Summary: Draco asks his mother for something important; her blessing.
Rated: K
Genre: Family
Competition/Challenge Block
Written for/Stacked with: The Houses Competition (Year 8); Monthly Challenges for All (Year 4)
THC: Slytherin - Astronomy; Drabble ([Character] Draco Malfoy)
MC4A: Fireworks (All About Family; Bang Bang; Tight Knit); Garden (Blossoms [Lime])
Word Count: 713
Beta: Dhrish; Ash; Hope
The Only One
Draco stood a respectful distance from his mother's vanity where she currently sat brushing her hair while still in her nightgown. It was still relatively early and not exactly appropriate for him to be in his parents room before his mother was properly dressed, but Draco wouldn't have disturbed her if it wasn't important. He had plans to spend the day on an outing with the Greengrass family and his mother had something he desperately needed to make the day memorable for the special woman in his life. They had already gone through the standard pleasantries of morning chatter regarding what the day would hold for them, so now was the time as any to ask—he would be running late as is.
"Please, Mother," Draco said, voice wavering but not quite pleading, "Will you grant me the opportunity to present Astoria the Black family ring?"
His mother paused in her brushing, turning her head away from the mirror to look at him fully. Her lips were pressed into a firm line, yet her eyes were soft, contemplating. She rested the lime-colored brush on the vanity and folded her hands in her lap.
"I knew there was something else," she said.
Her face covered in the cream-colored mask she'd applied minutes earlier made her appear strange to Draco. "You are certain this girl is the one for you? She is—"
"Perfect for me," Draco cut in, having heard every doubt and concern from her already. "I hope that someday you will see that for yourself."
She inclined her head some, not quite looking down her nose at him in the process despite her sitting down. She managed to still appear so intense and serious even in her current state. A mother's gift.
"You know your father would never approve."
Draco set his jaw, expression hardening, silver eyes swirling like a storm. "Well, it is a good thing he has no say."
"You have to respect—"
"No, Mother. I don't," Draco sharply cut in. "For the first time in my entire life, I have a chance to make my own decisions without his or your interference. If that decision is wrong, then so be it, but I know it isn't. I am only here now disrupting your morning to ask for the heirloom out of respect for you, Mother."
He swallowed hard now, trying to keep it together while standing up to her. "If you truly believe that she isn't right for me, that you don't support my choice, those are your own thoughts and opinions and not the one who is behind bars using you as a mouthpiece to uphold dead standards to our shambled family name, then so be it. I'll respect your answer, leave you be, and never ask for it again."
Draco waited. The silence ticked on, and his mother remained motionless in front of him like a porcelain doll.
Her hand moved from her lap to a knob of one of the small drawers on the vanity. Draco watched her every move as she gently pulled it open and slipped her hand in, pulling out a deep purple-colored velvet box from its depths and setting it on top.
"This has been in the Black family for a century at least. Passed down as a betrothal gift from father to son." She opened the box, revealing the silver-banded ring adorned with a complex, intricate pattern of garnet and onyx gems peppered around the thin, knotted band. "Since I am the only living Black, it became mine.
"And now"—she picked it up and offered it to Draco, who simply stared at it—"it is yours."
He slowly picked up the box and held it in his hand. His mother stood up and stepped in front of him; she placed her hands over his and urged him to curl his fingers around the box, the pop of the box clapping shut as Draco regarded her.
"You and Astoria have my blessing," she half-whispered, brushing a hand over his cheek before pulling him into an embrace. "I love you, Draco."
His throat was knotted from sudden emotion, so instead he hugged his mother back, giving her a light kiss to her temple. Deep down, he was glad his mother approved of his decision.