Her Protector (Draco Malfoy)

Chapter Eight

Even though Draco had seemingly chose the good side, and me, I didn't stop seeing Harry. There was something more I was doing with my friend that no one else knew. It wasn't until the end of fifth year, when Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Luna Lovegood, and Neville Longbottom returned from the Department of Mysteries that our goal was achieved: Harry and Ginny were finally together.

I still remember telling Draco that Harry and I had broken up.

"Hey," I greet him, stepping into his dorm.

He looks up in surprise, "Why aren't you on the train?" He furrows his eyebrows, "How'd you get in here?"

"I'm going with you to McGonagall's house," I inform him, ignoring his second question. "I want to make sure you'll be okay."

"Potter won't like that," Draco points out sullenly.

I grin, "Good thing he's not my boyfriend anymore."

"What?" He asks, looking up so fast I'm worried he hurt his neck somehow.

I laugh, "We haven't truly been dating since December. He wanted Ginny, knowing that we wouldn't work as a couple, so I helped him get her."

"Why wouldn't you work as a couple?"

I shrug, frowning a bit, "It's a little difficult to date someone when you're in love with someone else."

He freezes, looking at me intently as if expecting me to say that I'm kidding, "That's not funny."

"Good thing I'm not kidding."

"Salazar, Elaira," he says softly, walking towards me. He stops just shy of two feet from me. "You want me?"

"I do."

I cross the two steps in-between us, putting my hands on his cheeks to pull him down to kiss me. His kiss burns through me as it always does, but this kiss may be the sweetest of all. Finally. I don't know what the future will hold, but as long as I have him, I don't care what happens.

Twenty-one years after that moment, bringing me to present-times, Draco and I are still together. We'd gotten married one year after the War, knowing it was pointless to wait. We'd loved each other for so long there just wasn't any point in waiting. We were ready to be married, and so we got married.

Our last two years of schooling was not easy, but we got through it, and we never once broke up. He had always saved me. For five years, he saved me. It was only fair I saved him for the last two of our school years.

And now, we co-save each other. Right now, though, we're doing an awful job of it considering we're both messes.

"Stop," Scorpius Williams complains, looking embarrassed. "You two are so embarrassing."

"I'm just going to miss you so much," I sniff, hugging my son tightly to me.

"Mum, you're literally one of my professors," he deadpans.

"But the train ride will be so long without you," I complain, hugging him even tighter.

Draco wraps his arms around both of us, "I don't know how I'll get through it," he utters dramatically.

"Dad, you're the Potions professor, what are you two talking about?" Scorpius groans. "Merlin, you two are so clingy."

I gasp, "Me? Clingy? I'm sorry that I love my son."

"Mum!" Nymphadora Williams calls excitedly.

"Nymphie!" I perk up, pushing my son into his father to open my arms to Draco and I's thirteen-year-old daughter. "How was your stay with the Potters?"

"Good," she replies, hugging me even tighter than I'm hugging her. "I'm just glad that you and Dad are going to be with us the whole year now!"

I share a look with Draco, both of us grinning, "Wait until you see my lesson plans, sweetheart, you won't be singing the same tune."

"And this is why I'm so annoyed," Scorpius moans.

"Still," Nymphadora insists, "If Scorp and I ever need anything, you two will always be there. I can finally get my hugs now!"

So, maybe Draco and I coddled our daughter a little too much her entire life. When she'd gone to Hogwarts for her first year, she'd been a wreck, considering I no longer sung her to sleep or cuddled her whenever she needed me. And she didn't have her father's tea, her father's hugs, or her little brother.

"Come on, Scorp, you know you secretly like the idea of your mother and I being there," Draco goads him into admitting it.

Scorpius finally relents, smiling a bit, "I guess I will be glad to have Mum's hugs and advice."

"What about me?" Draco asks, offended.

I snicker, pulling Scorpius back into my arms. He doesn't struggle, instead he makes a show of hugging me tightly.

"Don't worry, Dad, I love your hugs," Nymphadora rushes to say, flinging herself into his arms. "Mum gives the best advice, though."

"Salazar, both of my children are turning on me," Draco dramatically cries. "Wait until your classes start, then you'll be wanting me. I always was the smarter one."

I gasp, "What? That's not true at all!" The train whistles, and I glare at him playfully, "We'll continue this on the train, Williams." He smiles as he always does at his last name. "I love you both very much," I tell my kids, kissing them both on the cheek before ushering them onto the train.

Draco follows me, and we find a compartment in the professor's area, sitting together peacefully. He puts his arm around me, and I lean into him as I always do.

"Thanks again for letting me take your last name, love," he croons into my ear.

"Well, after all the times you saved me, giving you my last name was the least I could do," I tease, pecking his lips.

"What house do you think Scorp'll be in?"

"Oh, Slytherin for sure," I say easily. "He's just like you."

"How did Nymphie get into Hufflepuff?" Draco muses.

I laugh, "And you say you're the smart one. We coddled her. Of course, she's in Hufflepuff. She's kind, loving, and so loyal."

"Just like you," he tells me with a broad smile.

"I love you," I tell him, loving the way his eyes light up.

"And I love you."

THE END.