With you in my Arms

49. He closed his eyes and embraced the darkness.

Darkness. Warm, comforting darkness. He groaned, remembering the last time he had found himself surrounded by this darkness. Nico's voice would intrude into this thoughts any moment now. The man he did hear had an unfamiliar timbre. It radiated strength and control. Definitely not Nico then.

"I want an Auror in here 24/7. No exception! If a healer wants to examine either of them he or she is under no circumstances left alone. I don't care about their ethics. I'm not going to risk their lives because of some stupid healer thinks it's inappropriate."

"Yes."

There was a moment of silence, then the man spoke again in a softer tone. "How is she, James?"

"Not good. The news of Lucius being on the loose has rattled her more than she would like me to know and seeing her son and daughter-in-law like that was a bit much, but she is tough."

"Make sure, she's okay. The last thing that lad needs is that something happens to his mother."

"I know and his fiancée being..."

"Yes, well, nothing we can do about that right now."

A door being opened could be heard. Draco was wondering, if he should bother waking up all the way. It seemed that this time he was here for the right reason. His life really had ended this time. Hermione was dead. Killed by that murderous bastard that was his father.

He embraced the darkness that became thicker somehow and lured him into its deep, endless folds. Draco gave only too willingly in to the feeling of being drawn into the depth of non-existence.

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"Harry! Are you okay?"

Ron's voice woke him out off a rather pleasant dream. He had been debating with Hermione about him or Blaise Zabini being best man at her wedding. A silly argument really, but she had at least been...

"Harry?"

The couch he was lying on wasn't the most comfortable, but it had been just fine when he had collapsed onto it. When had that been again? Yesterday? Today? He opened his eyes and there was the soft light of several glowing orbs floating under the ceiling. It had to be late then. He cleared his throat.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Did you really capture Malfoy's father?"

Nodding. Lucius Malfoy had been on the verge of being killed by his own son. Not surprising really after what that man did and had planned to do in the near future. It would have been all too easy to allow Draco to use the Killing Curse. It would have solved one problem permanently, but he couldn't let that happen. Hermione deserved him to be with her and not spending time in Azkaban. It would probably not have been a life sentence, but still. Any day they were apart from each other would have been a day too many.

"Yea, I did. He's back in Azkaban, clapped in irons this time. No visitors and no human contact. The Wizengamut has now just to set the date for the Kiss to be performed."

Ron shuddered.

"How did he manage to find them?"

Harry shrugged. "I have no idea, how he did it, but he must have interrupted the house elf with his arrival as it was about to seal the fireplaces in the house. Just as well," he sighed, "otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get in either..." 

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He was still engulfed by the comforting darkness, but their were voices intruding yet again .

"Jay, will he be okay?"

"Of course, Cissy. He is going to be just fine. It's just exhaustion."

"How could he have wanted to kill... his own son? I knew he was heartless, but this?"

"Don't worry. He is no longer able to cause any more harm."

There was a long pause, but the soft rustling of clothing could be heard."

"Jay..."

That sounded as if the Jay person had just been getting really close to... To whom? He knew that it was his mother that was in his room, but the sounds or better the absence of the same made him wonder, what was happening.

"Cissy, when he is gone..."

"Shh."

"No, please, I have been waiting all these years to finally be able to tell you what I was never allowed to tell you at school. Just because that bastard might find out."

"You don't have to..."

"Yes I do! Cissy, you have been my best friend since the day we first met. I had a crush on you from that very day onwards. Only it didn't stay a crush. I fell in love with you."

Stunned silence. Well, Draco was stunned that there was somebody out there that had honestly loved his mother since school. Why had he never known... Of course, his father. If he would have known about this man he wouldn't be sitting in this room right now. He had known that the marriage of his parents had been arranged, but that his mother had been secretly having... What? A lover? An affair? Not very likely, his father would have never stood for it. His parents had got married shortly after leaving school. Though it had taken nearly seven years before he had been born. Strange.

"... me?"

Had he just missed something important? Going by the silence that was filling the room right now he would say that he had.

"Jay, I don't know, if I could..."

"Just think about it. I don't expect an answer straight away."

The door was opened and people were standing up.

"Dawlish."

"Mulligan, Mrs. Malfoy. Shaw says that I should take the next shift. Wilson is outside in the corridor."

"Okay, thanks. Come on, lets go home. They'll tell you as soon as he wakes up."

Wakes up? Not bloody likely, not if he could help it! There was no reason to wake up. Might as well just drift back... His mind was gone again before he could even finish his thought.