* ~ The Eighth Year Universe Series ~ *
PART FOUR
Brave New World
Chapter 69: Happy Christmas, War is Over
A/N: The chapter title is from the song:
Happy Xmas (War is Over) by John Lennon.
"You and Cygnus looked rather cosy."
Narcissa shot Andromeda a reprimanding look, "Andromeda, he has just returned from the dead, and I have barely been divorced for a year."
"I just said that you looked cosy, Cissa," Andromeda said with a slightly sly smile, "No need to read into it that much."
Narcissa resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she looked over at Teddy, who was still playing away happily with his new toys.
"Alright," Daphne called loudly, "Dad, if you have finished interrogating Astoria's latest catch, it's time for lunch!"
Andromeda chuckled as she got to her feet and lifted Teddy, "Have I mentioned how much I like Daphne, Cissa? I feel like Harry made a fantastic choice when he asked her to become his wife."
Narcissa smiled too, "As do I," she said honestly.
Christmas lunch passed smoothly; Charlie successfully made small talk with everyone at the table and only brought up dragons once, which resulted in Astoria elbowing him in the ribs rather painfully.
When they had finished eating, Teddy was exhausted, so he said his goodbyes to everyone and went up to bed a little early. Harry and Daphne had not long returned to the drawing-room when the floo roared to life once more.
"Floo signatures: Draco Black and Hermione Granger."
"Access granted," Daphne said.
Moments later, Draco and Hermione stepped out of the fireplace, looking a little irritated.
"You are never getting invited back there for Christmas again," Hermione muttered irritably,
"Look, I said sorry," Draco complained, "I warned you that I am a pureblood prat who doesn't understand muggle shit. I literally warned you this morning!"
Harry grinned, "Oh, dear God. What did he do?"
"Don't even get her started, Potter," Draco said, glaring at the Gryffindor boy.
Daphne raised an eyebrow, "Go on, Hermione, what did he do?"
Hermione shook her head in disbelief, "When the Queen's speech came on, he asked my parents who this Queen was anyway? And when they explained, he questioned why she even had any authority and proceeded to rant about the fact that the Queen doesn't even know about wizards and doesn't make laws, so has no real authority and therefore might as well be overthrown," she rattled off.
Harry whistled.
"And do you know what?" Hermione added angrily, "He might have gotten away with it if he hadn't finished with, 'Maybe I should replace her? I would look damn good in a crown'."
By the time Hermione had finished, Harry was literally crying with laughter. Charlie wasn't much better, and Astoria was just shaking her head in disbelief.
Amongst the chaos, Daphne led Draco towards the drinks cabinet and whispered, "Good job, you definitely won't have to spend Christmas with them next year."
Draco smirked, "I'm counting on it."
Meanwhile, by the fireplace, Harry regained his composure and said, "Do you reckon he did it on purpose so that your parents don't invite him back for Christmas?"
"I'm fucking sure of it," Hermione fumed, "I swear to Merlin, I will kill him tonight."
"Nah, you won't," Harry said, patting her on the back, "You love him too much. Come on, get yourself a drink before the others arrive."
"Yeah. I think I – Charlie, what are you doing here?" Hermione asked, frowning when she saw him.
"Just passing by, you know?" Charlie grinned, "Wishing my favourite adopted brother a Merry Christmas and all."
"In person?" Hermione asked, narrowing her eyes at him.
"Why not?" Charlie shrugged.
Draco re-joined Hermione and rolled his eyes, "You have got to be kidding me."
"What?" Hermione asked cluelessly.
Draco had turned his attention to Astoria, "You can't seriously be dating him?"
"What?" Hermione said in disbelief.
"Stop saying what love, it's making you look a bit dim," Draco said offhandedly.
Hermione whacked him around the head, much to Harry's amusement.
Astoria raised an eyebrow at Draco and took Charlie's hand, "I fail to see why it matters to you anyway, Draco."
Draco scoffed, "I can't believe this. I mean, it was bad enough when you got together with Harry fucking Potter Daphne-"
"Middle name is James actually Draco-"
"Shut up, Potter," Draco interjected, "But now Astoria and a Weasley? Cygnus, how can you let your daughters do this to you?"
Cygnus smiled slightly, "Let's be honest, Draco. I do not let my daughters do anything. They do as they wish, regardless of my intentions."
"Well, let's be real, Dad, your intentions were for me to marry Draco, which is a horrific thought," Daphne said, "And for Astoria to marry Theodore Nott, which is probably the worst idea you have had in…well, ever."
"Harsh Daph."
They turned to the door, where Theo and Sadie stood hand in hand.
"Why didn't you use the floo?" Daphne asked.
Sadie raised an eyebrow and pointed at her stomach, "Uh, pregnant with twins, remember?"
"Oh, yeah," Daphne realised.
Harry snorted.
"How much have you guys had to drink today?" Theo asked with an amused grin.
"A lot," Daphne admitted.
"She stumbled through Teddy's bedtime story," Harry chuckled.
"Well, the little shit had to go and pick Babbitty Rabbitty, didn't he? Do you know how hard that is to read when you're a bit drunk?" Daphne complained.
"Imagine being nine years old with your drunk Dads trying to read you The Hunchback of Notredame when one of them is from the East End of London, and the other one is Irish."
There was a collective snort of amusement as Neville and Lilly stepped into the drawing-room.
"What excuse do you two have for not using the floo?" Hermione asked with an amused smile.
"Neville was too drunk to use it, so I side apparated him here," Lilly grinned, "My Mum and my Dads kept plying him with drink until he fell asleep in front of the TV during the Queen's speech."
"That's the best way to get through the Queen's fecking speech," Neville muttered.
Draco grinned, "Yes! Neville, come here and get a drink. Let's discuss this farce that is the Queen."
"You are skating on thin fucking ice Draco Malfoy," Hermione muttered.
"It has been Black for quite some time now, love," Draco said, ushering Neville to the side.
Lilly shook her head in amusement, "I'm not even going to ask what that was about, but Merry Christmas everyone! Is Suse still coming?"
"She said she was, but you know Susan, she's always late," Daphne said with a wave of her hand.
At that moment, the floo buzzed.
"Floo signatures: Susan Bones and Percy Weasley."
"Access granted," Harry said.
Susan stepped through, looking very cheerful, and Percy followed her, looking far more like his old self in smart jeans and a jumper rather than his bounty hunting gear.
"Merry Christmas!" Susan shouted when she walked in, "Oh shit, you have a baby now!"
"A toddler," Daphne corrected, "And Christmas has exhausted him. I don't think a hurricane would wake him up right now. Merry Christmas, Suse."
"And I guess we must be the last to arrive as always because Susan takes so long to get – Charlie! What are you doing here?"
Charlie snorted, "Is nobody just happy to see me? Merry Christmas to you too, Perce."
"I mean yes, Merry Christmas Charlie," Percy frowned, "But, why are you here?"
"I just thought I would spend Christmas with my girlfriend," Charlie said offhandedly from where he was perched on an armchair near the fire.
Percy's eyes scanned the group then widened, "Oh…right. Well, …that is a shock. I would have thought that Charlie was too young for you, Mrs Malfoy."
Draco spat out his firewhiskey, Narcissa looked incredibly offended, and Charlie guffawed with laughter.
Susan looked at him in disbelief, "Percy, how can you be so stupid? Why the hell did I marry you?"
There was an echo of, "What?"
"Oh yeah," Susan said with a grin, "We sort of eloped. I don't even know if it was legal, though."
Charlie grinned, "I'm dating Astoria, by the way, and what country did you elope in?"
"Bolivia," Susan replied.
"Did you get married by a guy in a loincloth who could barely speak English?"
"Yep," Susan replied.
"Nope, not in any way legally binding," Charlie said in amusement.
"Go figure," Susan laughed, "Shall we just grab close family and head to Gretna after the new year then Perce?"
Percy smiled at her, "I'm fine with that, and my apologies Mrs Malfoy."
"Narcissa, please," Narcissa corrected him, "I am a Black now, not a Malfoy."
"Of course," Percy said sheepishly, "I thought Astoria was still in school, Charlie."
"Hey," Charlie said testily, "You do not get to give me a lecture about dating someone younger than me."
"The difference is that Susan is only four years younger than me, and she isn't 17," Percy said.
"I'm 18 actually, Percy," Astoria said matter of factly, "And I am the CEO of Greengrass Industries, so my maturity really should not be questioned. If I were you, I would endeavour to stay on my good side if you want to keep your contract with The Red Stone Group because they are a sub-division of my company."
Percy grinned and hit Charlie on the back, "I like her."
Charlie laughed, "I thought you might. Come on, get yourself a drink."
"I did not know that they were that close," Harry said as he watched the two Weasley's.
"Yeah, that's a recent development," Susan remarked, "About as recent as Percy's decision to tell the ministry to fuck themselves and become a bounty hunter."
Now that they all had drinks, they split off into smaller groups to catch up. Draco found himself standing next to Daphne as their eyes lingered on the same spot.
"You did this."
"Not intentionally," Daphne promised.
Draco crossed his arms and looked at the spot where their parents sat on a sofa, very closely together, laughing.
"Are you trying to set my mother up with your father?"
"No," Daphne said, she made a face, "That would be weird, don't you think?"
Draco cocked his head at the pair, "It would be weird, but I think it would also make my mother very happy and…I can't remember the last time I saw her happy."
Daphne hummed thoughtfully, "I don't think I could begrudge my father happiness after everything that happened."
Draco groaned, "They are totally going to have sex."
"Not in my bloody house," Daphne muttered under her breath, "No geriatric sex and no fucking Nifflers."
"Do you want to explain the part about Nifflers?" Theo asked as he appeared behind them.
"My sister bought Teddy a Niffler for Christmas," Daphne muttered irritably, "Don't suppose you want it, Sade?"
"Definitely not," Theo interjected, "No animals in my house. Animals and me don't mix."
"Neither do plants and you!" Neville called, "Want a venomous tentacula for your birthday?"
"Fuck off, Neville!"
"Draco, do you want-"
"I do not want a Niffler," Draco cut in, "Hermione would think it was cute until it stole all of the cutlery, then I would be the one who had to find a nice home for it and pretend I hadn't thrown it in a river."
Neville frowned at him, "Uh…what did you throw in a river exactly?"
"Nothing…it was just a thought I had once about that ugly cat she had," Draco said sheepishly.
"Draco, I loved Crookshanks!" Hermione said, then she promptly burst into tears.
"I know you loved him, Hermione," Draco said, patting her on the head unhelpfully.
"But you still have to admit that he looked like he ran into a wall as a kitten and never recovered," Theo said, "He was fuck ugly, and you know it."
"But he was my companion," Hermione sobbed.
"Holy fuck, she's drunk," Susan sniggered.
Lilly grinned, "Is it wrong that I'm finding it a bit funny?"
"No, because you're not the only one," Neville whispered, "God, I love Christmas."
As the night wore on, Cygnus, Narcissa and Andromeda made themselves scarce. Sadie was tired and, as a result, left relatively early too. Theo got up to go with her, but Hermione told him to enjoy himself. As she was tired anyway, she took Sadie home.
Draco and Theo were quite happy with this arrangement as they sat on a sofa laughing about something and drinking their way through a bottle of whiskey.
Harry got to his feet to try and slip away, but Daphne caught him, "Where are you going?"
"Nowhere," Harry lied.
Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, "What are you up to?"
"I was just going to bring Dave in for a little bit," Harry admitted.
"No," Daphne said firmly.
"But Daph, it's Christmas," Harry objected, "He'll get lonely."
"No, he won't. He's a snake; they are solitary creatures," Daphne said irritably, "You're not bringing him in here."
"You've got Padfoot in here!"
"Yes, because he is a dog. He's cute and slobbery, and people love him. He doesn't crush prey to death, does he?"
"Fine," Harry muttered, "Then I'm going to go and see him."
"You do that."
"I even bought him a possum for Christmas dinner," Harry added.
"Did you get him a squeaky toy too?" Daphne asked sarcastically.
"No, because that would be condescending," Harry said, glaring at his fiancé, "He's highly intelligent, you know?"
"No, I don't know because I don't speak snake!"
Neville got to his feet, "I'll go out with you if you're going to see Dave, Harry."
Harry nodded and was about to thank Neville when Theo asked, "Can we come too?"
"No," Harry replied simply,
"Why not?" Draco asked, affronted.
"Because you're drunk. He might lunge at you. He could easily break your bones. Look at how scrawny you are," Harry remarked.
"Scrawny?" Draco retorted, "I could kill you if I wanted to, Potter."
"Yeah?" Harry countered, "So could another human being."
Draco frowned.
"So could a dog," Harry added as Padfoot tried to chew his shoes off.
Draco's frown deepened.
"So could a dedicated duck," Harry remarked, "You aren't special, Draco."
Neville grinned in amusement at Draco's confusion.
"But Neville's drunk too," Theo objected.
"No, he's not," Harry said.
Neville frowned, "You noticed that?"
"That you've been transfiguring all of your drinks into water? Yep, it was pretty obvious."
"I didn't notice," Theo whispered to Draco.
"Because you don't look soulfully at Neville like Harry does."
"Nah, he's too busy looking soulfully at you instead, Draco," Neville jibed.
Harry snorted, "Why have you been transfiguring your drinks, Neville?"
"I just felt bad, with it being Christmas and you being the only one who couldn't drink," Neville admitted, "I figured I'd just stay sober too, so if things got silly, we could wander off to chill out with Dave together."
"Fuck me, this is too much," Theo said as he made a face, "I wouldn't stop drinking if you became an alcoholic. I'd just be like one for me, one for you Draco – oh no, you don't drink, do you? – oh well, two for me then!"
"Thanks for the support, Theo," Draco snorted.
"Would you stop drinking for me?" Theo countered.
"No, but I'd pretend I had when I was with you, then I'd sneakily drink at home."
"Oh, because that's so much healthier!"
"It is healthier than drinking twice as much, just to be a dramatic bellend!"
"Come on, Nev," Harry sniggered, "You know what those two are like when they get started."
"Could be at it for hours," Neville chuckled.
"And then there's the sex," Harry joked, making Neville laugh loudly as they headed out of the Manor.
"Okay, what gives?"
Astoria looked up at her sister, "What?"
"What gives?" Daphne asked calmly, "Because you have been rude to Lilly for a week now and sorry, but I fucking love her to bits, so you don't get to be rude to her unless you have a very good reason."
Charlie watched this argument with interest from where he sat next to Astoria.
"I just-"
"Don't even think about calling her common," Daphne cut in, "You don't get to make bitchy comments about how I like them 'rough' because you are dating Charlie Weasley; you obviously like them rough too. No offence, Charlie."
"None taken," Charlie chuckled.
Astoria rolled her eyes, "Daphne, that is not a fair comparison-"
"Because Charlie's from a pureblood family? So what? They have a seat on the Wizengamot, but they don't have money. They don't have a manor or a house or a lordship. I mean, come on, even if they did, he's not the oldest. Bill would get it all, so give up the act."
Astoria glared at her, "Perhaps there is a little bit of jealousy."
"Because she's a lowly muggle-born whose marrying up?" Daphne scoffed, "Oh, come on, Astoria. You could marry up if you wanted to-"
"No, I couldn't," Astoria snapped, "What are my options exactly? The Abbotts have one child, a woman. The Black heir is engaged. The Bones heir is a woman. The Crouch heir is my bloody uncle! The Nott heir is Theo-"
"Oi!"
"Who I would never have married anyway, but who is also already married," Astoria said, completely ignoring Theo, "The Parkinson heir is the same age as our father. The head of the Potter family is marrying you. The only Selwyn left is a woman. Slughorn was our bloody teacher, and the Shacklebolt heirs are both girls. So how could I marry up exactly? I'd have to pick between Hamish MacDougall and Ernie MacMillan. I think I would rather marry down, thank you very much!"
"Okay, fine," Daphne exclaimed, "The outburst was not required. You could have just said, I love Charlie, and I'm not interested in marrying up."
Astoria glared at her in response, and Daphne lowered her voice, "So why don't you like Lilly?"
Astoria rolled her eyes, "Because she reminds me of Tracey, okay? And I don't like that. In fact, it scares me."
Daphne frowned, "Why would that scare you?"
"Because you loved Tracey," Astoria said, "You and Tracey were like Draco and Theo. You were inseparable. I always figured when you got married, Tracey would be part of the deal. Draco and I used to joke about it. He said, well, at least they're both hot, I could put up with that."
Daphne's frown deepened, and a knot tied itself in her stomach.
"And now you and Lilly are getting so close," Astoria said, "As close as you and Tracey were, and it scares me. I saw what losing Tracey did to you, and she-" she nudged her head in Lilly's direction, "-she's reckless. Her job is dangerous, and if she dies…I dread to think what that will do to you."
"I hate to take your sister's side, Astoria," Charlie said quietly, "But you can't not love someone just because you're scared to lose them, and it's not your place to tell anyone who they should or shouldn't love. At the end of the day, Daphne knows the risks."
Daphne swallowed and said, "I do know the risks. You know, we don't have a four-way relationship like Draco, Hermione. Theo and Sadie do, but I do sympathise with one thing that Hermione told me. She and Sadie bonded over a mutual fear that when their other halves leave in the morning, they might not come home that night, not at all, or not in one piece."
Astoria frowned.
"I go through that every morning too, but I go through it on my own," Daphne admitted, "And I'm not just wondering if Harry or Neville might not make it back. I'm wondering if Lilly will too. There are two things you can do when you face that thought every morning. You can let it harden you, or you can just accept that the people you love are very brave for taking that risk every day."
Daphne jumped when a voice from behind her said, "I love you too, Daph."
Astoria actually smiled slightly as Lilly leant over the sofa and wrapped her arms around her best friend, "And you should know, those two have got a damn good Healer to look after them. I'll always send them back as whole as possible."
Daphne leant back to look up at Lilly, "What about you, Lil? Who's going to make sure you come back?"
"The two amazing Aurors who have always got my back," Lilly said with a smile, "Forget Draco and Theo; they're useless. They always let me get kidnapped, eh, boys?"
"Once!" Theo objected from across the room.
"We let you get kidnapped once!"
Lilly grinned down at Daphne and kissed her on the forehead, "I like being taller than you."
"Don't get used to it, short-arse."
"Ta guile!"
"Blaireau."
"What are they doing?" Charlie asked with a frown.
"Insulting each other in French," Astoria said, "It's their thing."
"Ever since their eye-opening lesbian weekend in Paris," Theo cut in.
Daphne and Lilly both looked over at him, and Theo instantly regretted the comment, "It was a joke! I'm drunk. I don't know what I'm saying, Draco, protect me!"
Charlie and Percy both guffawed with laughter as Theo cowered behind Draco.
"Want me to hit him, guys?" Susan asked, "I'm within punching distance."
"Please do, Suse," Daphne answered.
"Ouch! Fuck! That is a damn good right hook."
"I was a beater, dumbass," Susan grinned. She shot Daphne and Lilly an amused look, and they called, "Thanks, Suse!" in unison.
Daphne turned back to her little sister and said, "I believe you have something to say to Lilly?"
Astoria sighed, "I apologise for calling you rough, just because you're from one of the less reputable areas of London."
"I am rough because I'm from the East End," Lilly said with an amused smile, "Just like you're a rich girl."
"She won't be if she marries a Weasley," Susan said, plopping down next to Daphne on the sofa, "No offence Char. I love you guys, but for the daughter of an Earl to marry a Weasley? What a scandal."
Percy rolled his eyes, "As scandalous as Baroness Bones giving up her title and her seat on the Wizengamot to marry a lowly Weasley?"
"Oh, that's not scandalous," Susan grinned, "Because before we get married. We're going to pass a law that states that if the female heir marries, she may double-barrel her name and retain her title and her seat on the Wizengamot."
"And that's never going to fly because the Wizengamot is majorly run by…?"
"Men," Charlie agreed.
"Oh, you Weasley boys," Susan said, shooting a sly grin at Astoria, "They are dim, aren't they?"
"No," Astoria chuckled, "They just don't always see things the same way that we do."
"Several of the men who are sitting on the Wizengamot only have a daughter or daughters. Or, in the case of Brown and Parkinson, they have lost their only heir, who was a female. It will be touch and go, very much a case of how the swing voters vote, but it is feasible that the law gets passed," Daphne explained.
"So are you going to double-barrel your name to fight me for the Greengrass seat when Father gets too old for it?" Astoria quipped.
"No," Daphne scoffed, "You're welcome to it. I will be Marchioness Potter, and Marchioness's don't trouble themselves with politics."
"You might be becoming a Marchioness, but you're also a fucking drama queen."
"Harry James Potter!" Daphne exclaimed when she looked up, "Get that fucking snake out of my drawing-room!"
"Why do you keep this one as your mate? She is bitchy."
"She's also hot as fuck, Dave. Some of the things she does to make in the bedroom would turn you on, and you're a snake."
Charlie snorted, "Mate, are you telling your snake sexy stories about your missus?"
Harry looked up in surprise, "You understood that?"
"I got a few choice words, yeah," Charlie answered.
"You speak parseltongue?" Theo asked in surprise.
"Yeah, I dated a guy who could speak it," Charlie said offhandedly, "Bit of a pretentious prick, he was from Egypt, claimed to be descended from Slytherin in the female line or something. I met him when I was out there with Bill one summer."
Daphne looked at Charlie, "What was he telling the snake?"
"That you're kinky in the bedroom," Charlie grinned, "Must be a Greengrass thing."
"Charlie!" Three voices echoed.
"Red one. You understand me?"
"Uh yeah, Dave," Charlie said, "I understand you."
"Get me a mate. My master refuses, and I must have one. My need for sexual copulation increases year on year."
Charlie made a face, "Yeah, I'm not going to do that, Dave."
"You offend me."
"Is he always this offensive?" Charlie asked.
"And sarcastic, yeah," Harry replied, "It's like keeping Draco as a pet."
"You'd know what that's like, Theo," Neville joked.
"Hermione's the one who ties him up when he misbehaves," Theo sniggered.
"Oh, for the love of Merlin," Daphne muttered as Draco whacked Theo around the head.
"Speak my language, red one."
Charlie spoke in very broken parseltongue, and Dave hissed angrily, "Human, his pronunciation is offensive. I want to crush him. He is large, and he would sustain me for days. He would be very satisfying."
"I'm sure Astoria thinks so too," Harry snorted.
"What did he just tell that snake about me, Charlie?" Astoria asked with narrowed eyes.
"I didn't say anything about you!" Harry lied.
Astoria rolled her eyes, "You said my name. Astoria is the same in parseltongue as it is in English, you idiot."
"He said you find me satisfying," Charlie said, smirking at his girlfriend, "Dave wants to eat me."
"Oh my god," Lilly muttered, "Right. Harry, that snake needs to go back outside because he's causing a scene. Frankly, he's a bigger drama queen than Daphne and Dave; I know what game you are playing here. You want us all to fear you? Well, none of us fear you. If you wanted to crush us, you would have done it by now. Go back to your lovely little cabin, which I spent three hours making warm for you on Christmas Eve, you ungrateful little shit. And if you carry on misbehaving, I will stop killing ferrets for you when I go out on potion scavenging trips. Do we understand each other?"
Everyone stared at Lilly in disbelief.
"What…the…fuck," Theo said.
"You speak parseltongue?" Daphne asked in disbelief.
"Uh, yeah," Lilly replied, "It's just a language. The more you learn, the easier they are to pick up, and I can speak about six fluently and another six less fluently. I spent a few afternoons out in the cabin with Harry and Dave, and I picked up on it pretty quickly."
"So you're good with tongues?" Theo asked with a grin, "Maybe that's why Daphne likes you so much."
Theo yelled as four jets of light hit him at the same time.
"Draco, take him home," Harry remarked.
Draco looked a little scared, "Why did you two hex him?"
"Because he was defending our fiancé's honour," Neville remarked with a shrug, "And we're gentlemen. We wouldn't let that happen."
"Yes, we're far more gentlemanly than you. Aren't we Earl Longbottom?"
"Indeed, Marquiss Potter."
"Viscount Black, please escort Viscount Nott from the premises."
"Fuck you, Earl Fatbottom and Marquiss Scarhead," Draco remarked as he dragged his best friend into the fireplace.
The residents of Potter Manor, on the whole, slept in very late on boxing day to recover from their hangovers. All but one that was, Daphne had woken up, thrown back a vial of sobering up potion, then followed it up with a very strong cup of coffee because Teddy had been standing at the door of his bedroom shouting for her. He didn't care that it was 6 am or that his mum was incredibly hungover.
As a result, she was trying to stay awake in a kitchen chair at 6.30 am while Teddy threw toast all over the kitchen. She was jolted into alertness when she heard footsteps outside the kitchen, so she rose to her feet and looked out into the entrance hall.
She had to bite back a snort of disbelief when she saw Narcissa sneaking towards the front door.
"The floo is open if you would like to use it, Narcissa," Daphne said, unable to contain her smirk, "But you could always have a coffee first and say goodbye to Teddy?"
Narcissa raised an eyebrow at Daphne and stepped into the kitchen, "I know what you are trying to do here, Daphne, and, rest assured, I did not do what you think I did last night."
"I suggested nothing of the sort," Daphne pointed out.
"Not verbally, perhaps," Narcissa said as she stood by the fireplace, "Your father is still ill, and I would never take advantage of that. However, I did fall asleep while keeping an eye on him last night."
"I never asked you to explain yourself," Daphne said, still smirking slightly.
"You did not need to," Narcissa said simply, "I shall see you on New Year's Eve."
"See you then, goodbye, Narcissa," Daphne said.
Narcissa threw some floo powder into the fire and disappeared. Daphne grinned at a bemused Teddy, "Great Auntie Narcissa wants to sleep with Grandad, Teddy! And I don't know why I'm laughing about it because it's a pretty disgusting thought."
Teddy frowned and then threw some toast at his mother.
"And I guess that's what you think about that," Daphne said. She yawned and had a piece of soggy toast shoved into her mouth.
"Ugh, Teddy, Mummy is still hungover, just don't."
Teddy clapped his hands together, "Mummy!"
Daphne just shook her head at the little boy in amusement.
"You will never guess who did the walk of shame at 6.30 am this morning," Daphne smirked when Draco slunk into the kitchen at 9 am, the first person to awaken apart from herself.
"If you say, my mother, I swear to Salazar, I will feed myself to Dave."
"Well, that will be an interesting sight," Daphne said, setting a cup of coffee down in front of him, "Do you want some toast? I'm going to do a big brunch when the lightweights wake up."
Draco shook his head and sipped the coffee, "Our parents are going to get together."
"Yep," Daphne agreed, "Which wouldn't be the worst thing, to be honest. My father loved your Mother. He would have married her if it hadn't been for marriage contracts."
"And the fact he was best friends with my father?" Draco pointed out.
"That had less to do with it, I think," Daphne replied, "I think deep down, my dad always knew that your dad was a dickhead."
"Harsh, but probably accurate," Draco agreed.
Daphne chuckled, "And it's not like they are that old. I mean, you can totally find love again at 44 and 49, right?"
Draco smiled slightly, "You're trying to justify this to yourself, aren't you?"
"Yeah," Daphne admitted, she glanced over at Teddy to check he was alright, but he was too busy playing with his Christmas toys to notice the adult conversation.
"Yes, I think you can find love again at 44," Draco said with an amused smile, "And I think two people who have had been dealt such crappy cards are entitled to that. I do suspect that neither of them will marry again, having had such terrible experiences of marriage."
"Hmm," Daphne said, nodding thoughtfully, "I would agree with you on that one. She stayed here last night to keep an eye on my Dad. She really cares about him."
"She always did," Draco said calmly, "Don't you remember the early birthday parties when we were young? They would be talking and laughing, and your mother would glare at them, or my father would whisk her away."
"Ironic considering that they were both the victims of cheating spouses," Daphne muttered irritably.
Draco shrugged, "Try to put that in the past and enjoy this time with your father."
"I am," Daphne promised him.
* ~ TBC ~ *