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

Chapter Fourteen

Some time had passed, but not much had happened. Athenadora and her children had seen Draco a few times throughout this time, and the children seemed to really like the blonde man. Truth be told, seeing him doing so well with her children made Athenadora really like him as well. She wouldn't really admit it, but slowly she was beginning to catch feelings for the man.

She wasn't too happy with herself for it, since she felt like she was doing wrong by catching feelings for Draco. It had nothing to do with Draco being a Death Eater either, it was simply because she was catching feelings for another man. She knew Fred's family would hate her once they found out she had feelings for someone else, and they'd really hate her when they found out who she had feelings for.

Fred's family really didn't have the right to know who she was catching feelings for, nor did they have a say in if she could catch feelings for someone else or not. She just didn't want to hurt anyone by doing so. She was never going to replace Fred, especially in Mona's life, but George said she deserved to be happy, and she truly wanted to believe it.

Anyhow, George had come to take Mona and Teddy for the day to spend time with them. He did this at least once a month, and Athenadora had a feeling it was his way of being closer to his brother. Mona was Fred's daughter after all, and George most likely felt closer to Fred when he was around Mona. George always took Teddy with him and Mona, since he thought Teddy was a pretty cool and funny kid.

While George was out with Mona and Teddy, Athenadora decided to hang out with Draco. He had asked her if she wanted to hang out with him, "kind of like a date," and the only way Athenadora could do that was if someone kept the kids. She wouldn't ask anyone to do so simply for a date, since she didn't want to push her children on anyone, and it made her feel like a bad mother if she asked someone to watch them so she could go on a date.

Athenadora met Draco at the park, since he wanted to just sit with her and have a nice talk. He had also brought a picnic basket with him, which had been all his mother's idea. He had talked to his mother all about Athenadora, as well as his best friend, but his mother had better ideas than his friend did.

"I hope you don't think this date is too boring or basic." Draco commented, and Athenadora could tell that he was nervous.

"I think it's cute," Athenadora replied,"I like how normal it is. I hate when someone tries to prove how much they like me, by paying for extravagant meals and buying expensive things for me."

"Noted," Draco joked,"So, how are the kids?" He asked, as he pulled the things from the picnic basket.

"They're great. They're with George today, and I miss them, but I know it's good for me to go a day without them every once in a while."She answered, shrugging slightly.

"Does George know about me being around?" He asked, causing her to shake her head.

"No, I haven't told anyone, and the kids won't tell either. They had heard Harry and Ginny get upset over you on Sirius' birthday, so they keep you off topic when they're around any of our family." She said, making him frown.

"I'm sorry you have to keep it all a secret." He commented, causing her to sigh.

"I do it to protect you," She replied,"Besides, I know that if George found out that you were the man I've been talking to, he'd freak. He claims he wants me to be happy, but I have a feeling he has someone in his mind that would be perfect, like Lee or possibly even Oliver, if he isn't already married."

"Do you want to be with me?" He asked, though he was unsure of his own words.

"I do," She murmured,"but I don't want you to feel like you have to be with me, Draco. I like you, I do, but I know it's hard being with a single mother. If we ever broke up, you'd have to still be around for the kids, because they really like you." She said, and he nodded.

"I know, but I truly have feelings for you, and I believe that this is a relationship that I would truly try for and fight for." He replied, making her smile.

"So, does that mean we're going to be in a secret relationship?" She asked, causing him to smirk.

"From your friends, maybe, but Theo and Mum know everything." He said, and she laughed.

"I'll tell everyone once I feel like I can trust them with the information." She commented, making him nod in agreement.

She trusted them, but not with things like this. She didn't truly trust anyone with information like this. The most she was going to do was tell George that she was back in the dating scene, but she would refuse to tell him a name. She knew, or at least, she had an idea of how he would react to the information if he knew who she was dating.

Dating wasn't something Athenadora believed she would be doing again. After she lost Fred, she thought her dating life was over. She had loved him with all of her heart, and she couldn't deal with the pain of losing anyone else. After finally healing a little bit, she realized that she couldn't force herself to stay single because she was scared of feeling pain again. Pain was just something that she would have to feel, even if it wasn't really fun. It was something that would never truly stay away, but she would have to learn how to be happy even in the hardest of times...

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A/N: I hope you guys liked this chapter! So, I will be posting the rest of the chapters for this story really soon! There are a few chapters left to be posted, and they should be ready within the next two or three days! I will be posting all the chapters at the same time, not one at a time.

Love you guys!

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