The Dragon's Child Bride

A/N: Thank you to my darling beta, who does all my dirtywork.

Chapter 11: T\'was the Night Before....


Christmas was quickly approaching, but it wasn’t until four days before that Narcissa finally took time away from all her Christmas parties and planning to take Laylani shopping in Diagon Alley. Laylani was overwhelmed by the bustling streets and felt very exposed to whatever might be out there. After years of having to watch her back, she learned that open areas in where she could be easily spotted didn’t work in her favor. She pulled her hat lower on her head and looked downwards, following Narcissa closely like a small child.

“First we should get your dress robes, then we’ll have to look for something for Lucius then - Laylani Rissa Stanners, stand up straight, head held high. You are practically a Malfoy now, and how you carry yourself needs to reflect that.” Laylani straightened her stance but kept her eyes down. “Eyes too, Lani.” Reluctantly, she raised her eyes to meet Narcissa’s. “That’s better. As I was saying after we buy a few things for Lucius, we’ll find something for Draco. Lani, darling, if you want to get him something intimate, don’t be shy. I’ll gladly help you pick something that will suit you and that he’ll enjoy as well.”

Laylani’s face turned beet red and her eyes went wide. Oh God, why on earth would Narcissa say something like that? What mother wants to buy her son’s girlfriend lingerie, let alone helps her pick it out? It seemed so wrong on so many levels. Laylani would have done anything in her power to sink into the ground then and there and never be seen again.

“Um, actually Narcissa, that’s okay. I’ll…I’m sure I can find something for him……on my own……that isn’t a matching set of bra and panties…thanks.” This had to be one of the most uncomfortable moments in Laylani’s life, but it just seemed to roll of Narcissa like water off a duck’s back.

“It doesn’t have to be that dear, there’s a wide assortment-”

“No, no. I’ll be fine. Really, really fine. Really.”

“Alright, dear. If you’re sure...” Narcissa turned away and began walking again, trying to smother a laugh. That had been just too much fun.

They headed to a small shop near the end of the street. Laylani followed Narcissa inside, but not without her routine check over her shoulder. No one appeared to be following them. ‘Christ,’ she thought to herself, ‘You’re being ridiculous.’ She stepped in the shop and the door closed behind her.

“Narcissa!” a large stocky woman came lumbering out of the back room. “So lovely to see you again!” Narcissa and the woman chatted amiably for a moment about trivial things, until the woman spotted Laylani looking around the room. “Oh! And who might you be, Miss?” The towering woman smiled at Laylani in what was probably supposed to be an engaging manner but to her it came across as a little bit frightening. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out.

Narcissa turned to Laylani with a surprised look on her face, as if she had forgotten all about her. “Oh, how silly of me. I’m sorry, this is Laylani, my Draco’s betrothed. We‘ve come to get her some dress robes for the Yule Ball.” Laylani shut her still-opened mouth and nodded. ‘Bravo. Way to win ‘em with your charm.’ she thought.

However this large woman, whom she found was named Odessa, took no heed and continued on her merry way asking Narcissa questions about what color and style would she like for Laylani’s robe. Narcissa went with the color they had agreed on but when it came to style, Narcissa went in a completely different direction then the looser fitting boatneck pattern they had chosen.

“Actually Odessa, I think something showing a little skin would be nice. Low neckline and off the shoulder sleeves. And a bit more fitting in the torso. Yes, that will be lovely.” Laylani could only stand there and gape. But by the Odessa had finished creating her robe, she had to admit it was lovely.

“Well, go on dear. Try it on.” Laylani took the robe in her hands and Odessa hurried her into a change room. Laylani quickly divested herself of her clothes and slipped on her dress robe. God, she had never worn anything so elegant in her entire life. The material on the inside and trim of the robe was a lilac-colored satin, while the outside was a deep purple velvet-like material. It was gorgeous. She stepped out of the changing room.

“Well, what do you think?” she asked the chatting women, and spun around to give them the full effect. She turned back to their faces of amazement.

Suddenly Narcissa’s face broke into a wide smile. “You look magnificent, darling. Absolutely breath-taking. You know, Odessa, I think this is some of your best work.” Odessa merely nodded, looking pleased with herself.

They left the store soon after with a matching pair of heels as well. Narcissa refused to tell Laylani how much it all cost, saying “A woman’s beauty is invaluable.” Laylani gathered that meant more money then she’d ever seen in her life.

Next they went to a bookstore, ‘Flourish and Blotts.’ It was a wonderful place. Laylani had always liked reading, not due to the pursuit of knowledge but the fact that they had always offered her an escape, if only for a short time. When she was held prisoner in those basements and closets she would read whatever she could get her hands on, even if it was technical manuals for Advanced Herbology. It was something that took her mind off her miserable existence. The two floors and vast expanse of the store were like paradise to her.

She wandered aimlessly, just running her fingers over the book spines as she passed. She stopped in front of one book whose title had caught her attention. ‘Hogwarts: A History.’ Laylani took a copy of the enormous book from the shelf and cradled it in her arms like an infant. With one hand she traced the golden lettering of the cover with her fingertips. She then flipped open the cover and began to read with fervor. She was so engrossed in her reading that only when Harry called to her for the third time did she notice.

“Harry!” she squealed and wrapped the one arm that wasn’t supporting the book around him in an awkward hug. “It’s so nice to see you again! How’ve you been?”

“Fine, fine. And you?” Before she could answer, Ron cut in.

“So what book is this that’s so interesting?” He tilted it up from her arms and read the title. “\'Hogwarts: A History’? You must be joking! Look \'Mione, a girl after your own heart!” Hermione looked up from the heavy volume she was perusing and waved him off.

“So what are you doing here? Some shopping?” Harry knew that had to be as stupid as it sounded.

“Yes, I’m here with my - well, I’m not sure quite what you’d call her. Like an aunt, but not blood-related. A close family friend. We had to buy a dress robe and some Christmas presents. We’ve been here for two hours already, and we’ve done nothing except get my dress robe. At this rate I’ll be up until midnight with tutoring!” She laughed. “Sorry, I sort of went on a bit of a tangent there. So… are you going to this Yule Ball?”

“Uh, yes actually. How did you know about it?” Harry was puzzled, but intrigued by the prospect of her being there.

“Draco asked me to be his date.” A red-headed girl joined them. She was perhaps a bit younger then them, but she was clearly related to Ron. Yes, the startling red hair and freckles couldn’t have been coincidental.

“Malfoy? Why on earth would you go with that slimy git?” The words had come out of her mouth before Ginny could stop them. She slapped a hand over her mouth and blushed. A muffled “I’m so sorry.” came out from behind the hand.

Laylani only laughed. \"You don’t mince words, do you? I’ll admit, sometimes he’s a bit much but he’s mine none the less. Oh, it looks like I’m being hailed to leave.” Narcissa was waiving her over from the till. Laylani re-shelved the book and ran her finger longingly down the length of it’s spine before turning back to face them.

“Well, I must be off. I’ll see you at the ball! Save me a dance, Harry!” She waved to them before she walked down the stairs to Narcissa, who whispered something to her and cast a dirty look towards Harry and company, and they left the shop. Harry stared at the door she had left through for a moment before Ron pulled him out of his reverie.

“Got a bit of a crush there, mate?” Harry turned his head from the door to Ron, a blush creeping over his face.

“Sod off.” he said quietly.

“Well, I’d say you’ve got a pretty good chance once she realizes what a prat Malfoy is.” Harry perked up a bit.

“Do you think so?”

They continued talking as they walked down the stairs, not noticing that they were leaving behind one very angry and jealous Ginny Weasley. This simply wasn’t fair! She had waited nearly seven years for Harry to notice her and this silly bint had his complete interest in less than five minutes? Sure, Ginny had dated other men during that time. She couldn’t very well just waste her school days pining for him. But deep down, she had always carried a torch for Harry. And he was finally starting to come around; he’d even asked her to the Yule Ball, and this damned girl had to come along! Well, Ginny was not going to stand for this. She had worked too hard for too long and was not about to lose everything to one of Malfoy’s stupid groupie whores.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After six hours of shop-til-we-drop fun, Laylani and Narcissa finally apparated home to the Manor, completely weighed down with packages and parcels from all over Diagon Alley. Laylani had found some fabulous things for everyone.

She was still a little upset over what Narcissa had said about her friends. She’d told her that ‘The Potter boy and Weasley brood was not the type of company Malfoy’s should keep.’ What was that supposed to mean? She shook her head, reminding herself not to dwell on it. She knew Narcissa meant well, but Laylani would not submit to letting her pick her friends. What Narcissa didn’t know couldn’t hurt her.

Laylani climbed the stairs as quietly as possible and entered her room, shutting the door softly behind her. She was trying to avoid Draco, at least until her presents were hidden. She had cleared out the two bottom drawers in her dresser and swiftly put all her gifts inside. She closed the drawers and locked them with her own binding spell.

She had begun to create her own spells and charms over her time she spent as a prisoner. They weren’t anything spectacular; a healing spell for her whip marks or a duplication spell for her food rations, things like that. They didn’t work perfectly, for she still had scars from the whip and the duplicated food tasted like cardboard but they had done the job. Not to mention that the beauty of having some spells and charms was that they were nearly impossible for others to break because they were unknown.

Laylani came to her last package, it was her dress robe. She lifted it gently out of the package and pressed the soft material to her face. It felt wonderful. She wanted to wear it again, just for a few moments. She quickly locked her door and blocked her closet, and changed into the purple garb. She put on the matching shoes and stood in front of her mirror. She felt beautiful. She felt like Cinderella, having been transformed from a scullery maid to a princess and now just waiting for her coach to whisk her away to her handsome prince where they could dance the night away… DANCE?!?!

Laylani suddenly felt sick to her stomach. She didn’t know how to dance, not at all. She didn’t even know the hokey-pokey. She sat on her bed, all her earlier happiness gone. She would make a fool out of herself if she tried to dance at the Yule Ball. She changed sadly out of her dress and hung it in the closet, knowing that she would probably never get to wear it in public. Unless she could learn how to dance...

That was it! Draco could teach her to dance! She still did have four days left, and she had always been a fast learner. She could master basic dancing in four days. She went down the hall and knocked on Draco’s door.

“I’m busy, go away!” Laylani laughed to herself. Such manners on that man.

“Too busy for me?” she called. There was a pause.

“Yes.”

Laylani stood there blankly for a moment. “Oh, um, okay.” She went back to her room.

She was puzzled. Normally Draco always wanted to see her, no matter how busy he was. He was even glad to have her wake him up in the middle of the night just to listen to her talk about whatever was worrying her. Why would he be too busy for her now? Had she done something wrong? And how could she learn to dance if he was too busy to help? There was only one other person left to help her.

She knocked timidly on his door. “Lucius? It’s me. Can I come in?” Lucius opened the door, revealing his lavishly decorated bureau.

“Laylani, what a lovely surprise! To what do I owe this visit? Tutoring isn’t for another hour and a half yet.”

“Um, yeah.” She dug her toe into the thick carpeting. “I’m sorry to bother you. I have a problem and Draco is too busy to help me right now. Um …this is so embarrassing…Lucius, could you…could you teach me how to dance? For the Ball? I-I don’t know how, and I’d really like to. Just so I won’t embarrass myself.” She was now facing the floor.

Lucius couldn’t help but grin. He remembered the first time this girl had asked him to dance. It had been her parents\' sixth wedding anniversary and they had held a fantastic party. Laylani was barely three then, and had toddled to him on the dance floor and asked him to dance with her. He had bent down and held her tiny hands, and spun her around. She had been graceful in her own way. He had picked her up and twirled her wildly around the dance floor while she’d giggled uncontrollably telling him to go faster. And here she was almost fifteen years later asking him to dance with her again.

“It would be my pleasure.” She entered his study and closed the door behind her. Lucius took her hand and led her to a clear space in the middle of the room. She stood stupidly in front of him, unsure of where to start. Lucius took charge of the situation. He waved his wand and soft music filled the air.

“Alright, Lani. We’ll start with a more common form of dance for the Ball. Put your left hand up on my shoulder.” She did as she was told, but left a good foot of space between them.

“Dear, you are going to have to move closer for this to work. Just relax.” Lucius pulled her close enough to him so they could at least dance properly. He slipped his left arm around her waist. “Now, put your right hand in mine. Good. Now follow my lead. Step to the right…no, your other right. That’s it…” They progressed slowly from there and kept dancing until it was time for her tutoring. They made an agreement that she would meet him every night for an hour before her tutoring to practice dancing. They decided to keep it a secret so she could surprise Draco.

Little did she know, Draco had his own surprise.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Christmas Eve couldn’t come soon enough, but it finally, finally did arrive. Laylani was up early. That morning the Malfoys were going out to get a tree. She had never gotten to do that; she had never really gotten to celebrate Christmas before. She was so excited, she didn’t want to miss a thing. She forced herself to wait until ten a.m. before she went to wake up Draco.

Laylani went through her closet into Draco’s bedroom. He was still asleep. She crawled across the bed to where he lay. She shook him gently.

“Draco… Draaaaaaco! Wake up, Dragon. Draco….” He growled something and turned away from her. She sat back on her heels. ‘Fine’ she thought, ‘If he won’t do this the easy way, then I’ll do it the hard way.’ She got off his bed and rushed to the covered windows. She whipped the curtains back, all of them as fast as she could. The light outside and that reflected off the snow lit up his previously dark chamber. Then she ran back to his bed, got on and started to jump.

“DRACO! WAKE UP, YOU LAZY GIT!” All the British slang she had been surrounded by since she arrived was beginning to creep into her vocabulary.

Draco, who was being jostled due to her jumping, covered his eyes and barked “Lani, quit being a brat! Close the curtains and let me sleep!”

“No, I will not close the curtains and I’m not a brat.”

Draco rolled his face into the pillow. “Yes you are a brat, because if you weren’t you’d let me sleep.” Laylani got on her hands and knees and crawled closer to him.

“I am not a brat! Take that back.” Draco pulled his face away from the pillow slightly and gave her a smirk.

“No.” His face returned to the pillow.

Laylani launched her attack. She jumped on him and began to tickle Draco mercilessly. “Take it back and I’ll stop!” she declared. Draco was laughing and trying to escape her reach.

“Never!” he managed to choke out. Then he did something completely unexpected. He flipped himself over and straddled her waist, effectively restraining Laylani underneath him then pinned her wrists above her head in one hand and began to tickle her with the other.

“Hey!” she squealed squirming under his weight. “This is cheating!” He laughed.

“Didn’t anyone tell you turnabout’s fair play, Princess?” He continued his tickling assault. “Admit you’re a brat and I’ll let you go!”

“No!” she shrieked “No… no… ALRIGHT! Alright, I am a brat! I’m a huge brat! Now let me go.”

Draco pretended to consider it. “Hmm, no. I don’t think I will. I think I’ll just keep you right here.”

She giggled and struggled more underneath him in attempts to get away. Despite his best efforts to control himself, this action was affecting his already partially erect member. In no time, she’d inadvertently gotten him painfully aroused. He knew he had to stop her before things got… messy.

“Lani, stop.” That was all he was able to get out through grit teeth. She immediately stopped moving and looked inquisitively to him. He almost looked like he was in pain. She brought her hands down from his loosened grip and brought herself up onto her elbows.

“Draco, are you okay?” Then she felt it, pressed stiffly into her abdomen. “Oh.” she said quietly. She brought her self out from under him, feeling his hard shaft dragging along her body as she did so. She sat up properly and ran her eyes over him. She bit her lip. She had a really good prospect in front of her to return the favor to him. Laylani stretched out one hand, and ran a finger along the thin fabric of his pajama pants that covered him. He inhaled sharply and looked to her. She winked at him and pushed him to lie down. He followed her directions and laid back comfortably into the mattress. Laylani crawled up over his legs to his waist. She deftly undid the tie to his pants and hooked her fingers inside.

She urged him with her hands to lift his hips and he complied. She was just about to push the material down when there was a sharp knock on the door. Draco’s head snapped up from where he laid, a look of panic in his eyes.

“Draco, get up please.” It was Narcissa. Luckily she continued to talk from behind the closed door. “I want you dressed and downstairs for breakfast is in five minutes. Late comers don’t get to eat. Get Laylani on your way down.” They heard her footsteps fade away. Draco’s head dropped back to the mattress with a frustrated groan.

“Shit.” he muttered. By then, Laylani climbed off him and nuzzled her nose to his with a little smile and a soft laugh.

“Don’t fret, Dragon. I promise I’ll make it up to you. ” She got off the bed and took a few steps towards the closet. She stopped, turned around and blew him a kiss.

“Soon.”

He was mesmerized the seductive sway of her hips as she left. ‘Yes,’ he thought, ‘You most certainly will.’

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After breakfast, Lucius went to the family stables and hitched up two black horses to an old-fashioned sleigh, much to Laylani’s delight. She had no idea the Malfoys had stables, let alone a sleigh. It was like something out of a storybook. The family climbed into the sleigh and rode through the property into a wooded area. They climbed out of the sleigh and stepped into the deep snow. Draco came up behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist and whispered to her.

“Well love, which one do you want?” She looked around, overwhelmed by all the beautiful trees that surround her.

“But the family should pick one together, shouldn’t we? I mean, it is the family’s Christmas tree after all.” Draco rolled his eyes. It would take the ‘family’ forever to pick a tree together. His father would want to look through the entire forest for the most perfect tree possible, his mother would get sensitive and want a sad little tree to spruce up, Draco would eventually get frustrated and want to leave, then they would just end up fighting and they wouldn’t get a tree and this Christmas would be ruined just like the one before it and the one before that. He knew that she wanted to celebrate like a family, but he didn’t want her to experience Christmas like the Malfoy family.

“No Lani, we decided to let you pick out whichever tree you want for your first Christmas with us.” It wasn’t exactly a lie. Although they never officially discussed it, his parents had told him they were ‘definitely getting a Christmas tree this year.’ He knew this was probably the only possible way to achieve that.

She smiled with childish delight. Laylani waddled through the snow further into the woods looking the trees up and down appraisingly. She didn’t know exactly what she was looking for. What made a good Christmas tree? She could barely remember what one should look like, it had been so long. Finally, she gave up on pretending to know what she was doing and picked one at random. There was nothing special about it, but the Malfoys ‘ooh’ed and ‘ahh’ed over it as if it was made of solid gold. Lucius cut it down and attached it to the back of the sleigh. They drove away, blissfully unaware that they were being watched.

He sat high up in the branches of a nearby tree. Yes, that was her. She was older now but the face was the same. He could never forget her. Her kidnap had been his initiation mission. It was when he had discovered his taste for murdering with his own hands. It had been so much more satisfying than even the most tortuous of killing curses. He remembered the way her father’s eyes had rolled back in his head when he’d slit his throat. He remembered the blood; Gods, there had been so much blood. He remembered how the little bitch had bit him so hard that it drew out a bit of his own. This woman was that girl. Voldemort would be pleased with the confirmation.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The Malfoys and Laylani spent the bulk of the afternoon decorating the tree and the house. Draco was in awe of how, for once, they were acting like a functional family. Lucius and Narcissa didn\'t argue about what colors to put on the tree nor did they fight about how much decoration could be put up in the house before it was too garish. For the first time in years he saw them laughing together.

As for Laylani, she was like a small child on their first Christmas, totally blown away by all the marvelous things that were happening around her. Draco supposed that really, it was her first Christmas and he was pleased it was going so well. Unfortunately, he would have to take her away from all that for a moment. He called to her from the back hall.

“Lani, can you come here for a minute?” She didn’t ask why, she just followed the sound of his voice. She rounded the corner completely oblivious to what he was doing.

“Has anyone ever told you about the word ple-” He cut her off with a passionate toe-curling kiss. She heard a soft ‘pop’ somewhere near her, but she didn’t really care; she was too wrapped up in this unexpected display of affection. When he finally ended it, she was breathless. He looked upwards.

“Mistletoe.” Then he walked away. Laylani stood there for a moment completely baffled. What was that about? She finally turned away and went back to helping Narcissa and Lucius. If he wanted to be all mysterious, let him; she had her own surprises in store for him.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Draco and Laylani were sent to bed early that night. Draco fumed over this. What the hell was this, being sent to bed? He hadn’t had a ‘bedtime’ since he left for Hogwarts. He was practically eighteen, for Merlin’s sake! He went along with it only for Laylani. Still, that didn’t keep him from muttering his annoyances on his way up the stairs.

“Bedtime… what the hell… not a child…” Laylani placed a hand on the back of his neck.

“Don’t sulk love, it’s not very flattering.” He turned to her angrily.

“I am NOT sulking.” She couldn’t help herself then. She laughed in his face. Draco became furious. How dare she have the audacity to laugh at him? He stomped away to his bedroom, slamming the door behind him. He flung off his shirt and trousers and got into bed. He was still grumbling ten minutes later when she came through his closet door.

“Still mad?” she whispered. He didn’t answer, just threw a pillow at her head. She ducked it. “I’ll take that as a yes.” She crawled up next to him and placed a soft hand on his shoulder, which he quickly brushed away.

“You’re not sleeping here tonight.” he said coldly. Laylani slipped her arm around his waist, brushing her fingertips along the waistband of his underwear. She leaned in to his ear.

“Not even if I make it up to you?”

He knew he should stick to his resolve and push her away. He knew he should tell her to leave and make her sleep alone in her own room on that windy night. He knew he should refuse her and then next time she’d think twice about mocking him. But her warm breath on his ear and her cold fingers on his waist were playing havoc with his senses. He had come to a crossroads where what he knew and what he wanted were two very different things.

“Draco,” she whispered, her fingers dipping below the waistband, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have laughed.” She dropped her shoulder and wrapped her cool fingers around the base of his shaft, and began to press tiny kisses all over the back of his neck and shoulders.

“Lani,” he growled in a warning tone.

“Please let me stay?” she whispered in his ear. Her hand had begun to move excruciatingly slowly up and down his hardening cock. He could do nothing but surrender to her.

“On one condition,” he said with a wolfish grin, “You have to finish what you’ve started.”

“Alright.” Laylani knew they were both being a little manipulative but she didn’t care. Neither was asking for what the other wasn’t already willing to give. It was more of a game then anything else.

She pulled back the covers and revealed his warm body to the cool air of the bedroom. He visibly shivered as she pulled the silk boxers down and off his legs. She stared at his erect member and smiled to herself. He was fairly well-endowed; not the biggest she had ever seen and she had seen her share, but still quite impressive.

Laylani moved in closer on her hands and knees. Taking a deep breath, she licked him softly from base to head. She felt him shudder and smiled. She took the head in her mouth and slowly circled her tongue around it once before she began to lower her mouth, taking in more and more of him. She felt him hit the back of her throat, and her head began to slowly move back up. Draco began to make little noises of impatience, and she increased her speed as her tongue started tracing a kind of figure eight pattern.
He\'d never felt anything like it.

Draco was amazed at her skill. Then again, he supposed that she had done this…professionally for some time. She was bound to have learned some things. Whatever the reason, at this rate, she was going to have him climaxing in minutes.

He looked down to her. She had her eyes on his face. No one had ever done that with him before; it was strangely erotic. To be watched while he was so incredibly vulnerable. Normally it would be unsettling to Draco, so much so that if he’d ever caught any of his previous girls watching him he would have made her stop, possibly made her leave. It was far too intimate. But this was different, this was Laylani. She was his Princess, his fair maiden that he was to protect, yet somehow he also felt protected by her in a way. Like her mere presence made it safe for him to take down his defenses of sarcasm and casual cruelty because she would still be there, still be his regardless of what anyone else said or did.

He was led out of his daze of tender thoughts when Laylani shifted her weight slightly to free up one hand to cup his testicles. His breath caught in his throat and the muscles in his legs tightened. Draco seized her hair in his fists and began to forcefully thrust himself in and out of her mouth. She could only relax the muscles of her neck and let him lead. She stretched out a finger from the hand that was fondling him and ran it over his perineum. That did it; he could feel himself being pushed over the edge and then falling, falling, falling. He couldn’t get the words out in time to warn her, nor could he let go of his tight grip on her hair. But she didn’t try to pull away, she didn’t even jerk back in surprise. She just kept her eyes on him as he came, swallowing every drop.

When he had finally relaxed enough to realize he still had what was probably a painfully tight grip on her hair and let go, she sat back on her heels and licked her lips. Merlin, she was sexy.

“No more hurt feelings then?” she said playfully. He rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

“None whatsoever.” She smoothed out her short nightgown and moved in next to him. She made herself comfortable, pulled the blankets up around them and laid her head on Draco’s chest. He ran a gentle hand over her back and she sighed contentedly. As his eyes began to slowly close, he decided he had to agree with that sentiment. His life had never been so completely perfect.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Draco? Draco! Wake up! Wake UP! Draco, it’s Christmas!”

It was early, far too early to be awake. Draco knew it, why didn’t Laylani? For the first time ever he was almost regretting that he had agreed to Lani sharing the bed with him. Christmas day or not, who got up at five a.m.?

Draco groaned and rolled to face her. Even if he could go back to sleep she wouldn’t let him. She sat on his bed, bouncing slightly and looking like she was ready to explode from excitement. He grinned. There was nothing quite like your first Christmas. He propped himself up on his elbows.

“Alright, love. I’m up. Happy Christmas.” Laylani practically threw herself at him and hugged him tightly.

“Merry Christmas! I have a present for you. I wanted you to open it now, when there’s no one else around. It’s for you and you alone.” She was off the bed and had sprinted into the closet to fetch his present before he could get a word out. She was back in no more than ten seconds with what looked to be a rather heavy gift. She dropped it unceremoniously on the bed.

“I saw it, and I knew I had to get it for you. I hope you’ll like it!”

He began to tear at the paper in a very un-Malfoy manner. He was never one to open presents carefully and save the tag and wrapping. That was just a waste of time in his mind. Finally the last bits of paper fell away. It was a statue unlike anything Draco had ever seen in his life. It was a carving of a fierce looking dragon with a delicate butterfly resting on it‘s tail. It was like Draco and Laylani. It was undoubtedly an odd thing but then again, they were undoubtedly an odd couple. It was perfect. He looked to her apprehensive face.

“Lani, it’s amazing. I love it. Thank you, Princess.” He leaned in and kissed her then quickly pulled away, reaching under his bed for the gift he had been working on so tirelessly for her. “Here,” he said as he handed her a flat, square package, “I made it for you.” She was shocked. Mister Draco Edmund Malfoy, who had all the money in the world to buy whatever he wanted, had made her a present?

She peeled back the gold foil paper. It was a book, an album of sorts. She looked at it, then to him.

“Well, open it!”

She flipped open the cover. Draco had written something on it. It read:

***

Welcome Home Laylani. All My Love, Draco.

***

She smiled and turned to the first page. What she saw brought tears to her eyes. It was pictures, both the wizarding and muggle kind, of her growing up, her family and the Malfoys. Draco had made her a scrapbook of her life.

She flipped through page after page of memories. He had even taken the time to write in the date and event for every group of photographs. The last page was particularly heartfelt. It was the picture of them under the mistletoe when they were five, and a near identical one of them from the day before. So that’s what that ‘pop’ sound had been. The caption read:

***

From the little boy who loved you and the man who always will.

***

She closed the book quietly and put it aside. She looked up at him and smiled.

“Draco, this is the most wonderful present anyone could ever give me. Thank you.” She wiped away the single tear that fell, and crawled across the bed where he still sat. She kissed him with a sweetness he didn’t know was possible. Laylani laid her head on his chest and he laid down again, his arm around her waist.

“Draco, is it always going to be like this?”

“What do you mean, love?”

“I mean when we\'re married.”

“Well, I like to think when we\'re married we won’t be living with my parents.”

She smacked his chest playfully. “No, I mean will you still feel the same about me, still want to be with me and only me even when I‘m old and gray?” He turned her face upwards to him.

“How could I not? It’s been nearly eighteen years and I still feel the same way for you. I even loved you when we thought you were dead. If I can love you beyond the grave, I’ll be damned if a few wrinkles and gray hairs will stop me. Princess, you are the only girl for me; the only one I will share my bed with, the only one who I’ll have children with, the only one I will ever love. Where’s all this coming from, Lani?” To him the idea of not loving her, of wanting to be with any other woman was absurd. Her head turned back down and she began to trace circles on his bare chest. He had just about given up on getting an answer when she spoke.

“It’s just- In my experience, men have never been faithful. So many of the men I dealt with were married. They would tell me their wives just weren’t enough anymore, that she was too old or had gained weight and whatnot, and they just weren’t attracted to them anymore. That they felt like they were trapped. I-I couldn’t stand it if you were to ever feel that way about me.” Draco pulled her body tighter against his own and leaned his head down towards her.

“Laylani, men who are unfaithful are pathetic and weak. I have no delusions that marriage is always going to be easy. There will be days when we can’t stand each others presence, I‘m sure. But my entire life has been a commitment to you, and it’s a commitment I intend to stand by. Always.” He kissed her hair softly. She turned to him again.

“Do you promise?” He grinned.

“I promise.”


A/N: Awwww! Don\'t forget to review everyone. If you like it or not, I want to know so I can fi or or stay the course.