Chapter 21
Hermione and Regulus had just found one another and were crying on each other's shoulders when the ceiling opened up over their heads. Fred came running laughing and whooping, high on adrenaline.
“It’s done, we’re free!!!!”
James looked amazed, relieved and a bit scared of reaching the end of his task, what did the world, underworld out there look like?Would they let him come with them after all? Fred held Regulus and Hermione and tried to carry them, making them smile when it felt impossible.
They felt her before they heard her. “You’re here , you’re here !!! Aunt ‘Mione, aunt ‘Mione I missed you!!”
Fred stiffened, but she wasn’t allowing any of them to get that girl hurt, the little she knew about the real Merope’s life was sad enough. If this place was about second opportunities or something of the like, she was taking things at face value.
“Mery, we missed you and Nana too”
“Don’t call me that”
“I’m rolling with ‘Mione, and although my best friend calls me that, I’ve never like it , so you should take one Nana”
The teenager rolled her eyes and ignored her, that was progress she decided
“You took long enough” Ariana studied the new member of their group. “The sad one is now happy and the happy one is now sad. Pleasure to see you Mr Potter”
James didn’t know what the fuck was going on. Who was this girl? And why did the little girl look like that? He felt the hard stare of the adults in the group, and under their pressure and in his confusion, he nodded and smiled politely.
“We need to move, look for refuge, we are close to nightfall and our next stop is not an option”
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Draco Malfoy had found a way to cope with death and that was, establishing a routine.
After living the stages of grief around his own death and a mild depression when he let himself go, he decided that enough is enough. The Trigger? Looking in the mirror with unkempt facial hair and greasy long hair very ‘1997 Lucius’.
Every day he would wake up, go for a run in the grounds, have a shower, stare at the drain of said shower, eat breakfast that served itself as if house elves where actually living and working in the phantom house, stare at the bottom of his tea cup until the dirty dishes disappeared, went to the library where he would read a book and write down his thoughts about said book, go to lunch, stare at the bottom of his pumpkin juice goblet, fly on his broom, play chess against the chess set, stare out of the window, stare at old pictures he had from school, stare at the spot where Granger … the same spot where he was held down to receive his mark, he fed the peacocks and the horses, eat dinner, stare at the bottom of his soup bowl, kept a journal, and when night began to fall he would come back to his drawing room, stand on that damned spot and waited.
As every night that followed every Salazar’s forsaken infinite day, it started with a rumble, the foundations of the house would give, the walls would groan and brick after brick, precious marble slab after precious chandelier it would all fall down over his head, he couldn’t escape it, in life as in death, the weight of his house and legacy buried him alive, tonight won't be different and tomorrow he would wake up in his bed and start all over again.
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Hermione was trying to cut James some slack.
Unlike her, he had been dead for more than twenty years and he decided to spend that time punishing himself and his wife for the fate of their friends and child. That would take a toll on anyone. She wasn’t stupid either, she knew it was himself who, in a way, chose to go through that, and that she too had had a very traumatizing life but not everybody coped the same. Besides here she was, a little over a week dead, and in that time she had started the best relationship she has ever had, their experiences were definitely not the same.
On their road to the next destination, Regulus would pull her behind a three and kiss her, once the others were far away he would put his knee between her legs and help her ride his thigh, then he would hold her when her afterglow brought emotional reactions, completely predictable if we remember her last couple of months and their last task. Fred was doing his best at running interference with the rest of the group, pulling pranks, telling jokes and playing with Merope, this was obviously a coordinated effort to be there for her and keeping peace in their little party, she was grateful to have them both.
It was scary, how easy this was going, how she was obviously falling in love with not one but two wizards, one that she didn’t even know until very recently. In the case of Fred there was always the doubt, a question of what if during his life, and a preexisting attraction, a fantasy that only him and well, Draco Malfoy in the private moments he stole with her during school, have ever been a part of.
In the case of Regulus it was his perfect dose of respectful, adoring and charming, almost tailored to her. Obviously the bond was acting, but she wasn’t going to fight it, she wasn’t doubting her feelings for them either, especially after meeting James. She could feel the bond with James in the same place, near her heart, as with the others and not for that was she even infatuated with the man. He was very attractive, yes, the biggest and tallest of them, maybe if Harry hadn’t been underfed during his growing years he would have been the same size. She was glad James didn’t resemble Harry as much as everybody said, to be honest they only shared the same nose and the same unruly black hair, they looked like they’re distantly related. He had tanned skin, dimples the only time she saw him smile and a very deep voice, big arms and thick tights that made her drool the first time she saw him and a very small but very present dad belly that was the cherry on top, but he had to speak out loud… shame. The silver lightning? This means that the bond is not creating feelings of love out of nowhere.
That was all me, then
“Hey Mery?”
“My name is Merope Mr Potter”
Okay… What’s that about ? The adults in the group exchanged looks, Merope was usually very easy going, Ariana just looked worried
“Sorry, Merope, I wanted to ask you about your little friend, Does it have a name?”
“HIS name is Tommy and he says he doesn’t like you POTTER”
ohhhhhhh… wait can the doll really talk?
Fred snorted and said “figures”
James looked sad, as if everybody in the group was against him. She wasn’t allowing that, if she wasn’t going to let Fred or Regulus judge Merope for her past without getting to know her, it wasn’t fair to James either.
“Mery, if you don't want James to call you anything that is not your name that is perfectly fine, but he hasn’t done anything to you for you to be rude to him, has he?”
“No, he hasn’t been mean with me or Tommy”
“There you go, you don’t need to be friends with everybody and you don't need to be sweet either, but being polite is going to be necessary for all of us to stay together and comfortable with the company”
“Okay… I’m sorry for being impolite to you Mr Potter, Please call me Merope and this is Tommy”
“Right, sorry Merope, and Tommy” said James stepping behind the group getting some distance, Fred and Regulus stayed behind with him trying to talk to him and help him with this transition
Patience
“We should camp here, it’s starting to get dark” Ariana announced, pointing to a gazebo that wasn't there before, in the distance a looming figure was covering the sun, a mansion, a manor, The Manor.
Draco?
They entered the gazebo and warded it as Ariana indicated, they also placed notice-me-nots and conjured curtains not to see or be seen from the outside. They littered the ground and the bench with cushioning charms, and Fred’s jacket and James’s over shirt were new blankets.
“Oh, that reminds me” during their search at the DoM 2.0 she had created a pouch she kept in her back pocket “I’m sorry I forgot and you’ve been carrying the sword all of this way, you can put it in here” she offered James who looked at the little pouch questionably.
“It used to be my left sock” Hermione explained.
“You transfigured it into a pouch and placed extension charms in it ?” He saw the sword disappear in the void inside the pouch and smiled impressed “They were right, you’re actually brilliant”
She smiled and nodded, did he say it as a fact? Cause it felt like a compliment and she was going to take it.
“It was how we carried the tent and what we needed when we went into hiding” “ Right, Nana, Ariana, you should take the bench, it would be more comfortable for you and keep you from accidentally touching people. The rest take your place on the ground”
“Why is it that we can’t go out at night and Little Mery can?” Asked Fred from his spot on the floor, legs extended in front of him and arms holding his weight from behind him
“You are not the only souls in the Veil, and not every soul is like you. Mery and Tommy help with the ones out of control” Ariana Answered
“Who and what exactly are they?” asked James bristling at that piece of information.
Ariana just stared at him, a calculating look, as if measuring him, she then looked at Hermione. Permission? Or letting her judge and handle the situation?
“We should talk about that later” Hermione decided to let that line of questioning go for now “Let Ariana rest. Do you want me to place a silencing spell over you? That way you won’t hear us talk or god forbid snore during the night ?” she asked Ariana, asking for her permission every time, she suspected the young girl would have some issues with magic
“Yes please, I don’t think my earplugs would suffice to all your blabber” Again, polite.