To Life
Chapter 15: To Life
Hermione took a shaky breath as she entered the flat, Pansy taking her hand and pulling her through the doorway. She hadn’t been back since she had left for the Burrow to retrieve Harry from his aunt and uncle’s house. As inviting and tolerant as Theo and Pansy had been, respectively, it was the lowest she’d ever been.
Her parents had been ripped away from her—her own doing. Draco had left her behind, for her safety of course. And she couldn’t tell anyone about either of her secrets except two snakes—one who treated her like a fragile bit of glass and the other who preferred to ignore any remote sign of emotion besides anger or disgust.
She had been utterly alone.
Hermione had no one to blame but herself. She knew it. She made those decisions. She could have let Harry in on her secret last year when he was tailing them through the castle at all hours of the night. She could have explained how Dumbledore had denied Draco the only help she could think to offer.
She could have begged Draco to stay. Not ask like the little girl she was, but beg. He had been on the verge of cracking, then, and she was well aware. But she didn’t need divination to know what the consequences of his inevitable break down might be.
Hermione sucked in another ragged breath, and this time Draco hand replaced Pansy’s. “I should never have left you,” he spoke as if he had read her thoughts. “You were in so much pain,” he hung his head.
Her fingers glided over his clean shaven jaw, gently lifting his face to look at her. “You know as well as I do why you had to go. I don’t fault you for that. I just wish it didn’t have to be that way.”
“I’ll still never get over how weird that is,” Ron grumbled from across the room, ducking out of the way just as Pansy’s hand started to collide with the back of his head.
“Perhaps we should celebrate the future, for the moment?” Narcissa gracefully swished her wand, dispensing the champagne glasses Theo was already pulled out of the cupboard and poured everyone a generous serving.
Draco took his glass, and pulled Hermione just a bit closer to his side. She had never felt so warm; so loved. His affection was soaking through the fabric of her dress and settling deep into her bones. She was safe.
She was home.
He grinned down at her offering his flute and a cheers. She returned it, adoration dancing across her face as she finally felt some semblance of joy return to her chest. They were alive, and they would celebrate every second they had together instead of ticking away the previously finite moments.
Hermione took a sip from her glass, the fizz and bubbles tickling her lips and buzzing up her nose. It was contentment and hope—excitement, even—that she felt. They would build a new future together, all of them.
“I’d like to make a toast,” Harry said awkwardly. “To unity, new friends and old,” he looked at Hermione and Draco, Blaise and Luna, then to Pansy and Ron, and finally settled on Theo. “To second chances and really getting to live our lives. To life!”
“To life!” they all echoed back, clinking their glasses together.
Once the rounds had been made and everyone had their fill of bubbly and hugs, Draco noticed that both Weasley parents had gathered with their remaining children, and Luna’s father had joined his daughter and Blaise in the corner waving their hands in the air as if swatting something away. His mother sat stiffly in a chair at the dining table, facing her estranged sister. They appeared to be having a somber conversation, and he didn’t dare interrupt, lest he ruin a perfectly good reconciliation.
Hermione was on the sofa with Harry as he retold the moments they had missed and how exactly all of this—the unity as he had put it—came to be. Draco approached them, sitting on the arm of the sofa and listening intently.
It was strange to willingly listen to Potter’s drabble, and not insert snarky comments throughout. Honestly, the thought of doing so sent a wave of exhaustion through him. The percentage of his personality at Hogwarts that had been a direct imitation of Lucius was astounding. The constant threat of death looming over his head last year had been enough to snap him back to his real self somewhat. There wasn’t time to be a dick when the task the Dark Lord gave you was the only thing keeping your mother alive. Speaking of Lucius…
“Potter, what happened to all the Death Eaters that got rounded up after the fighting stopped?” he asked thoughtfully.
Harry abruptly halted his storytelling, eyebrows knitting together uncomfortably. Draco could see the hesitation in his eyes, not wanting to be the one to give the final blow.
And it would appear he wouldn’t have to. His mother turned from her discussion with Andromeda and he could see the mist forming in her eyes again.
“Those found guilty were given the Kiss. Immediately.”
Air whooshed from his lungs. “I—I understand.” Draco stood and calmly walked to the bathroom, firmly shutting the door behind him, the click echoing through the silence left in his wake.
Hermione started to go after him, but Narcissa placed a firm hand on her shoulder, “Let me, dear.” She stood gracefully, holding her chin high as she followed after her son.
Harry took Hermione’s hand to prevent her from inevitably fidgeting and picking at her nails. “He’ll be alright,” he soothed.
“Oh, Harry!” She teared up as she leaned onto his shoulder. “He just barely survived a war only to find out his father is, for all intents and purposes, dead. I have no sympathy for Lucius, he deserved what he got, but you know how Draco adored him…”
Theo squished into the sofa on the other side of Hermione, hugging the three of them together. “He hasn’t looked up to him since the Dark Lord returned,” he corrected. “Draco has known what the outcome would be for a long time. I think he just needs time to reconcile with the fact he never got to have it out with Lucius before all of this.”
“Oh,” she sniffled, wiping at her wet face.
“Lucius was the reason Draco was forced to take the Dark Mark. He was the reason Narcissa’s safety was ever in question. There is no love lost between father and son.” Theo twisted a few curls around his finger before she smacked his hands away, causing him to pout like a rather pathetic puppy.
Harry gave her hand another squeeze and released it, handing her the glass of champagne she’d left on the coffee table. She sipped it, crinkling her nose at the ever-fizziness of magical drinks. Sometimes, she thought maybe Muggle alcohol was superior…if only in that it didn’t burn your nose every time you took a drink.
The three of them watched the remaining guests, waiting for Draco and Narcissa to return. Pansy had inched closer and closer to the gaggle of redheads crowding around the dining table, unsure whether she should infiltrate or retreat altogether. She had made it about a meter away before a freckled arm reached out and yanked her into the center of them all.
“So, Miss Parkinson!” Arthur beamed genially. “Ron, here, tells me that you two are now an item!”
“Yes, well, he hasn’t exactly asked me—“
“Pansy, I—“
“—but I’d like to think we are,” she finished with a decidedly practiced attempt at a shy smile. Ginny scoffed loudly, Pansy was anything but shy.
Bill, Fleur, and Molly watched the exchange skeptically from one side, while Arthur, George, and Ginny trapped her into several different conversations at once.
“You three would make a lovely triad,” Xenophilius swooped in front of Harry, Hermione, and Theo, blocking their view of Pansy’s distress. “Very lovely indeed!”
Hermione’s jaw dropped in horror, jumping off the sofa with great speed, nearly toppling Draco as he returned from his private conversation.
“Daddy, I don’t think they would be interested. Hermione is already in a very romantic relationship with Draco,” she smiled serenely, pulling her father away while Blaise guffawed at the chaos his future father-in-law had caused with one sentence.
“What just happened?” Draco asked cautiously, catching Hermione and righting them both without a single drop of champagne spilled.
Theo smirked from his spot on the sofa, “Potter and I were just considering asking Granger to join us for a triad, weren’t we dear?” He stroked Harry’s cheek suggestively, ignoring the greenish hue it had taken on at the suggestion.
“She’s like my sister!” he groaned, mortified.
“She’s spoken for anyway, which you are well aware of,” Draco growled at Theo.
Theo winked. “So possessive! Touchy touchy. Let the lady speak! We all know who the more experienced lover is. Besides, Potter’s got the cutest arse…”
“Theodore, that’s quite enough,” Narcissa quirked a disapproving brow at him.
“Yes ma’am,” he backed down, but kept his smirk aimed at Draco.
Harry elbowed him, his face turning a brilliant shade of red. “Behave!” he hissed.
“Yes sir,” Theo rumbled lowly so only Harry could hear. A shiver rippled down his back, and his cheeks flushed again.
After another round of champagne, someone (Theo) broke out the firewhisky and it was the beginning of the end. The elder Weasley’s took their leave soon after, making sure to give Pansy a proper goodbye hug and Hermione an extra tight squeeze before leaving through the Floo.
Andromeda and Teddy left as well, the small baby asleep in his grandmother’s arms. The sisters embraced for the first time in decades, adamant that they would meet regularly for tea.
“So Harry, back to what we were discussing earlier—“
“Oh! Right, sorry!” Harry turned his attention back toward Hermione. “Well, Theo and I are sort of on the Wizengamot now—“
“WizGiz,” Theo corrected.
“—right. That. Neville’s gran is helping sway the votes, but there’s a few still stuck on keeping werewolves out of society. We’ve got another vote coming up soon, and the plan is to find a way to provide Wolfsbane to any werewolves that don’t have access, which would mean capping costs.”
“Daddy won’t like that,” Pansy stated tartly, plopping onto Ron’s lap. Her exhaustion at dealing with the entirety of the Weasley family at once was glaringly evident.
“He didn’t,” Harry chuckled. “Between him and Burke, there was quite the uprising during the meeting.”
Narcissa drew up a dining chair, transfiguring it into a more comfortable and plush seat to join the younger crowd. “That doesn’t surprise me at all,” she commented thoughtfully. “Pereneus won’t agree to the financial aspects, one of his most productive investments is his potions partnership with Damocles Belby. He’d lose a large portion of his income.”
Pansy paled. She might have had a slight change of heart, but she was still planning to live the life of an heiress. Being an heiress to a non-existent fortune would put quite the kink in her life plan, and Weasley would certainly not fill that void monetarily.
“But having access to Wolfsbane would undoubtedly keep all of Britain much safer! How could he put a price on such a thing!” Hermione said, shocked, and everyone except Luna rolled their eyes at her.
Narcissa reached over to take her hand and patted it gently. “Not to worry, dear, I’ve got just the thing.” Draco smiled deviously, apparently knowing exactly what she had planned. “Tell the Minister that Draco would like to take the familial seat on the Wizengamot and that we have solved a few of the main points for the werewolf legislation. I should also like to receive an official invitation to attend the next session on the matter.”
Harry raised his eyebrows in surprise, “I’ll—I’ll go do that now.” Theo stood to show him to his room where he could use his desk and owl to send the letter.
“What exactly do you two have up your sleeves?” Hermione’s eyes narrowed as her eyes shifted between mother and son.
“Just enjoy the surprise, love,” Draco kissed her hair sweetly.
Ron groaned, “It’s like they forget we’re even here!”
Pansy elbowed his ribs as she hissed, “Seriously, Ronald? I’m sitting on your lap while everyone agrees that the right thing to do would simultaneously make me poor and you want to complain about your childhood crush not paying enough attention to you?”
”I’m already poor. It’s not so bad,” he shrugged but immediately regretted that response when she tried to get up.
He at least had the good sense to look contrite, though it was only a few muscle twitches away from being a pout again. He hugged her tight to him, keeping her where she was, for now at least.
With the owl sent, Harry and Theo returned to their friends, picking up a freshly filled glass of firewhisky each.
“Would anyone like to listen to some music?” Luna proposed.
“No!” Harry quickly put his drink back down on the coffee table, leaning far away from Theo. The snakes all laughed at his reaction, Luna shrugged, and Ron snorted. Hermione and Draco shifted uncomfortably at being left out of the joke.
“Luna put on an Oasis album last time and Potter here got his first crossfade,” Theo practically giggled. “You could say he became one with the sofa.”
Harry looked down in distaste at the sofa cushions beneath him before promptly opting to move to the floor instead, earning another riot of laughter. Even Narcissa joined in.
The owl Harry had sent to Kingsley returned quickly, bringing his reply and an “official” summons for Narcissa to attend the next hearing to be held in two days time. It also carried Harry, Theo and Draco’s summons for Wizengamot members. Well, the Minister was certainly efficient.
“Lovely,” Narcissa remarked, taking her roll of parchment and standing to take her leave. She said her goodbyes, leaving Harry, Hermione, and Draco for last. “Mr. Potter, thank you for everything…again.” She smiled sweetly and pulled him into an impromptu hug. Hermione was squeezed tightly with a promise of joining her and Andromeda for tea.
…
“Neville Francis Longbottom! I am perfectly fine! Now I demand you stop all of this fussing this instant!” Augusta commanded her grandson once they’d gotten out of earshot of the clearing and the other guests had passed them on the path.
The trek back to the castle was much longer than the old witch had anticipated, and going uphill was much more fatiguing than coming down had been. She wouldn’t, and couldn’t allow Neville to see her struggling any more than she already was, though. The lad had grown into quite the spitting image of his father, and Augusta needed to be stronger if she was going to make sure she didn’t lose her son all over again.
Though their walk seemed unending, she pulled strength from her reserved magic—not much, just enough to get her back onto the more stable stone steps leading to the castle. Temporarily invigorated, she breezed past her grandson and marched the whole way to the Headmistress’s office, taking the Floo back to Hogsmede.
Once Neville arrived behind her, they walked to the edge of the town and he side-along apparated them to Godric’s Hollow. They had placed anti-apparition wards on the home long ago—just after his parents’ attack. After Neville’s run-in at the Ministry in fifth year, they had closed down their Floo to only secured and limited access—St. Mungo’s, the Ministry, and now Grimmauld Place…
The Longbottom’s home had become somewhat of a fortress. Though it made unwanted entry more difficult, Neville couldn't help but see the fatal flaw staring them in the face every day. If they couldn’t access their home, then they were left as targets until they made it across the thresholds. The war may be over, but he refused to let his guard down. His parents had been tortured after the last war was thought to be over, who’s to say it wouldn’t happen again?
He had strayed too far behind, bristling in his thoughts. His gran was already turning in at the little gate several houses ahead of him. She would at least be through the first set of wards by now, giving him some relief.
“Just who do you think you are?!” Her voice severed through the crystal clear afternoon air.
Neville picked up his pace, hurrying to meet whatever intruder had made it past their initial deterrents.
“You were warned. Sectumsempra!” a man’s voice shouted.
He was only three strides from the gate when a hooded figure in a black cloak shoved past him, nearly falling over as he made his escape.
“Hey!” Neville shouted, the wolf’s temper rising up in his chest. When the figure continued to run, Neville slashed his wand through the air, not bothering to watch if he hit his mark before racing to his gran’s side. “Gran!”
There was so much blood. He tried to remember the spell Harry had used on Blaise, but his senses were so overwhelmed with the scent of copper and iron, and the sight of his grandmother crumpled on the ground, his brain shut off.
He scooped her up easily, kicked the front door off its hinges, and ran straight to the Floo and shouting “St. Mungo’s!” as the emerald flames licked at his feet.
…
As Narcissa leaned in to embrace Draco, a loud tapping came from the window. A large tawny owl swooped in, dropping a short stretch of parchment and leaving just as quickly as it had arrived.
“What was that all about?” Ron leaned nosily over the side of the chair, nearly dropping Pansy in the process.
Theo scooped it up, reading the missive outloud.
Gran was attacked in front of our home.
At St. Mungo’s, bring Harry. -NL
“Augusta was attacked?” Narcissa said aghast.
“We have to go,” Theo summoned a cloak from the closet, shoving the note into Harry’s waiting hand, knowing he’d want to check it himself before rushing off.
Hermione, however, snatched it from Harry’s hands before his eyes could focus on Neville’s sloppy handwriting.
“You said Blaise had been attacked too?” She eyed Harry carefully and he nodded. “Then we’re coming with you.”
“Mione, don’t you think you two should stay here for now? Out of sight? You haven’t even been declared alive yet—at least not publicly…” Ron tapered off, seeing the temper rising in her eyes, knowing any attempt at dissuading her would only fuel the fire.
Hermione grasped Draco’s hand, and turned toward the Floo. “We’ll keep a low profile, Ron, it’ll be fine,” she shot over her shoulder.
Harry and Ron exchanged nervous glances, but it was Theo who stepped in front of everyone. “She’s my aunt, my family. I’ll go first. Harry, you’ll come with me and Pansy and Ron will follow. The four of us will be expected. Luna, you need to stand next to Draco so your hair cancels his out for attention, and Narcissa, you’ll need to cover Hermione. Blaise, bring up the end.”
“Aye aye, captain!” Blaise saluted with nod, and they all fell into position as they lined up in front of the Floo.