The Unwinding

CJ Wellington

Chapter Four

Draco settled into one of the four chairs placed before the paper covered table, Harry sat next to him, followed Ron and then Hermione. Director Lathrop was informing the Golden Trio of the information that Draco had provided so in turn Draco had turned out the conversation and instead focused on the window behind Lathrop that gave view to the business of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. He had been back in England for a few months now but still missed the quiet atmosphere that the Paris Branch of the Ministry had held. The London office was utter chaos in comparison; too many people crammed into a small amount of space. In Paris, each department had an entire floor to itself with spacious offices and open common areas. Here, there were multiple departments on one floor, dwarf sized offices, and door-less cubicles scattered across the common area – everyone working on top of one another. It was a wonder anything got accomplished in London.

"Mr. Malfoy will continue to remain in contact with his former Death Eater companions and feed us information. In return, the Ministry had agreed to stop their pursuit of his father, Lucius Malfoy, and let him live out the rest of his days hidden from the public eye." Director Lathrop spoke and turned his attention to Draco.

"My family is grateful for the Ministries leniency. My father is not mentally well and it would not serve to place him in Azkaban with the state that he is in." Draco sat a little higher in his chair. He knew the slander that was spoken of his father and he knew the crimes that he had committed, against the very people he sat next to, but he would be damned if he let his father rot in Azkaban. His father was ill, still wrapped up in the delusion that Voldemort had assassins out to get him after he walked away from the Battle of Hogwarts. Throwing him in the mist of other Death Eaters who actually fought for the Dark Lord's would be the same as executing him himself, and his mother would never forgive him for that.

"So Malfoy's information buys his father his freedom? He practically handed Harry over to Voldemort during the Battle of Hogwarts. His was Voldemort's right hand man, he should face punishment for his crimes." Argued Ron.

"Believe me Weasley, my father is paying for his crimes and will continue to pay until he dies. Just because it is not in the format that you see fit it does not mean that nothing is being done." Draco countered.

"This is ridiculous." Ron threw his hands into the air and made a move to stand up. Harry took his arm and pulled him back down into the chair.

"Stop Ron, you are not making the situation any better. If Hermione and I can put aside our differences for the greater good, so can you."

"Listen to Potter, Weasley, he is much smarter than you."

"Enough." Director Lathrop interjected. "I put the four of you together because EACH of you brings something important to the table. You are my Lead Task Force and I will be relying on you to work together, even if it means you have to pretend to like one another."

Draco slid his eyes back over to the window, ignoring Ron who could have had steam coming out of his ears if it was humanly possible. "What is our first task, Director Lathrop?"

"I need the four of you to be on a plane by the end of week. I have scheduled a conference meeting with the US Wizarding Consulate and there is a Full Moon in two weeks' time. We need to know if the muggles that were attacked have been in deed sired. If they haven't, they will surely die from the infection and even if they are, not everyone survives their first Chancing. The Ministry will need to decide how to cover up the deaths."

"When is our flight out?" Hermione spoke up. "We will need to make sure we have our passports in order."

"I already took the liberty of having them done for you." Director Lathrop snapped his fingers and four blue passport booklets appeared on the table. "You will find Muggle occupations listed, with false addresses and identities. It is only for your protection as this is could be a highly volatile situation and you four are not ordinary people in the wizarding world. We do not know if there are still rebels in the States so the less people who know who you are the better. You will be met at the airport by a Ministry Liaison and taken immediately to the US Ministry of Magic. There you will be debriefed fully on the situation and will be introduced to Brynn Palmer; a Werewolf Specialist. She will work alongside of you to help those who survive their first Changing. When the situation is under control, you are to report back to London."

"Sound reasonable." Said Hermione.

"I will notify you of your specific flight information in the coming days but be prepared to fly out on Friday. That will give you a few days to pack. You are dismissed."

Draco stood and followed his task team mate out of the conference room. "It will be nice to see the States again." He mentioned as the four of them entered into the common area.

"When were you in the States?" Harry inquired.

"Shortly after the Battle of Hogwarts. My family stayed with some distant family on my mother's side who lived in Virginia, before we settled into Hawthorne Manor on the outskirts of Paris." Draco answered. He mother had returned to their London home two years ago but Draco had insisted that he stay at Hawthorne a while longer, if only to keep his father company. Lucius refused to return to their home in England – said that would be the first place that loyalists would look, that he was safe in France where he could hide in peace. But then his mother got sick. So Draco made a deal with the Ministry and traded information for his father's safety so that he could return to his mother.

"Just one of the few places your family hid to keep from facing the reality of the crimes they committed." Ron spat.

"Ron…stop…" There was a warning in Hermione's quiet tone. "I mean…this isn't the place to have this conversation."

Draco watched the awkward interaction between the two of them. Hermione's hand twitched as she moved to touch his arm but quickly changed her mind and clasped her hands together behind her back. Ron took in a deep breath and turned his attention Hermione only for a moment before turned to face Harry. Draco didn't know what had happened while he had been away but it was clear that the three people who stood in front of him were not the same three people he had known in school. Hermione's temperament was softer, more cautious – at least when she spoke to Ron. At school, the brunette would not have hesitated to put her friend in his place, or even him for that matter, but now it was as if she couldn't decide if she wanted to speak or keep her thoughts to herself. Even at the meeting that morning she seemed too tired to argue back with him. This version of the witch he had loved to torment was almost a shadow of her former self.

"We have work to get done, Ron." Said Harry. "I got two memos on my desk before Lathrop called us in and they need to be attended to before we leave." Harry put his hand on Ron's shoulder and steered him towards their offices that sat next to one another on the far side of the common area.

Hermione lingered, only for a moment, before returning to her own office and closing the door behind her. Draco shook his head and headed towards the Exit. He was only there to provide information and that part of his job was done so it was time to return home to his mother. Her treatment would begin shortly and it was important for him to be there to support her – just as he did every day since he had returned home. He would be everything his father was not, so that when his mother passed she would know that she had raised a good man. Everyone else's opinion of him could go to Hell.

#

The Malfoy Manor was a smudge of black and grey against the brilliant autumn sky. It was a quarter past noon when Draco arrived home from the Ministry to oversee his mother's daily treatment. He found Narcissa in her chambers, a frail figure surrounded by plush covers and held up by pillows. Her long hair had lost all of its rich, dark color, and now was tied at the nape of her neck. Her pale face shadow at her cheek bones revealed the sickness that slowly forcing her body to waste away. Her daily blood transfusions were the only thing that gave her enough energy to get through each day. Eventually, Draco knew, he would have to stop the treatments. But that day was not today.

"Afternoon, Mother, how are you feeling today." Draco sat on the bed and took his mother's hand into his own.

"Draco, my son." Narcissa took in a deep breath. Even talking seemed to tire her. "How was your meeting today, at the Ministry?"

"Let's not talk of work, it is such a depressing subject." Said Draco.

Narcissa let out a breathy laugh. "That is all your father ever wanted to talk about. It is strange to not have that be a topic of discussion."

"I am not my father."

"No, you are not and for that I am grateful." Narcissa smiled and closed her eyes. "I am tired today Draco, more tired than I have been in the past."

"You haven't had your transfusion today. They will be here soon."

Narcissa opened her eyes and looked at Draco. Her eye use to be a piercing blue, ones that could silence Draco midsentence and make him regret every arguing against his mother when he was a teenager. One look could make a person's blood run cold and make them wish they had never crossed Narcissa Malfoy. Now her blue eyes had lost their fierceness, they had faded to a lighter color, and her tired expression only made Draco wish he could go back in time and appreciate the time he had when his mother was healthy, strong, and force to be reckon with. "Draco." She whispered. "I can only go through these treatments for so long before they stop having an effect on me."

"Don't say that." Draco dropped his mother's hand and stood. "You are just tired. They will be here soon and you will start feeling better. Maybe we can eat lunch out in the Garden today. I will fetch your sweater while you are having your transfusion."

There came a knock at the chamber door and two women entered, dressed in hospital scrubs with St. Mungo's emblem stitched on the left front pocket. "Good Afternoon, Mr. Malfoy, is Mrs. Malfoy ready for her treatment?" One of the nurses addressed Draco.

"Yes she is. You're late."

"Our apologies, Mr. Malfoy. It was quiet busy today at St. Mungo's. We had several people come in with bite marks and we had to assess them before we were released." The other nurse spoke to Draco as the first began to set up the blood transfusion station next to his mother's bed.

Bite marks? Draco's thought raced back to the Daily Prophet's article that morning about the attacks in the States. Those had happened almost twenty four hours ago, which was not enough time to get from the States to London and still be nightfall. That meant that were multiple packs out there. He hadn't spoken to the ones that were brought in the morning, it wasn't his job to interrogate but he wasn't sure if Lathrop knew of this new information. He would have to send a letter to the Director before it got too much later. Maybe then he would keep his team here – Draco wasn't too keen on leaving his mother alone for an extended period of time.

"Mr. Malfoy, we will begin her treatments now."

"Right. I will go get your sweater, Mother, and then we can take our lunch out in the Gardens. I will inform the kitchen staff." Draco kissed his mother's forehead and took his leave from the room.

As he reached the door, Draco look a glance over her shoulder and watched as his mother winced in pain. The nurses tried their best to be gentle with the needle, but after a year of transfusions her skin was fragile and bruised easily. Draco looked away as the Nurses recovered her purple speckled arms and slipped out in the hallway. He would not let his mother see him cry. He would not be weak. He would not be his father.

-CJW