A soft rapping on the door caused Nova to look up from her feed.

She soon latched on again when she realised it wasn't her daddy.

"It's almost time," Fred said gently, as he tentatively stepped in the room and closed the door behind him.

I felt a heavy dull feeling in my chest as I looked sadly down at my daughter.

It had been two weeks since Draco last walked out of this room. And despite being only four and a half months old, I could tell that Nova missed him deeply.

It was the day of Dumbledore's funeral and as soon as it was over, we would be leaving Hogwarts to go back to the flat above the shop with Fred.

I didn't want to leave. It would be as though accepting that Draco had really done what he had done. Not that I was angry; I knew it wasn't his fault. I knew he had felt as though he hadn't had a choice.

But Harry had since told me that Dumbledore had offered him one, that Draco was about to take it just as it was ripped away from him.

He had been too late. But it had been there; if only he had thought to turn to Dumbledore when he still had the chance.

I wondered where he was and what horrors Voldemort was making him endure. It broke my heart, but I couldn't stop imagining the worst.

And above all, I missed him so achingly much.

The funeral was beautiful. I sat in between Fred and George, holding Nova tightly in my lap.

I didn't cry - I hadn't cried since discovering what Draco had done. I felt emotionally numb almost as though I'd been drugged.

I'd been through too much sadness in my life; lost too many people and cried all the tears I had inside of me. I felt I had nothing left, nothing but the fierce protective love for my daughter. She kept me going; she gave me a reason to get up every day.

And as much as it hurt, I had to accept that Draco was no longer a part of our lives.

I still wore his ring around my neck though, and carried the moonstone in my pocket. Because I knew I'd love him forever, until the day I die.

"Are you ready?" Fred asked gently after the funeral had finished.

"I just want to take a walk with Nova first," I murmured, looking towards the lake which sparkled beautifully underneath the afternoon sun.

"Take as long as you need," Fred said, kissing the top of my head and stroking Nova's cheek.

I walked down to the spot that I had last stood with Cedric and my dad the day of the third task. The spot where I had last hugged my brother.

The pain I felt when I thought about Cedric never changed, never got any easier to bear, never stopped hurting on a level which couldn't be reached.

I needed Cedric so much right now, needed my brother's comfort and love. Needed his assurance that we would get through this war and reach the other side unscathed.

"I really don't believe he would have ever done it, you know."

I looked up, startled. Harry had stepped up beside me, his eyes looking out across the lake.

I said nothing, but instead, looked down at Nova and kissed the top of her head.

"As much as I detest him," he continued, "Malfoy is no killer."

"Don't Harry, please," I whispered. "This is all hard enough without having you remind me about how much you hate him."

"I don't hate him, Aurora. Just pity him." Harry shrugged nonchalantly. "He clearly loves you and Nova; was even willing to go against his mission for you. But the idiot was too late, and now he will have to pay for that for the rest of his life. He should have put his trust in Dumbledore - not plotted to kill him. He made that choice, and it was the wrong one."

"You pity him, then you pity me and Nova," I said fiercely, "because we love him and we've lost him too."

"I will never understand why you love him. I will never understand why you had his child and married him when you knew it was always going to end this way."

"Just go away Harry, I don't want to hear this." I fumed, feeling utterly irritated by this boy who calls himself my friend.

"I just said goodbye to a great friend of mine, Aurora. I wouldn't have had to if Malfoy hadn't been too chicken shit to ask for help. So I'm sorry if you find that difficult to hear, but quite frankly maybe you should start opening your eyes and ears for the sake of your daughter." He paused, turning to look at me; his stony face now softening; his tone suddenly turning gentler. "I'm not returning to school next year, I'm going to go out there and fight this. And I know you're going to say no, but I want you to consider joining me."

"Are you serious?" I asked, aghast. "Harry in case it has failed to escape your notice, I have a baby in my arms right now who needs me more than anything!"

"You'll be doing it for her future, Aurora. She'll be safe with the Weasley's. When we were doing DA classes I could see your potential. You're a great witch. And don't tell Hermione I said this, but you outrank her any day. I could do with someone like you on my team."

"You're really something else, you know that Harry?!" I spat, turning on the spot and started angrily walking back up to the castle.

"If you help me defeat Voldemort, Aurora, you may even get your family back together!" He called after me, making me stop in my tracks. "You'll finally be able to wear the Malfoy name and Nova will have her father back."

"I won't do it, Harry. I won't leave my daughter. So don't you dare even ask!" I snapped. Just the thought of being parted from her for any length of time made my insides twist with horror.

Harry had been selfish to ask me. Selfish to dangle the one thing I wanted more than anything in front of my face as an incentive.

A family.