Chapter Eighteen
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Draco had no choice but to return with Hermione and Harry. He couldn't tell them about Bellatrix, if he did they would find that he had helped her. He would lose his job, he would be thrown in jail, and Mallory would end up in Pansy's hands again. He figured his best option was to return to London, and do his best to keep her safe there.
Hermione talked Harry into letting Draco move into Number Twelve Grimmauld Place. It was the only safe place she could think of where no one would get to Mallory. As they arrived back from Scotland, Harry and Hermione went with Draco to Grimmauld Place and showed him around.
"This could be the baby's room," Hermione said and showed him a guestroom. Draco looked around, very uninterested. "And you could sleep here, just next door - or maybe you want to keep her with you." Draco looked at Hermione, obviously scared and Harry walked downstairs to leave them alone.
"I don't know how to take care of a baby!" he cried.
"You'll be fine!" she assured him and squeezed his hand.
"I - I won't though," he looked into her eyes and she smiled at him.
"Well, maybe I could stay here with you for just a few days," she offered and Draco smiled appreciatively at her.
So it was decided. Draco and Hermione moved in together at Grimmauld place. Hermione received a full apology from the Ministry; the Daily Prophet ran the stories about her innocence for days.
Hermione invited Winky do be the nanny of Mallory, and she gladly accepted and quickly became very fond of the baby. Hermione and Draco didn't have to start work for two days after returning and Hermione's first stop was at the Burrow. She was greeted merrily by everyone and Harry enjoyed sitting in the corner, just watching her. She was safe, happy, and she had been returned to him. They still hadn't told anyone about them, it was too soon. Just two months prior Harry had been engaged to someone else, someone who was in this very room.
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As they were walking down the street hand in hand, Harry turned to Hermione.
"It's weird," he simply stated.
"What is?" she turned to him and stopped walking.
"My girlfriend, living in my godfather's house, with my nemesis and his daughter...."
She smiled sweetly at him.
"Oh, Harry, Draco stopped being your nemesis long ago. And you are so wonderful, letting him stay in the house.
But we should help him, he has no one."
"This situation is so weird," Hermione caressed his cheek.
"I love you," she said and they kept on walking.
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They returned to Grimmauld Place late that night and found Draco in the living room reading a book. Harry walked over to the fire, tossed a log on to it, and glanced over at Hermione who now was picking Mallory up out of her bassinet. He still couldn't believe Draco was a father.
Hermione sat down on the floor and put Mallory in her lap. "So did everything go okay?" she asked. Draco shrugged, seeing Harry all the damn time was putting him in a foul mood.
"Okay.…" Hermione answered and rolled her eyes. "Well, we're going to bed," she continued and casually glanced over at Draco to see if he'd react. He didn't.
"Are you coming?" she turned to Harry who looked surprised at her. He jumped off the sofa and followed her. Draco watched them walk up the stairs and the slammed his book shut.
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"Are you sure we can trust him to keep "us" quiet?" Harry asked as they entered Hermione's room.
"Well, we're the only ones who know about Mallory, he wouldn't risk that," Hermione said and started
to unbutton Harry's shirt. She yanked it of his shoulders and started kissing his chest.
"But Hermione," Harry wanted to talk about trusting Draco, but he lost his words. He had many questions for her, concerns… but her lips were making him lose focus.
He grabbed her face and his open lips met hers. He started tugging at her sweater and his other hand grabbed her around the waist.
Hermione jumped up and wrapped both her legs around Harry's waist and he carried her over to the bed. With a loud thud they fell down on it together. Hermione moaned.
"Shh… Malfoy will hear you!" Harry whispered, his breath tickling her ear.
Harry turned and pointed his wand on the door, "Muffliato."
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Ron hurried home; he hadn't seen Hermione since she had returned to London. He was so happy that the Ministry had finally come to their senses - of course she was innocent! He bought flowers and hurried to Grimmauld Place. Before he opened the front door he ran a hand through his hair, he wished he'd had a mirror. He walked hurriedly into the kitchen and shed his coat. He almost dropped his flowers when he saw Draco Malfoy coming down the stairs.
"What are you doing here?" he barked.
"I live here," Draco answered with a bored voice.
"No you don't."
"Oh, okay Einstein," Draco mocked as he walked over to the coffee pot and poured himself some.
"Where is Hermione?"
"Still sleeping, I think." Draco looked suspiciously at Ron, of course, he didn't know.
"I'll go wake her," Ron said more to himself than to Draco.
"Yeah, you should. She'll want to see you!"
"Why? What's that supposed to mean?" Draco shrugged arrogantly.
"What are you on about, ferret?" Ron demanded.
"She's really missed you," Draco finally answered. Ron just rolled his eyes. He didn't believe him. He grabbed his bouquet and headed up the stairs. Draco followed him with an evil grin on his face and walked half the way up, he had to see this. Ron opened Hermione's door without bothering to knock.
"Babe, I - I," he stood like a frozen statue in the door. He saw Harry and Hermione in bed. Hermione was
sleeping, and Harry was lying, half sitting against the bedpost, next to her reading a newspaper. Hermione's covers
and fallen below her stomach and Ron could see her naked breasts.
"Ron!" Harry exclaimed and Hermione's eyes shot open. She reached for the duvet and covered herself.
"What the…" Ron stuttered. "I'm going to kill you, Harry!" he whispered barely audible and walked towards the bed. Hermione quickly sat up on her knees in front of Harry.
"Ronald, stop it!" she screamed at him.
"What are you doing fucking my girlfriend?"
"She's not your bloody girlfriend!" Harry screamed, peaking around Hermione's side.
"It's Hermione! My Hermione!" Ron bellowed.
"Oh, shut up, Ron!" Hermione yelled. "I haven't been your girlfriend for so long. I saw you in the Daily Prophet with some model in the States just last week!"
"So that's why you're with Harry, to get back at me?" he rounded on her.
The duvet fell slightly and Hermione exposed herself again, she quickly pulled it back up.
"Oh please!" she rolled her eyes.
"How could you not tell me?" he said. And suddenly he realized, "Ginny!" Hermione and Harry were both quiet. "How could you do this to Ginny? She loves you, did you cheat on my sister Harry?" Ron's tone of voice was rising with every word. By the end of the sentence he was screaming.
Harry held up his hand as Ron took two strides towards the bed. "No!"
"I should kill you, Harry! You can sleep with anyone you want and you go for Hermione!"
"This isn't about sleeping together Ron, I love Harry," Hermione said and the hurt on Ron's face was obvious. He turned around stormed out; as he thundered down the stairs he knocked Draco into the wall.
"Out done by Potter again, Wealsey?" he sneered.
"Fuck off and die, Malfoy!" Ron spat and stormed out of the house.
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Draco was at his desk back at work, but he wasn't able to work much. What had happened went around and around in his mind. Hermione, Mallory, Bellatrix…
His thoughts were interrupted when he was told he had a visitor.
He was not expecting Pansy Parkinson in the visitors lounge, waiting for him. He grabbed her by the elbow and started steering her away from the Auror office; he didn't need Hermione to see Pansy.
"I'm here to take you to lunch," she said sweetly.
"Yeah, right," he hissed from the corner of his mouth.
"You should come with me, Draco," Pansy said, and something about the tone of her voice made him doubt what
to do.
"Why?"
"For everyone's sake!" she hissed. He looked distrustfully at her.
"I mean it!" she added.
As they reached the elevator Draco reluctantly got in with her. They hurried to a muggle restaurant.
"Ew, what would make you think I'd go to a mudblood place?" Pansy asked, disgusted. "Is this where that muggle-whore takes you?"
"What do you want, Pansy?" he demanded.
"You stole my daughter!" Pansy hissed.
"What do you care? You had given her to that maniac to use as a hostage! You're lucky you're not in jail right now!" Draco whispered.
"Oh, we both know I'm not going to jail. You haven't told anyone the truth have you?" she reached over and gently stroked his hand but he pulled back.
"Again, what do you want?" She smiled sweetly at him and reached for her drink.
"Patience, darling," she said in a sing-song voice. Draco reached for her free hand and grabbed it roughly. She whimpered in pain.
"I am tired of this, what to you want to tell me Pansy," he hissed through clenched teeth.
"She wants to see you, Draco."
"Fuck you," he spat and started to get up. Pansy grabbed his wrist.
"Please Draco, you have to!" she pleaded and something about the look in her eye made Draco sit down.
"Why?"
"She's losing it Draco, you have to go and see her."
"This is all over, she can't find me!"
"But she can find others!" Pansy looked up at him. He wasn't sure what she meant, but he didn't like it.
"She is finished, Cowell already confessed to the murders. What else does she want?"
"Please, Draco. Do you think she cares about the murders? She wants to kill those who had a hand in the fall of the Dark Lord. Do you really think she's finished?" Pansy mocked.
Hermione! Draco thought immediately
"Potter and his two losers are next!" Pansy continued and he didn't miss the look she threw him as she said it. She was obviously looking for any sign of worry or freight at these words.
"And why should I see her because of this?"
"Connor is dead," Pansy said and looked at her watch.
"No, he isn't, he is still in the dungeon at the ministry," Draco answered.
"No, he killed himself two minutes ago," Pansy said self-importantly. "You have to see her, Draco; she will keep killing until you do." Pansy got up from her chair; she dramatically tossed her napkin in her salad and walked off.
When Draco returned, the whole Auror office was in chaos. Connor Cowell had indeed killed himself in his cell. He hung himself in his sheets.
Imperious, Draco thought. He never really admitted to the murders, he was forced.
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Draco was going insane, he heard Mallory screaming like crazy upstairs. Winky was pacing with the baby but she still wouldn't be quiet. She misses Hermione, he thought.
A few hours later the front door flew open and Hermione came running inside, tears down her face. Draco shot off the sofa.
"What's happened?"
"It's started!" she ran over to him and threw herself in his arms.
"What?"
"They sent me home from the office, to keep me safe!" Draco felt scared, he patted her hair and she sobbed into his shoulder.
"Tell me what happened," he whispered as kindly as he could.
"They tried to kill Luna!" she whimpered.
"And?" he asked.
"No, she had just left her father's house. But - they killed him. And his hand is gone!" Draco's heart skipped a beat.
So she's continued just where she left off. "And do they think you did it again?" he asked.
"No, I was at the office the whole time, so no… I don't know what we are going to do. Someone is trying to kill off everyone!" Draco felt awful seeing Hermione like this, and he felt scared. He was sure she would be next. He had to see Bellatrix, he didn't have a choice.
He sent an owl to Pansy. "I'll go. Meet you in Knockturn at midnight."
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"Oh, my darling Draco, you finally return!" Bellatrix snarled as Draco was put before her. He saw that she now had added two large black dogs sitting on each side of her.
"What do you want?" he asked, sounding rather defeated.
"I gather you have realized that I'm not giving up. I have more soldiers with me than ever. And soon it will all begin again, for real. In ways none of you can believe… I want you by my side."
"You know I won't do that," he tried to sound determined, but he felt tired, broken and he had no resolution left. Bellatrix got up and walked over to Draco, she seductively drew her hand through his hair and he flinched. Pansy looked bothered by this as well.
"Pansy, leave us!" she ordered and Pansy looked about to say something but thought better of it. When the doors had been closed behind her Bellatrix turned to Draco again. "Darling, Draco, I know about your infatuation with the mudblood.…"
"I -."
"Don't deny it; it's a waste of time. Men have fallen for whores since the beginning of time, just look at Severus Snape - died in waste. For a mudblood who didn't even want him…." She sneered at Draco. "But I will give you the chance Severus never got. I will let you keep your mudblood safe, if you join me!"
"What do you mean?"
"If you join me - and believe me I will need assuring and I will have missions for you - I will let you bring your mudblood and your child here, they can live with you here in my safe and secret castle." Draco laughed.
"Yes, you are very trustworthy!" Bellatrix slapped him hard across the face and his cheek stung.
"There are other's I want much more than that mudblood. I need Potter! I need to show his head to my troops. It will give them faith and it will take all hope from the traitors!"
"You will just kill us all when I've done what you want."
"I will not, it's a promise. Besides, what do you have to lose? If you don't do it I will kill her either way." She grinned at him with her yellow teeth. Draco wished nothing more than to be released so he could smack that grin of her face. He turned away from her.
"Snape had… feelings… for Potter's nasty mother. If my Dark Lord had just realized how strong those feelings were and let him keep her, she could have been his pet…." Bellatrix laughed and continued. "Well, I realize that the story would be very different. I could give that to you, Draco. I want to kill her, but I'll let you keep her. She can be your pet!" Bellatrix snapped her fingers and a mirror came flying at her.
"Look," she hissed in his ear.
Draco unwillingly looked into the mirror. He could see Hermione walking around at the office, and then it flashed to her on the street, eating lunch with Lavender Brown.
"How…."
"You might think she's safe but I have my eye on her, Draco! I have followers everywhere!" Draco felt panic again.
"So will you bring her here? You will have your own rooms. She will be kept there, and you will help me, and when I have succeeded you will be allowed to take your mudblood and disappear."
Draco felt as if a hippo was sitting on his chest, he could hardly breathe. His heart beat so hard in his chest. He looked into Bellatrix eyes. There was no one there to reason with. She meant it, and he knew it. His mind was racing.
"Yes, fucking yes - I'll do it. I'll bring her here!"
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AN: Every single review makes me happy, so keep on making me happy : -)
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