Chapter Twenty-three: Denouement
Draco woke up cautiously.
He always woke up with some trepidation, as if the morning was going to pounce on him and attack with bloodthirsty delight. But usually he was waking up in his own bed, not on a couch. And usually, he did not wake up to the sound of loud and cheerful singing, or the smell of something delicious.
He opened one eye carefully, and then the other.
…
The couch was in Hermione's living room; the singing was Hermione, and the smell was, apparently, breakfast.
He remembered now that he'd been a gentleman, and after staying up late talking and kissing and forgiving, she'd told him to stay and he'd relegated himself to the couch.
But the singing and the breakfast were wonderful, and the light kiss that Hermione dropped on his forehead with a "Good morning!" was even more so.
…
Unfortunately, Draco remembered that he had to go to work. He remembered mid-snog, with Hermione up on the counter and their hands twined and sudsy from the dishes, to be exact.
"Merlin's pants," he whispered to her lips. "I wish I didn't have a job."
But he'd been truant for too long. He didn't even remember what excuse he'd given for the past week. So he sighed, and told Hermione that he had to go, and if he didn't return before sundown, that she should wear his handkerchief beside her heart forevermore.
He didn't have a handkerchief, actually, (he'd burned all the stiff, Malfoy-monogrammed ones a long time ago) but that was beside the point.
She laughed, and splashed him with more water when he tried to sneak in another kiss.
…
He was surprised at how easily they'd slipped back into this, whatever their relationship was. It was as if it was simply inevitable, undisturbed by fair or foul weather.
…
Draco needed a new shirt, since Hermione had gotten his covered in soap and water. Rather than go home, he bought another shirt. He wasn't sure he was ready to face the gleam that entered Narcissa's eye at any thought of grandchildren.
…
The work was endless. Accidental hexes and potion mishaps, wounds from cursed curtains and silencing spells by irate relatives. Draco fixed it all. There was a lack of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes employees in the wards, and he was definitely relieved.
About halfway through the day, he had the rather odd experience of a patient asking for him.
He was an irate old man, crotchety, favoring a wand built into a cane. Draco came out into the waiting area to find a nurse talking to him in a soothing tone.
"I want Healer Malfoy," the old man said. "That's the only healer I'll see."
…
Draco had never seen the man before. But he'd asked for Draco, and Draco would not turn him away. As he prepared the potion for the man's ailment- curse backlash- he asked him one question.
"You know who I am?"
The old man snorted. "You're the best Healer in the country. I won't go to anyone but the best."
…
For the rest of the day, Draco greeted patients with a smile.
…
At the end of the day, Draco was worn out, but vaguely happy. He waltzed into the Manor humming a lively tune, and took the stairs two at a time to his room to change.
Narcissa appeared in his doorway. "Out with Hermione again soon?"
Draco tried to keep a scowl on his face, but it didn't work. Instead, he threw a pillow at Narcissa, who laughed and told him not to start a war that he couldn't win.
…
He saw Narcissa off to Andromeda's home (where she could live vicariously through Andromeda and her grandchild) and then wandered around the Manor rather aimlessly, having given the house-elves the night to do as they pleased.
He'd just sat down in the library when the fire before him turned an unpleasant shade of green and Ron's head appeared in it.
(Draco was quite surprised).
…
"Hey, mate!" Ron said, rather cheerfully ignoring the fact that Draco's jaw had dropped.
"Uh… hi?" Draco asked cautiously, not sure what kind of etiquette this meeting required.
"So, if you're not doing anything," Ron said, "Mum was wondering if you'd like to come over for supper."
"But… er…." He wasn't sure how to phrase this politely. "Does your family really want my company still?"
"Blimey, mate, are you still on about that? You're forgetting that none of us ever really liked the bloke anyways. Regardless, Pansy's coming over and I bet she could use the company. And mum's always looking to fatten you up."
Draco considered it.
"Hermione's coming too."
"I'll be there right away."
…
He approached the Weasleys' door with flowers for his host and a present or two tucked in his pocket. Before he reached it, however, a floating pinkish thing attacked him. It reached into its quiver and started firing at Draco, who immediately knew what was going on.
"GEORGE WEASLEY!" He yelled gleefully, running for cover.
…
Apparently, George had wanted to test his Cupid before Valentine's Day, and Draco was his chosen victim. Luckily for Draco but unluckily for George's product, it had been proven that a simple snowball could take down the Cupid.
George decided to avenge his product.
Chaos ensued.
…
Luckily for Draco, his flowers survived, and Mrs. Weasley accepted them with a smile, which interrupted her glowering at their soaked, disheveled states. Also luckily for Draco, Hermione was rather good at clean-up charms, (he supposed that he shouldn't be surprised as she was good at everything), and he was returned to his impeccably dry state.
…
Draco, Hermione and George walked into a rather curious scene. There were redheads sprawled all over the place. The only two non-Weasleys were Potter (who was practically a Weasley anyways) and Pansy, who was sitting rather shyly next to Ron and listening to Percy talk about his job at the Ministry. (Some things, apparently, never change).
Pansy looked up and saw them, and looked equally delighted and worried at the sight of Draco in the doorway. He supposed that she was still feeling guilty, but he also suspected that she'd cooled Ron down a little, and he owed her for that.
Besides. Slytherins would be Slytherins, and he'd made his peace with that.
…
Harry pulled Draco aside just before supper was announced.
"Everything's good?"
"Right as rain," Draco assured him, wondering why Harry looked as though he'd seen the Grim. He sucked up his courage to ask, and comfort (that's right, you heard him) if need be.
"Are you alright?"
Harry twitched, and looked back at Weaselet- Ginny. He did this a couple more times before Draco grabbed him by the shoulders and asked again.
Harry exhaled. "I'm going to propose to Ginny, and I'm a little nervous."
"That's your problem?" Draco demanded. "She loves you. You love her. You're already part of the family. I'm surprised you haven't done this already. Merlin, I thought you'd be churning out little Potterlings by now!"
Harry's colour was improving. "Really?"
"Really. Now, use your Gryffindor courage, and go for it!"
"Okay," Harry said with a sigh. "Okay, I can do this."
"Good Godric, of course you can."
…
After that pep talk, Draco thought that everything went rather swimmingly.
Just as Mrs. Weasley joined the group to inform them all that dinner was ready, Harry stood up.
"Wait a moment, everyone."
Harry gulped nervously, and Draco sent him an encouraging smile.
That's right. An encouraging smile. From Draco.
"Ginny," he turned to her, and gave a little half-smile, trembling a little. "Ginny, I love you. You are my world. You are my everything, and I cannot imagine my life without you."
He went down on one knee, and pulled out a ring, and everyone in the room was suddenly, absolutely still. Ginny looked at him calmly, with a gentle smile on her face, as if she knew that this was coming for a long time, as if it was inevitable and just as routine as brushing her hair in the morning.
"Will you marry me?" Harry asked, and the question was evident in his entire being.
Ginny's smile grew. "Yes," she said simply, and bent in to kiss him.
The entire room cheered, and Draco found himself cheering with them, holding Hermione's hand and feeling like he'd witnessed a miracle.
…
The evening held a feeling of good cheer after that. It was as sunny inside, even long after the sun went down.
Draco caught Pansy in a corner, who bit her lip and looked down.
"Hey," he said in a normal tone of voice, as if everything was completely normal and they were the most average people that ever lived. "You remember how you always wanted those earrings of my mother's, but in purple?"
She nodded, face creased with confusion rather than guilt.
"Well," he said, digging them out of his pocket, "I finally found them for you."
He handed them to her and smiled, telling her with his eyes that there was nothing more to say.
…
Draco ended up, as the evening wound down, on a hill out on the Weasley property, arm around Hermione who was curled into his side. He toyed with a strand of her hair and felt in his pocket for his final gift of the night.
What a saint he was being! He'd given Molly Weasley flowers, Harry advice, Pansy reassurance of their friendship, and George a snowball to the face. What a generous man he was. He was discovering, though, that he liked the feeling of giving. It was probably, he mused, one of the reasons he liked his job.
He passed the tiny box to Hermione, who turned it over in her hands.
"Open it," he whispered, tugging her hair gently.
It was a tiny charm of a book, which opened and shut like a locket. She ran a fingertip over it, and he could feel her hesitate.
"It's very nice," she said uncertainly.
"You haven't opened it all the way," he said, smiling and trailing his lips down her cheek. "Open the book and kiss it."
"Kiss it," she said, sounding amused. "Are you sure you won't be jealous?"
"Quite," Draco said, and watched as she followed his instructions.
The little charm turned into a key, ornate and golden.
"It's to the Manor, and will open any door inside," he said. "You'll never have to wait to be let in."
She kissed the key again, and watched as it turned back into a charm. She put it around her neck sedately, drawing away from Draco to complete the task.
And then she tackled him to the grass and kissed the living daylights out of him, so he must have done something right.
…
A/N:
And here, my long-suffering readers, is my update. Mostly fluff, but I hope you enjoyed it! There will be two more chapters, a wedding and an epilogue. I'm almost sad to see the story conclude, but I'm looking forward to it all the same.
KodeV: Thank you so much! I'm glad that you enjoy my writing, and your reviews always make me smile. I hope you enjoy my final chapters equally!
Evaline101: Thank you! I'm sorry for the slow posting, but here it is.
Ayjah: Thanks :)
Meadow-music: I appreciate your opinion! Thank you!
NightWhisper184: Thanks for the paragraph! I'm thrilled to know that Draco seems human, and glad that you think I'm hitting the mark on the writing. Thanks again!
Fulgance: It is, indeed, drawing to a close. I love the story, but I don't want to drag it on forever. I would like to end it with everyone happy with it- the characters and the readers both. That said, I love your reviews too! Thank you for all the effort you put into them as well. Thank you thank you!
The Silvermoon Wolf: Thank you so much! I am writing happy indeed.
Pug1998: Glad you liked it. Thanks for the review :)
Amber611: Thank you! I hope you continue to enjoy!
Alright, that's all (lots of reviewers, thanks so much!) until the next time!
-Isefyr
