In My Life

Chapter 4

Draco moved as quickly as his bad knee would allow. He was determined to get to the drawing room first, so he could claim the best chair before Ginny. It was a long shot, he knew—he had only made it there first once in the two weeks of their informal competition. Ginny only had to walk from the dining room, while Draco came from his suite, and even in the best of situations, she was able to walk more quickly. But today Draco had taken the extra measure of asking Addie to bring his breakfast tray earlier than usual. Even if he didn’t arrive first, he would still be rewarded with a few extra minutes of Ginny’s company.

Draco was amazed by how attached he had become to Ginny in such a short time, but attached he surely was. When he wasn’t with her, he was thinking about her, and he found himself seeking out her company more and more often. When they were together, the world seemed to narrow down to just the two of them. He had never been so fascinated by anyone as he was by her, except for his children when they were small, but that was another kind of fascination altogether. He had not yet examined these feelings beyond acknowledging their existence, and was somewhat reluctant to do so—he wasn’t sure he was ready to enter such uncharted territory yet—though he knew on some level that he would need to do so soon.

His thoughts whirling, it took Draco a few seconds after entering the drawing room to notice that not only had Ginny arrived first, but that she was not alone. A dark-haired young woman sat in the chair he had recently been forced to occupy.

“Come on, Gran,” she was saying. “You don’t need to stay here. Come back home. The Burrow seems so empty without you!”

“You’ll feel differently after the wedding, you know, when Dietrich is there to keep you occupied,” Ginny said with a wink and a smile. “Plus, I rather like it here. Some of the other residents help make up for the lack of your company.” At that moment, she looked up and saw Draco. “Actually, here is one of them now.”

Draco smiled inwardly, but he felt unaccountably nervous as the young woman looked curiously up at him.

“Draco, this is my granddaughter Ellen Potter, soon to be Ellen Schwarz,” Ginny said as Draco approached. “Ellen, this is Draco Malfoy.”

Ellen stood and held her hand out to Draco. He shook it and said, “It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Potter.”

“The pleasure is mine, Mr. Malfoy. I’ve heard a lot about you.” Draco’s heart leapt, hoping that she had heard about him from her grandmother, as unlikely as that might be. Ellen turned back to Ginny, and said, “Well, I need to get to work. It’s good to see you, Gran. You know you’re welcome at home any time.”

“I know, dear,” Ginny said. “I’ll come help you with the wedding arrangements at least.”

“You don’t have to do that!” Ellen answered. “It’s going to be very simple—just family. There’s no need for you to do anything at all.” Draco shuffled his feet; he felt a little awkward listening to their conversation, but didn’t feel as if he could leave, either.

“But you know I want to help. How could I not want a part in such a happy event?”

Ellen bent over to hug Ginny, then said, “All right. You can help a little. But no standing on chairs to arrange the fairy lights, like you did before Mark’s wedding!”

Ginny laughed. “I promise, but only because I don’t think I could climb onto the chair anymore!”

Ellen shook her head in mock exasperation, then, after making plans for the next day, left with a quick “Goodbye”. Ginny smiled after her. She looked happier than Draco had ever seen her.

Sitting in the chair Ellen had abandoned, Draco said cautiously, “I’m sorry I intruded on your time with your granddaughter.”

Ginny turned back to Draco, surprised. “Oh, no! You didn’t intrude at all. Actually, I’m happy that you two were able to meet each other.”

Draco wasn’t entirely sure what to make of Ginny’s comment, so he changed the subject. “When is her wedding?”

“On Saturday,” Ginny answered. After a pause, she continued, “That’s why I moved here, you know.”

“No, I didn’t,” Draco said with surprise. He had been wondering why Ginny would choose to live at Notting Park ever since she first visited, but had not felt comfortable enough to ask. “What would that have to do with anything?”

“I could have stayed at the Burrow with Ellen and Dietrich. They expected me to, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it, even if it is tradition.” Ginny paused. “Before Harry and I moved in with my parents, I never had any idea of how hard it would be, how little time we would have as a couple. Do you know what I mean?”

Draco shook his head. “My parents moved abroad after the war. Even after Potter’s testimony, people were still too suspicious of my father for life to be comfortable for him here. So as soon as I married and was able to inherit, they left. Yvette and I had the Manor to ourselves from the beginning.”

Ginny nodded. “Well, it was hard,” she said quietly. “I agreed to it for Harry’s sake, but always regretted it afterwards. My parents tried to give us space and time to ourselves, but it was never enough. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone, especially not Ellen.”

Draco sat quietly, watching Ginny, who seemed to be lost in her thoughts; he didn’t want to disturb her.

“Ellen is… special,” Ginny continued. “She’s like another daughter to me, but more so. I know that doesn’t make any sense, but there it is. I suppose it’s because she was so young when her parents died—she was the only one of the children too young to remember them at all—that I always wanted to make it up to her.”

“What happened?” Draco prompted. He vaguely remembered that one of the Potters’ children had died—the story had been all over the Daily Prophet at the time, of course—but it had been a long time ago, and he had forgotten the details.

Ginny sighed. “There’s not much to say,” she said. “James and Karen—my son and his wife—were Aurors, and they were on a raid that went bad. They both died, along with four others.”

“I’m sorry,” Draco said with a bit of a shudder. He couldn’t imagine having to bury Scorpius or Lyra, and was grateful they had chosen relatively safe careers.

“Thank you. It was a horrible time, and sometimes I think the children were the only thing that saved my sanity. They came to live with us, and I had to be strong for their sakes.”

Draco nodded. “I went through something similar when Yvette died. My daughter Lyra is special to me, too.”

Ginny paused. “I knew your wife,” she said after a moment. Draco froze. “We worked together for a number of charities. She was a good, kind person. I liked her very much.” Draco released the breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. “You must miss her.”

“Yes, I suppose, though not as much as I did at first,” Draco answered. “It has been a very long time.”

“Grief does tend to fade with time, doesn’t it?” Ginny asked quietly.

“And the guilt that goes with it,” Draco said. Their eyes locked for a minute, understanding passing between them, before Ginny tore her gaze away.

“Anyway,” Ginny said abruptly, “I couldn’t stay with Ellen and Dietrich, and I couldn’t possibly ask Ellen to leave the Burrow. This seemed like an ideal solution. Ellen and Dietrich will have a home of their own, and I am happier here than I ever expected.” She smiled at Draco, and warmth seemed to seep through him.

“What is Dietrich like?” Draco asked, shifting the conversation so he wouldn’t have to think too hard about how it was making him feel. “Is he one of the Düsseldorf Schwarzes?”

“I’m not absolutely sure, but his name is Schwarz and he is from Düsseldorf, so I would guess so. Why?”

“My mother was a Black, and I believe we are distantly related to them. I’ve heard they have a reputation for stuffiness.”

Ginny laughed. “Well, he does seem to be very serious about his work, but from what Ellen has told me, he has an adventurous side as well. He builds his own broomsticks and races them—it drives her mad with worry. I’ve only met him a few times, though, so I don’t know him well enough to be sure.”

“What?” Draco asked with disbelief. “You have only met him a few times, and you’re going to give him your house?”

“Not just him, him and Ellen,” Ginny said calmly.

“But…” Draco sputtered. “What do you know about his character? His family? His credit history? You need to investigate him properly!”

“I’ve seen the two of them together, Draco. That’s all the investigation I need.”

“He could be using her!” he said, thinking of Justine.

“I’m sure he’s not,” Ginny said. “And more to the point, I’m sure that Ellen is head-over-heels in love with him, and he will make her deliriously happy.”

Ginny paused, a faint smile on her face. Draco realized his warnings wouldn’t be heeded, so he remained silent.

“She’s just like her father. James was just the same way with Karen. He was such a conscientious Auror, determined to follow in Harry’s footsteps and be the best of his generation. He never went on dates, and hardly ever spent time with his friends, because he was always working. Harry kept trying to introduce him to eligible witches, but even he had given up. James’s work was his life, until Karen was recruited as an Auror Trainee. She was ten years younger than he was, but that didn’t matter in the least. They were married within three months, and I have never seen a couple so happy. Ellen is the same way. She was always serious and thoughtful—she surprised us all by being Sorted into Ravenclaw—until she met Dietrich. I know it doesn’t follow logic, but sometimes you need to follow your heart instead. I know they will be happy together, and that’s enough for me.”

Draco considered her words silently. Justine wasn’t the only Malfoy-by-marriage that he had worried about. He hadn’t approved of Lyra’s husband at first. Daniel Harris was big, burly, and loud. He was only half-blooded, and worked as a Floo Network repairman. Worst of all, he was Australian! But he treated Lyra like a princess, and her face lit up in his company. Draco had eventually relented, but only after conducting an extremely thorough investigation.

“I’m sorry for trying to interfere in your affairs,” Draco began after a long pause. “My grandson Julius married a fortune hunter, so I am particularly sensitive to the possibility. I do know that not everyone is like that.”

“There’s no need to apologize,” Ginny said with a mischievous smile. “You’re always welcome to offer your opinion, even if I choose not to listen to it.”

Draco chuckled, then said, “I wish Julius had listened to my opinion, but he never has.” He sighed. “His wife is the reason I am here.”

“How so?” Ginny asked, her hands pausing on her knitting in anticipation. “I’ve been wondering what would bring you here.”

“Justine, Julius’s wife, is Muggle-born, which wouldn’t bother me so much…” He paused, as Ginny was looking at him with a particularly piercing gaze. “All right, it did bother me, but not as much as it would have seventy years ago. Is that sufficiently honest?” he asked, one eyebrow raised.

Ginny nodded. “Yes, I believe so. You may proceed.”

“Why thank you, your highness,” Draco said dryly. “My objection is that she was not raised with a proper sense of our history. She does not understand that the Malfoys have been among the most powerful wizarding families ever since we came to Britain with William the Conqueror, and that our history demands a great amount of respect and responsibility. She only understands how much money we have. That might not be such a problem, though, if she had any semblance of taste.”

Ginny laughed loud and hard at this point, stopping Draco’s monologue. “I’m sorry,” Ginny breathed, once she had gained some control. “You should have seen the look on your face! It was all pinched up, and even pointier than usual!” Draco scowled. “Yes! That’s it exactly!” Ginny hooted, falling once again into a fit of giggles.

After quite a while, Ginny calmed down enough that Draco thought it would be safe to continue. “As I was saying,” he said in his most annoyed tone, “Justine has absolutely awful taste, and is not at all shy about imposing that taste on Malfoy Manor. She banished the results of centuries of care and attention, and replaced them with… Oh I can hardly even think of it.”

Draco’s heart rate had increased significantly along with his anger. Ginny reached out and took his hand. “Was it really awful?” she asked soothingly. Draco began to calm down almost immediately, but kept hold of her hand even when his breathing had returned to normal.

“When I moved out, about ten years ago, the Manor was beginning to look like a cheap brothel. It’s probably much worse now, but I haven’t been able to bring myself to go back again to find out.”

Ginny squeezed his hand, but didn’t otherwise respond.

Draco was grateful. What could she say, after all, that wouldn’t make him feel worse?

They sat silently, hand in hand, until Addie came to tell them it was time for lunch.