Worth the Wait
Chapter Five
Draco shuffles several sheets of parchment around on his desk, narrowly avoiding spilling an ink pot that was left opened in the process. Draco knows that that must've been Astoria's doing. He never forgets to stopper his ink pots– Astoria never remembers to.
With the birth of his child looming, Draco is finding it more and more necessary to go over every inch of his and Astoria's marriage contract, lest his plan be thwarted by something he missed. He had already done this countless times since Astoria first suggested her plan, but Draco thinks he can never be too thorough.
It appears to Draco, though, that his wife had been correct in her assessment. It seems as though the only stipulation apart from the actual marriage is to produce at least one male heir. Well, almost. Astoria failed to mention that only Draco can initiate a separation or divorce, in their case.
That particular aspect tends to be a point which most Pureblood marriage contracts leave up to the individual families involved. If Draco had to make an educated guess, he'd guess that the stipulation that Astoria could not initiate a separation, or even live separately from her husband once married– that it had to be Draco to do it– had come from his father.
Draco knows that that was a stipulation in his parents own marriage contract, which is where Lucius must've gotten the idea. Draco likes to think that if she was legally allowed to, that his mother would've left his father years ago. The bastard of a man would deserve it.
Draco lifts his head when he hears a knock at his study door. Draco almost never receives interruptions when working in his study, so he wonders who it might be. Astoria is still on a near-constant bedrest, so he knows that it is unlikely to be her.
With a wave of his hand, the door to Draco's study unlocks and swings open, revealing his mother, wearing a smile that Draco has grown to learn has one meaning: trouble.
"Mother," Draco greets, standing from his desk out of habit– rigorous etiquette training and all of that.
Narcissa closes the door behind her and, to Draco's surprise, casts a silencing charm over the room. Draco realizes immediately that Narcissa has something to say that she doesn't want to risk anyone but Draco hearing.
Narcissa takes a seat on the sofa in front of the hearth, and gestures for her son to sit in the wingback chair to her right.
"Mother?"
Narcissa folds her hands in her lap. Draco can't decipher what the look on his mother's face means, but he finds it unsettling.
"I've just come from Diagon Alley," Narcissa begins, and Draco still can't figure out what that has to do with him. "I had the loveliest conversation with a particular witch that I thought might be of interest to you."
Draco's eyebrows scrunch together.
"Unless the witch was Astoria, I see no reason to have interest in whatever you talked about," Draco shrugs.
Narcissa waves her hand at her son, as if brushing off his comment.
"That's a wonderful rehearsed answer, dear, but you needn't lie to me."
Draco's eyes widen. Excuse me?
"Tell me, dear, when was the last time you spoke to Ms. Granger?"
Draco's heart leaps into his throat, and he feels momentarily dizzy. Hermione. Draco digs his fingernails into the leather armrests of his wingback.
"The day she broke up with me, Mother. You know that."
Narcissa nods her head almost imperceptibly, and one perfectly plucked eyebrow raises.
"Draco, dear, allow me to be frank," Narcissa states, and Draco knows that she's leaving no room for argument, so he nods for her to continue. "There are very few things that escape my notice in this family. Your plans with Astoria are not one of those things."
If Draco's eyes could widen any further, they would at hearing that.
"I am quite aware, and have been for some time, that you intend to separate from Astoria once your child is born in order to pursue Ms. Granger again. Do you deny this?"
Draco hesitates. He wonders if this is some sort of trap, although he knows that that's more his father's style than his mother's. Still, telling her could compromise everything. He wishes he could talk to Astoria before he confirms anything to his mother, but hightailing it out of the room and running to Astoria's chambers would, in and of itself, likely confirm his mother's suspicions.
"No, Mother, I do not deny this," Draco responds stiffly, straightening his back, wishing he'd grabbed his wand from his desk before sitting down.
Draco knows that his mother is unlikely to hex him or something of the like, but that doesn't mean he shouldn't still stay on his toes.
Narcissa nods again.
"Good," Narcissa states, finally, after what feels like several eternities.
Good?!
Narcissa must see the confusion written across her son's face, because she laughs a light, dainty laugh.
"I always liked that witch, you know."
Astoria bolts upright in her bed, one hand flying to her chest as if to calm her racing heart.
"She said what?!" Astoria shrieks, a laugh bubbling up out of her chest as she rests her free hand on her protruding stomach.
"I'm telling you, Tori, she all but gave me her blessing to pursue Hermione."
Astoria snickers, tears of mirth springing to her eyes.
"She said, and I quote, 'I always liked that witch, you know'," Draco quotes, allowing Astoria to grab his hand and drag it over to her stomach, where he feels a push against his palm.
"Your son has been very active today," Astoria muses, still fully convinced that their child is going to be a boy, before reverting back to the previous conversation. "What else did she say?! I'm so bummed I missed this!"
Draco tries to concentrate on responding to his wife, but feeling his child kick inside his mother's stomach is really quite distracting.
"Draco," Astoria presses, snapping him back into focus.
Draco leaves his hand where it is, hoping he'll feel that kick again while he talks with Astoria.
"Well, I reminded Mother that she quite likes you as well," Draco begins, and Astoria chuckles again, rolling her eyes playfully. "She agreed, saying something along the lines of, 'Yes, Astoria is a lovely witch, and she is giving me a grandchild, for which I will always be grateful to her, but she is not the witch for you'."
Astoria breaks out into a full belly laugh once again, swiping at the tears in her eyes a second time.
"Well, on that, at least, your mother and I agree," Astoria says, patting Draco's cheek with a smile.
"It really was quite an illuminating conversation," Draco states, shaking his head. "It seemed to me like Mother was about ready to push me out the door towards Hermione's flat."
Astoria furrows her brows and quirks her lips to the side, as if contemplating something.
"You know, Draco, that's not a bad idea," Astoria starts, and silences Draco with a look when he opens his mouth to question her. "I'm due any day now, and as much as you like to disagree with me, I just know that this child is a boy. That fulfills the obligations of our marriage contract. You could go to Hermione and try to explain everything."
Draco is taken back. Does she really expect that he'd go anywhere when his child will be born any moment now?
"Astoria, I am not going anywhere until after the baby is born," Draco says, sternly, leaving no room for argument.
"Well, after the birth, then. You'll hold our son for a while and then you'll go get your witch."
Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy entered the world, wailing like a banshee, two days after Astoria all but ordered Draco to go see Hermione.
It was, by far, the most magical thing that Draco Malfoy has ever seen and he's been hooked on that beautiful little boy from the moment he saw him.
"Is he sleeping?" Astoria asks, as she walks into the nursery and stands beside Draco as he sits in an antique rocking chair, rocking baby Scorpius to and fro.
Draco cuddles the tiny bundle closer to his chest and nods.
"He is," Draco whispers. "How are you feeling, Tori?"
Astoria exhales, as if winded from the walk down the hall. She's up and able to walk at least, which is an improvement from how she was during pregnancy. Her healers are adamant that she take it easy, but Draco knows that Astoria Greengrass-Malfoy will do whatever she damn well pleases.
"I'm alright," Astoria responds, pulling a chair up beside her husband and son. "Quite tired, but I did birth a baby just twenty-four hours ago."
Draco eyes her warily, trying to decipher if she's telling the truth or not. He notices that the color in Astoria's cheeks, which had been noticeably absent in the last few months, is back, and that her eyes look clear. He takes this as a positive sign, although he also knows that it could be attributed just as easily to adrenaline after such a life-changing event.
"Yes, I do believe that you deserve a bit of a lie in," Draco says, running his thumb against Scorpius' pudgy little cheek. "Well, don't you worry. Scorpius and I are just fine. I have him. You can rest."
Astoria scoffs and eyes her husband pointedly.
"Oh, no, you don't," Astoria laughs, reaching out her arms for Draco to hand the baby to her. Draco acquiesces rather reluctantly. "You've had twenty-four hours with him. We made a deal. Go on. Shoo."
Draco twists in his chair almost violently.
"You want me to leave now?" Draco questions incredulously.
Astoria drags her gaze up and down her husband's figure. She scrunches her nose up in distaste.
"Well, no," she says with a devious smile. "You should probably shower first."
As far as Draco is aware, Hermione still lives in her flat in Muggle London. She had moved into that flat after accepting her post at the Ministry, shortly after their graduation from Hogwarts. Draco always liked Hermione's little flat. It was a stark contrast to the Manor he grew up in, but it was homey.
He'd always loved curling up with Hermione on the sofa and watching the television with her. He'd been enamored when Hermione introduced him to that bit of Muggle technology. It's incredible, really, the stories that can be told with the television.
Draco also quite enjoyed getting to know Hermione's neighbor, Mr. Roman. He's a kind elderly man who always had wonderful stories to tell. Draco wonders if he's even still alive. He regrets that he might've missed the man's passing.
Draco lands with a crack in an alley a few blocks down from Hermione's building at six in the evening. He doesn't know Hermione's schedule exactly, but he does know that most Ministry employees adopt an approximate nine-to-five schedule. He tacked on an extra hour because he also knows Hermione.
"Draco, my boy, is that you?" Draco hears as he approaches Hermione's building.
Draco looks up to see Mr. Roman smiling at him from the building's entrance doors.
"Why, Mr. Roman, it's good to see you, sir," Draco greets, smiling genuinely as he reaches out to shake the man's hand.
"And you, my boy," the old man responds, shaking Draco's hand firmly. "Are you here to see Hermione, perhaps?"
Draco sucks in a breath through his teeth. As enjoyable as seeing Mr. Roman is, Draco had hoped that he wouldn't run into anyone he knew from the neighborhood. He doesn't want to put Hermione in an uncomfortable position if someone were to ask her about him.
"I am, indeed."
Draco stuffs his left hand into his trouser pocket, hiding his adorned ring finger from Mr. Roman's view. Mr. Roman isn't a gossip, but the last thing Hermione needs in this neighborhood is for rumors to fly that a married man came to visit her.
Mr. Roman doesn't seem to notice, thankfully.
"Well, I wish you luck, then. She's a lovely young woman. I always liked the two of you together."
Draco sighs wistfully.
"So did I, Mr. Roman. So did I."
Draco knocks on her door three times, to which he receives no answer. He assumes that this means that Hermione is not yet home from work, but Draco Malfoy is not easily deterred. That, and he assumes that Astoria would have his head on a platter if he came home and told her that he didn't speak with Hermione tonight.
Draco isn't sure how much longer he waits before he hears the tell-tale whoosh of floo travel. To a Muggle, it would merely sound like Hermione was moving furniture, or perhaps just moving about her apartment loudly, but Draco knows that sound by heart.
He waits approximately one minute before knocking again.
Draco knows that Hermione is in fact home by the way he hears her muffled voice talking to someone inside. Draco hopes he hasn't interrupted something– or perhaps he hopes he has, depending on the something.
Draco hears the locks on her door unlatching and his heart starts to hammer against his ribcage. He's about to actually see her after nearly three years apart.
The door swings open and Draco could swear that his heart stops entirely.
She's just as beautiful as Draco remembers. He thinks that she's particularly beautiful now that she's looking at him like she's about to hex him sideways.
"Draco?"
Draco can't help but smile a half-smile at her. He's too happy to finally be in her presence again to hide it.
"Hello, love."
Lol. So. I did apologize ahead of time for this. :P
Listen, I stand by my writing, lol. We needed to first see how Draco ended up at Hermione's flat. Context matters, lol.
ALSO. Personally, (and yes, I'm wildly biased considering I did write this) I believe that Hermione and Draco's first talk after three years apart had to be in Hermione's point of view. Mostly because we already know as readers how Draco feels about his plan with Astoria. In the next chapter, we get to see Hermione's feelings, and I think that that is very important.
ANYWAY. Can we all just appreciate that CLEARLY Narcissa Malfoy is a Dramione shipper? We already know that Astoria is (in my world, anyway) but now we confirm that Narcissa is too (again, in my world, anyway). We love to see it.
All of that said, I PROMISE, Hermione and Draco's actual first conversation IS in the next chapter. In fact, it's the ENTIRE next chapter. No more cliffhangers. :P At least I don't think? I don't remember. Don't hold me to that. It's late. I'm tired, lol.
As always, thank you SO MUCH for reading. It literally means the world to me and you guys are the best.
If you are so inclined, I ALWAYS super appreciate it when you review my work. It makes me stupidly happy. :P So, please, review if you like. Or if you don't. Either way. :P
Thank you. Thank you. (: