What Lies Within

Sophie missed Draco. She'd been staying at the Weasley's for a week now and hadn't seen him once. She kept herself busy with doing housework around the burrow with Mrs. Weasley. The two cleaned, cooked, did laundry, even worked in the garden, together all day long. Sophie was prone to break into tears or have panic attacks at moments when something brought back memories of that day over three months ago but felt like less than a week ago to her. It was still fresh in her mind.

She found herself waking up in a cold sweat, having been woken from a nightmare full of flashes of curses flying, maniacal laughter, and a baby crying. It haunted her for the rest of the night and even sometimes into the day. She, therefore, was sleeping very little and dark circles had formed below her eyes and her hair was beginning to thin, as was her body. Mrs. Weasley was taking notice of this all but knew better than to mention it. She just made sure to hug the girl close to her often and always gave her second helpings at mealtimes. The best she could offer her was love and to Sophie, that was enough. She was so thankful to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley through all of this.

"Have you thought about writing to him, dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked Sophie one night two weeks after she had come to stay with them. She could see how much the young girl was falling apart and knew only Draco at this point could help. She knew how risky it was to send a letter in case one of the others intercepted it on the way but Sophie really wanted to. "How about I write it? I can write it as if I found something of yours here from when you were here this past summer and thought he would like it if he wanted to come by to come get it." She suggested.

"That could work. It would look as if you just wanted to give a mourning husband something of his wife's." Sophie agreed, thinking that would probably be okay. Now, if they would actually allow him to come was debatable, but it was a better idea than Sophie to write the letter herself and risk being found that she was alive.

So, that night after dinner the two sat down and Mrs. Weasley scribbled out a note to Draco before giving it to Errol, the Weasley family owl, and instructing it to be delivered to Draco and no one else. Hopefully, he actually got it there, he wasn't the brightest owl after all and Jonesy, Sophie's own owl was at the manor still so they had no choice unless they wanted to use Ron's small owl but he probably wouldn't be much better.

But two days later as Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Sophie, as well as Bill and Fleur who had joined them for breakfast, were seated around the table enjoying a nice morning together before the boys headed off to work, Errol swooped in through the open window but he wasn't alone. Fluttering to a stop on the table beside him was Jonesy.

"Hey!" Sophie gasped and went over to the familiar owl. She stroked his feathers. It was so nice to have something familiar to her, something that reminded her of the older times. Back to when she'd gotten him she was 10, much easier times. It was a birthday present from her parents and she had loved him instantly. "I've missed you." The bird gave an affectionate nip of her finger after he drops the letter that had been clutched in his beak. Sophie recognized the handwriting on the front easily even though it said Weasley as opposed to her name but she knew it all the same.

"What does it say, Soph?" Bill questions, all of their eyes on her as she ripped open the envelope. She grins after skimming over the two sentences and looks up at the people who were more so her family than anyone else she'd ever had in her life apart from Draco. She then looked back at the paper and read aloud. "Thank you for letting me know. I will be there later this evening."

For the first time in weeks, Sophie actually felt happy again. She felt that bubble of excitement within her. She'd been missing him more than she thought she had. She knew even with him on her side getting over the events of the last few months would be hard but it was by far worse without him. She knew it would be hard to be apart but it was much worse than she had anticipated but she got to see him tonight! For how long, she was unsure, but all she really wanted right now was to be wrapped up in his arms again.

Sophie spent the rest of the morning and afternoon trying to find things to occupy herself with. She changed all of the bedding in the bedrooms even though all of them but her room and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's room were unoccupied, but fresh sheets and a dusting, always made a house feel so much better. She did the dishes, helped Molly sort out mismatched socks, and even alphabetized not only all of the books they had but their records as well.

As the sun began to go down, she did her hair, made her makeup look a little more put together, and sat around anxiously. Since he just said evening she wasn't sure what time he meant but as it got darker and darker outside she clearly realized he meant late evening. She was sure he had to at least make an appearance at dinner. The Weasley's and Sophie at dinner in slight silence as Sophie's excitement began to wear off just a bit to be replaced with worry. Where was he? Had something happened to him? Did they find out that she was alive and was punishing him for it? Her mind was running wild with fear, especially as the evening wore down, it down being well past 11.

"He's not coming," Sophie finally whispered. The Weasley's had stayed up with Sophie, the three of them lounging around the living room. Sophie was biting her nails as she watched the clock tick by. Each passing second brought her closer to the realization that she wasn't going to see her husband tonight like she had hoped. Molly and Arthur were so unsure of what to say to the young girl so they kept silent mostly, keeping a close eye on her in case she went into a panic like she had a few times since she had come to stay with them.

Eventually, Sophie gave up and went upstairs to her bedroom. She laid on top of her blankets, fully clothed, and clutched her pillow as she cried. Not just over the sadness of not being able to see Draco but because she was worried what had happened. Her mind ran wild with all of the possibilities.

As the night wore on, Sophie laid awake in bed. She didn't even attempt to fall asleep. She didn't care about sleep right now. She wanted Draco and needed to see him. She told herself that if she didn't hear from him by the weekend then she would make a trip to their cabin. Maybe he still went there occasionally and she could leave him a note. Or just maybe she would brave apparating into his bedroom at the manor. Maybe that could go undetected. It would be risky, though, but she just had to know. Why didn't he show up like he said he would? She hated not knowing. She would risk her own life just to make sure that he was okay.

The next morning, after Sophie watched the sun rise out of her window, she ventured from the room after changing clothes and found Mrs. Weasley making breakfast.

"Did you sleep at all, dear?" She questioned the young girl even though she already knew the answer. She had heard Sophie's cries throughout the night but didn't want to intrude and thought it best to leave her alone to deal with this herself for now.

"Not really." Sophie croaked out, her voice thick from crying and lack of sleep. She cleared her throat with a grumble and sat down in her spot at the table. Normally she would help Molly but right now she just didn't care. She crossed her arms, resting them on the table, and rested her chin on her forearms. Molly sighed, unsure of what to do, so she loaded a plate full of eggs, bacon, and toast and placed it in front of the girl.

"Eat up, dear. With no sleep, you need to get energy somehow." Sophie was just about to kindly decline the plate when in swooped a familiar brown owl, perching on the windowsill. "Now who is that?" Molly comments but Sophie was already up, rushing over to the Malfoy's family owl.

"It's from the Malfoy's." She informed her as she took the piece of parchment from his beak.

Come to our cabin. It wasn't safe for me to go to you.

Sophie read over the quick and short note. She knew it was from Draco but it gave her a bad feeling. It was so rushed and felt wrong. He didn't sign it, he didn't give any kind of sign off. Not a love, not an always, nothing. Even in a rush, she knew he would include that.

"How could it not be safe enough for him to get here but safe enough for you to go to the place they know you could be at if you were alive?" Molly comments after Sophie hands her the paper. Sophie sighs and shrugs, still unsure of she completely felt about the note. "Are you going to go?" Molly really hoped not but as she looked at Sophie's face she already knew the answer.

"I have to. It's definitely from him, though." Sophie tells her, taking it back and stuffing it in her pocket. "I'm going to go to him. I have to find out what's going on."

"Let me come with you." Sophie smiled and shook her head. "Sophie, please," Molly pleaded, fearing for this young girls life for the millionth time in the last year. She was fearing for all of her children lately but at least here she knew Sophie was safe and well, being looked after. Out there in that world, she would fear every day for her life, just as she did every day for Ron, Hermione, and Harry.

"I'll be back soon, okay? I probably won't stay long." Sophie reached forward and pulled the woman into a tight hug, burying her face into her shoulder. She still felt a sense of dread about this but she had to go. She had to know. She also had to see Draco.

"Hurry back, please." Molly sighed as they pulled back. She kissed Sophie's cheek and then watched sadly as the young girl left the house and made her way quickly down the path. As Sophie exited the wards, she took a deep breath and came to a stop. The gravel crunched under her feet as she spun on the spot. One second she was in the field of the burrow. The next she was on the doorstep of her home. The familiar woods that surrounded it felt like home and she felt a sense of calm wash over her as she took in the familiarity.

The second she pushed the door open, she heard movement from the sitting room off the hallway. She closed the door after her and took a deep breath as she looked around her familiar home. She had missed it so much.

"Sophie?" She heard Draco call from the room as the footsteps got closer.

"It's me." She responded and just as she went to move towards the room, the door opened fully.

"Welcome home." The voice that spoke was not that of her husband but instead was the cold and sadistic growl of none other than the woman responsible for Sophie's supposed death and the death of her child. She looked into the face of Draco's Aunt and felt dread shoot through her entire body.