A/N: This chapter is pure and utter filler. You've been warned :) This isn't even what I originally was going to write after last chapter, but it just happened. I actually like this chapter even though not much happens, so I hope you do too! It's much lighter and happier than any of the other chapters I've written in this story :)

Thank you to LauraFlowi, Dani, Tiadorable, dizzydazzle, Ceylon, BelovedSaiai, Hartwi1, and Lycoris Brightwater for reviewing! You guys are much too kind to me! I never ever imagined getting this many reviews. Ever. And they are all so kind! Thank you!

LauraFlowi: I actually realized right after posting last chapter that I had neglected Ginny in this story. I love her too, so I am going to put her in more in the next few chapters! And Ron, too, because I haven't exactly been too kind to him yet. He will get his part as well!

Chapter 16: Home

"Hello."

Draco glanced over at who the airy voice belonged to. Loony – er, Luna – stood next to him, her hands clasped behind her back and rocking on her heels, a far off smile on her face.

"Um, hi." Draco said awkwardly, going back to staring up at the sky. It was Christmas Eve, two days since he had been told he was dying, and the Weasleys had invited everyone staying at the Order to come and spend the next few days at the Burrow. The highest security imaginable was over the area so they were actually allowed to venture outside. At first, Lupin and Mad-Eye had been quite adamant against it, saying it was much too obvious, but they finally agreed when they were allowed to be put in charge of security. It had been quite stuffy in the Order, and Draco was enjoying getting the fresh air as much as possible. He had never exactly been one to love the outdoors, but the lack of it had lately been making Draco feel enclosed.

He had not told his mother of his nearing death, but he was sure she knew. She went out of her way to try and make him feel comfortable, and then after that would lock herself up in a room for hours. He did not want to know what she did.

Hermione was inside, currently playing with a little toddler named Teddy that was the werewolf's child. It had normally stayed at a hidden location with his grandparents that Lupin would not even tell Potter about, but he and Tonks had brought it along when many had requested so.

"Nice night, isn't it?" Loony said in a light voice, staring at the stars with him.

"Yeah."

He didn't quite know what to make of this girl. He had always known she was a bit off her rocker, but he had never personally spoken to her. He had not spoken to many of the people from Hogwarts that were in the Order. There was Longbottom, Weaslette, Loony, Finnigan, Thomas, and a few others. He mostly avoided them, knowing they did not trust him much and not wanting to have a private meeting with them. He had even avoided Potter and Weasley for the last two days, going as far as skipping meals and only venturing out to pick up a few scraps when he knew most people were gone. That was when Mrs. Weasley would cheerily fix him a plate, avoiding the matter of his death and acting as if it weren't even going to occur.

He had even been avoiding Hermione since that night two days ago. She, to the best of his knowledge, had been sneaking out of the Order to smuggle in books about Curses. He was even pretty sure she had confiscated some books from Mungo's, going there with blonde hair and green eyes and glasses to hide her identity. She would then study them at night in the corner of their room with her wand poised to read the information as he slept. They didn't talk about it at all; Hermione, like Mrs. Weasley, was speaking to him as if he were perfectly healthy.

"I heard about what happened." Luna's airy voice broke Draco from his thoughts. "I'm very sorry."

He glanced at her in surprise, and found nothing but truth in her eyes. She smiled slightly, swaying on her feet to some tune that he could not hear. "You shouldn't distance yourself from everyone, though. They all are sorry, too. Everyone trusts you, now."

Was she really giving him words of advice? She was Loony Lovegood! But something in her tone, some hidden wisdom made him actually force himself to consider her words. Perhaps wallowing in his own self-sorrow was not the correct way in going about it. He wouldn't deny that that was what he was doing; he knew it was. He felt sorry for himself. Every second that ticked away was a second less that he would be breathing in the air.

"If I were you, I'd try to live the last of my days to the fullest extent, not lock myself away from the people who care about me."

Draco was unable to comprehend this odd creature standing next to him as if they were best friends and had always been. "Care about me? The people here don't care about me." Draco scoffed, not quite sure why he was even saying this to Loony of all people.

"Hermione does." Luna said softly, watching his expression. "And I know Harry does too. He seemed quite worried and keeps blaming himself."

"Yeah, well, he should. If he hadn't dragged me in the mess to begin with I'd be perfectly healthy right now."

"Maybe." Luna said vaguely. "But then Harry would maybe be dead. Or Ron. And then you'd feel guilty, wouldn't you?"

Draco knew the answer to that: If Potter had died he would have felt guilty, as he knew everyone's hopes would've been lost at that point. They could very well have given up. He sighed, absentmindedly running a hand through his hair as he thought over Luna's words.

"I'm going back inside." Luna said with a smile. "You should come in, too. There's pudding." She turned and began to skip back off the door, Draco watching her with a bewildered expression. She really was something.

The door opened before Luna reached it and she stepped out of the way to allow Hermione to pass by her, leaving the two alone with a wave. Hermione walked to Draco, holding the baby Teddy in her arms affectionately. She grinned at Draco, who gently smiled back. "You should come inside. Everyone's asking about you." She said, setting the squirming baby down on the grass. He giggled, pulling on her pants leg to straighten himself and attempt to stand up. Draco watched the child with thinly veiled interest; he had never in his entire life been around children. The baby's attention turned to Draco, who he had not yet seen, and he reached out towards this new person. Hermione scooped the child into her arms before he could fall. "I think he likes you." Hermione said, giggling, as she pressed the child into his arms before he could even protest. He had never held a child in his life and was quite sure he was doing it wrong, especially from the fact that Hermione was laughing. Teddy giggled and reached forward to grab a tuft of Draco's hair and tugged, hard.

"Ow," Draco said loudly, pulling the child's hand away from his hair and scowling.

"You could at least hold him right." Hermione teased as Draco attempted to resituate the child in his arms, trying to remember how Hermione had previously been holding him. He mock scowled at her, and as if annoyed at how he was treating the person that held him correctly, the child reached up and tugged on his cheek. Annoyed, Draco passed the child back into Hermione's arms.

"I'd make a horrible father." He joked, watching the kid clap happily at being back in Hermione's arms. She'd make a great mother, obviously.

"No." Surprised, Draco glanced away from Teddy and into Hermione's eyes, which were swirling with something he couldn't identify. "You'd make a great father. I'm sure. You'd want to be different from your own father. You'd be better."

He almost said that it didn't matter because he wouldn't get the chance, but he stopped himself, sure it would offend Hermione and possibly send her away. He did not want her to go. He watched as she sat down cross-legged in the grass and allowed the child to crawl about gleefully, unaware that he had a smile on his own face.

He had never considered her to be beautiful before. But she was. She was in her very own Hermione Granger-ish way. Her bushy hair had somehow gone from being revolting to entrancing. He almost wanted to reach out and touch it to see if it was soft.

The toddler crawled forward and placed his tiny hands on Draco's shoes. He was amazed that something could be so small, so fragile. It seemed like one little wrong move from him would break the child, and he felt painfully nervous. "Sit down," Hermione commanded, and he obeyed. Teddy laughed and climbed the gigantic mountain that was his legs to sit in his lap, reaching forward to try and pull at his blonde hair again. Draco caught the child's arm before it could deliver another vicious tug. Hermione giggled.

"Come on. Let's go inside." She said softly, standing up and sweeping the child in her arms easily. He stood, too, and followed her in the brightness of the Weasley home. He had once often mocked Weasley for being poor and saying he must live in a shack, but the home, although small, was surprisingly comforting. It was a bright and cheery atmosphere inside, and Hermione led him in the kitchen, where everyone was packed around the table laughing. Hermione passed Teddy to his father and sat down in a vacant chair, patting another empty one next to her, where Draco uncomfortably sat. He was aware of all the eyes on him but kept his own eyes trained to the floor. There was a slight lull in conversation, but it picked up again as the group laughed at something Teddy had done.

Draco had often been at family meals. There had always been rules. Don't speak unless spoken to, sit straight up, do not make eye contact to your superiors, do not voice your own opinion unless it is the same as those around you. There were no rules at this table as people practically shouted over one another to be heard. There seemed to be ten different conversations going on, and it was pure chaos. The Weaslette was sitting in Potter's lap with a glass of firewhisky, laughing merrily as they watched the werewolf's child change the color of his hair from dark brown to blonde, as Weasley and his twin brothers put on a show with some fireworks that were created to be set off inside, as Mrs. Weasley and Narcissa engaged in discussion over something, as Luna and Hermione watched cheerily as Tonks changed her nose to a pig snout, as Mr. Weasley and Percy Weasley discussed something at the Ministry, as Fleur Delacour and Bill Weasley danced together to a tune on the radio, as Mad-Eye Moody hummed gruffly, as Charlie Weasley and Hagrid, who was bent over to avoid hitting his head on the ceiling in the corner, discussed something that sounded suspiciously like dragons, as Longbottom, Finnegan, and Thomas played a game of Exploding Snap, and it almost seemed as if there was no war, as if this was how it was supposed to be, not scared, not worried, but happy and cheerful. He had been passed a bottle of firewhisky and soon he found that he, too, was laughing with the others and that he was joining in on some of the conversation, and even laughing as Weaslette teased that he had made quite an impression on Teddy, who still was enjoying his new blonde hair.

This was what family was supposed to feel like. This was what friends were supposed to be like. This was what it was like to feel home.

:::

The Burrow had six available rooms. Mrs. and Mr. Weasley had taken one, Bill and Fleur had taken one, Lupin, Tonks, and Teddy had taken another, Mad-Eye Moody had taken another, Narcissa had been given one, and Percy and Charlie had taken the last. This left Draco, Hermione, Harry, Ginny, Ron, Luna (she had said she could go home but Mrs. Weasley had immediately said no, as Luna's father had died long ago and she didn't want her to be alone), Fred, George, Dean, Neville, and Seamus to have the floor of the living room. Harry and Ginny had immediately claimed the couch, which earned much scowling and grumbling from the others as the couple snuggled on the couch with gloating looks of comfort. Draco was surprised Ronald didn't explode at seeing his sister and best mate so comfortable with one another, but he supposed it had been going on for some time.

Ron curled up on one of the armchairs and told Luna she could have the other. Seamus and Dean both claimed the patch of floor directly in front of the two fireplaces before anyone could blink, wrapped contentedly in their piles of blankets and basking in the warm glow of the fire. They, too, earned many scowls from the ones that had not yet found a decent place to lie down. Fred and George had somehow constructed two tents out of blankets and crawled inside, teasing the others that their brilliance was far superior to everyone else's as they disappeared from sight. Neville claimed the middle of the living room, leaving Draco and Hermione to a corner. They laid down several blankets and then crawled into the middle of them, shivering slightly and glaring at Seamus and Dean, who both grinned teasingly.

At first, Draco had wondered why all of them were here instead of with their family. He soon realized that most of them had had their family claimed by the war. Dean's parents were Muggles, and had been killed in one of the many Muggle onslaughts. Luna's father had died in a fire that had been set to their home by people who didn't support the Quibbler, and Luna had luckily not been home. Seamus' parents had moved out of Europe, and they had had a huge fight with their son, who had blatantly refused to leave, as he was a part of the Order. He had not spoken with them since. Neville's Gran-Gran had moved, too, but she and Neville had not had a fight about Neville staying. She, apparently, had been quite proud that her grandson wanted to stay and help to fight.

The fact of Draco's death had not been brought up once, and he was actually thankful. Once in his life, he had basked in the attention he had received for getting his arm 'broken' by a Hippogriff. Now attention was the last thing he wanted. He wanted to forget about it, but knew he could not.

"Goodnight everyone." Harry said with a grin as he pulled Ginny closer to him.

"Night."

"Sleep tight."

"Sweet dreams!" Fred and George's voice drifted from their tents in perfect harmony.

"Mmm, this fire is warm."

"Not as comfortable as this plush armchair."

"Shut it, Ronald." Hermione snapped good-naturedly, which earned many laughs.

"Go to sleep!"

"Geez, Ginny, someone needs their beauty rest."

"Well someone's got to be beautiful. Me, Hermione, and Luna must meet this standard as all you men fall horribly short." There was a shriek of laughter as Harry had obviously tickled a sensitive spot on her.

"Goodnight, Draco." Luna's airy voice sounded much calmer compared to everyone else's.

"Oh, er, night."

"Yes, night, Draco."

"Night, Draco!"

"Pleasant dreams, Dracy-poo." Draco scowled. He would have to get back at whichever twin that said that.

"Night Malfoy!"

"Weird to have you here, but goodnight."

"Good to have you here!"

"Well that's what I meant!"

"My Gran would probably have a heart attack if she knew you were here. I should write her and tell her."

"Yes, it is odd. My Mum told me your mum is actually quite pleasant-" Ginny was cut off by a roaring voice that probably woke the entire house.

"GO TO SLEEP!" There was thunking as their visitor climbed back up the stairs to their room. "It's like you all are five years old!"

"Night, Mad-Eye!"

"Moody sure is moody!" The twins snickered at their own joke. They all must have been delirious because the rest of them laughed, too, at the pathetic attempt at cleverness.

"Night, Mummy!"

Draco glanced at Hermione, whose face was red from laughing. Little tears were at the edges of her eyes, and he laughed with her. She shook her head and rolled her eyes at the antics of the others, and he grinned.

He had once hated every single one of the people in this room, and they had once hated him. He had hated everything about them, and he didn't even remember why. Perhaps because they weren't in Slytherin? Perhaps because they were friends with Potter? But it didn't even matter anymore. He found himself enjoying their company, something he had never thought possible. They was nothing wrong with any of the people in this room. They were friendly, and had accepted him into their midst even after everything he had done to them.

Hermione's hand snaked out and took his own just as he felt himself drifting off into the blissful world of sleep where he did not know that he was dying just as things were getting better in his life. It was an act of comfort, of reassurance, that she was there for him through it all. That she would be there for him until the end.

This was what it was like to have people care for him. And he liked the feeling.

A/N: Told you it was filler :) I hope you guys liked it anyway! At least it was cheerful!