"Hermione, please."
The very same week, I had gone down to the ministry to talk to Hermione, seeing as she is the minister of magic.
I had received a letter from Malcolm's lawyer and after breaking down while reading it, I decided to come here.
Hermione turned around to face me with a sigh.
"There is nothing I can do, Dahlia." She said. "I'm sorry. I can't imagine how hard this is for you, but if your ex-husband is dragging you to court for custody, you'll have to wait and see."
I took a deep breath, shaking my head.
"I can't lose my daughter. You're the minister. There must be something you can do."
"I'm really sorry, but no. It isn't up to me. We always vote in the courtroom. The result depends on how many people vote in that room."
I placed my hands on my hips, taking another deep breath.
"So either I give in and give him custody, or I go to court?" I asked. "That's my only options?"
Hermione nodded. She looked at me with such pity that I felt like I had already lost.
"Alright, tell me... what is my chances of winning?" I asked.
"I honestly don't know. He's rich. He can afford one of the best lawyers."
"We've got money." I said. "We can get a good lawyer."
"I know you can." She nodded. "But it's a pretty well known fact that the Baddock family have never lost a case. I think you should just settle."
"No." I said quickly. "I'm not settling. I'm going to court but I need to know how I can win against him."
Hermione took a step towards me, pressing her binders to her chest.
"Dahlia... just... tell us the truth." She said. "Show us proof of what he did to you while you were married. I believe you but everyone else needs to see it as well. Talk about his history with alcohol, all of that. Don't lie, don't keep things from us... oh, and stay away from him until the trial. Don't talk to him, because you'll get angry and you'll give him something he can use against him."
I nodded.
"Thank you."
She offered me a smile before turning away to continue to wherever she was headed to before I interrupted her.
I hid my face in my hands for a moment, gathering myself before I could go home.
I let the door close behind me before I pushed off my shoes. I wiped my eyes clean from the few years before wrapping my arms around myself as I made my way through the house to the kitchen.
George was sitting at the table, drinking a cup of tea while staring out the window.
"Where're the twins?" I asked, causing him to look up at me.
"Napping."
"And Fred?"
"He's out." He breathed. "What did Hermione say?"
I walked over to take a seat next to him.
"No Baddock has ever lost a case."
"One time has to be the first." He said confidently, taking a sip of his tea.
"George..."
"Don't tell me you believe he's going to win?" He asked and looked at me. "Don't go there. We're winning this fucking case and somehow, we're gonna make Leah see who truly wants what's best for her."
He stood up, angrily walking into the kitchen to put the cup down.
I was shaking.
My conversation with Hermione kept replaying in my mind.
The reality of the situation was that Malcolm had money. A whole lot more than we had and money could get you a long way.
"None of this is her fault." I said, shaking my head. "She's only eleven. She wants to believe in him. It's like you said... she's pushing me away."
"And Malcolm is just managing to manipulate the fuck out of her." George said, his voice full of anger. "Who messes with the brain of a child? That girl has been through hell! What she needs is a stable home with stable parents. She needs you, yet he's brainwashing her and turning her against you. He's ruining her!"
"George..." I breathed, looking at him as he turned around.
"What?" He asked. "It's true, isn't it? And by the look of it, you've already given up, haven't you?"
"No." I cried, shaking my head. "I haven't. I'm just so tired of always fighting him and fighting for the right to be my children's mother. I've never done them any wrong. I love them and I've always done my best to keep them safe. I've sacrificed so much and everything I've ever done has been for the sake of them and now I'm losing Leah. All because I fell in love with this older guy when I was thirteen... all because he groomed me, married me, got me pregnant. All of this is happening because of decisions that my teenage self made, and now it's all fucked."
I rested my elbows on the table, hiding my face in my hands as I let it all out. All of these emotions that I was feeling.
Shortly after, I felt George pull me into his embrace, holding me to calm me down.
It felt nice having his arms wrapped around me. It did eventually calm me down, but George didn't dare to let go of me.
"He's not winning." He whispered against my hair, pressing a kiss to my head. "You need to believe in that. We'll hire the best possible lawyer from the ministry and we're gonna fight him like crazy."
I let out a shaky breath, opening my eyes as I brushed my hand over his arm, dragging my nails over his skin.
"I'm really scared." I said. "I can't lose her."
"You won't." He said quickly. "We won't. Leah is coming home from Christmas in three months and she'll be with us because we will have won the case by then, do you hear me?"
I nodded.
"Malcolm may have more money than we do, but you have so much evidence against him." He said. "So many witnesses and two months of being sober isn't going to convince an entire court to give him custody."
"I have pictures from when he beat me up." I said. "The time that you came over at the start of our relationship."
"The ones Inez made you take?"
I nodded against his chest.
"I've got them hidden somewhere in case I'd ever need them for proof."
I could feel George smile against my hair.
"Good." He chuckled. "Those will be useful."
I tilted my head back slightly to look at his face.
"What do you think Elsie is going to say?"
Malcolm wasn't suing for custody for both of the girls — just Leah.
Elsie didn't want him as a father but I was still so scared that she was going to feel even worse after finding out that her dad won't even try to fight for her.
"I don't know, darling." George sighed, brushing his knuckles over my cheeks to wipe the tears away. "But I think you should talk to her when you see her. It's important that she knows what's going on."
