Prophesied

Chapter 23

A Visit to the Past

We all went out to Diagon Alley the next morning before Lita and Lami left. I didn't want them to leave, but Lita had made up her mind, and Lami was ecstatic with the prospect of meeting her grandfather for the first time. They Flooed out through the Leaky Cauldron around noon, leaving Draco and I alone for the first time in a long time....

"I'm going to miss them," he said as we left to return to the manor.

"Really?" I asked.

"Surprisingly enough, yes," he laughed. "I never thought I'd say that about Lita, but...she grows on people, doesn't she?"

I nodded slowly, silent in my thoughts. All I could think about was the way she...the way we....

The guilt ate at me. The shame of doing such a thing to Draco...how could I? ....

*****

I tumbled out of the fireplace just after my daughter. She had a look of pure joy on her face and wouldn't stand still long enough for me to brush the ash off of her. All she wanted to do was run around the house, looking at everything, calling out for my father.

"What I call him?" she asked, suddenly nervous.

"Grandfather," I answered. "And I call him Father."

"What does Daddy call him?"

"Daddy doesn't talk to him very much," I confessed. It was true; Harry had only met my father on the one occasion and had only talked to him the once. Harry called him Vashon, his name, but Lamia didn't need to know her grandfather's name until she was old enough to understand what it meant.

Finally, my father's attention was drawn to the room we were in. He appeared suddenly at the door, calm, cool, collected, and possessing an air of regality that I had only known of him. I stood, and held Lamia close to me.

"Arinlita?" he asked. I nodded. "And this..."

"Father, this is my daughter. Lamia."

She pulled out of my loose hold and ran to him. He scooped her up in his arms and gazed at her in wonder.

"It's been so long since the light of a child grazed these floors, Young One. May you bring joy to this place once more."

Lami pulled a face. "You sound funny," she said in her British accent. "Like mummy only different."

My father laughed and nodded. "That's because your mommy and I are not from the same country as you and your father," he said. I knew Lami understood what he was saying, even if the words he was using were a bit older than she was.

Suddenly my father's gaze snapped at me. "Why are you here?" he asked. "Why now?"

I knew it would be futile to lie to him, so I came out with the truth.

"Jeff's dead, Father," I answered. "And Harry and I...things are just a bit weird for us right now, so I thought I'd use the excuse that you and Lami needed to meet to get away from the awkwardness for a little while. Is it alright?" I asked. "Or should we go back?"

"We need to talk later," he informed me. Then, he turned his attention back on her.

*****

It was odd, the manor being so quiet again. I had to fight the urge to go up to Lami's room to check on her because she wasn't there.

"They're not here," Draco said, seeming to read my thoughts. "They won't be back for at least a month, you know this."

I sighed and nodded.

"So why are you constantly looking up to their rooms?"

"I miss them," I sighed. "It's just so different without her around."

"Which her are you referring to?" Draco asked.

"Lami," I answered. "Why?"

"I know what you and Lita did," he said calmly.

I felt a wave of shock rush through me. Shit.

"Harry, if we're going to make this work, I need to be able to trust you. You've just proved to me that I can't."

"Draco..."

"Don't apologize," he ordered. "And don't do it again. I don't think I have the ability to forgive the same choice twice."

"I don't know why I did it," I said softly. "I just...I couldn't seem to stop myself."

"Maybe some day you'll be able to tell me," Draco said, standing. "But I think it's best if Lita finds her own place to live. The temptation for you is too strong for my liking." He kissed my forehead and went up to bed.

There was a knock on the door.

*****

"You're pregnant, aren't you?" my father asked long after Lami had been put to bed.

I shrugged. "I don't know," I confessed. "If you can sense it, I probably am."

"Are you and Harry back together?"

I sighed heavily. "No," I confessed. "I want to, I really do, but there's too much preventing us from being us. Draco for instance. Harry's in love with him, I know he is, I can feel it." I sighed heavily and drank my tea. "But he's the father of my child, and...."

"He loves you both," my father assured me. "No man can have a child and not love both the child and the mother. I don't care what the man says. Your situation is particularly unique in that he loves you as much as he loves this other man. And now that you're about to have another child...."

"I really am pregnant again?" I asked.

My father nodded. "Yes, I'm sure you are. Perhaps there is a spell with your wizards magic that can tell you for certain?"

I nodded. "How do you think I found out the first place?" I asked with a slight smile on my lips. "The nurse at the school...she used this spell. I can't remember what it is..."

"Mummy?"

I turned to the doorway and saw my daughter rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "What is it sweetie?" I asked.

"Something's wrong with daddy," she mumbled, walking over to me. I picked her up.

"What do you mean, love?" I asked. "What's wrong?"

"Daddy and Draco," she said. "Something wrong. Something bad is happening."

"Dad?" I asked.

"Go," he said quickly. "Leave Lamia and go."

I nodded, feeling my daughter's fear wash over me and make me afraid. "Lami, I'm going to leave you here with your grandfather, alright? I'm going to go see what's wrong with Daddy. I'll be back in a little while."

"Mummy, no!" Lamia cried, wrapping her arms tightly around me. "No go!"

"Baby, I have to," I said. After all, if something is this wrong, I'm sure it's....