Drarry One-Shots

i ~ The Orchard

DISCLAIMER: While Voldemort did attempt to take Harry's life as a child, Lily and James weren't harmed. They lived on with their son until the Battle of Hogwarts where they eventually were killed in battle.

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My feet crunch over dry, fallen leaves and slim twigs as I lead onward through the rows of almost leave-less trees. The bright sun shines high in the sky, only relatively blinding me with the help of a surrounding fog and a few clouds. My fiancé, Draco, walks beside me, his hand interlocked with my own. I look over to him and smile lightly at his appearance.

The man wears dark blue jeans underneath a black double-breasted trench coat. A green scarf lies beneath the collar and falls down over his torso.

After he returns the gesture, I turn back to the path ahead of me to ensure that I don't walk into something. The ground before me and the twigs, leaves, and bristles that lie over it all remain flattened due to other people walking over them, creating a path.

A dull smell of apples lingers over the brisk air, their sour scent barely noticeable weeks after they've been picked. I inhale deeply, relishing in the sweet scent. The cool atmosphere chills my nose, almost making me regret breathing so deeply through it.

"Are we almost there?" Draco asks--not complaining, but instead curiously inquiring.

I squint at the sight in front of me. "I think so, yeah," I say, unsure due to the light fog that mists the orchard around us. "Looks like the end of the path is just up there."

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Draco nod with understanding. We walk on in a comfortable silence until eventually reaching the desired destination.

I look out at the familiar area surrounding us and feel nostalgia sweeping over me, bringing a reminiscent smile to come to my lips.

A large tree--taller and wider than all the others--sits in front of us. It holds about half of its usual stock of leaves, the rest fell softly to the ground beneath it.

My fiancé looks to me and smiles before approaching the tree. I do the same, laying out a large plaid blanket that was previously rolled up in my grasp. Sitting down on the soft cushion below the tree, Draco follows suit and sets down a wicker picnic basket that's stocked with the day's lunch.

"So you would come here with your parents?" Draco asks, taking out the basket's contents.

I smile fondly at the thought. "Yeah, every summer," I answer with a nod. "We'd all come to this orchard--me, Mom, and Dad. We'd pick apples and then have a picnic. They had pumpkins during the fall, too."

Draco smiles lightly beside me. "That sounds wonderful," he says softly.

"It was," I reply, looking out at the tall trees around us. "Anyways," I begin on a less-depressing note. "Shall we?"

I lean forward in my criss-cross sitting position towards the food. In front of me lies a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a small bag of chips, and a thermos of hot chocolate. I look to what Draco has and chuckle at his somehow pretentious picnic--a salad, unsalted pretzels, and water.

We start eating our entrées--the salad and sandwich--and keep up an idle bit of chatter, such as how pretty the orchard is in fall and when we think the first snow will be.

"How's your salad?" I ask in a semi-sarcastic tone after joking about his always-healthy eating habits.

Draco smiles. "It is absolutely wonderful," he replies in an exaggerated tone. "How is. . .that?" he asks, gesturing to my thermos of hot chocolate, apparently unsure of what's inside.

"My hot chocolate?"

He nods. "Yeah," Draco confirms. "The hot chocolate."

I take another sip of the steaming liquid. "Pretty good," I state. "We didn't have much milk left, though, so I had to use water for part of it."

The blonde raises an eyebrow. "What's the difference?"

I scoff. "Have you ever drank hot chocolate?" My voice drips with sarcasm as the question lingers in the air.

"No, I haven't."

My eyes widen considerably at the answer I wasn't expecting. "You haven't?!" I say seriously as if this is a matter of life or death.

Draco shakes his head casually. "No, why?"

Moving aside his salad, I scoot closer to him and hold out my thermos. "You have to try it," I demand. "Now."

The blonde rolls his eyes. "Alright, fine," he complies. "I don't see what the big deal is." Reaching out, he grasps the warm bottle and takes a sip. Handing it back to me, he says, "Yeah, it's pretty good."

Moving back to my spot, I take a large bite of my sandwich. "Damn right it is," I announce, prompting Draco to laugh at my melodrama.

We continue our lunch, once again slipping into a casual bit of chatter. After we eventually finish the meal, I stuff all of the wrappings into the empty basket.

"Mind if we just sit for a bit?" I ask before Draco has a chance to pack up the blanket.

The blonde in question sits down from his almost-standing position. "Of course," he agrees, leaning against the large tree trunk behind us. Draco lifts up his arm a bit and I lay against it, resting my head on his shoulder.

I look fondly out at the stomped-down path and frail-looking, leaf-lacking trees. Inhaling deeply, I fold my arms over my chest so as to conserve as much warmth as possible.

We lie there beneath the leaf-less treetops for a while, basking in comfortable silence and the other's presence. I look around at the beautiful surroundings and find myself missing my parents more than usual, two years after their passing.

A sad nostalgia confronts the happy memories in my mind, the two battling each other for control. I sigh and instead try to think of something positive: Draco and I's approaching marriage.

The blonde beside me is a planner--a good contrast to my own procrastinating and improvisational tendencies. However, seeing as we haven't been engaged for very long yet, little planning has actually taken place--only suggestions.

"Can we have a fall wedding?" I ask after a moment.

Draco stays silent for a moment, apparently thinking over the idea. "I think that would look beautiful," he eventually states.

"We could have a pumpkin spice cake," I suggest. "Or some other type of cake with pumpkin spice cupcakes."

I feel the blonde nod next to me. "Yeah," he says. "For flowers, we could have marigolds and camellias."

A smile creeps up my cold, flushed cheeks. "I'm going to be honest," I begin. "I only know, like, two types of flowers."

The taller man laughs and I feel his chest rise and fall quickly. "That's alright," he says, still chuckling. "We can look at pictures."

I nod, giddy to be planning a wedding with the man I love. My head turns to allow my eyes to land on his. Draco smiles down at me, prompting me to involuntarily smile back.

Leaning up, I lightly plant my chapped lips onto his soft, cold ones. We linger there for a moment before pulling away and cuddling back into our previous position with his arm around me.

"I love you," I remind him as I'm also onc.

Draco kisses the top of my head. "I love you, too."

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