Aurelian (Dramione)

Chapter 10: Sacrifice and the Last hope

"Actually, I think Uncle Art is at work today, but I'm sure you'll still have a lot of fun with Aunt Molly," she told him as she pulled his pajama shirt over his head. "Take off your bottoms."

Hermione dug through the bag Molly had given her and pulled out a pair of orange underpants and a faded red robe. She sighed as she looked it over. It looked like it had made it through a few children's wardrobes over the years. It bore quite a few signs of wear, which included a few stains on the front. It would be fine for playing at the Burrow, but she really did need to buy him some new things. It wasn't a big deal, and she knew she had enough money to purchase whatever he needed, but it was just another strange reminder of what this meant for her life. She was a mother and there would quite a few things that she needed to change.

"Alright, arms up," she instructed. Aurelian stood on top of the bed and waited for her with his hands in the air. A mischievous grin slowly spread across her face and she attacked the boy with a wiggly finger; he squirmed and giggled loudly. She simply couldn't resist. She laughed with him and found a funny comfort when he threw himself at her and hugged her tightly. She returned the hug, rubbed his back, and pulled away to smile at him fondly. "Alright, no more tickling. We need to get you ready."

The smile she'd gained in the few moments with Aurelian faded quickly as she walked back toward the living room. Her insides twisted when she remembered that Malfoy sat on her couch and he would inevitably see Aurelian again.

"Harry." Hermione smiled with relief when she saw the black-haired man in the middle of the small room. Just as quickly as her relief came, she remembered that she was angry with him. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Er…sure," Harry replied, not missing the lightning fast mood swing. Hermione held onto Aurelian's hand and pulled him back around the corner with her. Harry followed immediately after. "What's wrong?"

"You could have told me that you invited him over this morning!" she hissed quietly. "I wasn't ready. When I heard the chime I expected your head in the fireplace, not Malfoy standing in my living room!"

"Sorry," Harry replied seriously. "I really hadn't thought about it. I meant to talk to you and it just slipped my mind. Is it okay that we meet here? I mean, we could always go back to the office or to Grimmauld Place. I just decided here because you had the Pensieve here."

"No, it's fine. I was just caught off guard is all. We were just finishing breakfast when he arrived and I would have liked to have had Aurelian at Molly's before that," Hermione explained. Her anger had vanished as she was never really angry in the first place. She was just frustrated.

"I'm sorry. Really. It's no big deal though. You can just take him to Molly now. I'll wait here with Malfoy. It won't take you but a minute," Harry assured her.

Hermione closed her eyes and nodded. Harry didn't understand, but she wasn't ready to explain it. "Okay." She looked down and saw that Aurelian no longer stood next to her. She didn't remember letting go of his hand. She and Harry walked around the corner and Hermione instantly felt the desire to cry. This was just too much.

Aurelian had returned to the living room while Harry and Hermione were talking. Malfoy sat on the sofa and Aurelian had positioned himself to stand between his father's knees. Aurelian spoke quite casually to him, and took no notice of the man's uncertainty. The boy picked up the man's hand and placed a toy in it as he continued to talk.

"Aunt Molly gived 'em to me. Dey used to be Uncle Won's. Dis one flies funny cuz him doesn't have a leg. But dis one is my favorite. He likes to roll 'round and 'round," Aurelian explained as he pointed to the Quidditch model toys. Draco looked at the battered-looking figurine in his hand. It was indeed missing a leg and it paced Draco's hand, utilizing its broomstick as a crutch.