Especially Our Enemies

“Every room,” Percy said.

“I know what I’m doing,” Jordan growled.

“And you,” Percy said. I was leaning against the counter, trying to get my head to stop swimming. “Go sit down someplace.”

“I have to help you find him,” I protested, even though his order sounded pretty attractive.

“You don’t know the warren. We’ll find him.”

“Come on, Ron. Let them take care of it.” Hermione took me by the elbow--the right, thankfully--and led me over to the table where Chaz was sitting. I reluctantly took a seat. Percy and Jordan stormed out of the kitchen and left us there.

“Daddy?”

Amelia pulled up a chair beside me and crawled into it.

“What is it, baby?” I asked. I put my right elbow on the table with what I hoped was a casual movement, but I had to lean far too much weight on it to keep from collapsing.

“You don’t look so good.”

I laughed at that. She smiled hesitantly, and I reached out with my other hand to touch her shoulder. My fingers shook. She didn’t seem to notice, but Hermione’s face clouded.

“I don’t feel so good, baby.”

“Mommy said you could have died.”

“Mommy’s right,” I told her. “But I didn’t, and I’m not going to.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

Eleanor was standing by the sink, arms over her chest. They both looked tired; Hermione must have dragged them out of bed to catch a portkey, and I doubted they’d gotten much sleep at the Grangers’ house.

“Come on, Amelia. Eat your sandwich.” Hermione offered one of them and Amelia got up to take it from her. “Would you like a glass of milk?”

“Uh-hunh,” Amelia said. Eleanor’s eyes never left mine. She looked vaguely angry, and I wondered why.

“What’s the matter, El?” I asked.

She turned and walked away. Hermione called after her, but she ignored it.

“What’s up with her?”

“I’m not sure,” Hermione said. “She’s been like this pretty much since Chaz left.”

Chaz looked at the table in front of him.

“She shouldn’t be out there alone,” I said. “If they find Malfoy and he puts up a fight, she’ll be defenseless.”

“Would he hurt her?” Hermione asked, her voice fearful. She took out her wand.

“I don’t think he would,” Chaz said.

“I should still go get her,” Hermione said uncertainly.

“I’ll watch these two,” I offered. She nodded and walked out. I could hear her in the next room, talking to Eleanor.

“I shouldn’t have left her,” Chaz said.

“Oh, don’t say that,” I told him. “We all have to leave our brothers and sisters sometimes.”

“What if I had died today?” he asked. “She’d be alone.”

I started to protest, but the words died before I could say a thing. Eleanor saw Chaz as her father, I realized. He had all but raised her, when I was playing Quidditch and Hermione was at work. Even after Hermione stayed home, she would tell me how Chaz would take care of Eleanor. I had basically abandoned them, but Eleanor didn’t miss me. It was Chaz she missed.

“But you didn’t die,” I said. “We all survived.”

He didn’t say anything. Hermione came back in, towing Eleanor by the hand.

“We’re going to stay here until Uncle Percy comes back,” she said. Eleanor sat down at the table sullenly.

The silence between us was almost painful, but it held for a long time. Finally, the door opened and Percy came in.

“Did you find him?” Hermione asked.

“No, but we figured out how he got out.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “We share ventilation with the main part of the Ministry. Malfoy went out through one of the ducts.”

“How’s the kid who was guarding the door?”

“Just fine. It was just a straightforward memory charm.”

“But Malfoy was unarmed,” Hermione protested.

“I’ve seen him cast some fairly difficult spells wandless,” I said. She frowned deeply.

“We put out an alert,” Percy said. “The Minister is not very happy about all this.”

“I’m sure he’ll be even less happy when Malfoy kills someone else,” Hermione muttered.

“Daddy,” Amelia said. I looked at her.

“What do you need, darling?” I asked.

“I want to go home.”

“The kids are tired,” I said, looking at Hermione. She glanced at Percy.

“Would it be safe to go home?” she asked.

“Does Malfoy know where you live?”

“Just that the house is in Kent,” I said.

“Then I don’t see why not.” He looked at me and frowned. “You should put Ron to bed.”

“I can put myself to bed, thank you,” I said.

“We can send someone with you, for security,” Percy said. Hermione shook her head.

“I don’t think that will be necessary.”

She had to side-along all four of us, which I’m sure taxed her a great deal, but soon she had me bedded down in the master bedroom.

“I need to get the girls to bed,” she said. “Are you going to be alright?”

“Yeah.” I closed my eyes and heard her leave. It was very easy to fall asleep.

When I opened my eyes again, it was dark in the house, and I had to relieve myself something fierce. I was also starving. Staggering into the master bathroom, I had to lean against the shower door to take a piss. The floor was cold under my feet, and I shivered. I moved as quietly as I could down the hall, running my hand along the rail.

The lights were all out, but I knew my way around the house pretty well without seeing. I got into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator.

I heard a tapping sound, and I turned away from the fridge.

“Hello?”

The lights switched on and I saw Eleanor standing in the doorway.

“Why were you wandering around in the dark?” she asked.

“I didn’t want to wake anyone up.”

“Can I have a glass of orange juice?”

“Let me see if I have any.” I opened the freezer and pulled out a can of concentrate.

“I thought you said Uncle Percy was dead,” she said, pulling up a stool at the island. I cracked open the orange juice and got out a pitcher.

“I thought he was.”

“Why?”

“Everyone did,” I told her, turning on the tap.

“He seemed bossy.”

I laughed.

“Ice?” I asked her. She nodded, and I opened the freezer again.

“Eleanor, can I talk to you about something?” I asked. She took the glass from me.

“I guess,” she said guardedly.

“Are you angry at Chaz for going away to school?”

She looked away, and I picked up one of the frozen dinners I kept on hand. Muggle or no, they were a lifesaver when there was no food in the house. The microwave hummed, and I sat down next to her.

“No,” she said finally.

“Then what is it, sweetheart?”

“What if I never get any powers?” she asked.

“Plenty of people don’t have magic, El. It’s not the end of the world.”

Eleanor drank her orange juice, and I went to the microwave when it beeped. When I brought my food back to the island, she looked up at me.

“Even Amelia has magic,” she said softly. Her eyes glittered.

“You remember I told you about my sister?” She nodded. “She didn’t show any magic until she was nine.”

“Was she any good?”

“She cast the best bat-bogey hex I’ve ever seen,” a voice said from the darkness of the living room. I tensed up, hand going for my wand, and then I realized it was in my robes up in my bedroom.

“You look so like her, you know,” Malfoy said, stepping into the kitchen. “What’s your name, my dear?”

“Eleanor,” she said. She looked at me and back to Malfoy.

“That’s a very nice name.” Malfoy came around the island and I put my hand on the counter, intending to stand. “Don’t move, Weasley.”

“Malfoy, what are you doing?” I asked.

“You really are the spitting image,” he said, putting his hand under Eleanor’s chin. She stared up at him and I was surprised to see the hard glare in her eyes, defiant. “Especially like that.”

“You tried to hurt my brother,” she said.

“That’s true.”

“What are you going to do now?” Eleanor asked.

He bent and kissed her forehead; she squirmed.

“Go on back upstairs, Eleanor,” he said. “I need to talk to your dad.”

“You won’t hurt him.” It was only barely a question.

“Just the way grownups always hurt each other,” he whispered.

“Go on, sweetie,” I told her. She looked doubtful, but she obeyed.

“Why are you here?” I asked him.

“I wanted to say goodbye,” he said, sitting down on the stool Eleanor had left unoccupied. “I left in kind of a huff.”

“Where are you going?”

“Away.”

“I suppose you can’t be more specific.”

“No.”

Malfoy looked at me and smiled slightly. He picked up Eleanor’s orange juice glass and finished it.

“Listen, Weasley. I figure that if I didn’t really kill your brother, there’s still a third thing coming. I’m going to leave tonight, and you’ll never see me again. It’s for the best.”

“Malfoy,” I protested.

“Ron,” he said, meeting my eye. “I found what I was looking for. But I can’t stay with you, and live that life.”

“What about me? Don’t I get any say in this?”

“Not at all,” he said, smiling sadly.

“But, I think I love you.”

“That’s why I’m leaving.” He leaned over and pressed his lips against mine gently. “Take care of yourself.”

“You too,” I said, feeling breathless. He kissed me again and walked back into the darkened living room. I followed him, blind in the dark. I heard the patio doors open and close.

“Is he gone?”

Hermione stood framed in the light from the kitchen, messy and sleepy. Absolutely beautiful. My heart ached for my lost loves, for Harry and Ginny and Hermione, and most of all for Draco.

“Yes, he’s gone.”


~The End~

**Whether you realized it or not, that was 125 pages. Congratulations for finishing the whole thing!**