[HP] Three thousand days of innocence

A few days later, Ginny was called to Harry's office.That in itself should have aroused her suspicions, since Harry liked to pretend he didn't know her in front of other people when he was working.But a lavender paper airplane brings his call, making time for her to meet him before she leaves work for the evening.

Curiosity got the better of her, so she went, bag in hand, cloak draped over her shoulders. "What's the matter, Harry?" she said, standing in the doorway of his narrow office.She could hear Angelina and Chambers laughing behind her, as they were leaving get off work.

"Sit down," he said, waving to the chintz armchair on the other side of the table.Ginny complied, and the formality of the meeting made her even more curious.Harry frowned, looked at the slightly curled roll of parchment on the table, and looked into her eyes again. "Look, I didn't even know why I was doing this until I started. It's totally against departmental policy, let alone Ministry of Magic protocol—"

"Maybe you should tell me what's going on so I can let you know if I agree," Ginny reminded.Seriously, Harry can be a bit on-and-off sometimes.

"Okay." He pushed the roll of parchment across the table to her. "I received a letter from Narcissa Malfoy this morning," he explained, and Ginny picked up the parchment and scanned it quickly. "She asked the Auror in charge of the Draco case to come and have tea with her at Malfoy Manor. Talk about him and what we know."

Ginny raised her eyebrows. "This is a gross violation of our policy—"

"I know, but I talked to the logistics staff of the Ministry of Magic, and they told me that Lucius Malfoy is going to donate a large sum of money. I hate this too." Seeing that Ginny wanted to protest, he said hastily. "Don't get me wrong, cronyism is the thing I despise the most - but I think it's the best. Malfoy's case is solitary, Ginny. Nobody's ever seen him, nobody knows what happened to him  … For all we know, he's probably dead. You can use this as an opportunity to tell them that Draco can't be found unless he steps out and declares himself."

Ginny kept nodding as she listened to Harry's words, but she stopped suddenly at the last sentence. "Wait - I'm going to Malfoy Manor?" she called.

He shrugged. "You're the Auror on his case. You know better than anyone. You're the man for the job."

"But the Malfoys hate us," Ginny blurted out.

Harry smiled humorlessly. "Narcisha was very polite in her letter, and I don't take no for no. Don't force me to play the 'I'm your boss' card."

"Oh, trouble," mumbled Ginny, staring darkly at Narcissa Malfoy's neat handwriting. "Okay. Then can I go and say goodbye and go to the tea party?"

"Okay, tomorrow. Don't forget you have to track down that wizard for us on Saturday."

"Sure, Harry. Have fun at Mom and Dad's." She stuffed Narcissa's invitation into her bag and went home.

All night, and most of the next morning, Ginny thought about how things had changed for the Malfoys.As soon as the Ministry issued a subpoena to bring Draco in for questioning, they informed the Ministry of his disappearance - and that was eight years ago.Merlin, has it been that long since Harry beat Tom Riddle?The Ministry had assured the Malfoys at the time that they would be notified of any developments, and for a while, there was a glimmer of hope of finding him as there were multiple possibilities in his case.Draco had many friends and extended family on his father's side, and Sturgis Podmore tracked down these relationships, leaving rich notes on every conversation.No, neither of them had seen Draco since Tom Riddle's death.No, he didn't contact them about money or where they lived.No, they don't know why he left without saying goodbye.

The Malfoys must know that there is no new news.Draco's mysterious escape from the wizarding world has been making headlines in the months since Tom Riddle's downfall, as he was the easiest target of all those who survived the war.Rita Skeeter especially likes to guess where Malfoy's heir is and what he's up to.After the success of her Dumbledore biography, she resumed her weekly column, which has become one of the most popular sections on the Daily Prophet simply because of the Malfoy story.Those articles were all included in his file, and during the interval of paperwork, Ginny looked through them on the desk boredly.

Finally, at around 03:30, she poked her head into Harry's office to let him know she was leaving, then walked to the Ministry of Magic foyer, flooed back to her apartment in Holborn, and got dressed.Since Ginny was going to work at the Malfoy Manor, she took out her uniform and put it on, and arranged her hair.Ginny had asked Luna Lovegood - now Scamander - to demonstrate the Social Tea Party with her the night before, as she had long since forgotten, and her appearance had improved a little , she felt that she was ready to enter enemy territory.

Narcissa's invitation had coordinates, so Ginny checked the location again, and then Apparated, she found herself standing on a long dirt road with tall hedges on one side.It was summer now, and the vegetation was lush and full of life, and the gentle breeze brought her the rich fragrance of grass and flowers and earth.Ginny took a deep breath of country air, then walked down the path towards the imposing iron gate in front of her.

"Ginny Weasley," she said to the door, feeling a little silly because she couldn't see anyone. "Er—come and—"

The gate glows green, then disappears.Frowning, Ginny made her way to the gate, which she was surprised to see she passed through as if they were as ethereal as smoke.Ginny, shivering a little despite the sunshine, walked on, looking at the white peacock in the front garden, which had been watching her with extraordinarily intelligent eyes as she walked to the front door.

A house-elf received her and led her into an elegant drawing room on the ground floor.All the furniture was upholstered in pale green, and the high ceiling stretched overhead, making her realize that she was truly in luxury.Narcissa had arrived, sitting in an armchair as motionless as if someone were painting her, her long blond hair hanging down her back without a trace of curl.When Ginny came in, she stood up and stretched out a long thin arm.

"Miss Weasley," she said kindly, Ginny took her outstretched hand. "It's great to have you here."

"Er—thank you for the invitation," said Ginny, blushing.

"Won't you join me for tea?" Narcissa waved to the small table between the two Queen Anne chairs, and Ginny saw a sumptuous table of tea waiting for them.

"That would be great, Mrs. Malfoy," she said, and she and Narcissa sat down.

"I know this is unusual for an Auror office," Narcissa said softly after they had all poured tea and taken their biscuits. "Don't think I'm not grateful for your presence."

"Mrs. Malfoy, I'm confused as to why I'm here," Ginny blurted out.Maybe it should be straight to the point, she thought. "You know, the Ministry of Magic has promised to tell you any clues we have about his whereabouts. We have no news."

"I know the situation of Draco's case very well." Narcissa said softly.

"Then you'll agree with me that it's best to close the case and not pursue it any further," said Ginny, leaning forward. "Mrs. Malfoy, he—he may not be alive anymore."

Narcissa shuddered, but she restrained herself carefully, her whole body was restrained. "So I was right," she said. "The Ministry of Magic has given up."

"It's all a dead end," Ginny confirmed.

"Miss Weasley—" Narcissa laughed angrily. "You have to understand something. Draco is my child. My only child. I just want to hold him in my arms again, because no matter how old he is, he will always be my child."

"He's turning 26 today," she said.Ginny was very surprised. "I'm missing a lot of things in his life. I can't take it—I—" Narcissa bent her head and pressed her fingers to her lips, her knuckles turning white, but she didn't shed a single tear from her parched eyes down. "If I told you I knew he was alive," she whispered hoarsely, "would the case be reopened? Would that be enough?"

Today is definitely a day of surprises. "You know what?" Ginny said cautiously. "How do you—"

"Follow me." Narcissa stood up suddenly and walked out of the room.Ginny had to follow her, down simple corridors, into a large, airy gallery whose rafters were filled with nearly identical portraits of blond men and women.Some looked at Ginny curiously as she came into view.Most just keep grooming themselves or going to sleep.Curiously, there is an empty picture frame hanging at the bottom of the wall on the right.

"The Malfoy family." Narcissa said, pointing to the portrait. "From time immemorial, everyone in the Malfoy family has a portrait in this gallery. Do you know the magic in the Hogwarts headmaster's office?"

"I don't know," Ginny admitted.

"After every principal dies, his portrait will automatically appear on the wall behind the desk." Narcissa explained. "It's the same here. Once a Malfoy dies, his or her portrait is added to this gallery."

Ginny stared at the bottom row of portraits, seeing that the date on them was the most recent.Draco wasn't among them. "So...his portrait isn't here. You think that means he's alive?"

"I know he's still alive."

"But what about that?" Ginny pointed to the empty picture frame.She took a closer look and found that there was no nameplate on it, unlike other portraits. "How do you know it wasn't for him?"

A faint smile appeared on Narcissa's smooth face. "That's for me," she said softly. "I'm dying, Miss Weasley. The moment the therapist makes the diagnosis, this frame will appear, and in the near future, my name will appear on it."

Ginny exclaimed softly, "No!"

"Before I die, I'd love to see Draco one last time," Narcissa said. "That's why I asked the Auror Office to reopen his case. You must find my son, Miss Weasley."

Ginny swallowed nervously. "He was seen in France and Italy," she said softly. "but--"

"He'll come home," Narcissa said, nodding slightly, as if the matter had been decided, and it was over. "He'll always come back. He belongs to Wiltshire, it's in his nature."

"If he's found, he'll be tried for escape and assault," Ginny said, trying to avoid Narcissa Malfoy's worried gaze. "It's not going to be the kind of home you imagined."

"But he'll come home," said Narcissa. "For Lucius and I, that's all we care about. We want our little boy back, Miss Weasley. You're just looking for his witch." .”

Ginny's half-hearted retort was left unsaid, and she followed Narcissa down the corridor back to the foyer. "It was a pleasure having tea with you, Miss Weasley," she said formally, and with a wave, an elf opened the front door. "Hopefully the next time we meet, you will bring good news."

"Good day, Mrs. Malfoy," Ginny said softly, shaking her hand again.She turned to leave the manor, hearing the heavy oak door clang shut behind her.

In less than an hour, Ginny knew that Narcissa had completely changed her mind.She wasn't in charge of the case when Draco initially disappeared - it was Sturgis Podmore and Hestia Jones, both of whom were later assigned to other cases - so since Draco's disappearance the terrible She hadn't seen Narcissa Malfoy up close since the night that Tonks and Lupine were murdered and Fred lost his life.

That's why Ginny knew she had to take the case and see it through.Because of Fred.In the first few years after his death, Molly had the same look in her eyes: ashes, helplessness, endless sadness.Parents were not supposed to outlive their children, and Fred's death stung Molly's heart, just as Ginny saw Draco's disappearance eating away at his mother.

Ginny would find Draco.She swore now in the golden red sunset over Wiltshire - she swore she would see her son again before Narcissa died.