The atmosphere in the room was tense as all eyes fixed upon Draco.

I found myself edging my chair nearer to him, offering support through my closeness, desperately wanting to take his hand but the inappropriateness of it stopping me.

He threw me a grateful look as I instead pressed my leg against his, feeling him return the pressure.

"You can trust me not to betray you," Draco assured the table's occupants. "I would never do anything that would endanger Blaire or our child's life."

Our child. Hearing him say that made my heart swell with warmth. And I suddenly found myself experiencing a wave of frustration that after all these years we were sat here begging for Draco to be allowed a chance to continue visiting us.

Of course he couldn't stay permanently, he had a pregnant wife to consider.

That violent twist of my heart again when I thought of her. Astoria.

Something was deeply wrong, though. At first I thought it was simply guilt on Draco's part for having moved on whilst thinking I was dead. But even after all this time, I still knew him; and I also knew there was more to it than that.

I could see it in his eyes when he mentioned his marriage; the unhappiness was rife. And when I asked him about the cuts on his face, he grew evasive, steering the subject away as though he was somehow ashamed.

And yes, maybe I should be jumping for joy that he clearly wasn't happy with Astoria, but it just made me feel desperately sad for him that he could have been suffering so much all these years.

I'd had Jack, he gave me love and hope and happiness, and the knowledge that I might someday be reunited with the man I loved. Draco had had nothing but despair and grief, believing he'd lost me forever.

I was utterly heartbroken for him. He didn't deserve that. He deserved the world of happiness after everything he'd suffered.

"Draco tried to save us," I spoke up, hating the way everyone was regarding Draco with deep suspicion. "He went over with the intention to finish-" I paused, drawing in a deep shuddering breath as I tried to push down the pain that had suddenly engulfed me. "- to finish N-Neville's job. He knew it was the only way; but then Harry was killed before he had the chance."

Startled murmurs rippled around the room and I felt a hand slip in mine under the table. I realised with surprise that it was Draco's. He threw me a quick, comforting smile as his fingers squeezed mine.

"You know about the snake?" Kingsley asked, a look of intrigue on his face as he leant towards Draco; his low majestic voice silencing the room.

"Yes," Hermione spoke up before Draco could answer. "I can vouch for this, because I was the one who told him."

"But you've never tried to put a stop to it since?" Kingsley pressed, his bulging eyes studying Draco curiously. "Never tried to overthrow him?"

"And how exactly was I supposed to do that?" Draco spat, his fingers gripping tightly around mine. "I had lost all hope thinking that the most important person in my world was dead. I could barely get it together to get out of bed every morning, let alone go on a one man crusade against the most evil and most powerful wizard in the world!"

"You still managed to knock up another woman though." Ginny drawled from where she was sat at the end of the table with her arms crossed lazily over her chest.

Draco's cheeks instantly flushed as he hastily removed his hand from mine; turning his face away from me just as a funny strangling sound emitted from the back of his throat.

"Ginevra!" Molly scolded sharply. "This is not helping anyone."

"Ahem, if we could get back to the matter in hand," Kingsley said warningly before Ginny could open her mouth again. "Now, I called this emergency meeting so that we could come to some sort of unanimous agreement as to where we go from here."

"You need a spy amongst the enemy?" Draco said, putting both hands firmly flat down on the table in front of him as he put his proposal forward. "Well then, let me be just that. I can be your eyes and your ears and report everything back to you that may be of interest."

"You'd betray your wife and your unborn child?" Oliver Wood asked, raising his eyebrows sceptically.

"I'm doing this for my unborn child," Draco said vehemently, angrily balling his fists, "you have no idea what it's like up there. Every day you wake up and wonder how you're going to get through it, carrying around the fear that you may say or do something wrong that will get you or your loved ones killed. People are being forced into marriages they don't want, forced into creating life without love. Women - no, girls who don't marry are sent to the Breeding Ground where they are killed the moment they have served their purpose. The happiness has literally been sucked out of everyone's souls. No one has fight left in them anymore. But finding this place... finding Blaire, has given me that fight back. Let me do this, let me do this for the future of our children because that's what's important now."

The horror of his words rang in the air as he sucked in a sharp furious breath.

I looked up at him, my heart wrenching at the evident pain in his face; his sunken haunted eyes and the determined way his jaw was set, the tiny pulse of a muscle giving away his constant battle at trying to control the torrent of emotions going around his head.

I pressed my leg back into his, desperate to show him I stood by him, that I was there for him, that I always would be; and his steely eyes visibly softened as they flicked down to meet mine.

"Well," Arthur said, as everyone else shifted uncomfortably in their chairs as though not knowing how to respond to Draco's impassioned speech. "I don't know about everyone else, but I think we would be damned fools to pass this opportunity up. It seems to me that Draco here has been sent to us by some greater unknown force, and I, for one, believe this may finally be our chance."

"Agreed," Hermione said, swiftly followed by the rest of the table's occupants who were in attendance; Molly, Luna, George, McGonagall, Bill, Fleur, Oliver, Dean and Cho.

"Ginny?" Kingsley asked when she was the only one left who had yet to say anything.

She glared across at Draco, her face pinched in hatred. And I knew all she saw was her late boyfriend's rival; the bully who stamped on poor Harry's nose and the son of a Death Eater who participated in many hateful crimes against a teenage boy.

I threw her an imploring look, begging her to give him a chance and not to look at him solely through Harry's eyes.

"Fine," she muttered, sighing resignedly as she rolled her eyes. "Agreed."

******

There was a slight air of celebration when we arrived back at our quarters, with Hermione dragging Ron off to their bedroom for an 'early night'.

We had gotten the outcome we had wanted; for Draco to be able to continue visiting and finally getting to know his son without having to abandon the one he had on the way.

But I couldn't shift the uneasy feeling weighing heavily down on my chest; the feeling that Draco was about to walk into something so terrifyingly dangerous.

"I don't see it that way," he tried to placate me when I voiced my fear of his safety. "For the first time, since I lost you, I see hope; I have something to get up for in the mornings. I have Jack... and you."

He said this last part quietly, and I noticed his eyes dart down guiltily to the ring on his left hand causing my torn and mangled heart to give another painful twist.

"Will you come back soon?" I asked, trying to keep my voice as light as possible as I busied myself by collecting up the dirty teacups around the living space.

"As soon as I can," Draco replied instantly, following me over to the sink where I had began washing up.

He paused, and I felt him frown at me whilst he observed what I was doing.

"Why aren't you using magic?" He asked curiously. "In fact, I've not seen you even pick up a wand since I arrived down here."

"I don't have one." I shrugged, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible as I avoided looking at him.

The fact that I'd lost my magic made me feel so shameful, like it was a dirty secret I needed to keep hidden. And for some reason I felt highly defensive about it in front of Draco.

"I can get you one," he said, as though the whole reason I had been living like a Muggle for the last six years was simply because I didn't think to acquire another wand.

"There's no need." Drop it, drop it, drop it.

"For fuck's sake, Blaire, it's not a problem," he sighed in that exasperated tone he'd used on me a lot during our friendship. "Don't be so stubborn and let me help."

"There's no need," I reiterated through gritted teeth as I threw the dish cloth into the sink and went to move past him, "because there's no point."

He reached out and grabbed my arm, forcing me round to look at him; his features pinched in bafflement. "What do you mean?"

"I've lost my magic." I said sharply, wrenching my arm free. "You think if I still had it I wouldn't have tried to find you - to let you know I was still alive and that we had a child together?"

Draco flinched as though I'd just slapped him.

"I'm sorry..." he cracked, driving a hand through already tousled white-blond strands, "I was convinced..." But he trailed off, realising there were no adequate explanations for all that we'd endured.

"It's okay," I said, instantly feeling bad, "you've found us now. And you've got a chance to be there for Jack."

"And you," he said at once, his eyes full of yearning as he closed the gap between us, lifting a hand to delicately touch his fingers to my cheek, "let me be here for you."

I closed my eyes as his scent hit me, the familiarity of it making me feel dizzy with forgotten desire.

I wanted so much to nuzzle my face against his hand and let him hold me and touch me like he used to. I wanted it so much, I felt a physical ache deep in my heart.

But it was all wrong. So, with great effort, I opened my eyes, focused on his wedding ring, and took a swift step back.

"I need to check on Jack," I said, turning away from his hurt expression and hastily crossing the room to the door of the bedroom Jack and I shared.

He'd been fast asleep by the time we returned from the meeting, no doubt exhausted from all the excitement of the day.

I'd been disappointed for Draco who had been keen to bond more with his son, but in hindsight, I realised maybe it was for the best. It had been an extraordinarily overwhelming day for Jack as it was.

I sat on the edge of the bed and twirled my fingers through my sleeping son's hair; my heart never failing to contract by the breathtaking beauty and innocence of him.

"He's beautiful."

I jumped slightly, startled to see that Draco had followed me in, his eyes gazing adoringly down at Jack.

The mattress gave as he sat down next to me, our hips bumping together.

I didn't move away, didn't even flinch when Draco threaded his fingers through mine, because right then, as we watched our sleeping son together, it felt so right.

"You're a brilliant witch," he murmured softly against my ear. "People don't just lose their magic."

"I did," I whispered, my voice trembling with sadness as I looked up intently into his piercing grey eyes. "I lost it the day I lost you."

"Then let me help you find it again," he breathed, "because I believe it's still there in you somewhere. Something that strong just doesn't go away."

"You think so?" I asked, the meaning behind his words not lost on me.

"I know so, Blaire," he said, the merest twitch of a smile at his lips, "and I'll fight every day to make things right again. We'll get it back; I promise."

Feeling a swirl of contentment I hadn't felt in a long time, I rested my head upon his shoulder, our hands remaining entwined; and allowed myself to enjoy this brief, yet perfect, moment.

******