Love and War

38

"H-Harry?" Jane whispered.

"Hey sis. I heard someone needed to talk?" Harry smiled and walked over to sit next to her.

"I'm fine." She lied.

Harry watched as Ron and Hermione left the room. The boy turned to face his sister. She broke down again the second they left. He wrapped his arms around Jane and pulled her closer. The Hufflepuff tried to stop so she could talk but her tears just kept falling. Harry texted Draco to see if he knew what was wrong. Malfoy said she was upset that he suggested for her, Kat, and Narcissa stay in his dorm while he went to fight against Voldemort. Harry shot back, telling him that had to be the worst thing he could have ever told her. 

Draco knew that already. He just didn't realize that it would make her this distraught. Harry made Jane face him. They needed to talk about what happened. His sister needed to speak on how she was feeling. If not, she would never feel right again. All Jane could do was sniffle and cuddle with one of the throw pillows. Harry took the pillow away and walked over to the kitchen table. 

"Jane, what happened with you and Draco?" He questioned.

"H-He said he wanted us t-to stay back w-while he fought i-in the battle. I c-can't lose him, Harry. Draco m-means everything to me! K-Kat can't lose h-her father!" She cried.

"Hey, hey, hey. Look at me, darling. Nothing is going to happen to me. I will be okay. I'm staying here with you girls." Draco heard her scream and immediately came down to see his wife. 

"Draco!" Jane squealed.

Harry gave the blonde a pat on the back. He left the dorm and went back to the Gryffindor Tower. Hermione and Ron did the same after Draco told them they would be okay alone. Jane hid her face in her lover's shoulder. She wasn't crying anymore, which was a good sign. That meant that she had started feeling better. Katniss was sleeping soundly now, meaning Jane and Draco could finally talk. 

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"Do you think she'll be okay?" Hermione asked Harry and Ron.

"Jane's a strong woman. She can get through anything." Ron answered.

"Draco knows what to do." Harry chuckled.

The trio smiled to each other and went back to bed as soon as they got back to the Tower. No one was ready for what would happen that next morning. Ron and Hermione woke up to a loud crash right outside the portrait hole. Harry, Dean, Seamus, and Oliver had already been in the Common Room when the couple made their way there. 

Harry explained that someone tried to break in but the Fat Lady wouldn't let them through. The passwords they tried to use were almost eight years old. She knew the person would be trying to get Harry. Meaning she had to do her best to keep the intruder out. Thankfully, after the second try, they gave up and left the Tower. 

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Jane heard what happened to the Gryffindors. She almost left their dorm to go see if her brother and friends were okay. Fred and George were the first to call. They let her know that everyone was fine, no one was hurt. Ron had still eaten three plates of breakfast. Jane chuckled when Fred mentioned the Weasley's food addiction. Draco smiled at his wife. He would never get enough of seeing her happy. Blondie knew she'd never let him out of her sight until the battle ended. Jane was protective over the ones she loved. That's why she always put others before herself, or she stepped in front of her friends and family to keep them out of harm's way.

Katniss was in her mother's arms when the woman looked over to her lover. She could see the anxiety through his smile. While he looked happy, Draco's emotions were displayed across his face. Jane carefully placed Kat in the bassinet and walked over to him. He pulled the Hufflepuff into his arms. Draco knew she was having trouble coming to terms with the fact that Voldemort wanted her and her brother. They were Purebloods! Tom was rumoured to only hunt those who were born to Muggle parents.

The blonde didn't know how to comfort her this time. He knew he needed to speak with Snape as soon as possible. It was decided that he would go to the professor when Jane and Kat fell asleep. Their daughter usually went to bed when her mother did. It was the cutest thing Draco had ever seen. Those two were basically in sync with one another. 

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"Professor? Can I have a word?" Draco asked when he stepped into Snape's office.

"What it is, Mr. Malfoy? It's very late and extremely dangerous for a new father to be walking the corridors at this hour." The man's monotone voice spoke.

"I was just wondering if you could possibly cast the protection charm on my dorm again? That way, rather than just keeping my belongings safe, my wife, daughter, mother, and I could stay there too?" He whispered.

"I would, Draco, but unfortunately I can't. There is nothing more powerful than Voldemort at the current time. He's grown too much over the last few years. Even if I were to cast the enchantment, there's no guarantee that it would work." Snape explained.

"Sir, please! He's coming for her and Potter! His plan is to kill them both. I can't live without Jane, nor can Kat! She needs her mother!" Draco pleaded.

Snape didn't know what to do. He knew Tom would find out one way or another if he put the spell on the dorm. The new Malfoy family may never live to see their daughter grow up, Harry may have just gotten out of Azkaban only to die at the hands of a man he'd been trying to fight for almost three years, Hermione and Ron wouldn't be fighting with each other anymore and giving the students as well as the professors something to invest their free time in. 

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Hogwarts may never be the same again. Snape knew this. Everyone who was gearing up to fight knew this. Their school was doomed to fall before it could rise. McGonagall, Dumbledore, Sprout, and Snape all had their duties given to them. The parents of the students were told that some may not make it out alive. Their sons and daughters may lose their lives protecting the school they loved. Dumbledore was trying to do everything in his power to persuade the pupils to stay put, but none of them were listening. 

Jane made Draco swear he wouldn't leave without her. It wasn't that she thought he couldn't handle himself, she knew he could. The Hufflepuff just didn't want to hear from someone else that her husband and father of her child had died without her by his side. Jane thought it would be better if they both died together. That way, Katniss wouldn't miss them too much, Hermione and Ron would take care of the little one. Jane knew it was a lot to think about and really dark. But, what else could she do? Buckle down and focus on schoolwork? Yea, that wasn't a good option for her. Every time she tried, her brain always brought her back to Katniss having to grow up with her mother putting on a fake smile her whole life. All because Jane lost the love of her life to a murderous psychopath.