Father of the Groom
Draco Malfoy stood in front of the high gilded mirror and observed his reflection.
He was still the tall, blonde-haired man with the pale, pointed face of old - except that, over the years, something about the eyes had changed. In his youth, malice and a slice of cowardice glistened in those grey orbs. Now, a kind of wary peacefulness swam in them.
Scorpius, his son, was getting married today. The young man was sleeping soundly in his old room. He and Rose Weasley had decided to spend the month leading up to their marriage at their parents’ houses. Draco briefly wondered if his soon-to-be daughter-in-law was still being nagged by her father. The Weasel King will never give up, he thought, smirking. I would never do that to my child; I love my son far too much to let old grudges destroy his present and, possibly, his future.
To his surprise, Draco had found the girl quite…tolerable. Ria had adored her ever since Scorpius had announced their friendship on his second day at Hogwarts. For Draco, the news had been nothing less than astounding. The daughter of Weasel King and Know-It-All Granger had stepped forward to befriend the son of their arch enemy? He had almost expected a red-faced Weasley to barge into his office and demand that Draco take his son out of school. Of course, no such thing had happened. He supposed Granger must have kept her husband in check. Granger was a little wiser than the Weasel. And braver, perhaps. He winced as the memory of a thirteen-year-old girl slapping him flashed in his mind.
If there was one thing Draco could be proud of, it was the fact that his son had managed to get the life that he had not lived - a life without the danger of facing imminent death, a life without the curse of inbred prejudices, a life with loyal friends whom he could treat as equals, a life where he did not have to face treacherous choices, a life where the only worry was which career he should pick after Hogwarts or how he could propose to the girl he loved. Lucky, he thought. However, Ria kept insisting it was because Scorpius’ father had had the wisdom to let him pave the course of his life.
Scorpius was happy. Ria was happy. Draco was happy. Even his mother, Narcissa, was happy.
The only blot in the parchment was his father, Lucius Malfoy.
Lucius had returned from his two-year stint in Azkaban, frail and broken. He had returned to a world that was undergoing a metamorphosis which he could not handle. But the Malfoy in him could not stand being left out. He had paid the dues for his crimes and he had wanted to make sure that his fellow wizards knew he was no longer going to fool around with anything dark. He had energetically organized parties which very few had attended at first. With time, it seemed the wizards and witches of London had begun to feel something close to pity for the family which was so desperately trying to stay afloat. And, after all, Harry Potter himself had vouched for the wife and son. Within two years, the Malfoy family had been back into reckoning. Draco had been happy for his father.
Lucius, however, had found that he could not fully embrace the ways of the new wizarding world. Despite all the pain that his fallacies had caused him, he could not get rid of them. His weakness had been what he had drawn his power from. As soon as his son had married Astoria, a pureblood, Lucius had withdrawn from the public life he had struggled to build and started spending his time shut up at Malfoy Manor, taking comfort only in the company of his wife and elf-made wine.
Then, Scorpius had arrived. Lucius had been overjoyed and Draco had been glad that his father had something to cheer him up. Draco had not known that the arrival of his son was going to create a rift between him and Lucius.
Lucius had only played with his grandson at first. He had brought him toys and taken delight in seeing the baby play with them. When Scorpius had turned two, he had begun to read to him. This should have been harmless, but for the fact that Astoria had overheard him telling the child stories of Salazar Slytherin. Draco had been furious when he had heard about this. He had gone to Malfoy Manor the next day instead of going to work, and had engaged in the biggest argument he had ever had with his father. Lucius had begun by berating his son for talking back to him and finished with the pronouncement that it had been a mistake to let him marry Astoria. This had been the final straw for Draco. He had realized the error of his ways long before he met Astoria, and he was lucky that she had chosen to trust him - lucky to find a woman who was willing to spend her life with him in spite of everything. But when he had told his father the same thing, the other man had spat on the ground. Draco had realized for the first time that he could actually feel something other than respect for his father. He had realized that he was capable of feeling hatred for the man for whom he had undergone hell.
Though Astoria and Narcissa had tried their level best to get things back to normal, the relationship between Draco and Lucius had remained cool. Draco had thus decided to keep Scorpius’ friendship with the Weasleys and Potters a secret. His wife did not approve of this plan, but he had asked her not to interfere. A part of him, a very bitter part of him, had been resentful at the thought of his father refusing to change.
And so Draco had let his parents find out about the engagement through the Daily Prophet. Narcissa had come to see him the very day the news had broken. While she had obviously been angry about having been kept in the dark for so long, she could not disagree when Draco explained his motives to her. She was the only solace for Lucius, and Draco did not want to take that away by forcing her to deceive him. She sadly told him that his father had asked him to come to Malfoy Manor.
Draco still remembered the row he had had with his father.
“This is how you repay me, son? THIS?” shouted Lucius.
“What are you referring to, father? The fact that I kept it quiet from you, or the fact that your grandson is marrying a girl whose family you call ‘blood-traitors’?” Draco hoped against hope that his father would say it was the former.
“How dare you? How dare you let the Malfoy line get tainted with Muggle blood? Is this what I have raised you to be? Is this how you have brought up your son?”
For a moment, Draco did not answer. He felt very tired and old. But he couldn’t stay silent, either. He had had enough of struggling with his demons. He was fed up of dissecting his errors and faults till they became indecipherable - he needed to move on, and it wouldn’t help if his father kept pulling him back.
“Yes. This is how I have brought up my son. Because I wanted him to be safe. Because I wanted him to be happy. Because I wanted him to have real friends instead of allies and henchmen. Because I don’t believe in the purity of blood anymore. I haven’t for a long time.”
Lucius stood, speechless. The corners of his lips twitched involuntarily.
“It is true, father. And I stopped believing in it not just because it is an invalid belief, but also because keeping faith in it has brought us nothing but shame, misery and pain. A little self-centered of me, but that’s the Slytherin in me speaking, eh? Wouldn’t want to defy all of the Dark Lord’s teachings.”
Lucius recovered. “You little…Do not utter his name!”
“Still upsets you, doesn’t he? The feeling is mutual. I want his memories out of my mind. And I would have thought, after what he put us through, that you would have wanted the same thing. Apparently not. I am curious, father. Why are you still clinging to your demons?”
“You know nothing,” began Lucius angrily, “YOU KNOW NOTHING!”
“DON’T I?” shouted Draco, unable to control himself. “In case you haven’t forgotten, father, your precious master tortured your son and wife! He used the Cruciatus Curse on us! I still have the scars on my back. And if you have chosen to remove that from your memory, I am sure the ones on your chest are not forgo-”
In a second, Lucius had taken out his wand. “Stupe-”
“Protego!” shouted Draco. “Expelliarmus!”
Lucius’ wand flew out of his hand and landed in Draco’s. He sat down on his armchair, defeated in every sense of the word, yet too stubborn to admit it. Draco felt nothing but pity for him. “I am sorry, father. But that’s just how it is.”
With that, he placed the wand on the table and quietly walked out of the room. A minute later, he Apparated back home and locked himself up in his study. He didn’t want anyone else to see the tears.
After that episode, the mandatory Saturday night dinners were held at the younger Malfoys’ home. Only Narcissa came. Scorpius was obviously not happy, but even he could not persuade his grandfather. Draco, for his part, felt an odd sort of grief, but he had already known one could not have everything in life.
He walked away from the mirror and went towards the huge windows that faced the east. He waited for the sun every morning. Anytime now, he told himself...after that, he would go straight to his bedroom and see his wife wake up. That moment when she opened her eyes and smiled at him…it was one of the best comforts of his life.
It was the Malfoys’ New Year Ball. Quite a number of wizarding families had turned up for the occasion. Such huge parties provided great opportunities for match-making. Draco could not honestly say that he liked the whole affair.
“Draco!”
He turned around to find a familiar face hurrying towards him. “Daphne! It’s been such a long time.”
“I know,” replied Daphne Greengrass. She held out her hand. Draco took it and was about to kiss it when she laughed out loud. “Don’t be so boring. I meant to shake your hand.”
Feeling slightly flustered, Draco shook her hands with an embarrassed grin. “How have you been?”
“Excellent! I am still doing my research on the relationship between magic and plants,” she replied excitedly. “You?”
“I got a job at the Ministry,” said Draco, drawling a little. “Department of International Magical Co-Operation.”
“Oh!” said Daphne, looking impressed. “Congratulations!”
Draco smiled. “How are you enjoying the party?”
“I am not,” replied Daphne promptly.
Draco stopped smiling. “Er…”
“No, no, nothing on you. It’s just that the whole match-making business is getting on my nerves. Lady Hitchens was just trying to introduce me to Wendell Yaxley. The fellow recently returned to London; an incredibly boring specimen. I’ll have you know, Draco, I have no intention of marrying a stuck-up, pure-blood dandy.”
Draco felt a little hot around the collar. “So…er…who do you have in mind?”
“Actually, I don’t intend to marry at all, dear friend,” whispered Daphne with a wink. Then, she continued in a louder voice. “I will be setting off for Palermo in a week. There is a village there where people channel their magic from plants and herbs. They are going to be a lot of help for the book I am planning to write.”
“That sounds interesting,” said Draco sincerely. “But…are you parents aware of your decision?” He could not help but feel a little jealous of Daphne.
Daphne chuckled. “No, I haven’t told them as yet. But it’s dear Lady Hitchens who’s going to be devastated, not my parents. They have Ria to fulfill their dream of having grandchildren.”
“Who?” asked Draco.
“Oh, I mean Astoria,” clarified Daphne. “My younger sister.”
Draco was flummoxed. “I never knew you had a sister! Was she at Hogwarts?”
“Yes,” said Daphne, smiling a mysterious smile. “Ravenclaw. Here, I will introduce the two of you. Just give me a second. Stay here, alright?” Still smiling as though she was enjoying a private joke, she walked off.
Draco had just started wondering why Daphne had never mentioned her sister at school when he saw her coming back through the crowd. She was steering a laughing girl who did not resemble her at all. While Daphne had coal black hair, the other girl, whom Draco assumed to be her sister, had hair that was the exact shade of blonde he did. She looked rather pretty in her elegant mauve robes.
They had reached Draco. A smile was just lighting up his face when he saw the new girl’s expression. The smile died immediately. She was no longer laughing; she was frowning. Daphne, who appeared ignorant of this, spoke up. “Draco, meet Astoria Greengrass, my younger sister and former Ravenclaw Prefect.”
Draco held out his hand tentatively. “Miss Greengrass, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Astoria took it slowly and smiled tightly. Draco felt strangely warmed by the contact.
“And, Astoria,” continued Daphne genially, “meet Draco Malfoy, school friend of your sister and potential husband of my sister.”
The hands broke away abruptly. Astoria looked furious. “I apologize for my sister’s behavior, Mr. Malfoy,” she said, in a rather forbidding tone. “And I must take your leave now. My parents are waiting for me at the other end of the room. It was nice meeting you.”
She left without waiting for his reply or looking back.
Draco was stunned. What had just happened?
Daphne clicked her tongue. She looked directly into Draco’s eyes and said sweetly, “Definitely not a pansy, do you reckon?”
“No,” said Draco dazedly. “Definitely not.”
Draco smiled at the memory. Of course, he now knew what Daphne’s private joke was. Apparently, she used to tease her sister about him because the latter had loathed him so much during their years at Hogwarts.
It had taken him sixteen months to persuade Astoria to go out with him and another eight months to earn her trust and love. Two years, three months and fifteen days from the night on which they were introduced to each other, they were married.
Draco knew these statistics because he had kept count - and he had kept count because Astoria was the best thing that had happened to him since the War. She was the only part of his life that he was really proud of.
The sun broke through, finally. Still smiling, Draco went out of his study and headed for his bedroom.
A Marriage Made at Hogwarts by hestiajones
Story Notes:
This five-chaptered story can be described as an extended epilogue to DH’s Epilogue. :D
Broken bonds will be mended, and old wounds will heal…
Thanks to my two ‘vunderful’ betas Apurva (DracoGurlFurever) and Mary_ann (Mary_ann3112) for their tremendous amount of patience and hard work. I dedicate this story to you two.
DISCLAIMER: I am not Rowling. I wish I was, though...
Chapter Notes: This chapter will focus on Draco and his thoughts.