Fic: Children of Hope (2/4)
Title: Children of Hope (2/4)
Author: airmidm
Rating: R
Characters: Greg Goyle/Tracey Davis
A/N: Full header is on Ch.1
***---Chapter 2---***
November 1998
Mykonos, Greece
Greg wasn't quite certain the how or when involved in the decision that he and Tracey would travel to Mykonos immediately after his mum's funeral, just that it had happened. Then again, he wasn't aware of much that had happened in the first three months he'd been here. Losing Vinnie and his mum in the same day had broken something inside of him. His memories of the first month were a big, black spot of nothingness. Even with Maeve's gentle hints he couldn't remember anything, well save for the feel of her at his side. He couldn't help but wonder just what the hell had happened, what he may had done, and most importantly how much he'd hurt his Maeve in the process.
He sighed heavily, pulling himself out of the pool. Settling on the side of the and looking out over the sea, he thought (or rather tried to remember) about all that had transpired recently.
Relying on Maeve as he'd been wasn't something he had wanted to do. It was his job, his responsibility to keep her safe and happy, not the other way around. That was the way it always had been and always would be- or at least that was what he thought before the Battle of Hogwarts. Since then he seemed to be nothing more than a worthless replica of his old self.
"Val?"
He didn't miss the worried look that passed between his two best friends, but he knew that would be all the acknowledgement of his current mental and physical state and the fears they had in regards to that. He also didn't miss how upset she was.
He turned, shoving the fringe out of his face, attempting a smile, hoping and praying he could figure out quickly what was upsetting her so much. For six months she'd been his rock so what was wrong? "There you are, Maeve. Did you and B have a nice time in Delos?"
Maeve's wane smile cut deep. Today had been the first time she'd dared let him out of her sight. It had taken a lot of fast talking, from both himself and B, to even get her to agree to get out of the villa for the day. He'd had to promise to swim, eat whatever the house elves put in front of him, and stay away from anything remotely alcoholic. His agreement had been swift since the only reason his mum had purchased this villa was due to it's proximity to Delos. Maeve's love of historical locations was second only to her devotion to him. It was clear though, that she'd not enjoyed the trip as much as he'd hoped. Was forcing her to leave for the day worth it?
It was that devotion, that utter and complete lack of care for anyone or anything but him, that worried Greg. It wasn't that he didn't adore Maeve utterly and completely, because he did. In fact, he had known since he was thirteen that marrying Tracey and making her his in every way was his dream. His happily ever after. He opened his mouth to utter the words he knew that neither of his friends expected, only to be cut off by Blaise.
"Though the joy Trace gets out of digging in the dirt always amuses me, we've important things to discuss."
Greg's brows shot up a the thick sarcasm and he got to his feet quickly, walking along the wall of the pool until he reached the patio. Stepping out and taking the towel held out by a house elf, he dried off as he moved toward the table where Blaise and Tracey were now sitting. "What sort of important things?"
Tracey buried her face in her hands, her riotous curls falling over her hands to completely obscure her reaction.
"Bad," Blaise mumbled.
He dropped into the nearest chair, already reaching for Tracey. "How bad?"
"The Ministry on a whole has gone 'round the twist, Mate," Blaise said flatly. "Kingsley has been fired for his 'dubious' relationship with Mum, Potter has been let off his leash and is now arresting - or attempting to arrest- every Slytherin he can, and they've even attempted to raid Stone Walk."
"What?" Greg said coldly, gripping the towel tightly enough to rip it in half. "Those idiots dared attempting to break my wards? Wards a millenia old? What the fuck were they thinking?"
Tracey lifted her head, her hands falling into her lap. "They weren't. They arrested Daddy and nothing Narcissa, Mum, or Callista has tried to get him released has worked. Draco, Theo, Millicent, and Pansy are all in Azkaban on trumped up charges, awaiting what are sure to be farces of trials."
Greg's jaw dropped and he looked to Blaise for confirmation. It wasn't that he didn't believe Maeve, because he did. It was just that the lengths Potter and his lapdogs had gone to were shocking. Sure, everyone had known that their world was destroyed, but this ... this was ludicrous. Simply ludicrous.
Blaise winced. "Mr. Malfoy was 'accosted by a former associate' in Diagon Alley last week. He was dead when the Aurors arrived. Of course, that is the 'official' story. My bet is on the hit wizards. Lucius isn't the first one to die mysteriously and publicly in the past few weeks."
Greg's own sorrow and pain were pushed aside in light of the horrid situation back home. He'd wallowed long enough. I have to stop being a selfish bastard. I have to. "What do you need me to do? And why the fuck didn't you tell me any of this before?"
Blaise didn't look the least bit guilty when he said, "You were fucked up enough, Greg. I wasn't about to inform you of a situation while there was nothing we could do about it. I'm not an idiot!"
"Boys!" Tracey screamed, slamming both of her hands down on the tabletop. She looked worn out, upset, and helpless all rolled into one mess of emotions. She ducked her head and continued in a softer tone, "Don't argue, it won't help any of them, any of us if you two are at one another's throats."
"Sorry, Maeve," Greg mumbled, chagrined. Allowing his anger at being kept in the dark about this, knowing damn good and well that Blaise wouldn't have told her and kept it from him, wasn't appropriate just now. He should have been focused on Maeve and on their course of action.
"Yeah, sorry, Trace," Blaise muttered. "I -we know it won't help."
"No, it won't," she snapped, her irritation nearly palatable- a thin sheen not quite hiding her fear and frustration.
Greg turned in his chair and opened his arms, unable to stand being away from her, of having her not in his arms for one minute longer. He knew that she was trying to mask her pain with the facade of anger, anger he knew she possessed but that wasn't foremost in her mind when their whole world was being torn to pieces again. "Come here, M'fhíorghrá." He just wanted to hold her and tell her everything would be all right.
She was curled up in his lap moments later, her face pressed against his neck. He wrapped his arms firmly around her, comforting himself as much as he comforted her. He looked over her head at Blaise, silently asking, 'what do we do now?'
The implacable expression on Blaise's face told Greg everything he needed to go. His sojourn in Greece had ended. He was needed at home. His time of mourning and selfish behaviour was over. He just wished he knew how this would play out.
--**--
Once Greg had showered and changed into dry clothes and instructed the house elves to pack everything, he and Maeve settled in on the couch watching Blaise paced the room. Greg wanted to be up and pacing as well, but Maeve needed him, so he sat and held her, running a soothing hand through her hair and murmured reassurances in Gaelic.
"We have to find a way to stop this madness."
Greg rolled his eyes. "I've some ideas, B. Why don't you sit down and we can discuss them."
Blaise glared and threw himself down in the nearest chair, huffing loudly.
Greg did, in fact, have lots of ideas- some legal and some not so much. He hadn't been thinking of much else since he'd been told of the situation back home. What he did know was that Maeve should stay here, in hiding, until it was completely safe. He didn't want to have her out of his sight, but what he, Blaise, and anyone else they could gather were about to do was far too dangerous for her to be there. It wasn't that he didn't think she could handle whatever hell was about to break loose, it was that he couldn't bear it if anything happened to her. He tugged lightly on her hair and she looked up, her big beautiful eyes full of worry. "Maeve, would you stay here - stay safe- if I asked you to?"
He could feel her tense even as her expression became a mask. He knew then that it was the wrong thing to ask. Her whispered, "But, I want to stay with you, Val," nearly broke him all over again. His resolve to talk her into staying here was gone. There was no way he could do such a thing to her.
"All right, Mo Rós, you can go. But you will promise to stay at Stone Walk or The Vale if the situation deteriorates."
She nodded, her curls bouncing and a small smile graced her face. "Of course, Val. I've spent much too long taming you to ruin it now."
Greg managed a light chuckle, brushing his fingers lightly along her jaw. "Yes, yes, you've tamed me. But that means you have to stay safe."
"If you two are going to get all mushy then I'm gone," Blaise interjected testily. "It's not like we don't have a major situation to deal with or anything."
Greg snorted. "If you want mushy, we can give you mushy, B. Neither of us has forgotten what is going on. Just relax."
"Relax?" Blaise retorted. "As if that is even possible, Greg. How long do you think it will be before Narcissa, Mum, and Nicola are arrested? How long before some ridiculous law is passed giving Potter and his mad group of vigilantes the right to break our wards? How long?"
Greg tucked Tracey against his chest and held up a hand to stop Blaise. "Look, B, we need to think strategically. Who is on our side, who could be talked around to being on our side, and what laws exactly is Potter using to validate his behaviour?"
Blaise's grin was more a wicked little smirk, but it was an indication of his devious nature coming into play. "Oh, between Kingsley and myself, we've a large group assembled already. Larger than that Phoenix lot was during the war, in fact."
"Like who?" Greg said disbelievingly. The small bit of information he'd been given had painted the portrait well enough to know that few would be willing to side with the very faction that was being hunted. Well, unless they had a really good reason.
Blaise snickered. "Oh, I'm not telling. There is no way you'd believe some of our new allies. Seeing truly is believing in this case."
Greg wanted to snarl and snap. He refrained, knowing it would do nothing but upset Maeve. It was clear that he'd have to wait and see what was what once they returned home. He only hoped that he wouldn't regret his decision.
Author: airmidm
Rating: R
Characters: Greg Goyle/Tracey Davis
A/N: Full header is on Ch.1
***---Chapter 2---***
November 1998
Mykonos, Greece
Greg wasn't quite certain the how or when involved in the decision that he and Tracey would travel to Mykonos immediately after his mum's funeral, just that it had happened. Then again, he wasn't aware of much that had happened in the first three months he'd been here. Losing Vinnie and his mum in the same day had broken something inside of him. His memories of the first month were a big, black spot of nothingness. Even with Maeve's gentle hints he couldn't remember anything, well save for the feel of her at his side. He couldn't help but wonder just what the hell had happened, what he may had done, and most importantly how much he'd hurt his Maeve in the process.
He sighed heavily, pulling himself out of the pool. Settling on the side of the and looking out over the sea, he thought (or rather tried to remember) about all that had transpired recently.
Relying on Maeve as he'd been wasn't something he had wanted to do. It was his job, his responsibility to keep her safe and happy, not the other way around. That was the way it always had been and always would be- or at least that was what he thought before the Battle of Hogwarts. Since then he seemed to be nothing more than a worthless replica of his old self.
"Val?"
He didn't miss the worried look that passed between his two best friends, but he knew that would be all the acknowledgement of his current mental and physical state and the fears they had in regards to that. He also didn't miss how upset she was.
He turned, shoving the fringe out of his face, attempting a smile, hoping and praying he could figure out quickly what was upsetting her so much. For six months she'd been his rock so what was wrong? "There you are, Maeve. Did you and B have a nice time in Delos?"
Maeve's wane smile cut deep. Today had been the first time she'd dared let him out of her sight. It had taken a lot of fast talking, from both himself and B, to even get her to agree to get out of the villa for the day. He'd had to promise to swim, eat whatever the house elves put in front of him, and stay away from anything remotely alcoholic. His agreement had been swift since the only reason his mum had purchased this villa was due to it's proximity to Delos. Maeve's love of historical locations was second only to her devotion to him. It was clear though, that she'd not enjoyed the trip as much as he'd hoped. Was forcing her to leave for the day worth it?
It was that devotion, that utter and complete lack of care for anyone or anything but him, that worried Greg. It wasn't that he didn't adore Maeve utterly and completely, because he did. In fact, he had known since he was thirteen that marrying Tracey and making her his in every way was his dream. His happily ever after. He opened his mouth to utter the words he knew that neither of his friends expected, only to be cut off by Blaise.
"Though the joy Trace gets out of digging in the dirt always amuses me, we've important things to discuss."
Greg's brows shot up a the thick sarcasm and he got to his feet quickly, walking along the wall of the pool until he reached the patio. Stepping out and taking the towel held out by a house elf, he dried off as he moved toward the table where Blaise and Tracey were now sitting. "What sort of important things?"
Tracey buried her face in her hands, her riotous curls falling over her hands to completely obscure her reaction.
"Bad," Blaise mumbled.
He dropped into the nearest chair, already reaching for Tracey. "How bad?"
"The Ministry on a whole has gone 'round the twist, Mate," Blaise said flatly. "Kingsley has been fired for his 'dubious' relationship with Mum, Potter has been let off his leash and is now arresting - or attempting to arrest- every Slytherin he can, and they've even attempted to raid Stone Walk."
"What?" Greg said coldly, gripping the towel tightly enough to rip it in half. "Those idiots dared attempting to break my wards? Wards a millenia old? What the fuck were they thinking?"
Tracey lifted her head, her hands falling into her lap. "They weren't. They arrested Daddy and nothing Narcissa, Mum, or Callista has tried to get him released has worked. Draco, Theo, Millicent, and Pansy are all in Azkaban on trumped up charges, awaiting what are sure to be farces of trials."
Greg's jaw dropped and he looked to Blaise for confirmation. It wasn't that he didn't believe Maeve, because he did. It was just that the lengths Potter and his lapdogs had gone to were shocking. Sure, everyone had known that their world was destroyed, but this ... this was ludicrous. Simply ludicrous.
Blaise winced. "Mr. Malfoy was 'accosted by a former associate' in Diagon Alley last week. He was dead when the Aurors arrived. Of course, that is the 'official' story. My bet is on the hit wizards. Lucius isn't the first one to die mysteriously and publicly in the past few weeks."
Greg's own sorrow and pain were pushed aside in light of the horrid situation back home. He'd wallowed long enough. I have to stop being a selfish bastard. I have to. "What do you need me to do? And why the fuck didn't you tell me any of this before?"
Blaise didn't look the least bit guilty when he said, "You were fucked up enough, Greg. I wasn't about to inform you of a situation while there was nothing we could do about it. I'm not an idiot!"
"Boys!" Tracey screamed, slamming both of her hands down on the tabletop. She looked worn out, upset, and helpless all rolled into one mess of emotions. She ducked her head and continued in a softer tone, "Don't argue, it won't help any of them, any of us if you two are at one another's throats."
"Sorry, Maeve," Greg mumbled, chagrined. Allowing his anger at being kept in the dark about this, knowing damn good and well that Blaise wouldn't have told her and kept it from him, wasn't appropriate just now. He should have been focused on Maeve and on their course of action.
"Yeah, sorry, Trace," Blaise muttered. "I -we know it won't help."
"No, it won't," she snapped, her irritation nearly palatable- a thin sheen not quite hiding her fear and frustration.
Greg turned in his chair and opened his arms, unable to stand being away from her, of having her not in his arms for one minute longer. He knew that she was trying to mask her pain with the facade of anger, anger he knew she possessed but that wasn't foremost in her mind when their whole world was being torn to pieces again. "Come here, M'fhíorghrá." He just wanted to hold her and tell her everything would be all right.
She was curled up in his lap moments later, her face pressed against his neck. He wrapped his arms firmly around her, comforting himself as much as he comforted her. He looked over her head at Blaise, silently asking, 'what do we do now?'
The implacable expression on Blaise's face told Greg everything he needed to go. His sojourn in Greece had ended. He was needed at home. His time of mourning and selfish behaviour was over. He just wished he knew how this would play out.
--**--
Once Greg had showered and changed into dry clothes and instructed the house elves to pack everything, he and Maeve settled in on the couch watching Blaise paced the room. Greg wanted to be up and pacing as well, but Maeve needed him, so he sat and held her, running a soothing hand through her hair and murmured reassurances in Gaelic.
"We have to find a way to stop this madness."
Greg rolled his eyes. "I've some ideas, B. Why don't you sit down and we can discuss them."
Blaise glared and threw himself down in the nearest chair, huffing loudly.
Greg did, in fact, have lots of ideas- some legal and some not so much. He hadn't been thinking of much else since he'd been told of the situation back home. What he did know was that Maeve should stay here, in hiding, until it was completely safe. He didn't want to have her out of his sight, but what he, Blaise, and anyone else they could gather were about to do was far too dangerous for her to be there. It wasn't that he didn't think she could handle whatever hell was about to break loose, it was that he couldn't bear it if anything happened to her. He tugged lightly on her hair and she looked up, her big beautiful eyes full of worry. "Maeve, would you stay here - stay safe- if I asked you to?"
He could feel her tense even as her expression became a mask. He knew then that it was the wrong thing to ask. Her whispered, "But, I want to stay with you, Val," nearly broke him all over again. His resolve to talk her into staying here was gone. There was no way he could do such a thing to her.
"All right, Mo Rós, you can go. But you will promise to stay at Stone Walk or The Vale if the situation deteriorates."
She nodded, her curls bouncing and a small smile graced her face. "Of course, Val. I've spent much too long taming you to ruin it now."
Greg managed a light chuckle, brushing his fingers lightly along her jaw. "Yes, yes, you've tamed me. But that means you have to stay safe."
"If you two are going to get all mushy then I'm gone," Blaise interjected testily. "It's not like we don't have a major situation to deal with or anything."
Greg snorted. "If you want mushy, we can give you mushy, B. Neither of us has forgotten what is going on. Just relax."
"Relax?" Blaise retorted. "As if that is even possible, Greg. How long do you think it will be before Narcissa, Mum, and Nicola are arrested? How long before some ridiculous law is passed giving Potter and his mad group of vigilantes the right to break our wards? How long?"
Greg tucked Tracey against his chest and held up a hand to stop Blaise. "Look, B, we need to think strategically. Who is on our side, who could be talked around to being on our side, and what laws exactly is Potter using to validate his behaviour?"
Blaise's grin was more a wicked little smirk, but it was an indication of his devious nature coming into play. "Oh, between Kingsley and myself, we've a large group assembled already. Larger than that Phoenix lot was during the war, in fact."
"Like who?" Greg said disbelievingly. The small bit of information he'd been given had painted the portrait well enough to know that few would be willing to side with the very faction that was being hunted. Well, unless they had a really good reason.
Blaise snickered. "Oh, I'm not telling. There is no way you'd believe some of our new allies. Seeing truly is believing in this case."
Greg wanted to snarl and snap. He refrained, knowing it would do nothing but upset Maeve. It was clear that he'd have to wait and see what was what once they returned home. He only hoped that he wouldn't regret his decision.