Harry Potter - Series Fan Fiction ❯ To Find You Again ❯ Chapter Eighteen ( Chapter 18 )

Author's Notes: This is probably a bit short for my normal chapters. I wanted to get something out before I head back to work tomorrow.

This story has at least two more chapters and maybe an epilogue before it wraps up.

I would like to take a moment to the following songs that seemed to spark my muse into writing this chapter:

Don't Walk Away by ELO (Xanadu Soundtrack)
Silence Must Be Heard by Enigma
Smell of Desire by Enigma

The Fall by ELO (Xanadu Soundtrack)

To Find You Again

By Utena

Chapter Eighteen

The three settled in the small kitchen of Luna’s cottage. A tray of tea placed as a centerpiece in front of them. Luna took her seat across from Pansy, who was glaring daggers at the Boy Who Lived. Pansy had been told the entire story of what had transpired that night at dinner and Pansy, of course, had been less than happy to learn that She-Weasel had been the problem between Luna and Blaise. Pansy had never liked any of the Weasels and she had liked the Golden Trio even less.

That had been until they had kicked out Hermione from their group. It had been Pansy who had approached Granger that evening. For the dark-haired woman, she had been surprised she had even bonded with the Know-It-All and that the two of them had become good friends. It had been through this friendship that Pansy had taken off her rose-colored glasses and seen the Wizarding World with bright, fresh eyes. At that moment, she broke away from her family’s traditions and prejudges to become a member of the Order of the Phoenix.

There had been times that Pansy had been furious with the way they had treated Granger as if she were some leper that they needed to remove from their colony. There had been times that Pansy’s wand had come to the defense of Granger against the Weasleys. She even made sure those idiotic twins a lesson in warfare.

A smirk tugged on her lips as she remembered the two boys coming down the stairs glowing in so many different colors. That had been by Pansy’s hands, thank you very much, and she had been extremely proud of her work.

After the war, Pansy had long decided it was time to see the world. She had lived her life too long under the rule of the pureblood rule and she needed to find her own path. Although it pained her immensely to do so. She had fallen in love, but she knew it would never be returned.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Pansy’s dark eyes drew once more to the Boy Who Lived to Cause Problems and broke the silence that hung over them like a thick blanket, “You want to tell us why you look so pitiful, Potter?”

Harry’s emerald green eyes snapped toward the former Slytherin and could see the anger burning in her eyes. He flinched knowing that anger was directed at him for so many things in the past and ones he wished more than anything he could take back.

“I want to see Hermione,” he said softly. “I want to apologize for everything I have done to her.”

“Is it not a little too late for that, Potter?” Pansy growled looking over at Luna, who seemed to be in deep thought. “You ostracized her and were just as compliant in what She-Weasel and Weasel King whispered in your ear. You let them close her out of the Order. All because of why, Potter. Ah yes, all because you wanted to believe in that fairytale of She-Weasel and you being the next Lily and James Potter. So how did that fantasy turn out?”

There was silence in the kitchen. It weighed heavily upon their shoulders as if this had been building up for quite some time and in a way, Luna decided, it had. Things had never been an ending once the war had been over. None of them had been given the chance to establish their own identities that would separate them from the beliefs of their families.

And it was apparent that Pansy had all of this bottled up inside of her. What Luna did not understand was why all her anger had been directed at Potter. Hermione had been one reason, but this anger of Pansy’s seemed to stem from something else that she had been keeping hidden within her. Would it boil over into this standoff between them? Luna could only surmise it possibly would.

“I wonder what everyone would say if I spilled your secret, Potter,” Pansy remarked with a gleam in her dark eyes. “I wonder what the entire Wizarding World would view you if they knew.”

Harry looked over at Pansy. His face paling at her words. He was not ready for everyone to know what he had been hiding all this time. He opened his mouth hoping to halt her from spilling it, but it was going to be too late.

“Luna, did you know that Harry has a child outside of his marriage to She-Weasel?” She asked tearing her gaze from Potter and looking over at the blond woman, who wore a confused expression upon her face.

“Pansy, don’t,” Harry whispered not wanting anyone to know right now.

“Why not? Ashamed?” Pansy could feel her anger rebuild itself toward the Boy Who Could Not Die. Her hand itched to reach for her wand and hex the hell out of him.

“What’s going on?” Blaise demanded from the doorway. He was surprised to find both Pansy and Potter sitting at the kitchen table. He had not expected to see any of them.

Wait – scratch that, he expected to see Pansy, not Potter here.

But there seemed to be much more hostility from Pansy than he had ever seen. Whatever it was, Pansy was about to spill it.

“How is she doing?” Narcissa Malfoy inquired upon their arrival at St. Mungo’s. Her winter blue eyes seeking both her son and daughter-in-law for answers.

“Mother,” Draco greeted and drew his attention to the man standing behind her, “Father.”

“They took her an hour ago, so we don’t know what her condition is at the moment,” Hermione replied worriedly.

“No one has come down to see you both?” Lucius inquired furrowing his brows together. He would have thought they would have at least given them some sort of update by now.

Draco shook his head in answer. He moved his arm to wrap around his wife’s waist.

“Perhaps we should go get dinner somewhere,” Narcissa suggested glancing between her son and husband.

“We should do that,” Hermione agreed. She had not realized that she was hungry until Narcissa mentioned dinner. She and Draco had not eaten all day and had spent most of the majority here at St. Mungo’s.

“There is a small little restaurant not far away from here,” Lucius remarked ushering his little family toward the entrance of the hospital. For him, it would be good to get them out of here and let them have a moment to relax and push away the worry. He knew his son and daughter-in-law had the most to worry about, but he had the utmost confidence in the healers here. He knew they would take care of Rose while they were away.

Lucius only paused briefly to tell the receptionist in front that they would be gone for an hour…that any emergency Rose faces must be delivered quickly to them at the restaurant.

The receptionist, who knew enough about the Malfoys, simply nodded her head in fear and promised that they would seek them out quickly.

With that, the family departed St. Mungos for the restaurant nearby.

Astoria Greengrass had been watching them from her place nearby. She had seen the worry and fear that etched itself upon the faces of Draco and Hermione as the two of them waited for word on their daughter’s condition. It was only a matter of time before the elder counterparts arrived and she was not disappointed when Narcissa swept in a flurry of blue and gold followed by Lucius Malfoy in black and gold.

Astoria rolled her eyes. There was never a hair out of place on them. The two elder Malfoys always looked pristine as if they had stepped out of one of those expensive Wizarding magazines.

As she watched the exchanged, she found herself envying the way they had treated Granger – like she had never left and had always been by her husband’s side.

In truth, it should be her there. It should be her baby they are concerned and fretting over. It should be her Draco clings to and whispers softly in her ear.

Astoria’s eyes narrowed at the family in front of her. She was going to make all of them pay for it and she would make sure that Rose would be the one to pay. All she had to do was wait for Gregory and he should be coming down soon to see her. She knew he was currently helping them. She had seen him briefly before they had called him up to the children’s floor.

“Once I find out where they place her, I will tell you,” he had promised her before heading toward the lift.

So here she was waiting for his word to head where they would place Rose. After all, she was sure it would be quite sometime before the Malfoys returned.

Gregory Goyle watched them wheel the young Malfoy girl out of surgery and toward the selected rooms they had made available for her. It was to be a large suite big enough to let both parents stay while she recovered. He knew his old friend would probably be spending a lot of time up here. Draco had always wanted children and now that he had a daughter, he could only bet that he probably protective of the child.

Gregory could not blame him. After all, if he were in Draco’s shoes, he would be doing the same. Though he could not understand, however, was when Granger had given birth. He would have remembered hearing something about it. Had they decided to give birth at the manor? It was the choice of many families before and after the whole Wizarding War. He, himself, had been birthed at Goyle manor.

Gregory shrugged his shoulders as he lumbered into the suite room and watched the healers’ flurry about the room to prepare droughts and medicines to keep the girl comfortable.

“Gregory, head downstairs and see if the Malfoys are there and let them know they can come up now,” Healer Natasha Romanov ordered.

Gregory nodded his head and headed out of the room and toward the set of lifts that would carry him down to the main floor.

Chapter End