Reunion

Part 2:
They All Fall Down

It's startling how fast your life can change. One moment, your life is headed in one direction and then it does a complete turnaround. After the Second Great War, the entire world -- Muggle and Wizarding -- completely changed. The death and destruction left by Voldemort was too great to contain and no amount of memory charms could change everyone's recollection. This left wizards and witches in a rather precarious position and magic was finally revealed to the Muggle world in what would be called the Great Revelation by many wizards and witches or "coming out of the cauldron" as many Muggles put it. Many Muggles simply accepted it and went on with their lives, others tried to pretend that nothing had changed, and still more others tried to bring back the Inquisition. To counter the Great Revelation, the Ministry of Magic created the Department of Muggle Relations which became managed by Arthur Weasley.

Other than the Great Revelation, the War brought on many other changes. There was a rather sudden and sharp increase in marriages and the Wizarding World's birth rate. Harry and Ginny eloped the day after Voldemort was finally defeated in the Battle of Godric's Hollow and, three months after the War ended, Percy Weasley married Penelope Clearwater. About a year after Fleur and Bill were married, they had their firstborn, a son they Gabriel Fabian Weasley (after Gabrielle Delacour and Fabian Prewett, Bill's uncle). The birth of her nephew sent Ginny's biological clock a-ticking and a year after her graduation, she gave birth to a healthy, happy baby boy named James Sirius Potter.

While their siblings were setting up house, the twins, Charlie, and Ron were perfectly contented in their unmarried lives. Charlie, who had been well-known for his Quidditch prowess, was quite the playboy. The twins, who had made a fortune with Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, were quickly becoming two of the Wizarding World's most eligible bachelors. Ron, though unmarried, was extremely happy just co-habitating with Luna (a fact that dismayed Mrs. Weasley thoroughly, and she was constantly dropping rather large hints about the two marrying).

Mr. Weasley made a great deal of money as the Head of Muggle Relations and, lost without taking care of her children, Mrs. Weasley went on to star in the Wizarding World's first cooking television show. Ron had overcome his fear of people watching him play Quidditch and had gone on to join the Chudley Cannons, winning them their first championship since 1892 and causing the team to change their motto back to "We shall conquer." Luna had taken the reigns of the Quibbler after her father had decided to retire and chase after some of the creatures the magazine advertised. Harry had become an Auror and then gone on to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts. Ginny had also become an Auror.

I was happy and fulfilled with my singleness. I'd briefly tried dating again but none of them could ever compare to Draco and many of them ran off when they found out I had a daughter. I'd abandoned the idea of becoming an Auror and decided to take an equally satisfying but less-dangerous job at the newly found Muggle Magic Pharmaceutical Corporation when Athena started school. Muggle Magic turned wizarding cures into pills and prescriptions for Muggles to take for ailments. It made me feel good to know that I was helping the world. Plus, I had an extremely flexible schedule which left me with plenty of time with Athena.

We had a nightly ritual: I'd help her with any homework she accumulated, we'd watch some telly, talk, have dinner, she'd take her nightly bath, brush her teeth, then get ready for bed, then I'd read to her (she was quite fond of Roald Dahl), kiss her goodnight, tuck her in, turn out the lights, and she'd be asleep by nine. I'd take the next three hours or so for myself, catch up on my reading, maybe do some puzzles, or veg out and watch the telly. Tonight, I chose the latter. I was in my oh-so-sexy pyjamas which consisted of sweats and a tank top and was munching on some ice cream and watching Wizarding Music Television, two of my guilty pleasures.

I was reclined on the loveseat, watching the television and humming when I actually knew some of the songs. I was watching The Newest, which showed the Wizarding World musicians' latest contributions to music videos. After the Weird Sisters' latest music video (which was a cover of the Beatles' "Magical Mystery Tour"), the show cut to the veejay. "Now, this next band has been quickly gaining a fan following. Here with us today is Draco Malfoy, the lead singer of Pendraconis!" the effervescent, bottle-blonde bimbo gushed.

I nearly choked on my Cherry Garcia at the introduction. I pretended I didn't hear it, that this was not MY Draco Malfoy, but -- the man walked onstage -- some other tall, platinum-blonde, silver-eyed, pointy-faced, high-cheekboned man who looked...identical to my Draco Malfoy. It could happen, right? I mean...Draco could have an identical twin...with the same name, right? Wrong, wrong, so very wrong.

"It's good to meet you, Melody," he purred her name and placed a chaste kiss on her proffered hand. The stick figure (whose orangey skin tone was not seen in nature and was only achieved by overdoing the self-tanner) blushed.

Melody smiled brightly. "I understand you usually teach Potions at Hogwarts, what made you try your hand at music?" she asked. Draco taught Potions at Hogwarts? Harry had never told me that. Then again, we'd sort of lost touch throughout the years. He was busy with his life and I was busy with mine.

"Well, I didn't have anything to do over the holidays so I figured it might be fun to dabble in music. I never really expected it to go so far," he said. "So I took the past year off and concentrated on music for a while."

"Your debut album, Year of the Pendragon, has gone platinum. How do you feel about that?" Melody questioned.

Draco gave her the kind of smile that had melted my heart to putty when we were together and she fanned herself. I felt a quick stab of jealousy. "I feel really good about that, actually," he said. "It makes me proud."

"It should. Pendraconis is one of the most popular bands in the world right now and even the Weird Sisters and Celestina Warbeck think your band's career could very well outlast theirs," Melody stated.

"That means a lot," Draco said, giving a grin that sent the surrounding crowd into sighs and giggles and the twentysomething veejay in front of him looked like she was having a hot flash. I rolled my eyes. The prat. He was doing...the exact same thing he had done to me nearly a decade beforehand. I glared at the telly.

"Well, here's Pendraconis performing their number one hit, 'They All Fall Down,'" the woman said, joining the audience. A black-haired boy that I recognised as Blaise Zabini slid onstage and picked up a guitar, a dark-haired girl moved onstage and picked up a bass, and another boy that I didn't know took up the drums and Draco began to sing.

"I can be as humble as the next guy,
Or I can blink and make you crumble from the inside,
I could be every nasty thing you ever dreamt a man could be."

"'Cause they all fall down," Draco sang

"Down," his band echoed.

'Cause they all fall down."

"Down."

"I can make you see the beauty of a new sun
Or I can be the source of your desperation,
I could be every nasty thing you ever dreamt a man could be."

"'Cause they all fall down," Draco sang

"Down."

'Cause they all fall down."

"Down," his band echoed.

"Jaded, dated, I'm the type you hated,
Haunted, taunted, I'm what you've always wanted,
Yeah, yeah, I'm what you've always wanted,
Yeah, yeah, I'm what you've always wanted," Draco sang with his band.

"You can turn away like you don't even see me,
Yeah, you can smile and act like you got something I need
But every night you go home alone
And dream about being underneath me."

"All fall down," Draco sang.

"Down."

"'Cause they all fall down."

"Down," his band echoed.

"Jaded, dated, I'm the type you hated,
Haunted, taunted, I'm what you've always wanted,
Yeah, yeah, I'm what you've always wanted,
Yeah, yeah, I'm what you've always wanted."

"Can't you see through this disguise?" Draco sang.

"Can't you see what's inside?" the band sang.

"Find the little boy inside.
I'm afraid of fallin'," Draco sang.
"Fallin'," the band sang.

"Love is pain and now she's callin'
And she's..." he sang.

"Jaded, dated, I'm the type you hated,
Haunted, taunted, I'm what you've always wanted,
But I'm what you've always wanted.
Yeah, yeah, I'm what you've always wanted,
Yeah, yeah, I'm what you've always wanted," the entire band sang.

Draco and his band finished to uproarious applause and I wrinkled my nose with distaste. Melody was fanning herself as she walked up to Draco. "That was amazing!" she gushed.

"That was for my dirty little secret," he replied, and I dropped my ice cream, remembering a night so long ago.

---

I giggled, sated and satisfied from another night with Draco, my head was pillowed on his chest and I was perfectly content to just to listen as his breathing and heartbeat slowly came back to normal. We were both flushed from our exertions and I kissed his chest, my nails lightly running over the flushed expanse of chest. I looked up at him, our eyes meeting. "I really wish we could stay together tonight," I murmured under my breath.

"What was that?" he asked, pushing my hair out of my sweaty face and caressing my cheek.

I blushed, threading my fingers through his. "I wish we could stay together tonight," she said.

Draco gave a sad smile. "I wish we could too...but it would not be a good idea," he replied, brushing the pad of his thumb over my lips. "It'll just be our dirty little secret, hmmm?"

I gave a sad smile in return. "Ron and Harry would try their damnedest to murder you, and Crabbe and Goyle would try to kill me," I replied.

"No. Crabbe and Goyle wouldn't. When I say jump, they jump. If I told them to leave you alone, they would. It's not them I'm worried about," he answered, getting a faraway look in his eyes. "Can you move yet?"

I giggled again. "I think so," I murmured, slowly moving to a sitting position. I stretched out and could tell that Draco enjoyed the show so I stretched again, slowly, dramatically, and molten silver eyes watched each movement with interest.

He chuckled huskily. "Devious, Granger," he whispered, his Quidditch-roughened hands sliding up my back, pushing his thumbs into the area on either side of my spine, drawing a slow moan from me. He slowly slid his hands up and rubbed my shoulders before sliding his hands down to cup my breasts. His lips kissed the area where my neck met my shoulders before peppering kisses up my neck and along my jawline.

"I think we have maybe an hour more," I said breathlessly as he watched the large grandfather clock across from the brass bed where we were.

"Just an hour?" he murmured against my skin. Our lips met and he gave me a kiss, his tongue sliding past my lips causing my lower regions to turn into molten lava. Draco smiled against my lips and slid his hands down my body...

---

I was pulled out of the reminiscence of the past by my sleepy-eyed eight-year-old entering the room in her SpongeBob pyjamas. "Mummy, I can't sleep," she whined. "I keep trying but it doesn't work!" I giggled and patted my lap. Well, okay, it was May and school would be over in a few days, so I decided to let her stay up with me. She sat in my lap, leaning against my chest and I smoothed her brown curls out of her face. One of the many ways Draco's and my genetics had played together: she had my curls but they were smooth and not bushy like mine were. Athena smiled and I rested my chin on her head. "What're you watching?"

"WMT," I replied. "Music videos." She nodded and cocked her head, examining the screen with curiosity.

"Who's that?" she asked, nodding toward the platinum-blonde who was again talking to Melody.

"Draco Malfoy," I spat.

"He's cute," she surmised.

I chuckled. "I guess you could say that," I replied. I gave her a mischievous grin. "You're too young to think boys are cute."

"No, I'm not."

"You are."

"Not."

"Are." And I attacked; I pushed her onto the sofa and tickled her until she squealed with glee all the while chanting, "Are. Are. Are."

"Okay! Okay! I am too young!" she squealed. I stopped tickling her and rubbed my nose against hers.

"Glad you see things my way" -- she stuck her tongue out at me -- "I'll give you" -- I looked at the clock -- "A half-hour more, okay? And then you are going to bed, whether you like it or not."

"Mummy..." she whined.

"Don't 'Mummy' me, Athena Elise," I stated. "You need every minute of sleep you can get. And you have school tomorrow."

She frowned. "I don't like school," she said. "The other kids think I'm weird."

Athena was a lot like her father; she had that enviable ability to remember everything after just seeing or hearing it once, and because of this, she was always the teacher's pet and the rest of the students disliked her for her perfect grades (much like the other kids disliked me when I had attended Muggle school before I had gotten into Hogwarts). I had to earn my grades by constant studying which was just another reason why Draco and I hadn't gotten along before sixth year. Even I had to admit, if Draco had actually studied, he would have beaten me in grades; as it was, we had ended up with the same O.W.L. grades (he'd gotten an O in Defence Against the Dark Arts as opposed to my E, but I had gotten an O in Care of Magical Creatures while he had only gotten an E).

It also didn't help her case that she was already showing strong signs of magic at her young age. Of course, the Underaged Restriction on Magic was still in force, but even then, it didn't really have any say on anyone who hadn't been properly trained in magic like Athena. She had an amazing control over her powers (which really made me worry sometimes, especially after what Harry had told me of the young Tom Marvolo Riddle), but she couldn't control the magic all the time. She was the only witch in her school (Muggle-born or otherwise) and while some teachers and students had been fascinated by her magic, others had been utterly terrified. I knew how she felt (I had been much like her when I had been her age as well) and I really wished that someone would make a Wizarding grade school.

"I know what you mean, sweetie," I told her. "Things were like that for me before I went to Hogwarts. But once I got there, things got better."

"Did they call you a know-it-all at Hogwarts, too?"

"Er...yes, but my teachers liked me at Hogwarts. Well, except for Snape and Umbridge, but that was a long time ago. Neither of them is there anymore. But I also made some really good friends..."

"You mean Uncle Harry and Uncle Ron? But you haven't even talked to them in a long time."

"Because we're grown-ups, Athena. Sometimes when you grow up, you lose contact with people you used to know."

"But if you're really good friends, you should talk more," she said sagely.

The little one had it right. If we were really good friends, we should probably talk more. That was the main reason why I had accepted a post at Hogwarts when I received the owl in June. Not only was I going to help Ron, Harry, Luna, and Ginny (the last student survivors of the first battle of the Second Great War, but I had also been offered the position of Professor of Muggle Studies. I had only taken Muggle Studies in my third year, but it made sense that the class should be taught by a Muggle-born like myself as opposed to a pure-blood like Professor Bonaccord had been.

---

I decided to break the news to her after we'd gone out to see a movie together. We sat in an ice cream shop munching on banana splits. "Athena, would you like to move?" I asked her.

She looked at me warily. "What do you mean?" I placed the letter I had received in front of her, she read it, and she gave a broad grin. "You mean to Hogwarts?"

"Most of the year, but during the summer holidays, I found this cute little cottage for sale in Hogsmeade."

I placed the advert I had snipped from The Daily Prophet in front of her and her eyes lit up. "There's a garden, a real garden! Can we plant flowers?"

I smiled. "Anything you want."

My usually mild-mannered daughter began to bounce in her seat and listed off the flowers and plants she'd like for us to grow. "Roses, the pretty and good-smelling ones; jasmine, you know, like that perfume you wear sometimes," she listed. "Can I get a dog?"

I stared at her for a moment. "You've already got a cat," I replied.

"But, Mummy..." she purred, giving me the molten-silver puppy-dog eyes. Damn, how'd she do that look so perfectly when she'd never even met Draco?

I fought vainly to not fall for the puppy-dog eyes. I really, really did. And then I let out a groan, and Athena knew she'd won. The little brat. "Fine, okay," I caved. "And you will take care of the dog."

"Yes, Mum," Athena said. "I'll teach it all sorts of tricks. Can I have a magical dog? I--I heard that there are these dogs that change colours..." She prattled on about the colour-changing dogs for a while longer, and I reflected on what I'd seen on the telly. Draco Malfoy taught Potions at Hogwarts...and he was a rock star during his free time? A rock star/teacher, what was the world coming to?

---

The day after Athena finished her schoolyear, we moved. The cottage wasn't quite what had been advertised in The Daily Prophet. It was run-down, chunks of plaster falling from its façade, several shingles were missing, and the garden was weed-choked. Okay, so it needed work. But it had potential.

"This place is a disaster!" Athena proclaimed with a look of disgust on her pretty face. Ever the pessimist. Just like her dad. What was with me lately? I'd gone almost a decade with hardly any comparison of Athena to Draco, and now all I could think about was how much she was like him. She even had that same look of disgust he'd sent me before we'd become involved. I focused on those earlier memories, about how much of a prick he'd been, but it was of no use. My mind would wander back to the better times. "I say you get your money back, Mum."

I shook off the thoughts as Athena spoke up. "No, everything will work out fine," I stated. "We'll just fix it up ourselves."

"'Ourselves'?" she said, wrinkling her nose. "We know nothing about fixing houses."

"We can learn," I replied as we entered the house, leaves littered the floor, and the cottage had the musty scent of a place that hadn't been aired out for a very long time. "It'll be fun, a mother-daughter project." She didn't look convinced, wrinkling her nose at the scent. "This place smells like Great-Aunt Gertrude."

Even I had to admit that Athena was right about that. We made our way over the dirty floor and opened up the windows, letting in the late spring breeze. We swept the leaves and rubbish out and I made them disappear with Scourgify. Athena liked my use of magic and watched me eagerly. "Can we do the rest with magic, too?" she asked hopefully.

"No magic for you," I stated sternly. I magically moved our belongings into the house, then Athena and I took a walk through Hogsmeade's downtown in search of paint. It was remarkable how little it had changed since my days at Hogwarts. The one main change that I could see was that Zonko's Joke Shop was now a Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.

"Ooh...I always wanted to go to a Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes!" Athena proclaimed. Athena had been to Diagon Alley many times, but there were two parts that I always kept her away from: Knockturn Alley and Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. My daughter was bright with a hint of a mischievous streak (from her father, because she certainly didn't get it from me), and I did not want her getting any ideas. But even I was curious about the store. Athena didn't even have to give me the puppy-dog eyes. I took her inside. "You are so awesome, Mummy!"

The chaos of the store immediately took me back to the first time I'd ever stepped into one of Fred and George's. That had been the day Harry, Ron, and I had spied on Draco in Knockturn Alley. It seemed like a lifetime ago. And it was, I realised as I watched Athena "ooh" and "ahhh" over a display of Pygmy Puffs.

"I see you've found the Pygmy Puffs," Fred said to Athena. "Nine years running and still our biggest sellers. Do you want to hold one?" She pointed to a rainbow-coloured one. "Excellent choice." He picked it up for her and set it in her hands.

Athena giggled as the fluffy little thing made its way around her hands. "Mum, Mum, can I have one?" she begged, looking at me. "Please."

Fred's eyes widened. "Hermione Granger, is that you?"

"Hi, Fred," I replied.

"Wrong twin," he said. I gave him a look, and he gave me a smile. "Alright, I'm Fred. How'd you get so good at telling us apart?"

"Your mum," I answered with an arch of a brow.

"You know his mum?" Athena asked.

"He's one of Ron's older brothers," I replied.

"Oh, Weasley, duh!" Athena said. "It's not a very common name." "And THIS is little Athena?" Fred questioned, my daughter nodded. "I haven't seen you since you were a baby."

"You knew me when I was a baby?"

Fred nodded. "Saw you at the hospital when you were born."

"Do you know who my daddy is?" I coughed, suddenly choking at her comment. Fred's eyes widened. I'd always expected the question, and I'd been surprised that it had taken her this long to ask the question I'd dreaded since I'd found out I was pregnant with her. I'd always side-stepped any possible question relating to her paternity; I had no idea how I could ever tell her about her father, how I'd fallen for the love of my life and the bane of my existence. Love was funny that way.

Athena's question also startled me. She'd asked a stranger about her father. She deserved to know, but I was scared. Fred floundered, grasping for a response. "Athena," I said sharply. "You don't ask questions like that." Her face fell and I felt guilty for snapping. "Athena, I'm sorry, but now's not the time." I sucked in a deep breath. "I'll tell you about him later."

"Promise?" she asked, silver eyes wide with hope.

"I promise."

---

When we got home, I made a quick and simple supper, then sent Athena to bathe and brush her teeth while I did the dishes. It was true that I could simplify things with spells but sometimes doing Muggle things helped me to think. I thought long and hard about how to tell my daughter about her father, secretly hoping that she'd forget.

I found her waiting in my bedroom, watching WMT. Draco Malfoy was on-screen, wearing skin-tight dragon-hide trousers; a navy silk shirt mostly unbuttoned revealing acres of taut, pale chest; his white-blonde hair mussed in a "just got out of bed" look that I found particularly fetching; and his facial expression screamed "come and fuck me" as he walked onto the stage of a talk show set. God, I hated him. I turned off the telly, and Athena gave me a death glare. "That was Draco Malfoy!" she proclaimed.

"Do you want to hear about your daddy or what?" I sighed. She was immediately incensed. This was going to be incredibly difficult. "Honey...your daddy and I met when we went to Hogwarts. He was a Slytherin and I was a Gryffindor." Athena nodded, she already knew about the House rivalries. "We didn't like each other when we first met; he was mean to me because Grandma and Grandpa weren't wizards."

"That isn't nice," Athena said with a frown.

"You're right, it isn't nice. But when the War came..." I trailed off, and Athena nodded. She understood about "the War" as well. Every wizard child had been taught about the War from a young age, and my daughter had been no exception. "When the War came, your daddy was a different person. We became friends and, well, you know where babies come from." Athena nodded again, bless her. The girl was too smart for her own good, having asked that question a couple of years prior. I didn't beat around the bush; I beat the bush to a pulp and told her. "Your father and I were very young, and I thought he loved me, but he didn't love me that much apparently." I smiled weakly.

"He sounds really mean," Athena scowled.

"He could be," I replied. "But he could also be very nice sometimes; I loved your father. I suppose I still do."

"Why didn't you marry him like Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry?" Athena asked.

"Well...your father didn't want to get married," I answered.

"Like Aunt Luna and Uncle Ron?"

"No. Not like them. He was...well, it's very complicated, sweetheart. Why don't you go to bed, now?"

"One more question," she interrupted. "What does he look like?"

I smiled and walked to the mirror. "C'mere," I said, setting my chin on the top of her head. She stared at our reflections. "Well, he has your eyes and your nose," I replied, touching the reflection as I listed them. "He has that little smile you have when you're up to no good." I smiled as she gave that little smile that I had listed. "Yes, that one. He has really light blond hair, pale skin; he's tall and very cute."

"Like Draco Malfoy?" she asked, looking at my reaction for speculation.

I paled noticeably. "Um, yeah, like Draco Malfoy," I stated. "Let's get you to bed now, sweetie." She seemed satisfied by my response and raced to her bedroom. I took in a deep breath and wondered what the hell I'd gotten myself into.

Athena lay down on her bed and looked up at me. I debated on whether I should just tell her what I thought she already knew, but I decided to keep that secret for another day. I felt nervous, what if Athena just blurted it out? I didn't even want to think of what Athena would do when she saw her father for the first time. Our daughter was amazingly outspoken and I kind of wanted to break it to him easily. Wait, what was I thinking? He was the one who broke my heart, let Athena just blurt it out. I hoped he died of a heart attack.

I pouted slightly when I realized that he wouldn't just keel over. He was far too young for a heart attack. I tucked Athena into bed, and her vicious ball of perpetually-moving fluff that dared call itself a kitten, Kali (appropriately named after Kali-Ma, the Sanskrit goddess of destruction), curled up on her mistress's pillow. Athena giggled as Kali's whiskers tickled her cheek. I placed a kiss on her forehead and she snuggled into the covers. I headed toward my bedroom, chewing on my bottom lip thoughtfully.

I actually tried to sleep, but ended up staring at the cracked paint that decorated my ceiling. I muttered Reparo and watched as the cracks mended themselves. I probably shouldn't have done that. Once I didn't have the cracks to stare at, my mind began to wander back to the last night I'd actually seen Draco in person.

---

We'd barely just survived, and I had finally come to the realisation that I should tell Draco about our daughter. After all that we'd been through, the night before had awakened feelings inside me that I wasn't sure how to handle. I sat down beside Draco on the rubble. The both of us were bruised and battered, bloody and sweaty from arduous battle. "We survived," I said simply.

"So, we did," Draco said coldly. I thought he was in shock again.

I swallowed my pride. "There's something I need to tell you--" I started.

"What do you want, Mudblood?" he asked, looking at me, hatred boiling in his silver eyes.

I stared at him, feeling the sting of tears. He'd never talked to me like that since before our strange affair had started, and I'm ashamed to say, it really hurt. I swallowed hard. "I--I thought..." I started, my voice so soft I could barely even hear.

"You thought what, Granger? That we'd get married and live happily ever after in one of those blasted Muggle cottages with a golden retriever and a white picket fence with more children than the Weasleys?" I actually had...sort of, I realized. Except for the "more children than the Weasleys" part, another child -- a boy -- would be fine. I stared at him, my silence answered his question.

"Oh, you did? That's sweet," Draco stated. A cold, cruel smirk crossed his lips...the same lips that had done wonderful things to me the night before. "I bet you even fell for the virgin shit? You actually think, for one moment, that you were my first?"

Each word was worse than a blow; Draco had always had a way with words that could leave you completely torn apart and exposed. I felt my heart wrench in my chest. "You fucking bastard," I hissed. "You fucking bastard," I hissed.

"Yeah, Granger, I am a fucking bastard, too bad you forgot that," he growled.

I lashed out. I hit him, not the slap that I'd given him in our third year, but a full-on punch. Aside from the probably-broken fingers, it had felt good. But not as good as the look of shock and surprise on his face as his nose dribbled blood.

I'd been horrified at my reaction and I had Apparated home to my parents where I'd picked up Athena, and had tried not to think of her father.

---

I stared at the ceiling, living the memories over and over again. How could I face Draco after what he'd put me through? How could I face myself because after what he'd put me through...I still loved him.