Chapter Fourteen: Translation
On the morning that Draco's plan was to be put into action, he woke with the sun and a massive panic attack. What if it all went wrong? What if Hermione didn't actually want to see him? What if he wore the wrong pants?
Thankfully, his mother's room was far enough away that she probably couldn't hear him sorting through his closet like a frantic squirrel.
…
Two hours and twelve pairs of pants later, it was actually a decent hour of the morning and time for breakfast. Draco smoothed his hair, straightened his shirt, and tried to put just the right amount of casual in his stride as he swaggered towards the breakfast table.
Narcissa glanced up from the flower arrangement and raised an eyebrow, but didn't say a word.
…
She accepted his invitation to go out for tea midmorning without any question, and Draco practically sprinted away from the table in his efforts to get away without her guessing everything.
He suspected that he just wasn't cut out for subterfuge.
…
Narcissa took forever to dress. Draco paced around the hallway, and tried to…help.
"Why don't you wear that pink thing?"
"And these. Look how shiny they are!"
"You look wonderful, mother."
...
"Draco, are you ill?"
…
Actually, now that he thought about it, he kind of was feeling sick. It was this queer, fluttering feeling in his stomach and palms, tickling his insides and making him unable to sit still. It didn't match any symptoms for any sickness he knew.
…
Maybe it was a curse.
…
Was he about to morph into some fearsome creature?
…
Perhaps it was Gryffindor poisoning. Prolonged contact with emotional, do-gooder types was probably hazardous to his health.
…
But it was too late to turn back now, and so Draco bravely offered his mother his arm, strolled out the door and disapparated with the air of a man on a mission. The day, after all, wasn't only for himself, but for his mother, who had raised him and protected him, and deserved a little love in return.
Draco held onto that thought as he led his mother into the tearoom, measuring his steps with the beating of his heart.
…
Andromeda was already sitting at the table. As if she'd sensed her sister's arrival, she stood, turned, and smiled at Narcissa.
Draco looked down at his mother, who had frozen in place, hands over her mouth, staring at Andromeda. Tears were welling in her eyes, and Draco started to panic, thinking that he'd done something wrong.
Before he could say anything, Narcissa gave one short sob, gathered her skirts in her hands, and fairly sprinted across to her older sister to grab her in a fierce hug.
"I'm sorry," she wailed, clutching her sister's waist. "P-p-please forg-give me."
Andromeda was crying as well, but laughing through her tears as she wrapped her arms around Narcissa and hugged her close.
"Of course, Cissy. Of course I will."
…
Draco turned his head to the ceiling, blinking at the lights in a fierce attempt to resist tears.
There was a hand on his arm, and he flinched lightly, looking down at Hermione, who had suddenly materialized right next to him.
"Something in my eye," he muttered by way of explanation.
Hermione looked a little teary herself.
"Me too," she said.
…
Draco had tried to leave Narcissa and Andromeda to talk. He really had tried to give them their space. Unfortunately, when he'd tiptoed by them on his way out, Hermione following, a pale hand had shot out of the mashed-together sisters and pulled him in.
Just like that, he was trapped, tangled with his mother and his aunt, both of them crying happy tears onto his shirt. His mother was saying "Thank you" over and over, and Andromeda was smiling so big that it looked like it hurt.
He felt absolutely and unbelievably loved, and so full of the emotion that his heart felt like it would burst.
…
Hermione tried the same thing- to sneak past them while she thought nobody was looking.
Draco, however, his heart full of emotion, decided that she wasn't going to get away with that. He stretched a little to the left and extended his hand, and caught Hermione's shirt between two fingers. She paused, and that was enough of a distraction to allow Narcissa to grab her as well.
Between them, they reeled her in.
…
It was as if fireworks of poignancy were bombarding Draco.
Really, the moment could not be described.
He had family, and he had friends, and people that he loved were happy in this moment, and in this moment, that was all that really mattered.
…
Eventually, the tears were wiped away, and everyone reluctantly untangled themselves from the hug.
And, of course, Hermione was invited to tea (lunch, now, since they had been mashed together for what was probably an eternity).
…
Hermione didn't even look in his direction when she ordered an herbal tea with honey, though he could have sworn that she smiled.
…
They fell to chatting, of course, as if years and a war hadn't separated them, as if they hadn't stood on different sides of a roughly drawn line.
Andromeda had lost her husband and her daughter, but she had a grandchild to raise. Narcissa cooed over the photographs of Teddy, (she was related to him, after all), offered to babysit if necessary, and then made an artfully embarrassing comment about how she would like grandchildren one of these days.
"No pressure," she smiled at Draco, and then turned her eye on Hermione.
"Have you ever thought about children, dear?"
Draco just about choked on his tea.
…
After a couple hours of chatting, Narcissa and Andromeda took their leave to the Tonks house. Draco and Hermione were entreated to stay and talk to each other a while longer, Hermione was bullied into accepting a dinner invitation, and Narcissa and Andromeda apparated away with a very self-satisfied sounding CRACK.
They stared awkwardly at each other.
"So, er…." Draco started.
Hermione smiled, and raised an eyebrow as a challenge.
"Why don't you come with me?" he suggested.
The challenge vanished. "Where?"
He smirked right back at her. "It's a surprise."
…
She considered it, as he knew she would, and then extended her hand as an acceptance, as he'd also known she would do. Gryffindors never could back down from a dare.
…
Draco paid the proprietor well, offered Hermione his arm, and disapparated with his own smug-sounding CRACK.
...
"Cover your eyes."
"Are you serious?"
"C'mon. Trust me."
…
"Voila."
They were standing in the middle of the Manor library, restored to its former glory. Draco had assisted the house-elves one afternoon in dusting, rearranging, and tossing out any remnants of the Dark Lord. It was now what it was supposed to be- austere and beautiful and filled with knowledge.
"You would have brought me to a library," she said, but her eyes were sparkling.
…
He stood behind her as she studied a shelf of stories, breathing in the scent of her hair and marveling at the feeling of being happy because someone else was.
Placing a hand above her head against the bookshelves, he looked down at her and thought that he could definitely get used to this.
…
A/N:
Hello, all. It's back to school for me, which means that I am now swamped with homework. But, I will do my best to update as often as I can.
To my reviewers:
KodeV: Yes, I think that Narcissa is a character with potential for redemption. So I hope that this chapter meets your approval to start her and Andromeda's mended relationship! (Group hugs for the win). Thanks so much! And I am glad that you've had a better week. Hopefully life is going well for you!
The Silvermoon Wolf: I don't think that I mentioned them too extensively. However, I think that if Draco started to heal, it would eventually spread out from him to his friends, since he's so influential in their circle. You may see more of them later. Thanks for the review!
Draco lover 91: thank you very much! I hope you continue to enjoy it!
Mother Midnight: It's a new style for me- I'm glad you like it. :)
Guest: Everyone needs to let out his or her inner teenage girl once in a while. Thanks for the review!
Jackwe Depp: And here's another one. Thank you!
That's all, folks! See you around!
-Isefyr