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What he was thinking must have shown on his face. Hermione shot him a serious look and said, "No funny business this time," as she helped him walk the short distance to the bathroom with an arm around his waist. |
He held back the bark of laughter and walked into the small bathroom. A small stall shower was along one wall with a white plastic curtain hanging down. A toilet and white porcelain sink with a mirror above it took up another wall. The walls were the same pale gray as the hospital room with the same small white tiles. |
Draco sat on the bench in the shower that was pushed up against the wall. He couldn't wait to get home and sleep in his own bed and shower in his own massive shower. Hermione reached up and angled the showerhead down so that it wouldn't spray his chest when she turned it on. |
"You should get undressed," Draco suggested, as she turned the knob and let the water start to heat up. He tried to keep the eager expression out of his face, but he knew he was failing miserably. |
"You just want to get me naked," she huffed, looking a little put out with him. |
Draco gave her a "well duh" look but shrugged and said, "I just thought you wouldn't want to get your clothes wet." |
"Easily fixed with a warming spell," she interrupted him. |
He didn't let her logic deter him, "I also thought you might like to freshen up a little after our earlier diversion." |
He knew she hated being sticky and drippy. It always made her a little uncomfortable to be walking around with wet knickers and sticky thighs. He admittedly loved the idea of his seed dripping down her thighs. It brought out the possessive caveman in him, and she knew it. |
She rolled her eyes at him. "You're lucky I love you," she said, pulling her shirt off. |
"I am lucky," he answered seriously. |
She softened then and kissed him tenderly. He let her scrub him down. He probably could've done it himself, but he thought they both needed this little bit of giving and receiving care and to symbolically wash away the stress and grief of the last several days. |
He was still weak from his injury, being immobile for so long, and the blood loss and strain on his body from his ordeal. He felt better today than when he first started waking up and knew the potions were doing a good job in helping him recover. Soon he would be back to normal, and they would be able to go about their lives. |
The thought of going about their lives brought on thoughts of Weasley. If he were more like his father, he would go and kill the man. Draco wasn't his father though. He'd worked hard not to become the hard, unyielding man that his father was. The urge was there nonetheless. He wanted to make Weasley pay dearly for what he'd put everyone through. |
"You're frowning. What's wrong?" Hermione asked worriedly, interjecting into his thoughts. |
He'd completely zoned out while she washed him. He found himself leaned back against her as her hands massaged his scalp. The scrape of her nails against his skin felt divine, and he found himself wanting to arch into her touch. |
"Nothing's wrong," he finally said. |
"What were you thinking about then?" she asked as she rinsed his hair out. |
"Weasley," he answered. |
Her hands stilled in his hair. He sat up and turned to look at her. He could see the anger bubbling up in her eyes. |
"I hate that bastard," she said with quiet ferocity. |
"He's not worth hating," Draco said quietly. |
"When I get my hands on him," Hermione said with rising fury, "he'll wish he'd never been born." |
"No," Draco said firmly, grasping her hands. |
"No!" Hermione shouted at him, angrily pulling her hands from his grasp, "He almost killed you. He tried to kill me. He deserves to pay for that at least. Not to mention all the other stuff he's done to me over the years." |
"And he will," Draco placated, "Let's finish our shower, and you can continue yelling at me." |
Hermione finished her shower, scrubbing herself vigorously. She shut off the water, stepped out, and handed him a towel before taking another and drying herself off. She was furious. He could feel the heat of it coming off her in waves. |
He followed her out of the bathroom and found some black running pants and a blue long sleeve tee shirt in the bag that his mother had packed for him. He heard Hermione scourgifying her clothes before putting them back on, all the while muttering to herself. He sat down on the bed facing the door and where Hermione was putting on her clothes. |
Once she pulled her shirt over her head, he said, "Alright, lioness. Let me have it." |
She looked over at him with a livid expression, "Where do you get off telling me "no" for wanting Ron to pay for what's he's done." |
Draco took a deep breath and tried to keep his expression neutral, "You don't want justice for what he's done. You want revenge. You want to hurt him yourself for what he's done." |
"Justice," she spat, "You think we're going to get justice for what he's done. He obliviated me repeatedly, and the Minister wouldn't do a thing to punish him. He acted like it was within his marital rights. You think trying to kill his wife and almost killing her lover is going to go any better." |
Draco froze and looked over at her. She actually believed Weasley would get off for what he did to them. "Why would you think he's not going to be punished?" Draco asked heatedly. |
Hermione scoffed at him, "It's all over the papers. Skeeter has been having a field day with this. Ron being arrested is a matter of public record, as is the reason he was arrested. No one is talking, but the absence of facts isn't stopping her from getting everyone worked up. Some old bitty tried telling me you got what you deserved for breaking up a "happy family." |
"Weasley is not going to get away with this. Attempted murder is a capital crime, and with enough evidence, he won't even get a trial. He'll be sentenced to life in Azkaban," Draco said, trying to hide his anger that Hermione had also had to deal with the press while she was worried about his recovery, "Why didn't Theo tell you this?" |
"He might have said something to that effect while I was incinerating the papers," Hermione said a little flippantly. |
"I see someone should've taken your wand away from you," he said with a smile. Hermione glared at him but wasn't able to hold the expression. "How much of the gardens did you destroy in your fit of rage?" |
She snorted at that statement, "Your mother would kill me if I destroyed her rose bushes." Little did Hermione know, his mother had destroyed a good portion of the back gardens and parts of his Quidditch pitch in some of her fits of rage and grief. "I'm still mad at you," she said. |
Draco looked up from his musings. She wasn't quite as angry as she'd been before. Her eyes were narrowed, and she still had a frown marring her beautiful features. |
"Why are you still mad at me?" he asked. |
She let out an exasperated huff, "I'm not some pathetic woman that can't think for herself or make her own decisions." |
Where had that come from? Draco looked at her with a confused frown, "Of course you're not." |
She put her hands on her hips and shot him an irritated glare, "That's how you made me feel when you told me that I couldn't make him pay for what he's done." |
Draco had a fish out of water moment. He sat there opening and closing his mouth as he processed her words. He wanted to deny her words. He was protective of her, he couldn't deny that, and she knew it. He wanted to be the one to make Weasley pay, but he didn't want to allow her to do it. Allow her? Who was he to allow her to do anything? He didn't want her to hate that pathetic excuse of a husband because he didn't want her ruined by hate, but Draco admitted to himself that he was quite capable of hating Weasley. He was being hypocritical about this. |
"I'm sorry," he said finally, "It wasn't my intention to make you feel that way, and I can see your point." |
She nodded her head, accepting his apology. She was so far away from him, only halfway across the small room but he wanted her beside him. He sensed she needed distance to organize her thoughts and he didn't push her. He loved that she was strong and independent. He wouldn't want her to be any other way. He knew his overprotective nature got on her nerves sometimes, hence her calling him a caveman. |
"What if he gets off?" she turned, looking at him with a worried frown. |
"He's not going to get off," Draco answered with an assured tone. There was no way in hell Weasley was going to weasel his way out of this one. |
"But what if he does?" she persisted, starting to pace the room and chewing on her bottom lip. |
"The dungeons at the Manor are empty," Draco said darkly, "Such a shame he got out the last time." |
"That's not funny, Draco," she said as she stopped in her pacing to look at him. |
"Who says I'm joking?" Draco said seriously. He was dead serious. He was confident of the outcome of Weasley's fate. Weasley wouldn't be set free after he'd almost murdered a member of the Wizengamot. "Do you honestly think I'm going to just let that bastard walk free after what he did? I'm a Slytherin and a Malfoy, not some bloody turn-the-other-cheek Hufflepuff." |
"You can't be certain that he won't get off for this," Hermione said, looking like she wanted to start crying again. |
Draco stood and walked to where she was pacing. Forget giving her space to be mad at him. He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly against him. He smoothed a hand down her damp, curly hair. |
"He's not getting off for this. I can assure you of that. I've been pressuring all our friends to take their Wizengamot seats for months now so that your divorce bill will be a guaranteed thing. I can and will put pressure where it's needed to make sure he's punished. He's not getting off for this, and if by some misfortune of fate, he does manage to escape justice, we'll take him down together. He doesn't get to attack my woman and traumatize my kids and get away with it," he said into her hair, heatedly. |
"You're still a bloody caveman," Hermione groused against his chest, "You can't tell me you don't want revenge for what he's done." |
Draco tipped her chin up so that he could gaze into her eyes, "Do you remember what I said to him at the Burrow?" Hermione shook her head. "I told him that if you ever decided you didn't want him around your girls," he continued, "I would use every means at my disposal to make sure he never saw them again. I knew he would eventually fuck it up. I never expected him to do so in such a spectacular fashion or make it so easy for me to keep him away from you and the girls. While he's rotting in a dank prison cell, we will be going about our happy lives. He will have to think about everything he's missing out on." |
He dropped a kiss to her upturned brow, "My revenge is knowing that while he's in prison, we'll be living our lives. Minerva and Rose will have me every day to show them what a real father is. In time, we'll all forget about him. He will just be a fading memory. But he won't be able to forget us and what he threw away. Forgetting about that bastard and living our lives is truly the best revenge." |
Hermione stared up at him for a moment before she broke into amused laughter, "Oh my God," she panted, "that's probably the worst thing you could do to him. The one thing Ron always needed was the spotlight." |
Draco didn't bother to hide his smug smile, "Lioness, I may not show it that often, but I was in Slytherin for a reason." |
He would make sure that Weasley knew that his girls were now Draco's. Draco already loved them and considered them his own. Draco would raise those girls as his own daughters, and he would make sure they never missed that sorry excuse of a father they once had. Weasley would rot in a cell knowing that he was forsaken by friends and family. It was truly the best revenge because Weasley had brought it on himself. |
Five o'clock brought with its chiming bells a whole slew of people intent on welcoming Draco back to the land of the living. The large gathering was ordered off the fourth floor by harassed healers. |
Draco, aided by Theo and Blaise, who hovered around him like mother hens, slowly made his way to the lifts to join his family and friends in the tearoom for a picnic. Several gray tables were pushed together with the black metal chairs with gray cushioned seats lining the sides of the table. |
Draco impatiently swatted away Blaise and Theo's hands as they tried to steer him toward the table, "I'm not an invalid," he muttered irritably. |
"No, you're just shuffling around like an old man," Blaise retorted. |
"Stop exaggerating, Blaise," Theo said drily, "I'm sure Draco is relieved we aren't letting him fall flat on his pretty face." |
Draco huffed in annoyance, "I'm not walking like an old man, and I'm not about to fall over." Both Blaise and Theo gave him identical looks of skepticism. "Fine," Draco sighed, "It's hard to stand up straight right now, and everything is just a little sore from disuse." |
Draco hated admitting to any weakness. He may have reveled in the attention when he was younger, but he didn't like it now as an adult. He probably would have fallen on his face or still been shuffling down the hall without their help. |
"Before we go over there," Blaise said, "the women are plotting something." |
"What?" Draco asked softly, looking across the room to where Hermione was sitting with his mother, Tracey, Daphne, Ginny, Helena, and Luna. Strangely they had all taken up the end of the table, leaving only one spot open at the head of the table. |
"Not sure, mate," Theo answered with a shrug. |
Draco sank gratefully into the vacant chair at the head of the table, flanked by Hermione and his mother, and ignored the tightness across his chest as he tried to sit as straight as possible. His children surrounded him, all clamoring for his attention. |
Rose insisted on climbing into his lap and receiving the bulk of his attention. Thankfully, Minerva and Scorpius were content to stand beside him and let Rose pepper him with questions. |
"How's your ouchy, Daddy?" Rose asked, looking like she wanted to pat him on the chest. |
"Don't," Minerva interjected, taking her sister's hand to keep her from touching the bandaged area. |
Rose looked a little hurt not to be able to touch him. Her chin wobbled as she geared herself up to start crying. |
"None of that now," Draco said soothingly, smoothing out the wrinkle in her chin that threatened impending tears, "It itches something fierce," he answered her question with a touch of humor in his voice. |
"Should you scratch it?" she asked, looking up at him, her eyes full of youthful curiosity. Draco looked at her closely, noting how quickly her expression changed from tears to eager curiosity. |
Draco shook his head in mock seriousness, "Oh, no. Healer McNair would be very sore with me if I scratched away all his hard work." |
His son sent him a hopeful glance and rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet, "Does that mean you're healing? Are you going to be able to come home sooner?" |
Draco reached over and tousled his son's hair affectionately. Scorpius immediately brought his hands up and started smoothing his hair back down with an aggrieved expression. "Healer McNair is letting me go home tomorrow instead of the day after tomorrow," Draco answered smiling, winking at Hermione who blushed and rolled her eyes at him. |
Rose started jumping up and down in excitement on his knee and clapping her hands, "Yay! Does that mean we can celebrate Christmas when you get home?" |
"Of course!" Draco said, trying to sound happy. |
His children had missed Christmas because of his injury and hospital stay. Another crime to lay at Weasley's door. A riot of emotions washed over him. Rage was first and foremost at the thought of how their first Christmas together was tainted by Weasley's attack. Sorrow followed at a close second at how worried they'd all been. Rose seemed to be the only one who hadn't suffered overmuch while he was in the hospital, and that was probably only because she believed Luna when Luna had told them that he would recover. He gathered them to him. He breathed in their soft scents, like cookies fresh out of the oven. |
"Daddy, you're squishing me," Rose whined. |
Draco released them from his embrace and placed a kiss on Rose's brow, "Sorry, princess." |
"Alright everyone," his mother called from her seat beside him, "find your seats." |
The ladies kept their seats near each other. Hermione, Ginny, and Luna sat along one side. His mother, Daphne, Helena, and Tracey took up the other. The children quickly took places in the middle of the table. Rose insisted on sitting beside "Auntie Luna" and that Albus sit next to her. Florence sat next to her mother, and Scorpius insisted on sitting beside her. Minerva seated herself between Albus and "Mione. Drake and James took up the spots on the other side of the table next to Scorpius. |
That left four very confused men forced to sit at the end of the table. Harry seemed not to mind that much and took his seat next to his eldest son. Theo, Greg, and Blaise shot suspicious looks down the table at their wives, who were pointedly ignoring their husbands and whispering to one another while the seat claiming was going on. The women had banded together, and something was up. |
His mother flicked her wand in a graceful arc and glasses and pitchers of pumpkin juice appeared. Before anyone could reach out to pour, his mother flicked her wand again, and the pitchers started pouring out the juice. |
Once the glasses were filled with the golden liquid, his mother stood and lifted hers. Quiet descended on the table as everyone looked expectantly at his mother. "I want to thank you all for everything you've done over the last several days," his mother said as she looked down the table at his friends, "I've never before seen such an incredible group of people drop everything and work together to help a friend and their family through a hard time. We understand the sacrifice you all made in staying with us during the holidays. Your efforts, though at times a bit high-handed," at this his mother glared down at the end of the table where Theo and Blaise had the grace to look a bit shame-faced, "were nonetheless appreciated. Thank you for being there to support us." |
"What did Blaise and Theo do to Mother that has her so miffed?" Draco leaned over and whispered to Hermione after he took a drink of his juice. |
"They got caught spiking her tea with a mild sedative a few days ago," Hermione murmured to him. "It's a wonder Blaise can even sit down right now." |
Draco looked sharply down the table to where Blaise sat. Sure enough, Blaise was squirming in his chair, looking disgruntled and uncomfortable as he tried to find an easy way to sit in the uncomfortable chair. |
"What did she do to Theo?" Draco asked, not seeing any signs of discomfort from his friend. |
Hermione let out a bark of laughter, drawing the attention of the rest of the table. She waved them off, and they settled back into their conversations. "He apparated to another part of the house when they were caught and hid until you woke up." |
Draco laughed a little. His stomach rumbled, and he found that he was ravenously hungry. He looked at Hermione, "What are we having for dinner?" he asked, "I'm starving." |
Hermione startled a bit in her seat, "Oh, sorry. That's me." |
Draco wasn't given time to ponder her oddly cryptic words. Hermione flicked her wand and white plates with silver cloches covering them soared gracefully over the table to land in front of each person at the table. Another flick of her wrist and the cloches were whisked away to stack themselves on a table in the corner. |
Draco looked down and felt his mouth start to water at the smells emanating from his plate. A large ribeye steak took up half his plate. He could see the juices from the steak oozing around to mingle with the green beans and mashed potatoes. Draco looked around for his utensils and growled in frustration to find nothing beside his plate. |
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