Winter's Song

If I could only have you near
To breathe a sigh or two
I would be happy just to hold the hands I love
And to be once again with with you
To be once again with you

- "Song for a Winter's Night", Gordon Lightfoot

November in London was always such a depressing month.

It hadn't snowed yet, of course, but it had been overcast and raining pretty much non-stop for the last three weeks, and the relentless gloom was beginning to wear. Draco eyed the low clouds overhead and flipped the collar of his coat up with a faint sigh as he stepped out of the Apothecary's doorway and onto the street.

He'd been working at Slug & Jigger's for five months, just since the start of the summer, and already it felt like he'd been there forever, the extensive back room and laboratory his exclusive domain. The thought tilted his mouth up; he'd been the heir to a fortune, not so long ago, and if someone had told him two years ago that claiming ownership of the back room of the local apothecary would make him happy, he would have laughed in their face.

Amazing what a year or two could do to one's outlook.

He'd moved into Ginny's small flat above the cauldron shop at the beginning of July, after several long discussions with her, and with Albus Dumbledore, about the future. It was past time he moved on from Hogwarts, and Dumbledore had suggested Draco apply at Slug & Jigger's in Diagon Alley. To his surprise, they accepted him right off, though he thought Dumbledore had something to do with that. His official title was Head Potions Developer—a long and impressive-sounding title for a job that basically meant he sat around in the back room and read books.

It hadn't been an entirely easy year for him and Ginny. He shied away from thinking of some of their more spectacular missteps—they had more than their share of fights, and one memorable week late in May when they didn't speak for days, which he preferred not to dwell on. Ginny had been at odds with her parents more often than not since she finished school, and just when they had become resigned to her choice of career, she had announced that Draco would be moving into her tiny flat and reignited the ongoing war. Right now things were quiet, but he expected that would change with the advent of Christmas.

Christmas always made things worse.

Draco shrugged off the thoughts with an effort, scowling at the holiday window display in Flourish and Blotts as he passed. His destination was the small shop just beside it. The lettering on the door read "Baxter's Fine Jewelry" in tasteful gold italics, with a small bough of evergreen hanging below it. A soft chime played as he pushed the door open, and a warm gust of pine-scented air greeted his nose.

The clerk behind the counter was busy helping an elderly matron and only nodded at Draco, who nodded back before dropping his head and trying not to attract anyone else's attention. He glanced over the closest display without really seeing it, and began a slow drift toward the glass case that held Baxter's collection of wedding bands and engagement rings. A quick glance around assured him that no one was watching, so he leaned over to stare at the rows of diamond rings he couldn't possibly afford. Even with the savings from his tenure at Hogwarts and his new job at the Apothecary, he didn't have enough money to be buying something so...frivolous.

Well, perhaps not frivolous, but certainly not a necessity by any means. Draco had grown up never wanting for anything, and Ginny had grown up in a family where every knut counted, so one of the many things they argued about was what was a necessary expense and what wasn't. He wasn't sure where engagement rings fell on the need spectrum, but he was pretty sure they weren't anywhere near the top. Ginny had never given any indication that she was unhappy with their current arrangement, nor even mentioned marriage in the year and more since she'd left school and set up house on her own. Draco couldn't explain why he was thinking about it, except that it had been floating around in the back of his mind since they'd moved in together. Moving in was a big step, a seemingly permanent one. Just...not quite permanent enough.

And now it was Christmas and Draco was facing the fact that he had no idea what Ginny might want. He knew what he wanted, which was to give her the best present she'd ever received, but wanting and doing were two different things, and Ginny had the most astoundingly arcane taste. He could err on the side of caution and get her something useful—she was constantly bemoaning the state of their carpets, for example, and Dervish and Bangs up in Hogsmeade sold some pretty useful tools for that sort of thing—but the idea of gifting Ginny with a carpet-cleaner for Christmas seemed awfully cold. Not to mention dangerous.

Which brought him to Baxter's Fine Jewelry, as it had most lunch hours this week, where he tried to duck the clerk's notice while he split time between the rack of small gold chains and pendants he could afford and the case full of engagement rings he decidedly couldn't.

If he were still in possession of the Malfoy fortune he could have bought Ginny a dozen rings, he thought morosely.

"Malfoy?"

Draco's head jerked up at the sound of his name, his heart suddenly in his throat. All the people who'd escaped time in Azkaban after the war refused to speak with him now; Pansy, for instance, crossed the street to avoid him now. Theodore Nott was standing there, looking at him oddly.

"Nott," he said, once his heart had calmed down. "How are you?"

Draco hadn't seen Theodore Nott in years. Not since the end of seventh year, and even before then Theodore had never really been on Draco's radar. He'd always been quiet, never seeking out the company of others, never trying to get into Draco's good graces like most of the rest of Slytherin House. He looked up at Draco, a serious, closed look on his narrow face. "You're the last person I'd expect to see around here, Draco."

He wasn't sure if that was meant to be rude or not. Probably not—Theodore had always been a little abrupt. "I just started working at Slug & Jiggers this summer. Before that I was at Hogwarts. Didn't get to Diagon Alley much."

"I remember that," Theodore said. "That you were at Hogwarts, I mean. During the war. Your father wasn't best pleased, as I recall."

That was an understatement of the greatest magnitude. "No, he wasn't."

Theodore nodded. "What are you doing at Slug & Jiggers?"

"I head up their potions development department," Draco said. "Well, actually, I am their potions development department."

Theodore flashed a brief grin at him. "Sounds interesting. Planning to buy an engagement ring, then?" He leaned over and gave the rings a cursory glance. "They've got some nice ones, here. Which were you thinking of?"

"I...can't actually afford to, yet," Draco admitted grudgingly. "I was only looking."

"Who's the lucky girl? I didn't know you were attached to anyone."

Draco hesitated for a moment, debating whether he really cared about Theodore Nott's good opinion of him. Finally he decided that he didn’t. "Ginny Weasley."

Theodore cocked his head to one side, apparently searching his memory. "That would be...Ron Weasley's sister? Short girl, red hair? I think she's friends with one of the girls in my department at work. I've seen her around from time to time." He paused, then offered, "She seems very nice."

"She is."

"Ah," Theodore said with a nod. He examined the elegant wallpaper on the wall beyond Draco's head thoughtfully. "You know, my grandmother's got a whole pile of jewelry she never wears. Brooches and rings and the like." Another thoughtful pause, and then, "Weren't your grandmother and my grandmother cousins?"

"I think so," Draco said cautiously.

Theodore nodded again. "You ought to come visit. Grandmother would be delighted, and we could catch up. Talk about old times and all that rot. Next Saturday, perhaps, around four?"

"Um. I suppose." Draco mentally went over his schedule. "I don't think I'm doing anything else."

"Good, good. I'll see you then. Don't be late, Grandmother hates that." Theo fastened the frog at his throat, swinging his cloak forward over his shoulders as he did so. He flicked his fingers in a casual farewell. "Take care, Draco."

Draco stared after him in bemusement, then turned his attention back to the jewelry. If Theo meant what he'd been implying...well, maybe Draco would get Ginny a proper gift after all.

~*~

Draco arrived at the imposing step of Theo's grandmother's London house five minutes before he was due, and at exactly the same time as Theodore himself, who smiled as he approached from the other direction.

"Right on time, I see," he said. "Good to see." He waved Draco up the step ahead of him, and rapped briskly on the door, which was opened by a delicate-boned house elf with an extremely pointy nose.

There was the usual scrum of coat removal and straightening of robes before Theo and Draco were led into the parlour where his grandmother waited, seated at a small table, her head bent over a small book.

Theodore's grandmother could have been the archetype for all grandmothers everywhere, a delicate woman with paper-thin skin, ice-blue eyes and pure white hair. She looked ancient, and so fragile that Draco worried that she might simply blow away on a stray gust of wind. Her eyes twinkled as Theodore leaned down to kiss her on the cheek, and she nodded and smiled when he introduced Draco.

"Of course I remember you, dear. How could I forget? Your father and my little Thomas were the best of friends at Hogwarts. You have his hair, you know. And his nose, I dare say." Mrs. Nott beamed up at Draco, who smiled dutifully back. "The Malfoy nose. Your grandfather had it too, and so did his brother, Lartius, the one who married Iphigenia. Silly girl, she was. Not a lick of sense! It's hard to believe we were sisters. I've got sense, I assure you. Sense enough to know you boys must want food! I've instructed Bitsy to set up a proper spread for you. Boys have appetites, I remember that much."

On cue, the house elf returned, laden with a heavy tray full of sandwiches. She snapped her fingers, balancing the tray on one hand, and set it down upon the conjured table with a flourish. Mrs. Nott beamed, urging plates and cups of tea on them both, settling back with a small plate of her own once they had loaded up on sandwiches to her satisfaction.

"There now," she said happily. "Now. Tell me what you've been up to, Draco dear. It's been far too long since I've heard anything about you."

Draco swallowed hastily and cleared his throat. "There isn't much to tell, Mrs. Nott. I just recently started working at Slug & Jiggers, doing potions development. Um." He glanced at Theodore, but received nothing but a faint smile. "I'm afraid it isn't very exciting."

"Nonsense, dear. I'm always happy to hear what others are doing. Teddy is working at the Ministry. What department again, darling?"

"Magical Transportation," Theo replied. "Speaking of not very exciting."

They chatted about such inconsequentials for the better part of an hour, until Mrs. Nott set down her teacup and fixed both of them with a steely blue gaze. "Now. I'm sure you boys didn't come here just to chat with an old woman. What may I help you with?"

"Actually, we're looking for jewelry. Draco is, I mean," Theodore said, with a complete lack of subtlety. "Rings, particularly, maybe from Draco's branch of the family? That he could take, like?" Mrs. Nott raised one pale eyebrow, and Theodore grinned. "He's got a girl, you see, and the will to marry her but not the means. I thought if maybe you had something suitable, he could eliminate part of his dilemma."

Draco winced at this bald-faced presentation of facts and waited for the barrage of questions that was sure to follow—starting with why he didn't have means anymore, and probably going downhill from there.

But Mrs. Nott had more subtlety than her grandson, and much better manners. She tilted her head thoughtfully, nodding. "I'm sure I do. All my old jewelry is in the spare back bedroom. You know the one, Teddy, with that great old wardrobe you used to play in. There's a box on the dresser there. You're welcome to anything you find," she said to Draco. "I'm not wearing any of it, and Teddy has no use for my old jewels." She gave a fluttering little sigh as Theo rolled his eyes and sighed. "I always wanted a daughter or a granddaughter, but I was never so blessed. Just boys and more boys."

"Thank you, Mrs. Nott," Draco began, but she waved his words aside.

"No thanks are necessary, my dear. That old jewelry is only gathering dust. Someone ought to get some use out of it. Show him up, Teddy. I'd offer to come with you, but it's warm here, and these old bones aren't up to climbing all those stairs." She smiled warmly and waved them from the table. "Be sure to show me what you’ve chosen before you go."

Draco followed Theo up three flights of grand stairs before they reached the "spare bedroom" Mrs. Nott had spoken of. It was decorated in a fashion his mother used to call "Old Money"—tapestries, dark wood, and a big canopied bed that could have held a small army comfortably. Theo waved his wand at the candles, which sprang to life, and made a beeline for the dresser. There was a large, heavy-looking oak box sitting on top of it, and Theo lifted it, grunting a bit with the effort.

"Here we go," he said, hauling the box to the bed and upending it. A shower of gold and silver cascaded onto the coverlet, shining like pirate gold in the candlelight. Rings, necklaces, brooches and earrings were tangled together in a sparkling jumble. Draco stared at it in awe. Theo caught his expression, shot him a smirk, and hopped onto the bed, shoving the box to one side. "Come on, then. We can sort it while we're looking, that'll make Grandmother happy."

Draco sat on the opposite side of the jewelry pile and pulled at a mass of gold chain pendants. "Where did all this come from, anyway?" he asked.

"Oh, Grandmother's a bit of a packrat. She keeps everything. Got boxes of letters and papers and old furniture up in the attic, too." Theo disentangled several brooches from the mass, laying them to one side. "She likes to have things about, says she doesn't trust people who don't like clutter. Just between you and me, she's a bit of an odd bird. Going to be a bit of a chore, sorting through her estate when she dies. I'm not looking forward to it."

Draco looked up, startled. Theo shrugged unselfconsciously. "Well, it will be me. She keeps saying so. Even if Father hadn't been a Death Eater, she wouldn't have left it to him anyway. She used to say he'd just lose it all in some fool scheme or other, like he did with his inheritance from Mother's death. Anyway, he's in Azkaban, so it doesn't matter. And it's not as though she'll kick off tomorrow."

Draco had forgotten about Theo's father. He'd been so caught up in his own troubles, that last year or so at Hogwarts, that he'd never noticed he wasn't the only one with a Death Eater for a father and facing pressure to join Voldemort. He stared down at an emerald brooch the size of his fist, wondering if he ought to say something.

"I've got an ulterior motive, by the way," Theo said, unaware of Draco's thoughts. "I'm hoping if I distract her with your wedding, or engagement, or whatever, she'll stop bothering me about it. Ever since we graduated she's been at me to get married. I don't suppose Ginny has a sister?"

That made Draco smile. "Sorry, no. A lot of brothers, but no sisters. Though one of them has long hair...."

Theo laughed and tossed a pendant at his head. "Not my style, thanks." He began pulling rings out of the pile of jewelry. "Anyway, we have a mission. What do you think of these?"

"Ugh," Draco replied. The rings in question were all set with huge stones, rubies and emeralds and diamonds that could probably have bought the entire house they were sitting in, if divvied up and sold. But he knew Ginny too well to think she'd like that sort of thing. "Too big, all of them. If it's huge, she won't wear it. She's picky."

They settled to it then, untangling hundred-year-old necklaces, setting aside hatpins and brooches encrusted with jewels, sorting through an entire family history's worth of discarded trinkets.

Until finally, Draco found it. It was a simple ring, which was probably why it'd spent half a century in the bottom of a box of unfashionable jewelry in Clementine Nott's spare bedroom. A delicately filigreed white gold band set with a round sapphire, with tiny diamonds on either side, quite pretty. Not too fancy, and it didn't look too expensive, which meant Ginny would actually wear it. He turned it over thoughtfully, trying to picture it on Ginny's slender finger.

"Found something suitable?" Theodore asked. Draco nodded, and after a brief hesitation, held the ring out for his inspection. Theo whistled appreciatively. "Very pretty. Think she'll like it?"

"I've no idea," Draco answered honestly. He had precious little experience with jewelry-giving, and Ginny didn't wear any, as a rule, since Auroring wasn't conducive to such things. But it didn't look likely to catch on thing—important, since she was going to be an Auror—and he always thought she looked nice in blue.

"I'm sure she will," Theodore said, and grinned, transforming his normally sober face. "Congratulations."

Draco dropped his guard for a moment and grinned back. "Thanks,"

Theo scooped the rest of the jewelry back into the box and shoved it in the closet. "Let's go show Grandmother. I'm sure there's a story that goes with the thing, and she'll want to tell it."

~*~

Draco stowed the ring in his office, tucked in behind the jar of pickled banana slugs where no one would look for it. After a great deal of consideration he decided to buy Ginny a small sapphire pendant as well—otherwise he'd have to give her the ring in front of all her family at Christmas, an idea that gave him shivers of horror.

Christmas day dawned bright and sunny, a welcome break from the winter rain that never seemed to stop. Ginny was up well before Draco, humming to herself as she puttered around the flat. Around noon she came back to the bedroom and jumped on the bed.

"Come on!" she cried, flinging her arms around his duvet-wrapped form. "Time to get up!"

"Mmmph," Draco replied, burrowing further into his warm cocoon. "I'm trying to sleep."

"You've slept all day! It's Christmas! Don't be so lazy!" She began pulling at the blankets, trying to get them away from him. Draco resisted, sparking a brief, enthusiastic tug-of-war, which ended with the blankets on the floor and her pinned under him, giggling breathlessly. Draco grinned down at her.

"Well, now," he purred. "What have we here?"

Ginny squirmed, still giggling. "No," she said, pushing weakly at his chest. "We have to go. We're due at my parents in an hour. Draco...Draco! Stop—oh. Oh, that's not fair."

Draco smiled against her throat. "I know."

"We don't have time to—oh." She stopped wriggling and slid her hands over his shoulders. "I suppose we could be late..."

Draco hummed and moved his mouth lower, his victory assured. He hadn't wanted to spend all afternoon at her parents' anyway.

~*~

Some time later, Ginny disentangled herself from his arms and climbed out of bed. "All right," she said, hands on her bare hips. "Now we really have to get moving. Mum is going to kill me. You've got to shower."

Draco groaned, but allowed her to drag him out of bed and shove him toward the door. He spent longer than normal in the shower, partly from avoidance—he didn't really want to go to the Burrow, after all—and partly because with half the building elsewhere for the holiday he had an unlimited supply of hot water.

But even that wouldn't last forever, so Draco finally had to shut off the water and climb out. He wrapped a towel around his hips and stepped back toward the bedroom, humming under his breath. He pulled up short at the bedroom door, his stomach dropping as he realized what Ginny was doing.

She was standing at the food of the bed, clutching his work robes, and holding up the box that contained her ring. She looked up and raised an eyebrow at him. "Draco," she said quietly, "what's this?"

"It's...um." He cleared his throat, moved forward, took the small black box from her fingers and fumbled with the lid. It opened after an eternity, and he turned it toward Ginny so she could see.

"Oh," she said in a very small voice, and raised one trembling hand to her mouth. "Is it...?"

"It's an engagement ring. Um," Draco said nervously. "I mean, it's supposed to be, that is, and I thought—I wanted to—I...ah, hell. I knew I'd bollocks this up."

Ginny, who hadn't taken her eyes off the small box containing the ring since he'd opened it, finally looked up. "Are you trying to ask me to marry you, Draco?"

"Trying," he muttered. "And making a hash of it, obviously. I had it all planned out, what to say and everything, I even wrote it down, for Merlin's sake, and I was going to wait until after Christmas, because it's not meant to be a gift. I mean, I got you a gift, of course, and I was going to give that to you today—"

"Yes."

Draco paused, momentarily derailed. "What?"

"Yes, I'll marry you." Ginny rolled her eyes in exasperation and relieved him of the box. She looked down at the ring with a tiny, pleased smile, extending one finger to touch the sapphire. "It's so pretty."

He reached out and removed the ring, then with hands that trembled only slightly, slipped it onto her finger. They clasped hands and stared at it for a few moments; then Ginny let slip a delighted giggle.

"I'm getting married!" she said gleefully. "Wait 'til I tell Mum!"

Draco gulped. "Do you think that could wait? Not forever, just...for a day when all your brothers aren't around to kill me? I'd hate to spoil Christmas."

Ginny laughed and slid her arms around his neck. "It can wait. In the meantime, I think there's something else you ought to do. Since we're going to be married."

"And what might that be?" he asked, smirking down at her. "Post banns? Put a notice in the Prophet?"

"Draco," Ginny said, pulling his head down to hers, "shut up."

He shut up.

~*~