The Marriage Decree

Chapter 86: Wait, Is This Magical‽

"I hate snow," Draco complains for the twentieth time that day, pulling his scarf further up his face to protect his nose from the cold.

Hermione laughs, pulling him closer to her side. "I know, darling." She kisses his scarf covered cheek.

Draco scoffs. "Don't pity me." He frowns with a slight blush.

"I'm not, I feel just as cold as you do, I'm just not whining about it." She smiles before a shop window catches her eye. "Lauren and Craig would love that kitchen set. I don't think they have one at my parents'." She comments, dragging Draco into the Woolworths shop.

"Are we done now?" He asks, rubbing his gloved hands together in a useless attempt to generate heat whilst Hermione pays for the kitchen set.

"We just need to buy my Grandma Emily something, and then we can get Narcissa something in Diagon Alley." She says, discreetly shrinking the toy and placing it in her bag.

"Why are we getting my Mother a Christmas gift?" Draco asks, quickly grabbing Hermione's strangely warm hands in his as they leave the shop to find the sky a lot darker than when they went in.

"Because she invited us over for Christmas Eve dinner." She reminds him. "We're not going to show up empty-handed." She adds.

"I didn't think we were going to show up at all." He mutters, watching the snow softly start to flutter from the skies once again, settling atop the sludge of the previous night's snowfall.

"I know what she did is unforgivable, but we are the only family she has and nobody should be alone around Christmas," Hermione says.

"You're too kind for your own good," Draco tells her with a gentle squeeze of the hand.

Hermione smiles. "We'll also just make sure she doesn't go into the kitchen and Mitty will ensure everything is safe to eat and drink." She adds, making Draco laugh.

"Next year we should just invite her over to our house for dinner." He suggests.

"We're not poisoning your mother," Hermione says sternly, and Draco reminds silent. "It'll only be a quick visit anyway. We need to be at David's for seven o'clock, and the invitation asked us to arrive at the Manor for two o'clock." She reminds him.

Draco nods. "Blaise said he might be late since Luna gets back on the morning."

"How are they doing? I tried asking Blaise last week, but he changed the topic." Hermione asks as they enter a shopping centre with heating blasting them in the face as they walk through the doors.

"He doesn't want to admit that he's struggling with Luna going away so often and for so long. She's promised that this one is the last one until their baby is at least six months old." Draco explains.

"That time together as a family might help them figure things out." She says, leading Draco towards the escalators.

"No," Draco stops a few feet away from the moving stairs. "You know how I feel about them." He adds at a whisper as a woman pushes past, staring suspiciously at them.

Hermione shakes her head amusedly at his unfounded fear. "I'll meet you in Gordon's record shop then." She tells him, stepping back onto the escalator and watching with a smile as he walks over to the stairs, avoiding everyone else who is walking to the escalator.

Draco climbs the stairs up to the first floor where Gordon's record shop is situated. As he approaches, he notices balloons, streamers and banners decorating the shop window, advertising someone's birthday.

"Happy Birthday, Gordon." He wishes the man as he enters the shop, walking over to the till whilst Hermione chooses a record for her Grandma Emily.