"Drakie!"

Draco shuddered at the sound of his fiancée. To his dismay, she had arrived early.

He turned around and Pansy's face dropped.

"You're not having her downstairs during our party tonight, I hope?" She said, glaring at the child in his arms with complete disgust.

"No, I will be keeping her safely upstairs away from this vulgar celebration." He sneered.

"Don't you talk about our engagement like that! You're lucky I'm still agreeing to marry you after this embarrassment got out!"

"You're the reason I am already a father, or have you forgotten your sick little game already?"

"Well, Daddy tells me that you've been ordered to produce six more once we're married, so I hope you're feeling energetic." She took a step closer to him, brushing a hand down his arm and staring up at him coyly. "We could go and practice now, if you like?"

Draco felt anger rip through his stomach. He couldn't believe Pansy could talk like this in front of his and Aurora's child.

"Go to hell, Pansy." He spat, turning his back on her, heading towards the kitchen, and praying to Merlin she wouldn't follow.

"I'll take that as a no, then!" She called after him.

He made his way through the kitchen and down to the cellar, feeling awful about taking Nova down there but knowing Aurora needed to say goodbye.

It was happening tonight.

"Nova!" Aurora cried happily when he quietly entered the cold dank room where his wife and mother in law lay.

He carefully positioned Nova on Aurora's lap so she could put her tied together arms around her.

He sat back and watched his wife kiss their daughter, inhale her scent and feel her warm soft body against her for the last time.

He knew how she felt. He knew her heart would be breaking into a million unbearable pieces.

Aurora hadn't wanted to leave; couldn't bear the thought of leaving their daughter behind. It was Draco that had to convince her in the end.

"They will kill you if you stay." He had said forcefully, trying desperately to get her to understand the severity of the situation, as she lay recovering in his arms after another round of torture. "It's only a matter of time, now, but they will kill you."

"I can't leave my baby," she had sobbed. "I just can't."

"She will be safe here, I promise you." He had assured her. "But you will not. And you will end up leaving her in the worst possible way if you stay here."

It was enough. She knew how hard it was growing up without a mother more than anyone.

The plan was simple. Dobby was going to Disapparate her out of there during the engagement party, thus ensuring eye witnesses to the fact that Draco had nothing to do with it.

It was his mother who had come up with the brainwave of using a house elf.

"Their magic won't be detected! They will have no way of knowing where she's been taken to."

There was, of course, the issue of the alarms being set off once she had Disapparated out of her chains.

This meant that Dobby would not be able to return for Aurora's mother. They had one shot only, and it was agreed it would be Aurora.

"I'll be no help out there anymore," The elder Nova had assured Aurora when she tried to plead her mother's case. "At least you will be able to get out there and help fight the good fight."

And that's exactly what Aurora was going to do; join Potter on his mission to rid the world of Voldemort.

"Remember, you're doing this for us," Draco said, as she wept in his arms, still holding Nova to her. "It's the only way we can attempt to see a future together."

"I love you both so much," she sobbed.

"I'll take good care of her for us, I promise." He murmured in her ear, holding her tight. "Mother and I will place all the protective charms on her we can once you've gone. No one will be able to touch her."

He could feel Aurora's mother's eyes on him the whole time, but she said nothing; just allowed them to say their goodbyes in peace.

He kissed Aurora hard, with their daughter gurgling happily between them.

And as he left, with Nova in his arms, he prayed that the next time the three of them would be together like that again would be in the start of a happier future.

*****

I watched with a heavy heart as the door shut behind Draco.

"It was like seeing you again."

I blinked up at my mother, who was looking sadly across the cellar at me.

"A beautiful baby, just like you had been."

"I don't know how I'm going to leave her, Mum," I sobbed. "How can I go traipsing around the country knowing she is here without me?"

"Because you know you need to do what is right by her. Your young man was right. You'll be no good to her dead." She smiled grimly. "He's a good boy; I can't believe he's Lucius's."

"He has a good mother." I said, thinking of how grateful I was to Narcissa for everything she had done for us and was doing.

"And so does my grandchild. Aurora, this is the right thing to do, believe me."

"And what about you? I can't leave you here either. Not after I've just found you."

"I'll be okay. I've survived this long, I can survive a bit longer. As long as I'm still the Order's Secret Keeper, he will not kill me. And if he does," she shrugged, "Well - I've done it before, and this time I'll be able to see Cedric again."

I felt the tears roll down my cheeks as I thought about my brother, waiting up in heaven all on his own.

"I love you, Mum." I whispered.

She cried silent tears as she looked at me sadly.

"I love you too sweetheart."

Mother and I exchanged no more words, knowing the time for a proper reunion was not now.

We could hear the house filling up as guests started to arrive to celebrate my husband's engagement to his fiancée.

I closed my eyes as I said my mental goodbyes to Draco and Nova.

And when I opened them again, it was to see the kind wide blinking eyes of my saviour.

"Are you ready, Miss Diggory?"

"Actually, it's Mrs Malfoy," I said with an air of resoluteness as I heard the loud popping of champagne corks and cheering drift down from upstairs. "And yes, Dobby; I'm ready."

I held out my tied wrists as Dobby placed a hand on my outstretched arm.

I gave my mother one last warm smile, before looking at Dobby and giving him a grim determined nod.

And then we were there, and then we were not.