we grow and change, it's just life.. (someonesmommy) wrote in afic, @ 2011-03-14 20:16:00 |
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Entry tags: | !completed, character: draco malfoy, character: mandy brocklehurst, player: deb, player: missy |
Who: Mandy and Draco (Alyssa, Alex, and Aidan)
When: he wee hours of 15 March
What: Mandy shows up unexpectedly in the middle of the night
Where: Draco’s townhouse
Rating: pg-13
Status: Completed in gdocs
OOC note: The first part contains the night of Terry's arrest--The morning after will be posted in comments.
It had been an odd night. Draco had fallen asleep early while trying to convince Alyssa to sleep, both of them sprawled across his bed. When he woke around two, he was stiff and achy from sharing the bed with a toddler who took up far more space than any small child ought to. And he realized fairly quickly that he wasn’t going to be able to sleep again just yet, so he took his laptop and made his way downstairs to work in the front parlor, so as not to wake his daughter. He was in the midst of working on the latest Wiggleschwarm book when he heard the knock. At first, he discounted it, as it was the wee hours of the morning and who would be at the door now? But it came again, and this time he set the laptop on the coffee table and made his way to the door, pulling it open and stopping in surprise as he took in the sight on his doorstep: Mandy, wearing only a t-shirt and little more and obviously cold, and the twins dressed for bed and crying miserably. He pulled the door open, reaching to take Alex as he said quietly, “Come in.” He didn’t know why she was here, but there was obviously a problem, and it didn’t need to be addressed until the children were settled and Mandy was warm. | |
Mandy was a mess, her face streaked with tears and shivering violently. She was running on pure adrenaline, the bruises on her arm and cheek forgotten as she gripped her twins tightly. She had apparated home after leaving the Ministry, her intentions only including the need to comfort her babies in her nice warm bed. The sight of her belongings strung across the lawn of her home in an haphazard manner had taken the last of her composure. She had stood staring at the mess for the longest time, the tears falling unchecked. Aidan was clasped around her neck, his tiny hands clutched the neckline of her tee shirt, sobbing. Alex was a bit more composed until she spotted her favourite stuffed animal laying in the grass and started crying. Mandy picked her up, her anger and tears giving her the strength to hold both of them as she collected a few personal items from the mess. She had no where to go, nothing. She closed her eyes and fought back the desperation. Michael. She knew as soon as she thought about him, she couldn’t show up at his flat at 3am and expect to stay with the twins. Draco. As much as she hated asking, she knew he would help her. Without a second thought, she held her twins tighter and apparated to Draco’s townhouse. She knocked several times before he answered, the relief she felt as he took Alex overwhelming. Alex went willingly, wrapping her tiny arms around Draco as Mandy stepped inside the townhouse. Aidan was crying, his head against Mandy’s shoulder. She knew it would be only a matter of time before he lost the fight for sleep. “The Ministry took..” Mandy shivered violently and choked back tears as she stared at Draco who looked as if she disturbed his sleep, his clothes a bit rumpled from sleep. “Prison.” she swallowed harshly and wrapped both arms around her son. She was losing it and she couldn’t seem to stop. | |
Draco nudged the door closed, throwing the lock on it as he shifted Alex to one side. With his free arm, he drew Mandy in, his arm about her shoulders as he held her for a moment. “The twins can sleep in my room; Alys already claimed the bed earlier, and there ought to be plenty of space for all three of them.” And he had a feeling that a puppy pile of children would work far better to keep them all settled than separating them. “I’ll take them up. You go into the parlor and wrap yourself in the afghan you’ll find on the back of the sofa. I’ll be back with something to warm you up.” He didn’t want to leave her alone, not shivering as she was, but the twins needed to be settled before he could see to her. “Sit on the sofa, oui?” He recognized that shivering, had felt it himself all too recently, his mind putting the little bit she had said into context. It must be Terry... at least the man was alive. That gave them a chance to fix this. | |
Mandy leaned against him for a moment, taking the comfort and strength he offered. She wasn’t thinking, she was reacting. She knew he was right, the twins needed to be settled in to sleep, it was the middle of the night and they had been awake for hours. She kissed Aidan on his cheek and whispered in his ear for him to go with Draco and Alex. The little boy whimpered in her arms and clung tighter but didn’t resist when Draco took him and moved to take them upstairs. She stood watching him climb the stairs before dropping the bag by the door and taking off her shoes. She found the afghan and pulled it from the back of the sofa and wrapped it around herself. It did nothing to stop the shivering or the chill that seemed to have permeated her bones. Sitting on the sofa, she pulled her legs up against her chest and sat staring at the doorway. She couldn’t hear any commotion, so she could only hope the twins went down easy for him. Hugging herself, she closed her eyes for a second while she waited for Draco to return. | |
When Draco arrived in his room, both Alys and Chatlin had managed to spread out over the large mattress. With a small sigh, he settled first Alex onto the bed, then Aidan, helping them under the covers and tucking them in. He murmured to them to take care of each other, then whispered to Alyssa as she slept, for her to take care of the twins. He brushed a kiss against his daughter’s forehead, and after a moment’s thought, did the same for the twins as well before he went back downstairs. He paused long enough to pick up a robe from his wardrobe, and a bottle of whiskey and two glasses. In the doorway to the parlor, he hesitated again, taking in Mandy’s body language with pressed lips and a frown. He tossed the robe over the back of the sofa; it wouldn’t be much different from the afghan right then. The glasses were set upon the table, whiskey poured into both in a generous amount. As he settled onto the sofa next to her, he pressed one of the glasses against her hand. “Take it and drink. You need something to warm you.” Suiting his own actions to that same thought, one arm fell across her shoulders, tugging her closer to share what body heat he had. “Let go,” he said quietly. “The twins are safe. You’re safe.” | |
Mandy heard him return and opened her eyes. Her hazel brown eyes watched him as he move d around and poured the whiskey. She felt like she needed to be doing something, anything, other than sitting wrapped in an afghan on Draco Malfoy’s sofa. She accepted the glass and held it loosely in her hand. She couldn’t think straight, she felt like her brain was already muddled without the whiskey. “Did they cry?” She asked, holding herself stiff for a long moment before melting into him. She turned toward him a bit and curled against his side, laying her head against his shoulder. Raising the glass to her lips, she took a generous sip and studied the color of the liquid in her glass. She was trying to focus, to make her brain function in a sequence that made sense. “The Ministry came and took Terry tonight. They know he wrote the article.” She paused to take another drink, the burn of the liquor making her swallow harshly. “He isn’t going to be labeled or branded..” the tears were flowing unchecked now, her body shaking. “He is in Azkaban, they are going to charge him with treason...” Azkaban meant a death sentence, according to the laws enacted for the Death Eaters, anyone given over 10 years was automatically kissed. She couldn’t think about it, there was no way her husband would be in prison. He belonged at home, with their twins, with her.. She took another drink. “They took the house, Draco.” She couldn’t speak of the interrogation or the way she had been treated, it didn’t matter. It all paled in the face of the reality of her situation. | |
Draco left his own drink on the coffee table; he needed his hands free for the moment. One arm rested across her shoulders, fingers lightly stroking her shoulder, trying to give the comfort of contact he knew was needed. His other hand came up to cup her cheek, thumb brushing the tears from her skin before his hand slipped back, tangling in her hair. He drew her head closer, brushing a light kiss across her forehead, his eyes closing then as he cradled her close. “I’m sorry, Mandy.” Words were too small, but the sympathy was true. “They’ve gone too far,” he murmured. His mind was slipping down a dozen pathways, some absolutely inappropriate at this moment, but he couldn’t help what the analytical corners of his mind considered (how can we use this?). “It was an article. Words. No different than the propaganda the Ministry has been distributing.” In fact, he’d been considering fighting back in much the same way, and had mentioned it to Hermione. Who had suggested speaking to Terry, as a wordsmith. With pressed lips, Draco wondered if she had brought the idea to Terry and if this was entirely his fault, and his first failure of the revolution. It took a moment for the impact of her last words to reach him, and he responded simply, “Stay here. The second floor is available and clear of offensive portraits.” Drawing back slightly, he looked at her, tried to see what else she might not be saying, palm slipping back to her cheek. “Did they hurt you?” A moment’s hesitation, then quietly, “We’ll find a way to get him free, Mandy. It’s words, nothing more. They can’t hold him over this and hope to keep their reputation clean.” | |
The touch of his hand on her cheek was comfort but it also undid her. Whatever resolve she had to be strong melted in the face of his sympathy and the reality of her situation. She was labeled the family of a ST, her husband was imprisoned, and she was without a home. She leaned into his touch, craving the contact after her ordeal at the Ministry. “I fear they mean to make an example out of him, he attempted to undermine their whole regime.” The chill was gone, the shivering was subsiding. She looked up at him and fought off the tears, swallowing them down. She wanted to believe that they could save Terry, they could get him free. She shook her head at his question. “They interrogated me, detained me, and separated me from my children, a few bruises is nothing.” She still didn’t feel them. “The bloody hit wizard who detained me thought I was a doll to be tossed around.” She had memorised his face and intended on getting revenge some day. Mandy held out her glass for him to take, she just wanted to curl against him and close her eyes. “I am tired, in so many ways, but I need to go back to my house and clean up our stuff.” She inhaled slowly, she wasn’t going to cry again. She felt weak and silly crying. She had survived the war and would be strong for Alex and Aidan. “They tossed it all out on the lawn tonight.” She closed her eyes unable to bear the sympathy she was sure she would see in his eyes. She felt small and pathetic, it hurt way more than she had ever imagined. | |
She had a point about making an example of Terry, which left Draco’s lips set in a thin line. The Ministry was choosing what people could say and think, which was exactly what had happened, exactly what Voldemort had hoped to achieve. Simply because the thoughts were different didn’t make them right. He took her drink, setting it on the coffee table, then wrapped his arms around her again, one hand close enough again to touch her cheek lightly with his thumb. “It can wait until tomorrow,” he said quietly. “You’re exhausted, you’re overwrought, and you can’t go back there alone and in the dark. Don’t let them continue to destroy you and make you push yourself beyond your limits. Sleep here tonight, have breakfast here in the morning, then go while the twins stay here and play with Alyssa. You need some time to be safe.” | |
Mandy leaned against him, taking comfort in his touch. The events of the passed few weeks had left her confused about her feelings regarding Draco but there was no doubt he was the one she had sought out in her distress. She pressed her cheek into his hand and took a deep breath. The whiskey was warming her blood and coupled with his body heat, she was beginning to warm once again. The events of the night seemed surreal, her brain trying to block out the sight of her husband being taken away in chains like a criminal. A sob rose and she took another breath, her eyes closed. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be doing this...” She swallowed roughly, “He thought it was hilarious to drag me around while I was bound and kept touching my leg telling me he would take me in after my husband is kissed.” There wasn’t a way to get rid of the memories, the whole evening would haunt her for years. She shifted a little, looking at him. “Talk to me, tell me something, make me stop thinking about it right now, Draco.” | |
“I broke down after my father died.” He couldn’t say exactly what brought that thought out. Perhaps the parallels, how similar this was to himself and Amelia years ago, and how he had wanted that when Amelia had died and he had come back to no one, and a return to grieving alone. Or perhaps it was simply that it was late, and he’d had little sleep. “I’d like to say it is the only time I have ever broken down, but that would be a lie. But it is one of the few times that anyone else has ever witnessed it, or was there to guide me through it to the other side.” It wasn’t that he ignored what else she had said. He had catalogued it, placed it in his mind and set it aside for the moment. He could find out who it was later, talk to Potter, see how revenge could be taken quietly. There would have to be a way. But if Mandy wanted distraction, he could give her that instead, and save these topics for another time. | |
Mandy closed her eyes and listened to his voice. “I am the strong one, the one who holds it together.” She took a deep breath, turning her head into his hand and kissing his palm. Letting her lips linger there for a long moment. It wasn’t meant to be sexual, it was comfort. Taking it and giving it. She was comfortable in his arms, the terror of the night chased away briefly by the protection he offered. “I didn’t expect to feel like this, to feel so lost.” she said it quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. She wanted to ask about his father, to know the details but she couldn’t pry. Even if she wanted to know, she was too disjointed to ask the right questions. | |
“One never does, not until it happens,” Draco murmured. He kissed her forehead lightly, fingers combing through her hair. “When someone is always there, and then suddenly, they are not, it is nearly impossible to assimilate. Had Hermione not been there, I should have gone to where they had pulled Amelia’s body from the wreckage,” he admitted. “I couldn’t believe that they were putting her in a bag, that she could possibly be gone. At least Terry is alive, and we have a chance to secure his return.” His thumb stroked her jawline, soft and soothing. “You don’t have to be in control right now. Soak my shirt with your tears, if you wish; I’ll hold you up. Tomorrow’s time enough for strength. Tonight you can let go. I’ve got you.” | |
She sniffed, laying her head against his chest. “He’s not dead, he’s still alive.” She felt the tears again, she let them come silently. “They kept telling me they were going to see him kissed.” She swallowed. “The last words he spoke were I love you forever. It feels so final.” She cried against him just as he told her she could, the sobs shaking her body. She reached a hand out to stroke along his arm, understanding how hard it had been for him to lose Amelia. She couldn’t think of the words to say, she just touched him, offering him the same he was giving her. “I lost control, I couldn’t even stop them from taking my children. My babies, my life. They took it all and I couldn’t move to stop them.” Despite the tears there was an edge to her voice that promised there would be retribution later. | |
The thought of losing the twins, or in Draco’s case Alyssa, brought a fresh tight set to his jaw. “It won’t happen again.” He wasn’t sure how just yet, and he knew he had severely underestimated just how mad the Ministry had become. He needed to get control of this game and put the Ministry in Check soon, before this could happen again. “This is what they want to do to us. They want to make us believe that we are nothing. That we are whatever they tell us we are. Cattle. Insignificant. Insects to be crushed under their feet at their whim, subject to their decisions of where we shall live, and what we shall think. Wizarding Britain thinks it is free, and yet, every day we become less so.” His hand slid over her back in soft circles. “You need rest, bel oiseau.” | |
Mandy knew he spoke the truth, wizarding Britain was not free. Everyday the Ministry took another part of their freedom and twisted it into something else. The freedom that she had worked so hard and given up her teenage years to secure. It made her angry. She could still see the look on her twins faces as they were taken from her; it was burned into her memory, she was happy that Terry had not been able to see it, it would have destroyed him. Taking a deep breath and relaxing into his touch, she closed her eyes. She could feel exhaustion tugging at her, the night closing in. She knew she had no reason to feel safe with Draco, she had only known him a few short months, but it was what it was and she wasn’t going to waste her time examining it. She had made a conscious decision to turn to him and he had proven to her that he could be relied upon. “I won’t let them take my children, Draco. They are the best part of me. They told me I would have to report to the Ministry and prove that I was fit to be a mother on a regular basis...” She trailed off as she curled her fingers into the material of his shirt, holding onto him. She could feel herself growing hazy around the edges of her awareness as sleep crept upon her. The steady beat of his heart under her cheek was pulling her into sleep. She didn’t let go of the grip she had on him, afraid that she might lose it if he left at that moment. | |
Draco left his head tipped against hers, breathing in slow and even, as he felt her relax. “I’m going to take you upstairs,” he murmured after long moments, as he realized that as much as it was tempting to just sleep here, his back was going to be a wreck after, and hers likely worse. He slid his other arm under her legs, lifting her and taking a moment to find his balance with her in his arms. He took the stairs slowly, nudging open the door to the room which had been his mother’s with one toe. The room was empty now, just a guest room and nothing more, the bed made neatly with spare linens. He laid her down carefully atop the linens, saying softly, “I’m not going anywhere,” as he freed his shirt from her grip. He sat down on the bed next to her and pulled off his shirt to toss it aside before he laid down next to her and pulled her close. He knew well what the comfort of a friend could do, and how difficult it was to be alone. Cradling her head against his chest, his hands stroked through her hair as he closed his eyes and sought sleep. | |
Mandy was drowsy but mostly awake as he carried her upstairs to a guest room. She was unaware of the grip she had on him until he pulled his shirt away. She clenched her fist and turned onto her side, her gaze hooded from the sleepiness she was feeling. The hollow feeling in her stomach reappeared when he set her on the bed despite his assurance that he wasn’t going to leave her. She watched as he took off his shirt, her gaze drawn to the scars along his back and she started to reach out to touch. Before she could, he laid next to her and wrapped his arms around her. Settling her cheek against his chest, she was quiet as he touched her hair. The beat of his heart comforting to her as she raised her hand to tentatively trace the scars along his chest. “Thank you, Draco.” She said, her voice barely above a sleepy whisper. She took a deep breath and slid her arm over his waist and curled against him giving in to the urge to sleep. |