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Dataset card Data Studio Files
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A young, blonde witch that Draco remembered as being the owner's eldest daughter, Elphie, greeted them with a smile, "Good morning, Mr. Malfoy and young Mr. Malfoy. What's brought you in to see us?"
"Good morning, Elphie. We've come looking for Christmas presents," Draco answered, flicking a glance between the witch and his son, who was looking around awestruck.
"Dad was wondering when we'd see you in here. He saw that extraordinary cuff on Ms. Granger's wrist in the paper and was dying to know who made it and was a little disappointed you didn't ask him," Elphie said with fond amusement at her father.
"Tell your father it's a very old family piece and not to be jealous. He knows he's my go-to for jewelry," Draco said, "Scorpius here has a young lady he'd like to buy a Christmas present for."
"I've got a few things you might be interested in," Elphie said, leading them past the cases of large occasion pieces, bridal jewelry, wedding and engagement rings, to a case of bracelets.
Scorpius peered into the case and Draco looked over his shoulder. Scorpius pointed at a diamond tennis bracelet, casting a hopeful look over his shoulder at Draco.
Draco shook his head at his son with a small frown, "That's a bit much for an eleven-year-old girl."
Scorpius looked indignant at Draco answer and huffed, "We're almost twelve."
Draco held back his chuckle of amusement. Elphie smiled at him over Scorpius" head.
"I have a few things over here that your young lady might like," Elphie said.
She opened up a case and levitated some bracelets out along with displays of charms and beads. Chain bracelets and rope bracelets were lined up across the counter. Scorpius picked out a silver rope bracelet with a clasp decorated with daisies and cherry blossoms. He then picked out charm beads with her initials on them F, A, and Z. After that Scorpius appeared lost about what else to pick out.
"When is her birthday?" Elphie asked.
"March seventeenth," Scorpius answered.
Elphie picked out some aquamarine beads and beads with daffodils on them, "So these are her birthstone color and birth flowers," Elphie explained.
Scorpius picked out the aquamarine bead he liked, an aquamarine stone with a diamond halo and cut-out hearts along the sides of the charm. He then picked a dangling yellow daffodil charm. Elphie took the charms and threaded them through the bracelet, putting small silver spacers between each of the charms. She fastened the bracelet back together and handed it to Scorpius.
Scorpius showed him the finished project, "Well, Dad. What do you think?" he asked excitedly.
"I think it's perfect," Draco said.
This was one of those times he wished Astoria were watching so that she could watch her son pick out a gift for a girl the first time. See how excited he was.
Elphie put the bracelet in a black velvet box and handed it to Scorpius, "There you go young man," she leaned forward and whispered, "She's going to love it."
"Hey, Dad?" Scorpius asked.
"Yes, son?" Draco answered.
"Should we get something for Rose and Minerva?" he asked.
Draco thought about it for a second. Maybe Hermione wouldn't mind if he got them something small for Christmas. "I think that's a good idea," he agreed.
They decided on a charm bracelet similar to Florence's. Scorpius picked out a silver rope bracelet with an owl on the clasp. They then picked out silver charms for her initials, M, H, G, and W. Draco picked out a garnet charm similar to Florence's aquamarine and a dangling white snowdrop flower. He also found a dangling broom and added that to the pile of charms. Draco picked out a silver chain necklace with an opal unicorn pendant for Rose. Elphie boxed up the bracelet and necklace and put them in a bag along with Florence's bracelet.
Draco was starting to usher Scorpius toward the door when Scorpius stopped in front of a case of rings, "Wait! We need to get something for Hermione."
Elphie looked positively eager, especially since Scorpius had stopped right in front of the case with the engagement and wedding rings displayed.
"I like this one," Scorpius said, pointing at a four carat, pear-shaped diamond set in a rose gold filigree setting with a matching rose gold diamond infinity band.
He had to hand it to his son. The boy had good taste. The ring was perfect for Hermione. It was way too soon to be considering proposals yet and Elphie would probably be dying to tell someone that Draco bought an engagement ring for Hermione.
"It's very beautiful, Scorp, but that's an engagement ring," Draco said.
Scorpius turned to look at him, "So? You're going to ask her to marry you right?"
"Not for Christmas, I'm not," Draco said emphatically.
Scorpius looked disappointed by his answer, "Oh."
"Let's get something else for Hermione and we can talk about proposals on the way home," Draco said, looking to perk his son back up a bit.
He ended up picking three infinity bands for Hermione, garnets for Minerva, emeralds for Rose, and just in case, amethysts for Scorpius. He looked meaningfully at the engagement ring Scorpius had picked out and back at Elphie. She winked and sent the ring to the back of the store.
Once they got outside, Draco steered Scorpius in the direction of Spinner's End. They walked quietly side by side until they got out of the congestion of the city center.
Draco finally broke the silence when the crowd thinned, "Why do you want me to propose to Hermione?" he asked, looking down at his son.
Scorpius looked up at him with a vulnerability he'd never seen in his son before, "I want a mum," Scorpius said quietly.
Draco stopped dead in his tracks. This was the thing he'd always feared. That Scorpius would feel that he'd missed out on something because Draco had never remarried after Astoria. Draco had never given him another mother to love him. Never even given him the hope of a mother until Hermione came into their lives.
"I'm sorry," Draco said finally, "I should've tried harder to find you a mum when you were younger."
"I was okay with it being just us. I don't think I really knew what I was missing until Hermione came along," Scorpius said, tugging Draco back into motion.
"You really like her?" Draco asked. He had to confess that he was desperate for his son to like Hermione. Just like with Minerva, his son's opinion mattered.
"I like her," Scorpius answered a little shyly. Draco watched with amusement as his son ducked his head and his ears got pink.
"What do you like about her?" Draco asked in curiosity.
"She gives good hugs. She treats me just like Rose or Minerva. She doesn't seem to care that I'm not hers," Scorpius answered easily, then his whole face turned red as he continued quietly, "She's soft and warm. And she smells good. And she's really pretty," then his son turned to face him and Draco stopped and looked down into his son's earnest face, "And she makes you really happy. You don't seem sad or lonely anymore."
Hermione's brand of love was addictive, Draco knew. She wasn't the type to hold anything back. She loved with everything she had. Weasley was a fool to throw that away. He hadn't realized his son caught on to the times when he struggled to overcome his past. He tried to hide the struggle he felt at times when his past actions haunted him.
Loneliness would engulf him when he would remember Astoria's words when he struggled with his guilt for his actions during the war early on in their marriage. He could still remember her soft, cool voice lapping around him like the gentle waves of a lake, "You can't change the past. You can only atone for your actions, forgive yourself for what you did to survive, and do better next time." Hearing her voice in his head didn't hurt like it used to.
"So, if I were to propose to her, you'd be alright with that?" Draco asked slowly, "You'd be alright with Minerva and Rose being your stepsisters?"
"I think so," Scorpius answered with a shrug, trying to look indifferent, but Draco caught the grin that burst out on his son's face.
"I'm glad you like her," Draco said looking down at his son, "I'm not going to propose anytime soon though," Draco cautioned.
"Why not?" Scorpius asked, kicking a rock down the sidewalk.
Draco rubbed the back of his neck, searching for the right words, "It's still really soon. There's also you kids to think about."
"Well you've got my vote," Scorpius said.
Draco ruffled his son's hair up, much to his son's annoyance, "You're a good kid. You know that right?"
The World Turned Upside Down
December 23rd –?
Draco and Hermione stepped out of the fireplace and into Lavender Brown's pathetic attempt of self-glorification. Weasley was waiting for them in the front room as they stepped inside and dusted an inordinate amount of soot from their clothes. Weasley's expression made him uneasy. Draco wasn't sure why or what it was about his face that made him wary, maybe it was because it was the first time he hadn't seen Weasley flushed with anger.
"How did it go?" Hermione asked by way of greeting.
Irritation flashed across Weasley's face, "It went fine. They are still my daughters, no matter how much you try to turn them against me."
Draco stepped forward, looking to pound some sense into the idiot. Or just beat his face in because he hated the git and hated how he treated Hermione, Minerva, and Rose. Either way, his fist itched to connect with Weasley's nose. He was stopped, unfortunately, by Hermione's hand on his arm.
"Don't," she said warningly to Draco, then turned to Weasley and hissed in a harsh whisper, "We haven't turned them against you. I'm trying to do the right thing. I'm trying to give you a chance to be a better father to them and your attitude is making it very difficult for me to keep trying to do the right thing."
Weasley looked mulish at that. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the two of them.
Draco sneered at him, fed up with his infantile behavior, "Where are the girls? We have dinner plans tonight and it would be rude to be late."
"They can stay here while you go to your fancy dinner, Malfoy," Weasley said with an odd mixture of hopefulness and nastiness.
"As it is a family dinner, their presence is necessary," Draco drawled. It was just too easy getting this idiot worked up. How had Hermione ever been able to have an intellectual conversation with the git?
"They're not your family, ferret," Weasley spat, starting to flush beet red in anger.
"That's enough," Hermione said, "Where are the girls?"
"They're on their way down. They were just helping clean up the playroom," Weasley said.
Hermione turned back to look at Draco. Draco caught the change in Weasley's expression from anger to determination. He didn't have time to ponder the look as he saw Weasley draw his wand from his sleeve. Draco shoved Hermione behind him with a shout just as he felt a familiar, burning slash rip across his chest.
He felt like he was falling. His body had an odd weightlessness like he was being pulled under water. Draco struggled to stay upright. To protect Hermione even if his body was only a shield for her. He felt and heard the thunk reverberate through him as he hit the floor, knocking his head against the hardwood flooring.
"Draco!" he heard shouted above him.
Run! He shouted in his head. He couldn't make the words come out. All that seemed to want to come out was a scream of pain. He felt like he was being ripped in two. The burning radiating from his chest felt like an inferno. He felt himself gasping for breath like he couldn't fill his lungs properly.
He opened his eyes and found Hermione kneeling beside him trying to heal him and staunch the flow of blood. He could feel himself getting cold. His vision was going black around the edges. His sense of smell seemed to be sharper. He could smell her lavender and jasmine scent, along with the sharp tang of fear and blood.
The blackness was closing in around him. He saw movement near of the corner of the darkness and realized it was Weasley advancing on them. He tried to shout, lift his arm. Something. Anything to get Hermione's attention so she could protect herself. Fucking useless, he thought angrily to himself.
As the blackness consumed him and Weasley stalked closer to her, he knew without a doubt that he had failed. He had failed to protect her and gotten them both killed in the process. He screamed again in pain and fear.
They say that your life flashes before your eyes when you die. It wasn't that way for him. The faces of people he loved flashed through his head.
His son, who he was leaving truly orphaned in the world. The first time he saw him, red and squalling, with a tuft of pale blond hair that was almost translucent. Scorpius" first smile, right after peeing on him. His first steps. Scorpius running around Spinner's End, naked and laughing. His first broom ride and the joy and exhilaration on his face. Watching him getting on the train to Hogwarts.
His mother, who had already suffered so much. Her warm hugs and cuddles when he was little. The lullabies she would sing to him. Her fierce, often vengeful, protectiveness of him. The pain and anguish in her eyes when he took the Dark Mark. Her fear for him throughout the war and their home being overrun by Voldemort and his followers. The unconditional and unwavering love she gave him when all he wanted was to wallow in misery and guilt. Her joy and happiness when she found out Hermione was his soul mate.
Minerva and Rose, who were the daughters of his heart, and he had no idea what would happen to them now. Rose and the first time she hugged him with her hands covered in flour and cookie dough. Their story times together and sneaking cookies. Her exuberant glee when he'd taken her up on his broom for the first time. "Daddy."
Minerva and their talk in the broom closet. He'd failed her when he had reassured her that nothing bad would happen. Her gradually coming to trust him as he caught her over and over again. Her disbelieving happiness when she flew on her own. Minerva launching herself into his arms from atop the broom. He'd probably failed her worst of all. Her trust in him had been such a delicate thing and he had shattered it by letting her mother and himself get killed by her father of all people. The one person they had pressured her to see.
Hermione. The love of his life. His soul mate. So much good and so much bad flashed before his eyes. He remembered the first time he saw her on the train with her wild, chestnut hair, big, chocolate brown eyes, and buck teeth. That first tentative smile, so pure and innocent. The innocence he'd ruined with his reprehensible behavior towards her. That right hook she got him with for being a vile, loathsome, evil, little cockroach. The Yule Ball when he'd realized that he was in love with her. The scared, pleading look she gave him when they were dragged into the Manor. Her screams as she was tortured by his aunt as he stood there and watched. The look of fear and determination as she flew to help save him, Vince, and Greg with her friends in the Room of Hidden Things. The look of sympathy she gave him as she saved his worthless arse again and kept him out of Azkaban.
He got to repay her for all her selfless acts by saving her on the platform the day that Weasley had ripped her world apart and again when Weasley had tried to obliviate her. Their friendship that somehow managed to find it's way into their lives despite all the past hurts and grievances and had grown into love. The type of love you only ever found once in a lifetime and only if you were extremely lucky. Their first dance across the dance floor at his club. When he confessed how much he wanted to be with her at the Halloween party. He remembered that first hesitant kiss and how soft her lips had felt against his. The first time they had made love and the soft tears rolling down her cheeks afterward.
He finally had everything he wanted there for so brief a time. He had found the love of his life. His soul mate. He'd gotten to be so blissfully happy with her and the houseful of children he'd always dreamed of. The time was so short with them all though. Not nearly enough.
He was so cold. Everything around him had faded to black. He couldn't feel Hermione beside him anymore and he thought that maybe she was already gone and waiting for him on the other side. How would he ever be able to face her after he'd failed her so horribly? How could she ever possibly forgive him for failing to protect her and taking her away from her daughters? How could he forgive himself?
Forgive me. I love you.
He stood in the blackness, refusing to move forward or backward. He saw a pinprick of white light but refused to move toward it. He wanted to. He desperately wanted to follow that light and find Hermione. He wanted to comfort her in her grief of being separated from her children and everyone she loved. He wanted her comfort as he let loose his own grief and guilt for getting them killed and for losing everyone he'd loved. That was why he didn't move. He didn't deserve her comfort. It was all his fault. He failed his love, his son, his girls, and his mother. He failed them all.
He watched as that stubborn pinprick of white light steadily became larger. He knew it was her coming for him. Hermione would force him to cross over with her. She would force him to let go of his guilt. She would find some way to make him believe that getting them killed wasn't his fault. But he knew, no matter how she tried to spin it, he was at fault. He had gotten them killed.
He obstinately turned his back on the light and crossed his arms over his chest. She would have to drag him through if she wanted him to come. He didn't deserve her and her light. He deserved the blackness and the loneliness.
"You always were so stubborn," a voice behind him said with a laugh.
That soft, cool voice. That tinkling, girlish laugh. He hadn't heard it in almost twelve years. He whirled around and saw a face that he never thought to greet him. Her honey-colored hair hung down over one shoulder and just grazed her side above her hip. Those baby blue eyes laughed up at him in amusement. Her milky skin glowed in the ethereal white light that surrounded them and off her white flowing robes.
"Astoria!" he exclaimed in disbelief.
He was definitely dead if his dead wife was greeting him. Maybe she had come to convince him to cross over because Hermione was so mad at him that she wouldn't come for him. The thought was disappointing but he felt like he deserved it.
"Why are you here, Astoria, and where exactly is here?" he asked in disappointment and disbelief.
She took his hand the way she had so many times throughout their marriage. Her soft touch enveloping him in a way that he could break away if he chose to. Her touch so much like the woman herself, soft and cool, giving him comfort but allowing him to reject it as well.
The white light around them changed and he found himself in a muted version of the gardens at the manor. She led him over to the hill beside the pond and gestured for him to sit with her.
She settled herself down on the grass beside him. It didn't really feel like he was sitting on grass. It was more like how he imagined a cloud to be. He was sitting, but there wasn't the pressure along his backside he would normally get from sitting on anything. It was like he was there but wasn't.
"Now, I believe you asked me two questions. Why am I here? To help you make a decision, Draco. Where is here? You are between the living and the dead," she explained.
"What decision do I have to make?" Draco asked, looking out over the water.
Astoria didn't answer and he looked at her. She quirked an eyebrow at him, indicating that she thought he was being purposely dense, "You don't expect me to do all the work, do you?"
Draco took a deep breath and pulled his hand lightly from her grasp to rest them both on his knees, "I have to decide whether I want to go back and live or cross over and die."
"Yes, and I'm afraid you don't have much time or the decision will be made for you," Astoria said sympathetically.