmly, actually expecting them to listen. There was a long, awkward moment where Draco was tempted to slaughter them all and rip the information from the perky girl's mind.

"They left here over an hour ago, Trevor tried to help them with their bags but they wouldn't hear of it. I think they went that way..." The girl said timidly as she pointed down the street. Theo and Draco wasted no time in rushing out the doors, Draco pulled out his wand to try and find any recent magic being used in the area. They came to a stop in a poorly lit alleyway, the notice-me-not charms just fading. A sparkle caught Theo's eye and he made his way over to some overturned rubbish cans.

"You recognize this?" Theo asked as he held up a silver charm bracelet, the Malfoy crest inlaid with diamonds being the most prominent bobble. Draco felt his breath catch in his throat as he tore the bracelet from his friends hands to examine it. Minor scrapes along the clasp were the only sign of any wear on the trinket and he swallowed the lump that formed in his throat.

"Come." Draco said gruffly, reaching out to grab his friend they apparated with a pop.


After an hour of shouting at the useless aurors, Theo left them to wake the editor of the Daily Prophet. The sniveling whelp would release a midnight edition about their missing wives or The Prophet would have a new editor come morning. A small article was being written along with their photos and a large reward would be offered for their safe return. Theo sat heavily in an overstuffed chair in the sitting room of Malfoy manor and he buried his face into his hands.

"What have you been doing?" Draco stalked into the room, looking impeccable and perfectly put together. Only the blood along his white collar and his knuckles left to hint at anything wrong.

"I spoke to the Prophet, sent a missive to WWW, and reported them missing to the ministry. We are offering a large galleon reward for our wives to be brought home." Theo said wearily, watching his friend pour himself a full glass of whiskey. It made him nervous, Draco wasn't a drinker. He learned young that he lost control when he drank alcohol, it wasn't a feeling the blond liked at all.

"I had a meeting with the Dark Lord, he has agreed with me that the Order has gone too far. Apparently kidnapping innocent women is going to be their first salvo after such a long period of silence. I made a recovery move of my own." Draco drawled before draining his glass, his gray eyes focused on the large wedding portrait they had commissioned on their anniversary. The artist had almost been able to capture the astounding beauty his wife was.

"What did you do?" Theo demanded, a bit of hysteria building inside of him. Would they hurt Daphne and their child in retaliation? Didn't the blond realize that the other side had all the power? At least in his eyes, his wife was the whole fucking world. Fuck the dark and light sides, Daphne was what mattered.

"I have the Weasley woman...and I may have burned their shack to the ground." Draco shrugged dismissively, the wizard he knew in school would be crowing. Absolutely swaggering and telling everyone that he had dealt such a blow to the Weasleys. There was no happiness in his friend's eyes, only indifference. One more tiny step to getting their wives back, at least Theo hoped so.

"And while you have been doing that I have been spreading the word to some of our less reputable sources. We should have word in a few hours where they took them." Lucius swaggered into the room imperiously, a sneer on his face. The older wizard looked much like his teenage son, bragging the way he was.

"Thank you, Mr. Malfoy." Theo said in a weak voice, his shoulders slumping in exhaustion. It wasn't fair, he was a glorified paper pusher. The ideas from the Dark Lord's table came to him and he made it pass with bureaucracy.

"Oh, father spreads some gold around a whorehouse and gets thanks but I lower myself to snatching the red headed whale of a blood traitor and I get nothing?" Draco said softly, casting a derisive look at his father, something that had become more common since he had killed the headmaster. The blond stood to attention when his mother gracefully glided into the room, her pretty face pinched in worry.

"So, you didn't find her?" Narcissa clucked impatiently as she sat beside her husband, smoothing down her skirt. "Why is there blood on your shirt?"

"I'll need to burn these." He studied the blood splattered on his neck and collar with a little curl to his lips. With a wave of his wand, the stain had vanished but he still shook his head impatiently. "The oldest Weasley spawn tried to protect his mummy, we let him burn with their hovel."

"We haven't had much violence in over a year..." Narcissa said thoughtfully, her eyes barely cutting to her husband before focusing on her son in concern.

"Yes well, the Dark Lord wanted to prove he was benevolent. He allowed the wizarding world to go back to order once the ministry was infiltrated. Mudbloods in their place, Diagon Alley and Hogwarts are open and fully operational. Most of the public had stopped fighting. However, he said from the beginning that if the order strikes out, we were to use any means necessary to cull them." Lucius said shortly, casting a glance at the clock before turning to his wife with an indifferent expression. "Shouldn't you be asleep?

"You think the order did this?" Narcissa said sharply, completely ignoring her husband's hollow concerns. She was well aware of where he had been, where he always went after she took her potions.

"Who else? They have been talking about Maia's arrival for months, I just didn't think they would have the stones." Lucius scowled at being ignored, Theo raised his head to glare at the elder Malfoy.

"You knew?! You knew they were a threat to her and you didn't think it relevant to tell me?" Theo demanded angrily, standing to his feet and his earlier exhaustion drained from him.

"Maia does not venture out of the wizarding world, we believed she would be safe in the alley with your wife." Narcissa interjected coolly, keeping her eyes focused on her son who was still as a statue, his gaze still focused on the mantel above the fireplace.

"So, Daphne was in danger due to her friendship with your wife and you didn't think to let me, your mate, know?" Theo turned his accusatory gaze to Draco who only cut his sharp eyes at him before setting his glass down sharply.

"No, I didn't. Perhaps I should floo Blaise, I did snatch his darling mummy-in-law." Draco said absently.