Lost And Found

UNSETTLING SECRETS

"Sign here. On this page too. Okay. And for this envelope.... uhhh.... let me see.... It is sealed with blood magic. Only few drops will be sufficient. Alright.... This is it. Here is the key to the vault in Gringotts... The house elf, too, is yours now. If you want, you can keep it or make it free - your wish... All the papers are kept as it is in her study. Here, inside this pouch, are all the keys to the drawers and vaults in the castle.... Well, that is all for now. Good day sir.... Oh, yes, another thing before I leave. If you ever want to sell the castle or any of its antique furnitures or collections, I have connections to get you the best deal. Goodbye."

With that, the lawyer left.

Draco kept on staring blankly at some invisible point on the wall of his study, the papers and the pouch of keys remained untouched on his desk.

Only the previous day, the funeral of Narcissa Malfoy was over. Nothing was back to normal. It seemed like a cloak of unease and fear was wrapping their lives from all sides, suffocating them, trapping them.

Draco was lost in his thoughts, when a soft tap on the door made him come back to the present moment. Looking up, he saw his beloved wife standing at the door of his study. She was wearing a simple black dress and draped a grey shawl over her shoulders casually. The sunbeams coming through the window fell on the right side of her face, highlighting some freckles on her chick, few unruly curls that escaped her braid fell on her neck in a silent caress. Her very presence embodied light in the face of darkness.

Despite the grim situations, a smile broke into his face. He stretched his hand towards her and said softly, "Hey, come here".

Hermione came inside with a reassuring smile and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. Draco pulled her closer and made her sit on his lap. Burying his face in the crook of her neck, he said, "Thank you for being there, darling."

Hermione didn't say anything. She just hugged him tighter and placed a kiss on the top of his head.

The couple stayed like that till both of them could absorb sufficient comfort from the intimate embrace.

Hermione was the first one to break the silence.

"Harry came when you were with the lawyer", she said, "He was in a hurry."

"Did the oh-so-capable Aurors find anything useful?"

Hermione rolled her eyes in his veiled insult at her friend.

"Well, the oh-so-capable Aurors found that your mother's house elf was Imperioed and then, like many of us lately, his memory was erased. And just like the other cases, it was not your ordinary memory charm. The Aurors were unable to break the complicated layers of the spell."

"Shit!"

"My expression exactly when I heard that. Some insane witch or wizard is out there roaming free, misusing his or her exceptional talent in mind magic."

"Not misusing. Rather using it consciously as their most powerful weapon."

"After Harry told that the nature of the memory charm is foreign, I ordered books of ancient magic from different countries. I have already finished six of them, but couldn't find anything useful. It will take time to finish all of them and even then, there are so many countries in the world. Unless we can at least select a particular region, it will take years to find out any pertinent information."

Draco let out a frustrated sigh, "It is impossible! It's like... it's like looking for a needle in a haystack. And even if it is possible, we don't have enough time for this."

"We even don't know how much of time we'll have, before he strikes again", said Hermione. She remembered her experience on the previous night. She couldn't sleep properly as unpleasant thoughts about what might come next was haunting her mind. She was thinking about that unknown enemy lurking in the darkness somewhere. At one point she fell asleep. But her Occlumemcy barrier slipped for a moment. And in that unguarded moment, an intense sense of rage surfaced to her mind, shaking her from core, making her wake up with a loud gasp, sweating profusely. There was no doubt in her mind that the rage was not of her own, but of that mysterious person with whom her mind was connected by an unknown Potion.

Even in the broad daylight now, she shuddered as she remembered this sensation from previous night. She knew by heart that their enemy was so angry because he couldn't kill all the birds with a single stone. Narcissa was dead. But Draco and Hermione escaped by sheer chance of luck.

"Why would someone like to see us dead so badly?" She mused aloud.

"I don't know, darling. But I am sure that there is no scarcity of such people in the world. I can't let go of the words Mom spoke to us at our last meeting. At that fateful dinner."

"About past enemies?"

"Yeah. Enemies acquired by my family's misdeeds. If it were related to Death Eaters, then it wouldn't be only us. There surely would be attacks or plots against that Potters, Weasleys and many others who took active part in the war."

Hermione nodded in agreement.

"Did your father have foreign acquaintances? I mean, all the spells seem to have foreign origin. Can't it be that he made some enemies out of the country?"

Draco let out a dry chuckle, "Knowing my father, he must have made enemies where ever in the world he had laid his foot."

"True. Don't you have any papers, journals or old letters of your father, from which you can get some idea?"

"Well, the idea is good, but.... uhhh.... you know, after my father's death, I burnt down all his possessions or everything related to him.... So... hey, don't look at me like that! After the war, I was not in my right mind. None of us were. At that time, my father seemed to appear as my worst enemy. Even after everything was over, even after I killed him, the rage didn't go away. Compared to what he had done to me, to my mother or so many countless others, his death seemed to be very peaceful. A quick swish of the wand and gone! No matter how much I tried, I couldn't come into terms with so many injustice that happened during those dark times. I was a restless eighteen years old... Not the best moments of my life."

Hermione didn't say anything, instead she gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.

"My mother suffered more than she deserved. The way she died...." Draco trailed off mid sentence.

No one said anything for a long time. The silence was full of unsaid anticipations for the worst.

At length, Draco said, "I'll go through Mom's belongings. It might be useful in finding something or lead us to someone."

"Do you want me to accompany you?"

"No... I just want to spend some times alone with....you know....her memories. That's all. Please don't take it-"

"Hey, I understand it. No need to apologise, okay?"

"Okay, Madam", Draco smiled, "I forgot that my wife no longer hates me, at least not as passionately as before."

"Stop flirting with me and go, get the work done. I'll continue my study with foreign magics."

And suddenly, even in the middle of all frustrations and disappointments, the day didn't seem that bad anymore. Draco left his study after planting a quick kiss on his wife's lips.

Little did he knew what unsettling secrets awaited him in his mother's possessions. It was only a few hours later that Draco Malfoy stood in Narcissa's study, face ashen, whole body trembling, as he read those lines in a very old journal in his mother's handwriting, over and over again-

"How will I ever tell Draco that he is not my own son..."

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A/N: Hey dear readers, sorry for being late. Here is the new chapter. Let me know your thoughts.

See you on next Sunday.

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