PURITY WILL ALWAYS CONQUER

Chapter Two:

During the Battle at Hogwarts, Draco found Hermione outside the girls' toilet on the second floor. She and Weasley had their backs to the wall, wands out, staring down the Lestrange brothers.

"Let's bring them to the Dark Lord," said Rodolphus, grinning.

"I have a better idea," said Rabastan, his hungry eyes sweeping over Granger. A sleazy grin grew across his face, and his tongue darted out to moisten his lips. "Let's stun the boy and keep the Mudblood."

"Over my dead body!" shouted Ron, stepping forward.

"If you insist," said Rabastan. He flicked his wrist, nonverbally sending forward a flash of green light, and the ginger crumpled to the ground.

"No!" shouted a voice.

But it wasn't Hermione's.

The Lestrange brothers turned to see Draco just down the hall, his wand hand shaking, his mouth gaped open. He caught Hermione's eye over his uncle's shoulder. Her mouth was gaping, too. Her eyes were teary. She looked as though she couldn't breathe.

He tried to send her the mental message to run.

"Something to say?" asked Rodolphus.

Rabastan laughed. "Aw, he's soft, is he? Like his father."

"Do not speak against my father," said Draco. His eyes met Hermione's again. She needed to run.

"Maybe we're reading him wrong," said Rodolphus. "Give the lad a little credit. Maybe he wants first go with the Mudblood. After all, it was her escape that led to the punishment of his entire family a fortnight ago. You ready to enact a little revenge, nephew?"

"Something like that," said Draco. He shot Hermione a sharp look.

Why wasn't she running?

"In that case, be our guest," said Rabastan. He stepped aside, gesturing toward the girl as if offering her up. "But don't kill her. I'm not a necrophiliac."

Draco caught Hermione's wand hand start to move just a millisecond before his uncle did. Four wands raised. Four voices shouted. And two bodies hit the floor.

Those of Rodolphus and Rabastan.

Taken down by Hermione and Draco.

Together.

"Ron," she said, her voice shaking.

"I'm sorry," said Draco, looking equally scared and sickened. "Now what?"

"Now?" She lifted her other hand. There was something long and ivory clutched in it. Like a shark's tooth, but much too large. "We kill the snake."

"Nagini?"

She nodded.

He didn't know why she was telling him this.

"And after that?" he asked.

"After that?" She glanced down at Ron. Her expression hardened. "Then, we kill the rest of them." Her cinnamon brown eyes raised to meet his gray ones. "Unless you intend to stand in my way."

"No," he said. "You heard Rabastan. I'm soft. Like my father."

"Hardly." She wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand. "You're on the wrong side of this war, Malfoy."

He half-shrugged. "You're probably right, Granger."

A flicker of confusion flashed across her dirty, tear-stained face, but she shook it off, tossed back her hair, and backed partway down the hall. "I don't know what you're playing at."

"No games."

"He killed Ron. You saw that, didn't you?" In an instant, she went from steely resolve to borderline hysterical. "He killed Ron! Ron is dead! Ron is… Ron is… oh!" She dropped to her knees and crawled to his side, dropping the fang. "Ron!"

Draco heard a familiar cackle from down the corner. His aunt.

"You have to go, Hermione," he said. "You have to go. Go now. They're coming!"

"I can't!" The tears started again. "Ron is dead! Ron is… Ron…"

"Get up!" Draco charged to her, yanked her up by her arm, grabbed the fang, thrust it into her hand, and shoved her toward the connecting hall. She had to run before his aunt turned the corner. She had to go.

"Ron!"

"Move your arse, you filthy Mudblood!" He shoved her hard from behind. She stumbled several steps, glanced back at Ron once more, and bolted.

Draco hurried to his uncle, Rennervated him, and modified his memory. He then quickly did the same to Rabastan, before Rodolphus was fully cognizant of his surroundings. And then Bellatrix was there.

"What's this?" she looked down at her husband, his brother, and her nephew with alarm. Then her gaze found Ron Weasley and the thin line of her lips curved into a smile. "What's this?"

"He's dead," said Draco. "I got here as he was coming out of the girls' toilet and–"

"And you eliminated him?" Bellatrix clapped her hands under chin, delighted. "Oh, Draco, I knew you had it in you!" She looked to her husband. "Do you know who this is? The Weasley boy, Potter's first mate! The Dark Lord will be most pleased!"

"I… did I hit my head?" asked Rodolphus, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I… not sure," said Draco. "You were both Stupified, I think."

"Oh, Draco. What was it? The Killing Curse?" Bellatrix nudged the body of Weasley none too gently with the toe of her high-heeled boot. "Must have been. Not a mark on him!"

"Yes," said Draco. "The Killing Curse."

"Draco Lucius Malfoy!" She kicked Weasley's body again, hard this time, then hurried to hug Draco. "I've never been so proud to call you my nephew!"

Now twelve weeks had passed, and, unlike his father, Draco was not only famous, he was respected and revered under the new regime. He was the man who murdered Ronald Weasley. The one who helped take down the Golden Trio by cutting it down by a third. The one now tasked with tracking down Hermione Granger.

It was a Monday afternoon when he sat down to tea with his father, mother, and sister, who all looked as though they hadn't slept in three months.

"Mummy?" Druella was curled up in her daddy's lap, her stuffed Niffler hugged to her chest. Her braids were neatly plaited today, her dress was free of wrinkles but dotted with biscuit crumbs, and her bright eyes were shining with curiosity. "Mummy, is the baby a girl or a boy? I want a girl."

"I don't know, my little love." Narcissa rested her palm against her midsection. She was showing even more clearly now. It had been this way with each of her prior pregnancies, too. She'd not only gained weight early, but it had been concentrated entirely in her breasts and lower belly, whereas Bellatrix, throughout her first trimester and through most of her second, had gained everywhere, especially in her face. It hadn't been until midway through the sixth month that Bellatrix had actually looked like she was pregnant.

"When will you know?" whined Druella. "I want a sister!"

"When the baby is born, we'll know." Narcissa wasn't one for spells to determine the sex ahead of time. Not only were they frequently wrong, she liked the surprise. This had thoroughly annoyed her in-laws, who were dying for a son from the moment they announced they were expecting and didn't want to wait to find out whether or not it would happen.

"Can it be twins?" asked Druella. Her thumb popped into her mouth. She spoke around it. "I want two sisters." Her father gently pulled the thumb from her mouth.

"Salazar's sins, I hope not!" said Narcissa with a nervous chuckle. But Lucius alone caught the flash of pain across her face.

She'd carried twins once before.

They hadn't made it to term.

"Silly Druella, I already have a sister," said Draco, teasingly. "Who needs another? I want a brother next. Mother? Please allow me to submit my request for a brother post-haste. I'd like that it be considered with greater weight than Druella's, given I'm the eldest."

"I'll take that under advisement," Narcissa said, half-smiling despite the weight of their current situation. They were striving for normalcy, but the day hadn't been a good one. They were all on edge.

It had started during breakfast. A Granger sighting had been reported by the Daily Prophet that morning, and the Dark Lord was angry. He'd expressed his feelings quite clearly in the late morning.

"She was right there in Diagon Alley and she escaped?" The Dark Lord stroked the head of Nagini and stared discerningly down at Draco.

"With all due respect, my Lord," Bellatrix had said, stepping closer. "We've no proof it was her."

"True, true." His eyes swept up and down Bellatrix's form. Draco fought the urge to shudder. The Dark Lord looked at his aunt Bellatrix the way Rabastan had Hermione. Like he wanted to devour her.

"I am fair man, Draco." The Dark Lord waited for Draco to nod in confirmation. "But you have been on this assignment almost a fortnight, and you've not made headway, have you?"

"I'm sorry, my Lord, I haven't." He ducked his head, trying to look sufficiently chastened, terrified the Cruciatus would be coming. "I am trying, my Lord, I swear it, but–"

"No excuses. She is out there. And I want her here. Understand?"

"Yes, my Lord."

Draco had hoped that would be the end of it.

It wasn't.

And now, hours later, it still hurt to breathe.

Druella crawled off her father's lap and into Draco's, interrupting his memories of the morning. He tried to hide his wince, not wanting her to know of his pain.

"Draco?" She cupped his cheeks with pudgy hands.

"Yes, Dru?"

"I want a sister, not a brother. We need a sister." She put on a pronounced pout. "I already have a brother!"

"But you love having a brother, don't you?" He pinched her nose. "Wouldn't you love another one? A younger one? One you could order about?"

"One I could…" Her eyes brightened. "I could tell him what to do!"

"Sit with me, Druella." Lucius patted his knee. "We'll work on your reading until the tutor arrives."

She hurried back to his lap. He opened a book, Maevie, the Mixed Up Witch, turned to the page on which they'd left off, and pointed to the first word.

"Maevie was still re… recov… recover… recovering… from the hex the next mor-ning, when a kuh-nock on the door…"

"Knock," corrected Lucius and Narcissa in unison.

"Knock on the door ro… row… roused her from a sound sleep. She for-sed herself to sit…"

"Forced," corrected Narcissa and Lucius in unison.

"Forced herself to sit up and slowly made her way to the hall…"

The remainder of tea time was relatively quiet. Druella read aloud. Lucius helped her follow along on the page. Draco broke his biscuits into tiny pieces while worrying about the task he was currently failing to perform. And Narcissa sipped her ginger root tea, hoping it would settle her sick stomach.

Soon enough, the tea was cold, the biscuits were gone, and Druella was off with her tutor.

"It's strange, isn't it?" asked Draco, standing, stretching, and heading toward the parlor door. "She's with her tutor. Uncle Rodolphus has a new position within the Ministry. I'm taking Pansy out for drinks tonight. You're having another baby."

"And that's strange?" asked Narcissa. She set her mug down on her saucer. No amount of ginger could stop the swirling in her stomach, which she suspected was not baby-related at all. She glanced up at her son.

"Life goes on, doesn't it?" Draco pushed his hair back away from his face. "Even when it feels as though it should have stopped."

The moment he'd closed the door behind him, Lucius pulled Narcissa to her feet and into his arms. He kissed the top of her head. "We ought to be celebrating, like the rest of the pureblood wizarding world. The Dark Lord won. Our son is a hero. We've escaped with our lives, our health, our wealth, our status… more or less… and each other."

"So why is it I don't feel much like celebrating?" whispered Narcissa into his chest. "I thought, once the war ended, I'd stop feeling terrified all the time. I thought I'd finally be able to sleep. To breathe."

"Let me take you to bed," he said, his lips tickling her ear. "It's been months."

"You don't want me." She tried to remove herself from his arms, but he held more tightly. "Lucius…"

"You know I'm attracted to you," said Lucius. His hands slid down to her arse. "You know I love you."

"You're confused." She pushed against him again, but half-heartedly this time.

"Not about you." He nuzzled against her, then kissed her neck. "I've never been confused about you."

"When was the last time… you were… with…" She hated to say it. While she loved her husband regardless of his sexual proclivities and extramarital activities, she found it impossible to believe he'd never been confused about her considering how confused she was by him. And how confused she was about her feelings for him.

"I'll tell you after we're done." He placed his hand gently on her throat, sliding up to her jawline, turning her face up toward his. "I need my wife."

"You don't need me." But she let his mouth meet hers. And she let her body melt against his. Her hands slid up his arms, clasping behind his head. Her lips parted. Their tongues connected. And they both knew, if he wanted to take her to bed, she'd go to bed with him.

He was about to apparate them to their room when the parlor door flew open.

"She's been sighted again!" Bellatrix, her baby on her hip, burst in. "Where's Draco? She's been spotted again in Diagon Alley! There must be something she wants there. The Dark Lord hasn't heard yet. I gave Rodolphus the order to follow her but not make contact unless it appears she plans to slip away – the Dark Lord has been clear that bringing her in is Draco's task and his alone. She's in disguise, but I'm sure it's Granger. I saw her myself. Draco needs to hurry!"

"He's in his bedroo–" Narcissa started.

Bellatrix and baby disapparated with a crack.

"I don't have a good feeling about this," said Lucius. He continued to hold Narcissa, but the urge to bed her had dissipated. "That Granger girl is up to something."

"Potter is out there, somewhere. I think they're together. I think they'll resurface. Then the Dark Lord's going to learn I lied." Narcissa buried her face against her husband's chest. "And when he learns I lied, he'll kill me!"

"Mummy!" Druella ran in through the open door, proudly holding up a piece of parchment. "Mummy, Daddy, look! I earned a gold star! I tried to show Draco, but he ran down the stairs and out the door."

"Did he?" asked Narcissa.

She and Lucius exchanged a glance.

He took a deep breath, forced a smile, and took the parchment from their daughter's hands.

"A gold star, you said? We're proud of you!"

"We're proud of both of our children," said Narcissa. She bit her lip, picturing Draco in Diagon Alley.

It could all be over soon.

A/N:

Thank you to those who read, followed, added to faves, and especially those who reviewed! This fic, like most of mine, is slow-burn, but it's also going to be a lot shorter than Dark lord's Daughter, Stages of Grief, Andromeda Tonks, or When Sorrows Come, so even though it has a slow start, Hermione and Draco will see each other soon! :)

-AL