"Are you sure that you're ready to come home?" Draco asked for the fifth time that hour. The house elves already packed all her things and brought her bags to the manor. He had been hovering while his wife swept through the chateau once more to make sure she had everything.
"Draco, I am your wife, right?" Maia stopped her scan of the library to look up at her husband. She watched with an arched brow when his concerned frown turned down the right venomous.
"What else would you be?" Draco asked tightly, his gray eyes critically studying the pleased smile that she sent him.
"So, I'm not a mistress to be locked away? Do you have a wife at the manor you don't want me to meet?" Maia asked loftily, reaching out to run his dainty little hands across his chest. Her husband growled deep in his throat as he reached out to grab her by the hips and pull her closer. The smile on her face grew wider when he buried his face in her curls, wrapping his arms around her possessively.
"There is no other for me." Draco whispered huskily into ear before lightly nipping at the sensitive skin on her neck.
"Then there is no place for me but your side." Maia said cheekily, pulling back so she could cup his face in between her soft hands.
"Manipulative witch." Draco's lips tilted up in a fond smile before he claimed her lips. He nearly ripped the pretty little dress from her body before he pulled away to look down at her sternly, his face pinched in concern. "It's still dangerous in Britain, I worry."
"They lied to you, you know?" Tonk's soft voice carried over to her from the doorway. Maia scowled at the pink haired woman from her place on the bed. After they force fed her a sleeping potion, they tethered her leg to the bed. The magical shackle allowed her to use the washroom but she was unable to exit the bed chambers.
"Really? My husband lied to me? All our friends, associates, family, old schoolmates? They all lied to me?" Maia asked with an arched brown, she folded her arms protectively over her stomach, a sneer on her face as she looked at the woman from head to toe. "And I should believe you? The ones who have me shackled to a bed and have not had a medi witch come to examine me?"
"We really just wanted to speak to you..." Tonks said softly, her pretty face contorted into an embarrassed smile that practically radiated her sincerity. The older witch took cautious steps into the room, keeping her empty hands raised to show she meant no harm.
"Then come have a conversation with me, I know you've deluded yourselves into thinking you're the light and wondrous heroes but really? What part of my imprisonment screams that you're the good witches and wizards?" Maia scoffed as she leaned back on the headboard and looked at the petite woman critically.
"Well, we got reports that you were so nice and warm and we couldn't believe you would voluntarily marry into the Malfoy family. We just wanted to give you a choice, let you see that there was a way to fight back!" Tonks said passionately, turning a moth eaten wing back chair around so they could face each other when she took a seat.
"Wow, you're delusional. Our souls and magic are bound, do you even know what that means?" Maia scoffed, rubbing her stomach fondly as she turned to look out the window, memorizing the empty street carefully. "Draco loves me and I love him, he does what he must."
"He has to kill people, whole families? No he enjoys it, he's sick!" Tonks spat furiously, Maia chuckled making the former auror frown.
"Yes, he must. Did you really think that freedom would be won without bloodshed?" Maia asked curiously, a small condescending smile on her face as she tilted her head to the side. Tonks shrunk back as if she was being reprimanded by a teacher rather than a younger witch.
"You don't need to murder people for your freedom! What freedom could they possibly be fighting for?" Tonks demanded hotly, her hair fading into a violent blood red. Maia only looked amused at the other witch's obvious bravado. Why would she be intimidated by her, she had no idea.
"The freedom to use whatever magic I choose, it's my magic and it should be my choice. If I want to use a little blood to make sure my wards keep you out of my home it's no ones business, less of all the ministry." Maia said dismissively, rolling her eyes at the seething woman.
"You want to use dark magic? That's what you're fighting for?" Tonks burst out of her chair angrily, her hair a flashing rainbow in her distress.
"I'm not fighting, you silly bint. I was supposed to have a dueling instructor but I think Draco was hoping I would never need it." Maia sighed sadly as she continued rubbing the small bump on her stomach. "My husband fights for the Dark Lord for a reason, he doesn't want to lose the culture rich world we were raised in. I don't agree with what they are doing to the grown muggle borns-" Tonks raised a brow at the obvious inference she felt at other people's suffering and also noting that she did not use a slur. "-they are trying to find a way to raise the little ones. I also understand the fear, muggles out number us greatly and I think we are so far behind on how advanced they actually are. If that bookshop was any indication, the muggles are a bit farther advanced than fire and the scary pitch forks."
"Why?" Tonks gaped in confusion, she blinked slowly, trying to absorb what the woman just said.
"You need more reasons? Well, Draco is my family. Family always comes first, I will always be by his side. He will come for me, you know? I know his reputation...he's not like that at home. He is warm and protective, Draco laughs and debates creature rights with me. The man I married teases me over my love of books, in fact that's how he usually gets his way. One day I think we will have an entire wing devoted to our library." Maia gave a throaty chuckle at Tonk's obvious skepticism.
"Draco Malfoy?" Tonks said slowly, as if unsure if she heard correctly. Maia rolled her eyes and turned to look out the window, bored of this captivity.
"You really think that Draco Malfoy is the good guy?" Harry demanded when he removed his invisibility cloak, the earpiece of the extendable ear still hanging over his shoulder. Maia stiffened as soon as he made his presence known, she looked around frantically for something to defend herself with.
"Harry, I thought we agreed you wouldn't come in here." Tonks said through gritted teeth with a pointed stare.
"Well, the Weasley's are coming straight from St. Mungos, Fred said that all the Weasleys were wanted for questioning. I'm just making sure Ron didn't come storming in here." Harry said sheepishly, quickly stashing his extendable ear and cloak into a little purple beaded bag.
"Stay away from me." Maia hissed from her bed, glaring furiously at the raven haired man.
"You are in my house, I can go where I please!" Harry snapped but it did nothing to help the tension between them.
"Then let me go home! What?! Are going to take some more memories? Just can't let me alone, can you Potter?" Maia said waspishly, her eyes like ice as she regarded the man, knowing she was trapped there.
"What are you talking about?!" Harry demanded, truly looking confused.
"Oh, it must be tough. Don't remember me? You took me on my wedding day after murdering the only parents I've ever known! Draco found me hours later with no mem-" Maia's voice got caught in her throat and her eyes filled with tears. "Just let me go!"
"I've never met you before!" Harry exclaimed, his green eyes wide as he regarded the witch closely. It was the first time he could really look at her this closely as she turned away from him. She seemed so familiar to him, the way she spoke, the way she moved and something about her face. While he knew she was beautiful, there was something about her smile in the papers that made him physically ache.
"Mrs. Malfoy...Maia..." Tonks started but the woman turned and sneered at her. "Mrs. Malfoy, I don't believe Harry would do something like that. He's actually a very kind and noble wizard, I don't know what you've been told about him but I can assure you it's not true, Harry is wonderful."
"Lovely. Excuse me, I have to go vomit." Maia sneered, practically scrambling out of bed to get away from the pair. Before they could stop her she was alone in the tacky, over embellished wash room. While some rooms at Malfoy Manor had some snake motifs, at least they were done tastefully. At first, she thought maybe she could talk to them civilly and they may let her go but they were obviously too enamored with their leader.
"She's..." Harry mumbled, a pained expression on his face. He could do nothing but stare at the closed door with a deep ache in his chest, just wanting to be near her.
"Not quite what we thought, is she?" Tonks nodded her head looking between the door and Harry.
"I swear I've never met the woman in my life but she seems familiar and she's a bit batty, right? Thinking I would kill her parents?" Harry said slowly and turned to his friend, bright green eyes begging her to reassure him.
"Well, we did technically kidnap her. Now, the whole scheme seems a bit far-fetched...Wolfie is scarily optimistic at times." Tonks sighed unhappily, an uncomfortable itch burning just beneath her skin. Her magic was reacting to something in the house and she was surprised it had never happened before seeing as it was her family's home.
"Where's Teddy?" Harry asked after a moment of awkward silence.
"He's down for a kip, mum hasn't been feeling well...so she can't keep him and Remus is off on the..." Tonks trailed off in a whisper with a pointed look at the closed door, twitching in her seat. Even her hair was cycling in confusion, having never felt anything like the nagging itch that was growing.
"So, the burrow." Harry changed the subject quickly, a deep frown on his face thinking of the only other place he was able to visit now gone to him.
"Did they say anything? Were Molly and Bill there?" Tonks asked apprehensively.
"They believe it could have been a magic user but they cast fiendfyre so all Moody was left with was an impression. I can't believe they were covering their tracks like that just to take one of them, they might know we took Malfoy's wife and Greengrass." Harry ran a hand through his hair and his eyes welled with tears. "She's always been like a mother to me, I don't know how I will ever look any of the Weasleys in the face again if either of them are gone."
"You can't blame yourself, Harry. It's how the death eaters ruin things, we all know the risks of fighting." Tonks whispered, although she never liked Molly Weasley, she would never wish the overbearing woman harm. She couldn't help but sigh when he flinched away from her when she tried to comfort him. It was probably for the best, her magic had never burned like it was before, she definitely hoped Bill could come sweep the house. Maybe one of their guests had disrupted something when they tried to escape.
"Maybe-" Harry started but was cut off by a loud thump that came from the washroom. Tonks was the first one up, scrambling to open the door, Maia was on the floor surrounded by runes drawn in blood. The woman appeared to be unconscious, Harry moved forward to check on her but the runes glowed and a gust of wind knocked Harry and Tonks out of the doorway.
"What the bloody hell?" Tonks demanded as she rubbed the back of her head, her body twitching and jerking as if cursed. Suddenly, she knew.
"Mistress Malfoy is a smart Black witch." Kreature wheezed from the doorway, his frown deepened, watching Harry scramble to reach the fallen witch in a panic. The raven haired man was blasted back by a white shield that sealed the room holding the unconscious woman. "Master Regulus."
"Kreature, what did she do?" Harry demanded as he sat up, staring at the woman curiously. He didn't even hear his elf whispering to himself in a reverent tone.
"Mistress Malfoy sealed the room with blood runes." Kreature smiled, actually smiled and it made Harry shiver in disgust. He couldn't remember the haggard old elf ever looking so happy. Suddenly he frowned down at his hands with an expression of betrayal still whispering to himself." Why? Why, Mistress?"
"Anything else?" Harry persisted watching the elderly elf practically vibrate with excitement. Tonks was slowly dragging herself towards the unconscious woman on her hands and knees with a glazed look in her eyes.
"Mistress Malfoy sends a distress call." Kreature cackled gleefully, shaking his hands in distress while Harry tried to reach his friend. The elf was smacking his head, whispering to himself urgently now. "Please, let me serve Mistress. Master Regulus' witch! She's Master's daughter!"
"Let me go, Harry!" Tonks screamed hysterically, scratching at his face furiously. Harry was distressed more by the animalistic look in her now gray eyes, her hair was frozen in tight black curls that resembled Sirius Black's and…Malfoy's wife. In fact, they looked like they could pass for sisters when Tonks wasn't cycling her features.
"Tonks! Tonks!" Harry tried to shake her but it was no use, the woman only fought harder. "Nymphadora!" Tonks froze in her attacks and her hair turned a fiery red as she turned to glare at the raven haired man angrily, the glazed look to her eyes faded and she shook her head in confusion.
"They are coming." Tonks said in a pained whisper. Harry had never seen her look so terrified as when she scrambled away, dashing through the door when they heard an explosion.
