The Ties That Bind

"Mr. Malfoy, there is a Mrs. Grey to see you. She says it is of utmost importance. She says...it's business."

"I'm not fit to entertain anyone, let alone some old crone. Send her away."

"Mr. Malfoy, if I may, it might be prudent to see her. She insisted that she be allowed in, and her words were most persuasive."

"Just let me die in peace."

"She is adamant."

"Tell her I'm contagious, then."

"She says it doesn't matter."

"..."

"Sir, she said if you wouldn't see her, then I was to give you a message."

"Hurry up and give it to me, then."

"Sir, her message was, 'Don't make me laugh, Abraxas, you devil.'"

"What?!"

"Good day, sir. I'll send her away."

"No, no, that won't be necessary. Allow her in."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, send her in."

"Yes, sir. I'll send her right in. Good day."

"..."

"Abraxas?"

"Helene? Is that really you?"

"Abraxas! Is it true? You have the dragon pox?"

"Stupid newspapers. I can't do anything without it getting written in stone."

"Abraxas..."

"Hello, Helene. What did you say your last name was? Grim?"

"I see you haven't lost your wit. No, it was Grey, the surname of my late husband."

"What did he die of?"

"Still jealous? Abraxas, I thought you would have moved on by now. Married with children and grandchildren. High influence and rich. Why, you even spoke out against Muggle-borns several times."

"..."

"You have nothing to say?"

"Why are you here, Helene? Come to drag me further into the pits of hell?"

"No, Abraxas, no. I--I came to give you something, actually."

"What?"

"..."

"Why do women always cry?"

"Abraxas, please. I never meant to hurt you."

"You didn't hurt me."

"Oh? Your diatribes against Muggle-borns, then, had absolutely nothing to do with me?"

"..."

"Abraxas, I don't want to fight. I hate seeing you like this, confined to a bed, pale and green and ill. How did you even get the pox in the first place?"

"What a silly question."

"I see. I have a feeling your hiding something from me, Abraxas."

"It's none of your business, Helene. Besides, you're a complete stranger to me."

"Not completely. As I recall, you said--you said you loved me."

"I was young and foolish, then. But my friends and family helped me become what I was meant to be."

"Did you tell anyone about us?"

"..."

"You did, didn't you? Was it that rotten friend of yours, Levenge or whatever?"

"Lestrange, and I'd rather not talk about it."

"Abraxas--"

"Helene, what have you come to give me? Or were you hoping to contract the pox yourself?"

"I--I have something of yours."

"Well, hurry up. This conversation is starting to edge my nerves."

"Abraxas, there's no need for hostility."

"Helene, please, I just want to be left alone."

"Here."

"..."

"I--I thought you should have them back."

"Are those--"

"Yes, Abraxas, they are."

"Did you steal them?"

"Well, not really. I think someone else did. I found the pearls at a pawn shop, and I instantly knew they were the same ones."

"Why are you giving them to me?"

"They're yours, Abraxas."

"No, they aren't. They never were. I meant for you to have them."

"Abraxas, you can't just give gifts to women and then expect them to stay with you."

"It was for your birthday. I wasn't trying to buy you."

"Well, I didn't take them. That makes them yours. You can give them to your daughter-in-law."

"Helene, I can't do that."

"Why? Why, you foolish man?"

"They have always been yours."

"..."

"Helene, are you going to cry again?"

"You amaze me, Abraxas. Nobody ever gets to see this soft side of you."

"Take the pearls and give them to your own children."

"Abraxas... Your heart is far purer than you let on."

"I think you need to leave now."

"Oh, Abraxas..."

"Leave now."

"I can't. I can't leave."

"Achoo!"

"Oh, dear. Let me put that fire out for you."

"It's not so bad."

"Not so bad? You're dripping flames from your nose!"

"Yes, but at least it makes me forget."

"Forget what?"

"Forget the pain."

"Abraxas... Why are you smiling like that?"

"You asked me how I got the dragon pox? Want to know how?"

"No, I don't think I want to anymore."

"One of my employees contracted it, and they sent him to St. Mungo's. They said nobody was to visit him until the worst of it had passed, because of how contagious it is..."

"Don't tell me."

"But I visited him anyway. I went to the hospital secretly and visited him."

"Abraxas!"

"He didn't want me there, but I ordered him to cough on me. I stayed as long as I could to make sure I got sick."

"Why? Why? Abraxas, it's a horrible way to live!"

"My wife passed. Didn't you hear? And I'm not getting any younger. And not a day went by that you weren't plaguing my thoughts."

"But the pox? Of all the things!"

"I may have been crazed. I don't know. All I know is that the pain I feel makes the other pain go away."

"Abraxas..."

"And now I am ready to die."

"Oh, Abraxas! Please tell me it isn't true. You have so much to live for. Don't tell me that it's all because of me."

"But, Helene, don't you understand? I loved you. I loved you."

"I--I am not sure I do."

"You were everything in my life. All that I did was for you. I couldn't part with you."

"Muggle-born me?"

"Muggle-born! Why do you always have to bring that up, as if you haven't accepted it yourself?"

"But if you had accepted it, Abraxas, why hide it from your family?"

"It's far too convoluted to go into, Helene. Besides, it's in the past now, isn't it? You left, and I died that day."

"..."

"Helene, why are you crying?"

"Abraxas, I'm sorry! I was the young and foolish one. I didn't know! I didn't know how you felt about me!"

"..."

"Abraxas, don't close your eyes, please. You can still overcome the pox. Not everyone dies from it. You can keep living, and we--we can be together all the time."

"It's too late."

"No. No, it isn't. Abraxas, you could get the cure."

"..."

"Abraxas, take deep breaths. The pox hasn't completely destroyed you."

"Yes...it...has..."

"No, no it hasn't. Here, I'll put the pearls on, see? I'll wear them like I should have all those years ago."

"Helene..."

"See? You were right. The color is perfect for my skin tone, even now in my old age!"

"Helene..."

"Abraxas, I'm here. Do you feel my hand in yours? Please, please hold on."

"You...you came...back."

"Yes, I did. I came back."

"..."

"Abraxas?"

"We'll see...each other...again."

"Yes we will. I promise."

"I love...you...Helene."

"I love you, too, Abraxas."

"..."

"Abraxas?"

"..."

"Good bye, my dear Abraxas..."