Almost lightheaded, he pulled Ginny along the street. He was still wearing his suit, she still in her uniform for work. He’d picked her up and wouldn’t tell her where they were going, something that had just made her smile and with anticipation as she followed him through London. A quick call to the Weasley residence to make sure Liam and Evie could stay on a little longer was met with delight.
“Draco, where on earth are you taking me?”
“You’ll see in a minute.”
“We’re in Kensington, London, what on earth around here would you want to show me? We can’t even afford to drink tea around here.”
“We’re not drinking overpriced tea. It’s something else. A surprise.”
“I hope it’s good. We might be charged for using the pavement.”
“It is. Come on.” He pulled her up the stairs to one of the white, pilastered houses, the blue door with its brass knocker swinging open at his touch. Inside was an airy hallway with a skylight and stairs led up to the second floor. Going past it he showed her into a large sitting room, Georgian windows framing the view of the street prettily. Done up in creams and golds with antique furniture and expensive replica paintings on the walls Draco spread his arms to show it all.
“What do you think?”
Ginny tilted her head. Standing just inside the doorway in her Healer uniform, her vibrant hair pulled into a ponytail she looked out of place.
“Think about what, Draco?”
“This place!”
She looked around, her hands in the pockets of her old jacket. He could swear he remembered it from when they had used to go out. It had to be ancient. Well, no more. He could take her to a store, any store and let her choose any kind of jacket she wanted. The knowledge of it made a warm glow of satisfaction brim in his stomach.
“What do I think about this place? Draco, why are we here? This is someone’s house. Someone who doesn’t like personal touches, but it’s someone’s home. Why are we in it?”
“It’s ours. Our home.”
Ginny blinked, slowly taking her hands out of her pockets.
“Pardon?”
“It’s our house, Ginny. I made a deal with Zabini’s firm. We’re never going to have to worry about money again. Liam and Evie can go to the best schools, you can work for even less profit, we’ll have a house that isn’t about to fall down.”
“Draco, we love that house. It’s our home.”
Careful, he told himself. People had the strangest sentimental attachments. Like loving that glorified, multi storey shed.
“Liam loves his school. All his friends are there. Evie’s nursery is the same all her cousins go to. You would seriously take them from there so they could leave here and attend a fancier school?”
When he’d pictured this moment he’d thought Ginny would burst out laughing with joy, latching on to him in a hug. Pressing her close she’d say, her voice just a little tearful, she was glad living in the other place was over, that a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Then she would run around exclaiming over all the rooms and sigh over the open fireplaces and polished hardwood floors.
In reality (though he would still debate that it was his reality) she just stood on the threshold, the look on her face for the first time since he arrived one that said she didn’t know who he was. She looked lost and small.
“Ginny…this is an amazing house. It’s a great neighbourhood. It’s in the catchment area for three of the best schools in the country.”
“It is a great house. For someone. I’ll see you at home, Draco.” With a set to her shoulders he recognised as “back off or die” he kept silent, the muted pop when she Apparated away seeming to resound in his head.
o.O.o
Later that evening he was sitting in what had over time had become his armchair. He knew Ginny was home, he’d heard her upstairs but knowing a blow up was inevitable if he approached her before she was ready he had stayed clear. The baby monitor on the kitchen counter made her sound like she was in the next room as she sang to Evie. Something old, and vaguely familiar though no one had sang it to him when he was little. After the baby’s breaths turned deep and snuffling he heard her turn her attention to Liam, reading one of his favorites - Snitch’s Adventure. He could picture them upstairs, Ginny in one of her big ugly sweaters and leggings, reading to a curled up Liam smelling of his bath. With an unfamiliar stab in his chest he realized he wanted to be up there. Had wanted to be part of bath time with the bubbles and the carnage as all plastic toys from his son’s basket waged war on the high seas. To see the pearly white teeth flashing in a smile as he made Spider-Man and Victor Krum do battle among foaming waves in the tub. He wanted to hold Evie and hear that shift in the air when she fell asleep, the almost magical moment where the world faded to her and dreams welcomed her into their embrace. Draco wanted to hear the soft breathing of both of them as he left the room, the door slightly ajar as Liam didn’t trust the little nightlight in the shape of a caterpillar would be bright enough.
For some reason his and Ginny’s fight suddenly seemed small. He’d been angry a moment ago, hadn’t he? Angry she couldn’t see what would be best for the family. Angry she had thrown his gift back in his face. But what was the gift, really? He’d thought it was the future he’d given her but actually, it was just a different set of four walls. Four walls she didn’t want as all they needed was already housed within these ones. Four walls that were perhaps more structurally sound and painted in a more expensive color probably called Honeydew Kiss.
Her steps were hesitant when she came downstairs. As he’d predicted she was wearing leggings, a large jumper and big woolly socks. Her hair had been pulled into a knot, probably to keep it out of the way during bath time and some tendrils had fallen down. Still a bit damp they curled more than usual, the twists in them picking up the light and glinting like embers. Entering the room eventually she sat down on the low coffee table, on the longer edge so she wasn’t facing him directly but looking over the back of the couch into the kitchen.
“I’m sorry I got angry earlier.”
He nodded in acceptance of her apology, knowing it cost her as much as it did him to admit fault.
“I know you’re used to certain....things. The way you grew up, it was so different to my childhood. We never wanted for anything, never had to go hungry or anything. But there was nothing extravagant. But we were happy. I’d see other families or hear my friends speaking of theirs and I didn’t hear the same story from them. It made me realize I was lucky. My family was lucky.” She looked down, still not meeting his eyes. Toying with her wedding band, twisting it around her finger she made his insides freeze. Was she trying to take it off? A ring that had stayed on her finger thirteen years and spending a few weeks with him would make her take it off?
“Ginny-”
“Let me finish.” She finally turned around so she was facing him from the edge of the low coffee table. “I was angry with you when I came back. I was angry you don’t think enough of the house we have and the schools our children go to. That you don’t think our family is enough as it is.”
“That’s not-”
“Hush, I’m almost done.” She put a hand on his knee, leaned forward. “But as I was putting the kids to sleep I realized something. We’re happy, Draco. We’d be happy if we lived in a shed or a mansion in Kensington. It’s just walls.” Looking up, taking in the somewhat tidy living room. “I pictured Evie and Liam growing up here. I saw us growing old here. But we’ll still do that, no matter where we are. If it makes you happy, Draco, then we’ll go to the house in Kensington.”
Expecting to feel pleasure rush through him at her acquiescing all he felt was a warmth spreading in his stomach. She didn’t want to go, but she would, for him. Ginny loved this house and the life they already had but she would leave it if he asked it of her. The new walls, clothes and things paled in comparison, faded into the background like a lamp moved from a room, leaving it in darkness. His family was happy here, why would he do anything to upset that?
“No.” He reached for her, pulled her closer and felt her comply, settling on his lap. Her back bowed under his hand, her knees pulled up under his other hand as her head settled in the crook of his neck. “No, we don’t need it. This is our home.” The crown of her hair was tucked under his chin and he could smell her shampoo, the same she’d always used with its no nonsense clean scent. Her heart was beating in slow, heavy beats and her skin was warm under the big jumper. That was home. Ginny was his home. “No, we’ll stay. The house doesn’t matter.”
And it didn’t. Looking out at the room over her head he knew it to be true. This house held their life. The clutter and the mess was just part of it. There was Evie’s treasured toy train that would one day drive him completely insane but had survived this long because it made her laugh, a deep belly giggle of joy every time the little cat conductor popped up and announced it was time to go, go, go. Liam’s trike, overturned as part of a horrendous three way collision with his Batmobile and a firetruck. In a basket sat Ginny’s knitting that she picked up whenever she thought a TV show got dull, her hands moving without her looking, the stitches taking form under her fingers as if by magic. A muggle alarm clock he had been attempting to fix laid open, its guts of screws and cogs spread over the table. Could he picture them doing the same in a cold, impersonal house in Kensington? Liam wouldn’t be allowed to ride his trike over the old floors, Evie wouldn’t be able to fall asleep seeing the stars Ginny had painted in luminescent color over her bed. In fact, he wasn’t even sure he would like it more. To be back surrounded by antique chairs you couldn’t lounge in, a neighbouring association that threatened lynching if you let your grass get a quarter of an inch too long, a living room you couldn’t let yourself leave empty teacups or the paper out in. That wasn’t a home, that was a museum you could stay in after closing.
“It really doesn’t.” Ginny put a hand on his chest so she could sit up slightly. “I love this house but anywhere you are is home to me, Draco.”
“I love you, Ginny. I just forgot for a minute that we already have all that matters. You and our children is all that really matter to me.”
“That’s good to hear. I was afraid you had changed your mind about choosing your inheritance over me thirteen years later.”
Of course. It clicked into place. Of course his father would take away his money for marrying a Weasley, the sick bastard. That was why they were living in this house, why they had no money. His company had originally been funded by the Malfoy wealth and if it never got the chance to grow beyond it then his father would have been able to take it from him.
“I would choose you again over it in a heartbeat, Ginny. It’s just money.” Pulling her closer he felt fear grab at him. He would give it up but would it help? He didn’t know if this was reality, but nothing had ever felt as real as Ginny, warm and breathing in his arms. This was the reality he wanted. Screw his corner office, his London apartment, his trips to Biarritz. He wanted Ginny. He wanted Liam and Evie and he wanted to go to work with formula on his ugly jumper with Liam’s chatter in his head and the taste of Ginny on his lips.
That was all.
o.O.o
A surprise snowfall at the beginning of February made the neighbourhood grumble and delighted Liam and Evie. The youngest Malfoy was bundled up and resembled a round gnome where she sat in the snow, laughing at nothing more than the flakes falling from the sky. In front of her Ginny was building a lopsided snowman, roughly the same height as the sitting baby. His wife was wrapped up in a similar fashion to his daughter but somehow looked appealing despite the layers. There was snow stuck to her lashes and the trailing curls falling out of the light blue ski cap.
“I think your snowman is tilting.” She looked up, smiling as she pushed some hair out of the way with a mitten covered hand.
“I meant it to. This is no generic snowman. This is art.”
“Oh, of course. Is it also meant to be a living art piece?”
“What?”
“Well, your daughter is eating parts of it. Very avant garde.” Ginny glanced back to see Evie happily pushing a glob of snow as big as her fist against her face.
“As a matter of fact. It’s a commentary on capitalism.”
Laughing Draco grabbed the front of her jacket and pulled her close for a kiss. Ginny’s lips curved under his. They were cold and tasted of the hot chocolate they’d had. The contact with his warmed them and feeling a similar heat wake in his stomach the tender moment was interrupted by something hitting him in the back.
“I got you! I got you!”
Breaking the kiss he turned to find Liam dancing triumphantly in place.
“Right in the back!”
“Okay, I have to go push our son into a snowdrift. Teach him respect for his elders.”
“I understand. Do be gentle, he’s my firstborn. I have a soft spot for him.”
“Just for you.” He pressed a peck to her smiling mouth before turning his attention to Liam. “Okay, you’re dead.”
Shrieking in delight the boy set off, snow spurting under his winter boots. Following, adjusting his pace to the shorter legs he was chasing he chuckled. After a minute of chase he caught Liam, hauling him off his feet and tossing him in the air. Pretending to drop him he sunk to the ground, the boy landing on top. Rolling over he growled,
“So, little menace, which snowdrift do you want to go in first?”
The squirming, laughing boy stilled, his eyes widening.
“Daddy! You’re back!” Flinging his arms around Draco he hugged him as hard as his little frame could manage. “You came back, I knew you would!”
Hugging his son back the love that filled him threatened to spill over and he kissed the top of the golden head.
“Of course.” He tried to clear the choke in his voice. “I’ll always come for you, Liam. Wherever I am, I’ll always come for you.”
o.O.o
The snow had made the drive slippery and knowing Liam liked to race to the car he figured he might put some salt on, avoid disaster. Finding it in the garage he waved the others in. He’d just leave it to do its job and then go in and join them for dinner. Setting the bag of salt on the bottom step he crouched to get it open.
Evening was falling, soft and quiet like the snow that was still sinking gently to the ground. In the twilight the person behind him didn’t have a shadow and it was only when he turned he spotted them. Jumping in surprise he took a step back.
“Merlin, announce yourself! Scared me half to death.” He dropped the scoop for the salt. “Can I help you?”
“The question is, have I helped you?” Frowning it took Draco a moment to recognise the figure. It was the old man from the corner shop. The person who’d peered at him strangely before he’d woken up in Ginny’s bed.
“You!”
“Hello again, Draco.”
Glancing back at the house he shifted slightly, as if to protect the ones inside.
“How do you know my name?”
“I know everything about you. Even things you don’t know yourself.”
“Who are you?”
“That doesn’t really matter. Call me an unknown benefactor. I wanted to open your eyes to possibilities. You needed to sort out your priorities if you were ever going to be happy.”
“Well, you got me. I’m happy now, so your work is done.”
“Draco, this isn’t real. This isn’t what you chose when it mattered.”
“It’s what I choose now. You can just go.” He took a step back, wanting to get away from the nutcase and the power he had over his life. This life. The life he wanted.
“That’s not how it works. This is just a glimpse. A peek into what could have been.”
“Now it’s what is. This is my life now.”
“It’s not. It can be similar but this life depended on you choosing it.”
“Why would you do this to me? Why would you show this just to take it away? How is that going to make me happy?”
“Happiness is something you earn for yourself, it’s not something that’s in my power to give.”
Fear as he’d never known before gripped his heart. This was real again, he stood to lose everything. All he now knew he needed. Ginny, Liam, Evie. He could lose his wife, his children. Their house, their life.
“Please. Please, don’t take this away. Just let me stay here. They need me. I need them.”
“You get to say goodbye. But this is the end of the glimpse, Draco Malfoy.” With that the old man seemed to disappear into the air, like smoke carried away by wind.
“Wait!”
Sinking down on the bottom step he felt his body grow leaden. From inside the house he could hear Liam’s high voice and Ginny’s laugh. Leaning his head in his hands he just sat, unable to move. What was he going to do? He had no control over this world. In the last few weeks he’d almost forgotten this wasn’t actually his life. Though it wasn’t it was now his world. His world was ending, sitting on a suburban porch step, a bag of grit next to him. That wasn’t where he wanted to be. If his world was ending he wanted to be with his family.
With his muscles heavy and uncooperative he rose, walking up the steps like a man to his execution. Outside the front door he laid his head against the cold wood, taking a minute to listen to the cadence of voices inside. Ginny’s warm, amused. Liam’s, high and excited. His own, deeper and calmer was missing. As it would continue to be.
He hadn’t cried in over thirteen years but suddenly hot tears burnt at the corners of his eyes. This wasn’t right. Who was heartless enough to give him everything only to take it away?
With a deep breath he collected himself, blinked the tears away. If this was all he would get then he would make the best of it.
Four hours later he was sitting up in bed. He had put Evie and Liam to bed. Reading to Liam, humming to Evie. Felt their warm little bodies grow relaxed next to his. He’d made love to Ginny with a screaming desperation inside him. He’d kissed her goodnight like it was the last time. Now he was trying to stay awake, keeping every last feature of her locked away in his memories, hoarding the details like treasure.
The soft locks spilling over the pillow. The rounded shoulder over the covers, for once not covered in flannel. The softness of her skin, the dusting of freckles over it. How her breaths sounded in the darkened room. How her lips had tasted under his. How she rose against him when he made love to her. The sighs and whispers that had spilled over her lips. The sound of his name, breathed softly as she caught his lips in a soft kiss. Her eyes, the shift in them when pleasure clouded them. If he couldn’t have them then he would remember the moments when he could. When he had it, had her.
She was all he wanted.
The last thought in his head before sleep took him was one word.
Please.
“Draco, where on earth are you taking me?”
“You’ll see in a minute.”
“We’re in Kensington, London, what on earth around here would you want to show me? We can’t even afford to drink tea around here.”
“We’re not drinking overpriced tea. It’s something else. A surprise.”
“I hope it’s good. We might be charged for using the pavement.”
“It is. Come on.” He pulled her up the stairs to one of the white, pilastered houses, the blue door with its brass knocker swinging open at his touch. Inside was an airy hallway with a skylight and stairs led up to the second floor. Going past it he showed her into a large sitting room, Georgian windows framing the view of the street prettily. Done up in creams and golds with antique furniture and expensive replica paintings on the walls Draco spread his arms to show it all.
“What do you think?”
Ginny tilted her head. Standing just inside the doorway in her Healer uniform, her vibrant hair pulled into a ponytail she looked out of place.
“Think about what, Draco?”
“This place!”
She looked around, her hands in the pockets of her old jacket. He could swear he remembered it from when they had used to go out. It had to be ancient. Well, no more. He could take her to a store, any store and let her choose any kind of jacket she wanted. The knowledge of it made a warm glow of satisfaction brim in his stomach.
“What do I think about this place? Draco, why are we here? This is someone’s house. Someone who doesn’t like personal touches, but it’s someone’s home. Why are we in it?”
“It’s ours. Our home.”
Ginny blinked, slowly taking her hands out of her pockets.
“Pardon?”
“It’s our house, Ginny. I made a deal with Zabini’s firm. We’re never going to have to worry about money again. Liam and Evie can go to the best schools, you can work for even less profit, we’ll have a house that isn’t about to fall down.”
“Draco, we love that house. It’s our home.”
Careful, he told himself. People had the strangest sentimental attachments. Like loving that glorified, multi storey shed.
“Liam loves his school. All his friends are there. Evie’s nursery is the same all her cousins go to. You would seriously take them from there so they could leave here and attend a fancier school?”
When he’d pictured this moment he’d thought Ginny would burst out laughing with joy, latching on to him in a hug. Pressing her close she’d say, her voice just a little tearful, she was glad living in the other place was over, that a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Then she would run around exclaiming over all the rooms and sigh over the open fireplaces and polished hardwood floors.
In reality (though he would still debate that it was his reality) she just stood on the threshold, the look on her face for the first time since he arrived one that said she didn’t know who he was. She looked lost and small.
“Ginny…this is an amazing house. It’s a great neighbourhood. It’s in the catchment area for three of the best schools in the country.”
“It is a great house. For someone. I’ll see you at home, Draco.” With a set to her shoulders he recognised as “back off or die” he kept silent, the muted pop when she Apparated away seeming to resound in his head.
o.O.o
Later that evening he was sitting in what had over time had become his armchair. He knew Ginny was home, he’d heard her upstairs but knowing a blow up was inevitable if he approached her before she was ready he had stayed clear. The baby monitor on the kitchen counter made her sound like she was in the next room as she sang to Evie. Something old, and vaguely familiar though no one had sang it to him when he was little. After the baby’s breaths turned deep and snuffling he heard her turn her attention to Liam, reading one of his favorites - Snitch’s Adventure. He could picture them upstairs, Ginny in one of her big ugly sweaters and leggings, reading to a curled up Liam smelling of his bath. With an unfamiliar stab in his chest he realized he wanted to be up there. Had wanted to be part of bath time with the bubbles and the carnage as all plastic toys from his son’s basket waged war on the high seas. To see the pearly white teeth flashing in a smile as he made Spider-Man and Victor Krum do battle among foaming waves in the tub. He wanted to hold Evie and hear that shift in the air when she fell asleep, the almost magical moment where the world faded to her and dreams welcomed her into their embrace. Draco wanted to hear the soft breathing of both of them as he left the room, the door slightly ajar as Liam didn’t trust the little nightlight in the shape of a caterpillar would be bright enough.
For some reason his and Ginny’s fight suddenly seemed small. He’d been angry a moment ago, hadn’t he? Angry she couldn’t see what would be best for the family. Angry she had thrown his gift back in his face. But what was the gift, really? He’d thought it was the future he’d given her but actually, it was just a different set of four walls. Four walls she didn’t want as all they needed was already housed within these ones. Four walls that were perhaps more structurally sound and painted in a more expensive color probably called Honeydew Kiss.
Her steps were hesitant when she came downstairs. As he’d predicted she was wearing leggings, a large jumper and big woolly socks. Her hair had been pulled into a knot, probably to keep it out of the way during bath time and some tendrils had fallen down. Still a bit damp they curled more than usual, the twists in them picking up the light and glinting like embers. Entering the room eventually she sat down on the low coffee table, on the longer edge so she wasn’t facing him directly but looking over the back of the couch into the kitchen.
“I’m sorry I got angry earlier.”
He nodded in acceptance of her apology, knowing it cost her as much as it did him to admit fault.
“I know you’re used to certain....things. The way you grew up, it was so different to my childhood. We never wanted for anything, never had to go hungry or anything. But there was nothing extravagant. But we were happy. I’d see other families or hear my friends speaking of theirs and I didn’t hear the same story from them. It made me realize I was lucky. My family was lucky.” She looked down, still not meeting his eyes. Toying with her wedding band, twisting it around her finger she made his insides freeze. Was she trying to take it off? A ring that had stayed on her finger thirteen years and spending a few weeks with him would make her take it off?
“Ginny-”
“Let me finish.” She finally turned around so she was facing him from the edge of the low coffee table. “I was angry with you when I came back. I was angry you don’t think enough of the house we have and the schools our children go to. That you don’t think our family is enough as it is.”
“That’s not-”
“Hush, I’m almost done.” She put a hand on his knee, leaned forward. “But as I was putting the kids to sleep I realized something. We’re happy, Draco. We’d be happy if we lived in a shed or a mansion in Kensington. It’s just walls.” Looking up, taking in the somewhat tidy living room. “I pictured Evie and Liam growing up here. I saw us growing old here. But we’ll still do that, no matter where we are. If it makes you happy, Draco, then we’ll go to the house in Kensington.”
Expecting to feel pleasure rush through him at her acquiescing all he felt was a warmth spreading in his stomach. She didn’t want to go, but she would, for him. Ginny loved this house and the life they already had but she would leave it if he asked it of her. The new walls, clothes and things paled in comparison, faded into the background like a lamp moved from a room, leaving it in darkness. His family was happy here, why would he do anything to upset that?
“No.” He reached for her, pulled her closer and felt her comply, settling on his lap. Her back bowed under his hand, her knees pulled up under his other hand as her head settled in the crook of his neck. “No, we don’t need it. This is our home.” The crown of her hair was tucked under his chin and he could smell her shampoo, the same she’d always used with its no nonsense clean scent. Her heart was beating in slow, heavy beats and her skin was warm under the big jumper. That was home. Ginny was his home. “No, we’ll stay. The house doesn’t matter.”
And it didn’t. Looking out at the room over her head he knew it to be true. This house held their life. The clutter and the mess was just part of it. There was Evie’s treasured toy train that would one day drive him completely insane but had survived this long because it made her laugh, a deep belly giggle of joy every time the little cat conductor popped up and announced it was time to go, go, go. Liam’s trike, overturned as part of a horrendous three way collision with his Batmobile and a firetruck. In a basket sat Ginny’s knitting that she picked up whenever she thought a TV show got dull, her hands moving without her looking, the stitches taking form under her fingers as if by magic. A muggle alarm clock he had been attempting to fix laid open, its guts of screws and cogs spread over the table. Could he picture them doing the same in a cold, impersonal house in Kensington? Liam wouldn’t be allowed to ride his trike over the old floors, Evie wouldn’t be able to fall asleep seeing the stars Ginny had painted in luminescent color over her bed. In fact, he wasn’t even sure he would like it more. To be back surrounded by antique chairs you couldn’t lounge in, a neighbouring association that threatened lynching if you let your grass get a quarter of an inch too long, a living room you couldn’t let yourself leave empty teacups or the paper out in. That wasn’t a home, that was a museum you could stay in after closing.
“It really doesn’t.” Ginny put a hand on his chest so she could sit up slightly. “I love this house but anywhere you are is home to me, Draco.”
“I love you, Ginny. I just forgot for a minute that we already have all that matters. You and our children is all that really matter to me.”
“That’s good to hear. I was afraid you had changed your mind about choosing your inheritance over me thirteen years later.”
Of course. It clicked into place. Of course his father would take away his money for marrying a Weasley, the sick bastard. That was why they were living in this house, why they had no money. His company had originally been funded by the Malfoy wealth and if it never got the chance to grow beyond it then his father would have been able to take it from him.
“I would choose you again over it in a heartbeat, Ginny. It’s just money.” Pulling her closer he felt fear grab at him. He would give it up but would it help? He didn’t know if this was reality, but nothing had ever felt as real as Ginny, warm and breathing in his arms. This was the reality he wanted. Screw his corner office, his London apartment, his trips to Biarritz. He wanted Ginny. He wanted Liam and Evie and he wanted to go to work with formula on his ugly jumper with Liam’s chatter in his head and the taste of Ginny on his lips.
That was all.
o.O.o
A surprise snowfall at the beginning of February made the neighbourhood grumble and delighted Liam and Evie. The youngest Malfoy was bundled up and resembled a round gnome where she sat in the snow, laughing at nothing more than the flakes falling from the sky. In front of her Ginny was building a lopsided snowman, roughly the same height as the sitting baby. His wife was wrapped up in a similar fashion to his daughter but somehow looked appealing despite the layers. There was snow stuck to her lashes and the trailing curls falling out of the light blue ski cap.
“I think your snowman is tilting.” She looked up, smiling as she pushed some hair out of the way with a mitten covered hand.
“I meant it to. This is no generic snowman. This is art.”
“Oh, of course. Is it also meant to be a living art piece?”
“What?”
“Well, your daughter is eating parts of it. Very avant garde.” Ginny glanced back to see Evie happily pushing a glob of snow as big as her fist against her face.
“As a matter of fact. It’s a commentary on capitalism.”
Laughing Draco grabbed the front of her jacket and pulled her close for a kiss. Ginny’s lips curved under his. They were cold and tasted of the hot chocolate they’d had. The contact with his warmed them and feeling a similar heat wake in his stomach the tender moment was interrupted by something hitting him in the back.
“I got you! I got you!”
Breaking the kiss he turned to find Liam dancing triumphantly in place.
“Right in the back!”
“Okay, I have to go push our son into a snowdrift. Teach him respect for his elders.”
“I understand. Do be gentle, he’s my firstborn. I have a soft spot for him.”
“Just for you.” He pressed a peck to her smiling mouth before turning his attention to Liam. “Okay, you’re dead.”
Shrieking in delight the boy set off, snow spurting under his winter boots. Following, adjusting his pace to the shorter legs he was chasing he chuckled. After a minute of chase he caught Liam, hauling him off his feet and tossing him in the air. Pretending to drop him he sunk to the ground, the boy landing on top. Rolling over he growled,
“So, little menace, which snowdrift do you want to go in first?”
The squirming, laughing boy stilled, his eyes widening.
“Daddy! You’re back!” Flinging his arms around Draco he hugged him as hard as his little frame could manage. “You came back, I knew you would!”
Hugging his son back the love that filled him threatened to spill over and he kissed the top of the golden head.
“Of course.” He tried to clear the choke in his voice. “I’ll always come for you, Liam. Wherever I am, I’ll always come for you.”
o.O.o
The snow had made the drive slippery and knowing Liam liked to race to the car he figured he might put some salt on, avoid disaster. Finding it in the garage he waved the others in. He’d just leave it to do its job and then go in and join them for dinner. Setting the bag of salt on the bottom step he crouched to get it open.
Evening was falling, soft and quiet like the snow that was still sinking gently to the ground. In the twilight the person behind him didn’t have a shadow and it was only when he turned he spotted them. Jumping in surprise he took a step back.
“Merlin, announce yourself! Scared me half to death.” He dropped the scoop for the salt. “Can I help you?”
“The question is, have I helped you?” Frowning it took Draco a moment to recognise the figure. It was the old man from the corner shop. The person who’d peered at him strangely before he’d woken up in Ginny’s bed.
“You!”
“Hello again, Draco.”
Glancing back at the house he shifted slightly, as if to protect the ones inside.
“How do you know my name?”
“I know everything about you. Even things you don’t know yourself.”
“Who are you?”
“That doesn’t really matter. Call me an unknown benefactor. I wanted to open your eyes to possibilities. You needed to sort out your priorities if you were ever going to be happy.”
“Well, you got me. I’m happy now, so your work is done.”
“Draco, this isn’t real. This isn’t what you chose when it mattered.”
“It’s what I choose now. You can just go.” He took a step back, wanting to get away from the nutcase and the power he had over his life. This life. The life he wanted.
“That’s not how it works. This is just a glimpse. A peek into what could have been.”
“Now it’s what is. This is my life now.”
“It’s not. It can be similar but this life depended on you choosing it.”
“Why would you do this to me? Why would you show this just to take it away? How is that going to make me happy?”
“Happiness is something you earn for yourself, it’s not something that’s in my power to give.”
Fear as he’d never known before gripped his heart. This was real again, he stood to lose everything. All he now knew he needed. Ginny, Liam, Evie. He could lose his wife, his children. Their house, their life.
“Please. Please, don’t take this away. Just let me stay here. They need me. I need them.”
“You get to say goodbye. But this is the end of the glimpse, Draco Malfoy.” With that the old man seemed to disappear into the air, like smoke carried away by wind.
“Wait!”
Sinking down on the bottom step he felt his body grow leaden. From inside the house he could hear Liam’s high voice and Ginny’s laugh. Leaning his head in his hands he just sat, unable to move. What was he going to do? He had no control over this world. In the last few weeks he’d almost forgotten this wasn’t actually his life. Though it wasn’t it was now his world. His world was ending, sitting on a suburban porch step, a bag of grit next to him. That wasn’t where he wanted to be. If his world was ending he wanted to be with his family.
With his muscles heavy and uncooperative he rose, walking up the steps like a man to his execution. Outside the front door he laid his head against the cold wood, taking a minute to listen to the cadence of voices inside. Ginny’s warm, amused. Liam’s, high and excited. His own, deeper and calmer was missing. As it would continue to be.
He hadn’t cried in over thirteen years but suddenly hot tears burnt at the corners of his eyes. This wasn’t right. Who was heartless enough to give him everything only to take it away?
With a deep breath he collected himself, blinked the tears away. If this was all he would get then he would make the best of it.
Four hours later he was sitting up in bed. He had put Evie and Liam to bed. Reading to Liam, humming to Evie. Felt their warm little bodies grow relaxed next to his. He’d made love to Ginny with a screaming desperation inside him. He’d kissed her goodnight like it was the last time. Now he was trying to stay awake, keeping every last feature of her locked away in his memories, hoarding the details like treasure.
The soft locks spilling over the pillow. The rounded shoulder over the covers, for once not covered in flannel. The softness of her skin, the dusting of freckles over it. How her breaths sounded in the darkened room. How her lips had tasted under his. How she rose against him when he made love to her. The sighs and whispers that had spilled over her lips. The sound of his name, breathed softly as she caught his lips in a soft kiss. Her eyes, the shift in them when pleasure clouded them. If he couldn’t have them then he would remember the moments when he could. When he had it, had her.
She was all he wanted.
The last thought in his head before sleep took him was one word.
Please.
Author notes: Thanks to all who are still sticking with me and my slow updating schedule!
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