Author's Note (The short version): You are all AMAZING, I'm terribly sorry that this has taken so long and I will do my best to be quicker at updating next time, I hope you enjoy it, and please review!
A couple of hours before Draco's due to arrive home from work, I get a shower and start getting ready for the evening's activities, leaving Pinky to look after Skylar while I do so. Since I don't know where we're going, I'm unsure how formal (or informal) I should dress. To be on the safe side, I choose a semi-formal black, knee-length dress and my black ballet slipper shoes. I spend a little extra time getting ready, making sure my hair and makeup are absolutely perfect for the occasion, whatever it may be. I also don silver earrings and a silver necklace to make the outfit complete.
I can't help but feel more and more excited as the time draws near; for some reason the thought of Draco and I having a date makes me feel like more of a giddy teenager than I did when I was dancing around with Hermione earlier. I realize that this is probably due to the fact that Draco and I haven't had very much time alone together since Skylar was born, and for some reason this realization makes me even more excited and slightly nervous. I'm unsure of where this nervousness is coming from, but I try my best to ignore it and focus instead on how amazing this night is sure to be.
When Draco arrives home from work a short while later, he greets me with a smile and a kiss. He tells me that I look lovely, which makes me blush, and then he hurries into our closet to change into an outfit more appropriate for the occasion. While waiting for him to get ready, I remove Skylar from his crib in the Nursery next door and take him downstairs with me, thinking that I'll just talk to Narcissa for a while until Draco's ready to leave. When I reach the Drawing Room, however, Narcissa is nowhere to be found.
Instead, Lucius is sitting in his favorite chair near the fireplace, reading today's issue of the Daily Prophet. I take a seat on one of the sofas quietly in an effort to avoid disturbing him, but as soon as he realizes I've entered the room Lucius lowers the paper, folds it up and puts it down on a nearby end table. "Happy Birthday, dear," he says with a smile.
I smile and tell him "Thank you" in response, and then he asks if I'm excited for Draco's and my night out. "Sure," I reply, unable to keep myself from blushing. "I just wish he'd tell me where we're going." At this point, Draco enters the room wearing an all-black suit, fiddling with the buttons on the cuff of his sleeve and looking like a god. My heart starts beating more quickly at the sight of him, and I have to try very hard to keep from staring. Having apparently heard the conversation between Lucius and me, Draco comments on it.
"Well, it wouldn't be a surprise if I told you, now would it?" he asks rhetorically with a smile.
"No, I guess not," I reply, smiling but still trying to avoid looking at him longingly. Lucius chuckles at our exchange, but then Draco feels the need to ask another, less-rhetorical question.
"Where's Mum?" he asks, his eyebrows furrows in bewilderment. "She was supposed to look after Skylar while Jayde and I are out."
"Well son, it looks like she hasn't returned from her Bridal Shower shopping trip yet," Lucius replies, "but it's all right; I can look after Skylar until she gets here." With this, Lucius extends his hands towards me as an indication that he'd like me to bring Skylar to him. I immediately get to my feet and walk over to where Lucius is sitting, but Draco seems less sure.
"Are you sure, Father?" he asks somewhat apprehensively.
"Absolutely," Lucius replies as he reaches up and takes the infant from me. "Besides," he continues, "I think Skylar and I could use some quality Grandfather-Grandson time, don't you agree, Sky?" The way Lucius looks down at the infant as he asks this is both endearing and hilarious; I have to cover my mouth to keep from laughing and saying "Aww" loudly. Apparently appeased by his father's answer, Draco chuckles in response before addressing me.
"Well, are you ready to go then, darling?" he asks. I nod my head in response, trying to mask the extreme excitement I feel. Then I lean down and kiss Skylar on the forehead before crossing the room and joining Draco.
"All right then, you two have fun and we'll see you when you get back," Lucius calls out as Draco helps me into my coat.
"Okay Father, see you later!" Draco calls in response, and with that Draco wraps his arm around my waist and gently guides me out of the Drawing Room, through the Entrance Hall, and out of the front door.
The excitement in the air over our first post-baby date is almost tangible as Draco and I make our way down the yew-hedged walkway, and as soon as we exit the wrought-iron gates we prepare to disapparate. Before we do so, however, Draco instructs me to close my eyes and to keep them closed until he tells me to open them. Though it makes me feel a bit silly, I agree, and as soon as I've closed my eyes Draco starts turning us on the spot. We disapparate a moment later and, true to my word, I keep my eyes closed when we land.
Without opening my eyes, however, I'm already aware of one aspect of our location. I'm not sure if it's a smell in the air or the way the breeze gently brushes my face, but I'm certain that I'm correct. "We're in Ireland," I state matter-of-factly.
"How did you know that?" Draco asks in astonishment. "I thought I told you to keep your eyes closed!"
"They are closed, love," I reply. "I can just… tell."
"Well do you know where in Ireland we are?" he asks softly.
"N- no," I reply after pondering this question for a moment.
"Good," he replies, "Now open your eyes." My eyes fly open before Draco's even finished speaking, and I immediately gasp at the sight before me. The familiar rolling hills and grey stone buildings make my heart swell with joy, and happy tears quickly form in the corners of my eyes.
"Oh Draco!" I exclaim, covering my mouth in awe, "We're at Dunamase!" Smiling from ear to ear at my reaction, Draco steps up behind me and wraps his arms around my middle, resting his head against my shoulder.
"That's right, love," he says in my ear softly. "The students haven't returned from Christmas break yet, so I thought you might like to show me around your old school."
"Oh no; we couldn't just enter the school like that," I reply, turning my head to the right to gaze over at him. "We'd have to have permission."
"And we have Mrs. McGreggor's permission," he replies with a smile.
"Really?!" I half-ask, half-exclaim. "Is she here?"
"No darling," Draco replies, giving me a sympathetic look. "I'm afraid she couldn't make it tonight, but she wanted me to tell you 'Happy Birthday' for her." Though I'm slightly disappointed that I won't get to see my former headmistress tonight, I'm thrilled to be back at Dunamase and immediately take Draco by the hand, practically dragging him towards the school. The winter sun begins to set not long after we arrive, causing the school's many torches to burst to life. The dim light of the torches makes for a very romantic setting as I take Draco to every place imaginable on the school grounds, and it creates the same effect when we enter the castle as well.
Thrilled to see that his birthday surprise has made me so happy and excited, Draco smiles the whole time as I take him up to the fourth floor and show him my old dormitory, and he continues to smile as I take him down to the third and second floors, showing him every detail from the largest classroom to the smallest broom closet. Draco seems a little less excited when we reach the first floor for some reason, but I assume it's just because there's not much to see on the ground floor of Dunamase. Nevertheless, I am determined to show him every detail, and I save the Dining Hall for last, since I realize that's the least interesting of the rooms down here.
When we finally reach the Dining Hall, however, I'm surprised to find that it looks quite different than what I'm used to. All of the dining tables are gone, and there are hundreds of candles lit all around the room. Several torches are lit along the Hall's back wall, and the light they're giving off alerts me to the fact that there's a group of about five people standing at the back of the room. I become frightened at first, and quickly move closer to Draco, squeezing his arm. When I notice the set of drums near the strangers, however, I quickly become more curious than afraid and finally have a proper look at them. I make a shocking realization as I survey their familiar, smiling faces; they're the members of my favorite wizard band, the Broken Broomsticks.
"Oh my God, Draco!" I exclaim in a whisper, "That's the Broken Broomsticks!" When Draco doesn't respond to this, I look up and to my right at him to find that he's smiling down at me, and this makes me realize that their presence at Dunamase is a part of my birthday surprise as well. After surveying Draco's face for a moment, I ask the obvious question. "You hired the Broken Broomsticks to give me a concert for my birthday?" I ask incredulously.
"Not quite," Draco replies, still smiling from ear to ear.
"Well then what are they doing here?" I ask, furrowing my eyebrows in confusion.
"Well," he begins, "We were sort of forced to dance together at our first ball, so I was hoping that we could make up for that tonight." I gasp at this explanation of Draco's sweet gesture, and tears build up in the corners of my eyes once more. Draco, however, hasn't finished explaining. "You can't have a ball without music," he continues, "And since it's your birthday I thought it might be nice if your favorite band was playing." I continue to stare up at Draco after he's finished speaking, and a silent tear rolls down my cheek. Draco wipes the tear away with his forefinger and smiles down at me tenderly. "So what do you say, darling?" he asks as he extends his hand for me. "May I have this dance?"
I quickly nod my head and take his hand in response, afraid that if I try to speak right now I'll burst into tears. The band starts playing a slow song as Draco leads me out to the middle of the floor. I wrap my arms around Draco's neck as he places his hands on my waist, and the two of us continually move closer and closer together as we slowly sway along with the music. We dance for a couple of songs, then take a break and have a seat, talking to each other about various subjects while the band continues to play, each of us wearing enormous smiles the whole time. A short while later, Draco stands and says that we've got time for one more dance before we have to leave, so we walk towards the center of the room once more, hand in hand. I lay my head on Draco's shoulder as we dance, trying to savor this moment.
I'm unsure of what Draco's got planned next for the evening, but this birthday has already been one of the most wonderful, magical days of my life. I'm actually sad when the song ends and we have to bid farewell to the Broken Broomsticks, and I take one last nostalgic look back on Dunamase before Draco and I prepare to disapparate. Draco once again tells me to close my eyes and keep them closed, and I obey. When we land this time, there's still something familiar in the air, and I mention it to Draco once more. "We're still in Ireland," I say.
"Yes, love," Draco replies with a slight edge in his tone. He almost sounds nervous, and I'm immediately curious as to why that is.
With my eyes still closed, Draco takes my hand and begins to lead me forward. We walk a short distance before he tells me to open my eyes, and when my eyes open this time, my heart drops into my stomach. Though it's fairly dark outside, I'd know the path we're on anywhere; we're on the old dirt road that leads to the orphanage I grew up in. I immediately stop dead in my tracks, and Draco eyes me apprehensively; now I know what he was so nervous about. I haven't been back to the orphanage since Ms. Fitzpatrick died, and I haven't necessarily wanted to either… I feel that the memories would be too painful upon reentering the house I grew up in, mostly because it's also the house Ms. Fitzpatrick died in.
"Draco, I don't think I can do this," I say breathlessly. "I just don't think I'm ready." Draco immediately gives me a sympathetic look and squeezes my hand in response, but I can tell that he's still intent on taking me to the orphanage tonight.
"Darling, I really think it's time you went back," he says gently. "You don't have to go inside if you don't want to, and I'll be right here by your side the whole time. I'll help you through this." Though I am touched by Draco's words, I still really don't want to do this. I remain silent, however, and Draco takes that silence as an agreement to continue down the path towards the orphanage. He slowly begins to lead me forward once more, and I'm surprised by the fact that Draco seems to know exactly where he's going, even though he's only been here once. I decide to question him about this in an effort to change subjects and break the awkward silence that has arisen between us.
"How were you able to apparate here?" I ask barely louder than a whisper. A small smile crosses Draco's face at this question, which makes me even more curious.
"I had some help from Mrs. McGreggor," he replies quietly. "I told her what I wanted to do for your birthday, so she brought me here and to Dunamase a few times so I'd be familiar enough with the area that I could apparate us here."
Though this answer makes my heart swell with affection for my fiancé and my former headmistress, it also raises another question. "But when have you had time to do that?" I ask. "You're always either at work or with me!"
"On my lunch breaks," he replies slyly. "I've been meeting Mrs. McGreggor in Hogsmeade on my lunch hour every day for the past few weeks. We would have met in Diagon Alley, but we knew there was a chance we'd run into you there." I'm both flattered and concerned that Draco has been giving up his lunch hours for me, and I open my mouth to tell him so. Before any words make their way out, though, I spot the edge of the orphanage's yard up ahead on my right, and the sight of it shocks me into silence. I can tell even from this distance that something is a little different about it, and my curiosity drags me forward, despite the wariness I feel and the way my heart is pounding loudly in my chest.
I try to reserve judgment on how different the orphanage looks until Draco and I reach the yard, but my suspicions are confirmed when we're standing in front of the mail box; something is very different about the orphanage. Though it's still early in the evening and there should be people bustling around inside, the house is completely dark; not even the porch light is on. Two of the front windows are broken, and several of the porch's floorboards are missing. The paint has begun to peel in places, and the lawn and garden are both in all sorts of disarray. The house that was once full of screaming children and laughter now looks lonesome and forgotten.
Seeing my childhood home in this condition completely breaks my heart, and the sense of sadness I feel is strong enough to overpower the sense of wariness I felt only moments ago at the thought of returning here tonight. Draco notices my reaction and squeezes my hand tightly in an effort to comfort me. "Draco, what happened to it?!" I exclaim, unable to keep the emotion from showing in my voice.
"It um… it sort of fell apart after Ms. Fitzpatrick died," he says apologetically. "Her sister came to run it, but she couldn't keep up with the bills; the um… I think muggles call it a 'mortgage'… anyway, it was just too much for her." I immediately feel completed bewildered at Draco's words; to my knowledge, Ms. Fitzpatrick didn't have a sister.
"Her- her sister?" I ask Draco with furrowed eyebrows. "I didn't even know she had a sister!"
"Mrs. McGreggor had no idea either, love," Draco replies softly, "She didn't find out about Ms. Fitzpatrick's sister until she took over the orphanage. Apparently, Ms. Fitzpatrick and her sister had some sort of feud; that hadn't spoken to each other in years. But when the younger Ms. Fitzpatrick found out about her sister's death, she immediately volunteered to take over the orphanage, as a way of making up with her sister. She felt awful for not speaking to her sister before her death, and she knew that Ms. Fitzpatrick would want the orphanage to stay open. She tried her best, but she got so far behind on her payments that the bank finally stepped in and closed the orphanage, and put the house up for sale."
Learning that Ms. Fitzpatrick had a sister that I never knew about makes me feel curious and shocked, but the most powerful emotion I feel right now is a surge of anger at this information, and at the thought that a bank would repossess an orphanage, thereby taking away the only home some of those children have ever known. Angry, hurt tears make their way from my eyes, and though it makes me feel horrible to admit it, part of my anger is directed at Draco. Why would he bring me here when he knew how badly this would upset me? I think to myself. Why would he show me this, on my birthday of all days? I try to control my anger, but more questions pop into my mind, and I find myself unable to keep them from coming out of my mouth.
"You knew this was happening and you didn't tell me?" I ask, looking up at Draco in an accusatory way. He looks down at me apprehensively in response, and puts his hands out in front of himself defensively.
"Darling, just calm down," he says carefully. "Give me a moment to explain."
"I will not calm down!" I exclaim, trying to control the anger in my voice and keep from yelling at him. "You knew I'd want to know about this! You knew I'd want to do something… to keep this from happening! I can't believe you didn't tell me!" I stop speaking and continue to stare at him angrily, and there's a very pained look on Draco's face as I do so.
"Darling, I'm sorry that I've upset you, but please, just hear me out," he pleads. When I don't interrupt him, he continues. "I did know that you'd want to do something about this…" he begins, but his voice trails off as I interrupt him.
"You just don't understand!" I say loudly as tears start gushing from my eyes. "This was my home; this place meant the world to me! It's where I lived with her!" My façade of anger breaks with this statement, and all the pain and sadness I feel make their way to the forefront of my consciousness. I cover my face with my hands and sob into them, and Draco takes a step closer and wraps his arms around me, trying to comfort and calm me as I continue to sob. I cry on Draco's shoulder for quite a while, but then I realize that I've got to pull myself together and start trying to think of ways to fix this awful situation.
I lean up out of Draco's embrace and begin wiping the tears from my eyes. "I've got to… talk to someone," I say with determination, trying to stop crying. "I've got to… find out who owns it now. Maybe… I can talk to them… convince them to reopen the orphanage."
"I thought you'd say that," Draco says quietly. "And it just so happens that I know who owns the orphanage." My eyebrows furrow in confusion and this, and I look up at Draco once more. As I do so, he reaches into one of his coat pockets and pulls out a piece of folded-up paper, passing it to me slowly.
"What is this?" I ask, continuing to look up at him as I unfold the paper slowly.
"It's the deed to the orphanage," he replies calmly, looking down at me sympathetically as an indication that seeing me crying is upsetting him, as well. I gasp and Draco's response and stare down at the paper eagerly, but find myself unable to read the document in the pale winter moonlight.
"It's too dark, I can't read it," I say in frustration, looking back up at Draco for clarification. "Who owns the orphanage, Draco?"
"You do," he replies simply, giving me a tender look. Now completely confused, I furrow my eyebrows again and stare at Draco as though he's gone insane. "What?" I ask incredulously.
Instead of answering me, Draco pulls his wand from his pocket and says "Lumos," causing its tip to illuminate. He holds the wand above the paper he's just given me, allowing me to see the document clearly. I scan the paper quickly, skimming over the lines at the top that say Property Deed and Property Address; I'm only interested in the third line from the top… the one that has the heading 'Owner'. I gasp and nearly drop the paper when I see my name there; well, my almost-name: Jayde Malfoy. My heart starts beating rapidly and I feel excited, but I'm also bewildered. I look up to Draco for an explanation and find him smiling down at me. "How- How is this possible?!" I half-ask, half-exclaim with wide eyes.
"Well darling," Draco begins, "I knew you wouldn't want the orphanage to stay closed and get sold to some stranger… so when I found out what was happening, I asked Mrs. McGreggor for a bit more help. She helped me get some of our gold converted to muggle money, and then she took the money to the muggle bank for me and bought the orphanage."
My heart nearly stops beating at this, and tears immediately start pouring from my eyes like waterfalls again, despite my recent attempts to stop crying. "You b- You bought me the orphanage?" I ask breathlessly.
"Yeah," Draco replies with a smile and a quick nod of his head.
"Oh Draco!" I exclaim, flying into his arms once more and burying my head against his chest as happy tears continue flowing from my eyes. "Thank you so, SO much!" I finally manage a few moments later, pulling out of his embrace so that I can lean up and plant a tender thank-you kiss on his lips.
"You're very welcome, love; it's the least I could do," he replies a moment later when we've stopped kissing, rubbing my cheek gently with his left hand. The two of us stand there in the pale moonlight for a few moments, smiling and looking into each other's eyes happily as tears continue to slide down my already-soaked cheeks. When my tears slowly begin to subside, Draco kisses me tenderly and then exhales loudly, seeming relieved that this night has gone so well.
"So, Mrs. Malfoy," he says loudly with a huge smile, "Since you're now the orphanage's owner and can do with it what you please, what will be your first course of action?"
"I want to reopen it and bring back all the children that were here," I reply immediately. "As soon as possible." Draco smiles and nodes his head in response as an indication that he knew what my answer would be.
"Well, we'll have to have someone to run it," he says matter-of-factly.
"That's true," I reply immediately, my brain suddenly beginning to busy itself with trying to work out a solution to this problem. "I'd do it myself," I state a moment later, "But that'd require me to be here all the time, not to mention we have our own family to think about." I pause here a moment before continuing my out-loud thinking, and Draco doesn't interrupt. "I really wish I knew how to get in touch with Ms. Fitzpatrick's sister," I finally say. "I wonder if she'd still be interested in running the orphanage, now that the mortgage is taken care of."
"As a matter of fact, she is," Draco replies, shocking me for what feels like the millionth time tonight.
"You mean, you've already asked her about it?" I ask, glancing up at my fiancé in awe. When he simply smiles and nods his head in response, I feel another surge of love for him sweep over me. "You've gone to so much trouble!" I say in astonishment. "Is there anything you haven't already thought of?"
"No, I don't think so," he replies with a serious expression. I laugh quietly at this, but then Draco continues speaking and I quickly grow silent. "I know you're going to be very busy for a while since our wedding is only a month away, so I've told Ms. Fitzpatrick to meet you here on March 1st; the day I go back to work after the wedding," he explains. "I've also hired a construction crew to meet the two of you here that morning to get started on the repairs. They're the same crew that my father used to get Skylar's Nursery done so quickly; magic will speed up the process. Ms. Fitzpatrick refuses to let us pay her to run the orphanage, but I've assured her that if she needs anything, all she has to do is tell us and it's done."
My eyes bulge and my mouth drops open as Draco continues speaking, and by the time he's finished, my jaw is in danger of hitting the orphanage's frozen lawn. I am completely astounded by how much thought and preparation Draco has put into this, and it only leaves me with one question. "Wow. Well, um… is there anything else?" I ask quietly; Draco chuckles at my question before responding.
"Actually, yes," he replies, his smile only adding to his overwhelming attractiveness. I can't possibly think of anything else that needs to be settled, and it surprises me that Draco has.
"Well, what is it?" I ask, puzzled.
"Well, I was thinking about how you're always saying that you need something to do while I'm at work," Draco begins, placing his hands on my waist, "And I thought that maybe you might like to help out around here sometimes. You wouldn't be able to do it every day, of course, because I'm sure you'll want to see your friends and you'll have other things to do sometimes, like taking Skylar to his check-ups, but maybe you could come help Ms. Fitzpatrick a couple of days a week; if you wanted to, of course. I'm sure she could use the help and it would give you something to do. And you could bring Skylar and let him play with the children. You'd have to be careful not to use magic around them, but you're used to that anyw…"
Draco is unable to finish speaking at this point because I lean up and wrap my arms around his neck, pressing my lips against his firmly. As he's been speaking for the past few moments, I've become more and more touched by his thoughtfulness, and this feeling combined with the fact that we're alone together for the first time in ages has made me more and more grateful and happy, culminating in this sudden display of affection. I continue to kiss Draco passionately, and he closes his eyes and pulls me closer to him in response. Our simple snog session turns into a heated make-out session very quickly, and Draco gently touches the side of my face before sliding his hand down along my throat, pulling me even closer to him and deepening our kiss. He moans slightly as he does so, and I breathe in sharply when he does. He stops kissing me a moment later, and I look up at the pale moonlight reflected in his beautiful silver eyes.
"We should probably… stop," he says breathlessly. "Before things get out of hand." Although I want to keep kissing him and take full advantage of this rare alone time we have together, I realize that Draco's right and nod my head in response. I remove my hands from his neck and start trying to regain my composure, but apparently I'm not the only one who was enjoying our snog session; Draco grabs the back of my head and pulls me closer, crashing his lips down on mine and ignoring his own advice. This sparks another long-awaited and passionate snog session, and it takes a lot of restraint on both of our parts to end it a short while later.
Once we've calmed down enough, Draco and I slowly begin making our way own the dirt path towards our apparition spot, hand in hand. We talk and laugh about the night's activities as we walk, and though we're ready to get home to our son, we're also sad that this wonderful date night has come to an end. We disapparate once we reach the old tree at the end of the dirt road, and we arrive back at the wrought-iron gates to Malfoy Manor only seconds later.
When we enter, I'm once again surprised when I find that Narcissa has put together a Birthday Dinner for me; she's invited Blaise, Pansy, Crabbe, Goyle, Mary and Martha over to celebrate. And that's not all; it appears as though Draco was fibbing earlier when he told me I wouldn't see Mrs. McGreggor tonight, for she is waiting for us at Malfoy Manor as well. The Malfoys and I all eat a delicious dinner with our guests, after which there's a round of dessert, party games, and birthday presents for me to open. The family and I celebrate with our guests until well after midnight, at which point the party dies down and everyone has to go home to prepare for work the next day. Draco and I head to bed after bidding farewell to our guests and placing Skylar in his crib, and before I fall asleep I make sure to thank Draco dozens of times for giving me the best Birthday ever.