SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1What Have You Done?
"Calm yourself," Rodolphus growled. "He's alive. It's a sleeping draft." Rodolphus handed the boy to Draco and then made himself at home pouring a shot of fire whiskey for each man. "Sorry we've been so long Lucius, we had to calm the boy first. Bella and Narcissa would have castrated then killed me if they had seen him the way he was."
Cam moaned in Draco's arms and he sat down on the settee with his son. Narcissa and Bellatrix glided into the room and over to Cam, both checked the boy for harm. They turned and sneered at their husband's after discovering bruising on the boy's arms and swelling in his left wrist. Narcissa removed her wand and healed the boy's bruises. When she got to his wrist she whispered to Bellatrix before healing the boy.
Bellatrix rounded on Rodolphus frantically. "How dare you let harm come to my Father's namesake! His wrist was broken and he was bruised yet you stand in front of me without a mark on you."
"We couldn't get past the wards, Bella. Who would have guessed the Weasley's would harm their own," Avery interjected in hopes of avoiding Bellatrix and/or Narcissa's wrath. "There is a good side. Ginevra was enraged; when the man twisted Cygnus' arm she threatened to disembowel him with a dull kitchen knife." Avery shook his head and looked at Lucius, Rodolphus, and Draco and whispered to himself, "Why you wish to marry these violent women is beyond me."
Narcissa joined Draco on the settee. She tried to remove Cam from his father's arms only to receive a growled "No mine" from her son. She pacified herself with stroking the boy's hair. "You should place him in bed, darling," she whispered.
"He's not leaving my sight," Draco firmly exclaimed holding his son close. "Why were you at the beach house, Uncle Rodolphus?"
Lucius looked at Draco. "I asked him to watch over your family. I thought the Weasley's might try something once Ginevra agreed to return. They were to follow them if need arose." Lucius looked into the face of his son. "If I would have thought harm would come to the children or Ginevra, I would have worked on getting around the wards." Lucius walked over to his desk. "Rodolphus, what happened?" he inquired.
"Around 9:30 am, we heard noises coming from the house and wand flashes. We tried to get through the wards but couldn't. Three figures in black hooded robes brought Ginevra and the three older boys out front, all of who were fighting their captors. The man holding Cygnus and Serpens twisted Cygnus' wrist to still the boy. When Cygnus screamed in pain, Thuban somehow freed himself and attacked the man. Cygnus and Serpens ran for the trees, but Serpens was caught."
Avery nodded his head. "Cygnus must have seen Rodolphus, he ran right to him."
"They stunned Ginevra and Thuban and portkeyed them away," Rodolphus finished.
"What of Leo?" Draco asked.
"We never saw him. I stayed until you arrived," Avery answered.
"He was gone when I arrived. Someone must have Apparated or Flooed him away from inside the house. It had to be a Weasley." Cam tossed and slightly opened his eyes. Seeing Draco he smiled then frowned.
"Daddy. Love you. Find Mummy please."
~~~~****~~~~
Ginny lay on the bed with Thuban and Serpens. Tears still ran down Serpens face although he was sleeping. Leo lay in the cradle next to the bed. The door opened and Molly Weasley walked in. Ginny snarled at her mother, "Why are you doing this? Cam is missing and my other children are frightened!"
"The Malfoy's have Cam or Cygnus as they call him," Molly responded.
"Take us back to the beach house!"
"You're not thinking straight, Ginny. We have a healer coming to see you tomorrow. You can't want to stay with the Malfoy's. An annulment is your only hope for a happy life."
"I'm not thinking straight? It's because I want to stay with Draco right? Get out! Leave me with my Malfoy children."
"Ginny, you need to see reason. Draco had Death Eaters watching the house. If we didn't have wards up they would have stolen the children."
"Why would he do that? I was going back to him. Maybe they were watching you?"
"No, sweetie. The Malfoy's are after your boys. That's what your marriage to Draco was all about, providing him with magically strong and healthy sons. You need to free yourself and your children from their control," Molly spoke softly. "Now, you need some rest." Molly closed the door.
She walked downstairs and into a kitchen filled with screaming wizards. Her twins, Fred and George looked unusually upset. Bill was enraged. Arthur was angry. Seamus Finnagan and Jimmy Peakes looked frightened to death. Hermione and Ron looked very annoyed.
"They did what they had to do, Bill. I didn't like the idea of tying up the elves but it had to be done," Hermione yelled.
"You lot have gone mad," Bill exclaimed gawking at Hermione, Ron, Seamus, and Jimmy. "Serpens is terrified and Thuban will never trust any of us. You lost Cam and Ginny wants to hex you to hell and back, which I think is a brilliant idea!"
"What would you have us do?" Ron asked. "She was going back to Malfoy. Something had to be done."
"So, brutally kidnapping Ginny and her children was your answer?" Molly was infuriated with her youngest son. Ron appeared to shrivel as his mother approached him.
"No," Ron managed to say.
"You have driven her back into his arms. She is praising him and cursing us. Why can't you use your brain for once?"
Hermione stepped forward in hopes of enlightening the Weasley matriarch. "The plan was to give the impression that strangers took Ginny and the children, throwing the Malfoy's off our tracks," Hermione interjected.
"Who knew little children could put up such a fight?" Seamus said as he rubbed his bruises.
"Merlin, what were you thinking?" Bill yelled approaching his little brother, "How dare you cause harm to the children!" Bill grabbed Ron and shook him. Arthur pulled his sons apart.
"Stop it! This isn't helping anything," Arthur stated. "Ron, you should have discussed this with your mother or I first, but it's done now and we need to move forward." Arthur directed everyone to chairs and they sat down. "First, no one will do anything without talking to Molly or myself. Ginny's been through enough. We're trying to help her, not make things worse." Arthur looked at his still irate wife. "Molly, dear, will you please make us some tea?" She huffed at her husband. "You can give Ron and his partners in crime a good telling off after we have this mess sorted."
Molly placed tea in front of everyone. "We have a healer coming tomorrow to look at Ginny. He should be able to remove any spell she is under."
"What if it isn't a spell, Molly?" Hermione offered. "I remember learning in Muggle School that over time captives can become attached to their captors."
"We'll see what the healer says tomorrow," Arthur answered. "We have a couple of problems we need to address now. First, the Malfoy's are going to try and get the other boys. It's not safe to let them out of the house. Second, we need to figure out how to get Cam back to Ginny."
~~~~****~~~~
Thuban walked through the house slowly and quietly. He knew the windows and doors were warded against his escape. He had overheard his grandma saying they were at old order headquarters. If he remembered the stories correctly, his great grandfather's sister's portrait hung in the main parlor covered by a curtain. He hoped she wouldn't scream and wake the whole house.
He slowly approached the portrait's curtains, opened them a crack and whispered. "Mrs. Black, I need your help. Please be quiet, they will bind me to my room if they find me here."
"Open the curtains all the way boy." He did as he was asked. The portrait gasped. "Who are you boy?"
"I am Thuban Malfoy. My father is Draco and my grandmother is Narcissa. I need your help."
"What is it boy? Speak quickly!"
"I need to tell my dad I'm here and see if he has Ca… Cygnus."
"I have no portrait at Malfoy Manor. Is Cygnus your brother and is he older or younger?"
"My brother Cygnus is a year younger. Is there a portrait of my great grandfather here or any portrait that also hangs in Black Hall or Lestrange Manor?"
"Phineas Nigellus hangs both here and in Black Hall, why?"
"'Cause if you tell Mr. Phineas Nigellus, he can tell my great grandfather Cygnus."
"Does Cygnus hang in Malfoy Manor?"
Thuban screwed up his face and spoke with venom in his voice. "No, but some how he talks to my daddy. He's a big tattletale. I gots lots of sore bottoms 'cause a him. 'Bout time he did some good."
Mrs. Black's portrait frowned at him, "Cygnus was never a disciplinarian. He spoiled his girls and only punished them when they didn't use good manners. What do you do that causes him to tell your father?"
"Talked back to Mummy, Grandmother, Aunt Bella, and I called Greggie Goyle a bad name."
"You have your father's mouth," the portrait laughed. "I will inform Phineas. Now, back to bed."
~~~~****~~~~
Draco, Lucius, and Cam sat in the lobby of the Ministry, keeping an eye out for red hair. Draco was the first to spot them. He told Cam to stay with Lucius. He took a deep breath and quickly walked over to Ron and Arthur. "Get away from us, Malfoy!" Ron spouted.
"I know you took Ginny and three of my boys against her will." He pointed to Lucius and Cam. "Let her know I have Cam and he's fine," Draco calmly explained.
"You know nothing, you git. Leave my family alone and that includes my sister and her children. Now get out of my way. I can't stand the sight of you." Ron tried to push Draco aside but Draco grabbed him and shook him.
"Let me finish you bloody prat."
"Release my son," Arthur held his wand on the side of Draco's throat. Draco released Ron but moved to block his way.
"I didn't come here to confront you. I know it's going to take me some time to get the rest of my family back and I want my boys to be comfortable." He placed a bag in Ron's hand and showed him and Arthur the contents. "This is Serpens' blanket. I'm sure he's been crying for it, and here's his favorite dragon. The books are Thuban's, and there's a letter for Ginny." Ron put the bag down. Draco growled at him. "Don't be an arse! Take it. I'm not stupid enough to hand you hexed items in front of hundreds of witnesses. Have them checked for tracer charms if you like." Arthur picked up the bag and went down the hall. Draco returned to Lucius and Cam.
Draco placed Cam on his hip. Lucius stood and the group walked out of the Ministry. Cam looked closely at Draco's neck and checked it for damage. "Daddy, did it hurt? Grandpa's wand?" Cam asked.
Lucius hissed at Draco. "He should have remained with your mother."
"No, Cam. Your grandpa didn't perform a spell." Draco hissed back at Lucius, "He's not leaving my sight."
~~~~****~~~~
The young healer walked out of the room with Molly. "She's ill all right. The Muggles call it Stockholm Syndrome. She wanted to go back to him out of fear. Once she understands he can't hurt her anymore, she'll want to stay with you," the healer stated.
"How do we help her?" Molly asked.
"I'll start extracting memories and placing them in a pensieve to view with her. You only need to assure her that she and her children are safe from the Malfoy's."
"But they have her second son," Molly stated.
"I should have enough information from Ginny's memories by Wednesday so you can petition the court for his return. I will be back this afternoon."
"Thank you, Healer Mankey." Molly walked the healer to the door and after closing it she turned to Hermione. "It was wise to get a young healer who was Muggle born. You were right, Hermione. Old wizarding healers do not understand mental illness."
"So, he agreed she has a problem?" Hermione solicited.
"Yes, yes. We will need to inform Arthur and Ron to get the court arrangements made. I will take care of the children until she is healthy again."
"This is good news."
Arthur Apparated into the London house. "What is good news?"
"The healer has found Ginny's problem and knows how to fix it." Molly happily hugged her husband. Her happiness changed when Fleur entered the room with a crying Serpens.
Arthur removed a blue blanket and dragon from the sack in his hand. The little boy grabbed and hugged the items. His sobbing stopped instantaneously. He rested his face into Fleur's chest and in a flash he was asleep.
"How did you get it, Arthur?" Molly asked.
"Draco brought it to the Ministry." Molly looked worried. "I had everything checked for hexes and charms. There were none. He give me things for Thuban too."
"You told him we have Ginny?" Hermione inquired.
"No, he had guessed. It doesn't matter. I had sent our protestation to the court before I saw him."
Thuban walked into the room, checked his little brother, seeing the blanket in Serpens hand he turned to Arthur. "Does he have Cam?" Thuban questioned.
"Does who have Cam, Thuban?" Arthur asked in puzzlement.
"My daddy. Does my daddy have Cam?" Arthur nodded.
"Good."
~~~~****~~~~
Draco, Lucius and three barristers sat in the small conference room. Mr. Westfalt had short gray hair and appeared to be in his eighties. Mr. Cornwell had long dark brown hair and was in his fifties, and Mr. Harper had middle length blood hair and was in his twenties. The wall behind the gentlemen was made of glass and Draco watched Cam playing with his secretary in the next room from time to time.
"The Weasley's protestation claims Mrs. Ginevra Malfoy is mentally ill, due to years of emotional abuse at the hands of Mr. Draco Malfoy. They want custody of all four children," Mr. Westfalt informed them.
"What proof do they have of their claims?" Draco inquired.
"We don't know at this time, Mr. Malfoy," Mr. Cornwell answered. "But while it is likely they can prove mental illness, it is very difficult to prove the reason."
"We do know the first two healers to see Mrs. Malfoy deemed her healthy, with no signs of emotional or physical abuse. We have their testimonies already," added Mr. Harper.
"That means little, Mr. Malfoy. You can never tell what will happen in court. We will know Wednesday who our judge will be. If he or she was not a supporter of the Marriage Law in the first place you will lose automatically," Mr. Westfalt replied. "I really think your best chance to win custody of the children is to let the Weasley's prove Ginevra is mentally ill. There is no reason any judge would give grandparents custody over the father and once you have them no judge would return the children to a mother with a history of mental illness."
Draco stood up, walked over to the glass wall and looked at Cam. The little boy looked up and smiled at his father. Draco spoke softly but firmly. "I'll not help the Weasley's place Gin in St. Mungo's. We will fight for her."
Lucius pounded his hands on the table. "Draco be reasonable, this is the best way for you to get your children."
Draco turned and sneered at Lucius. "Father, Gin is fine. Plus do you know what emotional damage it would do to my sons if their mother was labeled in such a way?" Draco looked back at Cam. "I went to school with Longbottom, Father. He was a mess. We will fight for Ginny."
"Draco!" Lucius growled. "It is best for your sons to remain with you. That is the most important issue right now. We can fight for Ginevra later."
"What's best for my sons is to have their mother and father. Ginevra will not forgive me if I do not help her, for I am the only one who can. I put her in this position and I will help her out."
Mr. Westfalt shook his head. "You are taking a chance Mr. Malfoy, but what do you want us to do?"
"I want you to prove the Weasley's are only claiming Ginny is ill because she decided to return to me. That is the truth after all. I will have my entire family back after this trial," Draco said determinately.
"Draco, I disagree with your approach. We need to fight for the children," Lucius demanded.
Draco stared at his father. "Then file your own suit, Father, and fight for the children."
Mr. Westfalt smiled at Draco. "Excellent idea, Mr. Malfoy. Your parents can fight for custody of your children against the Weasley's. It would be best to use a different legal firm for the suit."
Lucius smirked. "I will contact my lawyers at once."
~~~~****~~~~
Healer Mankey looked into the pensieve like bowl. He sighed a couple of times and then called in his partner, Healer Rogers.
"This is a hard one, Ian. I was so sure she was like the other young women from arrangement marriages but I just can't find it." Healer Mankey looked in puzzlement at his partner.
"Show me the closest memories to abuse she has."
The two young healers placed their faces into the bowl. They were now standing in a very feminine parlor.
~~~~
The room contained a bay window complete with window seat that over-looked a garden. There was a sofa, two armchairs, end tables, and coffee table, which faced the beautiful marble fireplace. On the mantle was one picture of the entire Weasley family minus Ginny's husband. The rest of the pictures on the mantle were of a baby boy from newborn to eight months of age.
Seated in front of a small window was a desk, where Ginny was writing. A bell rang and she spun around in her chair. A blonde 8-month-old baby was crawling towards the fireplace. Ginny got out of her chair revealing her 6-month pregnant belly.
"Thuban, stop." The baby continued towards the fireplace. "Thuban, NO!" She yelled. She grabbed her wand then sat it down. Thuban loved being levitated and would see it as a reward. And good parents would never stun a child. So she sped after him. The baby giggled and crawled faster. Ginny scooped him into her arms seconds before he reached the fireplace. The baby giggled in her arms. She spoke to the baby and scolded him. "It's not funny, Thuban. That was bad. I'm going to have to buy a Muggle playpen for you."
"Why don't you use a charm and confine him to a limited area of the room?" Draco appeared in the doorway smiling. Thuban started worming in Ginny's arms.
"Da," Thuban yelled. Ginny placed him on the floor and he quickly crawled to his father.
On average wizard children were more advanced than Muggles, but Thuban appeared to be of higher intelligence than the average wizard child. In the opinion of his father and grandparents he should be. Thuban was a Malfoy after all and his breeding was second to none. After a couple strong fire whiskeys, Lucius would even admit that the Weasley family was intelligent. Which is likely one of the many reasons Weasley made a good rival. It wouldn't be fun feuding with a half-wit.
Draco placed a smiling Thuban on his hip as Ginny watched the pair. "That charm doesn't work on him anymore," she smiled at Draco as his hugged and kissed Thuban. "I'm surprised Lucius didn't inform you of it," she continued. "Thuban had escaped both mine and Narcissa's confinement charms to attack his morning Prophet. After Lucius made some statement about witches being unable to cast a simple charm, he placed one himself on Thuban." She giggled. "Within minutes Thuban was attacking the paper, again. Lucius' face was priceless. He couldn't decide if he should beam with pride because his grandson was magically talented or if he should growl at your mother and I for teasing him about his inability to cast a simple charm."
She removed the parchment from her desk and handed it to her husband. "Would you like to sit and discuss this?" she asked. He raised an eyebrow to her. "It's a boy," she answered as they walked to the sofa. Draco placed Thuban on the floor and helped Ginny sit before sitting himself and unrolling the parchment. Once on the floor, Thuban pulled himself up on the coffee table and cruised around it. Draco beamed with pride at the little boy and Ginny sighed. She whispered in his ear. "Yup, you can be happy about that, but I'm the one who has to chase him all day." Draco chuckled. "It's not funny. He's getting faster." She looked at her belly. "And I'm getting slower."
"Love?" he asked placing an arm around her and pulling her into his chest as he looked at the parchment. "Did you know that Cygnus was my Grandfather Black's name?"
"Yes, Narcissa has been so helpful and pleasant to me, I thought it would be a nice thing to do."
"Cygnus it is then," he said and kissed her cheek. They cuddled on the sofa for a time before he brightened and rubbed her belly. "I'm naming him, Cygnus Abraxas Malfoy after both of my grandfathers."
Ginny pulled away from him. "I get to help you decide the middle name! And it won't be Abraxas!"
He sneered at her. "It's my right as the father to name the child. His middle name is Abraxas."
She started to get up and he grabbed her arm, pulling her back down onto his lap. "It's also my right as your husband to get a good snog after a hard day at work." He kissed her and she bit his lip. He growled at her then started nibbling her ear. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "May I please name our second son after my grandfathers?"
"I'll think about it, Draco."
"Please Gin! It's not like I'm asking to name him Lucius."
~~~~
The two healers went into a second memory.
Two little blond boys ages 5 and 4 ran through the shallows of a lake. On a picnic blanket near by a red haired woman played patty-cake with a 2-year-old blond boy. The woman was dressed nicely as was the 2-year-old on the blanket. The boy with the woman wore a cloak with CMA monogrammed on the right side pocket. The boys playing in the shallows had on torn and faded blue jeans and white undershirts that have grayed. The family laughed and enjoyed themselves until an older white blond, long haired male dressed in black with a snake head cane walked over to them.
"Thuban! Cygnus! Come here!" The man yelled. The boys ran over to him. He looked down his nose at their attire. "Go to the house and clean-up. Have Tipsy dress you and use the back stairs. I wouldn't want anyone to see you looking like gutterpups." The boys looked at their mother for confirmation before running off. The man smiled at the 2 year-old then eyed the cloak. He snapped his fingers and a house elf appeared. "Take Serpens inside the Manor. Dress him in his own clothing." The young mother on the blanket shook a little but collected her strength. "Is there a problem Lucius?"
"Yes, Ginevra," he growled. "Would you like to explain why my grandsons were dressed like paupers?"
"Thuban and Cygnus were playing in the shallows. It's wasteful to ruin fine clothing for play. And Serpens enjoys the fact that he now fits in some of Cygnus old cloaks," she stated firmly with defiance in her voice.
"You're worthless! You idiotic girl! You can't even produce anymore children," Lucius whispered the venomous words at her and her eyes started to tear. "Weasley scum, I should…"
"Is there a problem, Father?" Draco forcibly interrupted, walking to Ginny's side and taking her hand.
"After six years your wife is still having problems with proper attire for your sons," Lucius growled.
"I see. Ginevra and I will discuss it then," Draco turned Ginny away from Lucius. "Good day. Father!"
~~~~~
"We can use them. We can piece them together with a couple other memories and make it look like he hits her and forces himself on her in the first one. And in the second we'll just have her husband replace her father-in-law."
Healer Mankey looked taken aback. "We want to modify her memories?"
"Just the ones in the pensieve; what we'll be showing the judge," replied Ian.
"But we can't do that."
"We can and we will. There's a lot of money to be made in these Marriage Law annulments. If we lose the Malfoy case we won't get another. Now change them!"