A Child Changes Everything. (A Draco Malfoy Story)

A Child Changes Everything. [Love or Obligation?]

“You’re leaving? When will you be back?”

“They’ve assigned me a post for 2 weeks.” Harry said. He waved his wand and the folded up clothes on the bed flew into his suitcase.

“But what will I do without you?”

“I think we both know you have Draco here to help you.” You heard him attempt to hide his resentfulness but he failed miserably.

“Harry, please don’t…”

“I’m sorry. But I can’t help it. He doesn’t have a job. He just sits around all day waiting for you to call. What am I supposed to be feeling? Do you really expect me to be happy about it? I mean, it’s obvious he still wants you.”

“Enough.” you held up your hand, silencing him. “Harry, he’s a big help. I’m a lot less stressed knowing that he’s around if I need him. And Kelly needs to know her father.”

“I know. Can’t I just not like it? As your fiance, I reserve the right to dislike your ex-boyfriend, don’t I?”

“I suppose that’s fair.” You said very diplomatically, a playful smile tugging at your lips. He leaned forward and kissed you.

“Two weeks. It will fly by, you’ll see.”

He kissed your forehead, and then in an instant both he and his suitcase vanished. You had to admit, Apparating was a convenience you greatly missed from the Wizarding world. You got up and went to Kelly’s bedroom. To your surprise, she was already awake. She was up standing on her bed, holding her Barbie doll up over her head.

“What is going on in here?” you asked as you flipped on the light switch.

“Barbie is flying!” she said.

“Well, that’s lovely. But Barbie needs to come down now because it’s time for you to get ready for school.”

“I don’t want to go to school today!”

“Really? Well, what do you want to do today?”

“I want to see Draco! He and I built a fort at his house, and he promised he would keep it up so I could play in it today!”

“Well I’m sure he meant AFTER school. Now go brush your teeth.”

“NOOOOOO! FORT! FORT! FORT!” she yelled. She collapsed onto the bed and sat stubbornly, banging her hands on the mattress.

“Kelly, that’s enough! Get up.”

“DRACO!!!!!” she screamed and then with a loud pop, Kelly disappeared. You stood there, momentarily dumbfounded. In a state of panic, you grasped the bed sheets and pulled them off. As if she somehow might be underneath. But she wasn’t. You ran through the apartment, checking every square inch. You were nearly in tears when the phone rang.

“Hello?!” you yelled into the phone, your mind still racing.

“I just thought that you’d like to know, our daughter just Apparated here.” Draco said over the line. Your mouth literally dropped open in shock.

“I’ll be right there!” you yelled. You threw on your coat and boots. In your haste, you completely disregarded your own rules and Apparated out of the apartment. You opened your eyes, not enjoying the gut wrenching feeling of Apparition that you had forgotten about.

“Kelly?!” you yelled. Draco jumped in surprise at your arrival from the kitchen. You guessed it was your choice of transportation that shocked him. He ran up to you and took your shoulders in his hands.

“Calm down. She’s fine.”

“How could she? I mean she’s only five years old?!” you said, more to yourself.

“I don’t know, but you need to calm down, Kris. She’s afraid you’ll be mad at her.”

“Well she should be! KELLY!” you yelled, pulling out of his grip. It was only then that you stopped to take in the scene in front of you. Sheets and pillows draped every surface. The kitchen island was the base of support for the main part of the fort, and you saw light coming from that area and Kelly’s shadow.

“Kelly, come out of there right now.”

“No!”

You took a deep breath, trying to calm yourself.

“She can stay here today. It’s no trouble.”

“She needs to go to school, Draco!”

“What for? To finger paint and doodle? She can do that here! One day won’t hurt.”

“School provides much more than that Draco. She needs to socialize with other kids. I’m sure she’d much rather be playing with you all day but she can’t! And you have to be firm with children when these situations arise. If not, they will grow up to be spoiled brats! KELLY. NOW!” you yelled the last part. You saw the light go out inside the fort and Kelly crawled out of the entrance. Her bottom lip trembled, and you had to urge yourself to stay stern with her.

“Kelly, we can play after school.” Draco said softly to her. She began to cry and ran up to Draco, hugging his leg.

“I want to stay! I want to stay with you, Daddy! Please?”

Draco looked as if he were about to burst into tears. You felt them coming on yourself as he bent down and pulled her into a hug. She had never called him Dad before. Always Draco. But here she was, crying for her daddy. You covered your mouth, but tears escaped down your face. This was a moment you honestly never thought you would see just a few months ago. You knelt down and hugged them both.

“Dad, why is Mommy crying?”

“She’s just really happy, Kelly.” He said, his own eyes shining and threatening to spill tears. But he blinked them away. You couldn’t. You were a mess. Draco let go of Kelly and pulled you into a tight hug. His calmness seemed to rub off on you, and for once it felt like you had no worries. You were with Kelly and she had her father and everything was perfect. You sniffed and pulled away from him, wiping your eyes and nose in embarrassment. But he wasn’t laughing at you. On the contrary, he looked down at you with so much love in his eyes that it momentarily paralyzed you. You hadn’t been looked at in that way by those eyes in such a long time. You didn’t realize until now that you missed it terribly.

“I… I suppose that she could s-stay. Just this once.” you whispered. Kelly jumped up and squealed in delight before diving back into her fort. You, however, were still in Draco’s arms. He reached forward and wiped a tear from your cheek. Your face burned at his touch. You longed for him to touch you again.

“Draco…” you whispered breathlessly. He leaned forward and his warm lips connected with yours. Your insides seemed to explode, as if this whole time your body was tense with anticipation for this moment and now it was finally here. You pressed yourself against him, your arms wrapped around him and pulling him closer. You wanted more of him. All of him. Your mouth opened and his tongue entered, exploring the once familiar territory again as if it were completely new. You weren’t sure how much time had elapsed before Kelly’s high pitched giggling from inside her fort broke into your thoughts. You tore away from Draco, looking back to see that she was inside her fort playing, ignoring the two of you completely. But that didn’t help the knot that was already forming in your stomach. You got up quickly from the floor.

“Kris, please don’t run away.” He said quietly.

“I can’t--!” you began but he shushed you. He took your hand and led you to the bedroom. Once you were inside he closed the door and turned to face you. He motioned for you to continue.

“I can’t do this to Harry! I just can’t.” you exclaimed.

“Kris, you can’t stay with someone out of obligation! It’s not fair to either of you.”

“It isn’t! I mean, I’m not doing that! I’m… I’m…” you trailed off. Your heart sank. You were. You were staying with Harry because of everything he has done for you, not because you loved him. You did love him, but not in the same way as Draco. It wasn’t the heated passionate love that you hoped for. No matter how long you stayed with Harry or how hard you tried to trick yourself into thinking it. Standing in front of Draco now, it was clear. Harry Potter would never be your Draco Malfoy.