The Marriage Decree

Chapter 83: Just Do Something

Draco dresses in his least wizardry clothes he can find in his wardrobe, a pair of jeans and the red shirt Hermione had bought for him, in the hopes of not scaring Abe off with robes and cloaks. Instead, he pulls on a grey, woollen coat he bought the previous week when Arctic winds brought snow to the United Kingdom six weeks early.

Hermione had tried to keep his mind occupied all morning, engaging him in conversation about transfiguration and potions while she updated her lesson plans for the following half-term. It hadn't helped keep his thoughts away from his cousins and his coffee meeting with Alarte and Abe.

When the time came, he let out a shaky breath as he rose from his armchair, pulled on his boots and left the house with a quick kiss to Hermione's cheek.

"Good luck." She calls behind him as he walks down the street towards the gate.

He waves a hand behind him as he continues walking. He glances at Blaise's house when he reaches the gate. His best friend was due back that afternoon and despite him only being gone ten days, he missed him. Shaking the thought from his head, he disapparates to the path beside Hyperion's house.

"That's just as exciting as the first time." Alarte comments, pulling Draco into a quick hug before leading him back into the house.

"Morning, Draco." Sarah's voice calls from somewhere within the house.

"Grandma's in the conservatory." Alarte leads the way through the kitchen.

"Good morning, Sarah. How are you?" Draco asks, taking a seat in one of the armchairs.

"I'm just fine, thank you. How are you and Hermione? Is she not here?" Sarah asks.

"No, I didn't want to overwhelm Abe with both of us showing up. She's at home finishing some lesson plans for work." He explains.

"You don't need to worry about Abe; he's like this one." She glances at Alarte who's sat on the doorstep to the conservatory.

"I hope that's a good thing, Grandma." He asks, taking a bite from a biscuit.

"Did I say you could have a biscuit?" She asks him.

"I live here too, Grandma." He laughs.

"Really, you spend more time at Damion's than you do here when you're not at university." Sarah points out.

"He's my best friend." Alarte states.

"He's you're only friend." Sarah returns.

"Grandma!" Alarte groans, abruptly leaving the room.

"Al and Damion have been inseparable since Nursery school." She explains. "I wish they weren't so reliant on each other. At least he has you now. Someone his age to play with." Sarah pats his knee.

"I'll go find him. I don't know what time we're meeting Abe." Draco tells the old woman. "It was nice seeing you again, Sarah."

"You too, Draco. Don't be a stranger." She tells him as he leaves.

He finds Alarte in his bedroom, opposite the staircase, lying on his bed with the door wide open.

"She's insufferable sometime." He sighs.

"She's your Grandmother and she won't always be here. I never got to meet either of mine." He tells Alarte.

"Whatever, she's never dying." He jokes with a chuckle as he climbs off his bed. "I told Abe to meet us at half past so we should probably leave now if we want to get there in time." He explains.

Draco glances at his watch. "I can disapparate us into town if you want to."

"Really? You're allowed to do that with someone non-magical?" He asks.