A/N: Hehe, sorry, took a long time to update again, didn't I? Well, I'm continuing this story despite OotP and how that conflicts with some of my plot. I'm just going to keep writing this as a Pre-OotP fic. I'm not going to incorporate any new canon. Anything I do with that will be in a new fic, this one and ATCC are going on as before.
Thanks to Nicole for beta-ing.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything but some evil characters and Haven.
Heroes Shed No Tears - 14
By VirtualFaerie
Shadows danced across the wall from the moon outside the window. Bane Pritchard was sitting in the darkest corner, knees pulled up to his chest, eyes tilted towards the window, dark and broody. In a fit of rage earlier, he had ripped off one of his finger nails clawing at the wooden door, beating on it and demanding that they let him out. Now he was silent and still, waiting for them to return.
A key turned in the lock and the door swung open, the hinges creaking. In stepped four people: Dumbledore, Draco, Harry, and Snape. Dumbledore shut the door behind them and knocked on it twice, and the key turned in the lock again.
Bane watched them under hooded eyes. Harry picked up a cheap wooden chair that had been turned over and sat in it, looking at Bane with disgust clearly written all over his face.
Dumbledore stood in front of Pritchard, then looked back at Snape. "Give me the Veritaserum, Severus." Snape stepped forward and handed Dumbledore a small vial of clear liquid. "Are you going to take this willingly, Bane?" Dumbledore asked.
Pritchard brought his hand up and gave Dumbledore the finger. "Hell no."
Dumbledore shrugged. "If you insist." He took out his wand and cast a binding spell on Pritchard, walked over to him and opened his mouth, pouring half of the vial down his throat. Pritchard coughed and sputtered for a moment, and the others looked down at him without sympathy.
"Bastard," he rasped.
"Are you ready to answer our questions?"
"Never."
Draco stepped forward. "How long have you been an agent for Voldemort?"
Pritchard made a pained face.
"Just answer the question," Draco said forcefully.
"Three years," Pritchard spat, glaring up hatefully at Draco.
"Good boy." Draco smirked. "What have you told them about our plans?"
Pritchard jerked on the floor. "Not much," he said in a garbled voice.
"Now, now," Dumbledore said. "Make this much easier on yourself, Bane, and just answer the questions. The faster you do, the less pain you're in and the sooner we'll be out of here." Dumbledore looked over at Draco. "Repeat your question."
"What exactly have you told the New Ministry about our plans?" said Draco.
He resisted for a minute, then started speaking. "Before you arrived, I was getting ready to report that you'd betrayed them." Pritchard let out a bitter laugh. "They've probably already figured that out on their own since you spirited me away. You'll never be able to go back. There wasn't much else to report to them, I hadn't had a chance to check in since you got back."
Draco nodded shortly. "Why did you double over as an agent for them?"
"To protect my daughter," he bit out sharply.
"Ah," said Draco slowly. "You double over to Voldemort to ensure you're daughter's safety. Real smart, Pritchard. What did you think that Voldemort could do for you that would be any better than anything that Dumbledore could do?"
"The Resistance lost the war, Malfoy. I don't like being on the loosing side and I wanted to make sure that I was on the winning side for Sara."
Harry let out a laugh. "Oh yeah, Voldemort is one the best people to depend upon for protecting children. Just look at all the kids living in refugee camps. You think if something happened here that your daughter would be any better off? Everything Voldemort could have promised you was lies."
The corner of Pritchard's mouth turned up. "He told me you'd say that." Harry blinked and jerked his head back.
"Potter is right," Draco said, looking back at Harry doubtfully, like he couldn't believe he was saying that. "If you think that you're daughter's life is safe with Voldemort…you couldn't be more wrong." Pritchard just shook his head. "Who hit Penelope with the Cruciatus?"
"I did," Pritchard said with smug grin. "That little whore didn't even see it coming."
Harry furrowed his eyebrows. "Why? How could you do something like that to your own wife?"
"She knew too much, she suspected too much already. I couldn't let her find anything out. I couldn't risk the possibility that she might not be as stupid as she looked, and that she might be able to figure me out. I was gone so many nights that it wasn't too hard for her to start suspecting me of something. At first she thought that'd I'd taken up a lover, that I was cheating on her. Then she realized that it wasn't that. She noticed me clutching my forearm when my Master would call. She was putting two and two together. My nightly wanderings and my arm. I had to stop her from telling anyone. I waited until the right time, then I staged it. Said a Death Eater had done it to her…and I didn't lie." He smirked. "She was getting on my nerves anyways. As soon as she was gone, I had more freedom; I could come and go as I pleased. Everyone thought it was from grief. It was perfect."
"She's not gone," Draco said lowly.
"Almost," Pritchard said with a laugh.
Harry looked at him disbelievingly. "You didn't even love her?"
"Women are leeches," said Pritchard. "They attached themselves to you and suck away your life, your money and your strength. They're nothing but trouble, nothing to waste love on."
"You love your daughter," Draco pointed out.
"That's different."
"How? She's a female. Doesn't she attach herself to you? She's your responsibility. You have to care for her. Isn't she what got you into this mess in the first place?" Draco questioned. "If it hadn't been for her, would you be here now? You would have gone over to Voldemort?"
Dumbledore put his hand on Draco's shoulder. "That's enough for tonight," he said. He knocked on the door and the key slid in the lock again, and the door opened.
Draco shook his head disgustedly at Pritchard and walked out of the room.
--
Ginny took the steps up to the Ravenclaw two at a time, her mind still reeling from Draco's kiss. She said the password to the portrait guarding the Ravenclaw common room with a cheerful lilt to her voice. The faerie in the painting grinned at her. "Good mood?" she asked.
She smiled back at the faerie. "Wonderful mood." The portrait swung open and Ginny stepped inside.
Her ears instantly picked up on the sniffling coming from a chair near the fireplace. She frowned and saw Sara sitting there, curled up against the arm of the chair. She rushed over to her. "Sara?" Ginny said, kneeling down in front of her.
Sara looked up at her, her eyes were moist with tears, and there were wet tracks running down her face. "Oh, Sara," Ginny whispered, pulling Sara off of the chair and settling her in her lap. She put her arms around the small girl and rocked slightly, rubbing her hands on Sara's back.
Sara sobbed, her whole body shaking. She coughed and pressed her face into Ginny's neck, taking deep breaths, trying to calm herself. "I didn't know," she said in a shaky voice. "Why? Why did he do that?" She sucked in a wobbly breath. "It was my fault. All my fault."
Ginny continued rocking Sara. "It wasn't your fault, honey. It was all your father's doing. You did nothing wrong."
Lifting her head up, Sara looked at Ginny. "Can I sleep with you tonight?" she asked carefully.
"Of course!" Ginny hefted Sara up in her arms, staggering slightly as she stood up. She smiled at Sara and started up towards her dormitory with Sara in her arms. Ginny kicked open the door and walked in slowly, setting Sara down on her bed. She sat down on the bed next to Sara and started to untie the girl's shoes for her, then pulled them off, setting them of the floor. She helped Sara out of her heavy robes, finding a lavender linen dress underneath. Ginny pulled off her own shoes and robe and climbed into the bed next to Sara.
She pulled the little girl into her arms and stroked her hair gently, kissing the top of her head.
A few minutes later, the door creaked open, and Draco's footsteps sounded on the floor. Sara lifted her head up. "Draco?" she said softly.
Draco paused and frowned. "Sara? What are you doing in here?" He walked over to Ginny's bed.
"Ginny is letting me sleep with her," said Sara.
"Oh, she is?" He looked to Ginny, who nodded. Draco sat on the edge of the bed, next to Sara and held out his hand to her; Sara gave it to him and he held onto it, rubbing her knuckles with the pad of his thumb. "How are you doing?" he inquired.
Sara's eyebrows lowered and her lower lip quivered. "My daddy hates me," she whimpered.
"No, no he doesn't," Draco said softly. "He doesn't hate you. He just made some bad decisions." He leaned down and kissed Sara's cheek. "Go to sleep…sweetie. Remember, Ginny and I will be here for you. Always."
Sara smiled weakly and shut her eyes, leaning up against Ginny.
Ginny looked up at Draco fondly. He raised an eyebrow and walked over to her side of the bed. "Good night," he said, leaning down to kiss her lips quickly. He straightened and went to his bed, taking off his heavy boots and robe.
"Night, Draco."
--
Draco was gone when Ginny woke up, and he had left his bed unmade. Sara stirred slightly next to her, then opened her eyes sleepily. "Morning," she said groggily.
"Good morning," said Ginny, rolling over and getting out of the bed. "There's lots to do today." She walked over to the bathroom and paused at the door. "Are you going to want to see your father today?"
Sara stared up at the ceiling of the canopy above the bed. "Yes," she said weakly. "I want to see him."
Ginny nodded. "Alright, go shower and I'll meet you down in the common room."
"Okay."
Closing the door behind her, Ginny started towards the shower and turned on the water, letting the steam rise up. She sighed and stepped in a few seconds later, enjoying the way the hot water pounded against her tired muscles. She felt like she had hardly gotten any sleep since she'd arrived and it was finally beginning to take its toll on her.
A few minutes later she stepped out of the shower and dried off, pulling on a pair of clean robes. She walked down to the common room to find Sara and Draco sitting by the fireplace playing an awkward game of chess. It looked as if they had just started, and Draco was explaining to Sara the rules of the game.
"Morning," said Ginny, walking up and taking a seat off to Sara's side.
Draco took his fingers off of the pawn he had been moving around for demonstrations sake and looked up at Ginny. "Good morning."
"Sara, would you like to go visit your father before it gets too late?" asked Ginny gently, reaching out and putting a hand on Sara's arm.
Draco raised his eyebrows. "You're ready to talk to him?" he asked, question directed at Sara.
Sara nodded slowly. "I think so." She looked at him hesitantly. "Will…will you come?"
"If you want me to."
"I do."
"Alright then," said Draco, standing up. "Let's go. I'll finish teaching you how to play chess later, okay?"
"Okay," Sara got up, Ginny took her hand, and they both followed Draco out of the quiet common room. They passed by Snape's old potions classroom, and were taken deeper into the castle, the stone starting to radiate cold around them. Sara shivered and gripped Ginny's hand tighter.
Draco stopped in front of a wooden door, where an auror was sitting outside on a chair taken from a classroom. They conversed lowly for a moment and the auror unlocked the door with a series of spells and Draco turned to Sara. "We'll have to go in there with you."
Sara frowned. "Why?"
"We can't allow anyone to go in there alone," said Draco slowly.
"You think he might hurt me?" Sara asked quietly, tears welling up in her eyes.
"It's not that we think he might hurt you," Draco said gently. "But we can't take any chances."
Sara blinked, tears sliding down her cheeks. "I'm scared."
"Honey," Ginny said, kneeling down beside Sara and wiping the tears off of her cheeks. "Don't be scared. Just remember that he's your father and he still loves you."
"Then why did he do this?" Sara whispered.
Ginny brushed back a strand of Sara's hair. "People don't think of the consequences when they're doing things for the ones they love."
--
Sara stepped into the darkened room, Ginny and Draco following closely behind her, wands in hand. Bane was sitting in the corner, and lifted his head to look at them as their footsteps sounded on the stone floor. Sara let out a small gasp as she saw the pure look of hatred shot in Draco's direction from her own father.
"Daddy?" she said tentatively, taking a step towards him.
"Hello, darling," Pritchard rasped, smiling slowly. "Come to see dear old dad?"
Sara blinked. "Yes…."
"Here, let's have a hug," said Pritchard, standing up and holding his arms out to Sara. "Come on," he prodded. "I'm still your dad." Then he added quietly, "And I still love you."
Sara stepped forward into her father's arms and hugged him around his middle. "Why daddy?" she asked weakly, pulling back slightly out of his embrace to look at him. "Why did you do this?"
Pritchard's fingers tightened faintly around Sara's small shoulders and he let out a low breath. "I wanted to make sure you were safe, darling. I didn't want anything to happen to you."
Sara's eyebrows creased together and she looked up at him, tears shining in her eyes. "He's wrong, daddy. Why did you go to him? He wants to hurt us."
"No," Pritchard said firmly. "He wants to protect us. But we have to do as he says to earn it. Once you earn it, you're safe. He wouldn't have hurt you, or me, ever."
"You're wrong," Sara whispered. "He's evil and he doesn't care about anyone but himself. And you're wrong for believing him!" She stepped out of his arms and looked up at him sadly. "I'm sorry, daddy. I love you, but…you're wrong." She wrung her hands and a tear trickled down her face. "He'll never help us. Don't you see what he did? Look, daddy, just look."
Pritchard looked as if he had been slapped across the face as Sara bowed her head and walked back to Ginny and Draco, Ginny resting a hand reassuringly on his daughter's shoulder. He looked up at Draco, who was looking at him disgustedly.
"You haven't won yet," growled Pritchard. "You can't take my daughter away from me!" he shouted, standing up and clenching his fists. His eyes hardened as he stared at Draco loathingly. "You can't take her! She's mine! She's my daughter!" he screamed, ready to run at Draco.
"Ginny," Draco said quietly. Ginny nodded quickly, taking a terrified Sara's hand and leading her out of the cell quickly, pulling the door shut behind them.
"She's mine," Pritchard repeated darkly. "You can't take her."
"I didn't take her," said Draco plainly. "You're the one that pushed her away."
Draco stepped out of the cell and the auror recited the incantations had that been on the door previously, locking Pritchard in. There was an angry scream from inside, and Pritchard pounded his fists against the door furiously.
"YOU CAN'T TAKE HER! YOU CAN'T TAKE HER!!!!"
--
"She alright?" asked Draco from his perch near the fireplace as Ginny came down the stairs from their dormitory. It was late; past 12 and they were the only ones up. It had taken Ginny forever to calm Sara down enough to get her to sleep. All day they had tried to comfort her, and tell her that she said the right things, that if anything, she had helped her father.
Ginny sighed and sat down next to him on the fading blue couch. "I guess you could say she's doing better, but she did just tell her father today that he was wrong. It's a lot for her."
"I know, and she said the right thing. I'm proud of her," said Draco, reaching out to put an arm around Ginny, pulling her flush up against his side. Ginny rested her head on his shoulder and looked up at him.
"I just wish I could make all of her pain go away," she said softly. "She's too young to have to deal with this. She shouldn't have to." Ginny shifted against him and put a hand on his chest. "She's blaming herself, Draco. She thinks it's her fault."
"There's nothing we can do but reassure her that it wasn't her fault. There's nothing she could have done to prevent it, the only one at fault his Pritchard for being stupid enough to believe all the lies that…that Voldemort told him. Sara didn't make him do anything, and she's got to understand that," Draco said practically, rubbing his thumb on Ginny's side steadily.
"She's only ten," said Ginny, a small tremor of sadness running through her voice. "She shouldn't have to suffer."
"None of the children in this war should have to suffer," Draco said gently. "That's why we're fighting for them." He kissed Ginny's forehead tenderly. "No need to dwell on this, let's go to bed, we've got lots of planning to do for this weekend."
Ginny closed her eyes and sighed again. "It's all happening so quickly. The years at the camp seem so far away now. So much is happening."
Draco pushed his fingers through her hair slowly. "It's going to be over soon."
She looked up at him. "I hope so," she said quietly, lifting her head up to press her lips against his briefly.