Cemetery Drive | A Draco Malfoy Fanfiction | Sequel to Bulletproof Heart

Chapter 11

I was so getting my best friend back for the shit she pulled on my birthday. I mean, how dare she spend that much money on me?!
I'd gone full out. A surprise party had been arranged at the Burrow for when Elisa returned home from work. I was lucky I wasn't working today, I'd needed this whole day to get everything ready. Everything was planned out so that Ron would stay at their house before bringing her here under the guise that they were picking up the twins from Molly and Arthur. I couldn't wait. There were presents and mountains and mountains of presents, banners and an enormous cake. Bloody Elisa. She wasn't getting away with this one.
We were all sat in the dark, waiting for Ron to enter with Elisa. I had invited Theodore, many of Elisa friends, the parts of her French family that would speak to her, all of the Weasleys that could make it, even Lolita. She sat with Draco, Dorian and I now, still extremely grateful that I had thought to invite her. Edward, Madeleine, Tyler and Theodore were all able to be there as they weren't going back for their last year at Hogwarts tomorrow and Theodore had turned up with someone I was not at all expecting - Ella Murphy. Turns out, they had been dating since mine and Draco's wedding. Joshua was sat with Theodore, Ella and Madeleine, on Edward's lap and the two of them seemed very happy. Elisa's son had clung to my younger brother, the two of them forming an inseparable bond. I wasn't sure what Joshua was going to do when Edward went to Hogwarts tomorrow.
Everyone fell silent when we heard the key turn in the lock. As Ron flicked the lights on, we all shouted many variations of happy birthday at Elisa and to be honest and first she looked terrified. She calmed down once she realised what the hell was going on and she began to smile broadly when Juliet and Joshua ran over to her.
It didn't take long before Elisa had come over to rip me a new one, the twins having since disappeared. I grinned.
"You slippery minx!" joked my best friend as I hugged her.
"What? You thought you could get away with spending all that money on me and then not have some repercussions? As if."
Elisa squeezed me tighter into her side as she thanked me. Just then, Fleur tentatively came towards us and smiled at Elisa.
"Eliza, I wanted to give you somezing," she said, her eyes flickering nervously to me now and then.
In the French girl's hand was a photograph, a polaroid taken a few years ago.
"Zis was taken on your sixteenth birzday when... well, just look at eet."
Elisa flipped the photo over in her hands and gasped. Evangeline and Dove sat with their arms around their sister, broad grins on all of their faces.
"Fleur, I... merci beaucoup, cela signifie beaucoup."
Fleur smiled and hugged Elisa before floating airily back to her family. After showing me the photograph, Elisa called Joshua, Juliet and Theodore over to her.
"This was Auntie Evangeline and this was Auntie Dove," Elisa explained to her children, letting them old the picture as Theodore stared sadly at it from over their shoulders.
Ron was watching from the other side of the room and I smiled at him when he caught my eye, returning the gesture sorrowfully. He could still hear what Elisa was saying to their children.
"I wish they could have seen me get married," mused my best friend and my eyes snapped back to Ron's.
We nodded softly at each other, confusing Draco to no end but we had a plan, we were going to ensure Elisa felt she had her sisters there in the best way we could.

-

I couldn't believe that my siblings were already going into their last year of Hogwarts. So much had happened over these past few years and the fact they could continue their school life as normal was extremely reassuring to me. And you know what else? Today was Dorian's first birthday. That was even more unbelievable to me. The tiny little thing that Draco and I had created together nearly two years ago was turning one, how did that happen?
We were stood on the platform, Draco, Dorian and I, as Madeleine, Edward, Tyler, Theodore and Ella boarded the train. Elisa and Ron were stood beside us, the twins sat playing with Dorian at our feet. My son was walking now, his movement still a bit wobbly but here was getting there and had also finally added the word 'dada' to his vocabulary, much to Draco's relief. As the Hogwarts Express billowed out white smoke, Dorian pointed to it and babbled, Juliet and Joshua encouraging his incoherent ramblings. Joshua was waving furiously to Edward as the train pulled out of the station and he buried himself in Elisa's legs when he could no longer see the train. He was really going to struggle not seeing my brother for months at a time.

Dorian was looking wide eyed around the room he was sat in. Draco and I had decided we were going to have a photoshoot with Dorian which would consist of a variety of shots where Dorian was holding up letters spelling out his age. He was being extremely well behaved so far, he hadn't started to cry or complain and he was listening to the photographer. We had chosen a magical photographer so that we could have the photographs move. It was surprisingly all Draco's idea.
It hadn't actually taken very long to get all of the pictures taken and the photographer had printed them there and then, framing them too. I now stared at the frame in my hands and smiled. Dorian looked so adorable giggling and smiling in all three of the photos, yet pulling different faces and in different poses - I loved it.
When we got home, Elisa, Ron and Tiberius were there, setting up for the little get together we were holding for Dorian. The twins were also trying to help as best they could by stringing up a banner, however due to their height it was only about two feet off of the ground, I wasn't complaining. Greeting everybody, I took Dorian out of his pushchair and put him on the floor, allow him to stumble over to Juliet and Joshua as I pulled my wand out to hang the frame. I hung it on the wall beside the television and smiled at it, grinning wider when I heard Elisa playfully teasing Draco about it being his idea. A knock sounded at the door and I pulled it open to let Alex, Lyla, Nev, Charlie and Axel in, along with the triplets who ran over to Juliet, Joshua and Dorian. I smiled. Today was going to be unforgettable.