The Dragon's Treasure

Beltane Magic

"Have you seen the pictures?" Holly asked, passing a stack of glossy photos to Draco. "Fleur and Tonks look so happy. It's just a shame we had to miss it."

"Who gets married in Fall anyway?" Draco asked as he flipped through the photos.

He chuckled at one of Teddy dancing with Victoire. When they noticed the camera, both turned and stuck out their tongues with a silly grimace. Cissa plucked the pictures from his hand, tisking at his critique.

"Not everyone is of our social standing, or in our financial situation. Everything is more expensive in summer because it's the Pureblood social season. Their bonding was very tasteful. You shouldn't point fingers, half your friends didn't even have ceremonies."

Ginny chuckled at Draco's expense, shrugging her shoulders when he threw her his signature glare. "You can't scare me brother dearest. You're a softie."

"Only for you guys," Draco grumbled.

"Yes. I'm sure you scare many First Years."

"Children please calm yourselves," Lucius drawled. "They are coming over later to discuss their research. Please refrain from commenting on their choice to bond in fall."

Holly stifled a laugh behind her hand, and schooled her features.

"I promise to be on my best behavior if you promise to fly with me before Yule."

"Are you blackmailing me?" Lucius asked with amusement.

Holly smiled, "I'm negotiating."

"Fine," Lucius acquiesced, with a much put upon sigh.

Holly sat next to Hermione as they listened to reports on the Muggleborn children. She looked at Draco and Zach, who looked incredibly tense. She knew in every child they saw them, their soulmates, who had been neglected and hurt by their birth families.

"We need to take this to the Wizengamot," Tonks argued. "We've placed protections on all the children we've observed, but it's not enough. Not really."

Holly looked at Fleur piercingly. She was more sensitive than Tonks. Most of the children hadn't been the recipients of physical abuse. They had been more misunderstood, inadvertently neglected.

Still, it couldn't have been easy for her to witness. They had done what they could to protect the children without any legal authority.

Holly looked at the other Heirs. This kind of move was unprecedented. They had to be of one accord, or they would be laughed out of the Wizengamot. Neville was looking at the reports, his face hardening as he worked his way through them. He looked up at her, and nodded definitively.

"Call Mipsy," he instructed. "We'll need to work all night to come up with a proposal. Send an owl to Lord Shacklebolt and ask for an emergency meeting of the Wizengamot."

Holly nodded, doing as he said. Cedric was whispering to Luna as she wrote on a piece of parchment with a quill.

"Luna, maybe you should go to bed," Draco noted.

She gave him a glare worthy of the devil himself, and Draco stepped back several steps with his hands up. Cedric laughed at his expense as he looked at his wife.

"I'll go to bed in a few hours, but it's perfectly fine for a pregnant woman to stay up a bit late.

Merlin. I pity Holly when you get her pregnant."

Luna turned her attention back to Cedric, who diligently began scrawling all her thoughts down on the piece of parchment so that he would have them to refer to after she went to bed. Draco returned to Holly's side looking properly chastised.