A feeling of warmth and contentment engulfed her as Hermione awoke. Happily sighing she slowly opened her eyes. There was a smouldering gaze aimed at her. Another sigh escaped her. Draco leisurely run his fingers over her side.
"I love you, Hermione."
She allowed herself to be caught by the feeling he had proclaimed. It was clearly visible in the light grey colour of his eyes.
"I love you, too, Draco."
Her hand cupped his face. A grin was tugging at the corners of his mouth. Remembering their shared passion of last night she blushed. Burying her face against his chest she tried to hide it from him.
"Not need to be shy."He kissed her hair. "Only you and me will ever know what we are doing to each other."
She raised her head to look at him.
"It's just... I've never done..."
His warm smile touched her heart.
"This is our life, Lea. Just be yourself."
There was a long pause of hesitation.
"What, if I'm not what you want?"
He sighed and pulled her close to his body, wrapping his arms tightly around her.
"You are the only one I want." His voice dropped to a whisper. "You are the only one that would be prepared to be with me."
"Oh, Draco."
She kissed him. This kiss was soft and caring. She tried to show him what he meant to her. After several minutes of tender interaction it was her to draw back first. Leaning her forehead against his she heard him sigh contentedly.
"I have been doing some research into the reversal of memories erased by using the Obliviate spell. It didn't sound to difficult, but I'm not sure I could do that on my own."
"I don't expect you to do it on your own or do it at all for that matter. They are my parents..."
"And that is why I'm not going to let you try it on your own."
She drew a face and he laughed.
"Seriously, Hermione, we have a far better chance to succeed, if we are working together. Have you thought about using the counter curse or do you want to try the potion as well?"
Opening her mouth to answer she suddenly realised that she hadn't known that there was a potion that could also been used.
"There is a potion?"
"Yes. It's quite complicated, but not impossible."
"How does it work?" Her curiosity had been roused.
"Well, once the person with the modified memory has drank it the next thing they need to see is something or somebody that is related to the lost memories. Like in this case, you. The person will be extremely confused for a few moments and then..."
"What? What will happen then?"
"If it has worked, they will be the same as before you send them away. If it doesn't work..."
He averted his eyes from her.
"What? What will happen, if it doesn't work?"
"Well... Then they will have no memories whatsoever. It will be as if they have just been born."
A horrified look was contorting her face into a shocked façade.
"I'm sorry. It might be too dangerous for us to try..."
"NO! We are going to brew this potion and then we are going to... to..." She buried her head against his chest again. Moments later he was gently rubbing her back as she sobbed.
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Malfoy Manor lay peaceful in the midday sun. The leafs were shining in glorious red, orange and yellow colours. There was a soft breath that reminded the two walkers that autumn was in full swing and winter would soon follow.
They had been strolling around the grounds for the most part of the morning. There were a thousand things they should be discussing, but instead they had both hardly spoken at all.
"James." Narcissa stopped and took his hands in hers. "Why are you here? Why have you come now?"
"I am working on a case that is involving your son."
"He hasn't done anythi...!"
"No, of course not. He could be in danger though."
He gave her a stern look.
"I don't think that I have to remind you why you were in St. Mungo's for the best part of two months, do I? Somebody is out to get you both and also Hermione Granger. We have got hold of Rita Skeeter and two of her accomplices, but that Parkinson girl is still on the loose. She has nearly killed a guy, Narcissa. I don't know, what's going on in her head, but it's not good. That's for sure."
They resumed their walk, but she didn't let go of his hand.
"Narcissa, I know that you would never consider leaving Lucius, but I don't care how long it takes, until he..." Soft fingers silenced him.
"James, we had an arranged marriage. I can't leave him," she caressed his cheek, "but I'm glad that you are here." she said gently.
"I should have wrung his bloody neck when I had the chance."
"Then I would have been without you as well. And it would have been a lot worse. There would have been no hope."
"Is there hope, Cissy?"
"There is always hope, Jay."
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Draco and Hermione had spend the weekend walking up Arthur's Seat, exploring the Old Town and had been down Mary King's Close. They had been trying to plot the perfect way to get her parents in a situation that would allow them to cast the necessary spell without being observed and getting them both at the same time. Finally they had decided to check, where her parents were staying and then see, if there would be the possibility to engage them in a friendly chat over the fence so to speak. She had looked up the address Draco had given her, 12 Highfield Avenue in Linlithgow. Seemingly Mary Queen of Scots had been born in Linlithgow Palace. It was more or less a ruin, but still worth seeing. They could do a bit of sightseeing first, if their nerves needed calming. She knew her nerves would be needing calming in any case.
It was late October and she had been thinking about putting on a heavy jumper. There was a rather gusty, cold wind and they would be taking the train.
Where was that jumper? She looked all over the bedroom until she remembered having left it in the bathroom. Without thinking she pushed the only half closed door open and froze. Draco was standing clad with only a pair of dark green boxers in front of the sink. Most of his face was covered in shaving cream and he was holding a very old fashioned and very lethal looking knife. A moment later she realised that it was a straight razor. He obviously knew what he was doing as his hand was steady and the blade was gliding effortlessly over his skin.
She didn't dare breath in case he noticed her, got distracted and possibly cut his own throat. He rinsed the knife in the sink. She had never realised that he would have to shave every day. He wasn't a little boy any longer. He was a young man. It was an utterly alien realisation for her. He had grown up just as much as she had. They weren't children any longer. How strange was that! Then a somewhat frightening thought invaded her reverie. Had she ever felt young? Had she ever seen herself as a child, as a teenager? She couldn't recall. For the best part of the last eight years she had faced things that had most fully grown adults shaking with fear. She had been the brains and the sensible one. Mature behaviour had always been her trademark.
She sighed. Moments later she saw that he had turned towards her. Half his face was still covered in shaving cream. A big grin was plastered all over his face.
"Trying to sneak in so you can marvel at my body?" Hermione blushed, trying her best to hide it. He smirked. "And there was me thinking you would have had amble opportunity to still that hunger last night."
"Oh, shush!"
His smirk grew even wider. He carefully rinsed the straight razor, folded it shut and then came over to her. Enveloping her with his arms he felt her melting against his body.
"You know that you are horrible?"
"Oh! How cruel of you to say that." He said with mock indignation.
She looked up at him and smiled. A soft kiss was placed on his lips resulting in her face getting covered in shaving cream as well. They both laughed.
After breakfast they got ready and as they reached the main street Draco flagged down a taxi. Hermione had done her best to try and tell him that she would love to walk to the station. Her arguments why a train ride would be a good experience for him fell on the same deaf ears though as did her assessment that they would need to be careful with their Muggle money. He had just pushed her into the waiting car and then had told the driver to get them to Linlithgow Palace. A long, passion filled kiss turned out to be the best way to shut her up.
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Harry was sitting in his bedroom. His head in his hands. Ginny had left for Hogwarts only yesterday, but he missed her. At least now he had the chance to see her more often as when she was on tour with the Harpies. It had given him a taste of what was to come though. He didn't want to linger on the feelings that these thoughts had brought him. Neither did he want to have to contemplate why Ginny had been in such panic when she found out that she... Hesitation. He always hesitated when it came to the fact that his girl, his finacée, was pregnant.
Why had she been so sobby? Why had she been in such a state when she knew already that she would be going back to Hogwarts? Her parents had been delighted when they learnt of their grandchild. For some reason he hadn't been able to fathom the logic behind her actions. He would have thought she would be happy to have children. Maybe it was a bit soon and not planned. Not at all planned, if he was honest, but it didn't explain her erratic behaviour. What had happened to her? Suddenly a very nasty thought pushed its way into his consciousness. What, if she had been scared witless, because she fear the child wasn't... He didn't want to go down that path. Why would he even contemplate the possibility of her having...
Kreacher interrupted his thoughts as he was asking, if Harry wanted to come down for diner. He just shook his head. The house elf vanished without another word. A loud sigh broke the heavy silence of the room. The baby was fine, Ginny was fine, what was the problem? He was missing something fundamentally important. He decided to go and see George.
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George Weasley was sitting behind the counter in Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. Counting Galleons every evening was rather fulfilling when you had grown up with the knowledge that their was never enough money in the house and there most likely might never be either.
The noise of somebody apparating directly in front of his counter was nothing unusual. Alicia come nearly every evening and made sure he went home and had something to eat. Lately she had managed to get him into some rather intimate activities before she allowed him his diner, but by then he was often to exhausted as that he thought he could go without any food for much longer.
"I won't count any faster, if you stare at me in silence. You might as well make yourself useful and mop..." George looked up and saw... Harry. "What are you doing here?"
"I need to talk to you."
"Oh? Don't you normally talk to Ron about..."
"This is about Ginny. I don't think, I could talk to him about it."
Raised eyebrows. "Really?"
"Yeah."
The Weasley twin gathered the galleons in front of him, shoved them into the cash drawer, banged the same shut and got up.
"Let's go to the office. I get the feeling that only a Firewhiskey is going to be any help right now."
They wound their way through the shelves and displays and then entered the restricted section. A few comfy chairs, a table and a selection of bottles and glasses were neatly arranged. Both wizards sat in a chair, George poured the amber liquid and they had a sip before slipping into a thought filled silence.
"What is it about Ginny, that you want to talk about?"
Harry sighed.
"She came home in a panic. She was frantic. I have the feeling that she might have considered...," he was trying to find the right words, "not having the baby."
His counterpart gasped.
"Why would she want to do that?"
"That is what is niggling me. There is something, I can't tell you what, but something has happened. She had spoken to McGonagall, the Harpies were keeping her place for her, I'm a bit shocked but also delighted to become a father, so why has she been behaving like she... I don't know."
Pursed lips indicated that George was thinking. Harry was right, of course. He had himself wondered what had been going on. Why had she first told their parents that she wasn't expecting when she was?
"How are things going with Ron these days?"
The change in subject was only to welcome by both wizards. George sighed.
"He has tried to break up with Parvati a couple of weeks ago, but then couldn't do it. Other than that, he is still thinking that Hermione might change her mind some day. When she has seen the true Malfoy as he puts it."
"It think, she already has and that's the reason why she is his girlfriend."
"It's weird though. I mean, Malfoy and Hermione. Yuk!"
"You have no idea."
Harry remembered vividly as he had gone to the Manor and his ex-nemesis had greeted him clad just in trousers and nothing else. He shuddered.
"George?" That was Alicia's voice calling.
"In the office!"
The door was pushed open and the smiling witch entered.
"Hi, Harry." She said kissing the Weasley twin. "Good that I meet you actually."
"Why?"
"You should speak to Ginny."
Harry's heart skipped a beat.
"What has happened?" Fear threaded through his words.
"The other day I was in Hogsmead and met her in Honeydukes. We went for a butterbeer. I went to the loo and when I came back I heard her mumbling to herself. She didn't see me and I didn't really wanted to eavesdrop, but she said something about her still not being convinced that she should keep the baby. That the risk was too great and that she didn't want to put you through that. She sounded a bit desperate. I'm probably wrong, but my first impression was that she wasn't sure, if it was your baby or not..."
Shocked silence followed. Ginny having sex with another man? That was unthinkable!
"I know, that she would never cheat on you, Harry, but there is something going on and it's eating her alive. Talk to her."
He got up and walked to the door. He felt numb, as if the world was trying to smother him in cotton wool. Ginny, his Ginny, doing it with another... Never! Not in a million years and not of her own free will. He stopped dead. Had somebody... Oh, great Merlin! No! Everything, but that!
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It had been a week since she had eaten anything. Her only drink consisted of rainwater collected in a broken cup. She was exhausted, tired and if he found her right now, fine, she would embrace death. That was better than staying here.
Her thoughts found Draco's face as they had done so many times during the past days. His fierce, grey eyes, the always fashionable tussled white-blond hair and of course his dream of a body. She sighed. To see him just once before she went to Azkaban... Being allowed to feel those strong arms of his around her one last time. She sighed. His plan had been so simple: She would help to make his wife pay for what she had done to him and she would get Draco and become the new Mistress of Malfoy Manor. Her eyes glazed over at the thought of becoming the girl at his side. His plan had also taken into account that, if Draco was taken her as his wife at a later date, she would be the mother to the next generation of the ancient family line of Malfoy.
A weak smile played around her lips. She had always known, that he was the one truly worthy of ruling the wizarding world. He had stature, class, came from an implacable family of purest blood and was rich beyond imagination. There had been moments when she had even wondered, if she, once his wife was out off the picture and should Draco turn out to be unwilling to marry her, would be prepared to become his. His mistress, his wife. She had known the answer without having to think about it, she would be more than willing!
Any of this didn't matter any longer. The plan had gone as wrong as it could have possibly gone wrong. She tried to recall his words as they had met in that small in out in the sticks.
"You will curse Narcissa. She would never consent to you becoming the mother of a Malfoy heir. Her family has been harbouring some silly pre justice against the Parkinsons for as long as anybody can remember. What a waste! You come from very good breeding stock. Perfect for our family line. So, once she is in St. Mungo's you'll comfort Draco and make sure, that he wants to keep you around. Should he be willing to share your bed make sure you get pregnant as soon as possible. Should he be unwilling... Well, I will need to make other arrangements then."
There had been a strange smile around his lips when he had said this. She hadn't been quite sure what he had been implying, but she had hoped that he, instead of Draco, would make her mother to a Malfoy heir. Nothing of this would be happing now. She had become a liability and she knew only too well what happened to people who had gained that status. The only mercy should could expect came from the Ministry now.
She tried to get up. It took a long while before she managed it. Another half hour passed before she was steady enough as not to fall over when she tried to walk. The fireplace was only twenty feet away, but after every half dozen steps she needed to stop to gather her strength again. Grabbing the small bag with floo powder she had brought, she stepped into the massive hearth, emptied the bag and called, "Ministry of Magic, London."
Moments later she collapsed in the large Atrium and only a heartbeat after her arrival she was surrounded by concerned witches and wizards and also a watch wizard. He didn't hesitate, pulled his wand out and said loud enough for all bystanders to hear, "Pansy Parkinson! I arrest you on order of the Auror Office in connection with the attack on and causing of GBH to William Rockwood."
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An imposing figure was striding through the corridor of St. Mungo's. His black cloak was billowing behind him. It was early evening and most of the visitors had left by now. He reached the desk of the welcome witch who looked up at him with a sour face.
"Yes?"
"Where do I find Narcissa Malfoy?"
There was a moment in which the witch seemed to try and decide, is he was going to be allowed to see that particular patient or not. After another evaluating glance a list was consulted and then say informed him to check with the healer on duty on floor three. Without any further comment the figure turned and strode to the lifts.
The third floor corridor was quiet. All visitors seemed to have left and the patients were all in their beds. Healer Smithson had the bad fortune to exit a room the moment the late visitor arrived.
"Where do I find Narcissa Malfoy?" There was a snarl in his voice. The healer shuddered.
"I'm sorry, who are you? Only her family is allowed to see her."
"I'm her brother-in-law."
Hopefully this youngster wouldn't know, that one of Mrs. Malfoy's brothers-in-law was in Azkaban and the other was a Muggle.
"Oh. Well, you are a bit too late. She has left the hospital."
Was that rage that was now showing on the older man's face. Smithson made a step back.
"Left the hospital? When? How? Isn't she supposed to be in a coma?"
Another step back was taken.
Without a further word the dark figure strode back to the lifts, entered and was gone. A heavy sigh of relieve was escaping the wizard standing alone in the corridor. Should he inform the Auror Office? He had been instructed to forward details of all people that were asking to see this specific patient. He squared his shoulders and then went to his superior. It might be better to inform Law Enforcement about this weirdo.