"Why? Where are you going?" Hermione asked in alarm after I told her to watch Jack for me. "We're not scheduled for a meeting this afternoon, are we?"

"To look for Mr Dog," I answered, grabbing my torch. "He must be out there somewhere, and it's been a week now since Jack has spoken. I want my little boy back, so I'm getting Mr Dog back."

It was breaking my heart to see Jack be so sullen and silent. I missed his voice, missed the 'I love you, Mummy'.

And I knew, too, that I was missing Mr Dog.

Because Mr Dog represented Draco, and Draco - along with Jack, was my everything.

******

Despite the presence of the Dementors, Draco felt lighter than he had in years. Perhaps it was the knowledge that he was returning the Scottie dog to the child. It made him feel warm, somehow, as though he was doing something for Blaire.

It wasn't difficult getting into Hogwarts without permission; being August, the castle was practically deserted with the students all still home for the summer.

Besides, if Umbridge questioned his presence, he'd just simply state he was doing a follow up investigation to the Dementor issue.

He shivered as he crossed the grounds towards the tree, his trusty fox once again leading the way, as if it knew exactly what Draco was there to do.

*****

I shivered as I neared the Main Tunnel, the coldness of the Dementors seeping through the walls into my skin.

I wasn't having any luck locating Mr Dog, he seemed to have vanished completely. I knew I ought to give up and go back to my son, but I was determined that next time I see him, I would have Mr Dog with me.

I hesitated at the enchanted wall which allowed access to and from the Main Tunnel; an idea taken from platform nine and three quarters.

Ron said he had passed this place with Jack. If Jack had thrown it at the wall, Mr Dog could be lying just on the other side, waiting to be retrieved.

I glanced at it pensively and wondered if I could just check really quickly... just poke my head through...

I would be breaking all the rules; but chances are nothing would be out there, slim to none, in fact.

But if I was seen...

No, the risk was too great. I couldn't put Jack's life in danger like that.

But as I turned to move onwards, the torch slipped out of my hand and fell heavily to the ground, instantly plunging me into complete darkness.

Shit.

******

Draco looked up startled as he heard a bang; not like the deafening booms from the battle, but softer, as if someone had dropped something heavy.

It sounded as though it had come from the other side of the wall, but how was that possible? He was in a tunnel, underground.

He ran his fingers along the solid surface, shivering at the coldness of the damp earth beneath his touch.

Something was behind it, he could feel it.

The fox looked up, meeting his eyes.

"Show me," Draco found himself whispering, "please."

He could have sworn the fox gave a silent nod, but this did not surprise him; nothing surprised him now he knew he was going mad.

Yet, it did not bother him. In fact, he quite liked losing his mind because it meant he was finally feeling something other than grief.

So when the fox walked through the wall as though nothing was there, Draco merely shrugged and followed.

*****

I couldn't see a fucking thing.

Trying not to panic, I fumbled about on the ground, my nails breaking as I scraped frantically at the earth in my desperate attempt to locate my only source of light.

"Damn it," I hissed, hating the fact that I no longer had the tools for magic and had to rely on damn Muggle equipment that broke from the merest of falls.

All this for a stupid Monopoly piece.

Except it wasn't stupid, because it meant so much to Jack and so much to me. It was our link to Draco, to the boy I prayed with all my heart I would one day be reunited with again.

Tears started falling down my face as I realised I was failing the two people I loved more than anything.

And to think I used to care so much about the state of my nails. I'd rip every single one of them off right now if it ensured that Draco and Jack were both happy and safe.

Just as I was about to give up hope, a green light appeared, making me blink in confusion.

I straightened up immediately, my heart racing wildly as a fox slinked through the Main Tunnel wall, filling my world with lightness once again.

But it wasn't a real fox, it was a Patronus, and as it looked up at me a startled gasp choked in the back of my throat.

I knew those eyes.

But if the sight of the fox surprised me, it was nothing compared to how I felt when it's owner of the same eyes stepped out of the wall behind it.

Dressed in robes of black and hair so bright it was almost like a shining beacon guiding the way home.

He had finally found me.

*****

So he was becoming more delusional by the second.

Because Blaire was dead, yet here she was standing before him.

Panic tore at his chest as she took a tentative step towards him, and he wanted so much to take her in his arms and kiss her beautiful, perfect face - the face he saw every time he closed his eyes and missed so, so incredibly much. But instead he held up a trembling hand to stop her from coming any closer.

"You're not real," he said, looking away as his voice came out in a strangled whisper, "you can't be. You're dead."

His arm shook as he defiantly held it up; he couldn't allow her to come any nearer, frightened that he was losing the plot completely.

"Draco," Her voice was like the sweetest of music to his ears. "It's me. I'm here. Look at me."

"You're not, you can't be," his voice cracked and he found himself sobbing; shaking his entire body. "It's just my mind playing tricks with me."

He couldn't bear to look directly at her, yet he also wanted to so much.

But he was scared that if he did he would never be able to look away and he'd go crazy in this tunnel and drown in his own grief.

And then he felt soft fingers clasp around his shaking hand, and it felt so real.

"I'm real, Drac. I'm here."

Slowly, he lifted his head, finally allowing himself to look at her properly. He felt as though his heart was going to burst through his chest as her lips tugged up at the corners, smiling that smile that he loved so much and never forgot. Her eyes, like his, were filled with tears, but they were her eyes and this was her smile.

Still clasping his hand, she attempted again to move towards him, and this time he didn't try to stop her.

"Blaire," he breathed, as he lifted his other hand and danced trembling fingertips against her cheek, hardly daring to believe she was there and he was touching her.

Her lips parted as she released a soft content sigh; reassuring warm breath tickling his face.

"Help me," he pleaded, voice gravelly with emotion as he pressed his forehead down upon hers. "Help me to believe this is real."

"It's real," she assured him, cupping her own hand to his face and wiping away the solitary tear that had rolled down his cheek. "It's you and me real."

"You're really here?"

"I'm really here."

And then he was pulling her to him and she was in his arms; skin warm, heart beating.

So alive, so there,

So real.

*****