On March 14th, Professor McGonagall asks me if I'm going home for the Easter Holidays; Easter is April 4th this year, so the Holidays will begin on March 27th and end April 11th. I tell her I will be going home for the holidays and then immediately write to Mrs. McGreggor so she can meet me at the train station in London. When I see Draco later that day, I ask him if he's going home for the holidays, and he tells me that if I'm going home, he is; he says he has no reason to stay at school unless I'm there. As Easter Break approaches, the teachers begin to pile on more homework in preparation for the rapidly approaching exams. My private class with Professor Snape is the only one in which my work load seems to be getting lighter; probably because I won't have an exam for his class. Since all this extra homework eliminates most of our free time together, Draco and I start taking our homework out onto the school grounds and completing it together; if it's raining we go to the Library. I have to playfully remind Draco several times each day to concentrate on his homework; all he seems to want to do is snog. All the added stress and work are taking their toll on me; I'm waking up extremely tired and achy all over almost every day now, and have been for the past couple of weeks.
By March 22nd, I'm beginning to wonder how much more stress I can take, but luckily for me there are only a few days left until break begins. When classes end on March 26th, I go up to my room and pack, throwing all my books in my trunk with all my other things and vowing not to touch them for at least 2 days. I spend the rest of that afternoon with Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle on the edge of the Black Lake. "What am I going to do without you for two whole weeks?" Draco asks me. My heart sinks when he says this; I hadn't even realized going home meant not seeing Draco for two weeks. "I'm sorry", he says upon seeing the sad look on my face, "I didn't mean to upset you". I lean my head onto his shoulder and he wraps his arms around me. "Maybe you can come and visit me", he says, "My parents are dying to meet you anyway". I sit my head up and look at him. "They are?" I ask. "Of course", he says, "They wanted to meet you at the train station tomorrow but I told them Mrs. McGreggor would be waiting so you'd probably have to leave as soon as we arrived". "Oh, well maybe I can visit then", I say quietly.
For the first time since I first started dating Draco, I feel nervous. A little while later we walk up to the Great Hall for dinner, and immediately after dinner Draco walks me up to Gryffindor tower; I've decided to go to bed early because I'm exhausted. The next morning I get dressed and lug my trunk through the portrait hole. Draco is standing just outside, waiting for me, and he gives me a kiss and says, "Hello beautiful". He refuses to let me pull my own trunk down into the Great Hall and takes the handle from me. We walk down to breakfast together holding hands; he pulls my trunk along behind us since he's already set his down in the entrance hall. When we reach the entrance hall, he sits my trunk next to his, and we enter the Great Hall and part to our separate tables. As I eat, Professor Snape walks up and hands me a large vial filled with enough of my potion to last me the entire Easter Break. After breakfast, all the students who are leaving for Easter scurry down to the carriages; Crabbe, Goyle, Draco, and I share one. The four of us find a compartment together when we get to the train, but Draco has to go sit at the front of the train with the other prefects for the first part of the train ride. While he's up front, I chat with Crabbe and Goyle. When the conversation gets boring, I break my promise to myself and pull my potions book out of my trunk and get started on my mountain of homework. About 30 minutes later, Draco comes back into the compartment and I promptly put my homework away.
He sits down beside me, wraps his arm around me, and pulls me close to him, and we spend the majority of the ride to London snogging and talking about how much we're going to miss each other. He promises to write to me every day, and I promise him the same thing in return. A few minutes before we arrive in London, Draco has more prefect duties he has to perform, so he kisses me on the cheek and goes back to the front of the train. He's still not back by the time we arrive at Platform 9 ¾, and though I was hoping to kiss him one more time before parting with him for two weeks, I know Mrs. McGreggor will be waiting for me. So I tell Crabbe and Goyle to tell him "Goodbye" for me and lug my trunk out of the compartment, off the train, and onto the platform. I walk all around the platform looking for Mrs. McGreggor, towing my trunk along behind me. Just as I start thinking it would probably be a better idea to stand in one place and wait for her to find me, I hear Draco's voice calling out my name. I let my hand off the handle to my trunk and turn around to find him running up the platform towards me, looking anxious.
He finally reaches me, out of breath, and says, "You can't leave without saying goodbye", before wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me close to him. He moves his other hand to my chin and pulls me into a long, passionate kiss. Like we normally do, we get caught up in the kiss and it turns into a full-blown snogging session right there in the middle of the platform. I can feel dozens of pairs of eyes on me, but I don't care. We're interrupted in a moment, however, when a woman's high-pitched voice says, "Excuse me. EXCUSE ME. You're blocking the walkway!" Embarrassed, we stop kissing and Draco grabs my trunk and we step out of the walkway. The woman gives us a stern look as she passes, and we can't help but laugh once she's out of earshot. "So where's Mrs. McGreggor?" Draco asks me. "I don't know", I say, looking around, "Maybe she's running a little late. Aren't you supposed to be helping the first years?". "They'll be fine", Draco replies, "I just had to see you one more time before you left". "No", I say firmly, "You need to get back over there and help them".
"Ok", he says, and he leans down and pulls me into a soft kiss. When he pulls his face away from mine, he notices the single tear rolling down my left cheek. "Oh no, darling, don't cry", he says, "You'll break my heart", and he smiles at me as he lifts his right hand and wipes the tear away with his index finger. I smile back up at him and say, "Well, you'd better get back to the first years", to which he reluctantly responds "Ok". He bends down and pulls me into a tight hug before giving me one final kiss. "Goodbye beautiful", he says. "Bye", I say, and I watch him walk back through the crowd of people on the platform, turning to look back at me every few steps. Watching him walk away is hard; it almost feels like my heart's breaking, even though I know I'll see him again soon. Just after he's passed beyond my sight, I hear my name being called from somewhere to my left. I turn to see Mrs. McGreggor walking through the crowd towards me, and I grab my trunk and run up to her. I give her an enormous hug when I reach her, and we walk to our usual bathroom stall and disapparate. We talk the entire time we're walking down the road to the orphanage, and when we reach the orphanage we walk inside to find Ms. Fitzpatrick up to her elbows in dirty dishes. When she sees us, she immediately drops the dish she's scrubbing and runs over to me, giving me a wet, soapy hug. Then she dries her hands and she, Mrs. McGreggor, and I all sit at the kitchen table and talk about how school's going.
Once I've finished giving the two of them all the details about how my classes are going, Mrs. McGreggor speaks up. "Jayde", she says, "I couldn't help but notice that Draco wasn't with you on the platform. Is everything alright?" My heart flip-flops when she says his name, and she and Ms. Fitzpatrick give each other an apprehensive look. "Everything's great", I say immediately, "He's a school prefect so when the train stops he has to help all the first years". "Oooh, a prefect?" Ms. Fitzpatrick asks excitedly. I smile at her and nod. She sits up straighter in her chair and places her hands on the table eagerly. "Ooh Jayde", she says, "You've got to tell us all about him! What's he like? Is he handsome? Has he snogged you yet?" I blush and look away as soon as she asks this last question, and she and Mrs. McGreggor burst into giggling fits. "Oooh, he has!" they both say, more to each other than to me. "Well come on!" Mrs. McGreggor says, "Answer her! What does he look like? Do you have a picture of him?". "Um...no, actually", I say, immediately realizing that I hadn't thought of taking a picture of him and wishing I had. I describe Draco to them and tell him how wonderful he's been since we started dating, and they both agree that he sounds very handsome and that they'd like to meet him. After about an hour, I leave Ms. Fitzpatrick and Mrs. McGreggor in the kitchen talking and walk up to my bedroom to get settled in. I take Draco's cloak, which he still hasn't asked for yet, out of my trunk and lays it on my nightstand.
I only brought it with me because I knew I'd miss him terribly and thought that if I could just smell his cloak, it'd make me feel better if I got lonely. I flop down on my bed; I'm exhausted. Just before I fall asleep, however, Ms. Fitzpatrick comes in and tells me Mrs. McGreggor's about to leave, so I get off the bed. When I do, she sees Draco's cloak lying there and asks me what it is. When I tell her, her face lights up and she runs over and snatches it off the nightstand. She quickly walks down to Mrs. McGreggor with it and says, "Oh Eva, look! He gave her his cloak!" They both burst into giggling fits again, making me blush. I take the cloak back from Ms. Fitzpatrick and give Mrs. McGreggor a hug; she says she's going to come back in a couple of days. Then I go back up to my room and place Draco's cloak back on my nightstand before collapsing onto my bed and taking a two-hour nap. I don't wake up until Ms. Fitzpatrick comes in and says lunch is ready, and I immediately get up and head to the kitchen; I'm starved. After lunch is finished, I start helping Ms. Fitzpatrick wash the mountain of dishes by hand before realizing that I'm 17 years old now and can use magic at home. I tell Ms. Fitzpatrick I think I hear some children arguing in the living room, and when she leaves the kitchen I check to make sure no one else is around before pulling my wand from my pocket and quickly cleaning all the dishes the easy way. When Ms. Fitzpatrick comes back into the kitchen she stares at the sink for a moment before looking at me with a puzzled look on her face. "I finished the dishes", I say, smiling at her. "Well thank you, dear", she says looking relieved, and she pulls me into a hug. I spend the rest of my day outside working on my homework; Ms. Fitzpatrick occasionally comes outside to watch me, fascinated. That night after dinner she and I sit around in the living room, listening to the radio and singing along.
Around 10 o'clock I decide to go to bed, and I don't wake up until around 10 in the morning when I hear a faint tapping on my window. I open my eyes to see an owl perched on the window sill, with a letter stuck in his beak. Panicking, I jump out of bed and run over to the window, trying to get the letter from the owl before any of the other children see him; they've seen owls around before, but never with letters in their beaks. I open the window and take the letter from the owl, and he flies into my room and comes to rest on my nightstand. Ignoring the owl, I immediately recognize the neat, slanted handwriting on the outside of the letter as Draco's, and I open it earnestly. I smile when I read the first line, which is his usual greeting of 'Hello, beautiful', and continue reading the rest of the letter. He says he misses me and asks how my holiday has been so far. Then he says that his parents are anxious to meet me; they've told him to invite me to stay at their house for the entire last week of Easter break, if that's okay with Ms. Fitzpatrick. He tells me to let him know as soon as I can so we can make arrangements for me to go over there, and that he really hopes I can come. I close the letter and take a deep breath in. I'm nervous enough about meeting Draco's parents, but an entire week at their house? That's terrifying! It's one thing to spend a few hours with them the first time we meet; there's not but so many embarrassing things that can happen in a few hours, and only a small chance of me doing or saying something that could cause them not to like me. But if I go over there for a whole week, I'm almost guaranteed to leave either embarrassed or with them hating me!
For a moment I seriously consider not even asking Ms. Fitzpatrick and just telling Draco she said no, but then I start thinking about Draco and how much I miss him, how badly I'd like to see him. I decide to talk it over with Ms. Fitzpatrick and see what she thinks, and as I turn to walk downstairs to talk to her, she walks through the doorway and into my room. "Finally awake?" she asks cheerfully. I nod, and she says she tried to wake me up for breakfast, but I wouldn't budge. I tell her I'm still worn out from all the extra work the teachers have been piling on, and then she asks what's in my hand. I tell her it's a letter from Draco, as well as what it says. When I've finished, she asks if I want to go spend next week with them, to which I respond, "I don't know". She tells me to come sit beside her on my bed, and we spend the next half hour discussing the situation. She tells me that it's completely up to me; if I want to go, its okay with her. I tell her that I want to spend as much time with her as I can. She tells me that she and I have all the time in the world to spend together once I finish my schooling in June, so that shouldn't stop me from going. Then I tell her that I want to see Draco but I'm nervous about meeting his parents, and she spends the next little while trying to convince me that everything will be fine, and that I should go. Talking about all this makes me nervous; my stomach is twisted into hundreds of tiny little knots.
As we keep talking, I start feeling worse; after a few minutes I feel nauseous. Noticing that I've stopped talking and I'm no longer looking at her, Ms. Fitzpatrick looks at me worriedly and asks if I'm okay. I don't answer her, and my eyes widen as I realize I'm not just nauseous, I'm actually going to vomit. I cover my mouth with my hand and jump off my bed, running to the nearest bathroom as quickly as I can. I reach the toilet just in time, and Ms. Fitzpatrick runs into the bathroom behind me and rubs my back and holds my hair back as I vomit. When I finish, she hands me a piece of toilet paper to wipe my mouth with, and asks if I'm alright as I stand up. I nod my head, and she says, "Wow. You really are nervous about meeting them, aren't you?" I nod my head and she pulls me into a hug. "You're in love with him, aren't you?" she asks me. "I don't know", I reply, "How do you know when you're in love with someone?" "Well", she begins, "Do you get excited when you think about him? Are you happy when you're with him?". "Yes", I reply. "Do you feel comfortable with him? Can you tell him anything?" she continues. "Yes", I reply again. "When you think about your future, do you hope he's in it?" she asks. "Yes", I reply.
"Well then I think you're probably in love with him", she says. "So is that why I'm so terrified to meet his parents? Is that why I'm afraid they won't like me?" I ask. "Probably", she says, "But then again you've always been a fairly shy person. But trust me, Jayde; you have nothing to worry about. If you make Draco as happy as he makes you, then they're bound to love you. Personally, I think you should go, and I also think you should tell Draco how you feel; tell him that you love him. But this is your decision. What you've got to decide is which feeling is stronger: your nervousness about meeting Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy, or your desire to see Draco. Now, you go to your room and lie back down and think about that, and I'll bring you up some breakfast". "Ok", I reply, and I walk from the bathroom back to my room. I don't lie down at first, however, I grab my toothbrush and walk back to the bathroom and brush my teeth, to get the nasty vomit taste out of my mouth. Then I go back to my room and lie down on the bed until Ms. Fitzpatrick walks in with a tray of food. I sit up and take the tray from her, and she sits on the end of my bed and talks to me while I eat. When I finish eating she takes the tray from me and walks out of my room, telling me to get some rest.
I lie back down on my bed for a while before falling back asleep, and when I wake up I just lie there, thinking about what Ms. Fitzpatrick said. Deciding that I really want to see Draco, I sit up and take a piece of parchment and a quill from my trunk. I write a letter to Draco, telling him that I miss him, too, and that Ms. Fitzpatrick says it's okay if I spend the last week of break with him and his parents. Then I give the letter to the owl, which is still waiting patiently on my nightstand, and he flies out through the still-open window. Although I have decided to go spend the week with Draco, I have also decided I simply can't tell him I love him…What if he doesn't love me back? What if he doesn't want me to love him, or thinks it's too soon for me to love him? I decide I'm just going to wait until he tells me he loves me. The next few days pass in a blur; I spend most of my time either with Ms. Fitzpatrick and Mrs. McGreggor or trying to finish my homework so I won't have to do it while I'm at Draco's. Draco is thrilled that I'm coming to stay with him next week; we've decided that Mrs. McGreggor and I will meet Draco and his parents at King's Cross Station on the Monday after Easter, since I'm not skilled enough at apparating yet to apparate to a whole other country by myself. Ms. Fitzpatrick wants to meet Draco, also, but she won't be able to get away from the orphanage, so Mrs. McGreggor promises to take a picture of Draco and I and bring it back to her. I'm still very nervous about the situation; my nerves bother me to the point of vomiting twice more that week and then again that Monday morning. I dress nicely, wearing a pair of black dress pants and a lavender shirt, not wanting to wear jeans to meet Draco's parents for the first time. I finish packing and lock my trunk before pulling it downstairs. I quickly gulp down some breakfast, and Mrs. McGreggor arrives as I'm eating.
Shaking, I give Ms. Fitzpatrick a hug and follow Mrs. McGreggor out onto the lawn a little while later, dragging my trunk along behind me. When we reach our 'apparition spot', I take Mrs. McGreggor's arm, and when I open my eyes we're standing inside the girl's bathroom in King's Cross station once again. We walk over to the barrier to Platform 9 ¾, our predetermined meeting place, and wait for Draco and his parents. After 5 minutes, I begin to wonder where they are; we were supposed to meet at exactly 10 o'clock. I get paranoid, thinking that perhaps Draco's parents have changed their minds about wanting me to come spend the week with them. A few moments later, Mrs. McGreggor, who is standing to my left, turns and looks behind me.
Thinking that she's just looking around to try to pick Draco out of the crowd, I keep staring off in the other direction, but then I smell his cologne and smile. "Hello, beautiful", he whispers in my ear, and my heart skips a beat at the sound of his smooth, deep voice. He reaches his right arm around me and hands me a bunch of flowers; I gasp as I realize what they are. Somehow, Draco's managed to get his hands on some purple orchids. "They're beautiful!" I say excitedly, releasing my trunk and taking them from him and raising them to my nose, sniffing them. I normally love the way they smell, but now it makes me stomach churn. I lower the flowers from my nose and try not to let Draco see that the smell's bothering me. Still clutching the flowers, I turn around and look up into his smiling face and those beautiful grey eyes that I've missed so much. Draco quickly wraps his arms around my waist and lifts me into the air, pulling me close to him and twirling me around twice. I wrap my arms around his neck still clutching the flowers and smile at him, and he leans in and kisses me passionately. We continue to kiss for a moment before he sets me back down on the ground and pulls me close to him. "I've missed you so much he says quietly, brushing my cheek with his hand. "I've missed you, too", I reply, beaming up at him.
Suddenly, a man's smooth voice speaks up from somewhere to my left. "Well, Draco", the man says, "Aren't you finally going to introduce us to your girlfriend?" I look to my left to see who spoke, and as soon as I see the man I know he can't be anyone other than Draco's father; they look just alike. Standing beside him is a tall, slender, blonde-haired and blue-eyed woman who is well dressed and who I assume is Draco's mother. "Oh, yeah", Draco says distractedly, taking me by the hand and pulling me over to where his parents are standing. "Mum, Dad", he says, looking up at them, "This is Jayde". He looks over at me as he says this, smiling at me. I look up at his parents for the first time and say a quick, "Hello". His father extends his hand, which I take nervously. "Hello, Jayde", he says quietly, raising my hand to his lips and kissing it, "I am Lucius Malfoy, Draco's father, and this is my wife, Narcissa", he says, indicating Draco's mother as he does so. At this, he releases my hand, and I turn to look at his wife. "Hello, dear", she says, smiling down at me. I expect her to extend her hand for me to shake, but instead she walks up to me and pulls me into a hug. "Draco's told us so much about you", she says, "I'm glad to meet you at last".
When she releases me from the hug, she puts her hands on the top of my arms just below the shoulder, appraising me, and says, "My God, you're even more beautiful than Draco described". I blush and glance over at Draco, who is positively beaming. When she removes her hands from my arms I turn around and summon Mrs. McGreggor to my side. She walks up, smiling and dragging my trunk along with her, and I introduce her to Draco, who in turn introduces her to his parents. They all exchange handshakes and Mrs. McGreggor tells Draco that she's delighted to finally meet him after hearing so much about him. When I see the camera in Mrs. McGreggor's hand I remember that she's got to take a picture for Ms. Fitzpatrick. "Draco", I say, "Ms. Fitzpatrick wants a picture of us". "Ok", he says, "We'll take it over there by the platform", and he takes my hand and leads me back to the barrier to platform 9 ¾, Mrs. McGreggor following us. I feel awkward taking a picture with him right there in front of his parents, but he quickly turns to the side and pulls me close to him, tickling my side and telling me to smile at Mrs. McGreggor. I'm unsure when she's taken the picture because her camera doesn't have a flash on it, but then she lowers the camera and Draco and I stop posing.
"I want one of those!" Narcissa says to Mrs. McGreggor, and Mrs. McGreggor promises to send her one once they're developed. Then Mrs. McGreggor continues, "Well, I suppose I'd better be going, I've got to get back up to the school". Draco and his parents all shake her hand again and bid her farewell, and I pull her into a hug. "Have fun and make sure you write", she whispers in my ear, and I nod my head, assuring her that I will. Then she gives me a big thumbs up, indicating her approval of Draco, and she releases me and turns, walking away. I watch her walk for a moment, and then Draco's mother says, "Jayde, if it's ok with you we're going shopping for a little while before we go home". "Yes ma'am", I say politely, turning and smiling up at her. "Draco", she continues, "Take Jayde's trunk and the flowers you got her to the house and put them in her room so you don't have to lug them all around Diagon Alley. You can meet us there". "Ok", Draco says, and he grabs the handle to my trunk and the flowers. "I'll be right back", he says, and he kisses me on the cheek.
I smile up at him and he walks off through the crowd. Narcissa walks up to me and takes my arm. "Come on, dear", she says smiling down at me, and she leads me through the crowd and out the front doors of the station. We walk down the sidewalk and into a small alley; Lucius is walking on Narcissa's other side. They quickly turn, making sure there's no one else in the alley, and we disapparate with a pop. We land in the center of Diagon Alley, and several people stop and stare as Narcissa leads me through the crowd. Lucius steps beside her and whispers something in her ear before kissing her on the cheek and walking away. "Lucius has some business to attend to", Narcissa says to me, "So you and I are going shopping. I have a luncheon coming up with the Minister's Wife, so I need to borrow your opinion to help me pick out a dress". "Ok", I say quietly, and she leads me into an upscale clothing store. As soon as we step over the threshold, the shop's owner comes running up to us. "Narcissa! So wonderful to see you! And who is this?" she asks, indicating me as she does so.
"This is my son's girlfriend, Jayde", Narcissa says. "Oh hello dear!" she says, shaking my hand, "Oh my goodness, Draco got himself a pretty one, didn't he?" "Indeed", Narcissa says smiling, "Now, I have a luncheon coming up and I need a dress". "Oh, I got a new dress in last week, it's absolutely gorgeous, you have to see it!" the shop keeper says. She runs to the back of the store and comes back carrying a full-length halter top dress that has black lace laid over top of the emerald green satin. "Isn't it gorgeous?" she asks, showing Narcissa both the back and front of it. "Indeed", Narcissa says, "I believe I'll go try it on", and she releases my arm and takes the dress from the shop keeper and walks to the back of the store with it. "Jayde", she calls out to me, "You can sit here on one of the sofas while you wait". I walk to the back of the store and sit on one of the sofas near the full-length mirrors, and a few moments later Narcissa comes out of the fitting room. The dress looks absolutely stunning on her. "What do you think, dear?" she asks me.
"You look amazing Mrs. Malfoy", I say immediately, and the shop keeper agrees. "Oh Jayde, I love you already!" Narcissa says excitedly, beaming down at me, "And by the way, call me Narcissa", she says. "It does look good on me, doesn't it?" she continues, admiring herself in one of the full-length mirrors while turning on the spot. "Yes. I think this one will do", she finishes, and she walks back into the fitting room and changes back into the dress she'd been wearing previously. She comes out and hands the dress to the shop keeper, who immediately runs to the counter and begins boxing it up. When we reach the counter, Narcissa pays for the dress and takes the box from the woman before taking my arm again and leading me from the store. She starts leading me back through the crowded alley and a few moments later we're standing in another shop, looking at Diamond earrings and necklaces to go with Narcissa's new dress. As we're standing there at the counter, Draco walks up behind us and slips his arms around my waist, kissing me on the cheek. Once Narcissa's picked out the jewelry to wear with her new dress, we leave the shop and Lucius rejoins us. Once we're all reunited, Narcissa says, "Very well, then, it's time to go home", and she and Lucius disapparate. Draco extends his arm for me to take, and as soon as I do we disapparate as well.