"We're home, love."

At Pansy's insistence, Draco had taken Blaire straight back to the treehouse, leaving Crabbe to rescue Weasley without them. ("The Weasley girl will be fine at ours; we'll reconvene at yours in the morning. Just get Blaire back to your little boy.")

And now here they were, Blaire's exhausted eyes filling with love as he helped her over the threshold into the place they used to spend many happy summers together.

"I've missed this place," she whispered weakly, clinging onto him tightly. "I've missed it so much."

"I know, Blaire," he murmured, pressing his lips fiercely down on top of her head as he tried to swallow down the lump that had formed in his throat, "and it's missed you."

The place was in darkness and Draco guessed his mother had finally gotten the boys to sleep. Knowing that Blaire would be desperate to see Jack, he steered her in the direction of the room she used to sleep in; that they used to sleep in.

And sure enough, there he was, fast asleep in the middle of the huge four poster bed as his mother sat asleep in the armchair next to him, baby monitor upon her lap.

He placed a hand upon her shoulder, gently coaxing her awake.

"My child," his mother wept quietly as she stood up to greet the girl she'd been mourning for for so long. "My beautiful wonderful child."

The reunion was packed with emotion, yet brief. Blaire was exhausted and desperately needed sleep and his mother insisted that Draco get her settled down with Jack for the night whilst she went and watched over Scorpius in the other room.

Before she crept away, Draco warned her it was time to bring his father to the treehouse. "They're going to be after us now; looking for Jack, looking for me. Bring him here and keep him safe."

She nodded, relief sweeping across her face at Draco's acknowledgement of the man he'd once declared he'd hated.

But family, Draco knew, was everything. And he'd do anything to protect his.

"C'mon," he whispered, gently coaxing Blaire to the bedroom's adjoining bathroom.

He located a vest and a pair of shorts that had once belonged to her, his mother having refused to throw anything away that Blaire had left there.

When he turned to leave, to give her privacy to change, she grabbed his hand and Draco realised she was shaking. "Don't go," she breathed, sounding terrified. "Don't leave me."

So, remaining in the bathroom, he helped her out of the cloak he'd wrapped around her, his fingers trembling as he began to peel off the 'uniform' she'd been made to wear.

He was painfully aware of how inappropriate it was to want her in that moment, but he literally couldn't help the knot of desire that pulled low in his stomach as his eyes roamed her body which he had missed so achingly much.

"Hold me," she whispered as she stood before him without a scrap of cloth, offering herself completely, "please."

He cupped her face, sweeping his thumb along her cheek. "Let's get you clothed first," he murmured hoarsely, gently kissing her brow, "and then you can lay down with Jack and get some sleep."

He saw the disappointment flood her face as she turned away to step into the shower. Draco found he wanted to pull her back into his arms, kiss her hard and fuck her right there on the bathroom floor.

But instead he remained where he was, achingly hard but knowing he'd never take advantage of her like that in a million years.

He waited for her to shower, helping her dry and dress after, the whole time trying not to allow his gaze or hands linger too much.

Jack remained asleep as Blaire crawled into bed next to him, and Draco noticed his mother must have put him into a pair of his own old pyjamas to replace the ones Jack soiled. It made him feel oddly moved.

Removing his jacket and kicking off his shoes, Draco too climbed in exhaustedly beside them, curling his arms around Blaire and relishing in the feel of having her once again in his arms.

"I love you," he murmured softly in her ear. "I love you so much."

And, just as his eyelids grew heavy, he heard her whisper it back.

*****

Sunlight.

My heart thudded furiously against my chest as my eyes fluttered open, scarcely believing it was real.

And there it was, pure perfect natural light sweeping across the all too familiar room, bathing my skin in warmth as though I was being hugged by a long lost friend.

Skin. Shit. I suddenly sat up, my heart racing as I looked down upon my sleeping son, seeing him for the first time in sunlight.

"Blaire?" A sleepy voice spoke behind me. "What is it?"

I whirled my head round, my heart swelling instantly at the sight of the Slytherin with the untidy white-blonde hair and crumpled shirt, realising he'd stayed the entire night with us.

"Jack," I said hurriedly, thinking about his lack of exposure to UV rays. "The sun, he'll burn."

"It's okay," Draco replied groggily, "I cast a barrier charm on him last night. He'll be fine."

Relief flooded me, quickly replaced by horrifying shame as a memory of the previous night hit me. I had been stood stark naked before him, begging for him.

I mean, it wouldn't have been the first time, but the complete inappropriateness of it...

"Drac, about last night," I swallowed, "when I- when I-"

"Hey, come 'ere," Draco said, his eyes softening as he sat up next to me, pulling me into his side, "you wanted comfort, and so did I. But you still had drugs in your system and I wasn't going to take advantage, that's all."

But it wasn't just that, it was so much more. For one, he was still wearing a wedding ring.

He followed my gaze down to his left hand.

"Shit," he muttered, letting go of me to furiously yank it from his finger. "This crap means nothing," he added fiercely, holding it up, "I didn't want to marry her, I was forced into it. It's not real. And I owe nothing to the woman who tried to get my son killed."

He slammed it down on the bedside table with such force that it woke the sleeping boy next to us.

"Mummy?"

He lifted a sleepy head, his little face blinking bewilderedly up at me, before then lighting up. "Mummy!"

He flung his arms hard around me, burying his face into my neck.

"Oh, Jack," I said smiling, kissing the top of his head as I held him tightly to me. "We made it little fox, we made it Upstairs."

I felt him freeze and then pull back slightly, looking up at me anxiously.

"When can we go home, Mummy?" he asked, his voice sounding tiny in the huge room. "I miss my hat."

I glanced up at Draco as we exchanged an anxious look. A feeling of cold panic began to trickle down my spine.

"This is your home now, Jack," Draco said gently. "You and Mummy belong here with me. And Scorp, of course. Not to mention Nanny and Orion."

A dog barked from somewhere downstairs, almost as if it had supersonic powers and heard Draco say his name.

I could hear Jack's heart race crazily beneath his chest, little fingers digging painfully into the flesh of my arms as the barks grew more frantic.

"I don't like it here, Mummy," he sobbed; his small body shaking in fear. "It's too scary. I want Aunt Hermy and Uncle Ron. Please Mummy, I want to go home."

I held him tightly to me as I tried desperately to find the right words in my head to make it all alright; but I was coming up blank having not being prepared for this reaction at all.

But I'd been foolish not to expect this because of course Jack was traumatised. He'd been taken from the only place he'd ever known and thrown immediately into a world of things he'd never seen or experienced before. It must be utterly terrifying for him.

"Hey Jack, it's okay to be scared," I said gently, stroking his hair, "but our home - where we were, it's not safe for us to be there anymore. I promise you we're going to be so, so happy here. And you are going to have me and Daddy with you always. And Nanny Cissy; isn't she wonderful? She gave me all of this when I was little too, a home when I needed it, love. And she loves you already, she loves you so much."

"But what about Aunt Hermy and Uncle Ron?" He said, his bottom lip trembling. "And Granny Molly and Grampy Art? Won't they miss us?"

I looked back up at Draco, pleading for answers too. I had no idea where they'd taken the others. They had knocked me out the moment they stormed the underground, and by the time I woke up I was already in the Breeding Ground alongside Ginny.

I felt sick to my stomach with worry about Hermione and Rose and what had become of them. But I couldn't voice any of this in front of Jack.

"We'll find them, I promise," Draco said quietly in my ear, careful not to alarm Jack. "Crabbe is going to use his position at the Ministry to garner information on their whereabouts. It was how we found you."

Thank you, I mouthed as he rested his forehead down on mine, closing his eyes for a brief moment.

"Hey, little fox," Draco murmured, turning to address our son, reaching out and stroking the back of his head. "Let me and Mummy tell you all about the wonderful things about being Upstairs."

Jack slowly nodded, wiping a hand over his damp face; his body giving a little shudder as he stifled a sob.

And then Draco and I started to tell him about what lay beyond the bedroom door, talking through each step of what he should expect from the day ahead of us and reassuring him that we wouldn't leave his side.

"One day at a time, hey Jack?" I said encouragingly, tucking his hair behind his ear. "It's like a whole new adventure for Fox the Explorer."

The distant sound of a crying baby caused Jack to lift his head in surprise, looking around as though he thought it was coming from this very room.

"And that's your baby brother waking up," Draco said slowly, throwing me an apprehensive glance. "Are you- are you ready to meet him now?"

But Jack didn't answer, instead his big eyes looked up towards me; expectantly.

"Of course," I smiled as reassuringly as I could, "we'd like to meet him very much, wouldn't we Jack?"

Draco's face broke into a relieved grin as he hopped off the bed, practically skipping from the room to go and fetch his other son.

His other son from another woman.

I swallowed, wondering deep down if I was, in fact, strong enough to do this.

******