There were persistent rumours of tension between father and son. Although outwardly cordial, they were rarely seen together, and Lucius did not return from his post abroad for Draco's wedding in 2003.
The title and responsibilities of High Reeve are expected to be transferred to another Death Eater within the week. There are several Generals under consideration. However, at the time of printing, there is no official statement from the Dark Lord regarding a successor or about the deaths of Draco and Lucius.
The loss of a family line as old and distinguished as the Malfoy Family is a devastating blow to the wizarding world. Draco was the last of both the Malfoy and Black families. A healer from the Repopulation Program has confirmed that the surrogate to Draco Malfoy also died in the fire. She was four months pregnant with a Malfoy heir.
After two weeks of sleeping, Draco and Hermione finally emerged. Draco immediately went to check all the wards on the island. After he came back, he gave Hermione a full tour of the house. She gripped his hand when they went into the gardens.
They walked around a corner and found Ginny watching James attempt to scale a pagoda. She gave a tight smile when she saw them.
“Good, you're up. I wasn't sure when you'd stop hibernating.” She eyed Draco. “There's someone who's been waiting to see you. Topsy!”
There was an immediate pop as Topsy materialised. She stood staring up at Draco for a moment, her hands clasped together and her enormous eyes shining. Then she stepped forward and kicked Draco.
“Topsy is so angry at you!” she said as her toes collided with his shin. “Topsy is never been so angry in all her life.”
She wrapped her arms around Draco's leg and started sobbing. “You sent Topsy away without goodbye. Topsy thought you would be dead!”
She buried her face in his clothes and howled with tears for several minutes until Draco awkwardly reached down and patted her head.
Ginny gave him a pointed look. “When she arrived and found out you were both here, she refused to believe it until she went to see for herself, and then she cried for the rest of the day. I can't believe you sent her here like that.”
When Topsy finally let go of Draco, she went over to gather James into her arms and carried him away, still sobbing.
Hermione, Draco, and Ginny stood staring at each other in an uncomfortable silence.
Ginny tugged at the tips of her hair, and then her head gave a little jerk as she squared her shoulders. “I think we should plan to have dinner all together most days. It doesn't have to be every day of the week, but I think it should be most. The rest of the time, we can all have— our privacy, but we should have dinner together.”
She studied Hermione and Draco's reactions. Draco said nothing.
“Dinner would be nice,” Hermione said. “That's a good idea.”
Ginny's expression flooded with relief. “Good.” She nodded. “Great. Um. I'll tell the elves and see you both at dinner then.”
Ginny turned and hurried inside.
Hermione watched her walk away and realised belatedly that Ginny would probably stop and come back if she called to her. She opened her mouth, but Ginny had already disappeared through the door.
Hermione and Draco stood in the garden for several minutes in silence. She didn't know what they were supposed to do.
It felt surreal. They'd been cut out of one reality, dropped into another one, and just left to find their way.
It didn't feel like a dream. It was real. She could smell the salt in the air, hear the leaves shift in the breeze and the water trickling. She could smell camphor and pine needles. Draco's hand was warm and entwined with hers.
And yet there was an edge of paranoia that she couldn't shake. There had to be something lurking, something waiting, something that was going to go wrong. Inevitable ruin was dangling over her head like the sword of Damocles.
The island felt as though it were built upon a razor thin sheet of ice. If Hermione stepped wrong or forgot to the careful for a moment, it would crack, and she'd plunge back into the black, cold, world she'd just escaped from, dragging Draco and everyone else with her.
Every step. Every breath.
Careful. Be so careful.
You always lose the things you love. Always.
Her jaw started trembling. She wanted to go back inside; it felt safer to be inside. Where was her wand?
“I never made any plans for this,” Draco said. “Being here.”
Hermione looked up at him, startled from her reverie. He was staring out towards the sea as though he was having difficulty believing it was there.
He found it all as difficult to believe in as she did. The world was never kind to them.