Harry Potter - Series Fan Fiction ❯ To Find You Again ❯ Chapter Eight ( Chapter 8 )

To Find You Again

By Suseh

Chapter Eight

“Thank you, Healer McCory,” Draco said preparing to step out of the floo system, “I will see you within the week. Thank you.”

Stepping out, Draco ran a slender hand through his platinum blond locks and looked over at Blaise, who seemed to be in deep thought. The two of them had said nothing to each other since Hermione had fled from the office. He was, in part, thankful his friend had been here because he knew things would have blown up far worse than it had. But he was still angry. Still believed he had every right to be angry at Hermione for keeping Rose from him.

Moving back toward his desk, he reached down to take the picture that his wife had left behind. He could not believe that he was a father. He could not get over how much Rose looked like both he and Hermione. Briefly, he wondered if such a notion had haunted Hermione and he could only surmise that it would have.

“What are you going to do?” Blaise’s inquiry broke through his thoughts causing Draco to shake his head momentarily.

“I will need to inform my parents of this,” he stated tiredly grabbing his jacket from the back of his chair and preparing to head out. “They need to be prepared for the surprise that will be at Hermione’s side. I am sure both my parents are going to be thrilled at that they are grandparents. My Mother has been hoping for years that I would find Hermione and give her grandchildren so she and Father could spoil them.”

“I am sure Lucius and Narcissa will be happy with the news of Hermione’s return,” Blaise pointed out leaning against his desk. “But do you think it would be a good idea of removing Rose from the one place she has become accustomed to? I mean, Hermione has a wonderful little cottage outside of London and it has great space for Rose to enjoy her life. Why don’t you move there?”

Briefly, Draco contemplated his words and then shook his head. “If Astoria is indeed behind the reason of Hermione’s decision to depart, then I want Rose at the manor for protection. The wards of the manor will not allow harm to come to the next heir to the Malfoy name, meaning any malicious content toward Rose would cast Astoria into a world of pain.”

“So, you believe Hermione?” Blaise inquired curiously.

“I – I don’t know,” Draco said honestly, “but I have every intention of finding out.”

The drive home, which would have taken less than twenty minutes, had been two hours. She had not meant to be gone so long especially when her biggest fear had been for Draco to find out where their daughter had gone to school. She had wanted to be home to intercept her estranged husband from integrating himself in Rose’s life. She did not want that for Rose. It would be too overwhelming for a little girl who was suffering from an illness. She would not know how such a revelation would affect her and Hermione did not want that.

But she also knew that Draco simply was not going to let this go. Oh, he would let her believe she had come out of their meeting unscathed. No, what he had in mind in the form of revenge was that they would reunite and resume their marriage as if nothing had ever happened. She could fight him on this matter, but she would not win. Malfoy had millions of galleons at his disposal should Hermione decide to go the route of divorce and he could easily bury her. She would be given no choice in the matter and if she wanted to save her daughter and cure her, she would have to play the game Malfoy had set out before her.

Hermione sighed closing the door of her car and moving up the path to the front door. She hated Blaise right now and hoped he was not with Luna. She did not want to see him nor discuss anything further with him. He had forced this upon her, offering her no other course to take and threatening to tell Draco if she did not. She had always told herself that she would tell Draco in time and maybe it had been the right push in the direction needed. It did not help her though. It gave her no relief. It simply returned her to a gilded cage.

Just as she made it to the door, it opened to relieve a worried Luna and Rose, who still peering out behind her godmother with an eye of curiosity.

“Momma!” Rose squealed in delight and ran from behind Luna to hug her now-crouching mother, who returned the warm welcoming hug.

“My dearest Rose,” she whispered peppering kisses on her daughter’s face, and she picked her up and carried her back inside the cottage. “Were you a good girl for Luna?”

“Of course,” Luna said coming up behind Rose to tickle her side. “She is always the best, ‘mione.”

Letting Rose back down, Hermione gave in to the demands of having pizza for dinner that evening and sent Rose to play while they waited for the pizza to arrive.

“How was it?” Luna asked finally once everything was all said and done.

“He knows and he is not at all in the best of moods,” she said sinking down into one of the chairs. “I have been given a day to set my affairs in order before he arrives to drag me back to the manor.”

Luna frowned. “But you have this place, he cannot think to take Rose from here. It has been the only home she knows.”

“Draco does not care,” Hermione groused miserable. “The stipulation for his help is that I return to the manor as his wife and we resume our marriage like nothing ever happened.”

“And how do you feel about this?” Luna asked tilted her head, trying to read her friend’s face. She could see the worry and fear setting in.

“I have no choice,” she sighed. “If I want Rose to see a healer at St. Mungo’s then I have to do what Draco wants.”

“What will you do about Astoria?”

“I am worried what Astoria might do when she finds out that Rose is Draco’s child,” Hermione frowned. “There is no telling what she will do but I have hope that Lucius and Narcissa will help to protect her from her.”

There was a pause as Luna sat down beside her worried friend and placed a comforting hand upon Hermione’s and offered her encouraging words, “Knowing that Lucius and Narcissa loved you, I think they are going to do everything possible to protect Rose from Astoria. If Astoria tries to do anything to harm her, I will pity her. Lucius is a former Deatheater and I am sure he knows tons of torture methods that would not come back to him.”

Hermione knew her best friend was right and smiled. “Thank you, Luna. I am so glad I have you in my life.”

Narcissa Malfoy paused in her reading. Her son was home and by the sound of his footsteps there was something that had angered him. Placing the bookmark in the middle, she closed her book and set it off the side. Lucius, on the other hand, seemed oblivious to the angry sounds and maybe her husband was used to the sounds. As a child, the angry sounds of her son’s footfalls often were followed by a rant of how the Golden Trio found some way or another to save the day or how Miss Granger had managed to one-up him on a test. Those had been the days that often caused Narcissa a delight because it told her that her son was in the first stages of being in love and not realizing it.

But with Hermione gone and hope of her return having since faded, Narcissa supposed that her son’s anger was due to something happening at work.

She did not have to wait long as her son entered the room and headed straight for the fire whiskey, pouring himself a drink and downing it one gulp. It was at this point that his behavior caught Lucius’ attention and places away the newspaper, neatly folding it and setting on his lap. A slender platinum brow rising.

“Since you have had your drink of courage, mind to explain to your mother and I why there was no civil greeting beforehand?” Lucius probed quite clearly annoyed by the disrespect his son gave them.

Draco turned his winter-blue eyes onto his father and narrowed them. “Forgive me, Father,” he remarked sarcastically, “but I do apologize for the blatant disrespect I have placed upon you.”

Lucius pressed his lips together in a disapproval look. He was in no mood for Draco’s attitude nor feeling like this was the time to garner an argument with his son. Whatever had bothered his son, they would soon learn.

Pouring himself another drink, Draco took another swig of his drink and fully drew back his attention to his parents, who seemed to be waiting patiently for him.

“I suppose you would love the news I have for you,” Draco began moving away from the serving table and to the fireplace. “I haven’t told you about the soiree that I attended a few nights ago. It seemed that there was a need for a set of investors for one of the prominent potion’s department. The owner of said department decided to lure in several investors, myself included. Well, during my rounds of meeting his top of the department, who should I come across? My dear estranged wife, Hermione. Wait, let me rephrase that: Ms. Jean Logan.”

“What?” Narcissa spoke confused. He had found Hermione. This was completely unexpected. She had never thought Draco would come across her. In fact, Narcissa had come to believe that Hermione had returned to the muggle world and stayed there.

“Yes, you heard correctly, Mother,” Draco announced. “I found her but that is not all. You see she came to me early today with a problem. You see she needed money. It was not to reconcile as one would hope. No, she needed money and whatever for? Surgery.”

“Surgery? Is something wrong with her?” Lucius asked worriedly.

“Not for her,” Draco assured his father. “No, the surgery was for a child.”

“A child?” Both Lucius and Narcissa questioned together confused.

“My child,” Draco informed them. “I have a daughter. Oh yes, you are grandparents.”

Narcissa was the first to feel excited about learning she was a grandmother. She had always hoped that any child Draco produced came from Hermione. It had been her wish since the moment the two of them married and now she had her wish, but then there was the question of surgery that neither she nor Lucius understood.

“Is there something wrong with the child?” It was Lucius who spoke up.

Draco fought with himself but in the end, he told them the truth. “She has a tumor and if she does not get the medical attention she needs, Rose could die.”

Chapter End