Demolition Lovers | A Draco Malfoy Fanfiction | Sequel to Cemetery Drive

Chapter 2

When Elisa had arrived at my house on the day after Boxing Day with a tiny baby bundled in her arms nearly five years ago, I had been over the moon for her. Now, a five year old Parker clambered up onto my lap so that I could help him open his birthday presents and I was still over the moon for my best friend. Despite not biologically being their son, Parker showed so much of both Ron and Elisa in him, in his mannerisms and the way he behaved. Not only that but so much of his older siblings could be seen in him, heavily Joshua. All of Elisa's children came hurrying over to us as soon as we had crossed the threshold and I couldn't wipe the grin off of my face as Dorian darted over to Parker and immediately pulled him into the tightest hug, wishing him a happy birthday. Merlin, our kids were adorable.
Elisa and I were watching the mass of children from opposite sides of the room when a knock at the door sounded. A little confused, Ron padded out of the room to answer it, Elisa sharing my own look of concern. It wasn't long before Elisa's husband returned and headed straight over to her, his expression grave and his voice low. Through the doorway through which Ron had entered, I caught a glimpse of bushy ginger hair, greying slightly at the roots and framing a plump face, littered with harsh lines. Mrs Weasley. Why was she even here? Without meeting my eye, Elisa hurried from the room, leaving the rest of us to deal with this giggling, writhing mass of children. Well, shit. Not that they were doing anything particularly noteworthy but I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do if even one of these many children that weren't my own somehow injured themselves or one another. Oh well, we would cross that bridge when it came to it. I hoped Ron and Elisa would be back soon. With or without Mrs Weasley I didn't particularly care, so long as they could relieve me of this behemoth responsibility. Making eye contact with Ginny across the room, I pulled a face at her in jest and she giggled, causing Genevieve to look over in my direction. I poked my tongue out at my childhood best friend and she returned the sentiment immediately, making my heart contract. Merlin, I had missed Genevieve O'Sullivan. In a stroke of genius, Draco had hurried into the kitchen to make chocolate milkshakes for the children as a guarantee that they would be calm and quiet for us. Pushing myself off of the wall I was leaning on, I made my way into the kitchen where my husband was talking to Juliet.
"I was with her the entire time, Piglet, don't worry." Draco and Juliet both had their backs to me as I crossed the threshold into Elisa's kitchen.
"I... I know but--"
Suddenly, Juliet was pushing past me, through the doorway and out through the hallway. I made to follow her but Draco grasped my arm.
"Don't, just... just let her go." Draco looked sad and I could tell that whatever they were talking about had affected him deeply.
"What happened?" I asked softly, wrapping my arm around Draco's waist and leaning into his chest.
"I... I don't." He sighed. "Don't worry."
I looked up at him worriedly. "Tell me, something must have happened. What is it?"
Draco sighed again and looked down at me with tired eyes before softly telling me what had happened.
"Juliet was asking about what exactly happened when Elisa was in the hospital. I think she knew there was more to what she had been told." He took in a deep breath and closed his eyes for a second. "She's only 8, I didn't want to tell her everything, you know? But... but at the same time she wanted to know and I thought she deserved to. I couldn't tell her everything."
Tightening my grip on my husband's waist, I nodded. Juliet was smart enough that I was sure she would piece it together herself eventually. If anything, Elisa and Ron needed to be the ones to discuss it with her now. Elisa hadn't really been herself recently and I assumed this had to do with the fact that William and Cassiopeia were still in the hospital and was heading into the hospital on her days off to see them, which ended up being nearly every day at the moment. Dropping a kiss to my head, Draco turned to face the counter and only then did I notice just how many chocolate milkshakes my husband had made. With a wave of his wand, Draco sent the milkshakes soaring into the living room and I was suddenly aware of all of the children falling silent. Well, that worked. Making our way back into the living room, I smiled at Lolita across the room as I settled against a wall and Draco crouched down among the many children. All of the children seemed to be focused on Parker, especially Joshua who seemed to be looking around the room anxiously and I realised it wasn't often that he went anywhere without his twin sister. I assumed Juliet had gone up to her bedroom after talking to Draco. As my thoughts wandered, I noticed my best friend emerge through the doorway. Ron was nowhere to be seen, nor was his mother, and Elisa seemed to be scanning the room, looking over the gathering of children. She met my eyes and grinned but the smile didn't seem to reach her eyes. A glint of confusion and slight worry had formed as she looked at me and I cocked my head in a silent question.
"Where's Juliet?" Ron asked, suddenly appearing behind his wife.
I stared at him for a second. How in Merlin's beard had he known that Juliet wasn't among the many children in the room without even looking?
"She's our loudest," stated my best friend with a chuckle after noting the slight confusion on my face.
I nodded with a smile. Of course she was.
"But seriously, where is she?" asked Elisa and I looked over at Draco who had since stood up from his place between the children on the floor.
"I was talking to her about the babies," he murmured softly and Elisa nodded. "I think she's gone to her room."
In a split second, Elisa was gone and I gave Draco a reassuring smile, to ensure he knew it wasn't his fault. Ron gave Draco a similarly reassuring nod as he came into the room and I watched my husband carefully as he made his way over to me. Draco came to stand beside me and I shot him a gentle smile.
"They'll be okay, Dray, I promise."

-

Draco had taken the children over to visit Tiberius while I had been at work which meant when I came home early, the house was empty save for the cats meandering around like they owned the place. I guessed in a way they did. Despite only having two children, I was surprised by just how quiet the house seemed once they were gone, although I was pretty sure a lot of that noise came from my husband. There was no way I could deal with any more children right now and I often wondered how Ron and Elisa dealt with all of their kids. My heart gave a pang of distress as I thought of my best friend. She still wasn't back to her old self and it was beginning to worry me more than a little. The only other time I had seen Elisa like this was when she had been separated from Ron and her children after the end of the war. I needed to talk to her.

My heels clicked against the hardwood flooring of Elisa's hospital as I hurried down the corridors towards the ICU. In one hand I held Elisa's favourite copy of Othello and in the other hand, I held a chocolate milkshake, freshly made about five minutes before I apparated to Elisa's old manor. Pushing open a heavy door on my right, I relaxed a little when I saw my best friend sat beside two bassinets, her gaze slipping between each of her babies. Her babies were beautiful, they all had been and these two were no different.  A perfect likeness of both Ron and Elisa, they were the sort of children you just couldn't take your eyes off. My mind went back to when Ron had been in the hospital wing at Hogwarts all of those years ago. 
"El?"

"E-el?" I asked softly as I stepped into the hospital wing. 
Elisa looked dreadful. She had bags under her eyes and she was holding herself as if all of her joints hurt. She was sat next to Ron who was lying in a hospital bed, his ginger hair like fire against the white bed sheets. 
"H-how are y-you?" I asked, kneeling down next to my friend. 
She smiled weakly at me. 
"I'm fine."
I shook my head and took her hand in mine. 
N-no, El-Elisa, y-you're not. I c-can t-tell. P-please, c-come and h-have a slee-eepover wi-with me to-tonight. In th-the Sly-slytherin C-common R-room."
It took a lot of reasoning but eventually, Elisa agreed. We had compromised that she didn't have to leave Ron until the dinner and she was happy with that, assuring me that she would come. I smiled and kissed the top of her head. 
"S-see you l-later."

Elisa looked up at me and smiled softly, although the smile still didn't quite reach her eyes. She wasn't herself.
"How have you been?" I asked. 
I knew the question was benign but when Elisa told me that she was perfectly fine, I shook my head. 
"Don't shut me out again, El," I whispered. "You're not fine. I've known you long enough to tell."
With an exhausted sigh, she dropped her head into her hands and rested her elbows on her knees. I fell into the plastic chair next to her, dropping the book in my lap and casting my gaze quickly over the babies. Merlin, they were so beautiful. 
"I'm struggling," Elisa admitted, running her fingers through her hair before looking up at me again.
In those moments, I could see how exhausted and run-down my best friend had become and I knew this wasn't just a recent build-up. This had to be the long-lasting effect of something that started a long time ago.
"I'm struggling to find happiness in anything now."
My heart broke as Elisa strained to keep her voice from breaking and I took her hand in mine, squeezing it for reassurance. 
"I know it's not everything that you might need but... but you have me and Ron and Draco. We're here for you, El."
Smiling softly at Elisa, I took my hand from hers and gave her the milkshake I had been holding. Wrapping her lips around the straw, my best friend looked down gratefully at the drink before closed her eyes as she took a long sip, savouring the sweet taste. I turned the copy of Othello over and over in my hands as I watched her, hoping that this small gesture would make at least somewhat of a difference to her mental state. From the look on her face, I knew that something had changed in her mind. Helping Elisa was going to be a long, slow process to get over whatever was going on in her head but I was going to do whatever I could. I was going to be there for Elisa Weasley and no one could tell me otherwise. 

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Hi guys!!

I'm sorry it's been such a while, I have a lot of big plans for this series which will come to fruition a little later on. But for now I'll continue to post everything I've had written for a few months!

Sorry for the wait guys!

- Izzy