Unhinged 2: Til the Flame Burns Out

Chapter 29

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry it took a while to post again! There's a lot of emotion in the chapter and I hope you enjoy it.

Draco was walking up to the doors of the Manor and just stopped and stood there for a minute. He watched his children stop beside him before they entered. He knew they must be all thinking the same thing he was, that something was missing and things just didn't feel the same as before. They had been through so much these past few months and now here they were returning home without their mother and sister. Draco turned his attention to Molly running from the house towards them with Ava in her arms.

"Thank goodness you're all ok." She cried as she pulled them each into a tight hug.

Draco felt her pull him into a hug, but he felt a bit numb right now. His eyes fell on little Ava and his heart broke at how much bigger she looked compared to when he last saw her. He scooped her up in his arms and hugged her little body against him and just closed his eyes as he took in her scent. He missed the smell of her hair and just the feeling of holding her in his arms.

"Dad!" Harper cried out as she ran full speed at him and jumped into his arms. "Please don't ever leave me again." She sobbed into the crook of his neck.

Draco was overwhelmed with emotion at this point and because he wasn't sure how to express it at this moment he swallowed the lump in his throat and gave Harper a small smile before he kissed her on the forehead.

Mrs. Weasley must've picked up on his emotions because she took Ava from him and told Harper to follow her back inside and to give him some space. Hearing Molly say those words just ripped his heart to shreds and he felt so guilty. Here he was with his kids at home and there was no Ginny. He couldn't remember the last time or if ever he had been away from her like this. Being apart from her in the lab was different than them being separated and him having to continue to live a normal life without her until she was well enough to come home. He was convinced he wouldn't be able to do it without her; she was his other half and what kept his heart beating.

He desperately tried to put himself in a better state of mind for the sake of his kids and for Ember, but it was proving to be far more difficult than he thought.

"I've finished the rest of the repairs around the Manor from the attack a few months ago. So, everything is back to normal." Molly said with a small smile.

Draco couldn't help but snort at her comment. "This is the furthest thing from normal." He quietly said before he led the way into the Manor and went straight to his bedroom.

Scorpius and his sisters just exchanged a concerned look with each other at their father's behavior. It was very out of character for their father to act this way, he was always a confident man and was always in control of his emotions besides the occasional temper when he overreacted to something.

Scorpius patted his grandmother's shoulder before he led her inside of the Manor.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

It had been a few hours since they all had arrived back home, and Aurora couldn't take how cold and empty the Manor felt without her mother and sister there. She glanced around her room and thought about how the last time she was in here she was almost killed by Adwell's men. She also thought about how James had saved her and then her thoughts went to him and how she couldn't wait to see him again.

"Aurora?" came Harper's voice from the doorway.

Aurora sat up on her bed and wiped a stray tear away that she didn't realize fell. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Who's going to make dinner? I'm hungry."

Aurora just stared at her; she could see how miserable she was and how much of her spunk was missing. She just thought about everything they had been through and she didn't want any of them to suffer anymore.