Author's Note: Some Malfoy family fluff. Hopefully no one is too OCC.
Additional Author's Note: This was written before J.K. Rowling released the short story about Draco on Pottermore.
"You need to get out the house for a little while, Draco," Narcissa gently told her son. "Even your father goes out now and then."
"We both know that Father hates tight spaces a lot more than I do," Draco replied. "Besides, I'm more like you. I like to stay at home, like you do. Father is the only adventurous one in the family."
"You are still young, Draco," Narcissa responded, "which means that you still have a bright future ahead of you. Your father and I wants what's best for you, and what's best for you is for you to get out the house and to live your life to its fullest."
Narcissa's voice left no room for argument.
"Yes, Mother," Draco sighed, "I'll go leave right now. See you at dinner?"
"Of course," his mother smiled.
It took some time, but Draco eventually did get his feet back onto the ground. He found himself a job at the Ministry. With that, he began a routine. He went to work during the day, and he ate dinner with his parents at night.
After having been at the Dark Lord's mercy for so long, Draco was glad to have some predictability back in his life.
His parents had not yet began to force him to start looking for a wife, but Draco knew that eventually he would need to marry so that he could continue the Malfoy line.
But Draco wanted a woman that would love him, like his mother loved his father. Draco wanted a woman that would stand by his side no matter how terrible things got, just like his mother had done for his father.
But such a woman did not seem to exist. Draco now understood with perfect clarify just how false and shallow Purebloods could be.
No one wanted to be associated with the Malfoys.
Draco ate dinner with his parents, like he always did. But then he decided that he wanted to go out a bit before he went to sleep. It was Friday night, and he didn't have to be back at the Ministry until Monday. Draco could afford to stay up a little late. Besides, his parents had begun to drop hints that he needed to start leaving the manor for reasons other than work.
"You're still a young man, Draco," his father had drawled, "but you're going to start getting old before you know it. You need to enjoy your life a bit while your bones will still allow for it."
Lucius had then leaned on his cane, as if he absolutely needed it to get around. Draco had snorted. His father was not that old, and he most definitely was not that frail.
"Your father and I appreciate you spending time with us at night, Draco," Narcissa had said, "but you're grown now. You don't have to be with your parents all the time anymore."
So, Draco had finally decided to get out the manor, away from his pestering parents. He knew that they meant well, but they could still be annoying at times.
Perhaps it was time for Draco to find someone else to be in his life. He would eventually go mad if he continued to only spend time with his parents.
But who would ever want to have anything to do with Draco Malfoy? There weren't many people that wanted anything to do with the Malfoys. Oh, Draco knew that his father had reestablished many of his former business relationships, but that was only because those people knew that Lucius Malfoy would pay them well. In many ways, money still talked, and the Malfoys still had a lot of money to their name.
But money couldn't find a wife for Draco Malfoy.
As mentioned above, it was a Friday night when Draco decided to go out for a little while. He went to the Leaky Cauldron, where he really wasn't expecting anything of significance to happen.
But then Astoria Greengrass entered the pub, and she joined Draco at his table.
Draco, who had been expecting to be all alone at his table for the entire night, blinked at her.
Draco knew who she was. She had been in Slytherin, after all. But he had never really had a conversation with her. She was two years beneath him. Her older sister, Daphne, had been in his year; but Draco had only exchanged a few words with her throughout all their years together at Hogwarts.
Daphne Greengrass had been the type to prefer her own company (with the exception of Theodore Nott), and Draco had never really given much thought to Astoria. She had been two years beneath him, after all.
"Hi," Astoria greeted him happily. Draco mumbled a greeting in return, still surprised by her unexpected appearance. He was also quite stunned by her cheerful demeanor, especially considering that she was with him.
Astoria then began to talk, about everything. She talked about how she had just recently graduated from Hogwarts and how she was planning on getting a job at the Ministry. She talked about her family. She talked about the weather. She talked about all the nice shops that had begun to open in Diagon Alley.
Astoria asked Draco several questions about himself while she was talking. At first, Draco only answered her questions with just a few mumbled words. But as the time passed and Astoria didn't ask him any questions about the Dark Lord, about his family's tainted past, or about the war, Draco found himself slowly beginning to relax. He began to answer her questions with a lot more words and with a slight smile on his face.
The conversation stayed casual the entire night, and Draco really appreciated that. He wasn't yet ready to talk about the war with someone who was neither of his parents.
It was time for breakfast when Draco finally returned to Malfoy Manor. There was a wide smile on his face that just wasn't normal for him.
Lucius and Narcissa exchanged knowing looks and smiles.
Draco and Astoria began to spend quite a bit of time with each other. For a while, their conversations remained casual.
After a while, though, Draco slowly found himself opening up to Astoria. She didn't push him. She allowed him to speak at his own pace.
Draco told Astoria about how devastated his mother had been when his father had been imprisoned in Azkaban. Draco told Astoria about how proud he had been at first when the Dark Lord had given him the task of killing Dumbledore. Draco told Astoria about how reality had eventually settled in and how he had been about ready to accept Dumbledore's help when Professor Snape had shown up. Draco told Astoria about how terrified he and his family had been when the Dark Lord had taken over their manor. Draco told Astoria about all the tortures and all the deaths that he had seen.
Astoria didn't say much to what Draco told her, but that was just fine with him. He could tell that she was listening to him with a sympathetic ear, and she would touch his arm ever so slightly whenever he was about to break down emotionally. That never failed to calm him down.
Draco was soon completely smitten with Astoria. She was beautiful both on the outside and in the inside. She was compassionate and understanding. She was never judgmental. And she had a sense of humor that just wasn't normal for your typical Slytherin.
Astoria was fun to be around, but she wasn't shallow. Draco could have deep, meaningful conversations with her.
But Astoria wasn't lacking in spirit. If Draco said something to upset her, she had no problem with letting him know about it. And she also appreciated having her opinions respected. Even though she could be very funny, she didn't like to be made fun of.
That was all fine with Draco. For the most part, Astoria reminded him of his mother, and he truly believed that his mother was the strongest and the most special woman in the world.
And Draco was quickly beginning to think of Astoria in the same way.
"Your mother and I are glad that you're getting out a lot more," Lucius remarked one night over dinner. "Have you been keeping out of trouble?" There was almost a teasing gleam in Lucius's usual cold eyes.
"It's been pretty boring out there actually," Draco drawled.
"Well, it must be a pretty good boring then," his father replied, "with all that smiling you've been doing lately."
"Who's the girl, Draco?" Narcissa blurted out suddenly.
Draco spitted out the wine that he had been sipping. "Girl?" he sputtered.
"Draco," Lucius said, pushing his chair closer to his son's chair, "your mother and I were your age once. It might have been a long time ago, but we were young once. We know the signs."
Narcissa merely smiled.
Draco groaned. He loved his parents, but sometimes they really could be too much.
And now having no other choice, Draco began to tell them about Astoria.
"What if your parents don't like me?" Astoria asked Draco nervously, running her hand through her hair.
"Why wouldn't they like you?" Draco replied, smiling and gently squeezing her hand as they walked down the pathway that led to the entrance of Malfoy Manor. "You're too wonderful not to like."
Astoria suddenly stopped walking. Draco, who was still holding her hand, stopped where he was as well.
"Draco," Astoria whispered, "you know that my family has been to some of your family's Christmas parties in the past."
"Yeah. And."
"Well, I kind of feel silly for saying this, but your father has always kind of intimated me."
Draco began to laugh.
"This isn't funny, Draco Malfoy," Astoria said in disbelief. "I'm being serious here."
"I wasn't making fun of you," Draco quickly explained. "To be honest, I used to be intimated by my father as well."
"What happened to change that?"
"I finally found out that he was human. Don't get me wrong, Astoria. My father is not a loving man to most people. But to the few people that he respects and cares about, he is a totally different person than what he shows to the rest of the world. And he's going to love you. There is no way that he couldn't love you. And my mother is going to love you as well. You're absolutely wonderful."
Astoria smiled. "Thank you, Draco. And thank you for not thinking of me as some silly little girl."
"I could never think of you in that way, Astoria. And to make you feel even better, I still have to meet your parents."
"I wouldn't worry about that if I was you, Draco," Astoria giggled. "My parents wouldn't know how to be scary and intimidating if their lives depended on it. My father especially is a total pushover. And I just know that they will love you, along with my sister."
Lucius and Narcissa were really pleased with Astoria.
Narcissa liked how Astoria was sweet but also strong-willed.
And Narcissa also liked having another child to fuss over.
"Have some more chicken, Astoria. You look so skinny. Don't laugh over there, Draco. I've just noticed that you don't have any vegetables on your plate."
Lucius wisely did not laugh, at least not out loud. He had both chicken and vegetables on his plate, but Narcissa would probably still say he wasn't eating enough if he drew attention to himself.
Astoria also endured Narcissa's fussing without laughing.
Instead, Astoria decided that she was going to get to know Lucius Malfoy, the man who apparently wasn't really as intimidating as he appeared to be. She had to see if Draco had been telling her the truth about his father.
Lucius quickly found himself enjoying Astoria's wit and her ability to keep up with him in a verbal banter.
"I'm so glad to finally have a worthy sparring partner," he said jokingly.
Lucius also appreciated, though, how Astoria never lost her politeness towards him, towards Narcissa, or towards Draco. It had been so long since anyone had treated the Malfoys with any real respect. Astoria was truly a breath of fresh air.
"We like her a lot," Narcissa told Draco after Astoria had left. "She is everything a Pureblood woman should be, graceful and intelligent. And she seems to care a lot about you."
Lucius nodded his head in agreement.
Draco's body relaxed in relief.
"So," his mother then said, "when are you going to marry her?"
Draco groaned. He turned to his father for help. Lucius merely smiled at him, clearly enjoying his son's discomfort. Draco groaned again.
Parents. They really were unbelievable at times.
Draco's meeting with Astoria's family went very well. As Draco was leaving, though, he hoped that Astoria's mother wouldn't start asking her about marriage. Draco was falling in love with Astoria, but he didn't know if he was quite yet ready for marriage.
"I've been dating Astoria for quite a while now," Draco said casually to his father one night.
"Is she the one you want to spend the rest of your life with?" Lucius asked bluntly.
Sometimes his father could be just as bad as his mother.
"Well, I surely hope so," Lucius continued, "because your mother and I think that Astoria is perfect for you."
Draco smiled.
Draco smiled again when Astoria's parents told him that they would be honored to have him marry their baby girl. Daphne looked pleased as well.
"I'm so glad that my sister will be married to a man that will treat her with respect and will always cherish her," she remarked.
Draco was nervous as he led Astoria to the garden after dinner with his parents. He opened his mouth, but no words came out.
"Is something wrong, Draco?" Astoria asked in concern.
"No," Draco managed to gasp. "Everything's perfect, in fact. Except for one thing."
Draco got down on one knee and offered a ring to Astoria, who looked at him with pure joy and adoration.
"Astoria," Draco breathed, "will you marry me?"
"Yes," Astoria grinned widely. "I would be honored to be your wife, Draco."
Draco laughed with unrestrained happiness as he got back to his feet. Before he knew he was doing, he was kissing Astoria.
And to his relief, Astoria kissed him back.
From the shadows, Lucius and Narcissa smiled at each other, their hands joined together.
"I can't believe that my baby boy is getting married today," Narcissa cried as she fussed over Draco's dress robes.
"Mother, it's going to be all right," Draco tried to reassure her. Narcissa only cried more.
Draco hoped that Astoria wouldn't end up being as emotional as his mother. He loved his mother, but he really didn't know what to do around crying women.
Lucius walked over to his wife and wrapped his arms around her, allowing her to cry on his shoulder.
Lucius gave Draco a look that clearly said, This is what you have to look forward to. You better be ready.
Inwardly, Draco groaned.
All of Draco's fears about having to potentially deal with an emotional wife sometime in the future completely disappeared when he saw Astoria in her wedding robes. She looked absolutely perfect.
It was a small ceremony. The only people there were Draco's and Astoria's families. But that was just fine with Draco. He didn't want any more false, shallow people in his life.
As Draco watched his wife, his wife, undress that night in their bedroom, he could not help but think that he was the most fortunate man in the world. He had parents that loved him. He had in-laws that loved him.
And he also had a wife that loved him.