Love Through My Memories

Chapter 9: Changes

Draco p.o.v

So.. I woke up to find my snowy owl, perched on the stand. His mate, a pretty eagle owl was next to him, lying down. I was surprised. Anthea was a very active owl! Something had to be wrong if she was lying down, and yet, Hero was not the least bit concerned. I didn't want to take any chances and so i decided to bring her to Eeylops Owl Emporium, hoping that they'd be able to diagnose or cure her.

I tapped the bricks in the leaky cauldron and was greeted by the bustling diagon alley. I kept my head down and quietly made my way to the owl shop. The shopkeeper took one look and immediately gave Ant a potion to drink. All of a sudden, my owl's face turned green! I was about to scream at the lady when she suddenly said:

"Congratulations! Your owl's expecting a bunch of owlets."

That explained Hero's nonchalant behaviour! I was so excited that i barely heard any of the kind lady's talk on ways to care for Ant and her young. As a treat to Anthea and Hero, i decided to let them fly home themselves. I was suddenly like a proud father.

I stopped at that thought. A father. A thought that seemed almost impossible. Sure, there was Astoria, but did i really want to spend my whole life with her. She seemed more like a great friend than anything else and there was definitely nothing romantic about our relationship now. I didn't think that i would ever be a husband, let alone a father.

I walked down diagon alley to get a good look at the shops. I haven't really had the time to explore this small but wonderful magical lane. It was filled with surprises for me, especially since i hadn't been in here for years! The shops were all different, many of the old shop owners were killed during the war. Some, in my own manor. I didn't see many familiar faces. I walked into one of the old shops which remained, Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. The once prim and proper lady was no longer the same. She sat by the side while her daughter handled the sales. I bought a handsome set of wizard's dress robes in a fine midnight blue.

I walked further down the lane to several new shops and bought myself several luxury eagle feather quills, a sneakoscope, and a few other trinkets. The old Gringotts building stood just the same as ever, unfazed by the war. The shop that i was looking for though, didn't appear until i was nearing the end of the alley.

The Weasley Wizarding Wheezes stood, same as ever, bold and daring. Like typical Gryffindors. It did not seem toned down by age. If anything, it was even more outstanding. The compound was definitely bigger. Just looking at it made me feel a whole mixture of emotions. I was guilty for treating the Weasleys so horribly. I was also sad that, during my short childhood, i was never permitted to enjoy these sort of privileges. Father always expected me to behave like the rich pureblood wizard i was. I was not to act childishly at all which meant that, i had never played with toys like teddy bears or played in the snow. The only thing i ever played was quidditch. Even at a young age my father had gotten me a toy broomstick, a quaffle and a snitch and i used to play at the full sized pitch at the back of the Manor. In short, i hated my childhood.

I entered the shop. It was beyond my wildest imagination! There were shelves covering every inch of the walls in the place! And what was even more amazing is that every shelf went from full to nearly empty in almost 1 minute! That was how fast things were selling in that shop. I saw the twin red heads at the cashier in robes of stunning magenta. There were also about 10 other staff members wearing similar coloured robes. The shop was so busy that I wondered how they coped. Of course, you could obviously see, from the moment you enter, that there was an undetectable extension charm in the room, making it much bigger than it actually was. Last I heard, the twins had a branch in several wizarding towns, like Hogsmead and Dufftown. And those were doing well also. Sometimes, I wished that my life could go as easy as theirs. No expectations, no strings attached.

I bought quite a number of the latest products that the ingenious twins had recently created and left the shop, stopping at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour on the way. It had been a long day. I apparated back onto the lush green gardens of the manor that I grew up in – but I did not think of it as that, for my childhood brought back horrible memories that I was trying to supress. I thought of the new glass walls of the drawing room, the house elves wearing their specially made clothes, the green and blue walls of my bedroom and it's enchanted ceiling which reminded me so much of the Hogwarts Great Hall. This was a home I loved and longed to return to, but there would always be a shadow of its past that some may not dare to face.

Hermione P.O.V

I woke up, fresh and rejuvenated. As I got ready, I realised that the letter Malfoy wrote was still on my dresser. I quickly got some spare parchment and my quill and ink pot. I wrote:

Dear Draco Malfoy,

I am very happy to see that you are very different from the boy you used to be. I am glad that you support the changes that your mother has made for your family. It is always good to see lives that were once lost be found again. I fervently hope that this is not a temporary change, Draco. I truly am happy that I have made a difference, something that I have not felt since I lost someone I really loved in the war. If you need any assistance, do not hesitate to ask (your owl will be able to find me). I hope to see you soon and well. Thank you and goodbye.

Yours sincerely,

Blood Donor

I whistled slightly and Jules flew straight to my arm. I attached the letter and the magnificent bird flew off into the horizon, reminding me of the days where I would stand in the Hogwarts owlery, watching the sunset as Harry's late owl Hedwig flew off, delivering my letter to my anxious parents.

I was relieved, somehow. It felt good to know, that the boy who had tormented me for all my years at Hogwarts has finally grown out of his bullying stage. He was now a man, and a darn good looking one at that. And for the first time, since Ron died, I knew everything would be alright.

A/N: Ok!! i might not update for a while.. i just received my GCE 'O' level results.. some would say i did fine.. Me? i don't think it was good.. It was a scrape throughmark.. so now I've gotta do some appeals and stuff.. so.. please wait for me!! Thank you!

~Priscina A. Malfoy~