Worth the Wait
Chapter Eleven
Draco Malfoy is all but on cloud nine following his dance with Hermione Granger at Pansy's birthday soiree.
His heart had nearly burst out of his chest when he had been allowed to talk with her and touch her while they danced. He knows, too, that he was not mistaking that she had been flirting with him. She had absolutely been flirting with him.
Draco is well aware that just because she was flirting with him, that does not mean she is anywhere close to forgiving him. She had said herself in her letter to him that she does not trust him. She had said that she would be willing to mingle in the same groups and to say hello to one another– and only those two things.
Draco can't help but feel that she might've gotten a bit carried away being alone with him and had fallen back into old patterns– he knows that he had definitely done that himself.
Draco knows that this will not be easy. Convincing Hermione Granger to love him once was no small feat, and to do it a second time might require a miracle, but Draco thinks he might be up for the challenge.
He spends some time deciding how and when to reach out to Hermione again. He knows that he cannot wait for her to reach out to him because it is entirely likely that she never would.
After hours of contemplation, Draco decides to give her a few days to breathe before he owls her.
In the meantime, Draco decides that he would quite like to spend a day with his son.
Draco enters Scorpius' nursery, where his ex-wife appears to have just finished nursing their son.
"Look, Scorpius, there's Daddy," Astoria smiles, manually waving Scorpius' tiny hand at his father.
Draco's heart swells. This is another thing that he and Astoria had spoken at length about before Scorpius was born. Draco grew up referring to his parents as Mother and Father, and while he does not think there is anything inherently wrong with that, he knew that he did not want to be 'Father' to his own son.
Draco and Astoria decided that their son would refer to them as Mum and Dad. If it is the last thing Draco does, he will systematically dismantle as many of the harmful Malfoy family traditions as possible.
"There's my boy," Draco smiles in return, taking a knee in front of Astoria's chair and caressing his son's cheek with the tips of his fingers.
"Do you want him?" Astoria asks, sitting further upright so she can hand her son off to his father, should he want him.
Draco nods quickly, holding out his arms to accept the bundle that is his son.
Draco stands with his son in his arms and presses a soft kiss to the child's forehead.
Astoria stands, with a slight waver, and brushes her hand across Draco's arm in goodbye before disappearing from the nursery. Draco makes a mental note to check in on her in a short while to see how she has been feeling.
Draco sways gently with his son for a moment before he takes a seat in Scorpius' antique rocking chair.
"I am not usually particularly loquacious– you will learn that soon enough," Draco says quietly to his half-asleep son. "but I wanted to explain a few things to you."
Draco looks down at Scorpius. Already, his son reminds him much of himself, and he wants to make absolutely certain that Scorpius will not follow in some of his own more ill-advised footsteps.
"I have made many mistakes in my life, Scorpius. For most of my life, I thought myself superior to everyone else. I quickly learned, with the help of a brilliant witch who I will tell you all about, that perhaps I had been misguided in my beliefs. It took me entirely too long to completely dispense of those beliefs, though. I will not raise you to believe that you are in any way superior to another, simply because of who you were born to," Draco begins.
Draco had known from the moment that the St. Mungo's healer confirmed Astoria's pregnancy that he would not be raising his son with the ideas of Pureblood superiority. Draco understands now, as an adult, that those beliefs are not only harmful, but entirely incorrect, too. Hermione Granger is living proof that blood status does not determine the kind of witch or wizard one might become.
"Your Mummy and I love you so much, Scorpius," Draco whispers, and if his voice wavers, it's only Scorpius who hears it. "I will do everything in my power to ensure that you grow up in a safe and loving environment. When you are a bit older, Mummy and I will introduce you to all of our friends, all of whom will love you just as much as we do, and who will protect you with their lives. Of this, I have no doubt."
Scorpius opens his little eyes just slightly, peering up at his father. It very nearly brings tears to Draco's eyes.
"One of these such friends is a witch by the name of Hermione Granger. It is my hope that you will know her quite well long before you go to Hogwarts, but it would be impossible for you to not learn all about her in the event that that does not happen. She is an incredibly powerful witch, and she is very important to me."
Draco knows that Scorpius doesn't understand him yet, but he also thinks it is a bit cathartic to be speaking these words over his son. It feels like he is starting immediately on being a better father than he had by explaining all of the things he is going to do differently than Lucius.
"Hermione Granger is the so-called Brightest Witch of Her Age, and I can assure you, son, that that is true. She's brilliant and talented and kind, but also strong and resilient and brave. She makes me want to be a better man, Scorpius."
Draco pauses for a moment.
"I have decided to invite Hermione to share a meal with me, so wish me luck," Draco laughs quietly, attempting to hide his unease, although it probably makes no difference to Scorpius. "I will almost certainly need it."
"You know, Astoria, I have successfully dressed myself for a date prior to today," Draco groans, sitting in an armchair outside of his wardrobe while his ex-wife rummages through his clothing racks. "I haven't even asked her yet, so she hasn't said yes either."
Astoria waves her hand, as if dismissing Draco's statement as irrelevant.
"Oh, darling, I know you have, but this is Hermione Granger," Astoria clarifies, as if that somehow changes things.
Draco rolls his eyes.
"I have also successfully dressed myself for a date with Hermione Granger prior to today, or have you forgotten that I spent four years with the witch?"
Astoria turns to face him, her hands placed squarely on her hips.
"I don't know why you bother arguing with me, but fine, if you insist on defying me– what did you have in mind to wear?" Astoria questions, raising a perfectly arched eyebrow.
Draco stands from his armchair and brushes past his former wife. Draco shuffles through a few racks before he finds the pieces he is looking for.
"These denims were always her favorite on me," Draco states, laying out a pair of dark wash denim jeans on the armchair. He also places a plain, black long-sleeved shirt alongside the denims, along with a pair of white trainers– he is going to be in Muggle London, after all. "She likes when I wear Muggle clothing."
Astoria examines his choices for a moment before she huffs out a breath.
"Fine. I suppose you know what you're doing," she sighs, the corner of her mouth pulling up slightly.
Draco nods in acknowledgement, picking his choices back up and folding them carefully in his wardrobe so they are ready for if Hermione agrees to his invitation. He also decides to switch the conversation onto Astoria now.
"How are you feeling these days, Tori?" he asks, eyeing his friend closely.
Astoria has still been seeing her healer weekly, but she no longer asks Draco to go with her. Sometimes, he wishes she would, if only so he could be sure that she is doing as well as she says she is. He knows that her pregnancy with Scorpius weakened her– even if Astoria is too proud to show it.
"Oh, don't you worry about me, I'm fine," Astoria says quickly, her voice rising in register, which tells Draco that she's lying.
"Tori," Draco presses, his voice firmer now.
Astoria sighs and drops down into the armchair Draco had vacated.
"Healer Rask says I'm still doing well– or, as well as can be expected," Astoria says, looking up at Draco, although her eyes seem unfocused. "She says that my kidney function is lower than she would like. She has updated my potions regime to manage some of the symptoms. She also mentioned that on her diagnostic spells, she can see that my blood circulation isn't functionally where she would like it to be. She believes that both of these things are due to my curse and the strain that the pregnancy caused."
Draco nods, mostly understanding what Astoria is saying. Medical knowledge is slim in the wizarding world, as it's not widely taught unless one decides to go into healing. Draco makes another mental note to pull some books from the Manor library on the topic of healing so he is able to keep up with Astoria's treatment.
"Do you need any additional treatment? You know that I am still prepared to take care of any and all additional treatment you may need," Draco insists, reminding Astoria that she is not alone, despite their divorce.
As a woman in Pureblood society, Astoria doesn't have access to many financial resources. Her inheritance from her father will not activate until her father passes, and as a divorcee, she was not entitled to any of the Malfoy galleons. This is another part of why Draco had insisted that she stay living at the Manor, other than to stay close to his son, of course. He knew that Astoria would struggle to support herself in the beginning. She is a bright witch and would figure it out, but he does not want the mother of his son to struggle if it is within his means to help– and it is.
Astoria's parents have also begun to shun her following their daughter's divorce. It is seen as a disgrace to her family that her husband divorced her. Of course, Astoria does not see it this way, but it is yet another reason that Draco is so insistent on being there for her.
"Thank you, Draco, but no," Astoria responds. "Healer Rask says that I'm doing as well as could be expected at this time. She says that my potions are mostly palliative, but that they are doing what they're supposed to."
Draco walks into his son's nursery and immediately whips out his wand. He holds it down by his side because he absolutely refuses to point a wand in the direction of his son, but the warning is there.
"Put him down. Now," Draco orders, his voice firm, unwavering.
Lucius Malfoy holds up a hand, leaving the other wrapped firmly around the child in his arms.
"Relax, Draco, I just wanted to hold my grandson," Lucius says quietly, but firmly. Draco thinks Scorpius must be asleep if his father is keeping his voice low like that.
"You have no right to hold him," Draco sneers, stalking forward and looming over his father in the rocking chair.
Lucius seems to consider Draco for a moment before the older Malfoy stands, coming toe-to-toe with his son. Lucius decidedly does not make any moves to unhand Draco's son.
"I have made it clear, Draco, that I do not approve of your choices, especially as it pertains to that Mudblood you intend to pursue– yes, I know all about her– and you disgust me for defiling yourself with her. However, Scorpius here is my grandson. I do not intend for my grandson to grow up to be like his failure of a father."
Draco's lip twitches.
"Give me my son now, Father, or so help me, I will kill you where you stand," Draco states, his voice even.
Draco has always understood that in order to cast a successful Avada Kedavra, one has to mean it– really mean it. He is certain that in this moment, he could murder his father. The instinct is there, anyway, in order to protect his own son.
Lucius exhales, and all but rolls his eyes before relenting. Rather than handing Scorpius off to his father, though, he places him down in his crib.
Draco is fine with that, though, because at least his son is safe now. Astoria and Neve had placed enough charms on Scorpius' crib to ward off a bombarda maxima, so Scorpius is even safer there than in his father's arms.
"We both know that you do not have the conviction to kill me, but you're welcome to try, son," Lucius snarks, turning on his heel to stalk out of the room.
Draco is not quite finished with his father.
"I would not be so sure about that, Father," Draco starts, speaking to his father's back. "You were correct that Scorpius will not grow up to be like his father. Scorpius will be a better man than I ever will be because he will not have you as a father. The only failure here is you."
So, the consensus among y'all is that y'all want me to upload the whole story before I leave for my trip, so that is what I'm going to do. (: So, look forward to a new chapter every day until we wrap this thing up. (:
I feel like this chapter, if it were a color, would be gray. It has quite a somber tone, I think, between Astoria being sick and Draco talking to Scorpius about his life lessons and of course, Draco's confrontation with Lucius.
Just a quick reminder, I promised in the beginning of this fic that there wouldn't be much angst- that this would be a relatively easy read. That said, I considered this to be a fair end to Draco's butting heads with his father. I'm almost positive, if I'm remembering correctly, that neither Lucius nor Narcissa make another appearance in this fic.
I did this for a reason, and that reason is that this fic is about Draco and Hermione. Other characters make appearances when it makes sense, but in the end, this story is about them. I just wanted to state that, in case it would bother you that perhaps some aspects that you might think are important aren't 'resolved'. The point of this story is to get Draco and Hermione back together- when and if that happens, the story is over.
I hope that makes sense.
Anyway, I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter. (:
Please review if you feel so inclined. Reviews make me REALLY happy. (: