Fragile || Draco Malfoy

Chapter 5.

I landed gently on the front porch of our home, one hand on my swollen belly and the other holding my shopping bag. "Merlin, I don't remember it being that difficult to apparate with Cassie. You're a handful, little one." I said, rubbing my bump and smiling. Draco and I were going to be parents again in just one more month. Cassie was over the moon about being a big sister - well, as over the moon as a three-year-old can be. I moved to the door, ready to open it and see my little girl when my heart stopped. The door was ajar, and the lock had been blown off. I dropped my bag and pulled out my wand, nudging the door open and gasping. The house was ransacked. Furniture was turned over, books were splayed everywhere, shattered glass littered the floor. "Genny? Genevieve, where are you?" I called out, trying to find the sitter I had left Cassie with. I found her lying in the kitchen, unconscious and bleeding from her head slightly. "Genny, oh no, Genny..." I said, hurrying over and dropping down next to her, trying to wake her. She was still breathing, which was a good sign. "M...Mrs...Malfoy?" Genny whispered, her eyes opening slowly. I held her gently, trying to bring her back around. "Genny, what happened? Where is Cassie?" I asked, panic setting in as I saw the cut on her hairline and how bad the house really was. "Men...they...took...Cassie..." Genny mumbled, beginning to slip back into unconsciousness. "Tippy!!" I yelled, and immediately our house elf popped into view. "Yes, mum?" Tippy asked, looking around at the demolished house with trepidation. I assumed she had hidden when she heard the men break into the house - I didn't blame her. From the level of destruction, these men would have done serious damage to Tippy if she had tried to intervene. "Genny is hurt. I need you to take care of her and get her to St. Mungos. Can you do that for me?" I nearly begged, my voice shaking as tears filled my eyes. "Of course, mum." Tippy said, stepping forward to take Genny's hand. "Hang on, young miss. You'll be okay." The two apparated out of the kitchen with a pop and I stood, still brandishing my wand. I climbed the stairs slowly, moving into Cassie's room and covering my mouth as sobs erupted from it. It was destroyed. Her small bed was overturned, her toys were broken and blasted to bits, and the windows were smashed open. And in the midst of all the destruction, Cassie was nowhere to be found. I hurried into the other rooms upstairs, calling out for my desperately for my daughter, but the only sound was the summer breeze filtering through the smashed windows. Every room in the house had been ransacked. I didn't know what they had been looking for, but they took the only thing that mattered to me - my little girl. 

I left the room quickly and hurried down the stairs, apparating from the front hall to the Ministry's public entrance. They had finally done away with the blasted toilets, and you now just had to walk through a different door than the muggles. I rushed inside, and thankfully most people moved out of the way when they saw a pregnant woman trying to get through the crowd. The elevator moved to the Auror department far too slowly for my liking, and I could feel the tears building with each passing second. I pushed through the heavy doors and rushed across the busy floor, bursting into Draco's office, surely red-faced and out of breath. Draco looked up and his eyes widened when he saw me standing in the doorway in such a state. "Isabelle?" His voice made everything come crashing down and I dissolved into tears, sobs wracking my body. Draco hurried forward and shut the door, pulling me into his arms. "Isa, love, what happened? Wait, where's Cassie?" I cried harder at the mention of our little girl, clinging to my husband. "Men came to the house, they attacked Genny. Everything is destroyed. They took Cassie, Draco." I wailed. Draco stared at me in disbelief, his hold loosening slightly. "What!?" I nodded, looking up at him with blurry eyes. "They took my baby, Draco. She's gone. I checked the entire house. She's gone." Draco let go of me and ran out of his office, returning moments later with Harry and Ron in tow. "Isabelle? Merlin, what happened to you? Draco's dragging us all over the bloody department, what's going on?" Harry asked, looking at me with concern. "Is the baby okay?" Ron asked worriedly, looking down at my bump. "I came home today and our house had been ransacked. The doors and windows were broken, furniture destroyed, it's like they tore it apart from the inside out. Genny, the sitter, she was on the kitchen floor knocked out. She told me that men had broken in and attacked her, and then they took Cassie." I finished, my body beginning to shake again. "I'll alert the child cases division." Ron said, hurrying from the office. Harry pulled me into a hug and I cried freely, the fear and pain lessening a little now that I knew the right people were starting the search for Cassie. "We'll find her, Isa. We're going to bring her home to you and Draco, safe and sound." Harry kissed my head, giving me one last hug before turning to Draco. "I'm going to notify Kingsley and then I'm going to assemble my team. You do know that he might say" Draco held up his hand, cutting Harry off. "I just want her back, Harry. I don't care if I have to be on the front lines or sitting at home. I just want my baby girl back." Harry nodded, clapping him on the shoulder gently before leaving the office quickly.