In the dark, dark country there was a dark, dark lane.

And down that dark, dark lane there was a dark, dark manor ground.

And in the dark, dark manor ground there grew a dark, dark tree.

And in that dark, dark tree there was a dark, dark house.

And in the dark, dark house...

...a little boy who would do anything to make his mummy happy lived.

*****

When I woke up the next morning, I had no reason at first to believe that anything was wrong.

A pair of strong, sinewy arms tightened around me as Draco pressed our bodies together. I could feel the steady beat of his heart against my back and I closed my eyes tight shut, trying to hold on to that moment.

If I did not wake up, refused to acknowledge the day ahead of us, then maybe it did not have to happen and I could lay there in Draco's arms forever.

We had discussed it late into the previous night what the plan was. Crabbe was to call an urgent meeting with Umbridge away from her office. Draco would use that time to break into her office and steal the Sorting Hat.

He would then track down Voldemort, with the help of Crabbe's information, kill the snake, then kill Voldemort himself.

Sounded so simple... and incredibly idiotic and dangerous. Yet, what other choice did we have? It had been pretty much Harry Potter's plan all along too.

A soft grizzle sounded from the cot at the far end of the room.

"I'll go," Draco murmured sleepily in my ear.

I could tell he was as reluctant as I was to begin the day though, and he left it a fraction longer than he normally would to unravel his arms from around me, leaving me feeling empty and cold as he rolled off the bed.

Just one more day, I silently begged as I watched him scoop his son out of the cot and lovingly nuzzle his cheek against the top of wispy white-blond hair. Please, Drac... just one more day.

But we had agreed that there was never going to be a time when we were ready, and we had to think of Jack and of Scorpius and of the futures they both deserved.

They came first, they always came first.

I sadly watched Draco quietly slip out of the room, taking Scorpius for his morning feed, and I tried not to think about how much Draco's heart must be breaking as he fed his son for possibly the last ever time.

Turning over, I went to reach out for Jack, only to discover the space where he slept was empty.

"Jack?" I whispered, lifting my head to look around the room.

That's funny, Jack never usually got up before us. I squinted at the clock. Six am. Seemed a little early for Narcissa to have come and woken him for his breakfast.

I realised Orion was missing too, and surmised that he must be wherever Jack was, obviously gone exploring around the treehouse. I crossed my fingers that they hadn't done anything daft like wake Ginny up.

Knowing I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep without any of my boys, I hopped into the shower and got ready for the day.

Plodding into the kitchen twenty minutes later, I paused at the doorway to watch the scene in front of me.

Draco was sat at the kitchen table with his almost four month old son in his lap, feeding him a bottle. To my surprise, Lucius was sat at the other end and I realised Draco was talking to him as Narcissa cluttered around in the background making coffee.

"...just wanted you to know that I forgive you, father. For everything."

My heart gave a little twist at Draco's words, and a further twist when he looked sadly at his father who just stared blankly down at the floor, showing no sign of having heard a word.

Narcissa swept over to wipe the drool from Lucius' chin and I couldn't help but notice Draco wincing at the sight, turning away as though it physically pained him to witness what his father had become.

"Hey," I murmured, finally making my presence known as I moved towards Draco.

He looked up at once, his face softening as I approached him. Scorpius's eyes immediately lit up and pulled his mouth away from his bottle to offer me a delighted smile, waving his little arms up and down.

"I think he wants you," Draco chuckled softly as Scorpius emitted excited coos, no longer interested in his bottle as his face fixed eagerly upon me.

I took the seat next to him as Draco passed Scorpius to me, little feet kicking in excitement as I placed his soft warm body onto my lap.

"I don't blame you," Draco smirked down at his son as he playfully cuffed him under the chin, "she gives the best cuddles."

I grinned at him, scrunching my nose up as he emitted a low chuckle, leaning in to softly brush his lips against mine.

"Not today," I found myself whispering furtively as my heart raced in my chest. "Please."

He stilled, my words causing his eyes to widen. I knew I shouldn't have said them, shouldn't have asked him to stay another day. But they had left my lips automatically before I could even register what I was about to say.

At that moment, Narcissa placed two coffees down in front of us and Draco immediately straightened up, tearing his eyes away from mine to nod a thank you at his mother.

"I think I'll go and have a shower," he muttered stiffly, getting brusquely to his feet and grabbing his coffee without looking at me.

I watched his retreating back with a heavy heart. I had just broken my promise to him. "Don't ask me to stay," he had insisted the previous evening. "Because if you do, I won't be able to leave, and I need to go. I need to go for the boys."

I felt suddenly hot with shame, for I had just put my needs before Jack and Scorp.

"Is Jack still asleep?" Narcissa asked, making me startle. "Shall I go wake him for pancakes?"

"Uh- no," I said, trying to stem the horrific guilt that was writhing around in my stomach. "He was already up when I woke."

"Oh," Narcissa frowned, lowering her coffee. "I haven't seen him, and I've been up for almost two hours. Lucius had a bad night, you see."

"Perhaps he stayed upstairs?" I pondered, the beginnings of panic fluttering in my chest. "Maybe they just went in the games room?"

Even as I was saying this, I was rising from the table, taking Scorpius with me as I headed out of the room, straight for the stairs.

"Jack?" I yelled, hurrying up the steps as Narcissa called up behind me that she'd check the downstairs rooms. "JACK!"

I was in full panic by the time I reached the landing, banging open doors one by one as I yelled his name into each empty room.

Ginny practically tore my hair out when I woke her up, anger literally spitting from her mouth as she screamed at me to fuck off.

But I didn't care, all I wanted was to find my son.

Draco skidded into the hallway, his hair still damp from the shower, shirt half unbuttoned.

"What's wrong?" He asked, concern pinching his features as he clocked my panicked face. "Blaire?"

"I can't find Jack." I breathed, my heart now right up in my throat as fear choked me. "He wasn't in bed when I woke up and no one's seen him since last night!"

"Shit," he muttered, wheeling round on the spot as he quickly finished buttoning up his shirt. "Perhaps he's just playing hide and seek?"

"Alone?!"

Just then, Narcissa arrived breathlessly at the top of the stairs, shaking her head in dismay. "I'm sorry," she gasped, her face looking fretful. "But I can't find him, I can't find him anywhere. No Jack and no Orion."

The three of us exchanged looks of horror.

What the hell had happened to my little boy?

******

In the dark, dark country there was a dark, dark lane.

And down that dark, dark lane there was a dark, dark manor ground.

And in the dark, dark manor ground there grew a dark, dark tree.

And in that dark, dark tree there was a dark, dark house.

And out from that dark, dark house...

...a little boy and his dog climbed, running towards the lady who greeted them with outstretched arms and the widest, wickedest smile.

******