It's a Wonderful Life

Draco Malfoy was sitting on his patio reading the newspaper on a bright summer afternoon. He was quite enjoying this wonderful day; the sun was shining in a practically cloudless sky, there was just a slight breeze that made the heat of the summer bearable, and the scent of summer flowers blooming in mid-day had just begun to reach his nose. Feeling completely relaxed and comfortable, Draco began to concentrate on the newspaper resting in his hands. The news in this small town in the English countryside was increasingly more joyful as the threat of dark magic was finally coming to an end. In the city, newspapers were littered with information about the newest happenings at the Ministry of Magic. The Ministry always seemed to be the center of attention; newspapers would thrive on as small of information as what coffee the Minister of Magic drinks. Here in the small town of Willowshire, news was so much more peaceful and calming. The headline of the newspaper Draco was reading was about the town carnival that would be at the community park this coming Saturday. He smiled think of how much his daughter would enjoy going to the carnival.

At the thought of his daughter, Draco looked up to see what she and her two brothers were up to in the back yard. The boys were pretending to be pirates in their tree house. They had raised the Jolly Roger and were gleefully chanting a pirate song. He grinned at how the almost-identical twins were so imaginative. Ever since they had taken a trip to the local library, the boys had practically obsessed over books that focused on pirates and swashbuckling. They had insisted on making wooden swords and wearing eye patches, even sporting them at meals. He expected to see his daughter sitting at the bottom of the tree, playing with her favorite doll, unable to join the boys that played high above her head. But when he looked below the tree house he didn't see her. Instead, he felt a gentle tugging on the hem of his khaki shorts.

Upon looking down, his eyes met those of a small girl with a curly brown mop for hair and an adorable, toothy smile. Her aqua colored sundress matched two bow shaped barrettes in her hair and in her tiny left hand she held a doll that resembled a character in her favorite movie. Draco found it funny that out of all the dolls she had, she would only play with this one which had been her mother's. He let a chuckle escape from his mouth as he put down his newspaper and gathered his little daughter in his arms. He heard her giggle as he spun her around and finally set her down on his shoulders. He heard a voice call to him from inside the light-colored stone house.

"Draco, dear! Bring the kids in for lunch!"

His wife's warm and loving voice echoed in his mind as he carried his little girl past the now blooming flower garden and across the yard. Draco noticed two butterflies gently floating past and saw his daughter's small arms reach in front of his face trying to capture a butterfly between her fingertips. But to her dismay they flew higher and out of her reach. Finally he reached the tree house, and called up to the twins.

"Ahoy mates! The maiden fair has prepared a delightful meal for the brave pirates. She requests that you come to port immediately."

"Aye aye Captain!" he heard them cry and they began climbing down the rope ladder leading to the ground. Once they both were down from the tree house they turned and saluted their father. Then they all turned and began marching across the yard to the house with Draco in the lead, daughter on shoulders, and two sons following close behind still chanting their pirate song. As they entered through the French doors in the back of the house the sweet aroma of apple pie filled their senses. The young girl wriggled about on Draco's shoulders and gleefully said, "Daddy down! Daddy down!"

"Of course, angel," Draco replied removing his daughter from his shoulders and placing her on the mahogany wood floor. He ruffled her curls before she waddled off toward the kitchen where a voice could be heard humming a sweet tune. The tall, platinum blonde haired man recognized it from the movie that his wife had showed to their children which quickly became their daughter's favorite film. It had been about a girl whose father had loved her dearly but after he died, the girl's stepmother made her a maid to them in her own home. With the help of a fairy godmother (Draco recalled being shocked at the girl's disbelief when the fairy used magic) the girl went to a royal ball and fell in love with the prince. It was at this point in the movie where the song that his wife was humming had occurred. He stood looking out of their bay window trying to recall the words.

So this is love mm mmm mm mmm

So this is love

So this is what makes life divine

He smiled thinking of his love for his wife. The smile widened at the thought of their children. He had been honestly overjoyed when the twins had been born. Two handsome, blonde boys to carry on the Malfoy name was the perfect blessing to Draco. But if you would call how Draco had felt at his sons' birth "overjoyed", then there was quite possibly no word to describe his feelings when his little girl had come into the world. She was his pride and joy; a little princess to spoil and adore. Her innocent face would make him give into anything she would ask for, be it chocolate chip cookies or a hug. His thoughts drifted back to his wife; her delectable cooking, her laugh, her enchanting smile that made her eyes light up, the way she would tuck their children into bed, the way she would snuggle close to him when they went to bed. Yes, Draco felt himself lucky to have such a lovely wife.

A look of doubt swept across the mature wizard's face right before the sub-conscious Draco spoke up in a panicked tone, "What does she look like?...What is her name?..." Memories were fading fast from his memory and he couldn't understand why. "Bloody hell! I know her name! We've been married for seven years, for heaven's sakes! Of course I know her name. It's…..It's….."

A sharp tugging on his arm caused him to pull out of his extremely confused thoughts. One of his sons (the spitting image of his father, no less) was tugging on his right wrist.

"Come on, dad! Lunch is ready! Come on! You know how mum gets when we're late for a meal. Come on, dad! Come on…."

The tugging became more and more forceful and the voice began to change. It was no longer the voice of his six year old son, but more of a distraught and angry teenage girl.

"Ugh! COME ON! GET UP, you stupid PRAT!!! COME ON! You're going to be late for breakfast! UGH! MALFOY! GET…UP…NOW!!!"

With each of the last few words the girl said, she gave a hard tug on the wrist of what appeared to belong to a gigantic lump of sheets and blankets. Dressed in her school uniform and hair soaking wet, the girl was frantically trying to wake whatever was under that lump of sheets. Her hair was flinging wildly about, spraying water all over the boy whose arm she was persistently tugging on. The girl cried out once more, "WILLYOU... PLEASEGETUP!!!"

Draco Malfoy's eyelids flew open to the sight of one Hermione Granger standing in his Head Boy dormitory yanking on his arm.