FicWad

Chapter 46



Here we go







Turning to Narcissa, Anna asked the most important question of the evening. "When will you want to leave?"



"Tonight; I don't dare go home. They could come for me any time. I think Bella realized she'd said too much and might persuade them to come for me sooner than later. I didn't pack much as I wanted to make it look as if I'd just popped out for the afternoon for some shopping. I even left a shopping list on my desk, as if I'd forgotten it."



"Good move; that will give you a few hours before anyone would be suspicious."



"I left everything: jewelry, photos, most of my clothes; everything."



"I understand this is hard for you, Narcissa, but you are doing the smart thing, the right thing." Anna reached over and put her hand on Narcissa's arm. "Not the easy thing, though, I know."



"I'm worried about what Draco will think." Narcissa sighed.



"May I suggest sending him an owl, after you are settled?" Dumbledore spoke softly. "He'll be none the wiser until then. Why would he expect you to be anywhere but at Malfoy Manor? Tell him your reasons and tell him it's up to him to make the right choice. And it truly is his choice, Narcissa. He's seen, first hand, what following Voldemort brings: hatred, death, misery, families torn apart. If he comes to me, I'll do what I can to help him understand your position and support him, no matter what his decision."



"Thank you, Professor Dumbledore. And thank /you/, Anna, for helping me."



"Hey, we Hogwarts girls have to stick together - through thick and thin."



"Yes, because Hogwarts boys are notoriously thick and their excuses are always pretty thin."



They both laughed at the old joke.



X # X # X



Just then, Dobby returned with Winky. If she was surprised to be introduced to the widow of the wizard her Mistress had killed, she hid it well. After hearing of the plan for secretly hiding Narcissa, Winky agreed whole heartedly to helping Dobby and her get settled and showing them how things worked at the "Little Lodge'.



"And there's a lovely garden that I think you'll enjoy, Narcissa. It should just be coming into full bloom." Anna informed her. "Oh, dear...I'll have to tell Gwen about these arrangements, as she does go up for the occasional weekend away from London. No problem, really, she can just stay at the Manor."



"Gwen?"



"My step-daughter; she's a Muggle physician, as was her father, my late husband."



"I see. Are you sure she won't mind me taking over her residence?"



"No, not at all. When she goes down, she can stay at Briarwood. During the summer, she spends most of her time at the pool we have there, anyway, so this will save her driving around the property from one place to the other."



Narcissa looked doubtful.



"It really will be ok, Narcissa. Gwen knows about our world and its problems, so she'll understand."



Professor Dumbledore stood. "Well, Dobby, your new job starts tonight and if I could suggest, you should tell the rest of the house elves downstairs that I'm sending you two on a special assignment to help an old friend of mine, so they can re-arrange the work schedules. We will meet you at the 'Little Lodge' in, say, an hour?"



"Yes, Professor."



"Winky, take your time there, I'll be fine for a bit without you." Anna gave Winky a hug. "And thank you for helping us."



"Yes, Missy Anna."



The two house elves trotted off.



Narcissa turned to Anna. "Winky is you personal house elf?"



"Yes, she was Barty Crouch's, but he gave her clothes after the incident at the World Cup. She wound up here, and I needed a house elf." Anna shrugged. "It just worked out perfectly for both of us."



"I've missed Dobby, but" Narcissa said, smiling slightly, "it was a challenge to do the housekeeping myself. I enjoyed it. It was satisfying; gave me something to pass the time. As Lucius wouldn't admit to being tricked out of his house elf, we never got another. But, now...I think I'll take all the help I can get."



X # X # X



Dumbledore came around his desk, and Narcissa and Anna stood.



"Well, Anna, I think if you were to wear your invisibility cloak, we three could walk down to Hogsmeade and make our way from there."



"Why does Anna need to wear an Invisibility cloak? I'll have my hood up." Narcissa asked.



"Only one person came up the drive. If I accompany that person back, no one will think anything of it, but if three leave and only two come back, then the speculation starts. Maybe no one even saw you arrive, but, just in case."



"I see. There may be spies."



"There are not always spies, but there are almost always /eyes/, which are connected to mouths that don't always stay shut. Gossip is a great source of information, no matter how innocently uttered. Where did you leave you valise?"



"Hidden by the train platform."



"Splendid. Anna, could I ask you to retrieve your cloak and meet us at the front doors. We'll give you a few minutes head start."



"Right." Turning to Narcissa, she gathered the other woman in her arms, and hugged her. "You're doing the right thing, Narcissa."



"I know. I have to do this, for all of our sakes." She hugged Anna back and smiled at her.



Anna hurried out the door and down the spiral stairs.



X # X # X



Just before dawn, Albus Dumbledore and Anna Twigg-Jones walked into the Headmaster's office.



"I'm getting too old for these late, late," glancing out the window at the rising sun, "EARLY adventures, Albus."



"Nonsense, I'm not tired at all. It was an invigorating night, and we accomplished a lot in a short time."



"Hopefully it was an unobserved, secret, successful evening, too." Anna added.



"I think Narcissa did the right thing," remarked the Headmaster as he removed his traveling cloak and draped it over a nearby chair. "She wants to protect Draco, but she's also setting him free, to make his decision on his own. Now he'll know where she stands as far as declaring she's not going to just blindly follow Voldemort. Her defiance is admirable, and I think he'll see that."



"She's so scared for him, Albus, but trying to protect him herself wouldn't have worked and she understood that only too well. Now, we can only hope Draco gets the message. What I'm concerned about is his being at the Manor this summer, all by himself. He's vulnerable."



"I know, but we'll have to take our direction from his reaction to Narcissa's letter. I think helping her draft the letter was an excellent idea, Anna."



"That was hard for her. I could see she's so torn about all of this...feels she's abandoning Draco to save herself and the baby."



"In a sense, she is. She's letting him decide his own fate. Perhaps, with the time left until the summer holiday, he'll be able to make the right decision."



"But how do we protect him, if he decides not to become a Death Eater?"



"If I can persuade him to return for his final year here at Hogwarts, that could be protection enough. We must be patient and see how he takes the news."



"Right. Well, I'm going to get some sleep, Albus. Thank Heaven it's Saturday; I can afford a couple of hours of sleeping in."



"Don't forget the Quidditch Final is at 2 PM."



"I'll be there. I'll set four or five alarms."



"Should I send one of the house elves, just in case, now that Winky's not here to watch after you?"



"No, thank you."



"Are you sure?"



"Oh, alright. Tell them to come and check that I'm up about 1PM. And bring a mug of coffee, regardless of whether I'm awake or not."



"Sounds like an excellent plan, my dear. I may just follow it myself."



Anna laughed and gave Albus a hug and a kiss before heading for the door.



"Good night, Anna, and thank you."



Stopping in the door, she looked back and smiled.



"No thanks needed, I had to help her."



"You /didn't/, actually."



"I know, but I'd never have been able to live with myself. Oh, one more thing. This is strictly between you, me and Narcissa. I'm not telling Severus. And Gwen is keeping it from Remus, too."



"Yes, I think that best. See you at the match."



"See you there. Good night, Albus."



"Goodnight, Anna."



X # X # X



Winky returned before week's end with a note from Narcissa, telling how things were going. It was rather cheerful, but she also confided to Anna she would send Draco her letter on Saturday, so that there would be fewer students in the Great Hall to see his reaction. She also asked Anna to write and tell her what Draco did or said. Anna sent a short reply, promising to keep her informed.



X # X # X



"Ah, mail's here." Pansy reached out and snatched a letter from her owl, which hooted and headed for the owlery. "Hum, Ma-Ma says to ask you where /your /Mother's gone. Is she on a trip? She's sent two owls to your house this week to ask her to come over to dinner and has not received any replies."



"Maybe she doesn't feel like being sociable. Besides, your house elf is a terrible cook. I don't blame Mother for dodging those invites."



"You are being horrid/, Draco!" Pansy slapped his arm. "The food isn't /that bad, is it?"



Draco mimed vomiting into his sleeve and then laughed. An owl landed on the table, hopped over to Draco and stretched out his leg, from which dangled a letter.



"Who do you want?" Draco asked, turning the letter over. "Oh, it's for me. I wonder who...?" pulling the letter loose, he watched the owl flap off. "Whose owl is that, do you know?"



Pansy shook her head.



Opening the letter, he recognized the handwriting. "Oh, well, speak of the..." But Draco stopped abruptly as he scanned the letter. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped as he flipped through the pages of light grey parchment. He furrowed his brow, turned over a page, twice, to re-read a section, gasped and slowly shook his head.



"Draco, what is it? What's happened?" Pansy leaned over.



"Get away!" Draco jerked the letter out of her line of sight. "I don't /believe/..."



Standing, he turned to look at the staff table, where Professor Dumbledore was conversing with Minerva McGonagall. None of the teachers were paying any attention to the few students present, except Severus Snape, who stopped, with a piece of toast half way to his mouth. He saw Draco stand, looking positively panic stricken. His eyebrow shot up as he caught Draco's eye.



Anna was just turning to ask Filius Flitwick to pass the coffee when she saw Severus staring and followed his gaze. Draco started to walk to the staff table, the letter clutched in his fist.



/Here we go, /she thought. "The coffee, please, Filius?"



"Professor Dumbledore?"



"Yes, Mister Malfoy?" Turning from Professor McGonagall, the Headmaster looked at Draco over his half moon glasses, a smile on his face.



"I need to speak with you, /now/."



"Pardon me?"



"I've just received a letter from my Mother, sir, which contains some rather...disturbing news." Taking a breath, Draco tried to keep his voice calm; although it was obvious he was agitated. "Could I have a few minutes of your time? I don't know what to make of this," he waved the letter, "and I don't know what to do."



"Certainly. Shall we adjourn to the antechamber?" suggested the Headmaster, indicating a door in the wall past the end of the staff table.



"Yes. Professor Snape, will you come, also?" Draco turned his head to look at Severus.



"Of course."



Dumbledore and Severus stood. Anna, busying herself with her coffee, glanced up with polite interest. Draco looked at her, opened his mouth, but then closed it.



"Good morning, Mister Malfoy," Anna said softly.



"No, it's not," he replied, with a catch in his voice.



He turned and stalked over to the door of the ante-chamber and entered after Dumbledore, followed by Snape, who, as he turned and closed the door, gave Anna a quick glance and frown.