Heart of Gold, Heart of Stone (Post-War)

Chapter Six

      Athenadora listened to Harry tell her about his adventures, while Ginny told her about her quidditch career. Teddy and Mona continued to eat, completely unfazed by the bustling voices around them. Athenadora tried to pitch in with the conversation, but she never really found anything worth talking about. Her life wasn't all that spectacular, but at least she had the things she needed.

"Are you alright, Thena?" Ginny asked, causing the girl to shrug.

"Just having a hard time today; missing Sirius a bit more than usual." Athenadora replied, causing the Harry and Ginny to frown.

"Do you want us to take the kids for the night?" Harry asked, as Ginny gave him a look.

     Ginny wasn't home too often, so she wanted to relax when she was home. Taking care of children was not anywhere near her version of relaxing. She did love the Lupin girl, but she did not wish to take care of the girl's children on her first night home. She wasn't even sure if she was going to have more days off or not, since her career had sporadic dates for games and practices sometimes.

"No, they keep my mind off of everything bad. If they weren't there, I think my mind would be all over the place." Athenadora said, causing the couple to nod.

       Harry believed he was hurt more than Athenadora, but she knew more than that. Harry and everyone around him believed he had it worse than everyone else, when really he had it bad but not the worst. George had it worse than Harry, since he had lost his better half in a war that Harry was a major protagonist in. Athenadora had it the worst, since she had lost everyone but Teddy, Mona, and George. Everyone else wasn't as important to her, and they never would be again. She missed her family more than anything else, but she was tired of fighting with the people around her about who had it worse.

        Draco watched Athenadora from afar. He could see that she was uncomfortable, but he couldn't really do anything about it. If he went over to her, Harry would continue to yell and degrade him, which he could not deal with. He hated hearing all the things people had to say about him, which would be true for anyone.

"I need fresh air. I'll be right back." Athenadora said, standing from her seat and walking out of the room.

      As soon as she was standing outside in the cold air, she could take a deep breath and calm herself down. She hated being around people that always talked about themselves and boasted about their accomplishments. Athenadora could've had her own accomplishments, but she still worked at the joke shop and didn't really do anything else besides raise her kids. Leaning her head back against the wall, Athenadora closed her eyes and took a rather deep, silent breath.

"Athenadora?" She heard, causing her head to turn to the side quickly.

"Draco? What are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be working?" Athenadora asked, crossing her arms.

"Shouldn't you be having dinner with your family?" He retorted, causing her to sigh.

"I'm not very fond of being around Harry all the time. I normally don't see him often, except for during holidays with the Weasleys. Seeing him puts me in a bad mood." Athenadora replied, sighing silently.

"Potter? What has he done to make you hate him?" Draco asked, but the girl frowned as soon as the question came out of his mouth.

"Him being him. He wants to be the hero in everyone's story, but he's the villain in some. He may have defeated Voldy, but we lost so many people because of him." Athenadora answered, and Draco simply nodded.

     Draco felt like people blamed him for the death of their friends and family, but he was surprised to hear that Athenadora didn't blame him, she blamed Harry. He still loathed Harry, more than anyone else could probably, but to know someone else might come in second with their loathing for Harry, made his heart flutter.

"Those kids; are they Harry and Ginny's?" He asked, causing her to shake her head.

"No, they're mine," She answered, biting her lip,"Technically Teddy, the boy, is my brother, but after Dad and Tonks died, I was given custody of him. I was told to raise him as my own, so I do. Harry is around often to see him, since he's Teddy's godfather, but luckily it's when he's at the Weasleys or when it's Teddy's birthday." She added, causing Draco to nod.

"And the girl?" He asked, watching as Athenadora took in a sharp inhale of breath.

"Do you remember that Fred and I were together in Hogwarts?" She asked, causing the boy to nod again,"Well, I found out I was pregnant with Mona right before the war. I wasn't able to tell him, but I did tell his family. They hated me for it, but they've accepted Mona and I again. I still don't feel as close to them as I use to, but I'm trying to stay as civil as I can for the kids and George. Ever since Fred's death, I turned into George's best friend. He only really talks to me about everything, so I'm trying to always be there for him, even though he has Angelina, Lee, and Katie." She answered, biting her lip.

"I'm sorry you lost so much before and after the war." Draco commented, causing the girl to smile sadly.

"Thank you, but I don't really blame you. Ya know, I've told you quite a bit about myself and my kids, maybe you should return the favor." She said, and he chuckled slightly.

"I doubt you'd want to hear it, besides, you should probably head back inside. We've been out here for at least ten minutes." Draco murmured, and she nodded.

"You're right, I should get back to my kids," She replied, turning towards the door for a moment, before turning back towards Draco,"When is your day off?" She asked, causing Draco to take a step back.

"Um, Saturday. Why?" He asked, and she smiled.

"Come by my place. We can talk more, discuss some things. If you don't feel comfortable, you don't have to come, or you can bring a friend. If you bring a friend, let me know in advance so I can cook enough for all of us." She said, and he bit his lip.

"I-I don't know, the Weasleys might not be too happy if you have me around." He replied, causing the girl to laugh.

"What they don't know won't hurt them. Besides, it's my house, and I never said I cared how they felt about the people I invite into my home." She answered, before walking inside the Leaky Cauldron once again.

     Draco shook his head with a slight smile on his face. Maybe he could make friends after the Wizarding War. He wasn't sure if he could count her as a friend yet, but he hoped he would soon. He just wished to be seen as normal in the wizarding world for once in his life...

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A/N: I hope you guys liked this chapter. I wasn't sure if I was going to have them talk so early, but I decided this story isn't going to be too long. I will have quite a few chapters though, but probably no more than fifty.

Love you guys!

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- Youngblood Xxx