Draco, Ron, and Marissa were all crammed into the fireplace. "Malfoy Cottage". Draco said and dropped the floo powder. When they were in their own fireplace Ron started complaining. "Tell me, why does it have to be MALFOY Cottage?"
"Because -I- bought it!" Draco argued.
"Why is everything pitch black?" Marissa said, breathing heavy from the loss of oxygen, it was very closed in.
"Oh, sorry... I have a spell put on it so that you need a password to get in. I don't like when people just pop in without invitation!" Draco declared. "Thiamine Momonitrate." The blackness disappeared and their cozy living room was relieved. "I still say it should have the name Ron or Weasley in it somewhere..." Ron continued to complain as he stepped into the living room. "Anyway, would you like a tour?" he asked Marissa. She smiled and nodded eagerly. "Well, this, of course is the living room. Still away from the bookshelf, those are Draco's books and very scary ones if you ask me... so just don't touch them." Marissa explored the living room. The walls were a light blue, and the rug was gray. The furniture was fancy and it was obvious Draco had spent a lot of money on them. There were various moving pictures on the walls, and some other art work. There was a radio on top of the mantle, and a Malfoy tapestry hung overtop of it. She stared at it.
"You know, just because I hate my father doesn't mean I've disowned my entire family. There were a few I could stand..." Draco said, steering Marissa into the kitchen. It was small, complete with everything a Wizard would need to cook. There were a few dishes in the sink, which Ron had forgotten to clean, so Draco flicked his wand and they started cleaning themselves. There was a small wooden table in the corner of the room to eat at, but the dining room off to the side had a much bigger table. "Wow! This could hold the whole family!" Marissa reasoned aloud. There was some very interesting artwork in that room, and the suits of armor fit well with the stone walls.
"Down that hallway is a small bathroom to the left and the door at the end is my lab... don't go in there please." Draco said, motioning her to follow him to the stairs that led to what would have been a small attic if they hadn't have turned it into a guest room. Marissa's things were already waiting on the bed there, but she was used to such magic by now. "There isn't any ghouls here like at home is there?" she looked around nervously.
"No." Ron laughed. "Want to see our room? We also have a bathroom off of our room, if you need to bathe you'll have to go there, just ask first. Tomorrow we'll show you around the property." They walked downstairs to the other side of the cottage that they had ignored before. Inside their bedroom there was a king sized bed with a black comforter. The rug was black, and the walls were a silver. There was another fireplace, smaller than the one in the living room. There were shelves full of odd silver wizarding things that Marissa had no clue about. Over the bed was a fountain that would have flown onto the bed with the drops didn't magically disappear before getting too close; it was a beautiful affect though. In the bathroom there was a shower, a separate room for the toilet and sink, a hot tub, and a beautiful large bathtub...just the right size for two to bathe. "Everything is so beautiful." Marissa breathed.
"Yes, that's what happens when you have money..." Draco mused.
"If only Mum and Dad would accept some of it." Ron said.
"Look who's talking mister! I recall a certain redheaded boy flipping out over me giving him a potions kit!" Draco laughed and rolled his eyes.
"It must have been one of the twins or something..." Ron whispered teasingly with blush growing on his cheeks. He took Draco and Marissa by the hand and led them to the kitchen. "I'm starving! Make me dinner Draco!" Ron said, putting on his best puppy dog pout. "Ugh... just because I'm good at potions I'm the one always stuck cooking!" Draco whined and started looking up some good recipes. Marissa sat down in Ron's lap and waiting anxiously for dinner. "Get out of here you two! I'm not going to have you in the way if I'm going to cook! Go entertain yourselves!" "He sounds like Mum!" Marissa said, a little scared.
"Yes... I know, he's such a girl. Let's go unpack your things." Ron said.
After dinner Draco sat petting his stomach, he was way too full. "I think I'm going to be sick." he ran off to the bathroom down the hallway. Marissa giggled. "This is nothing like Mum's cooking! I never thought anything could be better!" "Yeah, Draco's an excellent cook, just don't tell Mum. It'll hurt her feelings." Ron laughed and took a swig of his wine. "Thanks baby!" Draco suddenly apperated from the bathroom. "I feel better." he kissed Ron's head, who pushed him away. "What?!" "You were just throwing up! I don't want that in my hair!" Ron said angrily.
"Oh calm down! I brushed my teeth." "In that case..." Ron pulled Draco into his lap and started kissing him. Marissa giggled and walked into the living room to give them some time alone.
"Baby, we shouldn't do this in front of her." "Oh stop acting like Ginny!" "Ron... we can't just let her be by herself. She's hear so she can have a little fun. If we just have random snogging sessions, she'll feel ignored!" "Fine, fine. Go get some games out of our closet, I'll go talk to her." Ron kissed him again and after Draco walked away, he went into the living room and sat next to Marissa. "Hey sis." "Done so soon?" she smiled at him.
"Draco says we shouldn't kiss around you... he says it's not fair for you. He's going to get some games, we have a ton of new ones that none of the kids have... there's perks in living with a Malfoy." Ron laughed and looked at his new sister. "What's going through your mind?" "That was a random question." she said.
"Your eyes... they're just so full of emotion. I suppose the last month has been a lot for you to handle, hasn't it?" "Yes, but I'm so glad that Mum and Dad adopted me, Ron, you have no clue." "I think I do. You know about Harry's past don't you?" "Yes, he told me about it once. He says that he, you, and Hermione were heroes when you were just a little older than me!" she squealed.
"Well...Harry was the real hero..." he blushed with modesty. "But...I mean has he told you about his family?" he tried to change the subject in a hurry. "No... what about them?" "Harry's mother and father were murdered when he was just a year old." "That's horrible!" "He was raised by his Aunt and Uncle, two muggles who hated everything about him. He was practically a starving slave in their house." "How rude!" Ron couldn't help but laugh. "His Godfather was also murdered, by a follower of the Dark Lord; the person who killed Harry's parents. The one who killed Sirius, his Godfather, was his own cousin. That person also happens to be Draco cousin, and is now in prison.
"That's good!" "Yes, yes it is. But my point is... Harry has lost all of his family, and he was raised away from the wizarding world until he was a year older than you. If you ever need anyone to talk to any of this about, he'll be your best choice... he'll understand you." "Thanks Ron." she hugged him.
"So, what do you want to play?" Draco said walking into the room, levitating two piles of board and card games. The next morning Marissa came running into the master bedroom and pounced on top of Draco and Ron. "Get the FUCK off of me!" Draco growled and turned onto his stomach to go back to sleep.
"Somebody's a little grumpy in the morning!" Marissa giggled and pulled the covers off of Ron. "Morning." Ron smiled and stumbled out of bed. "Nice boxers." she giggled, pointing at his pink boxers with red lips on them.
"Hey! Don't pick on me! Besides... these are Draco's I just like wearing them. They're comfortable." He walked lazily over to the wardrobe and pulled out a shirt and pulled it on. Then he made his way over to Draco and pulled the blankets off of the blonde. "Get up... I'm hungry!" "Must you always complain!?" Draco said and reluctantly got out of bed.
"Yes! Because when I do I get what I want!" "Don't give away your secrets Ron, he'll use them against you!" Marissa pointed out.
"Good point... forget I said that, Sweetie." "Yeah, yeah." Draco mumbled and walked into the bathroom to freshen up. After breakfast the boys finally got dressed and walked out into the snow with Marissa. "How much of this do you own?" she asked looking out over a large field that expanded beyond her sight.
"More than the eye can see from here." Ron responded proudly. He summoned he and Draco's brooms from the shed next to the cottage. Draco mounted his and Ron commanded his to float at waist length. "Get on." he said to Marissa. "What?" she said, gaping at the broom.
"Come on, we're going to fly to the ranch, it'll take forever on foot." "Ranch?" "I've never told you?" "No?!" "We have a ranch full of horses and such just over the horizon over there." he pointed behind the house. "Now get on, I won't let you fall off." she did as he said and he mounted in front of her. "Hold onto me, and don't look down if you get scared." They flew up slowly, easing her into it, and then made their way over the house and zoomed to the ranch. The cold winter wind stung their faces, and by the time they landed all of their faces were pink with coldness. Marissa looked over the wooden fence at all of the beautiful silver horses. They were beautiful.
"What are -those-?!" she pointed to the left. Ron and Draco looked at each other. Ron's jaw dropped. "Those are thestrals." he managed to say. "W-Who have you seen die?" he asked, and then regretted it.
"W-What? Why would you ask that?" she looked curiously at him.
"Only people who have seen death can see those." Draco said from behind her.
"It wasn't anything grotesque." she said.
"That's a mighty big word for someone your age." Draco laughed.
"I know." she said proudly.
"So...what was it then?" Ron pushed on.
"Mrs. Appleton, the old owner of my orphanage... she had a heart attack in front of all of us a little over a year ago. She was in the middle of giving a speech. It was all for the best really. I was silently cheering inside. I'm not a bad person, really, she was! Anyway... her son took over when she died, and he's super cute. It was a lot better with her gone." Draco grinned while Ron looked a little scared. "Would you like to ride one?" Draco asked, hopping the fence. "Really?" she smiled.
"Yes, it might be more comfortable than the broom. Still one of us should probably ride with you." "Are you coming Ron?" "No, no. Last time I rode one of those things I couldn't even see it and it creeped the hell out of me, I'll just feed them while you two ride." He watched as the two fly around the sky over the barn. Draco didn't look as pale as he really was during the winter. The snow around them was so extremely pure, he looked like he might actually have some color. Ron liked that Draco was pale; he found it sexy. Marissa screamed as if she were on a roller coaster when Draco directed the thestral into a dive. Ron ran over to wear they'd land in a second and waited for them. He helped Marissa down. "Have fun?" "Draco's insane!" she laughed and fell to the ground, making a snow angel.
Draco walked over to Ron and wrapped his arms around him. "I'm so cold!" Draco whined and nuzzled his nose into Ron's neck for warmth. "Yeah, we should head back, I don't want Marissa getting sick. Mum will kill us!" Ron mused and they flew back to the house. They sat on the floor around the fire in the living room, sipping hot cocoa. "I don't have enough marsh mellows!" Draco whined and pulled out his wand. He levitated a few out of Ron's mug and placed them in his.
"HEY!" his boyfriend yelled and took out his own wand. He levitated a few from Marissa's cup.
"That's not fair! I can't do that to you guys!" she complained.
The two boys laughed and Draco summoned the whole bag from the kitchen. "That's better!" Marissa said, dumping a whole bunch into her steaming cup.
"Does it bother you?" Ron asked.
"Does what bother me?" Marissa tilted her head, looking at her brother.
"That everyone around you can do magic and you can't?" "Sometimes... but it's okay. I know that I wouldn't be allowed to do any for another year anyway. And then I could only do it outside of school. And I'd have to go away to school! I don't think I would like that. I'd get homesick!" She glanced back up at the Malfoy tapestry. "Do you miss your family?" she asked Draco.
"My great aunt and my mother. That's it. They're both dead, though. Besides, they both married into the family, they weren't really in the blood line... lucky them!" he laughed and looked at it too, remembering too many things from his past he glanced away, holding back tears.
A few nights later Ron and Draco sat together in the hot tub, sipping wine. "Baby." Draco said, leaning into Ron's chest.
"Yeah?" "I love you." "I love you too, Sweetie. Is something wrong?" "No, I just felt like telling you that... I know I don't say it as often as I should. I just want you to know how much I really do care about you." "I know, trust me." he kissed the blonde's cheek and wrapped an arm around him. There was a knock on the bathroom do. "Come in." "Are you two dressed?" Marissa said, walking in with hand over her eyes. "Yes, of course! We have swimming trunks on!" Ron said, rolling his eyes.
"Is there a way I can talk to Mum?" "What's wrong?" "Nothing...I just miss her." "Um...sure... I'll help you." he kissed Draco and stepped out of the hot tub, mumbling a drying spell. He walked to the fireplace in the living room and said the password before throwing in some floo powder and saying "The Burrow." He sat down and placed his head into the green flames.
"Mum? Mum!" "Ronald! How is everything?" Molly said, running to her fireplace.
"Great...Marissa wants to talk for awhile." he motioned for her to come to the fire and he left her alone. He walked back into his bathroom and climbed back in next to Draco. "Baby, don't leave me again." Draco whispered and nibbled on the redhead's earlobe. "Mmm... I won't." Ron smiled and relaxed into the pleasure. "Ronnie likey?" "Mmmhumm." Knock, knock, knock. "Damn it." Draco breathed.
"Come in." Ron said, expecting to see Marissa walk in, instead it was Remus.
"Your sister let us in. Hope we're not interrupting anything." he said.
"Us? We're? Oh no...don't tell me..." "Hello, Mr. Weasley," came the deep voice of Severus Snape. "and Mr. Malfoy." Ron groaned, his mood was definitely shot now. "Is there something that you two need?" Draco said angrily, getting out of the hot tub, drying off, and pulling a shirt over his head. "Well, Dumbledore told Severus to tell you both about our next meeting...and I haven't seen you in a while...so I thought....well we can leave if you want..." Remus said sadly. "No! No, Remus, don't leave. Draco's just being a jackass." he sent a glare Draco's way and walked into the bedroom to get a shirt. "Marissa, come here please!" Ron called. "Yes?" she said walking into the room and sitting on the couch near the fire. The other three walked out of the bath room. "You, of course, remember Remus?" Ron asked.
"Yes. Who's that?" she said, looking at Snape.
"That's Remus'....friend...Severus." Severus cleared his throat. "She will call me Professor Snape." "Yes, Professor Snape." Ron repeated.
"Friend? Does that mean they're dating?" she asked with a smile.
"Excuse me?" Severus said with a glare at Ron, telling him to shut up.
"Yes, Severus and I are a couple." Remus piped up, smiling. He walked over and put an arm around Severus and leaned on his shoulder. Draco tired not to laugh and asked, "Remus, will you be going back with Severus to Hogwarts after the break?" he walked over to Ron and pulled him to the couch, where he sat on his lap. "Actually, I have to." the werewolf answered. "Why?" Draco and Ron asked in unison. "It seems that Professor Letterman has been injured on a mission over the break, and Dumbledore would let me to fill in for him as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor until further notice." "That's great!" Ron nearly screamed.
"Do you think the school will be okay with it though?" Draco asked.
"Well, now that -your- father isn't there threatening everyone, I think everything will be fine!" he gave the blonde a small smile and winked. "Why would anyone get mad?" Marissa asked, cluelessly. Draco sighed and got off of Ron's lap. "Let me explain it to you over a snack." he said and walked with the girl to the kitchen. Remus hugged tighter onto Snape, who hugged back once the child was out of the room. "Do you think it wise to explain our whole world to the Muggle?" Severus asked coldly.
"She's not just a Muggle!" Ron fumed. "She's my sister, and she deserves to know everything!" Snape opened his mouth to argue but Remus placed a finger on the mans lips. "Shh..." "Would you two like something to drink?" Ron asked politely.
"Fire Whiskey." Snape mumbled and walked into the living room. "I'll just have some water, thank you." Remus said with an apologetic smile and followed his boyfriend into the living room. Ten minutes later Ron gave them their drinks and Sat on the couch next to Remus, followed by Draco. Marissa yawned. "I'm going up to bed." and with a hug and kiss from her brother and Draco she waved goodnight and went upstairs.
"Are you excited about teaching again?" Draco asked, cuddling up to Ron.
"Yes, of course it won't be as fun without the Golden Trio getting into trouble." he smiled at the redhead. "And I'll miss all of my chats with Harry... but I'm sure it'll be fun. And at least this time if Severus has to take over for my class he won't try to expose any of my secrets, because I have too much dirt on him now!" "Ooh!" Draco exclaimed. "What kind of dirt?" "That is none of your business, Malfoy!" Severus spoke up with a choke and glared at Remus. Remus mouthed 'I'll tell you later.' and kissed Snape.
"So, will you be attending Hermione's graduation tomorrow?" Ron asked.
"A bit odd of it to be in the middle of winter break, but yes, even if I can't convince Sev to come." "No offence to you or anything, Professor Snape, but I doubt Hermione would want you there." Draco laughed and stopped as soon as he saw the threatening glare in Severus' eyes.
"Can you boys keep a secret?" Remus asked. "Sure," Draco perked up. "Is it juicy!?" "No." Lupin chuckled. "Dumbledore's going to go to Hermione's graduation and offer her a position as soon as it's over. Apparently Professor Flitwick is FINALLY retiring. He's been working there longer than Dumbledore for Merlin's sake!" Ron nearly spit out his drink. Was is possible to be that old? At the end of the graduation Hermione ran up to Draco. "We're so proud of you 'Mione!" he squealed and gave her a huge hug. Harry pulled Ron aside and gulped. "Breathe Harry, just breath! She's only graduated! It's not like you're a father already!" "I know, I know... it's just... Damn it Ron! Now I'm worried about other things." "Like what?" "If I have a child and I die...I'll just be putting it through my own hell!" "Harry, you are not going to die-" "YOU CAN'T BE SURE OF THAT, RON!" "Calm down! Listen to me! You ARE NOT going to die. I need you too much, and so does Hermione. Besides, Harry. There would still be Hermione, and my whole family. There's Remus and Seamus... look, Harry... your life isn't going to repeat itself. I won't let it. Now stop trying to find excuses not to be happy, and just go with the flow!" he placed a hand on his best friend's shoulder and looked over to Hermione who was talking to Dumbledore. "Looks like Hermione's getting some good news right now. Go and be a supportive husband!" he mock scolded and pushed Harry towards his wife. "Hey sexy." Draco walked up behind his boyfriend and wrapped his arms around Ron's waist.
"Sweetie, let's get Marissa and go home." Ron said, turning around in Draco's arms and planting a kiss on his neck. Just when they were done eating their dinner there was a knock on the door. Ron opened it and was practically tackled by an excited Hermione. She and Harry explained everything about the Charms teaching position. Ron and Draco pretended to be surprised and exchanged smiles. "So, we'll be moving into the school. That means that every time I need to go on a mission I've got to walk down to Hogsmead before I can apperate, but the exercise will do me good. We wizards are too lazy!" Harry said, sipping a butter beer- he never drank anything stronger, he never knew when he would have to fight the Dark Lord. "You'll come to see us, won't you?" Hermione pleaded.
"Of course!" Draco said and held onto Hermione's hand across the table. "You are my best friend, and you being a teacher isn't going to change that! It'll feel good to visit Hogwarts again! Besides, I really miss those sweets in Honeydukes." Draco licked his lips at the thought of all the delicious treats. "Could I come once?" Marissa asked quietly.
"What? Well...um... you see... Muggles can't really; they can't...well...the thing is-" "Stop babbling Ron!" Hermione rolled her eyes. "Of course Muggles can see Hogwarts, as long as a wizard brings them there! And if you won't, I will." she turned to Marissa and started telling her all the great things about the school and the town of Hogsmead. "Well, it's settled then, we'll bring her there sometime." Ron said, happy that he didn't have to break his sister's heart. It was a good thing Hermione actually read and researched things they never thought they'd ever have to worry about. He sure did love his friends, no matter how weird they were.
!$!$! This chapter is a little shorter than the last, but it's still long for me! I'm bumping this up to R just in case... plus Draco kind of used the 'F' word lol so... yeah, you know, just to be safe! Tell me what you think, but don't be too harsh! Oh and, this time I actually read through it before posting, and fixed a lot of mistakes, but if there is more...forgive me! I AM dyslexic after all! The next chapter will contain New Years! YaY for a Wizarding New Years Bash! Review!!!$!$!
"Why is everything pitch black?" Marissa said, breathing heavy from the loss of oxygen, it was very closed in.
"Oh, sorry... I have a spell put on it so that you need a password to get in. I don't like when people just pop in without invitation!" Draco declared. "Thiamine Momonitrate." The blackness disappeared and their cozy living room was relieved. "I still say it should have the name Ron or Weasley in it somewhere..." Ron continued to complain as he stepped into the living room. "Anyway, would you like a tour?" he asked Marissa. She smiled and nodded eagerly. "Well, this, of course is the living room. Still away from the bookshelf, those are Draco's books and very scary ones if you ask me... so just don't touch them." Marissa explored the living room. The walls were a light blue, and the rug was gray. The furniture was fancy and it was obvious Draco had spent a lot of money on them. There were various moving pictures on the walls, and some other art work. There was a radio on top of the mantle, and a Malfoy tapestry hung overtop of it. She stared at it.
"You know, just because I hate my father doesn't mean I've disowned my entire family. There were a few I could stand..." Draco said, steering Marissa into the kitchen. It was small, complete with everything a Wizard would need to cook. There were a few dishes in the sink, which Ron had forgotten to clean, so Draco flicked his wand and they started cleaning themselves. There was a small wooden table in the corner of the room to eat at, but the dining room off to the side had a much bigger table. "Wow! This could hold the whole family!" Marissa reasoned aloud. There was some very interesting artwork in that room, and the suits of armor fit well with the stone walls.
"Down that hallway is a small bathroom to the left and the door at the end is my lab... don't go in there please." Draco said, motioning her to follow him to the stairs that led to what would have been a small attic if they hadn't have turned it into a guest room. Marissa's things were already waiting on the bed there, but she was used to such magic by now. "There isn't any ghouls here like at home is there?" she looked around nervously.
"No." Ron laughed. "Want to see our room? We also have a bathroom off of our room, if you need to bathe you'll have to go there, just ask first. Tomorrow we'll show you around the property." They walked downstairs to the other side of the cottage that they had ignored before. Inside their bedroom there was a king sized bed with a black comforter. The rug was black, and the walls were a silver. There was another fireplace, smaller than the one in the living room. There were shelves full of odd silver wizarding things that Marissa had no clue about. Over the bed was a fountain that would have flown onto the bed with the drops didn't magically disappear before getting too close; it was a beautiful affect though. In the bathroom there was a shower, a separate room for the toilet and sink, a hot tub, and a beautiful large bathtub...just the right size for two to bathe. "Everything is so beautiful." Marissa breathed.
"Yes, that's what happens when you have money..." Draco mused.
"If only Mum and Dad would accept some of it." Ron said.
"Look who's talking mister! I recall a certain redheaded boy flipping out over me giving him a potions kit!" Draco laughed and rolled his eyes.
"It must have been one of the twins or something..." Ron whispered teasingly with blush growing on his cheeks. He took Draco and Marissa by the hand and led them to the kitchen. "I'm starving! Make me dinner Draco!" Ron said, putting on his best puppy dog pout. "Ugh... just because I'm good at potions I'm the one always stuck cooking!" Draco whined and started looking up some good recipes. Marissa sat down in Ron's lap and waiting anxiously for dinner. "Get out of here you two! I'm not going to have you in the way if I'm going to cook! Go entertain yourselves!" "He sounds like Mum!" Marissa said, a little scared.
"Yes... I know, he's such a girl. Let's go unpack your things." Ron said.
After dinner Draco sat petting his stomach, he was way too full. "I think I'm going to be sick." he ran off to the bathroom down the hallway. Marissa giggled. "This is nothing like Mum's cooking! I never thought anything could be better!" "Yeah, Draco's an excellent cook, just don't tell Mum. It'll hurt her feelings." Ron laughed and took a swig of his wine. "Thanks baby!" Draco suddenly apperated from the bathroom. "I feel better." he kissed Ron's head, who pushed him away. "What?!" "You were just throwing up! I don't want that in my hair!" Ron said angrily.
"Oh calm down! I brushed my teeth." "In that case..." Ron pulled Draco into his lap and started kissing him. Marissa giggled and walked into the living room to give them some time alone.
"Baby, we shouldn't do this in front of her." "Oh stop acting like Ginny!" "Ron... we can't just let her be by herself. She's hear so she can have a little fun. If we just have random snogging sessions, she'll feel ignored!" "Fine, fine. Go get some games out of our closet, I'll go talk to her." Ron kissed him again and after Draco walked away, he went into the living room and sat next to Marissa. "Hey sis." "Done so soon?" she smiled at him.
"Draco says we shouldn't kiss around you... he says it's not fair for you. He's going to get some games, we have a ton of new ones that none of the kids have... there's perks in living with a Malfoy." Ron laughed and looked at his new sister. "What's going through your mind?" "That was a random question." she said.
"Your eyes... they're just so full of emotion. I suppose the last month has been a lot for you to handle, hasn't it?" "Yes, but I'm so glad that Mum and Dad adopted me, Ron, you have no clue." "I think I do. You know about Harry's past don't you?" "Yes, he told me about it once. He says that he, you, and Hermione were heroes when you were just a little older than me!" she squealed.
"Well...Harry was the real hero..." he blushed with modesty. "But...I mean has he told you about his family?" he tried to change the subject in a hurry. "No... what about them?" "Harry's mother and father were murdered when he was just a year old." "That's horrible!" "He was raised by his Aunt and Uncle, two muggles who hated everything about him. He was practically a starving slave in their house." "How rude!" Ron couldn't help but laugh. "His Godfather was also murdered, by a follower of the Dark Lord; the person who killed Harry's parents. The one who killed Sirius, his Godfather, was his own cousin. That person also happens to be Draco cousin, and is now in prison.
"That's good!" "Yes, yes it is. But my point is... Harry has lost all of his family, and he was raised away from the wizarding world until he was a year older than you. If you ever need anyone to talk to any of this about, he'll be your best choice... he'll understand you." "Thanks Ron." she hugged him.
"So, what do you want to play?" Draco said walking into the room, levitating two piles of board and card games. The next morning Marissa came running into the master bedroom and pounced on top of Draco and Ron. "Get the FUCK off of me!" Draco growled and turned onto his stomach to go back to sleep.
"Somebody's a little grumpy in the morning!" Marissa giggled and pulled the covers off of Ron. "Morning." Ron smiled and stumbled out of bed. "Nice boxers." she giggled, pointing at his pink boxers with red lips on them.
"Hey! Don't pick on me! Besides... these are Draco's I just like wearing them. They're comfortable." He walked lazily over to the wardrobe and pulled out a shirt and pulled it on. Then he made his way over to Draco and pulled the blankets off of the blonde. "Get up... I'm hungry!" "Must you always complain!?" Draco said and reluctantly got out of bed.
"Yes! Because when I do I get what I want!" "Don't give away your secrets Ron, he'll use them against you!" Marissa pointed out.
"Good point... forget I said that, Sweetie." "Yeah, yeah." Draco mumbled and walked into the bathroom to freshen up. After breakfast the boys finally got dressed and walked out into the snow with Marissa. "How much of this do you own?" she asked looking out over a large field that expanded beyond her sight.
"More than the eye can see from here." Ron responded proudly. He summoned he and Draco's brooms from the shed next to the cottage. Draco mounted his and Ron commanded his to float at waist length. "Get on." he said to Marissa. "What?" she said, gaping at the broom.
"Come on, we're going to fly to the ranch, it'll take forever on foot." "Ranch?" "I've never told you?" "No?!" "We have a ranch full of horses and such just over the horizon over there." he pointed behind the house. "Now get on, I won't let you fall off." she did as he said and he mounted in front of her. "Hold onto me, and don't look down if you get scared." They flew up slowly, easing her into it, and then made their way over the house and zoomed to the ranch. The cold winter wind stung their faces, and by the time they landed all of their faces were pink with coldness. Marissa looked over the wooden fence at all of the beautiful silver horses. They were beautiful.
"What are -those-?!" she pointed to the left. Ron and Draco looked at each other. Ron's jaw dropped. "Those are thestrals." he managed to say. "W-Who have you seen die?" he asked, and then regretted it.
"W-What? Why would you ask that?" she looked curiously at him.
"Only people who have seen death can see those." Draco said from behind her.
"It wasn't anything grotesque." she said.
"That's a mighty big word for someone your age." Draco laughed.
"I know." she said proudly.
"So...what was it then?" Ron pushed on.
"Mrs. Appleton, the old owner of my orphanage... she had a heart attack in front of all of us a little over a year ago. She was in the middle of giving a speech. It was all for the best really. I was silently cheering inside. I'm not a bad person, really, she was! Anyway... her son took over when she died, and he's super cute. It was a lot better with her gone." Draco grinned while Ron looked a little scared. "Would you like to ride one?" Draco asked, hopping the fence. "Really?" she smiled.
"Yes, it might be more comfortable than the broom. Still one of us should probably ride with you." "Are you coming Ron?" "No, no. Last time I rode one of those things I couldn't even see it and it creeped the hell out of me, I'll just feed them while you two ride." He watched as the two fly around the sky over the barn. Draco didn't look as pale as he really was during the winter. The snow around them was so extremely pure, he looked like he might actually have some color. Ron liked that Draco was pale; he found it sexy. Marissa screamed as if she were on a roller coaster when Draco directed the thestral into a dive. Ron ran over to wear they'd land in a second and waited for them. He helped Marissa down. "Have fun?" "Draco's insane!" she laughed and fell to the ground, making a snow angel.
Draco walked over to Ron and wrapped his arms around him. "I'm so cold!" Draco whined and nuzzled his nose into Ron's neck for warmth. "Yeah, we should head back, I don't want Marissa getting sick. Mum will kill us!" Ron mused and they flew back to the house. They sat on the floor around the fire in the living room, sipping hot cocoa. "I don't have enough marsh mellows!" Draco whined and pulled out his wand. He levitated a few out of Ron's mug and placed them in his.
"HEY!" his boyfriend yelled and took out his own wand. He levitated a few from Marissa's cup.
"That's not fair! I can't do that to you guys!" she complained.
The two boys laughed and Draco summoned the whole bag from the kitchen. "That's better!" Marissa said, dumping a whole bunch into her steaming cup.
"Does it bother you?" Ron asked.
"Does what bother me?" Marissa tilted her head, looking at her brother.
"That everyone around you can do magic and you can't?" "Sometimes... but it's okay. I know that I wouldn't be allowed to do any for another year anyway. And then I could only do it outside of school. And I'd have to go away to school! I don't think I would like that. I'd get homesick!" She glanced back up at the Malfoy tapestry. "Do you miss your family?" she asked Draco.
"My great aunt and my mother. That's it. They're both dead, though. Besides, they both married into the family, they weren't really in the blood line... lucky them!" he laughed and looked at it too, remembering too many things from his past he glanced away, holding back tears.
A few nights later Ron and Draco sat together in the hot tub, sipping wine. "Baby." Draco said, leaning into Ron's chest.
"Yeah?" "I love you." "I love you too, Sweetie. Is something wrong?" "No, I just felt like telling you that... I know I don't say it as often as I should. I just want you to know how much I really do care about you." "I know, trust me." he kissed the blonde's cheek and wrapped an arm around him. There was a knock on the bathroom do. "Come in." "Are you two dressed?" Marissa said, walking in with hand over her eyes. "Yes, of course! We have swimming trunks on!" Ron said, rolling his eyes.
"Is there a way I can talk to Mum?" "What's wrong?" "Nothing...I just miss her." "Um...sure... I'll help you." he kissed Draco and stepped out of the hot tub, mumbling a drying spell. He walked to the fireplace in the living room and said the password before throwing in some floo powder and saying "The Burrow." He sat down and placed his head into the green flames.
"Mum? Mum!" "Ronald! How is everything?" Molly said, running to her fireplace.
"Great...Marissa wants to talk for awhile." he motioned for her to come to the fire and he left her alone. He walked back into his bathroom and climbed back in next to Draco. "Baby, don't leave me again." Draco whispered and nibbled on the redhead's earlobe. "Mmm... I won't." Ron smiled and relaxed into the pleasure. "Ronnie likey?" "Mmmhumm." Knock, knock, knock. "Damn it." Draco breathed.
"Come in." Ron said, expecting to see Marissa walk in, instead it was Remus.
"Your sister let us in. Hope we're not interrupting anything." he said.
"Us? We're? Oh no...don't tell me..." "Hello, Mr. Weasley," came the deep voice of Severus Snape. "and Mr. Malfoy." Ron groaned, his mood was definitely shot now. "Is there something that you two need?" Draco said angrily, getting out of the hot tub, drying off, and pulling a shirt over his head. "Well, Dumbledore told Severus to tell you both about our next meeting...and I haven't seen you in a while...so I thought....well we can leave if you want..." Remus said sadly. "No! No, Remus, don't leave. Draco's just being a jackass." he sent a glare Draco's way and walked into the bedroom to get a shirt. "Marissa, come here please!" Ron called. "Yes?" she said walking into the room and sitting on the couch near the fire. The other three walked out of the bath room. "You, of course, remember Remus?" Ron asked.
"Yes. Who's that?" she said, looking at Snape.
"That's Remus'....friend...Severus." Severus cleared his throat. "She will call me Professor Snape." "Yes, Professor Snape." Ron repeated.
"Friend? Does that mean they're dating?" she asked with a smile.
"Excuse me?" Severus said with a glare at Ron, telling him to shut up.
"Yes, Severus and I are a couple." Remus piped up, smiling. He walked over and put an arm around Severus and leaned on his shoulder. Draco tired not to laugh and asked, "Remus, will you be going back with Severus to Hogwarts after the break?" he walked over to Ron and pulled him to the couch, where he sat on his lap. "Actually, I have to." the werewolf answered. "Why?" Draco and Ron asked in unison. "It seems that Professor Letterman has been injured on a mission over the break, and Dumbledore would let me to fill in for him as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor until further notice." "That's great!" Ron nearly screamed.
"Do you think the school will be okay with it though?" Draco asked.
"Well, now that -your- father isn't there threatening everyone, I think everything will be fine!" he gave the blonde a small smile and winked. "Why would anyone get mad?" Marissa asked, cluelessly. Draco sighed and got off of Ron's lap. "Let me explain it to you over a snack." he said and walked with the girl to the kitchen. Remus hugged tighter onto Snape, who hugged back once the child was out of the room. "Do you think it wise to explain our whole world to the Muggle?" Severus asked coldly.
"She's not just a Muggle!" Ron fumed. "She's my sister, and she deserves to know everything!" Snape opened his mouth to argue but Remus placed a finger on the mans lips. "Shh..." "Would you two like something to drink?" Ron asked politely.
"Fire Whiskey." Snape mumbled and walked into the living room. "I'll just have some water, thank you." Remus said with an apologetic smile and followed his boyfriend into the living room. Ten minutes later Ron gave them their drinks and Sat on the couch next to Remus, followed by Draco. Marissa yawned. "I'm going up to bed." and with a hug and kiss from her brother and Draco she waved goodnight and went upstairs.
"Are you excited about teaching again?" Draco asked, cuddling up to Ron.
"Yes, of course it won't be as fun without the Golden Trio getting into trouble." he smiled at the redhead. "And I'll miss all of my chats with Harry... but I'm sure it'll be fun. And at least this time if Severus has to take over for my class he won't try to expose any of my secrets, because I have too much dirt on him now!" "Ooh!" Draco exclaimed. "What kind of dirt?" "That is none of your business, Malfoy!" Severus spoke up with a choke and glared at Remus. Remus mouthed 'I'll tell you later.' and kissed Snape.
"So, will you be attending Hermione's graduation tomorrow?" Ron asked.
"A bit odd of it to be in the middle of winter break, but yes, even if I can't convince Sev to come." "No offence to you or anything, Professor Snape, but I doubt Hermione would want you there." Draco laughed and stopped as soon as he saw the threatening glare in Severus' eyes.
"Can you boys keep a secret?" Remus asked. "Sure," Draco perked up. "Is it juicy!?" "No." Lupin chuckled. "Dumbledore's going to go to Hermione's graduation and offer her a position as soon as it's over. Apparently Professor Flitwick is FINALLY retiring. He's been working there longer than Dumbledore for Merlin's sake!" Ron nearly spit out his drink. Was is possible to be that old? At the end of the graduation Hermione ran up to Draco. "We're so proud of you 'Mione!" he squealed and gave her a huge hug. Harry pulled Ron aside and gulped. "Breathe Harry, just breath! She's only graduated! It's not like you're a father already!" "I know, I know... it's just... Damn it Ron! Now I'm worried about other things." "Like what?" "If I have a child and I die...I'll just be putting it through my own hell!" "Harry, you are not going to die-" "YOU CAN'T BE SURE OF THAT, RON!" "Calm down! Listen to me! You ARE NOT going to die. I need you too much, and so does Hermione. Besides, Harry. There would still be Hermione, and my whole family. There's Remus and Seamus... look, Harry... your life isn't going to repeat itself. I won't let it. Now stop trying to find excuses not to be happy, and just go with the flow!" he placed a hand on his best friend's shoulder and looked over to Hermione who was talking to Dumbledore. "Looks like Hermione's getting some good news right now. Go and be a supportive husband!" he mock scolded and pushed Harry towards his wife. "Hey sexy." Draco walked up behind his boyfriend and wrapped his arms around Ron's waist.
"Sweetie, let's get Marissa and go home." Ron said, turning around in Draco's arms and planting a kiss on his neck. Just when they were done eating their dinner there was a knock on the door. Ron opened it and was practically tackled by an excited Hermione. She and Harry explained everything about the Charms teaching position. Ron and Draco pretended to be surprised and exchanged smiles. "So, we'll be moving into the school. That means that every time I need to go on a mission I've got to walk down to Hogsmead before I can apperate, but the exercise will do me good. We wizards are too lazy!" Harry said, sipping a butter beer- he never drank anything stronger, he never knew when he would have to fight the Dark Lord. "You'll come to see us, won't you?" Hermione pleaded.
"Of course!" Draco said and held onto Hermione's hand across the table. "You are my best friend, and you being a teacher isn't going to change that! It'll feel good to visit Hogwarts again! Besides, I really miss those sweets in Honeydukes." Draco licked his lips at the thought of all the delicious treats. "Could I come once?" Marissa asked quietly.
"What? Well...um... you see... Muggles can't really; they can't...well...the thing is-" "Stop babbling Ron!" Hermione rolled her eyes. "Of course Muggles can see Hogwarts, as long as a wizard brings them there! And if you won't, I will." she turned to Marissa and started telling her all the great things about the school and the town of Hogsmead. "Well, it's settled then, we'll bring her there sometime." Ron said, happy that he didn't have to break his sister's heart. It was a good thing Hermione actually read and researched things they never thought they'd ever have to worry about. He sure did love his friends, no matter how weird they were.
!$!$! This chapter is a little shorter than the last, but it's still long for me! I'm bumping this up to R just in case... plus Draco kind of used the 'F' word lol so... yeah, you know, just to be safe! Tell me what you think, but don't be too harsh! Oh and, this time I actually read through it before posting, and fixed a lot of mistakes, but if there is more...forgive me! I AM dyslexic after all! The next chapter will contain New Years! YaY for a Wizarding New Years Bash! Review!!!$!$!