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"ASTORIA!" my mother is screaming, and running to me, patting me as if to make sure I'm alright, kissing both my cheeks. And she's crying, and Cissa and Lu are looking utterly bewildered for all of ten seconds, and my father cupping my face and… Merlin, Hyperion Greengrass is crying. Oh, and I might be crying, nothing new.
"Mummy, Daddy!" I say, fairly hysterical at seeing them so unexpectedly. "I'm sorry I ran away! It was… terrible! I was lost, and then I had to do charms! But then… I…" and I'm crying too much to carry on, and then suddenly, someone hands me tea, which in retrospect I'm sure was laced with a calming draught because it sobered me right up.
"Drake… Draco… I… I'm…" I'm stuttering, realizing that he's… Oh Merlin…
"She's you're lost daughter?" exclaims Lu. "She's been right under our noses the entire time! I've… I've been pretending to be a muggle so a witch can…" I think it's the first time I've ever seen him speechless.
"Darling! I'm so glad you're safe! And you look wonderful! I can't wait to meet this gardener!" exclaims my mum.
"That would be me," says Draco, puffing out his chest, and in that moment I realize he too has been hiding his magic, and we were both guilty of the same lies. I guess I'm forgiven and maybe I'll eventually forget the ordeal that was the trauma of my childhood. Probably why I never had to see the Malfoy family again.
"But you're that nasty boy who was so terrible to Ria," says my father with a look of astonishment and there's a loud gasp from the Malfoy parents as they recall the incident. Draco flushes, as he should.
"But you're a pureblood," says my mum at almost the same time. "She said she was marrying a muggle."
"I thought he was a muggle," I say, trying to explain the situation. "It's…. Merlin! Are you really that horrible, snotty, brat that turned me into a ferret?" I say turning to him and whipping my wand out, still unable to believe they are one and the same.
He closes his eyes and visibly gulps as he nods. "Yes," he rasps out, and I can feel all the eyes in the room on us.
"I loathed you!" I say levelly. "I did nothing but dream of revenge every single day I was in that itchy, hairy little body, which was an entire four months, you know. Daphne told her friend Pansy I was the family pet! I made countless trips to the children's ward at St. Mungo's before they figured out a spell that could change me back!" Draco winced as I ranted at him. "I dreamed of the day I could get even, avoiding you in school until I came up with the perfect revenge. Prior to meeting you, the happiest day of my life was the day I heard Professor Moody turned you into a ferret! Even this past year, I've still fantasized about my ultimate revenge! And now you've ruined even that!" As the words tumble out, I realize the perfect revenge would have been throwing his heart at his feet, but if I did that, I would have to tear out my own. I can never… I love him and the past is the past. As I always tell him, I see past it. And now as I look at him, knowing his involvement in the war, I don't see him a bit differently.
"I'm sorry. I was sorry as soon as I did it," he mumbles. "Do your worst, I deserve it."
He looks me in the eye, and looking into his silver eyes, I lose all my steam. Lowering my wand, I turn to Cissa, embarrassed by my behavior.
"I'm so very sorry, Lady Malfoy, Lord Malfoy, Mother, Father. I'm sure you're all very hungry, and I didn't make this dinner so we could stand around and let my warming charms wear off. Let's eat," I say taking Draco's hand and pulling him to the table while everyone looks on in shock. "Mum, Dad, meet my fiancé, Draco Malfoy. We're madly in love."
"What a lovely ring!" my mother exclaims appropriately taking my hand and beaming at me, approval in her eyes. "And what a handsome man he turned out to be." Cissa seems to follow my and my mother's example, cooing over the ring and pretending that the scene didn't happen while Lu, my father, and Draco exchange looks.
"Hurt her again, Malfoy Junior, and I'll turn you into a castrated ferret," says my father, none too quietly and Draco pales. Mr. Malfoy seems to nod, and I want to laugh at the pure craziness of the situation.
"I don't see how I didn't see it before, she looks so much like you, Theia!"
"Yes, but remember my hair darkened up, hers never did. It always stayed that lovely blond!"
"Ohh, remember… ohh!" Cissa is exclaiming, cackling in a very non-Cissa manner. "And we said we should push them together if your daughter looked like a Malfoy and then! It was fate"
I look to Draco, and think, yes it had to have been fate for me to fall in love with him. It's ironic really. But as I squeeze his hand under the table, I can't help but be thankful his platinum hair has darkened to a honey blond and his features matured over the years, much less pointy. Otherwise, I would have recognized him for sure and avada-ed him or something before I realized he was my soul mate. And really, he is.
Over dinner, our mothers make plans for the society wedding of the century, politely forgetting that the Malfoys are somewhat personas non-grata in most circles. My father discretely threatens Draco at least once every few minutes while Mr. Malfoy keeps bringing up my excellent cooking, particularly my blueberry muffins until I've promised four times to keep making them despite not being their housekeeper anymore after today. My mother is very appreciative of my cooking and rightfully seems astounded that I charmed up the meal. There's the embarrassing revelation that I failed my charms owl, twice. Cissa and Lu seem to realize just how much I fibbed when they hired me, but they don't seem to mind and find it all very funny to my embarrassment.
"You simply have to come home and see Helios in the townhouse in London! He has missed you so much and been even more out of sorts than the year you were..."
"The time I was a ferret? Oh, dear, that was quite dreadful for Helios," I say. "I think he dreamed of revenge almost as much as I did. And he isn't hopelessly in love with the perpetrator," I say deviously. Draco is flinching. "I'll be home through the floo in a bit. I just want to say goodnight to my fiancé first."
"Of course dear," says my mum, and I know she'll be waiting by the floo, anxious to say all the things she didn't dare to in front of anyone else.
Cissa and Lucius head upstairs after hugging me goodnight. I'm fairly sure they liked me when I was a muggle housemaid planning to marry their son, but now they are positively over the moon that I'm the pureblood daughter of their best friends with a sizable fortune and the ability to do magic.
Finally alone with Draco, I look into his handsome face. "Did I mention I'm sorry?" he croaks again.
"Once or twice," I say with a grin. "I love you. The past is the past, and all we have left is a bright future together. But if you ever turn me into a ferret again, prepare to die."
"I'll keep that in mind," he laughs, finally accepting his forgiveness. "I love you, witch or muggle, rich or poor, housekeeper or lawyer, ferret or human."
"Well I only feel any love for you in human form. It's much easier to kiss you too," I say kissing him like I've been wanting to for hours, despite everything.
"You're right, not nearly the height difference," he laughs. "But I want to show you something, he says pulling out his wand."
And suddenly, a patronus is bouncing around us, and I'm looking at it and I realize….
"The first time I cast a patronus, it was the only charm I had ever gotten to work for me," I say watching the animal. "And the memory I used was a combination of a real and a fake one. The real one being when I finally returned to human form after being a ferret for almost a year, and the fake one being what I imagined it looked like when you were turned into a ferret my third year," I say laughing and casting my own patronus. The two white ferrets danced around each other and I kissed my own ferret, in human form of course.
When I finally floo home, my mother is waiting for me, bouncing up and down. She rushes over to me and hugs me tightly. "I'm so glad to have you home, and I'm so sorry for everything, especially… trying to arrange your life."
"It's alright, all is forgiven mummy," I say crying again. "I love Draco more than anything, and I know you just wanted to help me find love."
"He's an even better catch than Montressor and Antares La'Blanc put together. Just don't tell Daphne!"
"She'll know as soon as she hears I'm marrying Malfoy," I say with a wry grin, knowing Daphne won't be jealous, but she'll be excited to rub it in Parkinson's face. "She loves Antares. She'll be happy for me."
"I'm proud of you. I've always been proud of you, and I haven't done a good job of showing it. Marrying Draco or not, I'm proud. You're a good lawyer, and a good daughter, and you'll make a good wife and mother," she says, and I'm crying all over again.
"Sorry," I say wiping my eyes. "I'm just… today's been so emotional… it's been an emotional two months."
"Yes, yes, how far along are you?" asks my mother pointedly looking at my stomach.
"I'm not!" I exclaim, totally shocked and appalled at my mother's insinuation.
"I'm not blind or stupid, Astoria, and I'm your mother. It's very obvious you've been intimate with Draco," she says with a roll of her eyes.
"I've been using the charm regularly," I snap angrily.
"Then you must not have gotten that much better at charms," she says with a smirk as my face falls. "It's certainly not one hundred percent effective and if you were casting it…" She's laughing and hugging me but I'm fairly sure I'm pale as a ghost. "We'll aim for a late June wedding," she says. "You shouldn't even be showing by then."
"Showing what?" asks my father casually walking into the room followed by Helios. And I want to run to him, but I'm suddenly terrified my mother is right. In fact, I'm almost sure she is. Merlin's saggy left…
"Tori, you okay?" asks Helios, coming up and giving me a giant hug. "You're scaring me, say something."
"Fuck."
"I KNEW IT!" laughs my mother, dancing around. And frankly I'm surprised she's this pleased. I'm seven months away from having a bastard child if my calculations are any good. And I was always better at Arithmancy than charms. "Cissa is going to be over the moon!"
"I… I… No… I suck at charms," I say bursting into tears for no apparent reason, which seems to scare Helios even more than I already have, and cause my father's face to turn purple.
"I'm going to murder him!" he roars, throwing his brandy into the fireplace, causing it to flare up as he digs through his pockets for his wand.
"No!" I exclaim. "I… Just, go take mum to bed and be happy for us, daddy." And he seems to sag, almost in relief he doesn't have to exact any revenge in his inebriated state and allows my mum to drag him off to bed.
"So what the hell is going on?" demands Helios as we are finally alone. And I launch a long winded explanation of what has happened since we parted, leaving out one tiny detail.
"And so, now you're having a baby due in December, and mum is planning a wedding for June?" asks Helios, clearly shocked.
"Yes, that's the recent plan," I say with a grin.
"Who is this prick? I think he has a date with the end of my wand for knocking up my sister!"
"NO!" I exclaim, pulling my twin into a hug. "I love him Helios."
"He still deserves a little something for this mess," he says petulantly just as the fire roars to life. I look up and groan.
"Astoria?" says Draco's face from the fireplace. "I'm coming through." And with a flash of green, he's walking through the parlor.
"Oh, hello, I'm Draco Malfoy," he says holding out his hand to Helios.
"Draco Malfoy, you say?" says Helios rolling back his shirtsleeves and standing to greet the unsuspecting Draco.
"Yes, and you are…" and then Helios is punching him before I can shout out a warning.
"Helios Greengrass," he says standing over the fallen Draco. "I seem to recall you turning my twin sister into a ferret."
"Err… yes… guilty," mumbles Draco, clutching his jaw.
"Get back up, I want to hit you again," demands Helios with all the pureblood authority he's capable of.
"You can't!" I say getting to my feet.
"And why the bloody fuck not!" demands Helios, obviously furious and gleeful to finally exact some sort of revenge on Draco.
"He's kinda my fiancé," I say quietly.
"GET BACK UP!" demands Helios again, and I panic.
"You already hit me," says Draco, obviously a bit annoyed. "You nearly broke my jaw!"
"I'll break it this time you bastard! It's no less than you deserve!"
"I was eight!" exclaims Draco, patience run out as he gets to his feet.
"Not when you knocked up my sister!" exclaims Helios winding up to hit him again, but before he can, Draco's already pitching headfirst toward the floor in a dead faint.
"Look what you did!" I exclaim.
"He didn't know, did he?" says Helios, looking sheepish. I roll my eyes and shake my head as I levitate Draco to the couch.
"Go to bed, I'll see you in the morning," I say to my brother, brushing the hair from Draco's face, and using my wand to heal his broken nose from the faint.
So hope you liked it. Review review please! Thanks for your thoughts and inspiration and encouragement! They mean so much! Ellie