For Honour and Love
By: Asagi Tsuki
Pairing: Harry/Draco
Summary: Draco Malfoy defies an old-age tradition by refusing to enter an arranged marriage and struggles to show Narcissa that children should marry out of love, and not of duty
Warning: OOCness, AU, fem!Draco so if you can't stand it, turn back now
Disclaimer: obviously, Harry Potter is not written by me. If it were, it would be so lame, that this fandom would be non-existent. And I would be off writing another book instead of fanfics
A/N: was attending Pixar in Concert and they were showing clips of the movie Brave while they play the suite. I googled up the plot of Brave shortly after and this is inspired by Brave. However, I haven't watched it so I don't know how the characterization is and what the details are like, so I've taken a few liberties with it. I've also added romance, because I think there isn't any romantic interest for Merida in the original movie, so yeah.
In the spirit of the newest bottom!Draco festival, I've been writing a couple of fics based on movies/games. Well, not really, I don't know but I just like to base fics on movies :P not that I already watch them, necessarily. I even went to the prompts page to see if anyone asks for Brave, but no one does, so this should be safe.
This fic is also a Christmas gift to all of you :P I actually started writing this all the way back in early November, because that was when I attended the concert (November 3rd, if I remember correctly). It didn't get done until December 22nd so I decided to wait til Christmas to post it up :P
Hope you enjoy!
For Honor and Love
The Slytherin kingdom was ruled by Lucius Malfoy of the Malfoy clan and his wife, Narcissa Black, from the Black clan. They were blessed by the birth of their firstborn, a young daughter with skin as white as snow, and hair as fair as spun gold. The princess was named Draconia Charisse Malfoy, but more known as Draco Malfoy. The people of the kingdom loved her and the young boys wished to take her hand in marriage when they grew up.
Their kingdom wasn't a kingdom of farmers and merchants. They were a kingdom of warriors, so even from a young age Draco was taught to fight. Lucius gifted her a hand-carved bow for her second birthday and since then she had been practicing diligently, replacing the old bow once she outgrew it.
One night, Draco was taking a night walk at the back yard of the castle when she came across a will-o-wisp. Having never seen anything like it before, she followed the ball of light, away from the castle, down to the village, out of the village, and towards the borders. It brought her towards a magic circle formed by stone pillars and she watched in fascination as the ball of light seemed to dance inside the circle.
"Draco!"
Draco turned around only to come face to face with a huge bear. It was black with glowing red eyes. Narcissa ran and picked her up while Lucius fought it off with a spear. Soon the villagers joined the fight and drove the bear away.
"What are you doing out here, darling?" Narcissa asked as she held Draco close. "You had us all worried."
"I saw a bright light," Draco said, trying to explain. "I followed a bright light. Bright light brings me here."
"Okay, honey, but next time you have to be careful, okay?" Narcissa asked as she pressed a kiss on Draco's temple. "We don't want to lose you."
Lucius soon joined the two and they walked back all the way to the castle. Halfway there Draco fell asleep and Lucius carried her on his back. That night Draco dreamed of the will-o-wisp again, but after then she never saw or dream about it again.
When she was eight, she wondered why she had no friend her age, and with her parents' permission, wandered off to the village. However, all the children were at school, while she was home-schooled, so she still had no one to play with. Lonely and dejected, Draco went to a flower field and sat there, gathering flower to make crowns.
"Why are you here by yourself?"
Draco looked up to see a boy around his age, with messy dark hair and bright green eyes. He sat down beside her and helped her pick the best flowers.
"I don't have friends," Draco admitted. "I'm home-schooled and I don't live in this village."
"I'm home-schooled too," the boy said, "but I still see the other kids once or twice a week before dinner time. I'm Harry Potter. Who are you?"
"I'm Draco Malfoy."
"Draconia Charisse Malfoy? The princess?"
"Yes," Draco said. "I am she."
"Well, pleased to make your acquaintance, Your Highness," Harry said with a grin.
Draco smiled at him. "I have a name, you know."
"Is it okay to call you Draco?"
"Yes," Draco said. "What are you doing out here then?"
"I was walking back from the archery field when I saw you all by yourself here," Harry said. "So after I put my bow away I came here."
"Oh, you're practicing archery too?" Draco asked excitedly. Her interest and passion in archery was well-known, especially since she saved a local village child from being attacked by a vulture.
"Yes," Harry said. "Maybe we could practice together."
"That would be neat," Draco said. "I don't have anyone to practice with. The guards at the castle are always too busy."
Harry laughed. After he helped Draco pick flowers, he picked flowers for himself and wove them into a flower crown. Draco made a big one while Harry made a small one.
"All done!" Draco exclaimed proudly as she held up her flower crown. "Oh, yours is really nice as well, but why is it so small? Will it fit your mother?"
Harry laughed. He lifted his flower crown and leaned forward to place it on top of Draco's head. The princess stared at him, but then beamed. "Thank you, Harry."
She stayed in the flower field with her new friend until sundown before she went home. She presented the flower crown to Narcissa who accepted it gratefully and wore it, so that they wore matching crowns.
"Why are you out so late, child?" Lucius asked as he walked into the royal chamber to see his wife and daughter.
"I met a boy from the village," Draco said happily. "I have a new friend now."
"That's wonderful, darling," Narcissa said as she smoothed Draco's hair. "Did he make you the crown?"
"Yes, he did," Draco said with a wide grin. "He's also practicing archery! So we're going to practice together too."
"That's nice," Lucius said, patting Draco's head, "but it's also your bedtime."
Draco's mouth formed an o. "Good night, Mom," she said as she kissed Narcissa's cheek, then jumped towards Lucius who quickly caught her so she wouldn't fall. She placed a wet kiss on her father's cheek and giggled. "Good night, Daddy."
"You really need to stop doing that," Lucius said with a sigh. "One day you'll be too big for me and I'll hurt my back trying to catch you."
Lucius put Draco down on her feet and she ran all the way to her room, causing the maids to scream in terror whenever she stumbled.
"She's a handful," Lucius said as he rubbed his forehead. "I wonder who she gets that from."
Narcissa only laughed.
When Draco was thirteen, Narcissa was pregnant again and at the end of the year, a baby boy was born, named Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy. Draco loved her baby little brother dearly and as if he knew it, Scorpius adored her too. The two were inseparable as Draco spent almost all of her waking hours with Scorpius, teaching him to walk, speak, write, and read. Harry and Draco were really good friends then and he got a free pass to go to the castle whenever he wanted, and he visited Draco and Scorpius almost daily, especially since his parents died and he lived alone. Scorpius was taken by Harry too, and those years were the best years of Draco's life.
However, when she turned seventeen, everything crashed down on her.
There was an age-old tradition in the Slytherin kingdom in which the princess would be given away to be married by the winner of a competition. The type of competition held each time was different, and this time it was an archery competition. Unlike the princes, who were allowed to choose who they wanted to marry, the princesses were seen as unable to make decisions for herself and thus had to be put up as a trophy for the winner, as Draco said it.
Harry knew how stubborn Draco could be. She even caused Lucius to rethink his decision in holding up the tradition this time but Narcissa stuck with it, saying there was a prince who failed to observe the tradition and was cursed. Draco knew she meant well, but she also wanted Narcissa to see it from her point of view.
Ever since she was little she had always wanted the kind of love her parents had—the fairytale ending that they had. She wanted a man she loved, not a man she was bound to marry. She wanted to have a happy family, two or three children. She wanted everything that her family was, but it wouldn't happen if the tradition was to be observed.
The tradition stated that every firstborn of the clans were allowed to compete for her hand. Harry was one of the competitors, but the fact still didn't mollify Draco.
"Are you afraid that I'd lose?" Harry asked one day as they sat in the flower field together, just like the day they first met.
"No, Harry, that's not it," Draco said, on the border of wrecking the flower patch in her frustration. "I believe in you. I know that if there's someone to win the competition, it'll be you."
"Then what's the matter?"
"Don't you see?" Draco asked. "I've made my stand, Harry. I don't want to marry out of duty. I want to be seen as marrying the man I love, not the man who won the bloody competition!"
"Oh," Harry said, his face falling.
"Harry," Draco said, holding onto his hand. "I like you. A lot. But that doesn't change the fact that they'll see me as marrying out of duty! What about others who are not as lucky as we are? Should we let them suffer in silence, then?"
"No, you're right," Harry said. "Well, if there's anyone who could beat me in an archery competition, it's you."
"But I—" Draco stopped mid-speech and Harry turned to look at him curiously. "Harry, that's brilliant!"
"What is?" Harry asked in confusion.
"See, I'm a firstborn," Draco said and Harry stared at him, still lost. "You don't get it? That means I'm allowed to enter the competition to fight for my own hand!"
"Oh," Harry said. "But won't your parents get angry?"
"I have to make them see," Draco said. "I know they love me, so they should at least hear me out."
"Well, good luck to us both then," Harry said. "May the best one win."
Draco smiled. "May the best one win."
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
"Bee!" Scorpius screeched when he saw Draco entering his room and ran to him, latching himself onto her leg. "I missed you!"
Draco chuckled and lifted Scorpius up. He had heard many people calling Draco beautiful and wondered what that meant. When Narcissa told him, he decided to call Draco beautiful too, but being a four-year-old, that word was still a bit difficult for him to say, and thus, Draco's nickname became Bee.
"I was only gone for two hours," Draco said as she settled Scorpius in his bed.
"Yes, but two hours too long!" Scorpius said as he pouted.
"Now, now," Draco said as she smoothed Scorpius' hair and patted his head. "It's your bedtime, pet. Want me to read you a bedtime story?"
"Yes, please," Scorpius said as he looked up at Draco with puppy dog eyes and Draco laughed.
"Oh, pet, you can't make me love you more," Draco said as she kissed Scorpius' forehead and went to fetch a bedtime story book from the shelf. She settled back on his bed beside him and began reading.
Narcissa and Lucius came to Scorpius' room later because Draco wasn't in her room and found them sleeping together, Scorpius curled up in Draco's embrace, his head tucked under her chin, and the storybook lay forgotten on the bedside table.
The two stood beside their children. "Are you sure this is a good idea, honey?" Lucius asked as he smoothed Draco's hair back. "She seems so against it. I don't want her to be unhappy for the rest of her life."
"I wouldn't wish it on anyone too, especially my child," Narcissa said sadly. "But the legend holds true, the prince was indeed cursed. I'd rather have her alive and well although unhappy than have her cursed and dead."
"Well, if you put it that way," Lucius said with a sigh. "But knowing her, she'd probably find a way to break the curse."
Narcissa's lips twitched into a smile. "Yes, she probably would. Still, the competition is tomorrow, so we should head to bed."
"Very well."
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
The next day rolled by and Narcissa watched with growing trepidation as one by one the firstborns of other clans competed. Some were ugly, some were lechers, some were gold-diggers, some were just plain incompetent warriors. She began to think then about how unfair it was for the princesses to be given to anyone who could win the competition, even if the winner turned out to be an old lecher.
She sighed in relief when she saw Harry taking up his position. Lucius and her knew how close the two had gotten and had hoped that Harry would win the competition, so they could give Draco away to someone they knew, at least.
Harry was the only one who shot a bullseye and Narcissa let out a sigh of relief. It would be hard to beat him now.
"Is that all of the competitors?" the judge asked. Everyone looked at each other, and he was about to announce the end of the competition and the winner when a voice interrupted him.
"Wait!"
"Bee!" Scorpius exclaimed when he saw Draco walking up to the judge, dressed as she would whenever she went out to hunt. She was carrying her newest bow and a quiver full of arrows.
"Your Highness, what are you doing here?" the judge asked in confusion.
"I'm a competitor," Draco said. "I'm a firstborn of my family so I have the right to compete."
Everyone gasped in surprise. Only Harry seemed unfazed and Narcissa suspected he knew about this.
Draco walked up to the line and shot an arrow at every target, hitting bullseyes all the way and beating the other competitors. When she reached Harry's target, she took a deep breath and focused. She chanced a glance at Harry and he smiled at her encouragingly.
Nodding to him, she turned back to the target and shot an arrow. It broke Harry's in half and embedded itself in the centre. The spectators watched in shock, no one made a sound.
"I did it!" Draco cheered as she turned to hug Harry but stopped short when she saw the look of anger on Narcissa's face.
"What do you think you're doing, young lady?" she asked in restrained anger.
"I'm making my stand," Draco said. "I will not marry anyone I don't want to, and I've won the competition so no one has the right to marry me."
Narcissa dragged Draco back to the castle and Lucius hurried to follow, carrying Scorpius with him. Harry had to manage the confused crown and told them to go back to their home and that everything was alright before giving chase. When he finally reached the castle, Draco and Narcissa were involved in a screaming match while Lucius sat in his throne, hugging a sobbing Scorpius close to him.
"Well then this thing is a lie, because you obviously don't care about me at all!" Draco shouted, tears running down her face. She took out an arrow and tore the family tapestry with the tip. It was a tapestry made when Draco was four years old, depicting the family then, the two rulers and their daughter.
Scorpius gasped in surprise and cried harder. Draco shot him a heartbroken look before she ran outside. She nearly ran over Harry but didn't and by the sound of hooves he knew she had gotten on her mare.
"Oh, Harry, I'm sorry," Narcissa said as she walked over to the family tapestry and picked it up. "I'm sorry you had to see that, and that she had to do this to you."
"No one did anything to anyone, Ma'am," Harry said. "We did this on mutual decision."
Narcissa's face sobered. "So you knew about this."
"Yes, I do," Harry said. "We were talking last night. I know she never said this before, but she's envious of you; of what you have. Call her selfish, but it doesn't change the fact that she wants to be happy."
Narcissa pursed her lips. "She can't be happy if she's not alive and well, dear," she said sadly. "I know the legend is not just a legend. It's true."
"Then this is a case of a huge misunderstanding," Harry said. "Both of you want the same thing."
"I suppose," Narcissa said. "Could you please do us a favour, Harry?"
"I know," Harry said. "I'll go find her."
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
Draco held tightly onto her mare as she galloped through the forest, uncaring to where she brought her. Her mare skidded to a halt and Draco looked up to see where she was. She was in the middle of a dark forest, and right in front of her, was an old, wooden house with rotten steps that were sure to creak or break when someone stepped on them.
Against her better judgment, Draco got down from her mare and walked up to the house, knocking on the door. "Excuse me?"
The door creaked open and an elderly lady stood behind it. "My, my, if it isn't the princess. What are you doing here, little girl?"
"I got into a fight with my mother," Draco said sadly. "Now I have nowhere to go."
"Come in, darling," the elderly woman said, pulling the door open wider and allowing Draco entry. She guided the princess to the dining table and served her a cup of tea. "So, what brought the fight on?"
"Surely you know of the tradition where the princess is to be given away in marriage?" Draco asked as she held onto her cup of tea and bowed at the elderly woman gratefully. "We had a disagreement about it. I don't want to be married off to a person I barely knows just because they won a sodding competition."
"Now, now, that's not language befitting a lady," the elderly woman said. "But your mother wants to uphold the tradition, is that it?"
"Yes," Draco said sadly. "Oh, if only she could see it from my side."
The elderly woman seemed thoughtful before she got up and went to the kitchen. She took a paper bag from the pantry and presented it to Draco.
"What is this?" she asked.
"This is not a normal bread," the woman said. "It's enchanted to change people's mind when they eat it."
"Is that for real?" Draco asked in surprise and wonder. She held up the paper bag and opened it. Sure enough there was a piece of pastry in it, a chocolate croissant.
"Yes, it is guaranteed to change people's mind," the woman said, and in her excitement, Draco missed the evil glint in the woman's eyes.
"Oh, can I have this?" Draco pleaded. "Please?"
"Of course, you may, child," the woman said as she smiled at Draco. "Now, go on home. Your parents are probably worried for you."
"Yes, they probably are," Draco mumbled. "Well, thank you again for this."
Draco excused herself and got back on her mare to go home, back to the castle. The paper bag was clutched tightly in her grip, for she was afraid she'd drop it during the trip back home.
She wasn't asking for much. She just wanted her mother to see that the only thing she wanted was the kind of happy ending that her parents had, not a loveless marriage. She wanted the people to know that children weren't things to be given off to people, because they had feelings too.
When she came back to the castle, she was scared. Scared of what might happen when she stepped inside. Would her mother still be mad at her? Would Scorpius be mad at her?
Taking a deep breath, she gathered all her courage and walked inside, and was immediately pulled into a tight embrace.
"You brat."
Draco's lips twitched into a smile. "Hey, Harry," she greeted back softly as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
"Do you know how worried we were?" Harry scolded.
"I know, I'm sorry," Draco mumbled. "I was too upset to stay."
Harry sighed and pressed a kiss on Draco's forehead. "Come on, your mother is in Scorpius' room. They've been staying there waiting for you to come back."
Draco followed Harry to Scorpius' room and true to what he said, found her mother and baby brother there. She took another deep breath, and remembering what the old woman told her, offered the chocolate croissant to Narcissa as a peace offering.
She took it and bit onto it, but what happened next was unexpected and unpredictable. She choked on the piece of bread and slowly turned into a huge, grizzly bear. Draco and Harry watched in shock as the transformation took place, and realized too late that Scorpius was reaching for the croissant.
"Scorp, no!" Draco screamed as she rushed to her brother's side but it was too late. He had already took a bite and chewed on it, getting transformed into a bear cub.
Draco fell to her knees in terror and she felt her heart breaking, seeing two of her family turned into a beast. "Oh, what have I done?" she asked as she buried her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking as her body was wracked with sobs.
Harry knelt beside her and pulled the girl into a hug. He watched the bears for any sign of human consciousness, and the two bears approached them.
"Bee," the cub said, lifting its paw to rest it on Draco's knee. "Bee, please don't cry."
"No, this is all my fault," Draco said as she shook her head. She lifted her face and stared at the bears, before going to hug the cub. "I'm so sorry, so sorry..."
Narcissa walked over and rested a paw on Draco's back. Harry moved away to let them have their time, but Narcissa stopped him and together they stayed like that, embracing each other, until it was nightfall. By then Draco had cried her eyes dry and Scorpius had cried with her, sad because she wouldn't stop crying.
"I'll go back and see the woman," Draco said suddenly and the three looked at her in confusion. "Earlier, I came across an old house with an elderly woman living in it. She gave me the pastry, saying it would change people's mind. I—"
"Oh, darling," Narcissa sighed as she patted Draco's head.
"I'm so sorry, Mom," Draco said regretfully. "And I even brought Scorp into this."
The bear cub nudged her side with his head and looked up at her with glassy eyes. "Why is Bee so sad?"
"Because I did this to you," Draco said, sniffling, "to both of you."
"Well, let's go then," Harry said. "There's no point in being sad. We have to find a way to break the curse."
"Yes, of course," Draco said. "You two should stay here."
"No, I'm coming!" Scorpius protested.
"No, Scorp, it's dangerous," Draco scolded. "Stay here and be good."
"No fair! Why is Bee doing stuff and I can't?" Scorpius asked as he latched his paw onto Draco's skirt. "Please? Let me tag along?"
"I'm coming as well," Narcissa said. "I want to see this woman you speak of."
Draco looked at Harry for support but the traitor was only shrugging. "Fine, we'll go," Draco said. She picked Scorpius up, and was surprised to know he wasn't that heavy. She carried him all the way to the front gate and put Scorpius on top of her mare before she pulled herself up.
"Mom, are you able to keep up? I don't think there's a horse that can carry you," Draco said regretfully but Narcissa dismissed it. "Okay, let's go."
She led her mare to the old house and Harry and Narcissa followed closely behind. When they got there, the place was deserted, as if no one had lived in there for years. Draco looked around in confusion, and found a note left on the table.
"To the princess," Draco read it aloud. "I'm not sorry for what I did, because I'm a witch who enjoys the suffering of others. However, I can tell that you are sincere in your wish to find happiness, so I will give you a chance at true happiness."
"The pastry is cursed to turn whoever eats it into a bear. If you heard of the story of the cursed prince, it was his scorned fiancé who fed him the bread and left him to die, thinking it was poisoned. He survived, however, even until this day, living as a demon bear whose heart was filled with hatred and anger. If, by the second sunrise, you haven't broken the curse yet, then your mother will end up the same way as the prince."
"The clue to breaking the curse is this: you have to mend the bond torn by pride. That is all I will tell you. Now it is all up to you, whether you seize your happiness or lose everything. Good luck, princess, and we shall see if Lady Luck favours you."
"Oh, no," Draco mumbled as she placed the note back to where she took it. "What should I do?"
"Ssh, love, calm down," Harry whispered softly in her ears as he hugged her from behind. "Calm down, and think clearly. What could she mean?"
"I don't know," Draco said, tears of frustration in her eyes. "What could she mean by that?"
"Ssh, calm down," Harry repeated. "You know the answer. Deep down, you know the answer. Now, take a deep breath, yes, like that, exhale. Take another deep breath, again. Yes, can you think clearly now?"
"I think, I think it might be the family tapestry," Draco said. "I don't know for sure, but I'll go retrieve it and try anyway."
"Okay," Harry said. "We'll go tomorrow morning. It's too late to go back to the castle."
"But Harry, we only have one day left," Draco protested, "and I need to sew it up."
"I know, but—"
"I'll be okay," Draco said. "I'm as good a fighter as you are."
"I know, but still," Harry said with a sigh. "You are the most stubborn person I've ever seen."
Draco smiled at him. "Please look after them while I go back to the castle and retrieve the tapestry. I'll need to use the sewing kit there though, but I'll come back here as soon as I fix it."
"I know," Harry said with a sigh. He pulled Draco into a hug and pressed a kiss on her temple. "Come back safe."
"Of course," Draco said. "I still need to break this curse. It's all my fault."
"Stop it," Harry said as he frowned. "It wasn't your fault the witch tricked you. Stop taking the blame for something that's out of your control."
"But if I didn't—"
"Draco," Harry said sternly. "It's not your fault."
Draco looked like she was about to protest further but wisely kept quiet. "I should go now," she said. She turned to face Narcissa and Scorpius. "I'm going back to the castle to fix the tapestry and bring it here. Please wait for me."
"Be safe, Bee," Scorpius said as he hugged Draco's leg. "I'll miss you."
"Be good, Scorp," Draco said, patting Scorpius' head. "Mom, I'm going now."
"Be safe, Draco," Narcissa said and hugged Draco tightly.
The three watched as Draco got on her mare and galloped away to the castle. She was very skilled at riding horses now, and had begun practicing hunting while on horseback. She reached the castle near midnight and quickly went to the room where the tapestry was stored and brought it to the seamstress' room.
"Princess? What are you doing here?" the seamstress asked in surprise.
"I—I did something stupid," Draco said sadly as she showed the torn tapestry to the seamstress. "Could you teach me how to mend this? I have to fix it immediately."
The seamstress offered to fix it for her but Draco declined, saying she had to be the one to fix it because she was the one who tore it. The seamstress taught her the basic of patching and mending and left her be, only checking up on her once in a while.
It was dawn when Draco finally fixed the tapestry and she fell asleep due to exhaustion, wrapped up in the tapestry. It had been a long day for her, after all.
"Draco."
"Uhm?" Draco mumbled sleepily as she turned and yelped in pain as her head hit the foot of a table. "Ouch."
"Draco, why are you sleeping here?"
Draco looked up to see who was talking to her. "Oh, morning, Dad," she greeted sheepishly. "I guess I fell asleep after mending this."
Lucius looked at the mended tapestry and sighed. "Come on, it's morning already. Get something to eat."
"No, I have to go," Draco said as she sat up quickly. "Mom and Scorp need me."
"Where are they?" Lucius asked curiously.
"It's a long story," Draco said, "I'll tell you when we get back, okay? I really need to go find them."
"Then at least bring something to eat," Lucius insisted. "I will not have you pass out because of hunger."
"Alright," Draco agreed. She packed some bread in a box and got on her mare to ride towards the abandoned house again. However, when she got there, only Harry and Scorpius were there.
"Bee!" Scorpius cried out when he saw Draco and ran to hug her leg while crying.
"What's wrong, pet?" Draco asked curiously. "Where's Mom?"
"Err, about that..." Harry mumbled.
Apparently last night Narcissa had lost her human thoughts to her bear instincts and started attacking Harry. Knowing who it truly was, Harry didn't fight back. He shot an arrow past the bear's head to scare it away and that's when Narcissa regained her consciousness. She was appalled by what she had done and had run away, leaving Harry and Scorpius behind.
Draco nearly broke down again but Harry quickly pulled her close and calmed her down, telling her that they didn't have any time to waste if they were to save Narcissa.
"You're right," Draco said resolutely. "Come, pet, let's go find Mom."
Scorpius looked at her with glassy eyes and nodded. Draco picked Scorpius up and held him close as they walked towards her mare and Harry to his stallion.
"Where are we looking for her?" Harry asked.
"Scorp is her cub," Draco said, "maybe he can help us track her down."
It took a while to calm Scorpius down and get him to help track Narcissa down, but he did, helped by sense of smell and his instinct. It took them quite a while to track her down, and when they found her, all by herself in the middle of a clearing, it was already sundown.
"Mom?" Draco called out hesitantly as she walked closer.
"Draco?" Narcissa asked as she looked up. "Darling, you must not come near me," Narcissa said as she shook her head. "I can't control myself. I might hurt you and Scorpius."
"No, you won't," Draco said. "Look, I mended the tapestry."
Draco unrolled the cloth and showed it to Narcissa.
"It's beautiful," Narcissa said as she touched the tapestry in awe. "Looks like it's brand new."
Draco grinned at her. "Well, let's see if this works—"
"Draco? What are you doing?"
Draco turned and saw Lucius standing there with the tribesmen. "Daddy, what are you doing here?"
"I thought you were in trouble," Lucius admitted. "Stay away, Draco."
"No, Dad, it's—"
"It's the demon bear!" one of the villagers shouted and suddenly everyone shouted in rage.
"No!" Draco shouted. "No, wait, she's not the demon bear! Please, listen to me!"
The villagers didn't heed her. Together they captured the bear who tried her best to fight back and dragged her off somewhere. Scorpius cried out as he watched but couldn't do anything as Harry held him still, unwilling to let the young boy join the chaos.
"Draco, go home, sweetheart," Lucius said as he held onto Draco's arm. "I'll take care of this."
"No, you don't understand!" Draco shouted in panic. "That's Mom!"
"What?" Lucius asked in astonishment. "What are you saying?"
"I'll explain to him," Harry offered. "Go give chase, Drac."
"Thank you, Harry," Draco said as she nodded curtly at him. She quickly rolled the tapestry back up and got on her mare's back, rushing towards the village.
She reached the village but there was no one there. She began to panic, tears welling at the corner of her eyes at the thought of the villagers killing their own leader—and it was all her fault!
Just as she was about to fall into despair, the will-o-wisp that she had seen way back when she was young and had led her to the stone circle where she was attacked by the true demon bear appeared in front of her.
"That's right," Draco said to herself. "The villagers thought she's the demon bear. They might bring her to the stone circle. Will-o-wisp, please lead me there."
As if understanding her request, the ball of light started to move and she followed, towards the stone circle hidden in the forest. The villagers got lost a couple of times in the thick forest so Draco got there right as they got there.
The stone circle was similar to Stonehenge, the only difference was there were only stone pillars, not arches. Draco dismounted from her mare and ran towards the clansmen.
"Wait!" she shouted. "Please, listen to me! That's not the demon bear! That's my mother!"
"Missus Narcissa?" one of the villagers asked. "Draco, are you hallucinating?"
"No!" Draco insisted. "The real demon bear is the rumoured prince who was cursed because he didn't hold onto the tradition. The scorned fiancée came to a witch for help and the witch cursed the prince. I met the witch and she tricked me into giving her a pastry that transformed her and Scorpius into bears."
Right then Harry, Lucius and Scorpius came. The villagers saw the bear cub and put down their weapons.
"Then how do you return her to normal?"
"I'm not sure yet, I'm still trying," Draco said. "The witch said I have to mend a bond torn by pride. I mended the family tapestry that I tore but you came as I was about to try. If she didn't return before sunrise, she'll end up like the cursed prince, so let me—"
"Bee, watch out!"
Draco looked at Scorpius in surprise, only to see him flailing his paws around. She turned around and screamed as she came face to face with the demon bear again, reminiscence of the way she had met him when she was but a wee child.
"It's the demon bear!" the clansmen shouted and raised their weapons, but the bear swatted at them and threw their weapons away.
The demon bear turned back to Draco and raised its paw to attack. Draco scrambled backwards and screwed her eyes shut, bracing for impact. It never came. Instead, there was a loud scream and when she opened her eyes she saw an arrow sticking out from the bear's left eye and it was trying to take the arrow out, clawing at his own face as he screamed in pain. Scorpius was sitting on the ground, looking dazed, and Harry was holding onto his bow, his expression angry and determined.
Draco took the chance to run away from the bear. Although she was a highly skilled archer, she's absolutely pants at close combat. When she got into a safe distance, she quickly readied her bow and arrow, and pierced the other eye.
The blinded demon bear then went on a rampage. Narcissa charged at him and they fought, the demon bear only swatting blindly because he couldn't see. She slowly lured him towards a stone pillar and allowed him to crash onto one. The impact caused the pillar to wobble and fall on top of him, killing the demon bear instantly.
The clansmen cheered but Draco was still panicking. The sun was peeking out from behind the trees and she rushed towards her mare to get the tapestry. She hurriedly unrolled it and wrapped it around Narcissa.
"Why? Why isn't it working!?" Draco shouted in frustration and panic.
"Draco—"
"No!" Draco shouted, tears streaming down her face. "No, this is all my fault... all my fault..."
"Bee..." Scorpius said softly as he nuzzled against Draco's side. "Bee... don't cry..."
"I'm sorry," Draco said, still holding tightly onto the tapestry wrapped around Narcissa's body. "I'm so sorry. I was so selfish, and it even brought Scorp into this mess."
"Darling, it wasn't your fault," Narcissa said as she held Draco's face as gently as she could with her paw. "It was my own selfishness that drove you into a desperate act. I know you meant well. I've seen that now. I can only wish that you can still be happy even without us."
"No, I will never be happy!" Draco insisted, her eyes were reddening and becoming puffy. "I love you, Mom. I love Scorp too, more than anything in this world. What good is it that I marry the person I love but lose the two people I've loved far longer before him? Please don't do this to me."
"I'm so sorry... I should've just done what you wanted me to," Draco mumbled. "Losing one love is better than two."
"Don't say that, honey," Narcissa said softly. "There's no good in losing a love. You've done so much to fight for your love. Why are you giving up now? Even if you give him up now, it won't change us back."
"I'm not giving him up," Draco said as she shook her head. "I was just—"
"Regretting it?" Narcissa asked and Draco nodded uncertainly. "You've done a very brave thing, darling, and it will forever be remembered. Do not regret it, ever."
Draco fell silent and opted to just bury her face in the bear's torso. She felt Scorpius nuzzle further onto her side and the three stayed like that, silently offering each other comfort while the clansmen, Lucius and Harry watched from the side.
Just as the sun rose above the trees and Draco was preparing herself to accept the fact that her mother and brother's fates were sealed, she felt something shift. The fur that was prickling her cheek was replaced by soft cotton.
Draco's head snapped up in surprise and her jaw fell when she came face to face with her mother, and not a bear.
"Mom?" Draco asked, her voice shaking. "How?"
Narcissa smiled gently at her. "The bond torn by pride referred to our bond, darling," she said, stroking Draco's cheek. "You were a proud fighter who wouldn't admit defeat. I was prideful and didn't want to concede."
"But now I've seen why you wanted to marry out of love and not of duty, as you have seen why I didn't want you to break the tradition."
Draco looked down at her lap and see Scorpius lying on her lap, hugging her abdomen tightly. She ran her hand through his short blonde hair and smiled.
"So it seems, something good has come out of this nightmare, after all."
The clansmen cheered and Lucius and Harry approached them.
"Let's go home, shall we?"
Draco looked up at her father, beaming at him, and knew that after all those sadness and frustration, now she was finally, perfectly content.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
Draco fretted as she picked at the thin veil covering her face and at her hair. It was pulled up into a bun but she couldn't help but feel like it would unravel any time now.
"Stop trying to make a hole in your dress, darling," Narcissa chided and Draco ducked to hide her flush. "Why are you so nervous anyway?"
"Don't tell me you weren't nervous on your wedding day," Draco said with a snort.
"I heard that, young lady."
"Sorry, Mom."
Narcissa stood in front of her and smiled. "Hey, you've fought for this moment. There should only be joy for you on this wonderful day."
Draco smiled at her. After Narcissa had transformed back into human, she had announced that the competition was annulled and that there would no longer be such tradition. All heirs and heiresses alike were allowed to choose their own partner. She also said that Draco had made her see that a sacred thing like a marriage shouldn't be defiled by forcing one party onto the other. She told them that everyone should have a fair chance in finding their happiness.
She then told Harry that he had her blessing to marry Draco, because it was obvious they both liked each other and he was always there to support her in everything that she did, even her latest stunt. This day, three months from then, they were finally getting married to each other.
"Bee!" Scorpius exclaimed as he rushed into the room, dressed smartly in a formal robe. He was to be the ring bearer for her wedding and he was too excited. "Oh, you look so bee—be—be—pretty!"
Draco laughed at Scorpius' struggle while the boy pouted at her. "Come here, Scorp."
Scorpius obliged, carefully climbing to Draco's lap and settling there. He grinned widely at her. "Harry better make Bee happy."
Draco beamed at him and pulled the boy closer to her chest, resting her chin on top of his head. She smiled in contentment, knowing all was perfect in her family, and there would soon be an addition to her family—her husband. The thought made her giddy in excitement and Scorpius laughed along, as if able to sense her excitement.
Not an hour later, Draco was walking down the aisle, escorted by her father. As she stood in front of the official, exchanging vows with her soon-to-be husband, she smiled, and knew that even if she had to go what she had gone through again for him, she would.
Every attending guest cheered for the new couple and Scorpius nearly tripped as he rushed towards them to congratulate them again. Draco turned to look at her parents and grinned when she saw them looking at her with love and pride in their eyes.
As Narcissa had said, her tale was remembered even centuries later, a tale of how a brave young woman had fought for her honour and love.
End Story
Hope you enjoyed that :D if you do, do leave a comment coz I'm a comment whore :P