May 4th:
Miranda woke with a start, feeling just like she had when she had woken up in the room in Grimmauld Place after Ron had hexed her, all those many months ago. But this time, her whole body ached, not just her head. She was a bit cold, but there was a warm hand on hers that she drew her eyes to. Draco was sitting next to her. He looked like he always did, clean with not a hair out of place, but he looked exhausted, as if he hadn't slept in weeks.
He smiled weakly, "Good morning, sleeping beauty."
She cursed brightly, pulling at her hair. "You died anyway? You look terrible. I was so sure you were safe! Did I bugger it up? Is Harry dead too?".
Draco grabbed her flailing hands, pulling them back down to rest on her thighs as he told her firmly, "Calm down. I'm not dead. Sadly, Potter's not either. Neither are you."
"I'm alive? How?" She said, stunned, her memories of the time since her stabbing foggy at best. She felt like something profound had occurred, but the more she tried to remember, the further the thoughts seemed to drift out of reach.
"We don't know. We found you unconscious halfway healed a few meters from where Snape dropped you. And apparently, you can see." He pursed his lips in irritation, "You've been unconscious for hours. Now, you wake up, and instantly insult my appearance. Thank you, Miranda, for keeping me humble."
"I can see. Without the necklace?" She said, finally processing that the usually constant weight of the silver snake her father had gifted to her was gone.
She wrapped her arms around Draco, reveling in the fact that she was alive and so were her boys. She could have lived without her sight, had managed for years without it, but she would definitely take sight as an extra bonus. "I'm wonderful." She breathed out.
He laughed, "I'm glad." Miranda didn't miss him brushing his eyes with the backs of his hands as he pulled away from her.
"Draco, where is Harry?" She half dreaded the answer, but she had to know.
Her friend looked around the room anxiously for a moment, "He's here, just went outside to deal with a little issue. Don't worry, he's alright. But..."
"But what?" She urged.
"He's gone through a little. There was pure shock and disbelief at first, but now, he's a bit pissed, Miranda." Draco admitted.
"I can understand that. I practically killed myself! Oh, he'll be so hurt." She hissed, feeling more than a bit angry, but relieved that the anger was all her own for a change.
Draco grinned his trademark grin at her, "You're a good person, Miranda. Harry knows it too. Frankly I think he's pissed you didn't tell him…everything." They sat in silence.
Though her body seemed to be telling her the answer to her own question, she asked anyway, "The baby?"
Draco nodded, "Madame Pomfrey checked while you were unconscious. Wouldn't tell me much, but, according to her, there's nothing wrong with it. Except for having Potter as a father. That's bound to cause problems eventually." Miranda glared at him, "What? I'm just stating facts here."
Miranda shook her head, putting a hand on her stomach, "We made it." She sat there for a moment, "Where is Harry? I need to see him." She said suddenly.
"What do you need to tell me, love?" Miranda's now hazel eyes darted to the doorway.
"Uh..." She said dully, overwhelmed just by seeing him again. He looked different. It might have had something to do with the cut above his eye or the dirt still covering every inch of his exposed skin, but he looked decidedly grown. The Boy Who Lived had become the Man Who Conquered. Regardless of how mad at her he must be, Miranda's hormone riddled body was telling her to climb him like a tree. It all left her rather breathless.
Harry sighed, mistaking her hesitation for guilt instead of abject desire, "I want to be angry at you for being so reckless, but I'm just so bloody glad you're alive." Harry crossed the distance from the door to her bed, and buried his hand in her hair before kissing her soundly. He smiled, his lips just above hers. "We did it!"
Miranda grinned, breathless, and wanting so much more than a kiss, "No, we didn't do it, Harry. You did." She could see Draco glaring pointedly at her over Harry's shoulder. "We did do something though."
Harry put a hand on her stomach, and her breath caught as he whispered, "I know."
"Harry, I swear I didn't think I could get pregnant. If I'd thought I seriously could have been, I never would have let it happen." Her words came out all at once as she fought back sudden tears, but the look on Harry's face was priceless.
He grabbed her swiftly and pressed her to his chest, her head right above his pounding heart. "It's alright."
"Really?" She asked, confused, crushed against him.
"I couldn't be any happier. You have nothing to apologize for. We will get through this together." Harry said confidently. "We can handle anything."
Miranda gave a nervous laugh. "I hope so."
He looped his arms around her waist and put his head on her stomach, "Hello, little one." He squeezed slightly, unknowingly causing Miranda's ribs to ache sharply. She gasped, all the air leaving her lungs.
"Mr. Potter, let the poor girl breathe!" Screeched Madame Pomfrey. "I need to talk with her now that she's awake."
"I feel fine." Miranda lied, feeling the tightness in her ribs.
"You might feel fine, but as we have previously discussed, your body isn't yours anymore." She held out a potion, "Drink this. You're still painfully underweight. This potion and a few good meals will help." Miranda took it from her numbly, the thought that she still might have hurt her baby making her nauseated. The matron watched as she drank it. "I'll have the elves bring something for you to eat soon."
"Is the baby really okay?" Miranda asked, grabbing Harry's hand.
Madame Pomfrey cracked a small smile, "All is well, considering everything that you've all been through. Underweight for the age I'm estimating, but once we get your weight where it needs to be, everything should be completely healthy. We'll be needing to keep a close eye though."
"Thank you." Miranda said, sagging against Harry in relief.
"I'll be glad to remind you of your gratitude near the end of October when you're neck deep in labor and cursing everyone." There was another hint of a smile, "You two have done a very good job." Her eyes lingered on Harry, "You should get some sleep, Mr. Potter. Your fainting spell had everyone unnerved. I'll leave you two alone, and you're free to get out of bed as long as you take it easy, Miss Riddle."
"Alright." Miranda looked up at Harry, "You fainted?
A flush spread up his neck and across Harry's cheeks, and Draco chuckled darkly before following the mediwitch. Harry squeezed her hand, "I had convinced myself the whole thing in the station was from my mind. Wishful thinking, you know, but then…once I found you laying here with a… bump, it kind of...hit me all at once. We're going to be parents."
Miranda's foggy memory of their shared time in limbo became a little clearer, and she beamed at him, "We are, despite all the cards stacked against us. Our next great adventure, yeah? Hopefully a little less dangerous than this one."
Harry kissed the back of her hand, "With the two of us as parents, I wouldn't really bet on less danger. We'll do our best though, won't we?"
"Absolutely." Miranda told him, before the rest of their reality finally sank in, "Is everyone else alright?"
Harry grimaced, the joy fading from his face, and he shook his head slowly. "They're still finding bodies all over. I know you never met her, but, Fenrir killed Tonks."
Miranda's hand flew to her mouth, "Oh no. Where is Remus?" She hoped he was still around, because she was sure that losing the only parental figure he had left would kill Harry.
"He's locked himself in one of the classrooms." Was a curt reply from Draco, who had returned, putting a pile of clothes at the foot of the bed. "These are from Ginny." He said, giving her a soft smile before turning to smirk at Harry. "Potter, are you going to be hiding her away?"
Harry glared at Draco. "I was going to let her rest."
"Can't keep her cooped up forever," Draco hissed as he walked back out the curtain.
Harry looked irritated, and to Miranda, his face was adorable. "You and Draco still aren't getting on, are you?" She chortled, getting gingerly out from under her blankets and pulling on the pair of stretchy pants included in the stack from Ginny.
"He's annoying. Like a bloody Blast-Ended Skrewt." Harry moaned, rubbing his face. "That's what I was dealing with outside when you woke up. Tensions have been running pretty high inside the castle. The Ministry…"
"What, Harry?" Miranda asked when he paused, she was halfway through exchanging the starched Hogwarts issued nightgown for a Hollyhead Harpies t-shirt.
His green eyes were positively glued to the undeniable evidence of their love.
Although she absolutely should not have, Miranda gave in to the urge to tease him. By dropping the t-shirt. "Oops."
He looked away.
Miranda found herself staring at the side of his head, at a complete loss by his sudden lack of interest, "Harry?" She questioned; her tone reedier than she would have liked.
He was silent for a while, so she picked the shirt up off the stone floor and pulled it over her head. He looked tortured, his eyes narrowed as he stared into the distance, refusing to look at her. "You died, Miranda." Harry finally said, his own voice barely audible.
"I mean…" Of course she had, hadn't she? Surely that episode in Kings Cross had been some step towards the afterlife. Her brother had been there. Dumbledore had been there. The latter was most certainly dead. "So did you."
Harry reached for her then, sliding his hands up from her waist to drag the fabric of the shirt up with his thumbs. He skimmed right past her baby bump, bunching the shirt up right above…an angry netting of color on her chest. Miranda stared down at it, the sight even more unfamiliar than the bulge between her hips. A spiderweb of magic spread through the veins around where the wound would have been, sparking flicks of red visible through her pale skin. "Oh."
Harry brushed a thumb against the center of the mess, completely covering up the remains of her fatal wound. "He killed you."
"Something brought me back." Miranda whispered, understanding leaving her empty.
"Draco said Snape was doing something when he saw him last." Harry replied, tracing one of the strands of magic. "It's fading."
And so it was. They stayed like that for a while, both just watching as the magic settled into her. What remained after a long while was not dissimilar to the scars that had marked them both as horcruxes. Miranda could still feel the magic though, even if she couldn't see it anymore. Harry didn't need to know that though. "I feel better." She told him softly, twisting her torso a bit.
Harry grabbed her suddenly, pulling her body towards him so quickly it caught her off balance. He pressed his forehead into the space between her breasts, his hands pressing her closer to him as he turned his head to rest his ear against her heart. Which was hammering in her chest. The flash of desire that had sparked through her returned with a fervor. "I'm alive, Harry." She reminded him gently, moving one of his hands to rest on the bump between them, "I'm alive, you're alive, and they're alive."
His green eyes flicked open and he pulled back just enough to look at her face. "We're alive."
Miranda nodded in response and sat down beside him.
He closed the space between them a moment later, and they surged together in a clash of lips and fumbling hands. Miranda ended up astride his lap, with his hand fisted in her hair while they snogged like there was no tomorrow. She had just begun a valiant attempt to remove his trousers when Draco burst back into their tiny corner of the world.
"Pottah! Riddle!" Draco barked, making the pair gasp, "You have got to be bloody kidding me! I'm not gone twenty minutes and you're already at it like rabbits."
Miranda tucked her face against Harry's neck to hide her laughter at Draco's absolute indignation. Harry, of course, opened his damned mouth, "What can I say, Malfoy? She's loves me."
"Tosser."
"Ferret."
"Stupid lion."
"Snake scum."
Miranda sat back to look between the pair, "I can leave you two alone if you want to get your wands out and compare."
They both scowled at her, spluttering denials.
She ignored them both, settling herself back onto her feet and straightening her rumpled borrowed clothes. "There will be time for all that later." She ran her fingers through her hair to settle it a bit as reality crawled back into her mind. They couldn't stay in this tiny corner of the world forever. "Harry, we should go out there, see what's going on. If we can help any."
Harry stared at her for a moment, mouth open in awe, "You amaze me."
"And you're mean to my friend." She rebutted, "We are whole and healthy, but others aren't and it's partly my fault. I want to help."
Draco arched an eyebrow at her, "Not everyone's going to want your help, Miranda. You're alive, He's not. Some think you should carry any punishment He would have."
Miranda took a moment to process the idea, but shook her head, "That's fine. I don't need everyone to like me or tolerate me. But if I can help, I want to help."
"Your wand is broken, destroyed." Harry told her, standing and taking her hand in his.
Another pause, but Miranda finally just sighed, "I went for years without one anyway." She jerked her eyes towards Draco, "Ollivander?"
He grimaced, "In a bad way. He came here trying to help, got caught in the cross fire attempting to free some of the younger students."
"Take me to him." Miranda said firmly.
Draco grinned, cutting his eyes towards Harry, "Wearing a rumpled cotton shirt like a commoner, yet demanding like an heiress. That's our girl."
She preferred to dress the part too, they all knew that. After all, she had been raised, however duplicitously, to be a proper witch. Which was why, instead of feeding into their banter any further, she walked herself through the curtained opening.
For a moment the sights and sounds in the Great Hall threatened to overwhelm her. Wails of grief, moans of pain, the smell of blood, the sound of sobbing from all over, it was almost too much. Harry was right behind her though, and slipped his hand back into hers, "Come on, he's over here."
Ollivander had never looked older, not even when he'd been in the Malfoy's dungeon, but when he saw her, his face lit up in spite of the pain, "Miranda."
He had a wound on his leg that was still bleeding despite having been tended to. Obviously he'd shooed someone away, likely so they would help someone else. She wouldn't be shrugged off so easily. "Draco, go to my room, grab my potion bag. Please."
A swish of his robes was all that signaled the blond wizard leaving.
Miranda dropped to her knees with the grace of a queen, taking Ollivander's hand in hers, "I'm here." He smiled, but hissed when she probed his wound with a gentle hand, "You've gone and gotten yourself hurt quite badly, haven't you? This is broken. How are you supposed to make wands if you can't stand, huh?"
"Trust you will assist?" He questioned.
She smiled back at him, "If I can. I'm not the best."
"Always a quick learner though." He assured her.
Draco was back a few moments later, thrusting her bag at her. "Thank you." She muttered, but looked at him and at Harry, "I need you two to hold him so he doesn't hurt himself." They followed directions warily, but both understood the instant she poured a bottle down the old man's throat and he started screaming. Draco barely managed to hold onto him and muffle the sounds with a spell.
A half hour later though, Ollivander's wound was healing, the color back on his face, and Miranda had used half of her potions and salves up as she moved determinedly from cot to cot. Even Madame Pomfrey had expressed her thanks for the supplies and assistance.
Miranda came to a stop, all her energy sapped, when she found Molly Weasley sobbing as she held the body of her dead son in her arms.
Cliffhanger, but I'm already over halfway done with the next one. Reviews certainly help! Let me know what you think!
-Jenn