Chapter 50: The Last Holiday

"You look too thin."

Madeline rolled her eyes at her aunt, nursing a glass of Mead between her fingers, "Stress does that to a person."

"Relationship troubles?" Isabelle asked, "Because I don't care what family he's from, I will hex him if he ever hurts you-"

"Draco is fine," Madeline swallowed. She looked around, the two of them alone in the kitchen. Everyone else was in the great dining hall, finishing off the last of their pudding, "Apart from, uh, the whole Death-Eater-in-training thing."

Isabelle didn't speak for a few moments. Eventually, she simply sighed, leaning back against the counter, "Don't tell me; you want to save him."

"Well, yes-"

"Madeline," her aunt whined, "You listen to me very carefully. Men don't need to be saved, they just need some sense."

"He needs both."

"Correct, but that's not your responsibility," Isabelle continued.

Madeline sighed, nodding, "I know that, logically. But… He didn't choose that life, you know?"

Isabelle frowned, "If he let himself be dragged into it, then I hate to tell you but he did choose that life. We all have a say in how we live our lives, and sure others might have a thing or two to complain about, but that's still on us."

"You're right, I know you're right," Madeline complained, "But you don't know him like I do."

"And he doesn't know you like I do," Isabelle pointed out, "Let me be the voice of reason for once and remind you that it would be a very, very bad idea to get mixed up in all of this."

Madeline stayed quiet for a few moments, and something dawned on Isabelle.

"You already have, haven't you?"

"I told him I'd help him," Madeline admitted, "I'm about to become Head of The Family. That means they're basically handing me over on a silver platter anyway-"

"And you're not going to fight?" Isabelle snapped, "Because I remember quite clearly teaching my favourite niece to fight for what she wants."

Madeline stood in silence for a while, letting the words settle over her. Her aunt was right, of course. She just didn't want to admit what it meant.

"I can't leave him on his own," Madeline choked out, "He's alone in this, aunty."

"Then be there for him, but protect yourself first and foremost," Isabelle reminded her, "You're your number one priority, and I can't always protect you from over here."

Madeline nodded, sighing, "What a mess of a family we are, huh?"

Isabelle smirked, pouring both of them another glass of mead each, "You got that right."

The holidays went by unexpectedly quickly. There was little talk of when Madeline would be handed Head of The Family, a title that made her grandmother grin every single time it was spoken. Madeline was pensive, however; if she did it, she'd be handing herself over to the Dark Lord.

She had two options; refuse the title, or bow down to the Dark Lord in order to stay close to Draco. But she also knew her aunt was right; she had to think about herself, too.

Because she was, apparently, the only one who could cast the Rebound Curse. Did she know how to? Nope. Was she any closer to figuring out how to? Not at all. And yet, here she was; pacing her room mere minutes before she was due to go back to Hogwarts, and she didn't have a shred of a plan in her back pocket.

She toyed with the necklace around her neck. These were the moments she wished her dad was around; not just because he was her dad, but because she needed answers. How was it that she was the only one who could cast this curse?

She had to think. She knew there was something she was missing, but she wasn't quite sure what. Her father had ensured she was the only one who could cast the curse, but how could he have done so when he didn't even have her wand with him-

Her wand.

Madeline's eyes widened. That's what the note was telling her!

Her wand was made of hickory from a tree in Beddgelert. Specifically a tree in Beddgelert. Which meant, if she could get to the little town and find the tree - and whoever had sent the note - she'd be closer to the answer.

Because for a maddening moment, Madeline realised something.

She was the only one who could cast the rebound curse. Which meant, by logic, she could rebound a killing curse off herself. Which had been the obvious all along, but to think about physically doing it… It could save her, her friends and her family.

It could save Draco.

Madeline tucked her wand into her pocket, picking up her luggage.

It was time to return to Hogwarts.

The second she spotted Daphne, she'd grabbed the blonde by the sleeve and pulled her into an empty classroom, casting a silencing charm on the room.

"Look, Madeline. I get you missed me but locking me in a room isn't a great first day back-"

"I need your help."

Daphne crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows, "Right. Go on."

Madeline inhaled, preparing herself, "I need you to help me research a tree."

Daphne blinked, "A tree?"

"A tree. A special one, actually. A Welsh one."

"Right," Daphne nodded slowly, wide-eyed. She held three fingers up, "And how many fingers am I holding up?"

"I'm being serious, Greengrass."

"Oh yes, my Christmas was grand by the way, thanks for asking-"

"I need you to do it because I can't be seen doing it."

Daphne frowned, "Now I'm extremely confused, Bisset. What's all this about?"

"Thats the thing," Madeline sighed, "I can't exactly… Tell you?"

"Right," Daphne nodded, "You want me to covertly research a mysterious Welsh tree for you because you, for some reason, cannot?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

Daphne sighed, rubbing her temples, "We're in Sixth Year, and I still haven't gotten any closer to understanding you."

"But you still love me?"

Daphne smiled, rolling her eyes, "Yes, I still love you dummy. Of course I'll help you. But, why didn't you ask Theo? Out of me and him, he's the obvious choice."

Madeline bit her lip. She couldn't tell Daphne of her suspicions. After seeing what Draco was up to in the Room of Requirements, she wasn't convinced that Theo didn't have anything to do with it. All the books he was reading recently about magical artefacts had started making sense the more she thought about it.

"It's to do with Draco," Madeline began slowly, "And Theo's too close to him. I wouldn't want him to ruin the surprise."

Daphne nodded, not entirely convinced, "Alright. Yeah, why not. I'll research a tree. You know, you're so lucky I'm single."

The second Madeline stepped into the Slytherin Common Room, she saw him.

He looked younger and older somehow, with the dark shadows under his eyes. And yet, he looked smaller, blanket wrapped around himself on the plush couch, dwarfing him against the dark fabric. He looked up when she stepped in, his eyes locking onto hers.

Merlin, she missed him.

She all but threw herself in his arms as he stood up, rushing towards her. They met half way, locked into a tight embrace. She took a deep breath, melting at the familiar scent of Draco. Her Draco. It was still him, after all. Despite what was on his arm.

"I missed you," Madeline mumbled into his shoulder, ignoring the teasing from their friends.

"It's only been a few days," Draco teased, "Can't get enough of me, Bisset?"

"Don't make me retract my statement."

Draco grinned into her shoulder. He'd missed her too, of course. It was tough at home at the moment, and despite the letters they'd sent each other, it was hard to face the world without his favourite person sometimes.

"Alright, that's enough you two," Gabe Birch laughed from his spot on the sofas, "Come join the rest of us singles, will you?"

Madeline rolled her eyes at the boy, but the two obliged, parting and sitting next to each other on the plush sofa. Without a word, Draco pulled her legs over his lap, her feet dangling off the side of the couch as the two pressed closer together.

She'd never imagined herself to be so comfortable with cuddling like this in front of their friends. And yet, here she was, her side pressed tightly into Draco's while he toyed with a loose thread on her dark trousers. It was strange, how things could change in such short years.

"How was your holiday?" Theo asked politely as he seated himself next to Gabe, squeezing Madeline's shoulder as he passed her.

"Boring," Gabe admitted, "Wales can get boring in the winter, you know? The scenery is great and all, but when it's cold, it's super cold."

"I'll make sure to visit in July. Or better yet, never," Pansy replied, crossing her arms, "Isn't it all farmland anyway?"

"You offend me," Gabe mocked, hand against his chest, "It's actually very modern, thank you very much."

"How was France?" Theo asked, turning to Madeline.

Madeline ignored the memories of the awkward Christmas dinner, "It was good, yeah. Cold also, of course. I think I'm becoming less of a Christmas person every year."

Daphne gasped in agreement, "Me too! Honestly, theres only so many relatives I can deal with at once. And Christmas is just all of them at the same time!"

Blaise rolled his eyes, "Always a bundle of joy, Greengrass."

"Said the pot to the kettle."

Madeline watched fondly as her friends bickered and laughed around her. This is what it felt like to be home; to be with a family. It was shocking how anyone could ever leave this behind; these people were her home.

And then the chilling reminder hit her; she was The Girl Who Died. She'd be the one leaving them, sooner or later.

Draco felt her tense, rubbing his warm palm up her arm soothingly. He wasn't looking at her; he knew she didn't like being watched when something was bothering her. But he was there, and that's all that she could ask for. And that's all she could do for him too; help him, and be there for him.

How she was going to do that? She wasn't sure. But she had to figure it out, and fast.

It was their first week of classes back, and Daphne was struggling.

She was struggling with whatever was between her and Pansy, sure. But her biggest pain in the ass right now? This godforsaken Welsh tree that her best friend had asked her to look up.

She had torn through dozens of books in the Hogwarts library. She'd learnt everything there possibly was to know about Welsh Hickory, but she couldn't for the life of her understand why her friend specifically and only wanted information on a hickory tree in Beddgelert of all places. And it was driving her mad trying to figure it out.

"Please have something useful," Daphne mumbled as she approached the 'foliage' section of the library. To her surprise, however, she wasn't the only one there.

"Oh, sorry!" Neville stood up quickly, moving away from the shelf, "I was in your way!"

"No, you're fine," Daphne shrugged, "You're preventing me from more torture anyway."

Neville frowned, "Oh, uh… N-Not a fan of botany?"

"Not at all," Daphne grumbled. Then she paused, "Hey, uh, Longbottom?"

"Yeah?" Neville squeaked, clearly intimidated by the girl.

Daphne grinned wolfishly, "What do you know about hickory trees?"

"Hickory trees are usually in North America or Asia!" Daphne exclaimed, seating herself opposite Madeline, the two of them alone in the common room.

Madeline's eyes widened, "You've already-"

"Yup," Daphne confirmed, popping the 'p', "I can't lie, Neville Longbottom did help me a little near the end. But honestly, trees are so boring. Especially hickory. Did you know that hickory trees produce nuts?"

"Well, yes," Madeline blinked, "But what does that have to do with-"

"The Welsh hickory tree you wanted me to research is literally an anomaly," Daphne continued, "Like, it defies the laws of trees or something apparently. There are literally no recorded entries in the proper books about it. But Longbottom found a couple of journals that basically explain that it's a super rare tree. In fact, Beddgelert is the only recorded one at all in any of the journals."

"Where did he get the journals?" Madeline pressed.

Daphne shrugged, "Beats me. I think he's good with the Herbology professors, though. They have a bunch of books like that in their offices, I'm sure."

Madeline nodded, "That's actually really helpful to know, thank you Greengrass. I owe you one."

"Hey, what are friends for?" Daphne teased, leaning in, "Now that we've talked about the Welsh wood, can we talk about a different type?"

"Um, sure-"

"Like Dracos-"

"Nope," Madeline shook her head, "Absolutely not."

"Haven't you-"

"That's none of your business-"

"Merlin, theres no way you haven't-"

"Daphne Greengrass if you don't shut up right now I swear I-"

"You're telling me you're dating Draco Malfoy and you two haven't-"

"Do I want to hear the rest of this conversation, or should I go back upstairs and save myself years of trauma?"

The two girls turned to look at Theo, who'd joined them with a concerned look on his face, "Seriously. Tell me right now before I overhear something I don't want to."

"I'm just prying into our dear Madeline's personal life," Daphne shrugged, "And let me tell you, it's very telling-"

"Shush."

"You know, theres a Room of Requirements for a reason-"

"Yep," Theo nodded, "Thats my cue to leave."

Funnily enough, Madeline did find herself in the Room of Requirements that night. But not for the reasons Daphne would've thought, thank you very much.

"I still don't like you being here," Draco muttered, "This is my mess."

"And I'm your girlfriend," Madeline shot back, "So tell me what the hell we need to do to get this thing working so you can go back to being my boyfriend."

Draco huffed, throwing his arms in the air, "I don't know, okay? This stupid cabinet is meant to take you from Point A to Point B, and I haven't even figured out how not to make the hinges creak-"

"Oil."

"-Not the point," Draco grumbled, "This is a waste of your time, okay? If anyone catches you here…"

Madeline shrugged, "Head of The Bisset Family, remember? My days are counted anyway."

Draco went silent at that statement. It was hard to acknowledge sometimes that they were both victims of circumstance. Really, victims of their parents.

"Come on," Madeline encouraged, "What have you tried so far? Lets work it out together."

Draco sighed, rubbing his face, "Alright. But this is going to be exhausting, I hope you know that."

Draco was right. It had been exhausting.

The two were up until the late hours trying to fix the cabinet, and they made absolutely no progress. Madeline wasn't expecting a miracle, but even a small win would've done either of them wonders. Which is how Madeline found herself downing far too much coffee that morning, Draco on her side doing exactly the same.

"Merlin, you two are going to reek of coffee all day," Daphne complained, eyeing Madeline, "Did you take my suggestion? Because I wasn't trying to pressure you into-"

"No, we did not," Madeline interrupted, feeling herself blush under Dracos confused gaze.

"What suggestion?" He asked, Daphne grinning.

"Oh I'm so glad you asked-"

"No," Madeline shook her head, "Absolutely not. I woke up like, five seconds ago. I can't take this."

"Fine," Daphne rolled her eyes, "But you're missing out."

Madeline took a big bite out of her toast, savouring the buttery goodness in her mouth. Tiredness did not mix well with hunger, and she had another lesson with Snape that evening. She needed to keep her energy up.

She was halfway through her second lot of toast when the owls started flying in, delivering everyones mail. She didn't expect anything, especially right at the beginning of term, so it was no wonder she jumped when an owl dropped a letter right into her plate.

"Not on the jam," Daphne gasped.

Madeline shrugged, swallowing her toast. She wiped jam off the corner of the letter with her napkin, turning it to see who'd sent it.

She froze. The calligraphy was her grandmothers.

Madeline excused herself quietly, ignoring Dracos curious stare as she rushed out of the Great Hall. She knew her anxiety was obvious, but she couldn't sit there without knowing the contents of the letter. She was also unaware of a certain Weasley twin watching her leave.

She tucked herself in one of the nearby alcoves, and without thinking too much, she tore into the letter.

The contents made her heart drop.

Dear Madeline Bisset.

You are hereby being notified of your status as Head of the Family being brought forwards. Please find yourself at the Bisset residence on the first weekend of February, in which you will be accepting the position. Arrangements will be made for your transport.

Elodie Bisset.