Chapter 20 - Family and Honor
Leaving Azkaban was like walking down an endless dark tunnel. The prison had been designed to feel hopeless, and despite the fact that he was only ever there to visit family, Draco couldn't help but feel just as trapped as the prisoners.
He walked silently down the corridor, the cells on either side of him obscured by the two Aurors escorting him. Once he had made his way out of the dark brick building, he gave the Aurors only a brief nod before disapparating on the spot.
He appeared on the towering doorstep of Malfoy Manor, and for the first time in hours, allowed himself to relax slightly. He ran his hand through his hair and sighed. Every visit to his father seemed to be more difficult than the last. Their experiences during and after the war had been so different that talking to him was like talking to a very aggressive stranger. Draco desperately wished he could tell him everything that had happened over the past four years, but his father never seemed to want to listen. Every visit was treated as an opportunity to convince Draco to abandon what he had built and return to the old ways.
Draco knew that Lucius could never understand that in this new era, the Malfoy name was respected in a way that it never had been before. He just wished that his father could understand that Draco's visits were no longer motivated by love, but by a sense of duty to his mother. It had been her last wish before she had left for France, and Draco honored it, despite how trying it was.
Stepping through the door, Draco hung up his traveling cloak and stared at the high, arching ceilings for a moment before making his way towards the drawing room. He had totally remodeled it after the war, turning into a far more welcoming space than it had ever been during his childhood. Obviously, he couldn't have allowed it to stand as it was. Too much had happened there that needed to be erased entirely.
It was here that he found his wife, curled up on a sofa underneath one of the enormous glass windows, sunlight illuminating her figure. He smiled as he stood in the door, watching her without saying a word. She was totally oblivious to the world around her, the book in her hands keeping her attention focused.
"Is it any good?" Draco asked, moving forward. Hermione looked up at him and moved so that he could sit down next to her. Once he had, she pushed her frame into his, resting her shoulder on his chest.
"It's excellent," she said. "I can't believe half of the stuff that's in here really happened."
Draco pulled the book from her and examined the cover.
FAMILY AND HONOR: The Story of the Redemption Syndicate
by Theodore Nott
The cover art was a photo of the outside of the Hog's Head after the Battle of Hogwarts. Despite the fact that Draco had seen the damage in person and had helped repair the bar with Theo, he felt that the photo was one of the few images from the war that really did justice to just how violent it had been. The front of the building had been practically annihilated, and the smoke which curled up from the ruins moved hypnotically on the book jacket.
"He tried to tell the most exciting stories," Draco shrugged, turning the book over to find Theo's professional headshot smiling out at him. "It wasn't nearly as exciting as he probably makes it out to be. I've told you that much."
"I think it's just his skill as a writer that makes it so good," Hermione said. "He talks about bartending for an entire chapter, and it's still the most suspenseful thing I've ever read in my life."
Draco smirked. "Does he mention his rampant alcoholism?"
"He's not an alcoholic, Draco! Honestly, if Astoria heard you say that-!"
He laughed and kissed her forehead. "I know, I know. I'll only tell him he's an addict to his face."
She groaned dramatically, but her eyes sparkled with mirth. "Merlin. Is this the reason you agreed to hold the release party here? Did you just want an excuse to torment him while drunk?"
"Well, to be perfectly honest, we both thought it was going to flop," Draco replied. Of course, this wasn't true, and he was well aware that Hermione knew it. He had always known that the book would be a best-seller. After the war, the exploits of the Syndicate had become very well known. Draco, Theo, Astoria and Blaise had done dozens of interviews in which they had discussed the Syndicate. All of them had thought about doing something a bit more thorough, but they had agreed that it was Theo's tale to tell, and had left it for him. When he had given Draco the rough layout of the book, Draco had read it in an hour. After that, he had been certain it was going to be a hit. He had talked about it nonstop, much to Hermione's amusement.
"Are you going to help set up for tonight?"
"I'm not really sure what there is to set up," Draco shrugged. "We just have to clear out the ballroom. That isn't hard."
She stared at him coyly. "You've already done it, haven't you?"
"An astute observation," he responded.
She fell silent as Draco continued to flip through the book. He noticed that there was a chapter that appeared to be dedicated to his arrival at the Hog's Head. He didn't like thinking about that more than he had to. His life could have been much shorter if he had made a different choice that night.
"How was your father?" she asked.
Draco grimaced. "Same as always. I'm shocked that prison hasn't wiped away his ability to make me feel like a failure."
"He's jealous," she asserted confidently. "You got what he always had to pretend he had - respect."
"I know," Draco replied, "but that doesn't make it any easier. I wish I didn't have to see him."
"Do you want me to go with you next time?"
Draco thought for a second, and then shook his head. It wasn't as though he didn't want her there with him. The support she gave him every day was more than needed in that hellhole. However, Lucius was Draco's burden to bear. Hermione's experiences with the old Malfoy line had been negative enough as it was.
"It's fine," he said slowly. She seemed to understand what he meant, and the next few hours passed easily as the two of them spent the time together. Draco had often wondered why the time seemed to move faster when he was with her. He suspected his perception had been changed by the war, and by what he had seen happen to his friends. Every second he could spend with Hermione was invaluable to him, and thus these moments seemed far more fleeting. The greatest realization he'd ever had was when he understood for the first time that he would get to be with her for the rest of his life.
As evening fell, Draco made sure that the ballroom was truly prepared for the festivities. Aberforth had agreed to bartend, and the old man showed up promptly at 8:00 to help Draco stock the bar and polish off the tables on the sides of the hall.
"Have you ever thought that maybe you have too much bloody house for one person?" Aberforth demanded sullenly as they worked.
"Never," Draco chuckled airily. "You brought this upon yourself."
Aberforth sighed. "This is the last time I offer to help you with anything."
"And here I was, about to offer you a job as my personal bartender."
"That seems a bit out of your range. I'm used to Theo making insane offers, not you."
"You know, Aberforth," a voice from the end of the room called, "I think 'insane' is a bit harsh."
Draco looked up to find Theo standing at the opposite end of the ballroom. Astoria stood by his side, but wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention to Draco. She was talking to Hermione, only looking up as Draco moved in and hugged his best friend.
"Good to see you, mate," Theo said.
"Same goes for you," Draco laughed. Moving away from Theo, he crouched down slightly to give his friend's wife a hug. "Good to see you too, Astoria."
"This place looks wonderful!" Astoria exclaimed delightedly. "How much of this did you do?"
"This is all him," Hermione smiled.
"She's being modest," Draco smirked. "She designed the layout and picked tables. I'm just executing the vision." He gave Hermione a wink, and she stuck her tongue out at him. Theo's eyes fell to the wand sticking out of one of Draco's pockets. The polished red oak shone in the light from the candles hanging in midair.
"Still treating you alright, then?" Theo asked.
Draco pulled out the wand and spun it between his fingers. Sparks flew from the tip and hung in the air like miniature stars. "Yes, surprisingly enough. It's quite finicky, but I've never been one to turn down a challenge of any size."
"Oh, I love this game!" Theo grinned. "I challenge you to call Potter the greatest wizard of all time in your speech tonight."
Draco froze. "Sorry, speech? What speech?"
"Oh, Godric," Astoria sighed. "Theo, did you not tell him he's supposed to speak tonight?"
Theo scratched the back of his neck nervously. "I thought I mentioned it."
"You always find new and unique ways to make my life difficult," Draco noted dryly.
"Just wait until I have kids," Theo chuckled, looking relieved that Draco wasn't angry. "They're going to call you 'Uncle D' and I'm going to pay them to write all over your walls in permanent ink."
"How the ruddy hell do you know what permanent-? Wait a minute…" Draco turned to his wife, who was blushing sheepishly. "You bought him permanent markers?!" He had only learned about them a year ago, when looking for something that wrote smoother than a quill. It had been Hermione who had bought them for him, and it followed that she might also have bought them for Theo.
"They were a present!" Hermione laughed. "You can't exactly sign many autographs with a quill, Draco!"
"Actually," Draco said suddenly, turning back to Theo, "I'm more concerned about the 'Uncle D' stuff. You aren't serious about that, are you?"
Theo turned to his wife. "Whaddya think?"
Astoria shrugged. "I like it."
Draco looked on with horror. "You wouldn't dare."
"Just give the speech," Theo said, clapping Draco on the back, "and I won't blackmail your sensibilities."
"Is Blaise coming?"
Theo nodded. "He said he would, and I trust him. Despite how reclusive he's become since… well, anyway, I know he'll be here. Now, back to your speech-"
"What am I supposed to say?"
"You could praise me a lot," Theo noted.
"You want me to lie?"
"Oh, piss off."
The party was nothing short of spectacular. Just an hour after Draco had completed the final touches to the decour, the ballroom was filled with family, friends, and various other members of magical society. Draco drifted in and out of various conversations, making sure he kept his eye on Theo to ensure that he wasn't getting overwhelmed by the attention. He knew that his friend had never expected success like this, and that it would take some getting used to. It was, after all, fairly difficult to go from believing you would be dead in a month to watching your work be celebrated by all of wizarding society.
As the evening progressed, Draco felt a mounting suspicion that Hermione was monitoring him the same way that he was monitoring Theo. Every time he left an unpleasant conversation about his family, he could feel her stare from across the room. He was eternally grateful to her for caring about him this way. Having someone who would watch your back no matter what… if there was one thing that the war had taught him, it was that those people were few and far between.
Blaise arrived approximately fifteen minutes before Draco was scheduled to speak. It was clear to everyone when he arrived - people gasped and moved towards the door in an attempt to shake his hand or get his autograph. Draco, who was getting a drink at the bar, noticed this and made his way over. Pushing through the throng of people, he caught sight of his friend for the first time in weeks.
The real problem with cursed wounds was that they would never really heal right, and glamouring them was nearly impossible. Draco's burn scar was a great example of this, but perhaps the best case study could be found on Blaise's features. The wounds he had attained during the Battle of Hogwarts had never properly healed, making him look far older than he was. This, combined with the hollow look that often came across his face when discussing the war, made for quite the combination.
"You made it," Draco said, embracing Blaise. He felt his friend hug him back as he chuckled.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Blaise replied. "Especially because I heard you were giving a speech."
"Did Theo tell everyone except me about that?"
"I'm sure he meant to tell you."
"Uh huh. Sure."
"I'm going to be brutally honest with you, mate," Blaise said, running his hand through his hair. "I need a drink. Want to take a trip to the bar with me?"
"I just came from there!"
As they walked through the ballroom, Draco studied Blaise carefully. As was to be expected, Blaise had fared the worst during their post-war treatment. Hermione had insisted that everyone who fought (including Potter, to Draco's surprise) be sent to a Mind Healer to work on the trauma they had experienced. For Draco, it was a violently unpleasant experience - but for Blaise, it had been almost impossible to complete. More than once, Draco had stayed up into the early hours of the morning worrying about him. It was a testament to just how strong a person Blaise was that he had been able to pull through.
Draco was still thinking about this when he took the stage a few minutes later. The eyes of the crowd were upon him, and yet his mind was elsewhere. He looked out over the room, his eyes searching until he found Hermione. She gave him a smile and a wink, and Draco felt the fog in his brain lift slightly.
"Er, hello."
"Hello!" the room chorused back at him.
Draco took a deep breath, and began to speak.
"When I met Theo Nott, I was in a bad place for a lot of reasons. I was being hunted, I had nowhere to go, and I was at war with myself. I didn't know who I was or what I wanted, all I knew was that I wanted to find out. Theo gave me that opportunity in the Redemption Syndicate. His book tells pieces of that story, but the reason that it is a truly great account of the war is its ability to tell the story of our family."
"Yes," he said, noting the surprised looks on the faces of some of the people in the crowd, "our family. That's what we were. We fought, we argued, we went through good times and bad times - but we did it together. It's that family aspect that made the Redemption Syndicate so special for us. Most of us knew that what we were doing meant that after the war, there was a good chance we wouldn't have a family anymore. We were throwing away everything we knew, everything we had been taught. We were a family of people trying to find our way in the world, and we did it because of each other - and for each other."
"I couldn't explain to anyone who hadn't met the Syndicate why it was so incredible. I've never been good with words, and I don't consider myself to be a brave person. The Syndicate made me want to be brave. It made me a better man, the man I am today. It led me to my wife, who is my past, my present, and my future."
"For those of you who've read the book already, Theo has done the story justice in a way that I never could. My story is only one small part of the Syndicate's story, and Theo was there from the beginning. For me, this book, this saga - it serves as a memorial to the friends that we lost to Voldemort's armies. Daphne, Hannah, and so many others gave everything to defeat Voldemort. Now, their stories will become part of the wizarding world's canon - a testament to the strength of those who fight together for a cause that is right. The names of the people who brought me here are tied to the Syndicate, eternalized."
Draco looked at Hermione.
"Theo, this book is everything I knew it would be. Congratulations. Blaise, you are the best friend I could have asked for, and I'm glad you're here. Hermione…"
Draco paused. She was watching him, her eyes glittering with tears.
"Hermione, I love you. Thank you for saving me. Thank you all for listening to the story of the Redemption Syndicate, because a small part of it is my story. We've made a better world for our children, and ultimately, we redeemed ourselves. Good night."
He walked off the stage to thunderous applause, with a faint smile on his face.
He might not have considered himself an exceptionally brave person, but finally, Draco Malfoy was happy.
A/N: Long time coming. Thank you guys for reading. It means the world to me. Hopefully this was a satisfying conclusion to a story that I'd always wanted to tell. Draco's last words are meant for you all.
Stay frosty,
secondchoice