This is a SongFic that I wrote using Home by Michael Buble. Originally I had the lyrics in the story as Draco's inner monologue, but I was informed that is against the rules. So I took them out but they can be found by googling the title and the artist. Hopefully their absence from the story won't make it confusing for anyone.
Home: A Me and Emily Universe Ficlet
"Go," she had told him. "Have fun, maybe the women of your dreams is waiting for you."
Draco had scoffed a little at the idea when it was the women of his dreams who had said that to him. Ginny Potter was one of Draco's dearest friends who he had also been in love with since his Hogwarts days. Sadly after the war he knew he would have been unwelcome by her family so he let her go, thinking he had enough time to make himself worthy and in her back. Little did he expect while he was training to be a Healer she would marry Harry Potter and have a child.
It probably would have been a very different story if Harry Potter hadn't changed drastically from who he was into a fame hungry monster willing to step on everyone else's feelings to get what he wanted to matter who he hurt. He was no longer the hero; he was quickly turning into the villain. He was a bad father, and even an abusive husband, Draco had found this out shortly after Ginny had stumbled back into his life. Draco had tried to persuade Ginny to leave many times in the three years since they had found each other in Diagon Alley. Still they almost never touched physically except a friendly embrace now and then. Draco didn't want to give anyone the opportunity to call Ginny a cheater, and he would never put her in that position anyway. In fact Ginny was so determined to have Draco continue on with his life that she insisted he go with his mother on their annual tour of Paris and Rome.
Draco had been very brief when he told Ginny why his mother insisted on taking him abroad every year. He only said that Narcissa hoped he would find a good match there, what he didn't tell her was that he was taken to lavish parties and gala's where girls were trotted out in front of him and hanging all over him the whole time. Back when he was still in Hogwarts he had found it to be quite the ego boost but now he only wanted to be with one woman and if he couldn't have her he didn't plan on marrying at all.
Another thing Draco also hadn't told Ginny was that a woman had been accompanying his mother and him for a few years now, he didn't tell her because then he would have to explain that he had an older sister which only one other person outside of the family knew. As if she had known her brother was thinking about her the women in question bustled into the sitting room where Draco had been musing to himself.
"Draco, it's almost time to leave for the party," she told him adjusting her dress and fidgeting with her hair. "Mother will be down in another moment or two."
"Don't fidget," he told her. "You look beautiful."
She smiled at her younger brother and he poured both of them a drink as they slipped into a comfortable silence. As much as he enjoyed spending time with his sister he really didn't like what this trip did to her every year. His sister Uriel, didn't enjoy all the perks of being a Malfoy and she certainly wasn't the Malfoy heir. In fact according to the records she wasn't a Malfoy at all, Lucius Malfoy had abandoned his oldest child in an orphanage in France when she was only six years old and told her she wasn't a Malfoy. Up until a few years after the war she had been going by the Name of Allegra Van Alan having been adopted by Muggles in France and schooled at Beauxbatons. Usually on these trips she was introduced simply as Uriel, a family friend.
Not that Draco minded, not in all of his years of coming to these parties had he ever seen anyone good enough for his sister. He had been trying for years to convince Narissa to restore Uri's real identity and she swore she would once she had found a man worthy of her family. The Malfoy name was still so important to his mother which made Draco wonder even if Ginny did leave her husband would Narcissa accept a Weasley who had married a Potter as her daughter-in-law? Would she be able to accept Ginny's daughter Emily who was a Potter and a Weasley by blood?
"Draco?" Uriel called. "Are you okay?"
"Yea," he assured her swallowing his entire drink at once. "I was just thinking about someone."
"I'm guessing not anyone who you've met here," she said knowingly.
"No," he shook his head. "She's special."
Before Uriel could say another word Narcissa came sweeping in. "Come my loves, the party awaits."
Draco smiled at his sister as they left knowing that this was going to be a long night for both of them.
Hours later after the party was over and the three Malfoy's had returned home Draco still couldn't sleep. He looked at the pile of parchment on his desk, the letters he tried to write to Ginny. He really couldn't think of anything to say to her, he couldn't tell her what he was doing; he found his words were very cold and unfeeling and Ginny shouldn't have to deal with that. He knew that he wasn't going to sleep anytime soon so he went down into the sitting room for a drink and found his sister already there.
"I knew you would come down here eventually," she smiled handing him a drink. "Now tell me who she is."
Draco sighed, and sat down and started to tell Uriel about Ginny and Emily and the whole mess. He started from the beginning when they met at Hogwarts and when they fell in love, to when he let her go after the war because he didn't think he would have been able to win her family over, to when they met again in Diagon Alley and he first met her daughter Emily.
"Draco, is that something you want?" Uri asked. "Can you be a father to a little girl who already has one? What if she actually likes her father, unlikely as that sounds, it could cause trouble."
"I love Ginny, Uriel," Draco told her firmly. "And I love Emily as well. Just to be able to be in their lives is enough for me, even if Ginny never leave Potter…I want to be there for her and for Emily."
Uriel held up her hands. "Relax, I was just checking. What exactly do you plan to tell mother?"
Draco sighed again. "I don't plan to tell her anything. It's not like Ginny and I are having an affair, last time I checked I was allowed to have female friends who are married and have children."
His sister seemed to hesitate before asking her next question. "What if she never leaves him Draco? Would you be content to live your life without her, always at arm's length, watching her with the wrong man?"
"That won't happen," he responded trying his hardest to believe what he said.
Uri looked at Draco knowingly. "This isn't going to be easy Draco."
"I know," he nodded.
"We are talking about the savior of the Wizarding world. Harry Potter is still very much the Hero and bringing the bad things he's done into the light won't be easy."
"If anyone can help me I think Blaise can," Draco took another swig of his drink.
"I'm surprised I haven't seen Blaise here yet," Uri remarked off handedly. "Usually we've run into him at a party by now."
"He's been busy with work," Draco didn't even notice his sister's tone, so lost in his own thoughts. "He might be able to get away by the time we get to Rome."
"I hope you'll be in a better mood by then," she nudged him a little. "Paris never does anything to improve your disposition."
Draco knew she was right. "There is something about Rome in the summer that just makes you happy to be alive."
Uriel finished her drink and got to her feet. "Well at least try to get some sleep. We leave in the morning."
She gave him a kiss on the forehead and went back to her own room leaving her little brother alone with his thoughts once again.
"As much as I enjoy the high society parties sometimes what I like even better is just spending some quiet time with my children," Narcissa cooed as Draco and Uri sat down for a picnic with her at Villa Borghese. "And look who has decided to join us."
Draco looked up to see his best friend Blaise Zabini coming toward them. The three Malfoy's stood and greeted him.
"So glad you could make it Blaise," Narcissa told him.
"Thank you for inviting me Mrs. Malfoy. Are you happy to see me Uri?" he asked her.
"Well Rome is a lot more crowded now that your ego has arrived," she quipped. "But it has been awhile since you've graced us with your presence."
"Well I try to give you enough time to recover between my visits," he retorted not missing a beat.
"Well I'm glad," Narcissa told him. "I have a wonderful young man in mind for Uriel and I cannot wait for her to meet him tonight, and you've always been like a second son so you'll look out for Uriel as well."
After that the small talk commenced between the four of them until after lunch when Narcissa and Uriel excused themselves for a small walk around the grounds.
Draco decided that there was no better time to lure Blaise into his plan than now. "So how has your caseload been?"
"Boring," Blaise laughed. "All the same cases, divorce, custody, all the most common issues. I would kill for something to sink my teeth into."
"I figured you would," Draco smiled knowing his best friend all too well.
Blaise looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "You have something in mind?"
"Not yet," Draco assured him. "I've got something brewing."
"Well be sure to tell me when it comes to fruition because I will be more than happy to so something interesting."
Draco smirked. "Interesting is the very least of what this will be."
"So," Blaise began to change the subject. "Was your mother serious about having someone in mind for Uri?"
"She always has someone in mind for my sister, but no one ever makes the cut," Draco responded absentmindedly.
He went back to thinking about Ginny not even hearing Blaise mutter 'Thank Merlin' under his breath.
That night at the night society affair Draco found himself dancing with a very charming young women. Half way through their third dance Draco realized he hadn't heard a thing she had said, he didn't know anything about her, he didn't even recall her name. The only reason he had even agreed to dance with her in the first place was because she had brown eyes that reminded him of Ginny's and when he looked into them he could imagine they were hers. As quickly as he had realized this he had apologized to the young witch and excused himself to get some fresh air.
He almost felt ashamed like he had cheated on Ginny, but even he knew that was absurd. Ginny had always tried to persuade him to take the task of finding a wife more seriously but he couldn't see himself with anyone else. More than anything he wanted Ginny with him but he knew that this life wasn't who she was, and the more time he spent around the people his mother counted as friends the less he felt like a Malfoy as well. This wasn't Ginny's dream, the wealth and splendor, all she wanted was a close family where she felt loved and safe, still he knew that she would support him no matter what he chose, even if it wasn't her.
That brought him back to what his sister had asked him last night. Would he be content if Ginny stayed with Potter? That was a hard question to answer because he knew that if Harry Potter ever did serious harm to Ginny or Emily he would be in Azkaban for killing him and no amount of his money or Blaise's magic touch when it came to legal matters would change that. Still to think about a life where he didn't end up with Ginny was painful, almost too painful to think about at all. Still Uri was right to ask him that, to make him think about all sides of it, not just sides where he won.
"Malfoy's always win," he reminded himself.
He knew that even if Ginny did keep him at arm's length he wouldn't marry someone else because that wouldn't be fair to her, living that half life not loving the person you married. Most of his family had lived that life, and no matter what his mother said about growing to love Lucius he didn't want to take the chance of ruining someone else's life. Just knowing that he was the safe place for Ginny and Emily to go was already enough of a victory for him, was enough to last him forever if that was all he ever got.
Toward the end of their holiday it started to get unseasonably cold in Rome. They still had another month until they were supposed to head back, Draco to Malfoy Manor and Narcissa and Uri to the Black Estate in Champagne-Ardenne France. Instead of loosening up more over the course of the trip Draco had only gotten tenser.
He found himself up late again, unable to sleep with thoughts of Ginny clouding his mind and invading his dreams. He was sitting in the parlor yet again trying to write a letter to Ginny and failing like every other time he had tried. He heard the door open and assumed it was his sister coming to keep him company or even Blaise coming down for a late night drink so he was surprised when he heard his mother's voice.
"You really hate coming here now don't you?" she asked gently. "Uriel has always hated it…I suppose I just didn't stop to notice it."
Draco turned around to her. "I don't hate the holiday mother, I just hate you bringing me here to try and find me a wife when I am not interested. Uri hates it because coming here is just more of a reminder that she isn't a Malfoy to anyone except you, Blaise and I."
The Malfoy Matriarch smiled sadly. "This was all I ever knew, but it didn't work for me either. I didn't meet your father here, we knew each other from Hogwarts, Bella met Rudolphus through her connections with….her Death Eaters friends, and Dora certainly didn't meet Ted here."
Draco looked at his mother and suddenly she looked older than she ever had. She had lost one of her sisters to war and her other sister had been lost to her long before that. Sometimes Draco forgot all that his mother had been through.
"You are just doing what you think is best for us Mother," he assured her. "Uri and I love you which is why we come here without complaint."
She smiled at her son. "Maybe next year we can just come here to take in the sites and have a pleasant family vacation."
Draco smiled back at her. "I'd like that mother."
Narcissa sighed. "Good, that's settled…now go."
The blond looked at his mother unsure.
"Draco, I'm not a fool, you haven't been on his trip with us. Every time I look at you you've strayed off somewhere with your thoughts. I can only assume that you are thinking of someone. Am I correct?"
Draco just nodded.
"Good, you know how much I dislike being wrong. Now…go home and see her."
"But," Draco found his voice again. "What about Uriel and Blaise…they'll kill each other."
Narcissa got up and kissed her son on the cheek. "I think I can handle those two, now go."
Without another word she left the room and Draco sat down at the desk again, picking up a piece of parchment he wrote:
"I'm coming back home."
Running back up to his room he packed his things and wrote a quick apology to his sister before he flooed home, really smiling for the first time in months. The next afternoon as the sun shone brightly on Diagon Alley Draco made his way to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour that was being run by family members since his death in the war. He stopped as soon as she saw her; she was sitting with Emily sharing an ice cream cone with her. She smiled at something her daughter said as she looked up locking eyes with Draco. She smiled at him in a way only she could and Draco knew that as long as she looked at him like that he was home…no matter what.
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Well I hope you all enjoyed a little D/G fluff that I just couldn't get out of my head. The song I used was Home by Michael Buble because it plays at least once a day when I'm at work and I thought this was a cute idea. Also an announcement to my wonderful readers and followers...I am beginning a third chaptered story for the Me and Emily Universe! I have already started chapter one so I could start posting as early as June so make sure you're signed up to get notifications when I post so you can be the first to read it all. As always thank you so much for reading and if you have a second leave me a review.
