A/N: Hey everyone! Hope you guys liked the last chapter. It was supposed to be longer, and include the revelation of one more mystery, but as I had my exam, I wasn't able to write much. However, it will be included in this chapter. Read the A/N at the end to find out when the next chapter will be out. On with the chapter!
"Will you be my date, Granger?" Draco asked her as he looked up from the letter his mother had given to them.
"W-what?" Hermione blinked at him. He had to be joking. "Y-you can't be serious."
Two hours earlier:
"Bloody hell." Draco groaned as he woke up. "Give me the potion, Granger!"
"Merlin, stop yelling, Draco." Hermione, who had been standing next to his bed for the past five minutes, told him.
"Granger?" His eyes widened. "What the bloody hell are you doing in my room? And this early in the morning?"
"I didn't know ten o'clock in the morning was so early, Draco." She rolled her eyes. "And as for why I am here, I didn't find any sobering potion last night, so I got up early today to brew one, and I brought it here."
"I would have said thank you but I am not in the mood to do so." He said, rubbing his face with his hands. "Give me the potion and then I will sleep for at least an hour more. Salazar, I am so damn tired right now."
"Yeah well that happens when you work till midnight. And then go and get yourself drunk."
"Granger....." Draco sighed.
Before she could say something, she heard footsteps outside the door. "We will talk about this later." And a moment later, the littlest Malfoy entered her father's room.
"Dad!" Athy shouted and ran towards him. "Missed you, Dad!" She grinned as he picked her up in his arms.
Despite the fact that he was happy to see her, he couldn't help but flinch when she shouted. His head was already hurting so much because of getting hungover.
And Hermione, that evil witch was smirking while standing in front of him. She wasn't even giving him the potion, nor was telling Athy not to shout.
He wondered what wrong thing he did to have Hermione as his best friend.
And people thought he had a crush on her. They were really delusional.
"Good morning, my princess." Draco smiled at his daughter and kissed her forehead. "You have no idea how much I missed you, my love. And I am so sorry I came back late yesterday."
Even though Athy didn't completely understand what he had said, she patted his cheek as if to say, "It's okay."
"Now princess, have you taken a bath yet?"
She shook her head. "Don't wanna bath."
"Athy....." Draco groaned. But it wasn't anything new, she protested against taking a bath every single day. "You know that you have to take a bath, love."
"Noooo!" She squirmed in his embrace. "It's yucky."
Draco blinked at her, and then looked at Hermione. "How is taking a bath yucky?"
"Don't ask me." She held up her hands, and finally gave him the potion. "She takes after you in that area. Narcissa told me you didn't like taking a bath as a kid either."
"And pray tell me, why were you discussing my habits as a kid with my dear mother?" He asked, after drinking the potion, and instantly felt a lot better.
"Oh you know, nothing special." Hermione waved her hand at him. "We were just talking, and then suddenly we started conversing about you. And you know how much Narcissa loves telling me about your stories."
"Seems like I will have to have a chat with her." He muttered. "And you do know that Astoria was pretty stubborn as well? You can't blame Athy being stubborn on me alone."
"Astoria was stubborn, yes, but you were awful, Draco." Hermione sighed. "I feel bad for your parents, honestly. How much they had to struggle just to make you take a simple bath."
"Me? Stubborn? What are you talking about, Granger? I was the easiest kid, ever." He smirked at her. "And besides, I think you are forgetting that I inherited my stubbornness from my very stubborn parents as well. So you can go and blame them."
"So you do admit that you're stubborn, right?" Hermione smirked at him.
Draco glared at her. His best friend should have been a Slytherin.
Shaking his head, he looked down at his daughter, who was looking back and forth between him and Hermione, with wide eyes, and her arms crossed in front of her.
It was at times like this, when Draco admitted he really had been pretty dramatic and an attention seeker as a kid. Athy didn't like it when people ignored her and talked about something else when she was right there in front of him.
"Let's make a deal, shall we?" Draco asked his daughter. "You take a bath, and then I will watch one of the carytooni movies with you?"
It was honestly a good deal, because Draco really hated watching those movies. According to him, they messed up the minds of children and were a reason for their stubbornness and mood swings.
Just yesterday Athy had demanded that she wanted to be Cindrella.
Draco, who hadn't watched that movie with them, asked Hermione, "What is it? An illness or something?"
"Okay!" Athy grinned and after quickly hugging her father, corrected him, "Cartoon, dad, cartoon."
Since he didn't want to admit that he was wrong, Draco instead asked Hermione, "Do you mind bathing her today? I am really tired and sleepy right now, Granger."
Hermione, who was in a mood to annoy him, bent down and whispered really loudly to Athy, "Hey Athy, you do know that your father is very ticklish, right?"
Draco looked at the two witches in front of him in horror as his daughter started tickling him. "You two are evil- Athy stop! I-I swear....."
Soon, Hermione also started tickling him, and Draco wished he had his wand near him at that moment. "Y-you shouldn't p-poke a dragon, let a-alone a sleeping one....." He managed to get out between his laughter.
----------
As a result of Hermione's evilness, Draco had to get up from bed, but she took pity on him and told him to lie down on the couch in the living room, and have a nap by the time she gave Athy a bath and prepared breakfast.
An hour later, she woke him up, telling him that breakfast was ready. But before she could leave, he grabbed her hand and pulled her down to sit next to him.
"Listen," Draco said, "Did I say anything weird or embarrassing to you last night when I came back home drunk?"
"You are an adorable beaver. But shh! Don't tell anyone I said that."
"Uh well you called me a beaver last night." She admitted.
"Well nothing new in that. I have been calling you a beaver since ages-"
"An adorable beaver." She cut him off. "You called me an adorable beaver last night. And then told me not to tell anyone else that."
"Damn it." He facepalmed himself. "Just ignore whatever I said, Granger. I was drunk and out of my mind after all."
"So you don't think I am adorable then?" She teased him.
"No. I mean yes." He panicked. "I mean, you are- well you know what I mean-"
"Oh no, I don't. Enlighten me, Draco, please."
"Fishing for compliments, are we?" He raised an eyebrow at her.
"Not at all, Draco." She smirked at him. "I am just asking you to explain what you meant last night."
"I meant what I said, and I know you aren't stupid enough to ask me to explain it further." He scowled at her. "Anyways, did I ask you anything stupid?"
"Tell me one thing, Granger, were you ever in love with Potter?"
She thought against mentioning it. "No."
"Anything awkward?"
"I am your best friend too, ain't I, Granger? Then why are you in love with me?"
"Uh no, you didn't." Hermione shook her head. There was no way she was going to tell him that, it will only increase her awkwardness.
"Well then..... Did I reveal any embarrassing fact about me?"
"I used to have a crush on you when we were younger."
"You might have admitted something." She told him. "Something very embarrassing which you probably wouldn't have told me otherwise."
"What was it?"
"You might have admitted that you had a crush on a certain Gryffindor when we were younger."
"Damn it." He was so angry at himself right now. "Don't tell me I told you that I had a crush on McGonagall."
"You had a crush on McGonagall?" Hermione was not expecting this. "Wait until I tell Narcissa-"
"No!" He yelled. "I did not have a crush on that old hag. She literally sent me to the Forest in first year, remember?"
"You deserved it." She smiled at him. "Anyways, you told me that you had a crush on a certain brunette Gryffindor, who is a muggle born as well."
"Oh Salazar no." Draco groaned. "I can guess whose name I said. Don't flatter yourself, Granger, I was drunk and had no idea what I was speaking."
"Drunken words are sober thoughts, remember?" Hermione asked. "Wonder if I should mention this to Blaise, or perhaps Narcissa-"
"You do that, and I'll kill you." He glared at her. "Okay last question, did I say anything to make you speechless? But then again, we all know I always make you speechless."
"The person who will get to be with you, will be so damn lucky. But I hope that when that happens, you won't forget about me. I am your best friend, remember?"
She told him what he had said. After all, it's not like he was serious that time, right? He was drunk, and tired. And had no idea about what he was speaking.
"I don't know how that made you speechless, Granger." He simply looked at her as he said this. "It is the truth after all. I mean, firstly, you won't be able to forget a handsome dashing and kind man like me. And secondly, even if you do, I won't let you. I won't let you forget me, Hermione. Never."
As he said this, his mind immediately thought of their eighth year memories. She had promised that time that she would never leave him. But still, she did.
Who's to say she wouldn't do it again? That she wouldn't break her promise and leave him again if he told her what he had done?
Not like he was planning to confess that to her anytime soon, of course.
His mother would kill him if she got to know what he had done. And he had no intention of facing her wrath.
Due to his inner turmoil, Draco may have not noticed that he had called her 'Hermione', but the witch sitting next to him did.
He only ever called her Hermione when he was pretty serious about something, or was feeling vulnerable. She couldn't decide what it was this time. Or perhaps it was both.
"Granger?" She was brought back from her thoughts when he placed her hand in his. "I just..... I just wanted to thank you."
"Thank me? For what?"
"Just for being there." He wasn't looking at her when he said this. "I haven't been the easiest person to be around lately, ever since we went to Hogwarts back in June in fact, and I know that. I started coming home back late, and on top of that, I got drunk as well. I was literally a burden to you these past three months."
"Draco no-"
"Don't you dare try to deny this, Granger." He told her sternly. "We both know it's the truth. I have failed you as a best friend, and I have failed as a father to my daughter, and I couldn't be more ashamed of myself. And I-I don't know how to get better. This case is becoming too much, and is bringing a lot of awful and painful memories back. I don't know when we will be able to solve it, but I am afraid if it takes us too long, I'll lose myself."
Hermione sighed. This case had affected Draco the most. She knew he had to give his memories to the Ministry to help identify the Death Eaters, and more often than not, he had to view those memories with the other Aurors.
Memories of Voldemort arriving at his house. Memories of him getting tortured because his father failed. Memories of his mother getting tortured by Bellatrix because he refused to take the mark. Memories of him visiting Azkaban with Voldemort. Memories of him lowering his wand, and Dumbledore getting killed in front of his own eyes.
Memories due to which Draco had had a few panic attacks these past months. And memories he could never escape, no matter how hard he tried.
She moved until her shoulder touched his, and Hermione laid her head on his shoulder, feeling him resting his own on hers after a moment.
"Promise me something, Granger?" He asked, as she wrapped her arms around his left hand, placing one of them directly above his faded dark mark.
"Anything."
"Promise me that you will help me get better." He whispered. "Promise me that you will turn me around every time I go the wrong way. Promise me that you will never leave me."
"Draco, you do realise that you need to talk to a therapist-"
"I know, I know." He interjected. "But I can't. I-I can't talk to a stranger, who will obviously judge me. And perhaps they would never understand w-why I am acting like this. I can't talk to anyone else about whatever is haunting me other than you, Granger."
His next words, though she knew he didn't mean in that way, made her heart clench.
"It's always been you, Granger, it's always been you. If it's not you, it's not anyone." Draco whispered.
"I will always be here." She told him. "I am not going here. If you want to talk, I am here."
"I know, and I will talk." He squeezed her hand. "But just not now. Someday. And-wait, you haven't promised me those things yet."
"I promise."
"Good." Draco chuckled. "It became so serious, didn't it? Well, I know you have promised me, but I will still threaten you. I am warning you, Granger, don't you dare leave me again. Otherwise, I will come wherever you have gone, and kill you myself. And Mother wouldn't be happy with you either."
She laughed as they settled into a comfortable silence, which was only broken by Athy, who was refusing to eat peas, and instead, was demanding chocolate.
As Draco shook his head and got up to try and convince his daughter to eat her breakfast, Hermione couldn't help but glance towards the stairs.
The stairs which led to her room.
And her room, where on top of her desk, lay a job contract.
A permanent job contract from the Australian Ministry, which was awaiting her response.
----------
One hour later.....
Draco jumped as he saw a peacock patronus appear in front of him. "Really Mother? Another patronus?"
"I'll be arriving in five minutes, Draco, so I better not find you doing any funny business. Consider this as my warning." The patronus said and vanished.
He rolled his eyes. His mother had been acting like this ever since she had come into his house when he had fallen on top of Hermione.
Narcissa really had a great timing.
And an evil and nosey mind.
Five minutes later, his mother entered through the Floo and directly went to Athy's room after greeting Hermione.
"Sometimes I feel like I have an Invisibility cloak over me, you know." Draco told Hermione. "She didn't even greet me. And I am her own son, and she is literally in my house right now."
"Stop complaining, Draco." Narcissa shouted from her granddaughter's room. "It doesn't suit you."
He rolled his eyes and look at the invitation of the opening ceremony of Mini Hogwarts that his mother had given him. It was accompanied with a letter that McGonagall had addressed to both of them.
"Will you be my date, Granger?" Draco asked her as he looked up from the letter his mother had given them.
"W-what?" Hermione blinked at him. He had to be joking. "Y-you can't be serious."
"Well I am pretty serious." Draco told her. "We are required to come with a date to the party which will be held afterwards, so I am asking you if you will be my date. See it is a mutually beneficial decision."
Hermione sighed and agreed. She was pretty sure Narcissa was behind this idea.
"Blame my mother if Rita writes an article about us in the Daily Prophet." Draco told her. "Narcissa Malfoy loves poking her nose into my business."
----------
"Good evening, Theo." Luna greeted him as he stepped inside the cafe. "Oh and you too, Draco, I see there aren't many wrackspurts around your head today."
"Wrack-what? The hell are you talking about, Lovegood?" Theo asked her.
Before Luna could explain it, Draco held up his hand. "No need, Looney." Then he turned towards his best friend and said, "I swear if you ask her to explain any of her non existing creatures, you'll lose your mind."
Luna merely smiled at him. "They are not non existing creatures, Draco. If you actually try to read the Quibbler instead of whatever nonsense you read, then you will know-"
"How dare you speak like that to me-"
"I am merely stating the facts." The blond witch shrugged. "Although Hermione doesn't believe they exist either. And considering you two are in love, you will agree with her, since you don't want to anger her and then face her wrath."
Theo laughed as Draco spluttered at that. "Salazar, you are the best, Lovegood." He high fived the witch. "Not many are able to make the great Draco Malfoy speechless, and you have accomplished that feat."
Narrowing his eyes at the other two people, Draco asked Luna, "What are you even doing here? Do you simply enjoy standing near the door of every cafe, or you were particularly waiting for us."
"I actually own this cafe, Draco."
"Right." He laughed. "Good joke. Tell me another one. If you own this cafe, why is there no news about it in the Daily Prophet then?"
"Oh that's because Rita doesn't like me much-"
"She doesn't like Granger too, but that doesn't stop her from writing about her." Draco interjected.
"I mean, of course you will think and talk about Hermione in every sentence." Theo commented.
"Wonder how Hermione manages to talk with you." Luna said. "You interrupt a person so many times, Draco. Anyways, like I was saying, Rita doesn't like me much, and she knows that I can write stuff about her in the Quibbler, so she tries to stay away from me, and doesn't poke her nose into my business."
"But if you are the owner, then why were you standing by the door? Maybe it's because you were waiting for us. But then again, I don't believe in Divination." Draco told her as they walked towards a table.
"Well maybe because I wanted to?" Luna suggested. "Not everything revolves around you, Draco."
"Or maybe because you are stupid. And I'll let you know how famous and popular I am." Draco waved his hand at her.
Luna sighed and turned towards Theo. "The wrackspurts are coming back, I guess, as he is away from Hermione. They like messing up with his already messed up brain."
"I love you, Lovegood, honestly." Theo chuckled. "Why don't you hang out with us, huh? I am telling you, if you don't come with us the next time, I'll myself come to your house and drag you to the pub, or wherever we would be. Maybe you will finally be able to convince Draco to confess his feelings to Hermione."
Theo wondered how easily he had been able to say those three special words to her right now, even if they were meant as a joke. A year ago, it would have been so painful for him to say them.
He was healing, and he was grateful because of it.
"Thank you, Theo, but I don't like you," Luna smiled at him, "Yet. You will have to work hard if you want to make me like you."
With that, she sat down on the chair in front of Draco, leaving a jaw dropped Theo standing there. "You are something else, Lovegood, I swear." He muttered and sat down.
"I don't recall asking you to sit here with us, Looney." Draco told her.
"Well I recall telling you that I am the owner and considering we are friends-"
"Hold on, since when did we became friends-"
"I am allowed to sit here." Luna finished. "And I can suggest you the best coffee and snacks after all."
They sat in silence after they had ordered their food. As Theo took a sip of his coffee, Luna asked him, "So tell me Theo, which girl broke your heart?"
Theo choked on his coffee.
"What the hell, Looney?" Draco asked as he patted Theo's back, and glared at the witch in front of him.
He had just gotten Theo back, and he would be damned if he let Theo enter into the cycle of depression once again.
"W-what are you talking about, Lovegood?" Theo asked her.
"Oh no need to act like that, Theo." Luna shrugged. "There are a few creatures around your head, which only revolve around a person whose heart has been broken by someone. If they glow, then that means your heart has been broken by a girl, and if not, then it means a boy has broken your heart. And in your case, they are glowing."
"What do you even call these non existing creatures- you know what, I don't even want to know." Draco shook his head. "It's not like I believe your stories, anyway."
"Suit yourself." Luna told him. "So Theo, who broke your heart?"
"I suddenly don't like you anymore, Lovegood." Theo muttered. "Way to be blunt, seriously. And why should I tell you whatever happened to me, huh?"
"You don't have to if you don't want to. But talking helps, you know-"
"It happened three years ago and I have very well gotten over it, okay?" Theo nearly shouted at her. Sensing that he might lose his temper soon, Draco non verbally casted Muffliato around them. "It has been years since that happened, and I don't think about it anymore."
"But you haven't moved on from that, have you?" She asked him. "You say you have gotten over it, but I can still see the pain you experienced in your eyes right now when I asked you that question."
"I am on my way of healing, Lovegood, and I don't want your advice nor your help-"
"You may not want it, but it seems like you certainly need it." She said. "You won't heal completely unless you finally allow yourself to think about it, and talk to someone you trust. You may find it hard to talk about in the starting, but believe me, with the passage of time, it gets better."
When neither of them said anything, Luna added, "It doesn't have to be me. It can be Draco, though I suppose he already knows what had happened. But I don't think he wouldn't mind helping you, would you, Draco?" When the said person shook his head, Luna smiled, "See, you aren't alone Theo. There are people who genuinely care about you. Just because one person broke your heart, doesn't mean all will."
"H-how do you..... I mean, how do you know it will help, if you don't mind me asking?" Theo asked her.
"Oh I have done this many times before, specially after the war ended." She stated. "It was becoming too much for me, whatever happened in the war, specially in the Manor, and talking about it, helped me."
"Looney- I mean, Lovegood," Draco gulped, "I never apologised to you properly for what happened to you in my house. I-I know I should have but I couldn't. I didn't want to revisit those memories."
"Oh I never held whatever happened against you, Draco." Luna smiled at him. "You tried helping me and the others whenever it was possible, after all. Don't pretend that you didn't heal my wounds, and cast a glamour charm on me, so it looked as if the bruises were still there, so the Death Eaters wouldn't know that you helped me. And don't pretend as if we couldn't hear your screams when you were tortured after you didn't torture the people who were captured."
She placed his hand on hers, and squeezed it, "I am not the only one who suffered there, Draco, you did too."
Draco nodded and quickly looked away so she wouldn't notice that his eyes were glistening with tears. He may have never liked her, and made fun of her, but it meant so much to him to know that she didn't blame him for whatever had happened. That she had forgiven him.
Luna may seem blunt and weird to many people, but Draco knew that underneath all that quirkiness, was a sweet, innocent girl who didn't hold a grudge against anyone.
"Lovegood..... I-I guess talking may help me. It's what my Healer told me as well, the one who helped me to come out of depression when I was in New York." Theo confessed. "And you know what they say, sooner rather than later. I might as well talk about it now."
"You know....." Draco commented. "I have always wondered who exactly were these 'they' people. Even the Brightest Witch of Her Age doesn't have an answer to that."
Theo let out a light chuckle and started talking about what had happened three years ago.
Theo had met Samantha Jones at an opening ceremony of a bookshop. He had disliked her in the starting, and that dislikeness was mutual, as he had been told later. She was too rude and narrow minded according to him. But due to his bad luck, he had been partnered with her for an interview he was supposed to conduct the next day.
That interview had not gone well, and saying that would be an understatement.
The two of them had argued so much, and couldn't frame even one good question because of that. As a result, one of them would interrupt the other person when they would try to ask questions to the interviewee, because they hadn't reached a conclusion. Soon they had forgotten all about the person sitting in front of them, and instead started arguing with each other.
They didn't even notice the interviewee shaking his head and exiting the cafe the interview was supposed to be held at. It was only when the waitress had come to their table asking for the bill, that they noticed that they had totally messed up. They were still arguing when they left the cafe, and accused each other of trying to ruin their careers and reputations.
He was really glad when he got to know that he wouldn't have to meet her again, she was honestly a pain in the neck.
But as luck and fate would have it, the next week he was called by his senior, who partnered him with a witch, and told me not to mess up this time.
And that witch was none other than Samantha Jones.
Luckily, they both knew they had the risk of losing their jobs, so this time, instead of arguing, they met in a cafe to frame the questions. And that interview had gotten lots better than the previous one.
Their senior was happy, and so, he decided to pair them up for every interview they had to take. More often than not, Theo had to be the one to do the research and frame most of the questions, as Samantha had come to England for a job just two months ago.
A few weeks later, he had gotten to know that she was originally from England, but had shifted to France when she was around four, and had lived there until then.
Since they had to be partners for so many interviews, they finally decided to be friends. And after that, Theo was the first one to think about their relationship as more than friends.
He had no doubt that he liked her, and perhaps she liked him too, as a drunken confession. Sure, he had crushes before, and even really liked a few girls before, but this was the first time he had fallen for someone.
Two months later, he saw her on a date with someone. That made him act cold towards her because he was afraid of falling for her even more, and then getting his heart broken. Samantha eventually confronted him a week later, and they shouted at each other.
It was then that Theo confessed that he was in love with her. Samantha had looked shocked for a moment, and then she kissed him, whispering that she loved him repeatedly.
Turns out that the guy she was on a date with, was someone she knew back in France, and had told him immediately after the date had ended, that she didn't see him as more than a friend.
She moved in with him six months later. Nobody had known about their relationship until then. Not even Draco, his best friend. Or Narcissa, who knew about each and everything that happened in the Wizarding World, according to Theo.
Draco had discovered about their relationship when he had come to his house unannounced through the Floo, and had seen them kissing each other while sitting on the couch, and Theo's shirt had been partially opened.
Draco had screamed when he saw that, and Theo had never been angrier than then at his best friend ever before. Trust Draco to be an interruption.
Theo had told him about his relationship then, and through him, Astoria, who was his girlfriend then, had gotten to know as well. They had gone on plenty of double dates in the Muggle World, as Theo wasn't yet comfortable with the Wizarding World to know about his personal business.
So he had to lie to Narcissa as well. But he knew that the older witch had a suspicion about him when he said he was still single.
A year and a half later, Theo had bought an engagement ring, and hid it in his wardrobe.
Two weeks later, and a week before Draco's marriage, he had proposed to her.
She had said, "No."
When he had recovered from the shock and the rejection, he had asked her why.
"Don't get me wrong, Theo," Samantha had told him, "I love you, I really do. But you are best friends with a Death Eater, and it just scares me. Who's to say you aren't one either-"
"I am not a Death Eater, Samantha." He had shouted. "I never was one."
"But your father was one, right? And Draco, his father was one too. And then he walked in his father's footsteps. Merlin Theo, he almost killed Dumbledore. Why is he not in Azkaban yet?"
"Don't you dare judge me because of my past or because of my father, Samantha." Theo had glared at her. "If you don't want to marry me, then just say so, no need to disrespect my best friend like that. And Draco was never a willing Death Eater. He was threatened. His family was threatened by Voldemort-"
"That doesn't explain why he was a bully in Hogwarts." Samantha had said. "I know all about your time during Hogwarts, I researched about it. And you do know his family was a big supporter of blood purity? And your family was too. And I hate the prejudice, Theo. I loved my time with you, but I can't see us together in the future. I can't stay with Death Eaters. Do you know how it will affect my reputation?"
"So it's about your reputation then." Theo had let out a humourless laugh. "Figures. You don't like prejudice, yet you are not saying yes because you're judging me and my friends because of what some books said. You know what, Samantha, I don't want to marry you. Thank Salazar you didn't say yes. I don't want to be with someone who can't respect my friends. I expect you to pack your bags by tomorrow and leave my house. I'll tell our senior not to partner us up anymore."
Though it had broken his heart, he felt like he had made the right decision. He didn't cry when she left. He didn't cry when he put their pictures in a box.
But he did cry when Draco came to his home on the day of his stag night, and had confronted him about Samantha.
Theo left England a day after Draco's wedding.
He had fallen in love for the first time, and she had left him just because of what his father had done, and because his best friend had chosen to take the Dark Mark, otherwise Voldemort would have killed his family.
He had gone into depression after that. And one of his colleagues at work in New York recommended him to a Healer.
A month later, Theo saw Samantha roaming around New York.
When she spotted him, she asked why he was here. He didn't tell her he was here because of the pain she had caused him.
Instead, he said that he was here on a business trip. She asked him if he thought about what she had said, about reconsidering having Draco as a best friend, let alone a friend.
Theo wanted to lash out at her, saying that the Draco she was insulting was the person who had been there for him when he had broken down. But considering they were in public, he didn't do it.
She gave him an ultimatum, if he wanted her back, he would have to break his friendship with Draco.
Theo had never stormed away faster ever before than then. And he blocked her number when he reached his hotel.
Luna and Draco stayed silent when Theo finished telling them what had happened. Finally the blond wizard broke the silence.
"You didn't tell me that she met you in New York, Theo. And you really chose not to break our friendship?" Draco asked him.
"What can I say, ferret?" Theo smirked at him. "Brothers for life, remember? Besides, how will I get to eat those delicious apple pies of Narcissa if I wasn't friends with you anymore."
Draco shook his head and laughed at his best friend.
"So did talking about it helped, Theo?" Luna asked him. "Was I right?"
"Yes, yes, Lovegood, you were right." Theo smiled at her. "It did help. And who knows? Maybe there is hope for me after all. Maybe I will find love with the right witch soon."
"Maybe, who knows?" Luna smiled back at him. "I am sure any witch would be lucky to be with you."
"If you two are done flirting, can we carry on?" Draco asked them. "I don't fancy being the third wheel."
Theo smacked his arm, and Draco glared at him. "If you don't want me to tell my mother to plan your wedding anytime soon, Theo, you better not hurt me anymore."
"Oh please, Draco." Theo chuckled. "If anything, Narcissa wants to plan your wedding."
"Oh I will love to help her." Luna said, a dreamy expression on her face. "I enjoy Narcissa's company so much."
A/N: That's it for this chapter. It was 5900+ words. Hope you guys liked it. So Theo's backstory has been revealed. What do you think of it? Random question: What is your favourite line of Draco Malfoy? Answer in the comments below. Vote, comment and please share my story. Reviews are always appreciated. Thank you!
Next chapter on 24/1/21(Sunday).
Until next time.