Isolation

Chapter 48: After

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Lucius Malfoy's body was discovered on May 6th, just four days after Voldemort was defeated by Harry Potter in what had become known as the Battle of Hogwarts.

Efforts to rebuild and restore Hogwarts to all her former beauty had commenced two days after the battle, and Professor Slughorn had found the body - or rather, some of it - under a fallen wall in the courtyard.

Beneath the rubble had been Lucius' left leg, some of his torso, and his Dark Mark-stained arm. The rest of his body wasn't found until the next day, when two Aurors stumbled across the rest of Lucius' corpse in Malfoy Manor.

With a select group of loyal and trustworthy Aurors, Shacklebolt and Mad-Eye had restored some semblance of legal order to the Wizarding World. This small makeshift Ministry of no more than fifty members was slowly tackling the widespread damage littered across the British landscape and rounding up the remaining Death Eaters, incarcerating them to await trail.

Shacklebolt had ordered that nobody enter Malfoy Manor in case Voldemort had been using any dark artifacts while he had been using it as his base that might injure anyone who should enter the grounds. After a few days of studying the Manor and testing its safety with some probing spells, the Aurors had been sent in to search the property and ensure it was secure.

They found the other half of Lucius inside the Manor. More specifically, inside Draco's bedroom.

Using the Prior Incantato spell, the Aurors confirmed what they had already suspected: Lucius Malfoy had attempted to Apparate from Hogwarts to the Manor and had fatally splinched.

Shacklebolt had informed Draco in person.

Draco had nodded his head once, clenched his jaw, and had simply said, "Okay."

Of course, the question had crossed Draco's mind: just why the hell had Lucius attempted to Apparate into his room? He'd probably never know, and he had forced himself not to torture himself with analysing all the possible scenarios.

Perhaps it was best he didn't know. There is a certain level of freedom with ignorance.

Two days later and he was still seemingly stoic as Andromeda fixed his black tie into a perfect knot around his neck with nimble fingers. They were both silent; he didn't comment on his aunt's chewed fingernails, and she didn't comment on his tense shoulders. Peering over her shoulder, Draco watched Teddy sleep soundlessly in his Moses basket, completely at peace. Ignorance is such bliss. Smoothing down his tie and tucking it behind the folds of his suit jacket, Andromeda sighed and offered him a weak smile.

"There," she said. "You look very smart in that suit."

"I should hope so. I feel like this is the only thing I've bloody worn for the past week. I might as well sleep in it."

It was an exaggeration, of course. In the week since the Battle of Hogwarts, Draco had attended three funerals; Remus and Tonks had been burried three days after the event, Ted had been buried the day after that, and then Theo had been buried beside him the day after that.

Four people, three funerals.

Draco had found out about Lucius' death just one hour after they had lowered Theo into the ground. When Draco thought back to that day, it was all a blur of drizzle, black clothes, and concerned brown eyes. Granger's eyes.