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What Lies Within

Family Fights

"Are you going to tell me what you have been doing these last two weeks?" Draco murmurs quietly through the peaceful atmosphere surrounding him and his wife as they lounge in their large bath tub, with bubbles up to their neck as they curl close together. Neither wanted to let the other go, afraid they would be separated again.

"Crying, mostly." She confesses with a sigh. It breaks Draco's heart to hear her say that. The thought that she was off crying somewhere and in need of him and he wasn't there depressed him and made him feel like a lousy husband. "I wanted to come home as soon as I found out but I was unsure if you would be here or at the Manor. Apparating makes me a bit uncomfortable right now because I don't know if that's even safe for the baby so I didn't want to keep doing it back and forth to find you so I just stayed with the trio." Draco nods, understanding.

"I hate the thought of you off crying somewhere without me there to comfort you." Sophie smiles slightly, knowing how much she had wanted his comfort in those moments and knew he would have done whatever he could to get to her if he had known.

"The trio were working on what they needed to, mostly." She went on, trying to get away from her crying as she knew he would just get more upset thinking about it. "Hermione and I spent a lot of time together. They made sure I was never alone because I instantly became a mess if I was. I was a mess anyway but more so when I was alone." She explains. "I wasn't much help to them after we found out so I guess it is good that we got separated."

"How did you get separated? Where were you?" Draco questions, trying to figure out how they could have possibly gotten separated.

"The three of them were at the Ministry." She sighs, knowing she could either make this a long story or a short one. She was exhausted so she decided to keep it short. "We needed something that was there but couldn't very well just walk in as ourselves so we had found workers that we would take polyjuice potion for and hide them away while we got it." Draco was frowning but stayed silent, letting her continue as he processed all of this. "I was supposed to go as well but we decided it probably wasn't a good idea to take polyjuice potion while I'm... this way. So I said I would stay home."

"What happened to them not letting you be alone?" Draco felt a moment of anger towards his wife's friends. They obviously knew how fragile she was and decided to just leave her alone anyway. Sophie sighed and shrugged.

"I knew this had to be done. I wasn't going to hold them back from doing what we all left to do just because I am a bit emotional right now. I was actually okay, I'd had awhile for it to sink in so I was a bit better. This morning I got bad again from shock of everything that had happened today and I got bad again. I distracted myself with cleaning, though. We had a house elf but I was working on some of the rooms he wouldn't go in." Draco was beyond curious as to where they were now that he heard all of this. "We were at the old Order of the Phoenix headquarters." She explains, understanding that he must want to know her location. "It had been Sirius Black's family home and he let the Order use it. After Bellatrix killed him it was passed onto Harry but the Order never returned so it's been empty since Sirius died."

"I see." Draco was at a loss for what to say. This was so much to take in and process right now. "So what happened to the trio? How did you know you had to leave this house so suddenly?"

"It was about two hours after they left, the polyjuice potion only lasted an hour so I knew they would be home soon. I was sitting on the stairs waiting for them, trying to stay calm and not cry and think too much about what could have been happening when all of a sudden the front door blasted open and instead of the trio it was Yaxley, from the Ministry, so I knew something had gone wrong as he shouldn't have been brought into the wards around the house unless brought in by one of the trio. My guess is they disapparated there but Yaxley had a hold of them. They must have disapparated as soon as he released them because they weren't there."

"Did Yaxley see you?" Draco questions, knowing the man in question she mentions. He was a diligent ministry worker who was ruthless and uncaring of emotions. He just wanted the job done and he wanted the job done right, always.

"Yes, he did." Sophie says with a sigh. "He was raising his wand at me and when I saw that the trio were not with him I disapparated to the Weasley's. I thought maybe the trio, or maybe even just one of them, would show up to get me or at least see if I was there, but none of them did. I mean... I was only there since this morning so they could in the next couple of days I guess. But Mrs Weasley can tell them where I am and Hermione could come here."

"You aren't going to leave again if she does, are you?" Draco knew she most likely wouldn't but the way she spoke made it sound like she wanted to, slightly, like she wanted to rejoin her friends wherever they were.

"No, no absolutely not. Not now that I'm back with you." She reassures him, giving him a smile. He gives a sigh of relief and nods. "I would just like to know that they are okay and safe, ya know?" Draco nods, understanding how scary that is - worrying and not knowing if someone close to you was alive or alright.

"I kind of knew something was wrong with you while you were gone." Draco then says, remembering how his bracelet had felt. Sophie frowns at him, not understanding. He pulls his arm up above the water and bubbles, indicating the bracelet on his wrist.

"Ohhh." She nods in understanding now. "What was it doing?"

"It was still red but... not as vibrant of a red and the warmth of it changed..." He sighed, trying to figure out how to explain how it felt. "It felt... far away and distant. I knew you were alive but I feared everyday that it stayed that way that you were hurt in some way. I even almost went to the Weasley's just to see if they knew where you were because I was so desperate and afraid." Sophie gives a small laugh in shock.

"Wow, that does sound desperate, you resorting to going to the Weasley's." He joins her in laughter and shrugs.

"For you, I would endure them again." His face then turns serious. "I would do anything for you, no matter what it cost me or what it took." He tells her, gazing deeply into her eyes. She looks back at him, feeling her eyes welling up with tears but for the first time in 2 weeks it wasn't out of sadness or fear. It was out of pure love and adoration for this man in who's arms she rested and how thankful she was to be back with him again. "I love you so much, Sophie. I never imagined when I was younger that I would ever feel this way about anyone or anything."

Sophie stayed silent as she looked into the eyes of her husband that she loved so very much as well. She was crazy about this man and considered herself the luckiest person in the world to spend her life with him. Everyday for the rest of forever he was hers and she was is. It was just so right and perfect even with everything else going on around them and with them. They always had each other and that was a comforting thought.

"Even with our current situation, and even while I am terrified of what is going to happen with you being pregnant and us suddenly going to be parents," Draco paused for a second having to let that sentence sink in for a second. He shook his head then. "I can never love anyone more than I love you and everyday my love for you grows stronger and stronger and these last two weeks have shown me that I can't be away from you ever again for more than a day. And even then I'm not sure I could handle even a day." Draco's words finally brought the tears leaking from her eyes. She lets out a gasp, trying to regain normal breathing, as she throws her arms around his shoulders and hugs her body close to his.

Even though neither of them had any clothes on in the bath, this moment wasn't sexual even though it was intimate. The two were just happy to be reunited. They didn't need sex to have intimacy and as they gripped each other tightly in that moment they had probably the most intimate moment they've ever had.

"I don't know how I got so lucky." She finally manages to say. Draco gives a laugh, burying his face in her neck as he held her close. She was tangled around his body like a vine, her head resting in the crook of his neck as her arms wrap tightly around his shoulders. His arms were wrapped around her waist, his hands resting on her back feeling her soft skin under his touch.

"I feel like we have the worst luck in the world." He tells her. "We haven't exactly had an easy last year and a half." She pulls back then to look at him, giving him a warm smile.

"But in all of that mess and terrible things happening we've found each other and done it all together." She reminds him, getting a wide smile back in return. "And while we are about to enter probably the scariest thing we've faced in all of this we will have each other the entire time so we can do it, we can get through it." She reassured him, as well as herself. As she spoke she realized how true that was. She wasn't alone through this scary time, she had the love and support of her husband at her side.

"How very right you are, wife." He answered with a grin. She smiled back and leans in to press her lips to his in a gentle kiss. When she pulls back she rests her head against his shoulder and curls ever closer against his warm body. "I love you." His voice was so quiet but the words resonated through her like he had shouted them. Those three simple words put together gave her life, a reason to keep fighting through it all, and a reason to smile.

"I love you too, Draco." She responded and meant it with every fiber of her being.

The next morning Draco woke up and seeing his wife's red hair sprawled across the pillow beside his he momentarily forgot all about their current difficult situation and couldn't help but smile. His wife was back with him, she was here again and he was so grateful that she was. There had been a moment over the last two weeks that he feared he would never see her or hold her in his arms again.

"Will you stop staring at me, I can feel your eyes burning into me." Came Sophie's mumbled voice before she rolled over to face him. He gave her a grin which she answered with a sleepy smile. She yawned and pushed her wild and tangled hair from her face before she lets out a content sigh and slides closer to him, resting easily in the bend of his arm. He kisses the top of her head as she rests it in the crook of his neck.

"What would you like to do today, love?" He wondered after a few moments of comfortable silence spread around them. He thought she may have even fallen back asleep but when her sigh came he knew she hadn't.

"I don't know..." She answers before she lifts her head to look at him, biting her lip in contemplation. "I want to just forget about all of this for awhile." Draco understood as he too wanted to do that so he gave a nod.

"Let's go into town. We both need to get out of the house, get some fresh air." He suggested. They lived close to a muggle town that they knew no Death Eater would be in so they would be safe and free of harm as they had ventured there many times this summer and had been fine. It was far enough away from London and Wiltshire that they would be fine and free of danger.

"Sounds like a plan to me." So, the couple got up and began their day. They fell into their usual morning routine, easily moving around one another as they did what they had to. For those 30 minutes it was like everything was alright. They were simply a married couple - there wasn't a wizarding war going on, she wasn't pregnant and wasn't wanted dead. They were together and happy and that's all that mattered.

That changed the second they got downstairs, though, to be greeted by Narcissa who sat at the kitchen table, eating breakfast and reading the Daily Prophet. She looked up at them as they entered with their hands linked together and matching smiles on their faces which promptly fell when they saw she was clearly still angry with them about their news the night before.

"Good morning, mother." Draco greeted, deciding to ignore her solemn mood as he pulled his wife over to the table and sat down. Sophie dug into the breakfast before her made by the house elf which in that moment she was grateful for as she didn't feel much like cooking. She was starving - she always was these days it would seem. She tried to not think about how much weight she would gain soon and instead just focused on the delicious food before her.

"And what are your plans for the day?" Narcissa asked after a few moments of silence.

"We're going into town." Draco informs his mother. He receives a disapproving look from the older woman. "We want to go out and just be a couple for a few hours. We are safe in town and need out of the house. She's been cooped up for two weeks and fresh air can only do a pregnant woman good." Narcissa took a quick intake of air at the words 'pregnant woman'. Her son got his wife pregnant when they were just months past being legal adults. She felt guilty for this though, deep down. If they weren't married, if she hadn't allowed the Dark Lord to join the two in such a way last summer, then maybe this wouldn't be happening. Narcissa knew she had to do something about this.

"May I have a word with you alone, Sophie?" Narcissa stood from the table and looked at her daughter-in-law who shared a look with Draco, both of them frowning.

"Uhh, okay." She finally answers before standing as well. Draco watches the two women leave the kitchen and head down the hall. Sophie follows Narcissa into the library and her frown increases when she closes the door after them. "What is it you wanted to have a word about?"

"Your being pregnant." Narcissa informed her, gesturing for the young girl to sit down on the couch by the fireplace. Sophie does as she was silently asked and sits in silence as Narcissa sits beside her. "You cannot have this baby, Sophie." Sophie frowns, her mouth dropping open.

"Are you suggesting that I.. terminate this pregnancy?" She questioned after a few seconds of heavy silence. Narcissa sighs, picking at her perfectly manicured nails in her lap before nodding. "No." Sophie states instantly. She couldn't believe that Narcissa was suggesting such a thing. Sophie knew this wasn't the best time but she would never forgive herself if she terminated her baby. She could never live with that.

"Sophie, you have to think about this completely. This is not a world you want to bring a child into right now." Sophie knew Narcissa was just trying to protect them all but she wouldn't do it, she couldn't. "You and Draco are just children yourself, you cannot raise a child of your own right now. You are wanted dead, there is a war going on, and neither of you have even finished school." Sophie was frowning as she listened to her mother-in-law continue to try and convince her.

"I'm sorry, Narcissa, but the answer is still no." She insisted, getting a sigh in return.

"You are ruining my son's life." She finally whispers, closing her eyes as she spoke these words. Sophie gasped, feeling her eyes well up in tears. "If you have this baby, I'm afraid that I cannot, I will not, support either of you through this." Sophie felt a wave of anger rush through her then. How dare this woman say such a thing to her?

"So it's okay to make your underage son marry but the second his wife becomes pregnant that's too adult of a situation for him to be in? You think all of this is my fault? Draco and I had a great relationship, a simple one, before you allowed The Dark Lord to make us marry each other. What do you think married couples do? They have sex. If you didn't want this to become a possibility then you should have thought your situation through a little better, Narcissa." Sophie stood from the couch then, her cheeks wet but a fierce look in her eye as she glares at the woman she had considered a mother to her until a minute ago. "Do you honestly think Draco would let me terminate this pregnancy like that? Do you not realize what that would do to him?" Narcissa actually managed to look a bit remorseful as she realized that Sophie was right but she still stood by her thought. It's what would be best - in the end, for everyone involved.

Before Narcissa could say anything, Sophie turns and leaves the room. She slams the door shut after her and wipes at her wet cheeks. As she hears Draco coming down the hall she turns and rushes away and heads up the stairs.

"Sophie!" He called after her but she continues until she was in their bedroom where she falls against the bed. She covers her mouth as a sob escapes her chest. Draco enters the room, his face set in a deep frown. He stands in the doorway for a second before he rushes across the room and pulls her into his arms. "What did my mother say to you?"

"She doesn't want me to have this baby." Sophie sobs out. Draco could barely understand her between the crying and her face being pressed into his t-shirt. "She wants me to get rid of it." Draco gasps and Sophie feels his entire body tense. "She said I'm ruining your life and that she won't support us through this if I keep it." Draco pulls away from Sophie and steps back to look down at her. He takes her hands and grips them in his tightly.

"She's wrong, Sophie." He tells her. "You are my reason for living, my reason to get up every morning, my entire reason for being happy so do not believe that. I have no life without you." Sophie looks up into his blue-grey eyes and nods but still cannot stop her tears. "If ending this pregnancy is what you feel is best I will.... support you through it but just know even as terrified as I am, I am going to help you get through this and be by your side the entire time. I promise you that no matter what you choose to do, I'm not going anywhere. We're in this together."

"I can't do it, Draco." She tells him, her sobs returning. "The thought of ending the pregnancy, no matter how terrified of it I am, would kill me. I could never live with myself if I did it. This is a terrible time for this but it's happened so I can do nothing but deal with the consequences now."

"I will speak to my mother about this. She has no right to speak to you this way and make you feel like this." Draco comments before leaning down to press a kiss to her forehead. "I'll be right back." Before Sophie could pull him back, not wanting him to leave her, he pulls away from her grasp and leaves the room, shutting the door after him.

Sophie falls onto the bed and lets out a shaky breath as her hand goes to rest on her stomach. It terrified her to think that in the middle of all this insanity going on there was a little baby growing in there that had no idea of the world it was going to enter into in about 8 months but she vowed right then and there that no matter what, she would do everything that she could to protect them. This baby was going to have the perfect life that they deserved and she knew Draco would be beside her and help her give them that.

She was terrified but was already so in love with a baby that was no bigger than a pea right now. It was her and the love of her life's baby so in her mind there was nothing that could be more perfect even though it was also the most terrified she had ever been.

"I'll protect you, baby, no matter what." She vowed to her stomach and meant it.