One's True Nature

19

The nightmare was more real this night to the small Albus Potter and this time instead of just waking up in a sweat, he had to be shaken awake by his friend Scorpious. The blonde seemed terrified from the look Albus took in for the split second before he burst into tears. They weren't for saddness or relief, they were confused and scared.

"What's wrong with you Albus, are you alright?" He was trying to sound comforting, but he was nearly as upset as his friend. "Why are you crying? It's alright, I promise." He hugged his friend as tight as he could.

"You were dead Scor, gods, I'm sorry. You died, I couldn't stop it." Albus was trembling hard. "Something is coming soon, I just know it. It's going to take you away from me." His crying became more desperate and before long, someone had entered the room.

"What's going on?" Ginny swept across the room as calmly as she could. She didn't want to make whatever was causing this distress worse. She sat on the bed, looking at the two boys, who seemed to be neither comforted nor alerted by her pressence. She placed a hand on Scorpious' head and felt the trembling of her son.

"Albus, I'm right here. I'm not dead. I promise you, please." Tears were streaming down his face as he spoke, he was clearly overwhelmed and confused and feeling extremely inadequite. "Please, it's all right." He was surprised when Ginny finally lit a lamp that had been on the bedside table in case Albus needed a night light.

"Albus sweetie, what is this all about?" She said in a cool and even voice that she used when she needed to calm a situation, most of the time, she had used this particular voice with Harry when he was angry.

"Mama, he's coming." Albus wheezed. "I know he is, he's going to take you all away."

"Who is?" She was worried now.

"I don't know, but I can feel him, in my heart. It hurts Mama, it hurts so much." The boy was very distrested and in one swift motion she stole her son from his friend's arms and hugged him to her.

"Albus, it was just a dream, no one can hurt us, not with your Dad here." She was trying to reassure herself as well. She kissed the top of his head, still craddling him gently. "Your dad is the strongest wizard in the whole of the world, he won't let anything happen to us." She thought of the time Harry had saved her from the chamber of secrets. A deep sense of love coming from the fact that he had protected her, even though he wasn't much older than she was at the time. Then suddenly, She felt a deep and hot pain and it caused her to toss Albus' small form onto the bed and look at her arm for burns.

Scorpious looked frightened by this sudden change in the situation and recoiled. Then came the most awful scream either of the two ever heard as Ablus began to thrash violently against the bed as white hot bursts of energy started to rip from his body as if he were birthing them. Ginny moved fast to get Scorpious out of harms when and then in her panic, shouted for her husband.

Harry came so quickily that it seemed like he'd been right outside the door. He didn't have time to ask questions and once he saw rather than heard the distress of his youngest son, he moved so fast that Ginny thought she had seen several Harry's in the room at once. He drew his wand, his body only clothed with Pajama Bottoms, She could see the physical stress it took to use whatever spell he was using to contain the violent magic. Once the bursts stopped, Albus passed out, exhausted.

"What the hell was that?" Harry said as he collapsed on the floor next to a very frightened Ginny and Scorpious. He was heaving hard from the exertion and it hadn't really occured to him to register that the subject of his efforts were his youngest son. He fixed his glasses more surely and looked at the two people next to him and registered their fear.

"This has never happened before." Scorpious answered to the silence just so he could stop thinking of the last few minutes. Ginny hugged him sensing his terror and she still hadn't quite understood what had happened either.

It was hard to wait until morning to call St. Mungos and Harry wasn't very patient with anyone he talked to. Scorpious had tried his best to tell them what Albus had been dealing with, but he was too shaken to keep focused and eventually, they gave him some dreamless sleep potion to help him at least get some sleep. Draco wasn't much in this situation either, except for the fact that he had ensured Harry that he could help Albus should he awake in that state again. Draco felt awkward trying to be the support Harry needed with Ginny, Harry's still wife in the room, so he stayed distant out of respect.

Ron and Hermione were still dealing with her dangerous pregnancy and so they couldn't be more than babysitters for the other children, somehow, none of whom had woken during the night's commotion. Harry was doing his best to contain his helplesness by pacing, but he couldn't escape the fact that he'd let Albus down, always telling him to stand on his own, if he'd only taught the boy to trust him maybe this would have been different. He was very upset, but that was something none of them needed right now.

"This is the first time this happened Ginny?" Naithen asked her quietly as She watched her youngest son through the window of an observation room. This was always a delicate situation as he knew with anyone, uncontrollable magic was a rare affliction often uncurable as it was up to the patient to get better and usually, by the time they could get better, the violence of the magic had destroyed their bodies too much for them to ever live a normal life, he truly felt sorry for her.

"I think so, I don't know." Ginny's voice demonstrated just how hard she was trying to stop the uncontrolable feelings that ripped at her heart. "Do you think he'll be all right?" Her gaze never broke from her small son, his chest, making sure it was still rising and falling the way it should.

"These things are unpredictable, I cannot say if he will be fine. I do know he's very strong physically, there was no damage to him that I could tell." He looked at her arm which he had also treated. "What about you?" He said evenly.

"I'll be fine, just help my son." She said still fighting her feelings.

"I'll do everything I can Ginny." He said and turned, walking out without another word. Noting Harry's pressence against the wall furthest from the window.

Harry was feeling just too out of control. Everything happening with the Draco situation, the criminal situation which was still dangerous, because Blaise was still at large and if his vision was right, a vengful Umbridge was at the center of this all somehow. He had to leave, it was too cramped a space for all of these thoughts. He left with not a word to his wife. He found the nearest restroom and vomited, though his stomach was empty so it was more dry and painful, his head throbbed and his body ached. He felt the weight of the world as he had all those years ago.

"Fuck this." Harry swore aloud.

Draco sat in the livingroom of the Potter home with his Son laying in his side still sleeping, Draco, despite all that had just transpired was still thinking about the fact that Blaise was still out there, Umbridge pulling the strings made things twice as dangerous because Draco knew, at least one of his parents was invovled in this, if not both, but he couldn't be sure. "I wish I knew what the hell was going on." He said aloud, but really to no one in particular. The sun was up and Draco remained unmoved wrestling with his thoughts in the prision of his overdetermined brain.

"Hey Draco, Oh sorry, didn't mean to scare you." Ron said with some guilt in his voice after Draco jerked out of his thoughts at the sudden voice. "You said you had something to tell me?" He looked at Draco seriously, while he blew against the steam of his coffee cup.

"Yes, Harry says Delores Umbridge was invovled in this thing and I need you specificaly to go and get her. I don't trust Harry in the state he's in not to do something he'd regret." Draco's voice was all business.

Ron was obviously looking for something to occupy his time, be it work or anything else. "Anything else your highness?" Ron smirked. Draco Sneered.

"No Weasel, that shall be all." Draco bit out, half joking.

"As you command, highness." And with that Ron left to make all the preparations he needed to to go to work, the day after Christmas no less. Rose would take care of Hermione while he was away doing his Job and this way, he'd stop hovering over her every few minutes. He wasn't completely dense either, from Draco's reactions, this was a serious situation despite the fact that they'd managed to get his son back.

It didn't take long for him to get a couple of his Auror partners together to go get Umbridge, since a number of them remembered her from their times at the school during her horrid year as the headmisteress. Ron was unsure as they approached her rather out of the way home, it was very secluded and if a fight broke out. He knocked on the door.

"Dolores Umbridge, by order of the Department of magical law enforcement, I am here to place you under arrest. Open the door, or we will break it down." Ron nodded to one of the two Aurors to take the appropriate cover position when Ron broke the door in. Ron was just about to knock the door down when it opened and a very old and decrepit women stepped into the doorway.

"Have you really come for me? You fools!" Her smile was disgusting. "I'm least of your problems now, child." One of Ron's partners went into the house to make sure it was secure and located Blaise Zabini, which complicated some things for Ron, but he left that in the hands of his partners as he took Umbridge to the transportation that was waiting.

When they settled her in the interrogation room, Ron went to fetch Draco who was very eager to see her. He wanted to be sure of his suspicious considerations before he planned his next move, if he chose to invovle someone would be determined by what she might tell him.

"Has she talked at all?" Draco was very cold and determined as He stared toward the door. His eyes were bitter and focused. Ron made a note of that before speaking.

"Not really, she seems to think she's not the person we're looking for. A nasty old bitch she is." Ron said bitterly.

"She probably isn't, come with me." Draco stated, walking swiftly to the door and opening it in one smooth motion allowing Ron to follow him.

"Malfoy, Ah, you." Umbridge's voice seemed delighted to see the blonde. "You should understand what I will tell you." She smiled the most vile smile Ron had ever ever seen.

"Talk, Now." Draco spat across the table as he stood over her.

"He's free, the one who gave your father his favor with Lord Voldemort. Free, Free, Free. Now, purebloods won't need to wait and watch the death of their race."

Draco's fists clinched. "You fools, you can't understand what you've done."

Umbridge laughed. "You'll all die, all of you, when he comes for you. You shall be crushed under his power." She smiled distgustingly.

"If it's true." Draco replied coldly. "You'll be just as dead as us, Umbridge."

"I died Years ago boy. It doesn't matter to me." She was content with this statment and more than anything Draco wanted to hit her until he felt better, but he prayed she was somehow Wrong. Draco left the room, with Ron close behind him.

"What was that about?" Ron asked, very confused.

"Listen, I'll explain later, right now, can you get me into my manner?" Draco's eyes told Ron everything he hoped to learn, at least, about how serious what umbridge had said was.

"Yes." Ron said sharpily.

"Good, let's go."

"Now?"

"Yes, no time to waste."

And with that, they took the floo in Harry's office, to Malfoy Manner. Draco in a full panic.

Somewhere, Harry sat alone trying to battle his mind and his lonliness.

End Chapter 19
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A/N: Sorry this took so long, but I had about 5 or 6 ways this story could go and I wasn't sure how I wanted this to go, but now I am sure and chapters should come pretty quickily. Please review