Ah this is an important one! I really hope you like this and it doesn't get confusing. Your thoughts and comments are immensely appreciated - I like knowing the best way I can reach my readers. Thank you all so much! Enjoy this one, as there will be more to come!
Lucius sat outside on the back porch, attempting to avoid any interior part of the house—the women of the Greengrass and Malfoy family were all in a tizzy around Astoria. They wanted her to look like the perfect bride. Lucius wondered why they were fussing so much; they'd had a month to plan everything, although they honestly had her whole look decided upon in one week. He surmised that the main fuss over it all was due to the fact that this would be the one opportunity to dress Astoria up enough to make her appear completely healthy—as if there was absolutely no Dark curse upon her at all. Lucius sat there in the cool cloudy air and pondered the situation he was not all too fond of, but was accustoming himself to.
His heir, his only son, was about to break century-old tradition tonight. Lucius thought back along his family tree—every Malfoy so far had married a Slytherin, female or male. Draco was going to marry a Hufflepuff. Goodness, how had he let this happen? Then he recalled his conversation with him from a few months ago. He'd told his son that he would allow the fateful relationship continue if it made Draco happy; isn't that what fathers did? He had recounted all of this information with Mr. Greengrass one night over a few glasses of firewhiskey. The Ravenclaw man had reached across the table, patted Lucius's wrist, and affirmed, "Lucius, I think you've just realized the price of being a father." It was true—he had indeed sacrificed his own satisfaction in order to ensure his son was happy. It was just so different from the way things had always been in his house though. He'd constantly remind them that he was the head of the house, and no one was to attempt to exceed that law. Things were strange now. They were pleasantly abnormal, he supposed.
As Lucius mused, he hardly noticed the sound of hurried footsteps of someone joining him on the porch. He looked up when a sweep of color caught his eye. Astoria had run outside breathlessly, wheezing slightly as she tried to calm down. She glanced up. "Oh my," she murmured, trying to tuck her limp hair behind her ears and curtsy politely. "I'm terribly sorry for disturbing you, Master Malfoy. I didn't know you'd be out here. I thought you were going to help Draco get ready at the cottage with Bazel." It was true—the couple had decided to move away from Malfoy Manor after the wedding, so they'd selected a small cottage in the countryside in which to start their own lives. Lucius was expected to Apparate and meet the two young pureblood males there so that he could assist his son in dressing. But he didn't want to arrive too early. He didn't want to have that extra time to feel the mixture of emotions swirling inside of him. "Soon, Miss Greengrass, very soon I will go. I just decided to take some time out here alone for a bit. And…I do beg your pardon for asking, but…aren't you supposed to be getting ready too?" he replied, trying to be pleasant to her even though he was convinced she was taking his Draco away from him. She giggled. "I suppose I am, but Mother is insisting I take a second bath, but this time in buttermilk so my skin will be soft. I already took a bath this morning! I'm clean enough!"
"Ah, girls and their ideas. That's why I'm allowing Draco to do most of his dressing himself. I don't want to stress him out."
"And please don't make him take two baths."
"I won't, Miss Greengrass. I can assure you,"
Lucius wasn't sure what else to say to her. She was a very brilliant girl, and he was sure he would like her more if she wasn't romantically involved with his son. She was young, cute, but sophisticated enough to stand on her own. He didn't have to worry about the awkward silence for too long though, because she gasped and knelt down at his feet. He'd nearly forgotten that the two great big dogs they owned were sleeping there. She gently stroked their long-haired heads in fascination. "I didn't know you had puppies…." she murmured. He was about to smugly correct her that the two dogs were certainly not puppies, but after glancing down and seeing her expression of pure joy caused by something as simple as stroking the dogs, he decided to not do that to her. "Oh yes. They live outside mostly. They only come inside to eat and get baths—Narcisa likes the house to stay clean. When Draco was little he used to smuggle them into his room all the time. But they're lazy dogs now. They just sit around most of the day." he explained. Astoria giggled as one sniffed her nose.
The good mood was broken though, when Daphne came running out and grabbed Astoria by the arm. "Don't touch the dogs after you've just had a bath! Do you want to take a third one too? Now come on! Mother's been looking everywhere for you, and Mistress Narcissa wants to show you an idea she came up with for your hair. Pardon us, Master Malfoy." she spilled before curtseying politely and then dragging her younger sister back inside. Lucius felt himself grinning slightly. He looked over at the clock on the wall. It was time to help Draco. Slowly, he rose from his chair. Lucius glanced down at the two dogs who were already reassuming their sleeping position. Drawing his wand, he swooped it back and forth twice, concentrating on his destination, and felt himself being swiftly Apparated to the cottage just outside Wiltshire.
Bazel opened the front door when Lucius knocked. "Sir," he greeted, bowing. "It's a good thing you got here when you did. Draco's having…a bit of a time right now. I think he just needs you." Lucius suddenly felt startled. Why was Draco having a moment? Was he beginning to regret his decision to marry Astoria? Suddenly, Lucius realized that he hoped not. For all this time of resenting his attraction to the girl, it just dawned on him that she made Draco so naturally happy—without her, he would just go back to being quiet and somber. Lucius stepped in quickly, heading straight for Draco's bedroom. Sure enough, his son was sitting on the bed, head in his hands, crying like a child. Bazel quietly shut the door. "I'm going to leave you two alone." he whispered.
Lucius tried to remain composed—seeing Draco crying was welling up that emotion of deep sadness in him, and he did not want to shed any tears. He sat down on the bed. "Son, can you tell me what's wrong?" Draco heaved a sobbing sigh. "I can't…this tie…." He opened his hands to reveal the silk green tie that he was supposed to be wearing around his neck. Lucius felt himself smile a bit. "Can you not tie it correctly? It's alright, Draco. It's nothing to cry about. I'm here. I can help you." he assured. Still whimpering tearfully, Draco allowed him to skillfully loop the piece of fabric delicately around the collar of his white shirt, setting it perfectly. "Better?" Lucius asked. He felt like he was talking to the seven-year-old son he once had. Draco shuddered and let out another sob. "Draco, there's something else." he said. "What's troubling you? This is supposed to be the happiest day of your life."
"Am I doing the right thing?"
"W-What…?"
"She's so young, Father. She's eighteen. And she's just so fragile…what if I'm wrong? What if she's getting better just naturally and it has nothing to do with me? She's a Hufflepuff, and—"
"Draco, Draco. Calm down. You're just nervous, that's all. Let's take this step by step. We'll solve it by using our logic, like the Slytherins we are. Alright?"
"…Yes, Father."
"Now then. First, yes she is young. Eighteen is very young to get married. But I spent some time alone with her today, and I can sense that she is very mature. She doesn't act like a swinging, childish, average eighteen-year-old girl. She's a woman. Her upbringing and background and even her experiences have caused her to become wise beyond her years. By the way, I'll just remind you that your mother was twenty when I married her."
"B-But…she had me when she was twenty-five. I thought you married just a year or two previous."
"No, we never wanted to tell you, but we tried for five years to have a baby. It would always either fail or end in a miscarriage. We were so lucky to have had you."
"I…I didn't know that…."
"And onto your second worry—the mediwizard even told you his research concluded that she was improving in health due to the love and happiness surrounding her. Think about when she arrived, Draco. I hadn't even seen her. Your mother was positively frightened of her case. But who visited her most often to keep her company? Who showed her the compassion she needed to revive? You did. Not a bloody house-elf, not me, not your mother. You did. That's when she really started getting better. She loves you, she fought her denying brother for you. It's not in your head, Draco. Anyone can see that you two have a very unique connection. …Even I can. And the last thing. Draco, I know I made a very pointed deal of the fact that you're breaking century-old tradition. But honestly, that's not your problem. It's mine. I have to just learn to handle it. Look, your mother had a cousin that was in Gryffindor, and even though his family disagreed with it, he isolated himself—not the other way around."
"S-Sirius Black,"
"Yes, it was Sirius Black."
"But Aunt Bella—"
"Oh, Draco. You know I've always told you since you were a day old that I thought she was insane. I never actually liked her. I tolerated her for your mother's sake."
"Is…is that what you'll do with Astoria?"
"For the beginning. But I'm almost positive that girl will grow on me. She already put a smile on my face for the first time, and I was only with her for a few minutes. What I'm trying to say is that I'm starting to believe that perhaps the Malfoy family needs to have a bit of a change. I'm a prime example. The first Malfoy to be thrown in Azkaban. Make something good out of it, Draco. Conceal that black mark on our name by showing everyone that change works for the better too."
Draco looked up at him. Lucius suddenly felt the dam of emotions erupt. The tears poured out. To hide the fact that he was crying in front of his son (for the first time ever), he pulled Draco into a hug. "It's just hard for me to watch my baby grow up into such a good man." he whispered. "I always encouraged you to follow in my footsteps. I was angry when you didn't by falling for this girl. And now I believe it couldn't be any better that you became so good." Draco let out a little hiccup of a sob, which made Lucius smile through his tears. He pulled out of the hug. "Now let's get your coat on and comb this hair again. This is not a day for worry, my child, it's a day of celebration. I'm going to do my best to make you feel less stressed." he assured. Draco dried his eyes. "I wonder if Astoria is nervous," he thought aloud. Lucius chuckled. "With that sister of hers, her mother, and your own mother, she's bound to be a nervous wreck. They've already made her bathe twice." Draco laughed along with him. "Oh, goodness…."
Bazel reentered the room to help Draco slip into his black coat and tuck in his shirt again. Lucius tried to be gentle as he combed through his son's fine platinum-blonde hair. More of those unnamable emotions flooded back into him, thinking about when Draco was little and he would have his hair gelled back to look just like his father. Bazel stood back to take in the sight of his brother-in-law. "I'm proud," he said to Draco. Lucius stepped back too. "As am I," The groom thanked them both. They stepped outside the house, using Apparition to get them to the church.
Narcissa and Lucius each took one of Draco's arms to walk him down the aisle during the ceremony. His mother was nearly gleaming with pride. But also, she had endless tears pouring down her cheeks. Lucius wrapped an arm around her as a comfort—something Draco would've never imagined to have happen. As he stood at the altar, he looked back at the doors, eager to greet his beautiful bride.
He was not prepared for what he saw.
Astoria was absolutely beyond gorgeous. She was wearing a long white gown that was full and made her look like a princess. Her veil covered her delicate face and trailed down the back of her dress, stopping just at the ground. Lace decorated just the top portion of her dress. She had subtle sparkles hidden in the beautiful fabric that glittered whenever she moved. For the first time ever, the crowd got to see her with her hair pulled back away from her face; whether it was because it was too limp to curl, they didn't know. But the way she had it rolled back and wrapped in a neat swirling bun just to the left side of her head finished off her completely stunningly elegant look. She was a princess. She was Draco's princess.
Lucius held his wife as she cried tears of happiness, not believing that he was getting to watch his son on this special day. Yes, it was true; Astoria was not his first choice of marriage for Draco, but she was not a terrible bride. He could gradually accept her for his son. When he was in Azkaban, he'd figured Voldemort would punish him by keeping him there forever—the thought of seeing Draco's wedding day was practically not possible. Lucius felt blessed, lucky, happy. Narcissa slipped her delicate hand into his. "He's crying…" she whispered, pointing slightly up at Draco. It was true; his son had tears slipping down his smiling cheeks as Astoria looked up lovingly into his eyes. It took Lucius a moment to realize that the priest had just repeated the line, 'in sickness and in health'. Draco bent down to Astoria and whispered something in her ear. It was her turn to start crying now. Lucius knew he'd said, "I truly promise,"
The ceremony ended in a passionate, true-love's kiss between the bride and groom. Everyone applauded (and a lot more people thatn just the two families were crying—they all must've known about Astoria's sickness and Draco's resolve to protect her) and followed the couple out of the church. Somewhere down the aisle, Draco swept his bride up into his arms, carrying her outside. He caught his father's eye briefly. Lucius gave him a proud nod. On the happiest occasion since the bloody war, Lucius finally found himself at peace for whatever reason—perhaps it was mainly because he accepted the help of others, he'd listened, and overall worked to mold himself into a better person. Today was the first day he'd actually felt the fruits of his labors.