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A disguise can\'t fool the heart	By : KrystyWroth Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 5021 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-A disguise can't fool the heart
- 1
Bear with me. If you
haven�t read You�re Gone; it goes with this and you might want
to. Continuation of
that story. Just be patient and
read carefully, it might get a tad confusing.

Standard disclaimer applies. It's not mine and I don't pretend it is.

Derrick Malloy slowly limped toward
his bachelor flat, glad that he had brought his cane.

He wrapped his coat around him,
blocking the air that was nipping at his neck.
The skin on his back was still fresh and sometimes reacted adversely to
extreme temperatures. Every day was a
new adventure for him, trying to relearn how to do even the simplest
things. There were still some nights
where the pain from doing a chore as simple as bathing would nearly drive him
unconscious.

He reached his front door and
unlocked it with his key. His uncle had
found this apartment for him a few short months ago. He liked the apartment and the
neighborhood. But he was so lonely. His family was dead, minus his uncle who was
really more like a friend of the family.
He had no friends, other than the wizards and witches at the
hospital. His uncle had asked that he
not get a job just yet. He wanted
Derrick to wait until he had more strength.

At times his uncle seemed more like
a jail keeper than a trusted friend of the family. He told him when and where he could go. He would give him directions, and sometimes
his uncle would accompany him on short day trips to the hospital and such. But he always insisted that Derrick wear a cloak
with a hood that covered his face. And his uncle was constantly lecturing to Derrick that he
never use his magic abilities, ever.

The weird thing about his magic
abilities was that he remembered them.
No one understood why he could remember the most complex spells and
potions, but have no memory of who he
was. He remembered all the ingredients
of a Shrinking Potion, and every word to the Completicus
Spell, but everything else was a total blank.
He knew he loved pumpkin juice and that turkey legs were his favorite
food. But he didn�t remember his
friends, his family or even his own name and age.

His first conscious memory was of
waking in a private room in St. Mungo�s just over a year ago. He knew that he had been immobilized. There were at least a dozen Healers hovering
over him. Most of them were muttering
spells of some sort. He blacked out, and
when he came around again he found himself in a different room. There were a few witches tending to some
bruises and cuts on his legs and thighs.
One of the witches gave a start when she realized that he was awake, and
quickly left the room. Two wizards came
into the room a few seconds later. One
of them came to his side and immediately began to wave his wand over the boy�s
body. The other wizard stood at the foot
of the bed, almost as if he was studying him. For a short instant Derrick had the feeling he
knew the man. He was about to ask the
wizard if he knew him when the Healer began to ask him questions. It wasn�t long before everyone realized that
his memory had been altered, although no one had a real explanation.

The man at the foot of the bed came
forward only when everyone had left the room. He introduced himself as Uncle
Lucas. He told Derrick that he, his
mother and his father had been seriously injured in what Muggles called a
car. He told Derrick that his parents
had both been killed and there was no other family that he knew of. He told Derrick that he had almost died
himself and most likely would have if he had not found the car in time. He started to ask Derrick questions about his
past, probing into his life, asking him if he remembered anything about the
accident. Derrick remembered nothing.

�You
will stop your dealings with this Mudblood whore at once.�

�You take that back. She�s the farthest thing from a whore. And if you�d like to see that it happens over
your dead body; that can be arranged.�
Draco said.

Lucius paced around the room,
looking at his surroundings. �I came
here to give you some news in person, rather than by owl, and this is how you
repay me, by disgracing me and our family�s name and honor by sleeping with
common trash?�

Draco clenched his fists using every
ounce of willpower that he had to not lunge at his father. �And what news would that be? Did you just buy another stupid painting? Did you buy another house elf? Are you in
love with Voldemort?� Draco spat.

Lucius turned, and gave his son a
smile that sent shivers through him. �No
boy. It is your mother. She had a � accident this morning. She fell down the stairs. She�s been calling for you for quite some
time. Your bumbling Headmaster agreed
that you could leave as long as you were back before classes start on Monday.�

Draco�s face suddenly paled. �Mother? You bastard. What did you do to her?�

Lucius
smiled and replied, �I told you boy. She
had an accident. I am returning to her
side and I suggest that you do the
same.�

Hermione
awoke with a start. The dreams had been
coming again with regularity. Some were
more vivid than others. Not all of them
were nightmares either. But every one
involved her past with Draco. The dream
that had just woken her wasn�t an unpleasant dream, but it wasn�t one of her
more happy memories either.

Last
night�s dream had been a replay of her last time seeing Draco. In the flesh anyway. She saw him every night in her dreams. And she saw him every night when she put
their baby boy to bed.

Drake was nearly six months old now
and she saw Draco in him more and more with each passing day. He was a quiet baby, much like his
father. He rarely cried, but when he
did, the tears would stop when he saw her.
His eyes were the exact same shade of his fathers that made his mother melt. The only one of
Hermione�s features that he had taken was her chestnut brown hair.

He was
sitting up by himself, and he was starting to pull himself onto all fours in
preparation for crawling. Hermione was
anxiously looking forward to all the new steps in her sons
life, but wished that his father was there to share in them. She felt so much rage towards Lucius Malfoy
that she didn�t know what she�d do if she came face to face with him. If Lucius hadn�t hurt Narcissa, then Draco
wouldn�t have taken his own life.
Hermione didn�t want to kill him; she�d just make him pay, over and over
again.

She glanced
at her watch. 5:30. She would need to
get up soon, and resisted the urge to go back to sleep. She rose from her bed and pulled on her
robes. She glanced into the crib that
held her young son. He was sleeping on
his back. One tiny fist was clutching
the stuffed baby dragon that Hagrid had given him. She was amazed at how easily he accepted
everyone. He didn�t fuss like most
babies when being handed around. He
would stare intently at whoever was holding him, almost as if he could read
their minds.

She walked
over to the fireplace, and tapped a small egg shaped device. It was only an instant later when one of her
favorite house elves appeared. Matty was
a small elf with little tufts of pink hair who always dressed in the same
oversized purple pillowcase.

Hermione
had long ago given up on SPEW. She still
didn�t like the fact that there were house elves in the school, but she
accepted it. And a part of her knew that
she should be thankful for house elves.
They had been such a huge help with caring for Drake.

�Yes Miss
Hermione? You be
needing Matty?� The elf spoke in a voice
just above a whisper. She knew that the
baby would most likely be sleeping.

�Good
morning Matty. I just want to take a
fast shower. He hasn�t been sleeping well. I think he has a tooth coming in right now
and I don�t really want him to wake up and cry for fifteen minutes,� Hermione told the
elf.

�You take
shower Miss. Matty know
what to do, with baby.�

And she did
know. When Hermione stepped from her bathroom
exactly 18 minutes later, her son had been bathed and was dressed in a clean
jumper. Matty was playing quietly with
him on the floor. She had conjured up
some tie dye fireflies, and Drake was following the brightly flashing bugs with
amazement.

Hermione
smiled at the two of them. �Thank you
Matty.� The elf nodded and quickly
left. Hermione started a fire in the
fireplace and then turned to pick up her son to put him in his seat at the
table. The elves had already been in
with the breakfast tray while she had been in the shower, and she didn�t want
it to get cold.

She was
sitting in front of Drake, and had just started to feed him when there was a
knock at the door. She glanced at her
watch and knew that it would be Ginny.
She spoke the Unlocking charm on her door and a few minutes later the
redhead�s familiar face appeared.

�I still
don�t understand why you have to use that charm, Hermione. Hogwarts is the safest possible place we can
be.� The young girl sat down in front of
her, carrying a rolled up edition of the Daily Prophet. �Professor Dumbledore
set all of those charms before he left.�
Ginny had a feeling that she knew why Hermione always cast the Door
Locking Spell. She had brought up the
topic before, and it was always dropped.
That never stopped Ginny from hinting about it.

For a long
while now, Ginny had a pretty good idea of who Drake�s
father was. His eyes were the same
stormy grey color of Draco Malfoy. And
when she thought about his absence, it all made perfect sense. She saw a complicated scenario in her
mind: Hermione had told Draco of her
accidental pregnancy. It had upset him
because he felt that she had done it on purpose and he left her, vowing that he
would never let her raise his child. Maybe he had even cast a curse on her or
the baby. But Hermione had never answered one way or the other about
Drake�s father. The wizarding world
didn�t have Birth Certificates so there would be no way for her to check
written records. There was a very
complicated spell that she knew of that would require her to get a few drops of
Drake and Hermione�s blood, but she didn�t think that her friend would just let
her have some blood if she asked for it.

Ginny knew
that she would just have to continue sitting by her best friend and hope that
someday she would decide to share her deepest secret.

They both
ate their breakfast in relative silence.

When they
had finished eating, Hermione poured each of them a cup of tea, and began to
study her young friend. �Have you heard
from Ron yet? Is he back from his
honeymoon?�

Ginny
smiled. �Mom got an owl last night. They
should be getting back sometime this morning.
And they said in the letter that they have a big announcement to
make.� Ginny waggled her eyebrows to
show she was joking. �I think everyone
at the wedding already knew, or as least suspected it.�

Hermione
laughed. She too shared everyone else�s
thoughts, that Lavender was indeed pregnant and that was why their wedding was
so hurried. �They�ll be good
parents. I�m just glad that Ron was able
to find a decent Quidditch team to play for. I was almost worried that he would
have to play for the Surrey Salamanders.
They�re terrible!�

Ginny�s
eyebrows rose in amazement. �You know
who the Salamanders are? I thought you
couldn�t stand Quidditch.�

The banter
was so jovial that without even thinking, Hermione responded, �Drake�s father
was crazy about it too.�

She quickly realized what she said, and tried to cover it
up. �My cousin told me that more than
once, that Drake�s father was always talking about playing a stupid sport on
brooms.� Hermione crossed her fingers,
wondering if she had made herself sound even slightly convincing.

Ginny
didn�t respond. She knew without a doubt
that Hermione was lying. She dropped the
subject and opened up the newspaper that she had brought in.

She skimmed
over the first page and then stopped when the article at the top caught her
eye. �Hermione, look at this. Lucius Malfoy is wanted by the Ministry of
Magic for murder and other crimes against wizardry.�

The color
drained out of Hermione�s face.
�What?� Ginny got up and walked
around to the other side of the table, and they read the page together.

�Lucius
Malfoy is wanted by several top Ministry officials in connection with several
unsolved murders, as well as other various crimes of atrocity. A source close to the family was recently
overheard talking about what they knew, but when approached by officials, the
said informant promptly began to slam their head against the floor and refused
to speak. He is wanted in questioning
for the death of some 17 Muggles in the last 3 years, as well as the suspicious
death of his wife and son over a year ago.
Malfoy Manor is currently being searched for any signs of his
whereabouts. Lucius Malfoy is considered
incredibly dangerous and should not be approached by anyone. Dementors are following any and all leads, as
well as a full team of Aurors.�

Ginny
looked at her friend. Hermione�s eyes
were wide with shock. Ginny waved a hand
in front of her face, and it didn�t seem to even faze the older woman. She was obviously very deep in thought.

Derrick had
just gotten out of the shower, and started shaving when he heard a loud �pop�
inside his apartment. His brow wrinkled
in confusion. He had heard this sound
before, but only from his uncle. But his uncle came on Tuesday, and it was a
Friday. It shouldn�t be him. He stuck his head around the corner of the
bathroom door to confirm his suspicion.

It was his
uncle, but he looked much different than the last time he had seen him. His attire which was usually impeccable was
now dishevelled.
His hair was tousled and he had large bags under his eyes as if he
hadn�t slept for some time. His general
behavior was one of obvious apprehension.
He was looking over his shoulder and his gaze was never in one spot as
he quickly scanned the small apartment.
He spotted Derrick and came towards him.

�Dra�Derrick. Something came up and I need to leave for a
while.� He told Derrick, willing himself
to stay calm.

�Is there
something wrong Uncle? Did you want me
to come with you? Did something
happen?� Derrick asked. He was more than confused by his uncle�s
behavior. He had never seen the composed
man acting like this before.

His uncle
smiled, and Derrick thought that it was the look of a madman, not that he could
remember seeing a madman before.
�Happen? No, nothing
happened. Nothing at
all. Everything is going exactly
as planned. I just had a slight mishap,
and some people might be looking for me for a few little tiny things. But don�t you worry, your Uncle Luc... Lucas
will be just fine. I just wanted to let you know that I won�t be able to visit
you for a while.�

�Uncle I
don�t understand. Why are you
leaving? When will you be back? �
Derrick asked, feeling as confused as his uncle looked.

�I will be
untraceable for as long as I can manage.
But I don�t know when I�ll be back.
I just wanted you to know that you won�t be able to reach me if you need
me.� Uncle Lucas touched Derrick�s cheek
in a fatherly way and for a moment he actually seemed calm. It was only seconds later when the confused
look returned to his eyes.

�I need to
leave. They�ll be looking for me
soon. They�re probably right behind
me.� He whirled around, suddenly looking
very paranoid. �I � uh... just wanted to
give you this before I left. It�s a
family heirloom. Your father gave it to your mother. You need to wear it at all times.� The man pulled an odd looking necklace from
his pocket. There was a large orange-brown
stone attached to a long chain. He
extended it to Derrick.

Derrick
looked at it, his brow wrinkled in confusion.
�I need to wear it all the time?
Shouldn�t I take it off when I�m in the shower? What about when I�m sleeping?�

The man�s
face was filled with a sudden burst of anger.
�You must wear it all the time.
Never take it off.� The anger was
gone as quickly as it came, and Uncle Lucas quickly started to look around the
room again. �I must go now. I will try to contact you as soon as I can. Don�t try to contact me.�

The man
quickly Apparated and left a very confused Derrick Malloy in his wake.

Ginny sat
through each class jotting down notes, but her mind was elsewhere. She couldn�t stop thinking about the news
that they had heard that morning. Lucius
Malfoy had actually killed his son and wife.
Did he kill them to keep them quiet?
Was their death a �beating� gone wrong?

The other
students all had their own theories.
Some of them, she thought, might have some validity. She knew that some others were total
nonsense. She did listen to all of them,
knowing that some of her fellow students had parents who were suspected of
being Death Eaters.

She knew
that Hermione would have heard all the talk too.

Ginny had
always been the silent observer. Of
course growing up with six brothers you almost had to be. She was the sneakiest of all of the Weasley
children. She watched her older
brothers, and learned from their mistakes.
It had paid off in a lot of little ways.
Sometimes she was able to get away with some things that she shouldn�t
have.

The same
had gone for Hogwarts. She noticed some
of the things that the other students ignored.
She knew that Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall had been
having quite a love affair, before he retired.
She knew that Professor Snape liked to dance ballet in his empty
classroom late at night, complete with a fluffy pink tutu. And he was actually good.

She also
knew that Draco and Hermione were anything but enemies, and had been that way
for some time.

It had
started in her third year, which was their fourth year. She saw the glances that were filled with
anything but hate. She saw the touches
that were anything but casual. She had
once seen the two of them leave the same isle in the library and noticed that
odd way that both of them were smiling.
One time she had even seen Hermione cheer when Draco caught the Snitch
in their last match against Ravenclaw.
Ginny had turned and looked at her friend and Hermione�s expression
quickly changed.

Ginny had
tried to snoop around and find out the truth.
She did everything she could think of, short of stealing Harry�s
Invisibility Cloak. She found they were
very good about hiding what she guessed was their relationship. She wondered why her friend hadn�t told her
the truth, but she knew she would have a reason and hoped that someday her
friend would trust her enough to share it with her.

The bell
finally rang signalling the end of classes for the
day, and Ginny gathered up her things.
She headed towards Hermione�s quarters like she did every day, where she
would look after Drake while Hermione corrected homework or planned her next
lesson.

She arrived
at Hermione�s quarters fully expecting to find her at her desk with papers
surrounding her, like she usually found her.
This time was different. She
waited for Hermione to unlock the door, and when she finally did Ginny found
Hermione sitting on her sofa in front of a roaring fire. There was a bottle of Firewhisky
on the table next to her, and an empty glass.

Ginny
quickly went to her friend. �Hermione,
are you ok? Where�s Drake?�

Without
looking up, Hermione answered.
�Professor McGonagall thought I needed a break, and she offered to watch
him for me.�

Ginny sat
down on the couch, facing her friend.
�Did you want to talk about whatever is bothering you?� she asked.

Ginny
noticed the tears beginning to stream down Hermione�s face, and decided it was
probably best not to talk.

Hermione
sighed and then finally spoke, her voice strained from crying. �I know you�ve known, or at least suspected
the truth for quite some time.� She
sighed, and the tears started to flow more freely. �Draco and I were lovers. Gods, we were so much more than that. It started in our fourth year. We both got stuck together in Ancient Runes
as partners. It was a stupid project but
everyone hated him, and no one wanted to work with me. So we were stuck with each other. We tried to remain civil to each other for
the first few days, but it got more and more difficult.� Hermione smiled at the memory. �And then there was one night in the library
when we were in one of the private rooms in the library. We started to bicker and it got worse. He
caught me off guard and hexed me. All I
remember was waking up and he was taking care of me. He had reversed the hex and healed up my scrapes
and cuts. He apologized for it, and
asked if I could ever forgive him. He
told me an incredible story about when he was growing up, and he said that when
he saw my body flying through the air, it reminded him of a time when his
father had done the same thing to his mother.
He told me that he never wanted to be anything like his father and it
really scared him that he could do something so horrible to a woman. After that he never spoke to me in that
condescending tone. He spoke to me like
an equal. We became very good
friends. He told me all the terrible
things that his father had done to him and to his mother. All the beatings and spells
and hexes that they had endured. He said that there were so many times when he
would beat or even rape one of them in front of the other one until he got
whatever he wanted. I felt so sorry for him.
And then one night when we were sitting in front of the fire, he told me
that he loved me. His mother had always
made him feel safe and important and needed, and I did too. After that our relationship became what you
always read about in those silly Muggle romance novels. It was by no means perfect, but it was
everything we both wanted.�

Hermione
stopped, and took a long drink from her glass.
�One day, we were making love on the floor of our quarters when he asked
me to marry him. His father came in only
a few minutes later, and after he finished insulting both of us, he told Draco
that his mother had fallen down the stairs and was calling for him. He did the only thing he could and left to be
with her. Lucius returned later on and
told me to never contact him again, that he was sending him to Durmstrang. After we
both exchanged some insults, Lucius told me I was pregnant. Neither one of us had any idea. We had always been so careful�. But I told him that Draco and I loved each
other and nothing could change that. He
left and I worried that maybe he would put Draco under the Crucio, and force
him to go to Durmstrang. I was sure that once he graduated he would
come and find me and then we would live happily ever after. Then he killed himself. I knew that I had to keep the baby and take
care of it because it was the only piece of Draco that I had.�

Another long drink.

�When I
thought that Draco had killed himself, it somehow made it easier to deal
with. I knew how much he adored his
mother and I had no doubt in my mind that her death would give him enough
reason to kill himself, especially since her accident was most likely caused by
his father. But now that there is a
possibility that Lucius killed Draco, I want him dead. I want to see him writhe and squirm on the
ground and beg for the pain to stop. He
killed the father of my child, the love of my life and my best friend.� Hermione finally looked at her friend, seeing
the tears that also wet her face.

Ginny held
her arms out to her, and Hermione gladly sunk into them. She bawled.
She cried all the tears that she had never been able to shed, since she
had always had to hide their relationship.
Now she grieved freely, partly in sadness, partly in rage.

Draco had a hard time feigning sleep when
Hermione was doing what she was doing.

She
had two fingers wrapped around the base of his cock and the rest of his shaft
was deep inside her warm wet mouth. Her
other hand was cupping his balls in that way that he especially loved. Her lips and hands were moving almost at the
same speed now, and he knew he would have to wake up very soon to give her a
taste of her own medicine. He opened one
eye and almost shot his load then and there.

Hermione was on her knees, her ass
sticking up in the air as her head bobbed up and down on his glistening
erection.

He reached for one leg, and pulled
it towards him, being anything but gentle.
Hermione allowed him to pull her body closer to him. He effortlessly lifted one knee over his head
and his tongue began its frantic search for her core. Using both hands he
gripped the cheeks of her ass, kneading them with his hands as he expertly
licked at her moist folds. One of
Draco�s fingers brushed against Hermione�s asshole, which made her moan loudly,
even with his dick in her throat. Draco
felt the moan in every inch of his shaft and had to ignore the sensations it
produced. He pushed one finger into the
hole and sucked hard on her clit at the same time. She bucked in response and moaned even
louder, grinding her cunt into his face.
He drove his tongue deep into her center, and tasted the familiar tang
of her cum just as he felt her body begin to convulse. She started to cry out, and Draco used that
opportunity to flip her over onto her back and quickly enter her still
quivering pussy.

Her orgasm was milking his cock as
he thrust deep inside of her. Hermione
frantically tried to wrap her legs around Draco�s ass, trying to drive him
inside even deeper and prolong her orgasm.

Draco pulled out of her and moved
his face back to her drenched pussy, and began to lap at her juices. Still sensitive to his touch, she squirmed
against his face. He shoved two fingers
into her pussy and began sucking on her swollen nub. Hermione grabbed his head with both hands and
began to moan loudly.

�Gods yes. Right there, Draco. I�m so close,� she called out, encouraging
him to continue. He gave one last lick
and quickly repositioned himself over her.
He entered her for the second time that night, and it was enough to
drive her over the edge. This time the
movements of her orgasm were no match for Draco and he met his release, and
with one last thrust he shot his seed deep inside her.

He collapsed next to her and she
rolled over on top of him, still trying to catch her breath.

�What a wake up
call, huh?� she
asked him, not expecting an answer. �I
love you Draco.�

Derrick sat
up in bed, drenched in his own sweat. He
looked around, half expecting to see the naked woman from his dream. He wasn�t sure who she was. This had been the fifth dream this week, and
so far all the dreams had been with her.
Maybe she was someone from his subconscious, or someone from his
past. But if she was from his past, why
did she call him Draco?

He looked
under the sheets and realized he needed to find his �other� wand and clean
himself up, or get in the shower before it dried up. Looking around and seeing that his wand was no
where to be found, he got out of bed and made his way to the bathroom. He turned the water up as hot as he could
stand it, and stepped under the spray.
The dream was so vivid and the girl was so sexy that it was hard to get
it out of his mind. He grabbed the soap
and began to clean the body part in question.
Almost as if by magic, his surroundings suddenly changed. He was still in the shower, but the room
itself was different. The girl from his
dreams pulled the curtain away and stood before him, naked.

She was
stunning. Her hair hung down to just
past her shoulders, and her milky skin was smooth. She was by no means skinny,
but her body had curves in every place that you want them to be. Her butt was full and tight, and her breasts
were round and full and her nipples were exactly the right size for his mouth.
He gazed up and down at her, unable to comprehend what someone like her was
doing here in front of him. He looked
into her eyes, and saw a look of longing in them that couldn�t be mistaken. He pulled her to him and their lips came
together forcibly. For a moment he
worried that he had hurt her with the force of his lips against hers, but he
pushed that thought aside when he felt her tongue snake its way into his
mouth.

He kissed
her back with the same desire, feeling her moan and shift against him. She rubbed her pelvis against his now rigid
cock and he grabbed her by the small of her back and pulled her even closer. Hermione reached a hand around to his back
and ran one fingernail from his shoulder blade down to his ass with an
antagonizing slowness. When she had
gotten to his ass and the end of her journey, her other hand joined the
first. Both hand gripped his ass cheeks
and pulled his hardness against her belly.

This time it
was Derrick�s turn to moan. The girl
suddenly dropped to her knees, and with an evil glint in her eyes and a smirk
playing on her lips, she took the entire length of his erection into her mouth. Derrick bucked his hips toward her in
response, and he knew he saw her smile even though her mouth was full of his
cock. He felt like he was going to
explode. Grabbing her head in both
hands, he started to fuck her face. The
sensations of his orgasm overtook him quickly.
He threw his head backwards as he screamed out.

�Ahhh...
fuck!� The pressure behind his release
was so strong that it almost hurt him.
He opened his eyes and looked down, wanting to finally find out who this
girl was. He found his semi flaccid
penis held by both hands, a glob of his spunk on the floor of the shower, and
no one else.

�What the
fuck? Am I going crazy?� he said aloud.

�C�mon Hermione. It�s
a beautiful day outside. Half the school
is at Hogsmeade.� Ginny whined to
Hermione.

�Ginny,
it�s the middle of November.� Hermione
told Ginny. Hermione was sitting on the
couch, a blanket tucked around her feet.
She had taken up knitting again, and had started a new blanket for
Drake�s crib. Drake sat on the floor,
entranced with a color-changing ball.
Ginny walked over to the nearest window, and pulled the curtain open to
let sunshine spill into the room.
Hermione looked up at the sudden burst of light, and then frowned when
she realized her friend wasn�t going to give up that easily.

�Hermione,
it�s nice for November. See, there are
even some people outside without cloaks on.
You need to get out.� Ginny
continued her pleading, and Hermione continued her knitting.

�I don�t
think so Ginny.
I think Drake�s coming down with a cold and I really shouldn�t take him
outside.� Ginny gave her friend a look,
only half believing her story.

�So? Call Matty.
She�ll watch him if you really think he�s coming down with
something.� Ginny sat down and took
Hermione�s hand, trying to get her attention.
�Hermione, I�m talking about you.
You need to get out of this castle and get some fresh air and sunshine.�

�I do get
fresh air and sunshine.�

Ginny
paused. �Hermione, I�m not taking no for
an answer. You�re coming with me. I know for a fact that you were saying last
week that Drake needs a new winter cloak, and you�re out of those sugar quills
you�re addicted to. I also know that the
new book store has the new �Daniela Stevenson�.
The one you�ve been looking forward to, where Drucila falls in love with
the vampire and then she�s told she has to kill him.� Ginny grinned, hoping that Hermione�s new
found love for some of the trashier novels would do the trick.

Hermione
smiled back and rolled her eyes. �I
guess you know which one of my buttons to push.
Alright I�ll go. But I am going
to leave Drake here. I really do think
he�s getting a cold.�

Hermione
rose and called Matty to her quarters and Ginny picked up Drake, doing a small
victory dance at the same time.

Derrick
grabbed his cloak from the hook on the wall and wrapped it around himself. He did the clasp at his neck and pulled the
sides up so they covered his face. He
knew that Uncle Lucas would be very upset if he found out that he was outside
without him but he didn�t think he had a choice. He would have to gp
to St.Mungo�s to see his Healer.

In the last
two weeks, there had been almost a dozen of the strange dreams with the
brown-haired beauty. He felt like maybe
he should know her. He tried to think as
hard as he could, but no name came to him.
The part that really bothered him was that she didn�t call him Derrick,
she called him Draco. For some reason
that name sounded familiar to him too. But why?

Was it possible that it was some trick? Was he having someone else�s dreams? Maybe it was Legilimency. But why would
someone be planting the sexual dreams in his head? Not that he was complaining at all. He was almost looking forward to the dreams
with the girl, particularly the sensations that came with them. But at the same time it scared him. Maybe if his parents really had been involved
with bad people, like Uncle Lucas had suggested, then it might be a dubious
plot from one of his family�s enemies.

At any
rate, Derrick didn�t think he should ignore it any longer. He would go to visit his doctor at St.
Mungo�s and see what he thought.
Normally he would have tried to contact his uncle, and they would have
made the trip together. But his uncle
had told him not to contact him, and he had no one else to turn to.

He walked
as fast as his body would allow him to, his face looking downward like his
Uncle had always insisted on. Several
long blocks later, he walked down the familiar alley and found himself across
the street from St. Mungo�s.

He walked
into the building, keeping the cloak tight around his face. He had been here so many times that he didn�t
bother with reading any of the directional signs. He knew exactly where he was going. It only took him a few minutes to get to the
all too familiar admittance desk with the pretty witch behind it.

�Audrey,
I�d like to see Healer Fowler if it�s not a problem.�

�Well,
Derrick. It�s been a while. Are you feeling ok? You don�t look well.� Audrey asked honest concern in her
voice. She looked down at the parchment
that was spread around her desk, and then back up at him. �You�re in luck. He has an opening in two hours. Will that be ok?�

Two
hours? What was he going to do two
hours? �Yeah, that will be fine. I guess I�ll be back then.�

Derrick
turned and left the hospital. A smile
crossed his face as he realized what he would do with part of those two
hours. He quickly made his way to an
Apparition point for Hogsmeade. He was
nearly out of Floo Powder, but there was something else that he knew he really
wanted to do, and he could only do it there.

Several
minutes later, Derrick Malloy found himself sitting at the bar of the Three
Broomsticks enjoying a steaming bowl of Vampire Bat Stew and a bottle of
Butterbeer. He didn�t
know how he knew it, but he knew that the warm delight was only available at a
certain time of the year, since bats are always the most tender in the late
fall and it was the only time they were caught and killed. He also knew that it was one of his favorite
dishes, and that it was some of the best he had ever had.

He had
eaten most of the bowl when a searing pain ripped through his skull. Derrick dropped the spoon with a clatter, and
pressed his hands against his head. The
pain was incredible and Derrick fought not to cry out. Then, just as suddenly the pain stopped. Derrick caught his breath and tried to
collect his wits.

That
settled it. There was something
wrong. There had to be.

He threw
some money on the counter and made his way to the door, dodging several groups of
rambunctious kids who were sitting around, laughing and drinking
Butterbeer. He wondered why there were
so many children running around, and wondered if maybe there was a school
nearby.

He made his way out into the brisk November air, and found Mad Marin�s
Magical Needs and went inside. It only
took him a few minutes to find the Floo Powder that he wanted but it took him a
little longer to get the counter to pay for it.
There were a lot of kids here as well.
Some were buying owl treats, a few were buying parchment.

Finally
being able to pay for his powder, he left and again had to dodge a group of
kids. Hogsmeade was busier than it
usually was, with school-aged kids everywhere.
He made his way back down the road, hoping to get to an apparition point
quickly.

Ginny and
Hermione had just left Gladrags Wizardwear,
each of them carrying a package.

�Hermione, that robe looks just great on you. And Drake�s new robes will look so cute on
him.� Ginny gushed.

�Yes, and
he�ll love the little fire-breathing dragons on the front.� Hermione agreed with her. �I think that your
dress robe for the winter ball is just perfect.
Simon won�t know what hit him.�

Ginny
smiled and nodded in agreement. �Hey, I
could really go for a Butterbeer. How
about a quick one, and then we�ll head back to school?� Hermione smiled and followed her friend in
the direction of the pub.

Ginny
quickly wove her way in and out of her fellow students. It was really crowded, probably due to the
nice weather. She knew Hermione would be
behind her and that she knew the way as well as Ginny and didn�t bother to look
behind her.

A strange
sensation washed over Ginny. Every part
of her began to tingle. She stopped dead
in her tracks, and looked around, wondering if she was the only one who felt
it. Everyone around her continued with
whatever they were doing, ignoring the petite redhead. Hermione stopped behind her too, and put a
hand on her shoulder.

�Ginny, are
you ok? Is there something wrong?� Hermione asked.

Ginny
nodded. �Yeah, I�m fine, but something�s
not right.� Ginny continued looking
around, trying to place this odd sensation.

And then it
happened. Ginny turned and saw a man
walking towards them. Somehow he looked
familiar. She studied him, trying to
place him. Maybe he was someone from the
Ministry.

The man continued to walk towards
them, his eyes down.

Maybe he was a parent of one of her
classmates.

With every step he took Ginny
became more and more certain that she knew who he was.

It was in the split second that he
walked by that Ginny knew.

The man from the
bar.

From Ron and
Lavender�s wedding reception.

The one who had
cried when Hermione sang.

Ginny reached out and grabbed the
man�s arm as he passed. �Excuse me,
sir? Do I know you?�

The man stopped,
his eyes wide with shock. He tried to tug his arm away, but Ginny�s grasp was
tight.

�Uh no, I don�t think so.� The man looked upset now, and tried a little
harder to release his arm from her grasp.

Hermione studied her friend and was concerned with the way
she was acting. �Ginny, what are you
doing?�

Derrick
heard Hermione speak, and looked up. His
eyes went wide, and his mouth opened. He
stared at her and stopped struggling to free his arm. �You. I know you.�

Ginny let
go of the man�s arm when he started talking to her friend.

Derrick
stepped closer to Hermione. It was the
woman from his dreams. He couldn�t
believe it.

Hermione
started to take a step backwards, but realized she had no where to go. �I�m sorry; sir, but I don�t know you.� Even
as she said it, a part of her started screaming at her �yes, you do!�

Derrick
took another step towards her, his hand reaching out to her. He couldn�t believe it. She was live and real and in the flesh and
right in front of him.

His hand
finally connected with her forearm and the man�s expression quickly changed
from one of bewilderment to one of pure pain.
He screamed, still keeping his grasp on her arm.

Seconds
later he passed out, still gripping Hermione�s arm.

�You�re going to go, aren�t you?� Hermione asked; it was half a question, half
a statement.

Draco ran a hand through his blond
tresses. �Yeah, I should. I love my mom dearly. If she�s really calling for me, I need to go
to her.�

�What about your father? I mean, he�s upset. I know he�ll end up confronting you. Maybe I
should go with you.� Hermione told him.

�No, it�s alright sweetheart. I�ll go by myself and I�ll be extra careful
around him. The worst he can do is disown me. I�ll be
back safe and sound Sunday night, alright?�
He cupped her face in his hands, and looked deep into her eyes. She covered his hand with hers, and nodded.

Both of them dressed and made their
way to the portrait. He held her hand as
they walked the few feet.

�Draco, please be careful. I�ve got a really bad feeling about
this.� Hermione told him, the worry
plain in her eyes.

�I love you Hermione. I�ll be back soon.� He said, kissing her lips gently. He hesitantly pulled his hand from her grasp
and walked out of the portrait.

His mind was a whirlwind. He knew his father had done something to
her. It wouldn�t have been the first
time. A slap across
the face here, a punch in the stomach there. These were normal things in the Malfoy household
when he was growing up. His mother had
been more and more defiant with him over the years, and wondered if maybe that
was what had happened. He had probably
started to berate her for something, and she told him to go to hell. His beatings were incredibly harsh, as his
father could perform wandless magic and was exceptionally quick. By the time you would think about grabbing
your wand, he would already have you pinned to the floor, with you begging for
him to stop.

After grabbing his cloak, Draco
quickly made his way off of school grounds so he could Apparate to Malfoy
Manor. The usual booby traps and wards
that were set up around the Manor weren�t up, which concerned Draco, but only
for a few seconds. His father knew for
certain that he would be returning. His
sixth sense told him that it was a bad thing, but he pushed it aside with
thoughts of his mother.

He
quickly made his way into the house he grew up in, unsure of where to look
first. He didn�t exactly want to call
out and announce his presence just yet.
He made his way to the bedroom that his mother shared with his
father. He slowly opened the door, and
when he saw the lifeless shape on the bed, he threw the door open the remainder
of the way. He rushed to the bed and
knelt beside it, taking his mothers hand in his.

�Mother,
what did he do to you?� His voice came out in a barely heard whisper. Draco
gasped when he saw his mother�s eyelids flutter for just the briefest of
seconds.

Her
voice was like nothing he had ever heard in his life.

�Draco�stop�father�please��
and he knew that his mother was gone.
The tears streamed down his face as he mourned his mother�s loss. He knelt by her side for a few minutes, unable
to rise being so overcome with grief.

He
screamed, loudly. Partly rage, partly
sorrow. He screamed for his mother and
for himself. He knew without a doubt that his father had killed her.

�Aww�
is the little boy lost now without his mommy?�
He heard Lucius�s voice from behind.

Draco rose to face him, daring to look
him directly in the eye. �You cocksucker! You
killed her! You fucking killed
her!� Draco�s fists rose to grab his
father�s shirt, and roughly yanked it towards him. �What was it you always told me? An eye for an eye?� Draco pushed his father away with such force
that it scared both of them. Lucius
landed on the ground with an unceremonious thump, and for a brief moment Lucius
actually looked scared.

�Boy, I�m going to forget that you
did that to me and blame it on the fact that you are distraught over your
mother�s death, and lost control of your actions.� His father stepped towards him and the two
men stood nose to nose, glaring at each other.

Draco stepped away from his father
and scowled. �I�m going to bury my mother, and then I�m going back to
school. I never want to see you ever
again. Stay out of my life, and stay
away from me and my wife.�

Lucius laughed out loud. �Wife? What, you mean that mudblood that you�ve been
fucking? Son, I would think you had better taste. Although I think both of us have slummed the
gutters a time or two.� And Lucius made a motion with his eyes towards
Narcissa.

�Go to hell Lucius.� Draco turned and left the room, walking the
familiar path to his own room. He
slammed the door shut and went to his desk.
He would write a quick owl to Hermione, and then he would take care of
his mother�s body. He would deal with
his father later.

He had just pulled out a piece of
parchment and quill to start his letter when he heard a loud explosion from
downstairs, followed by shouting.
Following the voices, he went to the top of the stairs. He found his father and Professor Snape with
their wands drawn and pointed at each other.

�You killed her, didn�t you,
Lucius?� Severus spat at him.

�She fell down the stairs! Why do you think I had something to do with
it?� Lucius asked her.

�Maybe because of
this.� He reached into his cloak
pocket and pulled out a roll of parchment, obviously a letter. He unrolled it, keeping one eye on Lucius the
entire time.

�Severus, please hurry.� He began to
read out loud. �I think he�s using Rapio Animus, but I still can�t prove
it. I can hear Muggles screaming from
the dungeons, but I can never find them.
He�s constantly talking to himself and never sleeps. When I confront him about his unusual
behavior, he becomes distant, then incredibly violent. Please help me Severus. You and he have
served the Dark Lord together for so long.
He confides in you and trusts you. I can�t do this by myself.�

�You have any idea who might have
written this, Lucius? Narcissa wrote this to me earlier today. Isn�t it funny that she�s dead only a few
short hours after writing it?� He
stepped closer to Lucius and put the letter back into his pocket. �She was right, wasn�t she? You�re actually trying to use Rapio Animus
to bring Voldemort back to life. I don�t
really care if you kill Muggles, but not like that. That�s too cruel, even for them.�

Lucius sneered at the man who had
been his friend for many years.
�Severus, even I am not that inhuman to torture those dirty Muggles like
that. I believe that what Narcissa heard was one of my mistresses screaming out
in pleasure.� Lucius noticed that Severus�s wand dropped ever so slightly as he tried to
think it through in his head.

�Giving me my heir nearly killed
her. The Healers were never able to
repair the damage that Draco did to her.
She knew that I had been sleeping with other women. She has known it for some time and
undoubtedly ignored it because she knew that she could not help me. I believe that this is what Narcissa heard,
and she overreacted.�

Severus�s
wand wavered once more and Lucius saw his chance. He quickly raised his wand and shouted
�Obliviate!� at the man�s form. He
crumpled to the floor.

Draco watched as his father reached
into the other man�s
cloak and extracted the parchment within. He waved his wand at the document, making it
disappear. He waved his wand at the
fallen form and it rose slowly into the air.
He put the unconscious man on the couch in the sitting room. Draco remained frozen in place when he heard
a scream coming from the basement. His
father quickly came out of the sitting room and made his way to the basement
door, obviously headed for the dungeons within.

Draco quickly got to his feet and
made his way to the library. The spell
that Professor Snape had mentioned sounded oddly familiar, but he couldn�t
remember from where. He knew that he should
leave now, while his father was distracted, but his curiosity about the spell
won out. He began looking through the
books in the �Dark Art� section of the library, not seeing anything that stood
out. He found the one book that he had
been looking for and noticed that it was pulled off of the shelf a little
farther than the rest. It had been used
recently. He pulled the book from the
shelf and quickly began flipping through the pages.

The page he wanted was marked and he
wondered if it has been a clue from his mother.
Rapio Animus was the last spell on the bottom of the page and he quickly
skimmed through the basics of the spell.

�Rapio Animus was banned early in
the sixteenth century and anyone caught using the curse will be immediately
executed. Rough Latin translation means
to steal the soul. First used by
Winifred Closely in 1498 when she tried to remove the
soul of her husband and replace it with her cat. Extremely complex and very dangerous spell,
as playing with people�s souls is deadly, especially if the soul does not want
to be moved. If the soul is not of free
will, it will be destroyed.�

Draco�s heart began to race. His mother was right. That was exactly what his father had been
doing. The voices screaming in the
basement had been his father�s victims.
He was trying to steal Muggles� souls and trying to bring Voldemort back
to a corporeal state. Draco shuddered as
he realized the enormity of what his father had done.

He was playing god.

Feeling the fury rise within him,
Draco threw the book onto the floor, and quickly made his way to the
basement. He would have one last show
down with his father before he contacted the Minister of Magic to have his
father committed.

The basement was dark and cold as he
made his way down the stairs. He could
hear voices from all around him but he was only searching for one in
particular. He walked towards the room
that he knew his father was in because the door was standing wide open.

Wondering if he was walking into a
trap, he drew his wand. He slowly looked around the room, searching for his
father. His eyes grew wide with horror
as he saw the bodies in the corner. His
father was nowhere to be seen. He
cautiously made his way farther into the room.
He noticed a young boy chained to the wall and felt his stomach
lurch. The boy�s bones were obviously
missing.

It became overwhelmingly obvious to
Draco that his mother had been right.
His father had been trying to steal the bodies of Muggles for Voldemort,
and he apparently only had use for the bodies themselves. Draco�s horror quickly became rage as he tried
to comprehend how his father could be so heartless. He knew that his father hated Muggles, but
this was inexcusable.

Draco�s wand flew out of his hand
and he whirled around to find his father staring at him. Both wands were now pointed in his direction,
and Draco cursed at himself for letting his guard down.

�I prefer the homeless ones. Much less fussy. They�re usually pretty desperate for a hot
meal and a warm bed. They all promise me
they won�t scream or cry or beg. And
they all do. This boy lasted for almost
2 hours. I was actually quite
impressed.� Lucius told his son.

�This is why you killed mother,
isn�t it? Because she
found out. She knew about this
and threatened to turn you in, didn�t she?�
Draco asked his father.

His father laughed and Draco almost
shivered. It was a noise that Draco had
never heard his father make. Almost bordering on maniacal, Draco thought. He tried to back away, wondering how safe he
really was and suddenly understanding why he had killed his mother, and
attacked Professor Snape, not to mention killing innocent Muggles. Trying to return the Dark Lord to power was
driving him to the brink of insanity.

�Father, this is crazy. You need to stop doing this. I don�t always agree with everything the Ministry
does, but generally when they outlaw a spell it�s because it�s too dangerous.�
Draco said, trying to reason with him.

�Nonsense, boy. The Ministry is run by a bunch of old fools
who are too blind to see the absolute power they could have. When I return the Dark Lord to life, our
world will be rid of those stupid mudbloods and
Muggles and the Malfoy�s will be the strongest family in all of
wizarding.� Lucius told him.

�You�ll be ruling by yourself
then. I don�t want anything to do with
it. I�m going back to school to be with
my fianc�e. Have fun.� Draco turned and walked toward the door, not
knowing if his father would really strike.

Before he realized what was
happening, he found himself lying on the floor.
His father had struck him with the Cruciatus
Curse, and he refused to scream out. He
was hit with the spell over and over again, each attack worse than the
last. Just before he felt himself loose
consciousness, he felt his father�s boot connect with his head.

He opened one eye, and then the
other. He saw someone staring out the
window, wrapped in a heavy looking cloak.
The person began to pace around the room, and he squinted, trying to
figure out who it was. The shape looked
oddly familiar and he knew he knew who it was.
He tried to concentrate, and let out a gasp as a wave of memories
flooded him all at once. He winced as it
almost became too much for him to handle.
His brain fought to handle everything and sort it into its proper
place.

Then
suddenly, the pain stopped. He let out
the breath that wasn�t aware he had been holding and as carefully as he could
he tried to think of something.

He
carefully opened his eyes. The person
who had been pacing was now sitting on the edge of his bed. She was grasping his hand in hers, and tears
were streaming down her face.

He didn�t
know who she was. And
then her name popped into his head, and more than one memory that was
associated with that name. �Hermione?� he asked, his voice broken.

�Draco.� She smiled, and the dam that held her tears
broke. The tears were now flowing freely
and Draco brushed a hand against her cheek, wiping the moisture away. �How long have I been here?� he asked.

�Two
days. You�ve been unconscious since we
brought you in two days ago,� she told him.

�What
happened to me?� He closed his eyes and
tried to remember. Everything was still
fuzzy and he was fighting to sort out all of things in his mind when Hermione
responded.

�We�ve been
waiting for you to tell us. I can tell
you what the Healers and I do know.�

She took a
deep breath. �What we do know is that
you disappeared off the face of the earth over a year and a half ago. Everyone thought you were dead, including me. Your father was very convincing, and told
everyone who would listen that it was because you were so distraught over your
mother. The Ministry of Magic has reason
to believe that your father killed your mother, and so do I. We don�t know what happened after that. Two
weeks later you appeared in St. Mungo�s.
Well, it wasn�t exactly you, but the Healers are confident that it
was. A man named Lucas brought in a
young man who he referred to as his nephew, Derrick Malloy. He claimed that he was injured in a Muggle
automobile accident. The Healers who
admitted you that day said that you were nearly dead. The really funny thing is that no one
recognized you or Lucius. The doctors
are pretty confident that your father cast a very strong befuddlement charm on
you and himself so that no one would recognize either one of you. When I saw you, I didn�t even know who you
were.� She stopped and ran a hand through his hair. �The only thing that made me look twice was
your eyes. He couldn�t change your eyes,
or what�s behind them.� She squeezed his
hand and he squeezed back in an unspoken response.

A knock
sounded and without waiting for an answer, a Healer came into the room. He stayed back a respectable distance, not
wanting to interfere with the couple�s reunion.

�If Ginny
hadn�t grabbed you, I never would have found you. If I had any idea that you were alive, I
would have moved heaven and earth to find you, Draco.� Hermione continued.

He took a deep breath and told her his story.

His entire story. At first it was broken, the memories still
scattered. As he told the story the
memories fell into place and he spoke with more confidence. He told her what he had found when he went
back to the manor. How his father had
attacked him. How he remembered waking
up in the hospital with no memory. How his
uncle came to visit him every week to take him to therapy. How long and painful his recovery had
been. How his uncle had shown up one
day, and how there had been an obvious change in his attitude and
behavior. How he kept having the most
erotic dreams about a beautiful brunette and when he realized that he couldn�t
remember who she was, he decided it was time to disobey his uncle�s wishes and
get medical attention.

�I was on
my way back to St. Mungo�s when Ginny stopped me.� Draco told her.

�It was the
Memory Stone that made you collapse.�
Hermione told him. She reached
into the drawer of the nearby bedside table and pulled out a large brown stone
on a chain.

Draco
recognized it immeadetly. �My Uncle� My father gave that to me a few
weeks ago. It was the last time I saw
him. He told me that I needed to wear it
at all times. He said something about a
family heirloom; that my father had given it to my mother. I don�t remember ever seeing it before then.�

She
continued her story. �When your father
came back to Hogwarts after you had left, he told me that he and your mother
were both Seers. He said that you were
one too.�

Draco
nodded in agreement. �My mother told me
that her and father were both Seers, and that I had inherited their gift. She told me she didn�t want to train me until
I was out of school. She said the
training could be strenuous. I admit,
there were some times when I was able to read your mind, but it was only
general feelings most of the time.�

Hermione
smiled at him. She had wondered why he
had never told her this part of his past, and felt better now that she knew his
reasoning behind it. She continued,
�When you collapsed, Ginny almost thought that you were having a heart attack
because of your reaction. She ripped
open your shirt and found the stone on a chain and it was giving off the
strangest glow. The Memory Stone was
thought to have been destroyed several years ago. Apparently the stone has many side effects.
This was supposed to be one of the reasons that the stone was ordered to be
destroyed. I did some reading while you
were being tended to. The stone becomes charmed to make the person forgot
various things. From what I can tell, it
looks like Lucius tried to make you forget your life, up until the point where
you became Derrick. It�s very unstable
magic, and it�s part of the reason why the �Obliviate�
spell was created. �

The Healer interjected at this
point. �After hearing your story, I�m
pretty confident that I can make things a little more clear. We�ve been able to detect the befuddlement
charms, and there are trace residues of memory charms buried in your
subconscious. We�ll don�t know for sure,
but we think that your father cast memory charms on you. Your father would have
had to recast these, or there effectiveness could not be guaranteed. My thinking is that he visited you every
week, but not just to bring you in for your therapy. He most likely also brought you in so that he
could remain in contact with you long enough to cast another spell.� The Healer paused, and then continued. �If your father knew he wouldn�t be able to
give you the spell again, the memory stone would have the same long term
affects as the spell. But what your
father did not stop to think about was the fact that you are indeed a
Seer. As soon as the stone came in
contact with you, the stone started a war with your subconscious. It�s obvious that your love for Hermione runs
so deep that the spell could barely keep your thoughts contained. When the stone came in contact with your
body, it was doing its job of trying to make you forget. But its affects were almost reversed. The stone made you forget,
which made your subconscious try all that much harder to remember. We think
that when you finally came in contact with Hermione, your Seer abilities kicked
in, and put you into
a sort of overload. The stone was
working twice as hard to try to make you forget those memories.�

The Healer paused, looking at the
two of them. �I�m sure that both of you
have many questions, and I�ll answer them as best I can. Frankly, I see no reason why you can�t leave,
but I would like you to stay at least tonight for observation. Yes Miss Granger you can have a bed
too.� He waved his wand and a
comfortable looking bed appeared right next to Draco�s. �If there are no problems I will let you go
tomorrow, but only if you promise to try to take it easy. Memories can be strange when they return all
at once.� The doctor shook Draco�s hand,
smiled at Hermione and left the room.

The two of them looked at each
other. Draco�s mood changed to
serious. �My father. He killed all of those people. My mother��
Hermione held up a hand to stop him.

Hermione sighed. �Your father dissapeared three weeks ago. The Ministry showed up at the manor to question
him and he Apparated.
They found the bodies and enough spell books and potions to keep them
busy for years. The Dementors and even a
team of Aurors were looking for him.�

�What about Professor Snape?� he
asked. �Is he alright?�

�He�s fine. He�s never mentioned anything about being at
the Manor that day, so I would assume that the Obliviate was successful.� She smiled before she continued. �I would
think he would have said something if he did.
We see each other every day at Hogwarts.
He�s still teaching Potions, and I�m the new Transfiguration
teacher.�

Hermione�s mood turned serious
then, knowing that it was up to her to deliver the bad news.

�Draco, there�s something
else. About your father� the Aurors
found him this morning. He hung himself
in a forrest just outside of
North Yorkshire.
He�s dead, Draco.�

Draco swallowed. Dead.
His father was dead. He closed
his eyes, and actually felt a sense of relief.

After a few minutes, he opened his
eyes and looked at Hermione.

He smiled as he spoke. �Speaking of death, I thought we made a pact
a few years ago that if one of us died the other one would join them, Romeo and
Juliet style.� Draco squeezed her hand,
making sure that she knew it was only a joke and he knew that it wasn�t a serious
pact.

Hermione thought for a second
before she replied. She knew that the
pact they had made so long ago was not serious but she knew that the invitation
was there, and she had been trying to think of a good way to break the news to
him. She smiled at him in return, and
tried to pick her words carefully.

�I did remember our pact, and
believe me I did think long and hard about it.
But a small technicality arose and I had to break my promise to
you. But I knew that you would have approved
anyway.�

�Technicality?� he asked. His heart started to race and he was scared
that what he was about to hear was bad news.

�Well, someone had to raise your
son,� she quickly told him. She waited
for a minute to let the words sink in, and then smiled when his eyes lit up.

�Son? I have a son?
We have a son?� he asked. He
pulled himself off of the pillows and tried to get out of bed, but Hermione
stopped him. She turned towards the door
and said �Ginny?�

A few short seconds later, the
familiar redhead strode into the room.
In her arms was the most beautiful creature Draco had ever laid his eyes
on. Ginny handed him to his mother and
he went without fuss. Hermione turned
him around and he faced his father for the first time.

�Draco, this is Drake
Alexander. Drake, this is your
daddy.�

Draco couldn�t stop the tears that
streamed down his face. He held his arms
out towards his son and Drake went into them.
His father looked at him and was obviously overcome with emotion.

�Hermione, he�s beautiful. He looks so much like you.� Draco told her after a few moments.

�I think he looks like you. When he was first born, it hurt me to look at
him sometimes. But then he started to
remind me of all the great times we had together and I knew that he was a
symbol of our love and I had to go on for his sake.� Hermione was incredibly happy with Draco�s
reaction to his son.

The
strangest thing was that the baby was the only one in the room with a dry
eye.

Draco was
definitely a formidable figure, standing on the hill top. Before him were two gravestones, both of them
marked. He was crying again and he hated
that sign of weakness. But he knew that
it was more in relief than sorrow.
Relief that the suffering was finally over.

Draco saw
someone approaching out of the corner of his eye and turned his head. Hermione waved at him, the gold wedding band
on her hand glistening in the afternoon sun. Drake has just started walking,
and his steps were still unsteady at best.
Mother and son eventually made their way to the lone man, and Hermione
took his hand in hers.

The couple
stood, both of them reflecting on their own memories of the two bodies there
before them.

Several
minutes later, Draco spoke. �I forgive
you, father. But I will never forget.�

Hermione
smiled at him, and he smiled back. Draco
picked up his son and the reunited family began the walk back to their house,
past the charred remains of Malfoy Manor. Draco had ordered it destroyed and
said that the rubble was to remain exactly as it was, as a reminder for
everyone.

�How is my
baby today?� Draco asked his wife,
glancing at her stomach even though there was no evidence of the life within.

�Your child
is just fine. I�m just glad you�ll be
here for this one Draco.� Hermione told
him.

�Whoa, wait
a minute.� Draco smiled and winked,
letting his wife know that he was just joking.
�You never know, I might be away on business. You know, a Muggle relations liaison�s work
is never done,� Draco told her.

�Over my
dead body, Draco Malfoy,� she smiled and winked back at her husband. They continued the short walk to their new
house with their arms wrapped around the other.
- 1
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A disguise can\'t fool the heart