A Thief to Catch a Thief; a Death Eater to Catch a

Hermione walked into the private room with Lucius, she’d been released at noon into his care with the order of no potions and small meals often.



“Gwey!” Cressida shouted, recognising Lucius through the little window to her room, associating him with the colour. “Na gwey. Bwoo.” She said as he walked into the room in his casual robes, Hermione following in a pair of jeans and a comfortable tee-shirt.



“Saaanwich?” she said, pointing to Hermione’s cup of coffee.



“Sandwich is a synonym for all things food; she had my chocolate biscuit yesterday – I think she wants yours.” Lucius said, sitting down next to the bed and looking at her iodine-covered legs and the black lines and markings drawn all over them.



“Surgical markings, so they know what to do.” Hermione said, giving up her biscuit to the bouncing little girl screeching ‘sandwich’ at the top of her lungs before giggling.



“Thank-you.” Hermione said, offering the buiscuit, but not letting the little girl have it before she said the words back.



“Ta-do? Tank-do? Tahnk-do.” She said, struggling around the phonetics again. Hermione smiled before handing over the treat and watched as it vanished in the blink of an eye.



“Boobah?” she asked, wriggling over to Lucius, reaching out to him. His wand started producing clear bubbles that randomly changed colour; she started saying the colours as she recognised them – with hardly any help from the adults.



“Her hands are strange.” Lucius whispered.



“Its from her dragging herself, she should have been walking a long time ago, but the bones in her hands and wrists have bent to accommodate her locomotion.” Hermione whispered back, using a spell to turn Lucius’s bubbles into floating cubes and pyramids.



“Well, that confused you, didn’t it.” Lucius chuckled, popping a pyramid.



“Boobah?” she said shyly, bravely reaching out to burst a cube and grinning when it behaved just the same as the bubbles.



“She is beautiful isn’t she.” Hermione said, gently stroking Cressida’s hair. The little girl ignored the bubbles to give Hermione a strange look; wanting to reassure her, Hermione began petting Lucius’s hair, combing her fingers through his long strands.



“Booofwul?” she whispered, reaching to grab Lucius’s hair and tugging a little harshly – Lucius, however, didn’t flinch – he’d had much more intense pain than his hair pulled.



“Beautiful.” Hermione clarified, sitting down next to the little girl and watching her face as she dug her little fingers into her curls.



“Oooh.” She said, giggling, liking how the tight spirals sprung back after being played with.



“She likes your hair more than mine!” Lucius mocked sulked, his bottom lip stuck out a mile.



“Its springy.” Hermione giggled as little fingers accidentally tickled the back of her neck.



“Spiggy.” Cressida said back, “Spiggy.”



“She’s so smart, what a waste.” Hermione whispered, “But we’ll have you up with the rest of them in no time! We might even make a Ravenclaw out of you!”



“Waywancwooo? Waaaaayewancwaooo?” she looked between Lucius and Hermione, decided it wasn’t important to repeat that one and continued to play with Hermione’s now messy curls.



***



“The muggle doctors and nurses are ready now, we’ll apparate her there and then let them do the rest; the unspeakables will be ready to obilvarate the staff as they leave the room.” The healer whispered, smiling as the latest Malfoy played with the toy unicorn her brother had bought her. At first she had no idea how to play, but soon got the hang of it; she was sat on his knee, jumping it over the pillows near her.



“How long will it take?” Lucius asked, incredibly worried; he might like muggles a little more these days – but he most certainly didn’t trust them one bit!



“Eight hours or so.” The healer replied, leaving this odd family to themselves for a short while.



Hermione and Jess were trying to fight a wriggling little girl into a backless hospital gown, Cressida was too busy naming the colours on the harlequin fabric to cooperate, and she wouldn’t let them slip it onto her until she’d finished.



“She’s so intelligent.” Draco whispered to his Father while Hermione tried to put the elasticated hat over his Sister’s long, plaited strawberry-blonde hair. It didn’t stay on long, she was once again naming the colours on it.



“Indeed, she learnt all those words yesterday.” Lucius said, laughing as the hat ended up on Jess.



“Mr. Malfoy, its time.” The healer said, accompanied by two unspeakables. He lifted her gently into his arms, let the Malfoy men and the two women kiss the little girl’s cheek before apparating directly into the muggle operating theatre.



***



Cressida was returned to her private room eight-and-a-half hours later, sleeping peacefully through the last of the anaesthetic. Lucius looked on horrified at her legs. Huge knitting-needles came out at various points of both legs, ankles and feet and attached to a large tubular frame with bolts. The muggle device looked like a torture implement.



“The procedure went very well, but it wasn’t perfect, her legs are still going to be weak. With some skele-grow we should be able to vanish the metal in three weeks.” The healer whispered, quite impressed with what the muggle doctors had done. Some muggle complimentary therapies might be of use in the future… he’d have to do some research.



“Three weeks – but skele-grow repairs overnight!” Draco said, angry she’d have to put up with the scaffolding for so long.



“She’s four, she can’t have the dosage needed to repair so quickly.” Hermione said, taking a shaking Lucius’s hand.



***



Cressida awoke in a bit of pain and feeling very, very confused. She screeched, trying to move against the sticking charm that kept her still for her own safety.



“Shhh… sweetheart, shhh. Its alright! Shh.” Lucius soothed, taking off her hat and finger-combing her hair. She quietened upon hearing his soothing voice, looking around with blurred vision at the other voices in the room.



“Sleep time.” He hummed, still stroking her hair as Draco tucked the unicorn into the crook of one of her arms.



“Seepy…” she murmured, grabbing his hand and not letting go as she drifted back into a drug-induced sleep.



“She’s a true Malfoy woman – she’s got the Malfoy men wrapped tightly around her little finger.” Jess whispered, watching as Lucius continued humming, Draco beginning to drift off at the sound of the song that had sent him to sleep as a child.



“Lucius. They’re sleeping.” Hermione giggled quietly.



“They?”



“Look at Draco.” Jess said, pointing to where the other blonde was dead to the world in the chair by the bed, snoring softly.



“It used to do the same to me too.” Lucius chuckled, continuing to hum as both his children slept peacefully.