Once Upon a Time

Once upon a time there was a boy. Now, this boy wasn't just any boy, mind you. He was a special boy, a gifted boy, a very lucky boy.

He was the Boy Who Lived.

Now, you might ask what that means. And I wish that I could properly explain it. However, that would take more time than we have at the moment so I'm not going to bother. Suffice it to say, this boy was very lucky, had a run-in with a dark git of a wizard, and ended up defeating said dark git of a wizard. So he became very famous and very popular and was allowed to break any rules he wanted and hardly ever got into any real trouble. He was, after all, the hero of the Wizarding World.

But that's not what this story is about. This story is about how the Boy Who Lived became the Man Who Was Loved. And since this story is much, much better than the other one, I'll get right to it.

It was the seventh and final year at Hogwarts for the Boy Who Lived. Since he was so special, and since Headmaster Dumbledore was a little mad, a party was planned so celebrate a very special day for the Wizarding World. Halloween, to be more precise. You see, on that day, many years earlier, the parents of the Boy Who Lived died trying to protect him. In the process, they severely injured the dark git of a wizard who was trying to kill their son.

Now, for some reason that was never truly explained, Dumbledore seemed to think that having a party to celebrate the night that James and Lily Potter died would be a way to lift the spirits of their son. Obviously the plan didn't work quite like he'd expected. The Boy Who Lived, rather than being happy and carefree, was rather depressed and upset. Of course, who wouldn't be? It's not often that someone is expected to celebrate the death of his or her parents, after all.

However the Boy Who Lived was a Gryffindor. Gryffindors, as you know, are noble and honest and don't ever want to cause someone that they respect a reason to be truly upset or disappointed in them. So rather than simply explain that he would rather not attend a grand ball on the anniversary of the night he became an orphan, the Boy Who Lived put his best foot forward and went.

But it was obvious to everyone that he didn't really want to be there. Especially since he showed up wearing a costume that made him look like the Muggle version of Death - complete with a scythe and all. Still, no one said anything and the party continued. Before long all sorts of guests had arrived.

The Weasley family was there -- all five hundred or so of them - and they were all wearing costumes that were obviously homemade yet, surprisingly enough, rather enjoyable to look at. Arthur and Molly were dressed as a broom and snitch. And you are right in thinking that Molly made the largest snitch in the history of the Wizarding World. Bill was dressed as perhaps the tallest goblin in existence, while Charlie did a surprisingly good job of dressing, acting, and talking just like a Muggle. Percy wasn't precisely in costume as he'd apparently come directly from his job, but several people (his brothers especially) claimed he could have passed as the Minister of Magic.

Ron was in a Chudley Cannons uniform. He thought it was the closest he was ever going to come to the real thing, I suppose. And Ginny was done up as a High Priestess or some such thing. She really did look quite ravishing, in retrospect.

Surprisingly, the most mundane and unoriginal were Fred and George. Deciding to use the fact that they were identical to their advantage, they each dressed up as the other. Although it was humorous to watch them 'accidentally' switch costumes the majority of the night.

Now, since the Weasley clan weren't the only one in attendance, yet have taken up the majority of this story, we're going to move along.

The Headmaster was present. He was quite funny as he pranced about in his pumpkin costume. Not very original, mind you, but still funny to see. Merlin only knows where he got the idea from, but only he could have truly done it without making a total idiot of out himself.

Hermione Granger showed up a bit late, something about her Head Girl duties taking precedence, and was dressed as a Muggle idea of a witch. As it wasn't something that anyone had expected she received many a strange and curious glances. Of course, she ignored them all. She really was quite clueless back then, regardless of what her grades may have stated to the contrary.

To the surprise of many, Neville Longbottom wore a costume that was suspiciously quite similar to the normal attire worn by Professor Snape. Even the stutter he had when he spoke was replaced by the more subtle and silky tone of the Head of Slytherin House.

Professor Snape, for his part, came as ... well, himself. Really, it wasn't that much of a surprise. As it stood it was a miracle he had come in the first place. Wearing a costume to boot would have been a bit much. Although, by the time he'd moved on to his fifth class of punch, which had been improved upon by Fred and George, he either didn't notice or didn't care when the Headmaster placed a pirate hat on his head and spelled a patch to cover his eye that could be seen through without difficulty yet looked to everyone else as though it were rather solid.

Come to think of it, that could explain the reason Severus spent the next two days in the dungeons, claiming a migraine that even Madame Pomfrey couldn't heal. Of course, the batch of candy corn that the Slytherins sent to him probably helped ease his pride a bit. He was always rather addicted to that horrid stuff.

Luna Lovegood, of course, had none of the same embarrassment about her costume. She came as a troll. Not just any troll, though. No, she came as a pink troll. At least, that's what everyone believed she was. She could have been something else, but no one wanted to get into that while in the middle of a party.

At any rate, the party turned out to be a rather smashing success. There was drinking and conversation, dancing and flirting, and an accidental flick of someone's wand that caused Arthur and Molly to actually switch costumes by mistakes. And yes, once again you would be right in believing that Arthur was the skinniest snitch in the history of the Wizarding World.

By the end of the night most everyone had had his or her fill of drink and merriment. Surprisingly, not much mention had been made of the dark git of a wizard or the people he'd killed for whom the party had been held in their honor.

All in all it was a wonderful party. Halloween celebrated true Wizard-style, rather than tainted by the rather ridiculous misconceptions of Muggles. And as it's quite past your bedtime, I do believe that's enough for tonight.

******

The little girl frowned at her coverlet, her bright green eyes narrowing as she raised her heart shaped face toward the man sitting on the edge of her bed. "But daddy!" she protested with a hint of a pout. "You promised you'd tell me how you and dad fell in love! You didn't do that at all!"

Draco Malfoy raised one perfectly sculpted eyebrow as he stared, unblinking, at his daughter. A small smirk tugged at his lips and he finally tipped his head in acknowledgement.

Sighing slightly, he settled the five-year-old a bit more comfortably against his side. He leaned his head back against her headboard and allowed the memories to wash over him as he began, once again, to tell the tale.

"Once upon a time, there was a Boy Who Lived. He never wanted to be known as that, though. He simply wanted to be known as Harry," he began, his voice taking on a softer tone as he thought of the man he'd spent the past ten years of his life with.

Smiling at the dreamy sigh that came from the black haired girl that he held close, he continued.

"One year, Harry attended a party. I was at that party, dressed as an angel due to a bet I'd lost with a Housemate of mine. Toward the end of the party, Harry finally let his true feelings be seen by everyone. Realizing that he was nothing more than a young man who was hurting just as much and was just as lost as I was, I pulled him aside with the intention of offering a true hand of friendship."

His daughter squirmed a bit, obviously not comfortable with hearing about either of her fathers being upset. She remained silent, though, and listened as he finished his tale.

"Instead, I kissed him. I remember thinking that it was a rather huge mistake on my part. I didn't mean to do it you have to realize. We'd never gotten along and, had it not been for the punch, I doubt I would have mistakenly snogged him - especially in front of everyone."

He gave a half shrug. "Before I could pull away, though, I remember drowning in the feelings; remember knowing I needed to come up for air. And, when I finally did, it was then that I realized I didn't want to be his friend. I wanted to be his everything." A shadow of the trademark Malfoy smirk flittered across the platinum blonde's face. "By the time we graduated that June, I was. And, in turn, he was mine."

Shaking his head slightly, he gave the girl a fond squeeze. "And now, my dear, you really must get some sleep." Dropping a kiss on her head, he rose to his feet.

The child snuggled down in the covers and gave him a bright smile. "And that's how Daddy Harry went from the Boy Who Lived to the Man Who Was Loved?" she asked in earnest.

Draco nodded, the smile on his child's face mirrored on his own. "Yes, dearest. That's precisely how it happened," he replied softly.

She giggled slightly, turning on her side so her back was to him. "See?" she murmured softly to the small bear she was holding close to her chest. "I knew Uncle Fred and George were just teasing. Nobody could've convinced 'Fessor Snape to make a stupid love potion to slip into the punch. Not even them."

Draco's eyes widened. However, before he could open his mouth to question her further, her even breathing filled the room, which signaled she was already asleep.

Shaking his head, he moved to the door. Pausing in the doorway, he gazed at her for a moment more. He still had a few more papers to go over before his husband came home. Pulling the door closed, his quiet murmur echoed off the walls softly and slowly integrated their way into the girl's peaceful dreams.

"And they all lived happily ever after."

Fin