"You sure this is okay?" Draco asked Alice as they were preparing to leave her flat. He was checking his outfit in the bathroom mirror. He had worn a less distinct suit of his; it was still his typical black but simpler. He also left off any unmuggle-like accessories, except for the large platinum ring he always wore on his right hand. They were about to leave to meet Alice's father in the city for dinner who was there on a business trip. Alice hadn't seen her father in months and he insisted that she bring Draco along, since their relationship was getting rather serious.
Alice stepped in front of Draco and softly played with his blazer collar, "You're nervous aren't you?" she asked sincerely, "Don't worry, he's usually pretty relaxed after a few drinks." She was toying with him a bit. Her father was protective of her and would probably ask him some questions, but worse, she knew he would mention unsavory moments from her childhood. Her father adored talking about his trials and tribulations in single parenting.
For Draco, his nerves were palpable. Not only would he be meeting his girl's supposedly protective father but having to pretend he was a muggle wasn't going to be easy. Alice already told him everything she mentioned to her father about his background which flowed considerably well with reality, minus the magic part. He memorized it and hoped he wouldn't slip up.
"Is this new?" Draco asked of the blue dress Alice was wearing.
"Yeah, your mother insisted that I should buy it," she said while putting in some vintage earrings.
"Well, it fits you perfectly," Draco admired her. "She's still raving about that shopping trip. I've never seen her come home with so many bags."
"She practically bought out an entire store and then some. We had to take two taxis home!" Alice laughed thinking back to the shopping spree she went on with Narcissa in London's West End. It was quite an experience shopping with someone who had no spending limit. "I'm glad she had a good time."
"Don't be surprised if she does it seasonally," Draco said, as he began to open the door for Alice. "Wait," he stopped Alice with his hand, "Aren't you forgetting something?" He looked at the table where Alice last laid her wand after practicing a glacius charm on a cup of water. Alice admittedly didn't bring her wand with her everywhere.
"Where I am supposed to stick it?" She implored holding her hands out, her dress was slightly form-fitting and she had planned to only carry a small clutch handbag.
"I'll bring it then," Draco picked it off the table and put it next to his in his pocket, "A witch shouldn't be without her wand."
"Good reason to buy a bigger handbag," Alice joked even though she knew Draco was right, she should get in the habit of having it on her even if she spent the day outside the magical realm.
They decided to take a taxi to the restaurant where her father, Thomas McNally, made reservations for the three of them. It was an upscale steak house so they made sure to dress the part and arrive appropriately, even though Mr. McNally wasn't fussy about such things.
During the last several weeks, Draco and Alice's relationship blossomed and matured. For both of them, it was refreshing to be in a relationship where they already knew each other's past demons; they had literally flushed out most of their history during the week before the trial. The newspapers commented on their courtship from time to time, but it was often more flattering than offensive. Many hailed it as an example of how youth are breaking the prejudice barriers in the wizarding world.
Draco and Alice spent a lot of their time together as mentor and student as they continued going through basic spells from textbooks. By skipping over charms that had less utility for Alice's life, they had already moved to the Standard Book of Spells, Grade 3. Additionally, Alice could now use her wand to gain entrance into Diagon Alley, where she often met Draco for lunch before his research at the Ministry came to a close.
Draco's research proved incredibly successful, so successful in fact that he was receiving a gold medal for a Ground-Breaking Contribution at the annual International Alchemical Conference in Cairo that summer. His intensive file research done in the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes allowed him to produce a cure for a lingering mental instability caused by coming in contact with certain cursed objects. His potion, a recombined brew, was already curing several patients at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. Professor Slughorn unexpectedly took no credit for Draco's discovery, and rightly so. Instead, the professor assisted in its distribution. He was overjoyed that his student had gone on to greatness and it had earned Draco a coveted spot on his shelf of portraits. Draco was even allotted the title, Master Potioneer. Things could not have been going better for him.
The weeks following the trial were overwhelming for Alice but with the constant support of Draco she felt more confident of the changes she experienced. She had randomly met several people during her trips to Diagon Alley and mostly all those encounters were incredibly pleasant. Many mentioned that they had known her grandfather in some capacity, which didn't surprise her. Some wondered whether she would write another book. She had given it some thought, though it would have to come after she completed the book she was basing off her dissertation research. Not surprisingly, a few were bold enough to question whether she was really dating Draco Malfoy, to which she replied jovially, "There was no reason she wouldn't!" She had also written a personal essay for Hermione Weasley's ethics journal, outlining her initial reactions to the trial and general experiences in the wizarding world. In it she wrote highly of the Malfoy family, which may have surprised many readers, considering their Death Eater background. She also found out that she had a lot in common with the muggle-born witch after they had a spirited chat over some coffee. Alice was confident they would collaborate on something in the future.
From the taxi, Alice could see her father standing in front of the restaurant and she couldn't help running out the cab door to give him a big hug, "Dad!"
"Well look at you! As lovely as ever," he sounded astoundingly British compared to Alice's Americanized accent, "And you must be Drake." He intentionally pronounced his name wrong.
Alice interjected laughing, "It's Draco, Dad!" She had already told him this on the phone and she knew he was teasing her.
"Oh, of course it is! Sorry about that Draco," he offered his hand.
"It's a pleasure to meet you sir," Draco said formally, shaking his hand firmly.
"I've heard a great deal about you," Mr. McNally said nudging his daughter as they were escorted by a hostess to their table, "Alice is quite smitten I can tell."
"Dad!" Alice rolled her eyes, at least he sounded like he was in a good mood.
"Then that's preferable for me sir," Draco replied, amused at their interaction.
After being seated and ordering a few drinks, Mr. McNally asked Draco, "So I hear you're a chemist working on some vaccines?"
"Yes, I've been compiling research on older vaccines mostly. But I'm finally getting back into the lab," Draco was slightly unsure what else to say but luckily Alice's father never let anyone talk too long.
"Well he has the same solitary patience as you," his eyes shifted twoards his daughter before turning back on Draco, "I always told her she better not find a boring old business man like her father."
"Oh Dad you're not boring, aren't you working on some major mergers right now?"
"Oh yes, pushing money around as usual. I remember when you were nine and having to go to your school on career day, I bored the socks off your class with my speech and you ended up punching some girl in the nose that afternoon," He laughed.
"She did what?" Draco was shocked.
"You better believe it! Had myself in the principal's office getting a rundown of her brute behavior. Should never have signed her up for that kung fu class. A little fireball she was."
Alice couldn't believe he already started with the childhood anecdotes, "Hey, I was nine and it was hard enough fitting in without everyone thinking your dad was a stuffy old British man. I was horribly mocked, what was I suppose to do? And it was karate, not kung fun."
"Right, well, it built your character my dear," he said jovially, "I hear she's quite a strong cookie now."
"I think so," Draco agreed while looking encouragingly at Alice.
"Ah smart man," he said, noticing their eye contact.
"You have to be smart to keep up with her," Draco said.
"That's all her mother in her," her father said admiringly, "She gets all the stubbornness from her as well."
Alice decided to change the topic, "Thanks Dad and I get my brazenness from you. So how are Jane and the two terrors?" She was referring to his wife and her two step-siblings, twins Johanna and Jacob.
"Keeping their parents on their wit's end as can be expected. They're fit to start junior high next year. Hard to believe!"
"They grow up so fast," Alice reminisced, she was in high school when they were born.
"As do their hobbies. This summer involves soccer camp, band camp, ballet camp, swimming camp and bloody hell knows what else. You were easy Alice, just sent you off to science camp and you were happy. Today kids do way too much."
"At least they're getting socially involved outside of school," Alice said, which was very unlike her at that age.
"Well, you turned out just fine! How about you Draco, how was your schooling? Play any sports?"
"Well, I actually went to a boarding school in the Scotland Highlands. It was as you would imagine it would be. But in terms of sports, I did play…" Draco hesitated, his mind trying to be a magical to non-magical word translator.
Alice intervened quickly, "He played cricket!"
"That is devastatingly British my boy… "
The meal went on with similar banter. Alice's father was always a good conversationalist and kept the topics changing and out of the ordinary. Of course, he would share several more embarrassing moments from Alice's childhood and she wondered why Draco was nervous. Mr. McNally would leave rather impressed with Draco and surprised that Alice was dating someone from presumably the upper crust of British society. He could also sense that they were very relaxed around each other which bid well for a relationship.
Outside the restaurant Alice gave her father another long hug.
"No tears now!" He said jokingly, even though Alice wasn't near crying.
"Dad, I'm not crying!"
"I know, I know, you never were much for crying," then he said to Draco discretely, "If she cries you know something's wrong." Alice just shook her head in disbelief at her dad's remark.
"I'll remember that sir," Draco laughed while shaking his hand.
"I trust you to take good care of her. Now," he rubbed his full tummy ceremoniously, "If I don't get some sleep I may never make it on my early flight out tomorrow. I'll see you kids in a few months." The family had planned to visit London that summer as they did every year.
"Call me after you land!" Alice reminded him, even though it was unnecessary to do so.
"Will do my dear, will do," he left via taxi and Alice and Draco waved him away.
Once his taxi was out of sight, Alice intertwined her arm with Draco's. It was Friday night so they had planned to stay out a while longer before heading back to her flat. "Tell me again why you were nervous?" Alice asked amused.
"Your father was more spirited than I expected," he replied, realizing his nerves were definitely ill-founded prior to their meeting. "I certainly now know a lot more about you!"
Alice blushed and shook her head, "I'm just happy he didn't bring any photographs. I'm sure he wished he did."
"It's all very endearing though, despite giving you a hard time he thinks the world of you," Draco said admirably.
Alice smiled, "Yeah, I know. He was a bit clueless at times raising me, but he really was an amazing dad. No matter the incident, he could always bring a smile to my face."
"I wish I could say the same about my father. He's extremely difficult to please," Draco remarked dryly.
"I think he's proud of you even if he doesn't know how to express it," Alice squeezed his arm a bit, "I mean, you're a Master Potioneer now, that's huge right?"
Draco laughed, he hadn't really tried out the title yet. "Well, it's been a good season," he said humbly and then looked at Alice who was staring at him admiringly.
"So modest, even I know the award you're getting is a big deal and," she slowed her pace a little, "You've saved a lot of people."
A small smile was apparent on Draco's face. He had freed several patients at St. Mungo's from their mental disease, giving them their lives back; an unexpected task from a former Death Eater. It did make him feel good inside, though he was not sure if it made up for his past wrong doings. "It's nothing," he said before taking his suit coat off and placing it over Alice's shoulders. The air had gotten cooler since leaving the restaurant.
"Always a gentleman," Alice thought as she enjoyed the residual warmth it contained. It was another gesture of pure chivalry she was still getting use to. "I think you're something," Alice said sweetly.
"C'mon Al, let's get a drink," he started calling her "Al" rather recently as a sort of pet name. He then placed his arm around her shoulder as they made their way to Charing Cross Road. Draco wanted to take Alice to a wizarding pub in Diagon Alley, one that often had a live band that played good music. Perhaps they would even dance.