ADDICTED - [D.M.]

Thirty - Addicted.

Gracie's POV
Malfoy Manor - July 1998

I put my hair up in a tight bun. I feel his cold fingers on my shoulder. They travel over the scar. He places a warm soft kiss on my neck. "I thought I was gonna lose you that night."
"It was just a concussion," I smile.
He keeps kissing me. "Yeah, but at that moment," he talks between the kisses, "I didn't know with what spell she hit you," one more kiss beneath my ear, "and then suddenly you're clothes were soaked in blood," another one on my cheek, "and we weren't able to locate the wound." I fell on a spike of the railing and it sliced the skin on my shoulder.
"She only hit me with stupefy," I turn around and cup his face, pulling his forehead against mine. "We promised we would all live."
"And we did."

Ministry of Magic - July 1998

We sit in silence in the courtroom, it's the third day of the trial, the third out of five. It took them over a year to catch all the Death Eaters. I take Draco's hand and rest it in mine on my lap. I hold my breath as they bring the next one inside. Any moment now, Lucius or Narcissa could appear in the packed courtroom. I exhale slowly as I see a small figure walking in with handcuffs. "Jack Bletchley." The name echoes through the huge room. Draco and I exchange looks.
"He will get what he deserves," Daphne whispers to me as they list his crimes.
"Azkaban, 34 years," the judge announces and hits his hammer on his desk. The crowd mumbles and becomes louder. The hammer hits the desk again, three times. I flinch every time. "Quiet!"
Jack gets brought outside, and at that exact moment, another person is brought in. I inhale sharply. It's Narcissa. "She'll be spared, Dumbledore put in a good word for her, right?" Blaise tries to calm him down, but Draco doesn't answer. I feel how his hand squeezes mine more. They read her name and a short list of crimes. She was never one of them, but she was an ally.
"Azkaban, 5 years," the judge hits the hammer again. This time we both flinch. I squeeze Draco's hand. He is about to get up when the next name is called out. "Lucius Malfoy!" Blaise pulls Draco down to go seat again. A long list of crimes follows. "Azkaban, a life sentence." Daphne and I gasp at the same time, along with the crowd. A lot of eyes are on us. I meet Pansy's eyes, they are full of compassion, but not for me. For Draco. He lost his father in a matter of seconds. But I get a feeling he isn't sorry about that. He didn't squeeze my hand, not like he did when Narcissa was called out.
"It's fine," he says coldly. Theo and Blaise watch him closely. "I've got all of you."

Malfoy Manor - August 2002

"I am so excited!" I put another plate on the table after Pansy's letter arrived. She said she wants us to meet someone.
"Who do you think it is? The girl from last time?" Draco leaves the kitchen and heads towards me with two full wine glasses in his hands.
"No, she said we have to be careful with magic, so I think that someone isn't a witch or wizard." I take a sip of the wine, "It's amazing! Which one is it?"
"The one we brought from Italy," Draco answers and points to the bottle on the kitchen counter. Living between both worlds works perfectly. We get to see the world and are still connected with the Wizarding World. "I missed them, especially Blaise and Luna," Draco admits.
"Yeah, me too." They were on their honeymoon longer than expected. I guess, Costa Rica is beautiful.

"Hey!" I greet Pansy and open the door further. A pretty girl with chocolate brown hair stands shyly next to her.
"Maddy, this is Gracie," Pansy points at me. "Gracie, this is Madeline."
"It's so great to meet you!" I gesture for them to come in.
"Call me Maddy please," she says as she hands me a bottle of wine. "Thank you for having me- wow this house is huge!" She steps into the entrance hall. "You live here all by yourself?"
"No, it's-" I want to explain that it's Draco's house, but he interrupts me.
"It's ours, we live here together," he comes forward. "Draco Malfoy, it's nice to meet you." He holds out his hand for her to shake it. She does it but can't stop spinning around to look at the interior. We renovated it after we got back from our traveling, making the house brighter, warmer, and more welcoming.
"The two of you live here alone?" Asks Maddy.
"Yeah, for now-" Draco starts.
"There will be small humans running around here soon. Draco Malfoy Junior, right?" Pansy teases Draco and pads him on the back. He hates it when someone brings that name up, he told everyone he would name his firstborn "Draco Malfoy Junoir" in the first year of Hogwarts.

"And then he opened this coconut and he wanted us to drink straight out of it," Blaise tells us about their honeymoon.
"Was there at least vodka in it?" Theo jokes.
"Speaking of alcohol, who wants more wine?" Draco stands up and collects the empty bottles off of the table.
"Yeah, serve us," Theo holds his glass up high. Draco pretends to throw a bottle at him.
"I'll help you with those," I chuckle and take two bottles from him. "Do you want more water, Daph?" "Yes, please," she smiles and hands me her empty glass.
Draco follows me into the wine cellar. "Draco, she's pregnant!"
"What? Who?"
"Daphne!"
"When did she tell you?"
"Hello? She only drank water the whole dinner! And she's wearing something oversized, that's not very Daphne-like, right?"
"Fucking hell," Draco laughs. "A Mini-Theo. That's gonna be interesting."
"Maybe it's gonna be a Mini-Daphne," I giggle as we walk up the stairs again. Draco kisses me before we head back to the table. "Here," I say excitedly to Daphne.
"You're not a fan of alcohol?" Maddy asks innocently.
"Oh, uh-" Daphne chokes on her water.
"She's usually an alcoholic," Blaise laughs.
"How come you don't drink tonight?" Luna asks. Haven't they got it yet?
"About that, uh, we actually have something to tell you," Theo starts. Pansy got it now, I see how her eyes light up.
"I am pregnant," Daphne blurts out. Her eyes meet mine, I see the excitement in hers.
"Fucking hell are you serious?" Blaise shouts. Theo nods. "That's amazing!" Blaise gets up and storms around the table. He falls into Theo's arms. Draco comes up behind Theo to congratulate him too.
"Man, you've got to hurry up," Theo says to Blaise and Draco. "Our kids are supposed to grow up together," he laughs.

I close the door behind Daphne and Theo. It's going to be a boy, a Mini-Theo. Holy shit, I am going to be an aunt. What the hell? "Can you imagine Theo as a dad? Running around, changing diapers?" Draco chuckles while he cleans up the table.
"He will teach the boy only curse words," I joke and help Draco.
"You're an aunt then," Draco puts the plates down.
"And you're an uncle," I smile and grab the rest of my wine.
I am about to wash the dishes, but Draco stops me, "Let the house elves deal with that tomorrow, come on." He holds out his hand and waits for me to take it. He guides me to the living room. It's so pretty, the warmer colors compliment the huge windows. The only dark thing that stands out is the small family picture. Draco wanted to get rid of it, but I stopped him. It's part of his past and that's fine, we don't need to forget it. I set my glass down next to the picture and pick it up instead. Draco was so small back then, they looked like a cute little family- "Gracie," Draco calls out my name, interrupting my thoughts.
"Can you imagine you'll get to see her again in less than a year?" I ask him and put the picture back down.
"No, but it'll be fine because you'll be there." I turn around to see Draco standing in front of the lit fireplace. "And I want her to introduce you properly-"
"What? I already met your mother-" I make my way over to him and stop in front of him.
"As my fiancé," he finishes leaving me speechless. "Gracie Owen, I love you, from the day I met you, I loved you, and I will continue to do just that until the day I die. Nothing could ever change that." Draco gets down on one knee. Oh. My. God. Tears fill my eyes.
"My love, will you marry me?"
"Yes, a thousand times yes!" I cry as he puts the ring on my finger. I am engaged?! Holy shit! He stands up and I wrap my hands around his neck, crushing my lips onto his. "I love you, so so much," I mumble against his lips.
"And I," he smiles into the kiss, "I am addicted."
"To what?"
"To you."

The End.