The "If You're Lucky" Relationship

Draco Malfoy had not had a very happy childhood. Granted, he had been rather spoiled and he wanted for practically nothing, but that didn't automatically translate into he was happy. In all honesty, there was just one thing he—and all children, really—wanted above all else: the love of his parents.

But his father was too busy with 'business' things. Young Draco had never been very clear on what those business things where, exactly. His father didn't have a normal job; he always seemed to be home, in fact. His business always seemed to revolve around the Ministry of Magic, however. So, as a young child, Draco had simply assumed that his father was clearly a very important Ministry man. Why else would the Minister himself be coming over for dinner or drinks every other week or so?

His mother, on the other hand, had all sorts of social engagements to focus her attention on: brunches and luncheons, tea parties and garden parties, evening galas and business dinners, just to name a few. Of course she made sure that her son was cared for (by the house elves) and was educated (by the tutors), but she just had other priorities that needed her undivided attention.

That wasn't to say that his parents completely ignored him. They didn't have their heir and then wash their hands of any involvement with him. He spent time with them…on occasion. Sometimes they even ate meals all together as a family. And he knew that his mother, at least, loved him. Why else would she have protested so strongly to his father's idea of sending him to Durmstrang? She wanted him close by because she loved him, he just knew it.

Hogwarts was better than home. At Hogwarts, Draco got to interact with kids his own age. At Hogwarts—or, at the very least, in Slytherin—Draco was important.

But his childhood would always come back to haunt him. It was his childhood that had ultimately jaded him as a young adult.

If it hadn't been for the beliefs instilled in him from such a young age, he never would have turned out the way he did.

He never would have joined the Death Eaters. He never would have almost lost everything fighting a war for a homicidal maniac bent on achieving immortality.

In the end, pretty much all he had left was his parents…and the house, he supposed. But it wasn't as if he ever wanted to go back there after everything he had been through under that roof.

It was a slow recovery for Draco Malfoy, but he was back to some semblance of normalcy within a few years of the war's end. It helped that he'd had his parents by his side through all of it, though. Almost impossibly, their involvement in the war had brought the Malfoy family closer together; they truly were a family, when all was said and done. Now Draco knew that his parents really did love him; that they would do anything for him. And he felt exactly the same about them.

Which was most likely how he ended up accompanying his parents to some social gathering of (mostly) pureblood Slytherins—at his mother's insistence, of course.

Draco was hesitant to re-immerse himself in the company of many of these people, but he knew that things were different now. These were no longer the purebloods of his childhood. The war had seen to that. And he had to admit to himself that he was mildly curious to see many of them again—after all, they had once been his friends. He was still surprised with himself for actually being happy once he did see some of them again and actually socialized with them.

But that was nothing compared to how he felt when he saw her.

He had been in the midst of a conversation about something or other with Theo Nott, when Daphne Greengrass had appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, at the other man's elbow. Theo was quick to greet her with a kiss on the cheek, before re-acquainting her with Draco—mostly so that he could introduce her as his fiancé. Daphne, for her part, seemed genuinely happy to see Draco. She was also swift with her own introductions, pulling another young woman up beside her.

Now, Draco liked to think that he had matured enough in the past few years so as not to be as shallow or vain as he had been throughout his years in school (and as his father still was, though the older man tried to hide it). But the girl Daphne had arrived with was, by far, the prettiest girl Draco had ever seen in his entire life. He had never seen anyone as beautiful as her.

And then he discovered that he had, in fact, known her for practically his entire life, as she was Daphne's younger sister, Astoria. She had grown up since Draco had last seen her as a fifth year at Hogwarts.

Their only contact that afternoon was that brief greeting, but Draco easily found himself mesmerized with her—and not just because of her looks.

And so, from then on, Draco made a point of going to as many social events as possible, much to his mother's delight.

To Draco's delight, Astoria was often there as well and always made a point to talk to him. Eventually, he even worked up the courage to ask her out to dinner. It was at the end of their evening together that he finally realized he had fallen in love with her when Astoria admitted to him that she had only let Daphne drag her everywhere with her in the hopes of seeing him again.

She had always had a bit of a crush on him as a child, Astoria hesitantly explained to Draco after her initial announcement. It was mostly because he had always let her play Quidditch with the boys, but their time together at Hogwarts had helped as well. She knew how he came off to other Slytherins and the rest of the school, but she had seen past that. She had known what his life was really like, mostly because it had been almost exactly like her own. She had seen how he struggled with being forced to take the Dark Mark and the events that followed it. And she respected him now for how it had all turned out for him.

Faced with all of this information, Draco couldn't help but admit that he honestly hadn't noticed her like that before. Of course, he remembered her joining them in Quidditch—she had been a godsend and evened out the numbers, after all. But he had been too self-absorbed as his teenage years wore on. In the years since they had last seen each other, he really hadn't spared a thought for her until seeing her again at that first luncheon his mother had dragged him to where, upon seeing her again, he had been instantly besotted by her looks.

"Oh really?" Astoria questioned. There was an almost unreadable expression upon her face, but Draco just knew what direction her thoughts had taken after hearing his response to her admission. Draco wasn't about to break her heart, though.

"And then you said something to Millicent's younger sister as she dragged you away," Draco continued. "And I think that's when I fell in love with all of you."

Astoria merely looked at him expectantly.

"You told her…" Draco began, "And I'm pretty sure that these were your exact words. But anyway, you told her that 'the continued insistence of pureblood supremacy by our elders is the most nonsensical thing you've ever heard of.'"

"Well that's because it is," Astoria couldn't help but reply, a small grin creeping onto her face—in part because of the high falsetto voice Draco had acquired in an attempt to sound like her.

"And I couldn't help but concur," Draco informed her.

Their shared beliefs and the mutual attraction the pair felt for each other were undeniable. It really was no wonder that Draco and Astoria were married within the year.

Draco's childhood would always affect him, of that he was sure. But now he had a different aspect to focus on. He had met Astoria as a child and then found her again when they had both grown up. Falling in love with the girl who had always loved him—no matter what he did or became—was by far the best thing that had ever happened to him.

Draco Malfoy had never been happier.