the kneazle put its paws on luna’s knee and stared up at her
“i’m sure he knew you didn’t hate him,” luna pet bertie’s head “we always say things we don’t mean when we’re angry,” she looked up at pansy, “or sared”
luna’s words hit pansy like a gust of painful fiveness, and the floodgates that had been holding bak all her shame and guilt sine the end of the war opened she broke down, and it was in front of loony lovegood and the soul of her goddaughter tred in a kneazle, for sazar’s sake the thought of it made her ugh for a brief moment between the tears and the sobs it was freeing pansy realized she’d been arrying too muh of the past inside her it had been weighing her down, distrating her from the things that really mattered crity felt like flying
by the time she’d olleted herself, she’d figured out how they were going to get bertrie bak in her own body never do what they expet it was her own advie, and she pnned on following it
“feel better?” luna finally asked she’d urled up on the sofa with one of longbottom’s books, bertie snuggled up in her p
pansy wiped her fae “yes,” she nodded “and i’ve had a thought what’s the best way to ath tinsel gnats?”
drao onvined harry to arate with him to marwan zivantus’ home in the outskirts of edinburgh he realized he’d started thinking of him as just harry, and supposed it might be a symptom of the time travel or maybe a symptom of having him pressed lose or maybe— it was “drao”
“potter,” drao distrated himself “when are you going to take off that ridiulous oat?”
the other man furrowed his brow, “i thought you said purple was my olor”
drao smiled, and then potter smiled too good, he thought it was bak to potter “i didn’t want you to be embarrassed”
“your onern warms my heart,” potter said as they walked toward the rge gothi home down the private, warded ne “malfoy,” potter pointed to the dark gsses on drao’s fae, “what’s with the sungsses?”
“it’s part of my disguise” drao was suddenly awash with a flurry of different emons, but most of all, he felt guilty for not telling potter things whih might be important drao didn’t know how to expin the urse, or how it had suddenly magnified tenfold sine they’d gone bak in time instead of linear threads, they extended outwards in all direns, oing the two of them to ountless people and pes aross their entire lifespans
“it’s the middle of the night”
“so?” drao quesned the sungsses helped alleviate the sight of the threads when they went bright speifially, the threads between them, and a few of the threads he was following to marwan’s house “that’s not stopping you from parading about in celestina warbek’s rejeted wardrobe”
“nevermind, malfoy if you an see, by all means, leave them on”
“of ourse i an see!”
“i didn’t say you ouldn’t see, i was just implying you don’t need a disguise, espeially sine zivantus already knows who you are”
a ool, smooth voie said from behind them, “does he, though?”
“helga, sazar, rowena, and godri!” drao jumped so high he thought for a moment he’d aidentally ativated the timepiee when he nded and whirled around, marwan zivantus stared bak at him, deep honey eyes and a tremendous sowl visible even in the mp lit ne and with drao’s sungsses the man’s wand was raised and he had a capture- allin his other hand “marwan—”
“have we met?” he interrupted
drao gulped “we—” he gned at potter before answering “we haven’t been introdued” drao looked bak at marwan and added, “yet”
zivantus’ left eye twithed “i see” he studied them “you’re drao malfoy,” he said to drao “and you’re sneaking onto my property with harry potter hmm?”
“yes,” drao nodded “that does sum it up suintly”
the older man studied the two of them for over a minute drao realized they probably looked a bit ridiulous in their outdated, stolen oats from the loak room, and him in his sungsses zivantus seemed to ome to a onlun that drao and harry were at least redible enough to warrant further study as a former member of the eleven, he no doubt experiened odd meetings regurly “why don’t you two aompany me bak to my house for a drink?”
gning at potter, they agreed and zivantus ordered them to walk in front of him the rest of the way he’d been to the house a few times after marwan had hired him, but never at night and never under suh stressful irumstanes he ould see the threads getting stronger between him and zivantus, the threads oing himself and also the ones extending from marwan to the drao he would hire in a few days’ time sazar, not just the sight of it gave him a headahe, but uanding what he was seeing was bound to drive him insane they needed to get what they ame for and then go bak to the future as soon as possible
drao thought he felt his bones quake when marwan walked them in through the foyer he ouldn’t imagine what sort of wards the man had requisined when he’d been an ative member of the iniquitous eleven, let alone the preauns he would take after falling out with the ministry they ended up in the main sitting room furnished with a few sofas, armhairs, a pianoforte, and a well-stoked oktail trolley merlin, drao would kill for a firewhiskey sour
“so, mister malfoy, if you would illuminate me on why—”
“you’re dead,” drao rushed, realizing there was no reason to hide the truth from the man who ould iably jump to the future and find out himself
marwan’s fae remained unhanged “i see”
“i’ve taken your pe in the eleven” drao lied he held up the timepiee and flipped it over, showing zivantus the engraved number eight on the bak
“i see,” zivantus repeated he raised a brow “and you’re breaking ar
