Written for the 1991 Challenge (Draco Malfoy, hate)
Written for the Acrostic-y Challenge of Chapter Titles (jewellery shop)
June's Dilemma
January had come on quickly. Christmas had been a small celebration with his mother and Astoria, where they had shared a lunch of turkey and baked vegetables, and then a quick visit to Azkaban to wish his father a happy Christmas, too.
The end of the year had brought a wizarding celebration into the new – which Draco had not received the invitation to – and then January had hit without warning. It was ten days into the year, and the year two thousand brought more discomfort than the previous.
His father's face and name was still being plastered over the Prophet every second day; cruel words, harsh comments and vindication which was far from deserving. He hated his father for what had occurred, but it gave the media no right to constantly talk about it. The two year anniversary of the battle was coming up, and Hogwarts had been restored almost to its previous state. The Dark Lord was long gone and all Death Eaters had been captured and imprisoned. Draco was trying to move on with his own life, so why couldn't everybody else?
There was one good thing, though, which brought sparkle to Draco's eye. Her name was Astoria Greengrass and they had been dating for a year now. They met last New Year's when Daphne had invited him to her place for a celebration. He had seen the younger girl around, but never had he paid much attention to her. In fact, he had never even realised she was the little sister of Daphne.
The girl – beautiful, gentle and kinder than any other Slytherin he had ever met – was exactly what Draco needed. He hadn't intended it, but since that meeting the year before, he had fallen madly, deeply, head-over-heels in love.
His mother approved, and his father only cared for getting himself out of Azkaban. Ever since he had introduced Astoria to his mother, she had been invited to nearly every family event at the Manor.
Now, Draco wanted to make their relationship more official. He wanted to ask Astoria Greengrass to become his wife. He loved her more than anything else in the world, and to have that in the paper would be a lot better than reading how terrible his family was.
"Ah… Mr Malfoy… how may I help you?" There was no denying the tone of contempt in the jewellery shop owner's voice.
Draco had intentionally selected a small shop up an small alley in Diagon Alley, but it still didn't prevent his infamy from even the darkest corners of the wizarding world.
"I'm here to purchase a ring," Draco answered mildly.
The shop owner raised an eyebrow. "What kind of ring, Mr Malfoy?" he asked curiously.
"One of the engagement kind."
"I see." The shop owner moved to a glass cabinet on Draco's left. "Here is my collection at this very moment." Sticking his hand into the collection, he removed four rings. Two had a small diamond in the centre, a third a slightly larger one and the fourth was a ruby. "These are the finest ones I have."
Draco examined the rings out of courtesy, but another one had caught his eye. Satisfied, the owner put them away and Draco pointed to a black diamond on the other side of the cabinet.
"How much for that one?" he asked.
"Four hundred Galleons."
Draco nodded. Once upon a time ago, four hundred Galleons would have been a simple expenditure for him; but these days, it was a lot harder. Four hundred Galleons would have been a month of pay from his job at the Ministry.
"I'll take it."
"Are you sure, Mr Malfoy? I have other, less expensive –"
"I said I'll take it!" Draco snapped. He placed one hundred Galleons on the counter – what he had taken from the bank before coming here – and said, "the rest will follow in the coming weeks."
"Mr Malfoy, I do only require a ten percent down payment for any of my –"
"Well, consider it your lucky day," Draco continued, becoming frustrated. "You'll have the full payment in a month's time. Please keep it safe until then." He waited until the owner took the ring from the cabinet and wrapped it in a special cloth. He placed it into a box and labelled it Malfoy before looking back up at Draco.
"It will be ready for collection once you have paid the full amount."
Draco nodded his thanks and left the shop, making his way back to the main street of Diagon Alley. It would take him a while to save up for that ring, but the moment he had laid eyes on it he knew it was the one for Astoria.
Now all he needed to do was earn the Galleons to pay for it.
…
It took a lot longer than he expected. February, March, April and May all passed and Draco was still unable to pay off the ring. He worked extra shifts, but he was finding that all the extra gold he earnt was going towards his mother, who had suddenly fallen ill. The Malfoy family funds at Gringotts were emptying faster than he had anticipated.
However, when the first of June hit, Draco went again into the Jewellery store and paid the owner the final twenty Galleons.
"Took a little longer than anticipated?" he asked, and there was no hiding the sound of glee in his tone. It seemed that everywhere he went people were glad to hear of his sudden misfortune – socially and financially.
Draco chose to ignore his jibe and asked, "Where's the ring?"
The owner smiled and went out to the back to retrieve the same box Draco had seen him place it in months ago. "Another came in and asked if I still had it not long after your first visit here," he said. "I was very tempted to tell them yes, but I am a businessman and I value all customers."
And the fact I paid you one hundred Galleons up front, Draco added to himself. He peered into the box and smiled. "Thank you."
The pair exchanged the final twenty Galleons and once it was confirmed to have been paid off (plus an extra five from Draco) he left with the ring in his pocket. Tomorrow was going to be the day. He had asked Astoria to dinner and booked a fancy restaurant at the other end of Diagon Alley. After the dinner he was going to take her for a walk and then ask her. She wasn't expecting a thing.
When he returned home, however, those plans were thrown straight out of the window when his frantic soon-to-be fiancé greeted him at the door with a very worried expression.
"Draco!" she cried.
"What is it, love?" he asked, growing concerned.
"Oh, it's your mother," Astoria said. "I took her to St Mungo's and came straight back so I could tell you when you returned. I don't know what happened. She just collapsed and… and…." Tears were streaking down the younger woman's face now. Over the course of a year and a bit, the pair had grown very close. Astoria loved his mother as if she were her own.
Forgetting about the heavy weight in his pocket where the ring still was, Draco moved straight to the fireplace and grabbed a handful of Floo Powder. He turned and indicated that Astoria should follow after him. She nodded.
When he'd arrived, he went straight to the reception counter and demanded to know what was happening. They took him to the third floor, which was not what he was expecting. That was for poisonings.
"Mother?" He was led into an enclosed room. It was just his mother there, who was now awake, but dazed.
"Draco," she said weakly.
Draco moved so that he was standing over her and grabbed her hand. It was cold. "What happened, Mother?" he asked.
Narcissa hesitated for a moment, as if she didn't want to tell him. But the look in her son's eye seemed to change her mind. "Astoria took me to Diagon Alley for some potion remedy to help me with the pain in my bones, and I took too much."
Draco frowned.
"It was an accident," Narcissa added quickly, still sounding weak. "I did not know taking a drop more than the prescribed amount could be fatal. I am thankful for Astoria being there; otherwise it may have been too late by the time you arrived home."
A wave of guilt came over Draco, despite knowing that was not his mother's intention. He should have been the one to take her to get that potion, not Astoria.
His mother smiled, patting his pocket where the ring still was. "She didn't see you when we were there," she said. "When I laid eyes on you, I made sure of it."
Draco flushed.
"Do not let me stop you," she told him. "Do what you had planned."
Draco swallowed and shook his head, pulling over an armchair which was in his room. "Mother, Astoria and I have the rest of our lives. I wish to spend this time with you. Until you recover."
Narcissa gave a smile and patted his hand. "That is kind, dear, however I will be better in no time."
Draco squeezed her hand back. "Nevertheless," he said, "I will stay by your side until you do." He leaned forward to place a kiss on his mother's cheek. Now would not be the right time to ask Astoria. It would have to wait another little while.
…
"It's so good to have you home again, Narcissa." Astoria smiled as she slowly guided Draco's mother into the Manor. Draco was on the other side of Narcissa, his heart smiling.
This is why I love her, he thought. She had been at the hospital every day of the month, by his mother's side and talking to her. At times, it was almost as if Draco had been forgotten about.
"Thank you, my dear," Narcissa said weakly. "Just over here will be fine." She pointed to an old armchair in the sitting room. It had been mostly used by Draco's father before, but he also realised that she did not want either of them to wait on her.
Narcissa Malfoy had spent a month in hospital. The potion had been highly poisonous if taken incorrectly, and Draco was furious at the apothecary for having no warnings, or providing no verbal recommendations. If a drop extra than necessary could cause near death, it should have at least been in the section that was prescribed by a healer.
June had now reached its end, and despite his mother's constant pressuring, the ring Draco had purchased at the beginning of June had been safely put away in his bedroom. Tomorrow it would be July and they would still just be 'dating'.
"Is here well enough for you, Narcissa? Can I get you anything?"
"No, dear." Narcissa smiled up at the younger woman once she had been seated in the armchair. "I am very comfortable here. Please, I am fine. I suggest you go for a walk or out with Draco. The pair of you have been spending every day at the hospital. You should get out for a bit."
"Oh, no. We need to be here with you," Astoria argued.
Narcissa shook her head, smiling affectionately. "I assure you that I will be fine for an hour or so." She looked at Draco with a knowing look. "I request that both of you leave for an hour and spend some much needed time together."
Draco paled. A month ago he had talked himself into asking her, but ever since his mother's hospitalisation he hadn't exactly thought too much about it. He wasn't exactly sure he had the nerve to do it anymore.
"Oh, well if it's only for an hour…." Astoria turned to Draco and smiled. "A walk?"
Draco looked to his mother who nodded, and with a nervous grip of his wand he silently summoned the ring box into his robe pocket. He patted it lightly and then nodded
"Sure," he said.
Astoria patted Narcissa on the shoulder and then moved over to take Draco's hand. "Now where should we go?" she asked. "We haven't been down to the park in a while."
"That sounds nice," Draco said, forcing a smile. He accepted her offer of a hand and the pair of them left.
The ring suddenly sat heavy in Draco's pocket. He knew that his mother was now expecting him to ask her in the next hour, but he wasn't sure he could now do it.
The thought was more frightening than almost anything he'd ever done in the past. What if she said no?
…
"That really scared me, Draco," Astoria said when they reached the park.
"Me too," Draco replied, staring at the ground as they walked. "Thank you for being there."
"I just hate to think what would have happened if neither of us had been there." Astoria stopped walking for a moment, and Draco stopped too. "Where exactly were you, Draco?" Over the past month, she had tried a number of times to ask what exactly he had been doing in Diagon Alley on the day of his mother's accident, but he had always shrugged her off, saying it wasn't important. After what had happened he had considered it unimportant to tell her.
Draco turned to her, his face paler than ever. He considered once again not telling her, but then he remembered the hope – the joy – in his mother's eyes at the prospect of the two of them marrying.
"I… I was just buying something," he said to her, and he stuck his hand into his pocket. "I was buying this." He pulled out the small box and Astoria's eyes widened.
"Draco…."
"I was going to do it the day after Mother's accident, but then I couldn't. I was preoccupied and I was worried you would think it was because I wanted to do it before she… before she passed."
Astoria's expression softened and she smiled at him. "Oh, Draco."
"Ever since, I've been too afraid. Mother wanted me to, though."
"She knew?"
"She saw me when you were at the apothecary that day."
Draco took the ring back from the box and held it to his girlfriend. She smiled.
"Are you going to ask, or –"
"Will you marry me, Astoria?"
The younger girl chuckled and held out her hand. "Yes, of course, Draco!"
Smiling, Draco slipped the ring onto her finger. When it was on she threw her arms around his neck. "Oh, I love you so much, Draco!"
Draco hugged her back. "I love you, too, Astoria."
She kissed him. "And all this time I was too preoccupied to worry too much about the fact that I thought all of your mysterious disappearances meant you were meeting another girl behind my back."
Draco shook his head. "I could never do that," he assured her.
Astoria kissed him again. "I know that, Draco. The ring is beautiful." She held it up to the light. "I love it."
"I thought you would," Draco responded. He squeezed her hand. "We should probably get back to Mother now. She'll be busting with excitement to know what you said."
Astoria laughed. "I thought she'd become more affectionate over the last few weeks. I thought it was because she thought she might not make it to the end of the year. But now I know –"
"She loves you, Astoria," Draco assured her. "Regardless. Now, let us go. I am sure she has many ideas for a Malfoy wedding."
"Oh, Draco," Astoria sighed. "I can't wait for this day to come."
This time it was Draco who kissed her. "Nor can I, Astoria," he said. "Nor can I."
I had quite a bit of fun writing this, and I am reasonably happy with how it turned out. I hope you all liked it, too, and please leave a review if you read it. I would love to hear your thoughts!
Thank you!
I am also taking pairing/character/anything requests via PM, so if you would like to see me write something you like/would like but there is not much of, etc, please send me a PM.