A/N: I'm really, really sorry that this took so long to get out. I had the first 2,000 words or so of it written weeks ago, but I just didn't know where to go with the rest of it. Fortunately, I went on a reading binge, and whenever I go on reading binges, I get really motivated to write - so here we have a new chapter, finally, eh? Another contributing factor to the reason it took me so long to get this chapter out, was the fact that school has started back up - and this year I seem to be a little bit busier than last year. My Pre-AP classes are a little bit harder, making it so that I have more homework, and I'm playing tennis (FUN!) so I have after school practice and am pretty worn out when I get home. But I got a three-day weekend! YAY! That's why I had time to go on a reading binge that got me motivated, and also allowed me to have time to write the rest of this chapter.
There are only about two more chapters of this story left. That makes me kind of sad. I think I'll have been working on this story for almost a year by Christmas. Is that about right? Hopefully I'll be finished by then. Won't it be awful if it would have taken me a whole year to write this?
Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter. I worked really hard on it, and I hope the space between updates won't be so long next time. French II is just as boring as French I was last year, so I'll probably have plenty of time to write in that class. Look for another chapter in a couple of weeks.
Loves and huggles to all of you that have stuck through this fic with me and reviewed so nicely! I love it when I get reviews telling me to update. :D Especially when they're out of no where. LOL! It makes me feel so bad that I usually at least go and open up my word document and stare at the chapter dumbly. Hehe.
I LOVE YOU GUYS! SORRY I'M SUCH A LAZY LITTLE GIRL WHO TAKES TOO LONG TO UPDATE!!!
Heroes Shed No Tears -15
By VirtualFaerie
-
Ginny got up the next morning quietly, careful not to stir Sara, who had been sleeping in her bed again, and walked over to Draco's bed, putting her hand on his shoulder gently. "Draco," she said softly, shaking him slightly. He scrunched his eyes up, then opened them slowly, peering up sleepily at Ginny.
"What is it?" he asked groggily, sitting up on his elbows, looking up at Ginny curiously.
She sat down on the edge of his bed. "It's Friday. Aren't we…leaving today?"
Draco raised his eyebrows and rubbed his eyes. "Yes, we are."
"Do you think that maybe, we should take Sara to your mother's? She might not be safe here…" said Ginny quietly.
"Ah," said Draco, frowning. "I suppose that would be a good idea. Haven would love having here there. That would be good for her, spending some time with someone closer to her age, don't you think?"
Ginny smiled. "Yes, she needs some time away from all this grown-up war. She needs someone she can be a child with." She fingered the bed spread, looking at Draco thoughtfully. "Your mother won't mind?"
Draco shook his head. "She'll love having Sara there."
"Good," said Ginny. "The last thing I want to worry about while we're…away, is her. Just thinking of her or Haven being in danger gives me the…."
Draco reached over and put his hand on her arm, rubbing the pad of his thumb against her skin soothingly. "I know. There's not much that we can do, other than make sure that they aren't in the direct line of fire. There isn't anywhere truly safe for them anymore." Ginny sighed and Draco tugged her arm, pulling her down next to him. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her hair. Ginny closed her eyes and breathed him in, savoring his touch.
"Now I want to go back to sleep," Draco murmured, weaving his fingers through her hair, his eyes drifting closed.
Ginny scooted up closer to him, letting him wrap his arms around her. He placed his lips lightly n her forehead, and she tilted her head upwards without thinking, allowing him easy access to her lips. His lips moved against hers sleepily, but thoroughly, sending a shiver of delight down her spine.
"Wait," said Ginny, against his lips. She pushed away from him reluctantly, remembering that they were sharing a room with Sara. "We need to stop… It wouldn't be good for Sara to find us like this."
Draco stiffened, his fingers going still in her hair. "Actually," he said. "It wouldn't do for anyone to find us like this."
"It's not like they aren't going to find out sometime," Ginny said carefully.
"Of course, and we'll tell them when we're ready," said Draco slowly. "I'm just not sure this is the best time. Should we really upset everyone with it right now?"
Leaning back, Ginny looked at him inquisitively. "You think it will upset everyone?"
"You think it won't?"
"Well…you're on our side. I don't see any reason for them to not accept it."
Draco sighed. "Don't be naïve, Ginny. Just because I'm not working for Voldemort doesn't mean they like me. If anything, they're just putting up with me so that they can get rid of him quicker."
Ginny sat up and looked at him fiercely. "Don't say that."
"It's true," Draco said simply.
"No, it's not. I think they respect you. Not everyone can make the right decision, do the right thing, despite what they've been raised to believe. Draco, you made a good decision, you changed your life, and your son's for the better…. People are going to respect you for that," said Ginny a bit indignantly.
"Not everyone sees things like you," Draco said tiredly. "I'm still a Malfoy. No matter what I've done, they'll still be wary of me. I'm still scum, but for now I'm useful scum." He ran a hand through his hair. "You know, I only ever joined the Resistance because of Haven."
"Well then, I'd say he's done you a lot of good. And you're everything to him, everything he needs."
Draco shook his head impatiently. "I'm a lot of things to him, but there are some things I just can't be."
She frowned slightly, reaching out to touch his shoulder in an attempt to wipe away the sad look she was almost sure he didn't know he had. "Don't say that, you've given him every--"
"Everything I can, but it's not enough." He sighed briefly. "Surely you noticed how attached he got to you in such a short time? He's never had a mother, and he wants one desperately."
"He has Narcissa…" said Ginny.
Draco shook his head again. "It's not the same, and you know it."
Ginny slumped her shoulders and leaned up against the headboard. "Do you mind if I ask what happened with Haven's birth mother?" she asked carefully.
Draco smiled wryly and reached up to rub the bridge of his nose. "I figured you'd ask that sooner or later."
"Can you blame me?"
"No, no I can't."
Ginny touched Draco's cheek. "Tell me."
Draco put his hand over hers and sighed, closing his eyes tightly. "Well, it all started quite a long time ago - back while I was still in Hogwarts. Mathilde was in a year younger than me." He opened his eyes and smiled at Ginny, "Like you." Ginny pursed her lips and pressed her fingers on his cheek, urging him to continue. "Our fathers had arranged for a formal introduction during one of the interminable balls my mother held, and we were encouraged to being a courtship. And I went along with it, because there wasn't really any reason not to.
"Mathilde was quite beautiful in this vicious sort of way. She also had a way of convincing people to believe whatever she told them, even me, because I was so young, and so captivated by her outward beauty. It blinded me from seeing what she really was.
"I thought I loved her. We had spent so much time together that summer, right before seventh year. Both of our fathers were so busy helping Voldemort plan his attacks, they were always together, and we just…hung around together as well.
"When school started back up, we met on the weekends when she'd floo to the manor, or I'd portkey over to her family's house. We were together as much as possible." Pain flashed in Draco's gray eyes; he closed them again, not able to look at Ginny.
"She had me completely fooled. We'd been growing apart after I left school, and she saw the chance at grabbing my family's money slipping away. She stopped taking the birth control potion, and then when she got pregnant, she went straight to my parents. I was determined to do the right thing, but as soon as we were married, she stopped pretending to be sweet and let all of her vicious deceitfulness show."
Ginny took her hand off of his cheek, and held his hand in hers softly, placing a small kiss on his cheek.
"We got married. Then, one week after Haven was born; she told me that she was going out. I stayed home, and was reading in my study. I thought I heard the baby crying, so I went upstairs into his room, and he wasn't there. His crib was empty, and I just felt this pooling sense of dread in my stomach. All I could think was that Mathilde took him somewhere. But all of his things were still in his room, his blankets, his bag of baby things…she hadn't taken anything.
"My first thoughts were that the Resistance had stolen him away from me to get at Voldemort. But the more I thought about it, the less likely it seemed. The Resistance wasn't as petty as Voldemort's Death Eaters." He squeezed Ginny's hand.
"I went to go see if Mathilde had gone to her parent's house, and taken Haven with her. I Apparated into their living room, to find Mathilde handing our baby to Voldemort. Handing our healthy baby to Voldemort. I couldn't believe it, I was shocked; I froze and felt like I couldn't breathe. Why would she have done that? Then Voldemort begun reciting a spell that I knew all too well from various Death Eater meetings. It was a sacrificial spell, one that gave him more power. Typically, it was done with Muggle virgins, but the innocent blood of a baby, a pureblooded baby that would have been offered to him, was especially powerful," continued Draco.
Ginny's eyes were widened, looking on at Draco with disbelief written clearly all over her face. "Why?" she breathed. "Why would anyone want to sacrifice their baby?" She clutched at Draco's hands, eyes shining.
Draco shook his head slowly, sadly. "She wanted to prove her allegiance to Voldemort. Wanted to prove that she was his most loyal Death Eater. There was…is something wrong with her," said Draco, a small tremor of grief running through his voice. "She's pure blackness all the way through. She couldn't think of doing anything nice if her life depended on it.
"But, anyways, I did the first thing that came to my mind. I pulled out my wand and did a quick stunning spell on her, then ran and grabbed Haven, Apparating away quickly. I didn't know where to go. First, I went home - but then I realized that they would look for me there, they would look for Haven there. And I would have done anything, I would still do anything to keep Haven safe, so I took him to the safest place I knew. Hogwarts. I went to Dumbledore and told him my situation, fighting off repulsion of actually trusting a man that my father had taught me to hate. It wasn't easy, but I would do anything for Haven."
Ginny smiled weakly, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. Draco brushed his thumb across her cheek as a tear escaped, rolling down her cheek. "How…how did you keep their trust?" asked Ginny thickly, trying to keep her emotions under control.
"Lucius," said Draco with a sardonic smile. "He wouldn't dare let Voldemort or anyone else doubt me, I was his heir, I needed to be there to step up into his place when he was gone. He was also afraid that he would be blamed with me. He said that it was the result of a potion gone wrong. While I had normally been quite well at potions, he said that I had been working on one that we could give to the Resistance members that we captured that would enable us to send them back home with the desire to kill other Resistance members. Lucius made it sound as if I had accidentally taken some of the potion and that was what caused me to act so rashly and kill my own son. That delighted Voldemort. He would have liked the power he would have gained from Haven's life - but me taking my own son's life was so much more pleasing to him. He's a sick bastard," spat Draco, glaring at the memory.
"I left Mathilde shortly after that, telling her that since we didn't have a son, there was no reason for us to be together. She fought me the whole way, trying her best not to make a scene amongst the Death Eaters - but it was impossible, so she gave in eventually. She told everyone that we'd separated because we didn't want our marriage to interfere with our competition for a higher rank," said Draco bitterly.
Ginny touched his face lightly. "Oh Draco, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have made you tell me all of that," her voice wavered.
Draco closed his eyes and pressed his cheek into her hand. "No," he said. "You needed to know sometime."
Ginny kissed his forehead and wound her arms around his shoulders tightly, not knowing what to say. "I'm so sorry," she said, tears spilling out of her eyes. "I'm so sorry."
"Now, now," said Draco hoarsely, rubbing her back and kissing her temple. "It's over now."
"Yes, I know," Ginny choked. "But I'm so sorry that you had to go through all of that."
"What hasn't killed me has only made me stronger."
Ginny leaned back and took his hands in hers and looked at him seriously. "Draco, I love you." His eyebrows shot up and he opened his mouth to say something, but she pressed her forefinger to his lips. "Shhh," she said smiling, tears still glistening in her eyes. "I don't care if you love me back or not," she said quietly, turning her eyes down to her lap. "But, I want you to know, that I will always be here for you and Haven, and I will never do anything like that to you."
She took her finger off of his lips and wrung her hands together. He looked at her doubtfully, "Are you sure? - Because…"
"Draco," she said firmly. "I do love you."
"We've hardly been together for-"
Ginny glared at him. "I don't care." Then she laughed nervously, "That wasn't exactly the response I was expecting."
Draco cocked his head to the side. "I really do care about you, Ginny…."
"But you don't know if you love me?" finished Ginny, voice tinged with melancholy. Draco nodded. "It's okay. I don't expect you to give your love as freely as I give mine. But you do have mine…" Ginny started to get off of his bed.
Draco pulled her back to him and placed a soft kiss on her lips before letting her go. She smiled softly at him and went to rouse Sara.
-
They stepped out of the fireplace together, Ginny holding Sara's hand. Sara stood with them, eyes dark and circled, her mouth drawn tight. She was still blaming herself for her father's actions.
"SARA!" screeched Haven, sliding into the living room upon their arrival. He slammed into Sara, nearly knocking her over with his flamboyant hug.
Sara giggled lightly, hugging Haven back. "Hi," she said quietly.
Narcissa stepped into the room behind Haven, eyeing Sara. "More children for me to keep?" she asked smiling.
"You don't mind, do you?" Draco asked, stepping forward to wrap his mother into a hug, pressing a quick kiss on her cheek.
"Of course not," said Narcissa. "I'm more than happy to keep them." She looked to Sara and Haven, who were jabbering loudly, not paying any attention to the adults. "Here, let's go into the kitchen and talk about your situation while you're here, I want to know what's going on. I'm sure they won't miss us," she said, motioning to the children.
"Alright," said Draco, taking Ginny's hand, a gesture noticed by Haven and Sara both, and led her into the kitchen after Narcissa.
Once they were out of ear shot, Sara spoke up. "Do you think they like each other?" she asked curiously.
"Of course!" said Haven, grinning.
"Do you think they'll get married?" she whispered.
"Has he kissed her yet?" asked Haven conspiratorially.
"Not yet, I don't think," said Sara.
"Well, just as soon as dad kisses her, they'll have to get married," Haven said knowledgably.
Sara brought her hands up to her face excitedly. "Do you think they'll let me be the flower girl?"
"O'course," said Haven. "It'll be great!"
"Yeah!"
They fell over each other laughing.
-
Draco and Ginny scooted into the meeting right after it had begun and took seats near Harry and Hermione. Dumbledore looked to them and smiled, a faint twinkle in his eyes. "Alright," said the headmaster. "As all of you know," he continued, looking around the table at the varying faces looking to him. "Tonight is the night that we shall try to make our comeback is this relentless war against Voldemort and his supporters. For this to go successfully, we shall need everyone's cooperation and effort." He gazed at them solemnly. "If we fail tonight, there might never be hope for another chance. You all understand the severity of this attack?"
There were murmurs and the nodding of heads all around the table. Everyone was looking up to Dumbledore with determined looks on their faces. Dumbledore smiled wanly at them before continuing, "Only a few of us shall be entering Voldemort's Head Quarters with the purpose of fight Voldemort himself. The rest of us are there to provide backup and take on all of the Death Eaters that will be attending the ball - which we have discussed already. I have already appointed leaders of at least five groups and we have discussed in depth on where you shall be situated and what your goal is. Now, I need to speak with our Aurors that are to be seeking out Voldemort. If you all have any other questions as to what your assignment is, please ask."
Dumbledore inclined his head and the majority of the people in the Great Hall got up and left, heads bowed in together, talking quietly. The only people that remained seated, were: Draco, Ginny, Hermione, Harry, Ron (who had been released from the infirmary that morning), Neville, Fred and George.
"You all are going to be the root of this attack. Everything you do is going to determine the outcome of this attack." Dumbledore frowned. "I hate to be making you feel so burdened, but this is of the utmost importance. You have been chosen because of your remarkable qualities that will allow you to all function together as a team against Voldemort and his closest Death Eaters. I have complete confidence in you."
"Wait," said Harry, looking confused. "You aren't going with us?"
Dumbledore shook his head. "I will not be with you. I will be with the other Aurors."
"But, why-''
Holding up a hand to silence him, Dumbledore said, "This is not something to be discussed."
Harry scowled and slumped in his chair, raking his fingers through his untidy hair roughly. Hermione put her hand on his arm and gave him an encouraging look. He managed a weak smile for her and turned back to Dumbledore.
"Now I'll be going to see if the others have any questions." Dumbledore got up out of his seat and left them together in the Great Hall.
Once the door was closed, Harry said, "I can't believe he's not going in with us. He's the one wizard that Voldemort is scared of! He's the -''
"Shut it, Potter," interrupted Draco. "Dumbledore can't always be around to save the day for you. And do you honestly think that Voldemort is all that scared of Dumbledore anymore? He probably thinks that if Dumbledore could have truly beaten him, he would have done so already. With an ego the size Voldemort's is now, it would be hard for him to believe that anyone would be able to take him down."
"Still," Harry started, but was silenced by Hermione's hand reappearing on his arm.
"He's right, Harry," she said diplomatically. "Dumbledore's gotten old as well, something that Voldemort probably would have taken into consideration. He's not going to think that Dumbledore is strong enough to be able to stand against him."
"But that's wrong," argued Harry. "Dumbledore is still as strong of a wizard as he was before!"
"No," Ginny said softly. "He's not Harry. Haven't you noticed? The war is taking its toll on Dumbledore just as much as it is on anyone else, if not more. The man has to be well over a hundred years old."
"Then what makes you think that I can do it if he can't? I haven't gotten any stronger since the last time I fought him, and if I have, I highly doubt that I would be able to defeat him," said Harry.
Ginny rolled her eyes. "You don't have to do it alone, Harry; no one is expecting you to. You have a team. We're going to work together to defeat Voldemort."
"Yeah," said Neville, speaking up. "We're all going to be in there with you Harry." He looked to the others expectantly and they all echoed his and Ginny's promises.
"We've been with you all the way," said Hermione. "We're going to help you defeat him. Isn't that right, Ron?"
Ron nodded. "O'course." He smiled. "It'll be just like old times."
"Not quite like old times," said Fred, grinning.
"Yeah," said George. "Now we have Malfoy here to help us along."
Draco has a strained look on his face. "Right…" He leaned down and whispered into Ginny's ear, "All this Gryffindor mushiness is making me queasy."
Ginny smiled lightly and smacked at his arm playfully. "Well, get used to it. You're going to have to be around it for a little while longer."
Draco groaned aloud. "I know… and it's killing me." Ginny gave him a look and he winked at her, turning his attention to Hermione, who was asking him a question.
"Where would be the best place to enter the Head Quarters?"
"Well," said Draco, glad for the change of subject. "It all really depends on where we want to go…."
-
Once they arrived at the Head Quarters, Draco directed the small group to a concealed side entrance that faced the woods. The door was guarded by two Death Eaters who were leaning against the wall heavily, with tankards of beer in their hands. Their wands were tucked away in their robes, out of sight.
"Now, why are we out 'ere while all the others get to attend the ball?" one of them said loudly, bringing his tankard up to his mouth, sloshing a bit of a beer down his robes.
Draco rolled his eyes as he noted four more empty tankards lying not far away from the Death Eaters.
"I dunno," said the other Death Eater. "It's not fair though."
"It isn't!"
"We should be in that ball!"
"Yeah, we do just was much work as them!"
"Thas right!"
Fred and George crept out of the woods as the two drunken Death Eaters continued to bemoan their absence from the ball in a string of unintelligible slurs. Fred and George each snatched up one of the abandoned tankards from the ground and snuck up behind the Death Eaters, hitting them on the head with the tankards soundly. The drunks fell forward to the ground with a dull thump.
"And that," said George with a smirk on his face, "Is how we take care of Death Eaters."
Draco laughed lightly, shaking his head as he stepped out of the woods. "Unfortunately, not all of them can be handled so easily." He pulled out his wand and said a spell to keep them knocked out for a few more hours, and then beckoned the rest of the group to follow him into the building.
He pushed on the wooden door and it swung open easily, surprising Draco. Were the Death Eaters so confident that they would leave the doors like this unlocked so carelessly? But once they stepped inside, he saw that there was a shelf with a few more tankards of beer sitting on them. The Death Eaters that were supposed to be guarding that door had stashed beer nearby and kept the door open for easy retrieval.
Hermione saw this too and shook her head. "I don't know how they managed to beat us during the war with idiots like this."
"Evil idiots," corrected Ginny, shutting the door behind them.
"What was that saying I've heard before…" mused Fred. "Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups?"
Draco turned to look at them with a raised eyebrow. "Do you mind keeping it down? Or have you forgotten that we're trying to kill a Dark Lord here?"
Harry shot him an irritable look. "Well, are we just going to stand here all night?" They were rather cramped in the stuffy, narrow hallway.
"Of course not," snapped Draco. "Just as soon as you all shut your mouths, we can move on."
They went quiet and Draco gave a satisfied look before turning around and making his way down the hall. Another wooden door stopped them at the end of the hall. Draco reached out and tried his luck at turning the knob. The door didn't open. He pulled out his wand and muttered a quiet, "Alohamora," then tried to open it again. It was still locked.
He frowned at the door and tried another series of spells, none of which the rest of the group had ever heard before. But, after his fifth or sixth spell, the lock clicked and he was able to open the door.
They stepped through into a stone hallway, which was lit dimly with torches. Neville sneezed and Draco gave him a sharp look. "I can't help it," Neville murmured sullenly. "The smoke bothers me."
"I certainly don't want to hear about it," said Draco. "Now keep your mouth shut." Hermione shot an exasperated look at Draco's back and whispered a spell for Neville's allergies and gave him a small smile; Neville looked at her gratefully.
A few minutes later, they came to a fork in the hallway. Draco studied them for a minute, before Ron's voice broke the silence. "I though you knew this place, Malfoy," he said impatiently. "Can't you tell us which way we need to go?"
"I have only been here twice, Weasley. And neither time did I enter from a side entrance," Draco spat venomously. "Now if you'd like to lead the way, by all means, go ahead. I'm sure you know much more about Death Eaters than I ever could. Why, I'm sure you could break down the hexes guarding entrances a little further into the building, couldn't you?"
Ron glared at him, but didn't say anything else.
"I don't think staring at them is going to help you out any," said Harry, looking at Draco plaintively.
Draco's jaw tensed. "I don't know where exactly these halls lead to. I think we should split up." He waited for their response.
"Split up?" Neville said tentatively.
"That is what I said," Draco sneered.
"We may be able to find the Dark Lord faster that way," said Hermione thoughtfully. "Would there be any way for us to communicate with each other, if something were to happen?"
They all looked to each other for an answer. How would they communicate? They couldn't send up red or blue sparks in the building. That would do nothing but attracted unwanted attention - and it wasn't like the others would be able to see it.
Fred pulled a small jar out of the pocket of his robes. It had tiny black beetles in it. "We were going to use these to listen in on the rooms in here. But I suppose we won't really need them after tonight."
Ron stared at them. "They're beetles."
"Not just any ordinary beetles," George said with a grin. "These are beetles manufactured by the WWW."
"Who would have guessed?" said Harry with a small smile. "What do they do?"
"They transmit sound to a recorder," explained George, holding up a small black button. "Which would be this. But we only have one of them."
"Then only one group could hear if the other was in trouble," Ginny said, furrowing her eyebrows.
"At least it's something," said Harry.
"We can't afford to take any chances, Harry," Hermione said worriedly. "Anything could go wrong and all of our efforts would go down the drain."
Harry made a frustrated face. "All I'm saying is that these are better than nothing."
Reaching out, Hermione put a hand on Harry's arm, and looked at him softly. "I know, I just want to make sure that…we do all we can to make sure that nothing goes wrong."
"As much as you'd like for this to be without any room for mistake," said Ginny. "That would be near impossible. There's always going to be something that could go wrong, no matter what we do. The only thing we can do is make a reasonable choice, and hope that it turns out for the best. The rest is really not within our power to change. I agree with Draco that we should split up. Our chances of finding the Dark Lord would be greater, and moving in smaller groups would be easier."
"Okay," said Harry, studying their group. "Ron, Hermione, and Neville, come with me. Fred, George, and Ginny, go with Draco."
"Who's getting which transmitter?" asked Neville.
"We'll take only a bug," said Harry. "Draco's group can take the recorder and a bug. Sound okay?"
They murmured quiet approval, and Fred took out one of the black beetles and deposited it into Harry's hand.
"Good luck," said Hermione. She turned and followed Harry into the hallway that went left.
"That leaves us with right," said George. "Ready?"
Ginny nodded and they followed Draco into the hallway.
A/N: A big thanks goes to Mynuet, who was nice enough to go over this chapter with me and help me change some things for the better. :D And thanks to Nicole, who went over it for grammar/spelling. *loffs*