A Summer in the Life of Draco

It had been four days since the group had returned home from Paris. Despite the fun that they had had, it was exciting to be home. Tomorrow was the wedding and the house was alive with activity as everything they had ordered began to arrive. Today, however, was the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. The rehearsal was coming to an end.

"Ok, to finish off the ceremony, I will say your vows to each of you, and you will say them in return. While this is happening, the Unbreakable Vow will be made. I will present you as husband and wife, the doves will be released, and you will kiss. Any questions?" asked the priest. When he didn't get an answer, he dismissed the group to go eat in the reception tent.

Draco met Ella at the end of the aisle. He put his arm around her shoulders as they walked to the large white tent where the feast would be held. Most of each family was already here. The tent was almost full by the time they arrived.

As the two of them strutted through the tent, laughing and joking with relatives and friends, Draco couldn't help but feel more at home. He didn't get to see these people under normal circumstances. Draco was talking with his second cousin when he felt the familiar feeling of a snake-head cane on his shoulder.

"Draco, your great-grandmother is here and she wishes to see you," he said. Draco tried to hide his lack of enthusiasm.

"Where is Great-Granny Malfoy?" he asked. Lucius pointed to one of the fountains that had been brought in for the wedding. There was a group of a few people hanging around a rather large woman in a wheel chair. Narcissa was there talking with her. She had a very forced smile on her face.

"Come on, Ella. Let's get this over with," whispered Draco, grabbing Ella's hand and dragging her over to meet Great-Granny Malfoy.

"Oh, look who's come to see you, Hali! It's Draco!" she said.

"Draco? Where is the boy?" she said a little louder than she should. Granny Malfoy was hard of hearing.

"Right here, Grandmother," said Draco, touching her shoulder so she knew where he was. She turned in his direction and pulled him into a hug.

"Draco Malfoy! What a charming young man you have become! Oh, and who is this lovely young lady? Finally buckle down and find him a bride, did you Narcissa?" asked Hali, squinting in Ella's direction. She blushed heavily.

"No, Hali. This is Draco's little friend, Ella," corrected Narcissa. "We are going to let Draco choose his own bride when he's ready."

"That's not the way it was in my day! When I was fourteen I was married to Aldric Malfoy and by the time I was sixteen, I had already given him two heirs to the Malfoy household! You all are too soft these days with this talk of love! It's important to get a good woman to produce strong heirs! Who are you again?" she asked Draco. Draco just rolled his eyes.

"Nice seeing you again, Grandmother," said Draco as he departed, leaving Narcissa to deal with Hali's ramblings.

Ella and Draco walked back into the tent and sat at a table. They began to talk, not thinking that tomorrow would be their last day together. One day after the wedding, the Stone family would be departing back to their home in New Zealand. They would both be going back to school and possibly forgetting each other. Owls every now and then, possible accidental run-into's... would it be enough? Well, right now no one was thinking about that. These next two days were about being together.

There seemed to be about twenty people here already. Tomorrow, around eighty more would be arriving. Dominique had planned for a very extravagant wedding. Nothing but the best for a Black daughter. Every one of them had had a marvelous wedding... with the exception of Andromeda. That's what you get when you marry a muggle!

Halfway through Draco's story about the last Slytherin versus Ravenclaw Quidditch match, John stood up from his chair to make a toast. The whole tent silenced as they waited for him to speak. A waiter was walking around with trays of champagne. Ella and Draco took two glasses.

"Um, can I have your attention please? Thank you. On behalf of Dominique and me, we wanted to thank you all for coming to rehearse with us. I'm hoping that the real thing is as exciting as this has been. Please allow me to thank a few people in particular. I would like to thank Lucius and Narcissa for allowing this beautiful thing to take place at their home. Also, thank you to Draco for putting up with all these women. You know damn well that I and your father couldn't do it as long as you have," he said. There was some applause and then he raised his glass.

"Let us make a toast to the Malfoy's and the generosity they have shown us. To the Malfoys!" he said.

"The Malfoys!" the group rang out as their glasses clinked. Ella wrapped her arm around Draco's waist and kissed his cheek.

"With that taken care of, I would like to invite you all to help yourselves to this lovely buffet. I can assure you that tomorrow will be twice as wonderful as this," finished John. He took his seat by Dominique who beamed at her soon-to-be-husband. That was the kind of love Ella wanted more than anything.

"Come on, Draco. We've got food to eat and things to do!" she said, pulling him to his feet. Draco followed her to the line and his mouth began to water. They were having just a small picnic lunch, and a cheeseburger sounded very good to him right now.

They worked their way through the line until they came to what they wanted. They filled their plates quickly and then went to sit back at their table. They ate in silence for a while. Since they had returned from Paris, Dominique had hardly given them time to eat. And when they did have time to eat, they were too exhausted to even try. Today was the calm before the storm.

"Watch it, Ella. You won't be able to fit in your dress tomorrow!" joked Draco as he watched Ella devour her second cheeseburger.

"I don't care at this point! Your aunt has starved me to death for three days! Three very long days. As far as I'm concerned, I would rather walk down the aisle naked tomorrow than not eat this potato salad," she said aggressively.

"I don't think any of us would find that to unsettling," he said cheekily. He wrapped his arms around her and whispered in her ear.

"What do you say me and you go to a place a little more private? Besides, I've got a little something I want you to see," he said as he nipped playfully at her ear. She giggled and agreed to his request... as soon as she finished her potato salad.

~*~*~*~*~

Narcissa and Melanie sat at the head table, looking around the crowds. Narcissa had finally managed to get rid of Great Granny Malfoy for the time being. Dominique was too busy to spend time with them, seeing that she was the bride and all. Right now, she was mingling with the guests. Melanie and Narcissa waited quietly off to the side until the buffet line went down.

"Is there supposed to be this many people at the rehearsal?" asked Melanie as she noticed the tent become fuller and fuller. Narcissa took a sip of her drink before answering.

"Honestly, I don't know. Dee told me that she had just invited a few people and Lucius said he had some family coming the day before the wedding, but I had no idea that this was how many people they were talking about," she said with a sigh. She hoped there was enough food...

"I can't believe this... she may be the bride, but we have had to handle everything for this wedding! The photographer, the DJ, the flowers... I love Dee to death, but I'll be happy when it's all over," said Melanie with a bit of a glare at Dominique, who was schmoozing with one of her many cousins.

Narcissa was beginning to wonder where her son had gone to when she noticed him seated at a table with Ella. This summer, he and that girl had been inseparable. She began to wonder how he would take it when they had to leave.

"My, my, Melanie. Look at our two children! I've never seen Draco smile so much," she said with a smile of her own.

"I've never seen Ella so smitten either. Then again, I'm happy that she found something to occupy her time with this summer. I though that her and Draco wouldn't get along very well... it had been seven years since they last saw each other," said Melanie. Her heart was lightened with the thought that Ella had found something that made her happy. It almost broke her heart to think that they would be leaving the day after tomorrow.

"I miss Britain, Narcissa. I really and truly do," said Melanie sadly. When Ella got sick, they had almost had to restart their lives. They had had to move to New Zealand full time so that her progress could be monitored. Keith had even had to take on a new job as Ambassador for British Sports with the ministry. It had changed everything.

"I wish you could move back, Mel. Goodness, when Ella got into Durmstrang, you guys moved to Bulgaria and I missed you so much! I wish there was a way," said Narcissa.

"One can only dream," said Melanie, taking another drink of her champagne.

~*~*~*~*~

When Ella had finished her potato salad, taken a breath mint, and quickly talked her way out of a conversation with Draco's second cousin Meredith, they headed off on their mission. Ella didn't know where he was taking her, but she had a feeling it was something she was going to like.

Draco guided her through the groups of people and out into the garden, which had been expanded for the occasion. A cobblestone path now cut through the middle of the garden towards a white arch that was covered in black, white, and silver roses. Behind the arch, a fountain shot water into the air. It was a beautiful sight to see.

When they got to the garden gate, Draco opened it for Ella and they walked through it and began to walk towards the forest. Blossoming trees had been planted for the sake of scenery at the wedding and had been charmed so that the petals were constantly cascading to the ground. As they walked through them, Ella giggled as they tickled her bare shoulders. Today for the rehearsal, she had chosen to wear a simple black tube-top and jeans with a pair of black sandals. She hadn't exactly expected that all those people were going to be there.

Ella reached down and clutched Draco's hand in hers as they walked through the pink and white petals. With the new change of scenery, Ella wasn't quite sure where they were going. As far as she was concerned, she had never been down this path before. Since she was letting Draco guide her, she let her mind wander to other things.

"Wow, Draco looks fabulous in black... have I ever seen him in just a t-shirt and jeans? I don't think so... where are we going? Where's Chase? Probably at the barn... oh, I love horses. Ares was very pretty... gosh I hope I fit into my dress tomorrow... I really did look fabulous in silver..." she thought as she walked. Before she could snap back to reality, Draco had stopped. They were at the barn.

What Draco wanted to show her, Ella didn't know. She had met every horse in the barn, knew all of them by name, and had even ridden all of them. She had seen everything there was to see here... or so she thought.

They walked down the flagstone path that led to the stable where the prized winged horses were stabled. Draco led her in through the oak door that went into the tack room. Naturally, this room was extra large to accommodate each horses plus size saddles and bridles. Ella couldn't stand it anymore. She hated surprises.

"Draco, why are we here? I've seen everything there is to see," asked Ella. Draco laughed at her.

"There is a special something that you haven't seen. Just close your eyes and I will show you something that most think only exists in fairy tales," he said, walking around behind her and shielding her eyes with his hands. He led her carefully through the other door and out into the open breezeway. Situating her, once again, in front of a large box stall.

"Ok, open your eyes," said Draco with some excitement in his voice. This was a site most wouldn't see in their lifetime.

Ella gasped when she saw what was in front of her. A large, pure-white horse with silver hooves stood in front of her. The feathers of its wings seemed to shine with shades of white and silver. There was not a speck of gray anywhere on this large, winged-horse.

"Draco... what is it?" she asked shakily. He smiled as he prepared an answer. As he leaned against the stall door, he called the great beast over to him.

"This, Ella, is an extremely rare breed of winged-horse. There are only fifteen in existence and five of them are stallions. He happens to be one of them. Ella, meet Achilles. He is a Pegasus," said Draco with a smile. He was proud of this horse. Lucius had purchased him five years ago. The reason he hadn't been here for the summer was that he was away on... "business". Truth-be-told, he was away breeding a heard of five mares in Greece.

"Draco! I've never seen anything like this!" said Ella as she stroked his massive nose. It seemed to glow in its place in the stall. The horse's back had to be eight feet tall at least.

"Come over here. I've got some pictures of his foals," said Draco, who had walked back into the tack room. Ella had a hard time tearing her eyes away from the beautiful creature, but she did it as best she could.

Draco pulled the album off of the shelf and flipped through it. Most of the Malfoy's winged-horse stock was stallions. They were shipped all over the world to breed to the finest mares. Ares was currently on leave in Australia. This book contained every baby that was sired by a Malfoy stallion.

"Look at this one, Ella," said Draco, pointing to a little gray foal. It was a Granian, who was out of one of their stallions they no longer owned. Draco had a fondness for little foals. When winged horses are babies, they look like an ordinary foal except for tiny little wings protruding from their shoulders. This one was gun metal gray with white wings; a very desirable color combination.

"Oh, they're so cute!" said Ella as she gazed fondly at the pages. "Where are some pictures of Achilles' babies?"

"Um... right here!" said Draco as he flipped to the right section. Ella gazed down on the one page of babies. They were pure black.

"Why are they black?" she asked out of curiosity.

"They change color when they reach sexual maturity. It's the same thing with unicorns. This little one is a champion flyer now," said Draco, pointing down at a picture of a frisky young one. He then gestured to a wall where a picture of a Pegasus in flight was hanging. "That's her right there. She went to a Greek woman who had wanted one for years. Her application was finally approved after eight years of waiting," he said. Ella leafed through the album until she had seen every one of them.

"Let's go see him again," said Ella, handing the album back to Draco. She headed back out into the barn and gazed upon him.

"If you look through his feathers, you won't find a single gray or silver one," said Draco when he had put everything away in the tack room. Ella examined the horse closely and she couldn't see one. She wondered how he glowed.

"Merlin, I've never seen anything so beautiful!" said Ella with a sigh.

"I have," said Draco with a grin. Ella looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"Really? What?" she asked. Draco stepped closer to her and wrapped his strong arms around her waist.

"It's not really a what," he said in a husky voice. "It's more of a... who," he said as he pressed his lips to hers. They entwined in each others arms and Ella was pressed against the barn wall. She was pinned by his strong chest. Their bliss was short-lived, however, because they heard someone yell and then Draco cringed.

He fell to the floor, not really sure what had happened. He felt where something had hit him hard in the middle of his back and he sat there on the cold cement. He couldn't see his attacker, but Ella could.

"SCOTT! How could you!" yelled Ella as she bent by Draco's side. He pushed her aside and stood up to face his attacker, who had stepped out of the tack room. His wand was still raised.

"Oh, you want to play dirty, eh?" said Draco as he wiped the dirt off his jeans.

"Draco, no! It's not worth it!" said Ella. Draco held up his hand to silence her. She tried to argue, but it wasn't having an effect on the two boys. Draco drew his wand from his pocket. Scott opened his mouth to say something, but Draco was quicker.

"Expelliarmus!" he yelled. The spell hit Scott square in the chest and caused his wand to soar into the air. Draco caught it with ease in his free hand. Scott was on his knees at the far end of the breezeway. Draco walked slowly over to where he sat, wand pointed at him. Scott was clutching his chest and breathing hard.

"You keep your hands off my sister, boy!" he yelled as he jumped onto Draco and tackled him onto the ground. He felt a blow go to the side of his face and hadn't had time to react. Draco began swinging punches and kicks wherever he could. He could hear Ella yelling in the background for them to stop, but testosterone seemed to be deafening them. Draco felt another punch hit his cheek and he felt his fist make contact with Scott's jaw. Luckily, a familiar voice came to the rescue.

"Boys, boys! Break it up!" yelled Chase as he entered the barn. He ran over to the scene and did his best to break them up. When he had finally managed to pull Scott off of Draco, the damage had already been done. His eye was beginning to swell and there was a reasonably good sized cut on his cheek. Scott had a small trickle of blood coming from the corner of his mouth that he wiped away with the back of his hand.

Chase tended to Draco's wounds and Ella cried and yelled at her brother. Scott didn't seem to feel any remorse over what he had done. When Draco could finally tell how many fingers Chase was holding up, the walked rather drunkenly back to the house.

~*~*~*~*~

"Scott, I am shocked! I never expected that you, of all people, would attack someone who is only half your size! And unprovoked? I cannot believe this!" yelled Keith as he paced the family room. Draco sat on the couch with a large icepack over his eye and Ella was sitting next to him, throwing glares at Scott.

Scott sat in a chair by the window, arms crossed, and seeming very annoyed. When they had arrived back at the house, Ella had begun to whine to their parents about how she never had privacy and that she was never treated like an adult. Melanie had silenced her quickly.

"I don't know what I'm going to do with you, boy. I can't keep you here. That would be an insult to Lucius and Narcissa. I just want you gone. Get off this property and out of my sight. I'll deal with you when we return home from this wedding," finished Keith with a wave of his hand. He collapsed in a chair and began to massage his temples. Scott stood up from where he sat.

"Fine. I didn't even want to be here for this stupid wedding," he said as he departed from the living room. They heard a "pop" as Scott disapparated. Melanie let out a sigh and Narcissa went over to tend to Draco.

"I can't believe that jerk," whispered Ella. She crossed her arms and closed her eyes. She bit her lip to hold back her tears. She hated her brother... everything about him. He had always been rude and mean to her. When she was going through her treatment, he hadn't been there for any of it.

"Ella, you know your brother," said Melanie. It was one of those mommy statements that were supposed to solve conflicts.

"Yes, Mother, I do know my brother. I know that I never want to see the bastard as long as I live!" said Ella as she stood up. She turned on her heel and walked briskly from the room. Melanie got up to follow her and Scott followed after Melanie. This was a side of the Stone family that Draco had never seen before. Lucius, who had been standing, took Scott's chair that he had been sitting in.

"Narcissa, I have one thing to say about all this," he said in a serious tone. Narcissa looked up from the floor.

"What is that?" said Narcissa. Lucius did something that he rarely did... he smiled.

"I would just like to say, that I'm glad we didn't have a girl."