I put down my pen and closed my notebook, which I had just used to wish Draco a Merry Christmas.

It was still early and dark outside, but Grandpa had insisted that we start early today with the magical creatures so that we would have more time in the evening.

After the shower I put on my overalls and trudged down to the basement where Grandpa was of course already waiting for me.

"Can't you sleep in for once?", I laughed, filling the first buckets with water.

"Not while there's work to be done."

I sighed.

This would really be a cheerful next year.

I wouldn't have quite as much time to help Grandpa next year, so Pierre would become a permanent employee. Pierre would help Grandpa with the magical creatures, just like Bunty had done for years.

Pierre was in his mid-thirties and admired my grandfather's work, so he had been the perfect candidate.

Grandpa hadn't been too keen when I'd introduced him to the idea but he'd probably get on with it. Because one thing I had noticed over the last few months was that he needed help.

We worked for three hours until my specially set alarm clock went off to tell me it was eight o'clock and time for breakfast.

I finished grooming the last mooncalf and then went in search of my grandpa.

"Are you coming for breakfast?", I asked him when I found him with the bowtruckle.

"You can go ahead and set up the kettle, I'll be there in five minutes," he explained without even looking up.

I'd found out over the last few months who I'd picked up my habit of not wanting breakfast from, and now I understood why Draco had been there looking after it.

It was incredibly annoying to remind him to eat every day.

"Then I'll wait the five minutes with you," I decided and leaned against the tree.

My stomach grumbled.

"You go ahead, I'll be up in a minute, I promise."

"If you're not upstairs in five minutes, I'll drag you up the stairs," I threatened and he knew full well that I meant it.

I knocked the roughest dirt off my trousers, because they would get dirty again anyway when we went on after breakfast.

Before I could even go up the stairs into the living room I was stopped by a baby niffler that had escaped and with some difficulty I shifted it back into its den.

"That was more than five minutes already!", I shouted through the infinite vault as I stood on the stairs going up.

"Coming right up!" came back and I had to grin.

I'd probably have to drag him up the stairs in a minute.

"What do you want for tea?!", I shouted down into the basement when I reached the top.

"None at all but a glas of water would be nice."

I froze on the spot, for that voice did not come from the basement and it did not belong to my grandpa.

My heart had stopped for a moment and my breathing had also stopped.

"Can I have a drink now or do you want to stand there?", I heard the deep voice I knew so well. But neither my body nor my head was capable of any reaction, so I just stood there and stared.

"What happened here?", I heard Grandpa's voice behind me, then he pushed his way into my field of vision and walked over to the kitchen to the reason why I was standing here so rooted to the spot.

"I think she had a heart attack" he explained with a shrug and handed my Grandpa a teacup.

This wasn't real, I was dreaming this or hallucinating but it wasn't real.

Draco Malfoy was not standing in the kitchen with my grandpa.

"Has she had breakfast yet?" the not real Draco asked.

"No, we were actually going to do that now," Grandpa explained as if he was actually talking to someone.

Dishes clinked, water bubbled in the kettle and I finally awoke from my stupor, only to babble unintelligible stuff.

"I...but...how...you..."

I couldn't manage to utter complete sentences and even walking seemed impossible because my legs felt like pudding.

Cold fingers stroked my cheek, triggering small electric shocks that gave me goosebumps. His familiar scent rose to my nose and then I heard his soft voice again.

"Are you coming for breakfast now Flo?"

Flo. Only the real Draco called me Flo.

I immediately stumbled the step that separated us towards him and wrapped my arms around his stomach.

I heard his heart, felt his chest rise and fall, and even all my self-control did nothing, because the tears started running right in.

He was here, he was really and truly here. Draco here, in my home.

A true Christmas miracle.

"You're here...you're here," I murmured over and over against his chest, unwilling to ever let him go.

"Yes I'm here and I'm not leaving anytime soon, I promise," he whispered into my hair.

"Can I have breakfast or should I wait for you?" it sounded from the kitchen and I started laughing.

"You knew about this?", I asked indignantly as we all sat together at the table.

"I had to lift the apparear barrier," Grandpa explained calmly.

"How long have you known?"

He shrugged. "Two weeks, maybe."

"Two weeks?!", I exclaimed.

Since when was he so good with secrets?

"It's all my fault," Draco now joined in, paying meticulous attention to what I was eating.

"That wasn't cool of you. I nearly had a heart attack ."

Draco laughed. "Yeah I saw that."

Sulking, I shoved another piece of bun into my mouth. As I chewed, another realisation came to me.

"That's why you wanted to start so early today?", I directed my question to Grandpa who just nodded.

"We've already done a lot, Pierre will be here soon to help me with the rest, so you two will have the day to yourselves."

I stared at him in amazement.

"Pierre was in on it too?"

"Who the hell is Pierre?" Draco interjected, audible jealousy in his voice.

"Not really, just told him I needed him today and he gratefully agreed. But don't worry, he's at his family's for dinner," Grandpa explained calmly, as if it were perfectly normal to team up with his granddaughter's boyfriend and employee against them.

"Who the hell is Pierre?" Draco repeated his question again and this time much more forcefully.

"My secret husband, of course," I replied cheekily but immediately regretted it, for all colour instantly drained from Draco's face.

"That was a joke. He helps with the magical creatures, that's all. Now don't get your knickers in a twist."

"Now that wasn't nice," Grandpa interjected and I rolled my eyes in annoyance.

"Oh, if you guys give me a heart attack, that's fine, but if I tease Draco a little, that's not nice? Somehow I think that's unfair," I said in a huff.

Draco was silent for the rest of breakfast and now I was really sorry for what I had said.

He had come all this way and I had nothing better to do than tease him, it wasn't fair.

I told Draco to bring his things to my room while I went to the basement to check on the Nifflers. Luckily for me, they were all still in their caves, so I just fed them, scratched a few of their tummies and then headed back upstairs.

Pierre was just coming through the door and was already being eyed sceptically by Draco when I arrived upstairs.

"Pierre, Draco. Draco, Pierre," I introduced them both.

"Wonderful to meet you, Daisy talks a lot about you," Pierre smiled at Draco and held out his hand.

"Funny and she's never told me anything about you," he grumbled but took the other's hand. He didn't seem to mind this very unfriendly greeting at all and gave me a quick hug before descending the stairs to the basement.

"I don't like him," Draco grumbled and now was really the moment to redeem him.

"He's married."

Draco raised his eyebrows as if to say that was a reason but not a hindrance.

"To a man," I added and directly Draco's expression changed.

"Good for him," he muttered and I could tell he was a little uncomfortable with the way he had approached him.

"I'd still like to shower and change and..."

I wanted to finish my sentence but Draco had already bridged the distance between us and pressed his lips to mine.

The fire I had been missing for the last few months lit up in seconds and it was as if we had never been apart.

My hands dug into his hair while his tongue made its way into my mouth.

Without breaking the kiss, we stumbled into my room, whose door I left open, unimpressed, and fell onto the bed.

My hands wandered down his torso, loosening each button of his shirt on their way.

So much desire had built up over the last few months and now it wanted to escape all at once.

No one should be separated from the person they loved for so long, it was pure torture.

This, on the other hand, was heaven.

Breathing heavily, we broke away from each other and Draco just looked at me.

I knew what he was thinking and he knew what I was thinking.

We could, we wanted to, here and now but something was wrong, something was between us. Not literally, because nothing would have fit there anymore, but something was bothering him, it was more than obvious in his eyes.

"I don't think that would be good right now," he spoke my thought breathlessly and I could only agree with him.

Far too often when I lay in bed at night I had imagined what it would be like to have sex with Draco.

And as detailed and rambling as my thoughts had sometimes become, hectic and with the bedroom door open had never been one of them.

Despite the fact that this was not the moment to sleep together, it didn't stop me from kissing them again.

I loved him, I loved him so much.

Instead, I closed the door and cuddled and told each other everything we hadn't already written.

"It's snowing," Draco stated and immediately I sat up straight in bed.

It had been so icy here the last few days that there was no thought of snow and so now I jumped up, dragged Draco out of bed and had put on warm clothes so quickly it was almost world record worthy.

Reaching into the cupboard, I grabbed my skates and urged Draco to hurry a little more.

Thanks to Draco, it took almost ten minutes for us to be out in the snow after his discovery.

Very close to our house was a small lake that had been frozen over for days.

I must have looked like a lunatic running through the snow to the lake, throwing my head and neck to catch snowflakes with my mouth, but I didn't mind.

I had long since lost Draco, so I had already put on my skates and done a few laps on the ice when he arrived.

I pulled him by the arms onto the ice surface, over which he slid very shakily.

I did my laps while Draco tried to keep up with me.

"Where are you?" I shouted and turned to face him.

He was no longer standing but was now kneeling on the ice surface.

He must have fallen down.

"Are you okay?", I asked breathlessly as I reached him.

"No, not really," was his reply, at which his voice quivered.

Damn, he must have seriously hurt himself.

I knelt by him and reached for his hands which were clutching something convulsively.

"Are you hurt?" I asked, but he shook his head.

"What is it then?"

"I can't go on," he said quietly but he didn't really look me in the eye but past me.

"We can go back too, no problem."

"No, it's not that."

Now I was confused.

"Then what is it?"

"I can't go on like this."

"Draco, what's wrong? You're scaring me."

My lower lip began to tremble.

Damn, it was Christmas Eve, exactly one year ago he had tried to kill himself, what if he wanted to do it again?

What if something had happened in England that made him think there was no other way out?

Had his father threatened him out of Azkaban?

Would Draco be punished after all and have to go there too?

Was that why he wanted to take his own life, because he had to go to Azkaban?

My thoughts were on a rollercoaster and the longer I thought about it, the more terrible the scenarios I imagined became.

But then Draco finally released me from my endless spiral of thoughts and ended the silence.

"I'm at the end of my rope and I can't pretend for one more minute that I'm not.

For months I've tried but I'm not capable of it, not anymore.

I am no longer able to live without you.

My first thought when I wake up in the morning is you. Every minute of the day I think about what you are doing. I am unable to concentrate and completely beside myself if I don't hear from you for more than two days.

I imagine the worst scenarios and in each of them you leave me.

I know I don't deserve you, I'm more aware of that than anyone else. And that's why I'm so scared.

You are perfect and I am not and one day you will realise it, you will realise what a mistake I am and then you will leave.

And I won't blame you because I know you deserve more.

But I love you, I love you more than my own life and it's scary what I'm willing to do for you.

It wouldn't matter what it is, say it and I would do it. I am completely at your mercy and I don't know how you do it.

It's naive to think I'll always feel this way but I've never been so sure of anything.

I need you. You are every thought, every minute of the day, the air in my every breath and the reason I am alive.

I love you and I want to be yours alone.

Want to be able to cry out to the world that I belong to you."

He took one deep breath and then looked deeper into my eyes than he had all along.

"Florentine Daisy Scamander, please let me be your husband."

My head stopped and all that remained was his last sentence.

About halfway through his speech it had become relatively clear to me where he was going with it but hearing him actually say it was something else entirely.

He hadn't asked me to marry him, he hadn't asked me to be his wife, no, he had asked me to be my husband.

My whole body was shaking and my teeth were chattering together.

I wasn't cold, my body was just reacting to something it didn't know how to handle.

As soon as he had finished his monologue, I had started to stare at my hands, still clutching Draco's. I didn't dare look back up at him, not until I had an answer.

That was wrong, I had an answer, I had had it months ago at Hogwarts.

Had anything changed?

Had we changed?

"You don't have to answer right now.

You don't even have to answer today or this week. I'll wait, for all I care, weeks, months, years.

But I can't go on without you knowing."

Weeks, months years, it was all so far in the future.

A future I was to decide in the here and now.

This man was on his knees in front of me, had completely revealed himself to me and was asking me for something.

I wouldn't make him wait, I wouldn't give myself a chance to analyse it all further, because I would always end up back at the point I had been months ago.

With all the courage I could muster and my heart pounding in my throat, I looked up at him again.

Emerald green met storm grey.

"Yes," I breathed softly.

Briefly I was afraid that I had only imagined saying it, or that he hadn't heard me so I repeated my answer.

"Yes, I want you to be my husband."

What happened next in his eyes and face could not be described. His pupils became huge and he stared at me in disbelief.

"You...you," he stammered and I began to grin and nodded.

"Yes, and as soon as possible, please."