Chapter Twenty Two

It was a sunny day just over a month later when Draco arrived at the cottage and realized something was up. Luna was positively vibrating with nervous energy. She grabbed his arm as soon as he stepped out of the fireplace and dragged him down the hallway.

Draco laughed, "What are you up to, Luna?"

"I have a surprise for you. I was going to wait until after we eat but I can't..." They stopped in front of her bedroom and she gestured towards the closed door. "Open it."

"Why? I've seen your room before, " Draco teased.

Luna looked as if she were about to burst. "Open it!"

Draco complied and was stunned to see that the room had been transformed into a combination library / laboratory. She must have used a prodigious extension charm, he thought, for the room was now well over twice its previous size.

"It's a space for you to do research and experiments." Luna's eyes sparkled as they stepped inside. "Mr. Weasley came by and assured me that my charms were structurally sound and George made certain that I had all of the necessary protective wards in place in case any of your experiments went wrong." Draco continued to stare at the space as she bounced on her toes. "Well, what do you think?"

"It's wonderful, Luna, but why? And where are you going to sleep?"

"Well, I assumed if I was going to ask you to move in I would need to provide a place for you to do your work." She reached for his hand. "And I thought we could share the guest room, if that is okay with you."

Draco was flabbergasted. "Y-You are asking me to move in with you?"

A worried look crossed her face. "Yes. I thought...Unless you'd rather not. I mean, I know it isn't a manor but..."

He swept her up and spun her around. "This is better than a manor, Luna. This is a home." He kissed her and added, "And I would love to share it with you, if you'll have me."

Draco wasted no time and had all of his things moved in by the following afternoon. He was quite content with the arrangement until the day he saw Luna filling out some forms for work. He noticed that she had listed him as her emergency contact but she left the space marked "relationship to employee" blank. He stared at the document intently before grabbing a quill and sending off a brief message to Arthur Weasley, asking for a convenient time for the two men to meet.

xoxox

Draco fiddled with his collar for the hundredth time that morning before entering the suite at the Ministry housing the Regulation of Muggle Artifacts where an elderly secretary escorted him to Mr. Weasley's office. Arthur stood and greeted him warmly. "Draco! How very nice to see you. Please have a seat." He gestured to a chair on the opposite side of the desk. "I must admit I was a little surprised to receive your message. To what do I owe the privilege today?"

"I was wondering, sir...I mean...I was hoping...You see, I would like to..." Draco took a deep breath. "Sorry. Let me start again. As you are aware, sir, I was raised in a fairly traditional environment."

Arthur tried to suppress a smile. "I think that may qualify as a bit of an understatement, lad."

Draco chuckled. "Quite." He nervously inspected a crease in his dress robes. "Luna is helping me overcome much of that, however, there are still some social conventions that I feel compelled to abide by. " He sat up very straight and came to his point. "One of those customs would have required a conversation with the late Mr. Lovegood but since he is no longer with us I was hoping I might speak with you instead, sir."

The older man leaned forward slightly. "Ah. Am I to take it that this would be the sort of conversation where you sought Xeno's approval in regards to marrying his daughter?"

Draco nodded formally. "Yes, sir. It would be exactly that sort of conversation, sir."

Arthur smiled kindly. "Well, I can't claim to know exactly how Xeno's mind worked but since I have known Luna her entire life and I have a daughter as well, I am certainly willing to give it my best shot." He thought for a moment then said, "I suppose that if I were Xeno I would have started by asking about your intentions but I think your actions have spoken far louder than words. We have Luna with us, happy and healthy, due in no small part to your care and concern for her wellbeing."

"I would do anything for Luna, sir. Anything."

"And we have all been witness to that, Draco." He thought for a moment. "I suppose, if Luna were my daughter, my next question would be, what is it that you love about her?

Draco grinned. "I don't think you have enough time for that list, sir."

Mr. Weasley gave a hearty laugh. "Excellent answer, my boy! Right. How about you tell me in what ways is your life different since you met her?"

"That is another lengthy list, sir. Besides a tendency to overindulge on curry and an increased knowledge of snorkacks and humdingers?" Draco glanced down briefly. "I feel….truly accepted for the first time in my life. I am becoming more sure of myself because I don't feel like I have to be measuring up to some impossible ideal yet at the same time, because of her, I genuinely want to be a better person. Do you know how long it took her to teach me to cast a patronus and she never once got frustrated or impatient? I tried to give up but she kept encouraging me until I got it right."

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Luna taught you to cast a patronus? A fully corporeal one?"

"Yes, sir."

"Most impressive. May I ask what form yours took?"

"An eagle, sir."

Mr. Weasley considered this. "Hmmm. Is that the form you would have guessed beforehand?"

"No, sir. I would have imagined a dragon or a snake or..." He gave an involuntary shudder, "...a ferret."

"Understandable assumptions - a dragon would make sense given your name and a snake would have reflected your family's long ties to Slytherin house." He mercifully skipped over the last option. "Forgive an old man's forgetfulness, Draco, but what house was Luna in?"

"Ravenclaw, sir."

"Yes, yes. With her large heart I sometimes assume she was a Hufflepuff but with her unusual way of approaching problems Ravenclaw makes perfect sense." The older man winked. "Luna is more of a bird than a badger, wouldn't you agree?"

Draco seemed unsure where the conversation was going at this point. "Y-yes, sir. I suppose she is."

"Did you ever get to meet your cousin, Tonks, Draco?" Arthur asked.

Draco blinked at this change in topic, but dutifully followed along. "No, sir. I've heard a lot about her from both Luna and Aunt Andromeda. I wish I could have known her. It sounds like she was a remarkable woman."

"That she was. Interesting thing about Tonks, Draco. Her patronus was originally a jack rabbit until she fell in love with Remus. It then changed to a wolf. Curious how that can happen, don't you think?"

Draco finally caught Mr. Weasley's meaning. "Actually if I think about it, sir, it doesn't seem curious at all."

Arthur walked around and leaned against the front of his desk. "Draco, you and Luna are both of age so you aren't required to seek anyone's blessing to marry. What is it you really want to know?"

Draco wrung his hands. "I-I don't want to hurt her, sir. I haven't exactly had stellar role models in regards to love and marriage. What if I turn out like my father? Luna deserves so much better than the life my mother led for over 20 years."

Arthur nodded. "Draco, the mere fact that you have these concerns tells me that, whomever you marry, that relationship will be worlds apart from the one your parents had. You will be a very different husband and father than Lucius simply because you will choose to be."

He turned his attention to a picture of Molly that sat on his desk. "I'm not saying you won't make mistakes, lad. We all do - sometimes big ones that have terrible consequences. But don't let fear keep you from something beautiful. Regret is far worse than failure."

Arthur placed his hand on the young man's shoulder. "I don't know if this means anything or not, but, if I were Xeno, I would be proud to have someone who loved my daughter as much as you do as my son-in-law."

Draco found himself overwhelmed by that statement. He took a moment to collect himself, rose from his chair and extended his hand. "Thank you, sir. You have no idea how much that means to me."

Arthur took his hand and gave it a firm shake. "You are most welcome, Draco." He then shocked the young man by pulling him into a fatherly hug. "And please know that the door to my office and my home are always open to you as well as Luna at anytime. All right?"

Draco stood in shock before tentatively returning the gesture. "T-Thank you, sir," he stammered. He started towards the door then turned back. "Sir? I don't mean to impose but if you have another minute there is something else I would like to ask. Christmas is fast approaching and I had an idea in regards to Luna's present but it would require some assistance..."