Fantasy House

"How much do they know?" Blaise asked as he paced the length of the fireplace.



Narcissa sighed, "I\'m not sure they really know anything. Potter was asking me a lot of hypothetical questions. He found Andromeda\'s cup in Draco\'s sink. And he believes that someone was prancing around in Snape\'s shoes."



"But they don\'t know for certain?" the Italian questioned.



The woman shook her head. "They don\'t know anything for certain. I demanded that I speak with my solicitor before I answer any of their questions."



Blaise stopped his pacing and eyed her for a moment. If all went as planned, Potter and his little Weasley friend should believe that Andromeda was responsible for the disappearances. Blaise and Narcissa would be free. He just had to make sure the Muggle-loving traitor did not talk.



He reached into a pocket in his robes and pulled out Andromeda\'s wand. "We will use this wand when we curse them. The evidence will be too compelling for Andromeda to talk her way out."



Narcissa stared at her sister\'s wand as Blaise swished it around, not casting any spells. Narcissa\'s eyebrows furrowed. "You mean to kill them?" she asked. "I thought..."



"Surely you didn\'t think we could release them?" Blaise said, looking at the woman curiously. "If they walk out of that house, they\'ll tell everyone what really happened. You and I will get carted off to Azkaban, and everything we worked for will be for naught. We\'ll lose it all."



She pursed her lips. "Draco is..."



"Draco chose his fate, Narcissa," he told her. "He has been ogling that Mudblood since we left school. If he survives, your grandchildren will be half-bloods. The pure lines of Malfoy and Black are already dead."



The woman did not like this; while she didn\'t mind taking her ex-husband\'s wealth or making Blaise her heir, she wasn\'t too keen on killing her only son. She had worked so hard to keep him alive.



She looked away from her fiancé. It was a difficult reality to face.



"Come now, Cissy," he scolded. "You\'re being silly. You knew this was how it would end. You knew it couldn\'t end happily. He has to go. They all do. Or else we will."



She did not allow any tears to fall, but she could feel her heart breaking. In order for their plans to succeed, Draco would have to die. It was a thought she did not want to entertain.



(II) (II)



Hermione closed her eyes as she concentrated on the task at hand. No one had any way of knowing where they were. They had a general idea of the time of year. There would still be snow on the ground. And Hermione would only have towels to keep warm.



The plan was simple. The moment she breached the barrier, she had to run as quickly as she could to the nearest home. With any luck, she\'ll find a decent home with decent people who would willingly help her.



They did not know whether she would find Muggles or someone from the magical world. Either way, she was to find Harry and Ron.



At first the Malfoys balked at this idea. It was Severus who explained it to them.



"We will need someone on our side. Those two are her best friends. They\'ll believe her, and they\'ll be able to get us out of here faster than anyone else out there," he told them in hushed tones.



It was simple. Regardless of where they were, her mission was to find Harry and Ron.



They allowed a few days to pass after the full moon. They did this for several reasons. They wanted to make sure Remus was completely safe, they wanted to make sure Hermione was over her period, and they wanted to give Lucius and Draco a break after what had happened in the library.



Since that day, neither Malfoy would go anywhere near the library. For the first two days, they would not even look at one another, or anyone else for that matter. And they would not sleep anywhere near one another in bed. Lucius had taken one end of the bed, Draco the other.



Today was the day things would be set into motion. Hermione prayed that she would be able to find a home fast, for she did not know how much time the men would have once she was gone.



She opened her eyes slowly and looked around the room, glancing only momentarily at the clock. It was almost time.



(III) (III)



The knock was so soft, Ginny wasn\'t sure she had actually heard it. She stood from the kitchen table and walked into the foyer of the house. She watched the door curiously as she heard the faint knock again.



She heard something fall against the door and knew, for certain, someone was there. She quickly moved to open it. As she did so, a body fell into the house.



"Oh!\' she shouted in surprise. She knelt next to the body and checked for a pulse. Thanking whatever deity was watching over the unconscious woman, Ginny bent down and grabbed the woman\'s shoulders to pull her the rest of the way into the house.



"Kreacher!" the girl called loudly, not surprised at the sudden pop as the house-elf appeared. She did not wait for the elf to ask what she needed before ordering, "I need you to help Mrs. Tonks into the guest room. I have no idea what\'s happened to her. See that she is cared for, please."



The elf took the unconscious woman and popped out of the room.



Running to the fireplace in the drawing room, Ginny threw a handful of Floo powder, calling Harry\'s office. "Harry," she said, quickly spotting him. "I need you here immediately."



Harry and Ron glanced at one another before dropping what they were doing and Apparating to Grimmauld Place. Ginny met them at the door. "It\'s Andromeda Tonks," she explained as she led them through the house and into the guest room. "She arrived moments ago. I\'m not sure what\'s wrong with her, but I think she\'s been cursed."



Neither man said a word as they entered the guest room and looked at the woman lying on the bed. Harry\'s breath caught in his throat at the sight. "Can you run a diagnostic?" he asked his soon-to-be-wife.



She nodded and quickly did as he bid. As she ran her wand over the woman, her eyes widened. Through her spell, she could see the bruises the older woman had sustained. And that was not all. "Someone has hit her with a few Cruciatus Curses," she told the men. "I think the same person must have beaten her horribly."



Harry nodded his understanding. "Can you heal her?" he asked.



She thought about it for a moment. "I can heal her physical wounds," Ginny answered. "I don\'t know what sort of psychological damage has been done, however. Some part of her must be okay for her to have figured out she needed to come here."



"Why here and not St. Mungo\'s though?" Ron questioned, staring at the sleeping woman.



Ginny and Harry glanced at one another before Harry replied, "She knew she would be safe here. Whomever she has run from would look for her in St. Mungo\'s."



(IV) (IV)



Hermione stood at the doorway and rolled her eyes.



Sirius growled at Severus. "You think I don\'t know that?"



The Potions master raised an eyebrow. "Obviously," he stated, calmly. "If you did, we wouldn\'t be having this discussion."



Draco entered at that moment and glanced at his godfather curiously. "What discussion?" he asked.



Hermione sighed, "Sirius and Severus have just found yet another thing to argue about. Honestly, you would think they\'d find something better to do."



"I saved his life!" the Animagus snarled.



"No, you didn\'t," the Potions master argued.



Sirius\' eyes widened. "Yes, I did. If I hadn\'t stood between Remus and that bloody lab, you\'d be dead. Torn to pieces!"



Draco glanced at Hermione. He could tell she was stressed about the task to come. He approached her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "It\'ll be all right," he assured.



She shook her head. "How can you say that when these two can\'t agree for two seconds?" she questioned, exasperated.



He threw her a smirk. "They\'re just having a lover\'s spat. It drives their passions to the forefront."



"What?!" both Sirius and Severus barked, glaring at the blond.



Draco kept his smirk plastered on his face, though the older men looked ready to kill. "You heard me," he said. "I\'ll bet you would make an excellent hardcore couple, the way you are always at one another\'s throats."



Sirius growled, "I\'d watch what I said, boy, if I were you."



The blond approached the Animagus and stared him in the eye. "Or what?" he dared, smiling the entire time.



Hermione watched in near awe as Draco challenged Sirius. The blond Slytherin had never been known for his bravery, and it was almost pleasing to see he was changing in that respect.



Draco sniffed and turned away from the Animagus. "It doesn\'t matter. Neither of you have the balls anyway."



"Balls for what?" Sirius asked. "In case you haven\'t noticed, my balls are quite large."



Severus snorted. "If you\'re measuring golf balls, you mean."



Draco quickly stepped between the two men and grabbed Sirius\' raised fist. "Hey!" the blond shouted. "Instead of measuring ball sizes, why don\'t we take this into another room and you can prove your balls are big enough."



"Big enough for what?" Sirius repeated, looking annoyed.



Draco glanced at Hermione, who gave a nod. Turning his attention back to the two men, Draco\'s smirk grew. "Come with me and find out."