The Magic Guild: She softly calls for him...

[gorgonfondness]

“Draco?”

The word is said carefully. It's not meant to convey the message of, “We have to talk.” Rather, she's trying to get, “I'd like to talk, but I want to be here for you above all else,” into her subtext.

“Tom has warned me.

“About Blodwen.

“He mentioned that you knew her before, but that was long ago. Before you met him. Before you knew me. I know it's not something you're proud of, but you should know it's something I'm very proud of you for leaving.”

She moves, reaching to hold.

“I want to know what happened, the same way I want to know everything about you. But I understand. I know why you wouldn't want to talk to me about it.

“Though you should know, you have no reason to be ashamed. You are strong. You are fiercely loving. You are the husband by my side, father of our child, and no evil of your past is ever going to change that. I love you. Always have, always will.

“I hope that, one day, you will tell me, but today doesn't need to be that day.”

She leans forward, her forehead tilted enough to touch the mirror.

“Oh, that's going to sound silly...” she murmurs. “It's always the ones you want to talk to the most that are the most difficult to speak to.”

She rubs at the curve of her belly, her previous concern softly turned into a smile at the reassuring little fluttery kicks she feels.

“I do love you so, dear,” she says to her baby. “Mama sounds ridiculous right now, doesn't she?”

The flutters don't say anything different.

“Your Papa loves you, too. He worries so about us when he is the one that deserves the worry.”

Mia glances down, properly taking in her shape.

“How you will light up his life. You'll be the apple of his eye. He's already so happy to know you're here, just as I am. I'm sure he'll love to hold you, and I hope he tickles you and sings to you.”

Comments

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

Draco had some inventory and paperwork floating around him, and was dictating notes to a Quick Write quill. He dismissed the charm for a moment, and set the paperwork aside before getting up.

"Mia, everything all right?" She had been in there for a while as he knocked on the door.

[gorgonfondness]

"Yes. I was just cleaning myself up a little."

Which was partially true. She had originally come in to, among other things, fix her hair up a little. She tucks a stray strand into her bun and steps out.

"Do I look all right?"

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

Draco nodded, "Lovely as always of course." A bit unusual to have her hair up. Not as though she was working on anything at the moment.

[gorgonfondness]

Her hands needed something to do while she was talking.

"You say to your five months pregnant wife," she replies. "Halfway there already..."

It was wonderful and shocking.

She moves to take his hand.

"Are you very busy?"

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

"Luv, how many times do I have to tell you, it's all right?"

Draco gave her hand a squeeze, and replied, "Taking a break actually. Why?"

[gorgonfondness]

"I know. I guess, with your initial reaction, I kind of didn't expect you to talk about me like that."

She runs her thumb over his fingers.

"I wanted to sit with you. Maybe test out the glider we received while the nursery is still quiet."

Her other hand goes to her tummy.

"The baby's awake. He might want some time to hear Mama and Papa."

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

"Merlin, Mia, just took me a bit to get used to the whole idea. First time for us both, remember? Four months or so, and we'll be mum and dad."

Draco's other hand gently rested on her stomach in turn.

"And how's our son today?"

[gorgonfondness]

Mia giggles a little.

"Just glad you are now, dear."

It's obvious what happened before doesn't bother her now.

"He's been moving around. His kicks get a little stronger every day. I'm starting to think it won't be long before we'll be able to sense other things about him."

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

"Think he might be that precocious?" He couldn't help preening at the idea of his son being a strong wizard.

Draco leaned over to kiss her on the lips, "Of course I am. I love you."

[gorgonfondness]

"I'm not sure. My magic has started to feel a little funny the last couple of days, as if it wants to branch out. I'm not certain that all of it will ultimately be my own."

It's the slightest little shift in her powers, like it was nurturing another's. Which makes complete sense in her mind.

She gladly kisses back and says, "I love you, too."

Mia laces her fingers with Draco's and gives him a little tug.

"Come, we should see if the glider is as nice as we hoped."

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

"I'm certain it won't be eventually. Specially the more he matures. There's a bit about in those parenting books from Diagon Alley."

Draco beamed at her, and gently laid his other hand to the small of her back as they headed for the nursery, "All right then."

[gorgonfondness]

"There's not much left to mature before he's born. Guppy had said, from here on out, all that's left to develop is his lungs. Other than that, he'll mainly be gaining weight and his bones will strengthen."

Mia smiles as she looks over the nursery. Draco really had done a lovely job setting it up. She sits herself down in the glider, but it ends up having a definite sort of gravity that suggests she won't be able to get out of it again by herself.

Guess she'll just have to tug him beside her so she can stroke his hair and give him kisses.

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

He carefully sat down by her, and settled in close.

"Only a few months left. Hard to believe sometimes, you know?"

[gorgonfondness]

This is why magic is so nice. Otherwise, they would be in a very cramped glider.

Right now, they're comfortably close, Mia's tummy resting near his so that he might feel some fluttering, too.

"Already halfway there. And it was so much easier to tell what he looks like from the ultrasound this time. Watching him suck his thumb, his little yawn, that perfect little picture we have of him curling his fingers..."

She starts gently stroking his hair. And when they're in a comfortable silence, she decides to try.

"Draco? You know I love you, right? So very much..."

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

Draco was listening and nodding until her last statement. He lifted his head slightly with a puzzled expression.

"Of course I know. Why?"

[gorgonfondness]

"Well..."

That puzzled expression wasn't what she was looking for.

"I want you to know that my love for you is unconditional. Nothing is going to change how much I care for you or how proud I am of you. And I am, I really am."

She reaches to cup his cheek.

"And part of loving you is learning more about you. I want to know... Everything. And I want you to know that I will love you no matter what you tell me."

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

Draco blinked at that, "Everything-everything? I've told you more than anybody else."

[gorgonfondness]

"And I'm glad to know that, but yes. Everything-everything. And you can do the same with me. Anything that you don't know about me, anything you want to know or ask about, I'll tell you."

She kisses his forehead.

"You do know that the more I learn about you, the deeper I fall I fall in love with you, don't you?"

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

"Well yes, but what brought this on, luv?" Her husband was a bit confused and concerned.

[gorgonfondness]

His wife rests her forehead against his.

"Tom and I talked not too long ago. He warned me about a woman named Blodwen. He mentioned that you knew her."

She strokes his hair again.

"I only know a little bit, but I want to know everything, and I want to know it from you."

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

A chill drew down Draco's spine at the name, and he immediately tensed in her arms. Tom, damn you, why did you have to mention her? Unless...

"You haven't run into her have you? Have you?" There was clear panic in his voice with the plea. Please Merlin, Althena, keep Mia and Cepheus safe from her.

[gorgonfondness]

"No, I haven't," she says, trying to comfort her tense husband with a tighter hug. "Who is she? What's going on?"

She's not going to know why she should be so scared unless he actually tells her...

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

Draco relaxed slightly at that. Good, good, she doesn't know. She can't know.

He sighed, "I thought you saw those memories already, or I just... Merlin I was such a fool then."

He then explained, "Mia you have to understand. I was very frightened at the time when I first found myself in Milliways. I was fleeing from Hogwarts with Severus after the Headmaster... after his death. I thought the Dark Lord was going to kill me for not carrying out his orders. And of course I ran into one of the worse possible people or beings a little while later."

[gorgonfondness]

Actually, she does. More than he might want her to know. Tom did essentially tell her everything, but she wants to know from Draco, who knows all that happened.

"Draco, please tell me what you did. With her and for her."

It is a command, but it's a gentle one.

"It doesn't need to be everything right now, but I do want to know everything. And the sooner we sort it out, the sooner we can make our plans to make sure she doesn't cause our son or either of us harm."

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

Draco sighed again.

"She made an offer to me once. I thought it sounded brilliant at the time. I could get something to change things. Keep the Dark Lord away from me and my family, and be so valuable that our family's name would be respected again. I just had to say yes to accept. They call it the Dark."

[gorgonfondness]

She nods, continuing to stroke his hair.

"Go on."

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

He was quiet for several minutes.

"I said yes. And for a time, I was a servant of the Dark."

He shook his head, "I only was given an inkling of power at first, and it... felt amazing. Felt like I could do anything I wanted. Merlin I was such a fool."

[gorgonfondness]

"What did you do with it?"

She hasn't stopped stroking his hair and, while her voice is still concerned, she doesn't have any disappointment in it.

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

"Nothing much. Winter storms. Ice and wind. I had more to pay to get any real power."

He glanced away and wiped his eyes.

"Paid by offering someone else and... I can't. Not yet."

[gorgonfondness]

Mia holds him tight.

"Oh Draco..." she whispers. "Draco, it's all right. I know that's not you, not anymore..."

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

"It was. Destroyed someone else, and then me for a time. Took me a long time to get myself together again."

[gorgonfondness]

"But you aren't that person anymore," she says firmly. "That person wouldn't feel guilty. That person wouldn't be with me, here and now, trying to protect our son and me."

She kisses his forehead before kissing his lips.

"You're all together, here with me now. And Draco, I'm so proud of you realizing that what you had done was wrong and for walking away from it. I know it must have been hard."

She glances down a little at her stomach pressed against his.

"I think Cepheus wants you to know that he loves you, too."

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

Draco tried to relax with her but he then added, "But I did feel guilty after it happened. That, the Dark Lord's orders... It tore me to pieces."

[gorgonfondness]

"But that's why you left, isn't it? Because you felt guilty. If you didn't feel guilty, you would have stayed."

She tries stroking his hair again.

"Why don't we use this as an excuse for a holiday? Take a weekend away sometime soon. Go to Lann before it gets too cold to fish? Or maybe to Lyton?"

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

"It is, or how I tried to leave. She nearly killed me when I did so, and took several people to stop her." Also imprison the person he thought of as his first best friend in his life, the boy he betrayed and allowed Blodwen to bring out his evil side.

"Holiday sounds lovely, maybe both? Some time in Lann, and then some in Lyton?"

[gorgonfondness]

"I didn't know any of that."

She halfway huffs.

"Now see? If you didn't tell me any of that, I might have wondered just what was so bad about this Blodwen and sought her out to ask. But now I know and now I don't plan on spending too much time in Milliways with her around."

After his last suggestion, she looks at him before giving a very pointed look at her stomach.

"How much traveling do you think I can do like this, dear?" she asks. "I'm up for some, but let's not push things. We'll see how I feel after one before stopping at another. So if you have to pick, which one would it be?"

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

Draco winced slightly, "Sorry luv. Thought there was a way to spend a little time here and there."

He considered it, "Well in that case, Lann's closer of the two. And I found some new recipes for that lovely fish of theirs."

[gorgonfondness]

"We might be able to, but I can't travel the same way I used to. And we'll have to take the family carpet. In the same way that we don't want to risk running into Blodwen, I don't want to risk the possibility of combat on this trip."

There is a very quiet voice of protest in the back of her mind that might even work its way to her features. The nightmare... But that was likely a Milliways bug. Surely it won't come true.

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

Draco nodded, "Of course, you can't walk that far, and certainly not going to fight anything. Supposed to be a right holiday after all. Just move the class schedules around a bit and should be fine."

He then studied her for a moment, "Darling, what is it?"

[gorgonfondness]

She closes her eyes and shakes her head a little.

"I was just thinking about the nightmare I had years ago. It happened in Lann."

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

Draco thought for a moment, and then replied, "Oh no, no Mia. That's just a dream. There's no way they can get in. They can't come here unless we allow it. We'll be fine."

[gorgonfondness]

"All right. You help me keep that in mind and I'll help you keep in mind the same thing."

She carefully moves herself so that she's nestled her head against his shoulder.

"Lann will be all right. We have our ultrasound picture. Cepheus is doing fine."

Mia glances up at him a little.

"I can feel him kicking. Can you?"

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

He nodded, "I can. He'll make quite a Chaser when he's older."

[gorgonfondness]

"That's in Quidditch, right?"

Hey, it's been a while since they've talked about Quidditch. A memory refresher might be a good idea.

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

"It is, remember the Chaser is the one who flies across the pitch with the Quaffle to score..." And Draco launched into a detailed discussion about the game, and some of the better parts of seeing the World Cup years ago. Leaving out the Death Eater sections, and just focusing on the plays and the excitement. Likely not going to discuss much of Bulgaria's idea of Veela cheerleaders either.