The Other Potter (Draco Malfoy Endgame)

A Beautiful Gesture

Chapter 27

Over the next two weeks, Alexis spent every second she could outside enjoying the crisp country air and solitude. The weight of her father's death and Draco's coming fate felt like it was crushing her.

She only spoke when absolutely necessary and still as little as possible but Mrs. Weasley didn't let her get away with complete silence. Alexis barely ate no matter how much food Molly put in front of her. She knew she needed to be strong but the loneliness she felt in Draco's absence made it impossible to function. She longed for the peace of his touch and the way his kiss melted all of her problems away.

After everyone fell asleep Alexis snuck down the stairs and out the front door. She lay down in the grass and stared up at the stars. She waited hoping for the first time to see something, any vision she could make sense of. For 13 days she saw nothing but the stars until finally after two weeks something materialized, the stars began to swirl and take on the shapes of people. A tall thin boy opened a massive box, people climbed from the box running around chaotically, explosions going off around them. Finally, the tall boy stood in front of an old man, wand raised but the vision faded before she could see how the confrontation ended.

Her nightly flashes of people and places began to make sense as the Daily Prophet reported on horrible things that were happening. A bridge collapsed as hundreds of people crashed into the icy waters below, and two ministry employees were found murdered. The list grew as new reports came in day after day. She did her best not to close herself off but the constant terror overtaking her dreams and her reality was wearing on her.

She waited desperately for a letter from Draco but nothing came. Day after day she watched the owls that came in but none were from him. She got letters from Theo and Enzo each one begging her to write back, telling her how they worried about her. She tried over and over quill in her hand but she didn't know what to say. She couldn't lie to them and say she was doing okay when she wasn't. She was drowning slowly and painfully as the darkness around her sapped away any joy she had.

Then the morning of the fourteenth day she dragged herself down to the kitchen to see a massive bouquet of white and red roses on the table with a letter written in Draco's elegant handwriting. Her face lit up as she raced for the letter. She opened in drinking in the words like she'd been in the desert for weeks and his words were the first sip of water she'd found.

My darling,

I'm sorry it took me so long to write, finding a safe way to get this to you took time. I love you and I miss you every day. I hope you are finding peace in the memory of me as I have found it in my thoughts of you. I know your vision becoming a reality is drawing ever closer but I'm doing my best to be strong. Remember this is not your fault, just because you can see what is to come doesn't mean the events are your fault. Stay strong darling, I love you and I'm counting the days until you are in my arms again.

-Draco

She read the letter at least a dozen times as her tears stained the paper. She gently folded the letter and placed it in her pocket. She leaned in breathing in the scent of the roses. She smiled genuinely for the first time in two weeks.

"Now there's a sight to see, I was beginning to wonder how long it was going to be before I got to see that beautiful smile light up your face again," Mrs. Weasley smiled at her as she walked into the kitchen.

"They are beautiful aren't they, he's never been one for subtlety," Alexis said smiling as she tenderly ran her fingers over the velvet petals.

"Maybe he knew how much you needed a bigger display of affection. I can't say I've ever been a fan of the Malfoys but seeing that smile again, I can't help but have a soft spot for the boy now," Molly came up and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

Hermione, Ginny, and Ron came down the stairs and were blown away by the roses that took up half the table.

"Geez did he buy out a whole flower shop?" Ginny questioned as she came up to smell them.

"Well after two weeks without any word she deserved a grand gesture," Hermione responded looking at the beautiful display in front of her.

"Can you imagine how much those flowers cost? Probably what Dad makes in a month! Bloody waste if you ask me," Ron said rolling his eyes at the girls. Molly walked over smacking him on the back of the head whispering angrily in his ear, "Those flowers are the reason the poor girl is smiling in weeks. So be nice Ronald!"

Mrs. Weasley was not quiet so the girls heard her admonishment and couldn't keep smiles off their faces. "Sorry, Lex, that was mean to say. You deserve something nice after everything."

"Thanks, Ron," Alexis said with a smile. Her face was starting to hurt from all the smiling and her throat hurt a bit from all the talking she was doing that day but the letter from Draco had healed a peice of her. A peice she hadn't realized that had still been broken.

Dinner was a mix of laughs and more bad news, Bill's fiance was driving everyone crazy and Tonks looked haunted still. After dinner, Alexis went up to her, "Tonks can we talk?"

Tonks nodded and followed Alexis outside, "I think you should know something. Something only a couple of others know. I have visions of bad things that are going to happen. I saw my dad's death for months before it happened. I wanted more than anything to change it, to stop it but I don't think there is anything anyone could have done to change his fate. I know it doesn't fix the pain or the feeling of it being your fault but I honestly don't believe anything you did caused it."

Tonks looked at her like she had a second head for a moment, "Why didn't you tell us? We could have stopped him from going, we could've kept him safe."

Alexis' eyes filled with tears, "Do you think anything would have stopped him with Harry and me in danger? After Snape called him a coward then me taking Snape's side? I made mistakes and yeah, him being dead is more on me than it is on you. So stop blaming yourself, blame me if you need to but it's not your fault, Tonks."

Alexis stormed off before she let her anger get the best of her. She laid back staring up at the stars in her favorite spot. For the first time, she saw something happy in her vision.

The stars swirled to show a tall man and a woman happily dancing slowly in a loving embrace. The man had shorter hair and the woman's was long and flowing. As their dance came to an end two children came wrapping themselves around their parent's legs. Just before the stars returned to their normal positions she could have sworn the woman in the star's eyes turned to stare directly into hers.

She smiled to herself as she fell into a peaceful sleep under the stars. Knowing that after all this madness there was a chance for a happy future with Draco filled her heart and started to seal all the cracks that Sirius's death had caused.