The only family I have Left.

Chapter 33

Night settled over St. Mungo's like a velvet curtain, pulling silence into every corner. The Healers had finally ushered everyone out, insisting Gracie needed rest. Even Lily and James were reluctantly convinced to take a proper meal downstairs.

But the moment the door clicked shut behind them, the room felt too still.

Too aware.

Gracie lay awake, staring at the faint reflection of moonlight in the window. Her chest rose and fell slowly, but her mind raced. The man in silver. His voice. His magic. It lingered like frost on the edge of her thoughts.

She wasn't alone for long.

A soft knock sounded at the door, not a healer's knock. Too cautious. Too hesitant.

"Come in," Gracie said quietly.

The door creaked open. Hermione stepped in first, her wand already lit with a dim, warm glow. Draco followed behind her, hands tucked into his pockets, eyes scanning the room as though checking for threats.

"I knew you weren't sleeping," Hermione said gently, pulling a chair up beside the bed.

"You felt it too?" Gracie asked.

Hermione exchanged a glance with Draco silent, knowing. "Magic that dark leaves traces," she said. "You've been through something powerful. We want to know exactly what you saw."

Gracie swallowed. Her fingers tightened around the blanket. "He... didn't have a face. Just a mask. Silver. Smooth. And when he touched me—" She shivered. "It felt like he was pulling something out of me."

Draco's jaw tensed. "Extraction magic. Rare. Illegal." He stepped closer, voice low. "He wanted something specific. Something you have."

Hermione rested a hand on Gracie's arm. "Did he say anything else? Anything at all?"

"Just..." Gracie's breath hitched. "'The key awakens when the past returns.'"

Hermione sat back, eyes narrowing in thought. "That's prophecy language."

"Wonderful," Draco muttered. "Because the world doesn't have enough of those."

Despite everything, Gracie let the corner of her mouth lift. Just barely.

A sudden metallic clatter echoed from the hallway.

Hermione stood instantly, wand raised. Draco moved in front of Gracie without hesitation, blocking her from view.

The hallway light flickered once, twice and then steadied.

"Probably a cart," Hermione murmured, though tension coiled in her voice.

But Gracie wasn't so sure. Her heart thudded in her chest, too fast, too loud. "He's here," she whispered.

Draco glanced back. "Who?"

She didn't know how she knew.

She just... knew.

"The man in silver," she said, voice trembling. "He's close."

Hermione tightened her grip on her wand. "We should get Lily and James."

Draco didn't look away from the door. "No. We don't leave her."

For a moment, the three of them stood in the dim room, breath held, waiting.

Then...

A shadow passed across the frosted glass window of the door.

Slow. Deliberate.

Hermione drew in a sharp breath. "Stay behind us," she whispered.

The door handle turned.

Gracie felt her pulse explode in her ears. Not again. Not here.

But when the door opened

It wasn't the man in silver.

It was Healer Browning, carrying two steaming potions and a clipboard. He blinked at the sight of Hermione and Draco standing like guards ready for battle.

"Er... everything all right?" he asked.

Hermione exhaled so suddenly it was almost a gasp. "Yes. Sorry. Just being cautious."

Draco lowered his wand, though he didn't fully relax. His eyes flicked once more to the hallway before stepping back.

The healer left after fussing over a few numbers and reminding Gracie to rest. When the door clicked shut again, silence returned.

But it wasn't the same silence as before.

It felt charged. Heavy.

Draco broke it first. "Gracie... if you feel something, anything again, tell us immediately."

"I will," Gracie promised.

Hermione smiled softly, brushing Gracie's hair back. "You're not facing this alone. And we'll figure out who he is and why he's after you."

Gracie nodded, letting the tension drain from her shoulders. She trusted them. Both of them. Even Draco, whose presence felt strangely steady. Protective.

"Thank you," she whispered. 

Hermione glanced at Draco again, and something warm flickered between them. A thread of understanding. Of something deeper neither of them dared name.

"We'll take turns checking in tonight," Hermione said. "You're safe."

Draco added quietly, "And whoever he is... he won't get to you again."

As they left, Gracie's eyes drifted back to the window.

The moon hung high, silver and bright.

But in its reflection on the polished floor tiles

Gracie saw a flash.

A shimmer of silver.

Faint.

Blink-and-you'll-miss-it faint.

Her breath stuck in her throat.

He was here.

And he wasn't done.