Unmarked

Chapter Seven: Unmarked

Draco and Severus arrived through the Floo in Dumbledore's office with a large billow of smoke. In the office, Ron, Harry, and Albus were all waiting, wondering if the trip had been productive. Almost immediately, both men were bombarded with a slew of questions regarding the women and the potion. Raising his hand, Severus called for silence and the questions died down.

"Alright, you want to know what happened, and we will do our best to tell you, but I will tell you now, a couple of things are private and a little foggy."

While he was talking, Draco had taken a seat and was apparently just sitting there in shock. Looking at him in concern, Albus suggested that perhaps it would be better for Severus to start telling them what had happened. Severus covered the pertinent details, including the fact that Ms Granger and Ms Weasley were very much alive and doing well Down Under. He got up to the point where he had had an attack, and that was where Draco picked up the story.

"Once Severus collapsed, I put him in Granger's office to rest out the worst of it..." He frowned before continuing. "But that is where things start to get fuzzy for me too. I am pretty certain that I was drugged by them...." Draco glared and shook his head. "When I woke up, Severus was healed, and I was fully rested." If anyone noticed that Draco had gone pale remembering what had happened next, nothing was said; however, Severus headed back to the Floo and indicated that Draco should follow.

"If you would excuse us, Albus, I would like to go over Dr. Kendall's notes in great detail so that I can start the mass production of the cure." Calling out, "My quarters," Severus vanished into green smoke, failing to listen to Ron and Harry's calls of wanting more information about their friend and sister. Seeing the Potion master had gone, they turned their questions to Draco, who paled even further.

"Potter, Weasley! I can't tell you anything more. I only got a glimpse at them as they were leaving. No conversation took place. I can't answer your questions yet. But don't worry; we will all get to the bottom of this." Granted, you two are going to kill us when you find out why they have been gone so long. "Now if you don't mind, I am going to help Severus with the notes. Circe knows you two were never that great at Potions. Without Granger's help, that is." A smirk came to his lips as Draco crossed the room and left via Floo to join Severus.

Once back in the dungeons, Draco flopped into the chair opposite the one that Severus was currently occupying, holding his head in either shock or dismay. Possibly both. "So, then, Severus, you've just been cured from the side effects of the Cruciatus Curse and found out you are the father of a seven-year old. How are you going to celebrate?" There was a tinge of sarcasm and amusement in his voice, but something else lingered there too.

Without looking up, Severus snapped back, "I wouldn't joke if I were you. If I am not mistaken, there is a seven-year old Malfoy running around too." It was a sobering thought for both of them really. Their spy status had kept the idea of having a family out of their immediate thoughts for as long as either could remember, since neither of them had really expected to outlive the Dark Lord.

Swallowing hard, Draco pulled out the packet that contained the notes, letters, and pictures. Handing a couple to Severus, he just stared at them, trying to deny what they clearly showed. "We did this, Sev. Can you believe it? They are a part of us, something untainted, unmarked from the evil that surrounded us." The awe in Draco's voice was unmistakable. Severus had to agree it was unbelievable; a miracle really. Now how were they going to handle this new situation? With cunning of course! A smirk came to Severus's lips as he planned their next stage of attack

Elsewhere in the castle, Ron and Harry paced inside the chambers they now shared. "What are we going to do, Harry? How do we explain that we don't love them like that anymore, and that we are now together?"

Sighing, Harry ran his fingers through his already rumpled hair. Since he and Ron had gotten together, it had never occurred to either of them that their presumed dead girlfriends might not actually be dead, or that they would have to explain that they were gay. "Not really sure, Ron. Maybe they will be so caught up in coming home that they will have forgotten about us having been together. Maybe they found other blokes to be with; it has been a long time."

Ron shook his shaggy red hair dubiously. "You really think that they would have gotten over us, mate? They were all alone in Australia for eight years. What else could they have been doing other than school work?" He shuddered at the thought of studying but knew that it suited both Hermione and Ginny.

"You might be right, love. They might still be pining after us, hoping that there is some way to pick up things where they left off before they left. We'll just have to break it to them gently that there is no chance for them to be with us, and that we are all better off as friends."

Harry wished he sounded more secure in his decision, but he also suspected that Hermione and Ginny's tempers had probably not improved in the past eight years. Flopping onto their bed, he stared up at the ceiling. "It's weird, huh? That they might be coming back? Thing is, Ron... I don't think they want to come back. Think about it. The war has been over for a while, so it was perfectly safe for them to come back but they didn't. They might not want to be with us any more either."

Ron was silent as he thought. It had never occurred to him that Hermione might not want to come back to him. True, she had been very distant with him before she'd left, but the war was going on, so he had ruled it off as that. Honestly, he really hadn't paid much attention to her in the months before she had been sent away. Once she had been gone, Hermione had become a distant memory until the war was over.

During the war, Harry and Ron had discovered that their lifelong friendship had grown into to an actual romantic love, something that had left them both very flustered. Upon hearing about the loss of Ginny and Hermione, their grief had been tinged with reluctant relief, knowing that they would not have to explain their betrayal. Now their reprieve would most likely come to an end.

"Ya think they forgot about being in love with us, Harry?" Ron wasn't sure if he should be hurt or relieved at that thought either. "It's very possible that they moved on with their lives, and I wouldn't have blamed them. Ron, I don't think we should worry about it until they come back, if they do come back...."

Both were sober in the realization that their friend and sister might not ever come back. For the first time, it dawned on them that they would not be in the center of the girls' circle of friends anymore.

***************************************

Back in the dungeon, Severus had recovered from his shock first and was now in the livid stage of acceptance. "HOW DARE THEY!"

Draco winced at the force behind the yell. He could understand why Severus was so upset. He wasn't exactly thrilled himself, but yelling really wouldn't get them anywhere. "What part are you most upset about? That they got pregnant in the first place or that they didn't come home after the war?" Draco was rather surprised how well he was taking all of this really. True, he was going to make Ginny pay for making him mourn, but he could understand her reasoning, and he still loved her.

In the case of Severus and Hermione, Draco didn't know if love had been involved at all or if it had just been a bit of carelessness in the heat of the moment. Severus's glare would have been enough to cause someone to turn to stone if Draco hadn't already been used to it. His mouth opened and closed a couple of times before he turned away in a huff. "Severus, the issue isn't what to do about the past. We need to know what to do about the present."

Taking a deep breath, Severus turned around and crossed his arms, a deep frown imbedded in his forehead. "For once, you are correct, Draco. We now require a plan. There is no way that I am going to allow my daughter to remain without my influence in her life, no matter what her mother wants." There was a twinge inside his chest as Severus had to admit to himself that he was a little bit pleased that he had a child and knew that Hermione hadn't kept her away from him to be cruel. Still, the situation couldn't remain as is, the little girl was his last remaining relative and he wanted a relationship with her.

Draco coughed at Severus' mention of Hermione. "Severus, you don't think that Hermione would deny you spending time with your daughter, do you? We both know that them remaining in hiding, especially in their conditions, was the best thing that they could have done." However, even Draco couldn't deny how much it had hurt to be deprived of so many firsts in his own son's life. Still if there was a chance to get his family back together and make Ginny his wife, he was going to do it--come hell or high water.

"I think that this situation should be handled delicately," Draco started, "so that the girls aren't spooked and feel the need to vanish again. I suspect that they have gotten comfortable in their new lives and must be feeling very off center right now. Not that I am condoning what they did. Yes, they should have contacted us as soon as the war ended, and we could have been dealing with this back then, but we can't change that."

Draco stood and walked to Severus' side. "I think our best plan of attack is to go back and talk to them face to face. They have nothing left to hide now that all the cards are out on the table." He had been about to head over to pour himself a drink, when he heard the Floo rush open. Turning, he was surprised to see two young children come spilling, out, obviously terrified and crying. The dark haired little girl righted herself first and her eyes fell on Severus. "Father, you have to come right away! The men... the men are hurting mummy and Aunt Ginny!"

A/N:Thanks so much to CocaChristy for all her help with this chaper it would not exist without her.. Thanks to all the reviewers for all your support