"Where are we going Draco?" I asked for the hundredth time, stumbling slightly over what I assumed was a log beneath my feet.
Draco kept his hands over my eyes as he stopped me from falling, chuckling quietly as I brushed myself down blindly and started walking again. "You're so impatient," he muttered in amusement, pushing me onwards gently.
Draco had recovered entirely from the ordeal two weeks ago, and with a lot of care from both myself and Narcissa, he was almost back to normal. He still had his moments, when I thought he was slipping away from me and into the dark, guilty corners of his mind that even our love couldn't reach, but he always returned to me before he got too far. A testament of his love for me.
I waited for a few minutes more of silent walking, languishing in the warmth that Draco's closeness brought me, before asking once more. "For goodness sake Juliet," Draco sighed in exasperation. "We're here, ok?"
Draco pulled me to a stop, and I felt him press his lips to my temple. "Are you ready?" he whispered, his own excitement clear in his voice. I nodded energetically, and held my breath as slowly and torturously, Draco removed his hands from over my eyes.
It took my eyes a few moments to blink and readjust to the light, before I looked at the scene in front of me. With a gasp, my eyes widened and I found myself completely, utterly gobsmacked.
In front of us was a cottage, the traditional kind with white-washed walls and wooden beams beneath a thatched roof. A honeysuckle plant crept up an entire wall, the delicate white flowers filling the air with a sweet, fresh scent. The latticed windows were already open, teasing me enticingly to explore the world within the cottage. An old wooden door sat beneath a thatched porch, with a pretty white letterbox labelled 'Malfoy' just next to it. My heart caught in my chest as I scanned the clearly around the cottage, the trees of the forest swaying gently in the breeze, creating a calm ripple of noise that seemed to swirl in circles around us. Wild flowers grew in patches around the grass, and I realised that I had never seen a more perfect place in all the world.
Draco cleared his throat softly, as if he were nervous, before stepping around to the front of me. "I know how much you hated living in the house, and my parents thought it would be a good idea for both of us to get away. This used to belong to the groundskeeper a long time ago, but nobody lives here now..."
There was a twinkle in his blue eyes as he smiled and said, "well, except for us."
I stared at him in awe. This cottage, this beautiful, pure place, for us?
"Yes," he said, as if he could read my mind, "just you and me."
Could it really be true? Could it be possible? Draco and I, we could actually have a life together? I'd thought it to be a far-fetched dream, too perfect to ever happen in the cruel, dark world we lived in. But I could see there was not a hint of teasing in Draco's eyes.
I threw myself at him, wrapping my arms around his neck and laughing as he lifted me with ease and spun me through the air. The sunlight glittered in his golden hair, and our laughter filled the clearing for all of our non-existent neighbours to hear.
"Oh Draco," I exclaimed when he put me down, "it's so wonderful. Thank you, thank you so much."
He smirked in amusement. "You haven't even seen the inside yet, sweetheart."
I kissed him earnestly and then rest my forehead against his chin. "I know I'll love it."
Draco rolled his eyes but nonetheless looked pleased. Taking my hand, he began to tug me in the direction of the cottage. "Come and see," he breathed with the enthusiasm of a small child who had been promised chocolate on his face.
I followed him, in awe of the beauty around me as we approached. Pretty hanging baskets hung from either side of the porch, with sweet petunias already in full bloom. "It's a spell," Draco said proudly as he watched me admire them, "the plants will never die."
I found myself once again amazed by Draco Malfoy. How did he manage to think of such tiny little details that anybody else would have overlooked, and yet despite being small they managed to tie the entire place together. I kissed him softly on the cheek as he produced a silver key from his pocket - engraved with an entwined D and J just like the one to the treehouse - and pushed it into the lock, twisting it open and giving me a smile as the door clicked unlocked.
"Madam," he teased as he pushed the door open, flourishing his arms dramatically as I stepped into the warm doorway. Draco nodded encouragingly as I looked to him, and with a deep breath, I stepped inside.
The first room of the cottage was a small foyer, with a rack of golden coat pegs hanging on the walls and a shoe rack beneath it. I peeled off my thick duffle coat and hung it up as Draco shut the door behind us, unwinding his scarf and copying me as I stepped forward tentatively. There was an open doorway just in front, and as I stepped down the small stone step into the room, I gasped in delight.
The room was perfect. The walls had been covered and wallpapered in a beautiful green brocade, perfectly matching the colour of the evergreen trees outside. Dark leather armchairs with silver claw feet sat in two of the corners, a matching sofa with soft green blankets thrown over the top sat facing the grand roaring fire which heated the entire house and cast a warm glow across the rest of the room. A pretty ornate mirror sat on the wall above the fire, allowing me to see my flushed cheeks and red nose, courtesy of the cold. A magnificent bookcase could be found along the entirety of one wall, filled with books of every topic, from potioneering to brave heroes from centuries past. A narrow staircase ascended upwards in the corner, leading to the promise of further adventure just up the steps.
Yet it was none of this that was what made the room truly spectacular. It was the long, glass window that was actually a wall, covering an entire side of the room and exposing the breathtaking views beyond. A beautiful garden with a stream that weaves between the trees could be seen from the comfort of the chairs, a garden full of herbs and ingredients for making the sort of pleasant potions that I was unlikely to be asked to make by the Dark Lord but would still make in my own time if I got the chance. The garden was beautiful, with soft green grass that seemed to grow wilder as it got further away from the cottage. It was like we were in another world entirely to Malfoy Manor, which was indubitably close by; the cottage provided the perfect escape we both needed.
"It's wonderful Draco," I breathed as he came to rest his chin on the top of my head. "You really like it? This was my mother's idea - she thought you'd like to watch the sunrise."
I smiled sincerely at his reflection in the glass. "I adore it."
"Merry Christmas, my love."
I grinned as he buried his face in my hair. "Merry Christmas, Draco."
We stood still for a few minutes, admiring the view. I felt the Malfoy locket burn even hotter than usual with our entrance to our own home - perhaps it was because, for once, we both felt safe.
"Come on sweetheart, there's a lot more to see."
Draco and I spent the next couple of hours walking slowly around the cottage, which although was quite small, I spent every moment possible admiring the smallest details, from the exquisite china teacups to the perfect silver candelabra that sat in pride of place in the centre of the dining table. The bedroom was more perfect than I could have ever imagined; a simple mahogany four poster bed sat in the simple of the white-walled room, white drapes hanging from the posters and matching wardrobes containing mine and Draco's clothes on either side of the room. This room also had large windows through which the scenery could be seen, and I found myself looking forward to many days spent lying in Draco's arms, watching the world go by. The adjoining bathroom was stunning also - a large claw foot bath took pride of place in the centre of the room, with a shower cubicle in the corner and matching his and her sinks on the other wall. The blue mosaic was warm beneath my feet, something that Draco proudly explained was a muggle invention called 'underfloor heating.'
Everything about the cottage was perfect, but my favourite room came when Draco led me back down the staircase and opened a little cupboard beneath the stairs, muttering "lumos," before turning to face me. "And now, the grand finale..."
He took my hand and had to stoop low to fit into the cupboard, where I found another set of stairs waiting for us. Following Draco's lead, I clambered carefully down the wooden staircase, until I found myself in a large, cavernous room, and a gasp escaped my lips before I could stop it.
It was a potions room to rival the size of the one at Hogwarts. A large metal desk sat in the centre of the room, and around the walls were modern white cupboards that were completely different to the rest of the house. Carefully labelled glass jars containing ingredients sat in perfect unison on glass shelves, and beneath them the brand new equipment needed for making potions could be found - everything from cauldrons to storage vials. The light from outside poured in through the stain glass windows depicting scenes from famous wizarding fairy tales, and a fire already burned in the small fireplace in the far end of the room, heating the space perfectly. At the other end of the room a small writing desk could be found, and I found myself wandering over to it and picking up the accessories that had been nearly arranged on the table. The radio from my room sat in the corner of my desk, a fresh set of quills and ink on a small shelf, an empty photo frame waiting to be filled, crisp new sheets of parchment with the initials JW written in cursive green font at the top, and a grand size box of nothing other than Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.
"I thought that even though they're going to make you make potions up at the house, I don't want you to stop enjoying it. So I thought that here you can make what you what, practice new potions, and have a space that's entirely your own. Do you like it?" he watched me sheepishly, his hands deep in his pockets as he waited with bated breath for my approval.
Knowing that words could never express my gratitude, I simply threw myself at him, wrapping my legs around his waist as he held me with ease and chuckled as I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my lips to his passionately. Draco carries me to the counter, setting me down and leaving a peppered trail of fiery kisses along my neck. "I take that as a yes?"
"Yes," I whispered in his ear before kissing him again, "a million times yes."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eventually, we made our way to the garden, just as the sun was starting to set on the horizon. Draco led me on an adventure around our land, the pair of us giggling like fools as we leapt back and forth over the brook, pretending it was a deep chasm that would mean certain death should either of us fall in.
I settled down on a wrought iron bench with Draco's arm slung lazily over my shoulder and a thick woollen blanket around our shoulders. With my head rested upon his chest, I felt the rise and fall of his gentle breathing beneath my cheek, and together we watched the sun disappear beneath the ground and the sky begin to purple with night. "Watch this," Draco whispered softly in my ear, pulling his wand out of his pocket and giving it a gentle flick. "Lumos Maxima."
Suddenly the garden erupted into thousands of twinkling fairy lights, candles and fireflies illuminating the beautiful spot. I gasped in amazement - I hadn't thought that the day could get any better - and stared at my surroundings in sheer content awe. How Draco had managed to pull off such a remarkable feat, I would never know.
"Ahem."
I hadn't noticed Draco shift, but looked to him now and frowned in confusion. All his previous confidence was gone from his eyes as he stared at me, replaced instead by something that looked incredibly like nervousness. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion.
"Juliet Weasley," he began slowly, "I have loved you since the first time I laid eyes on you, and I will love you for the rest of my life afterwards. I know that we've had our struggles, and I've made the greatest possible mistakes, and I know and accept that deep down, you'll never be able to forgive me for abandoning you.
"But know this. I will never leave you again, I will kill to keep you safe and I won't let anybody come between us ever again. I love you Juliet, and despite my flaws and imperfections, I know that you love me too."
It was then that he stood up again, and took a deep breath as he reached his hand into his pocket, before sinking slowly and teasingly to one knee.
"We don't have to do this straight away - I understand completely if you want to wait until times are a little easier and perhaps both of our families can be within the same room - but you must know that I will have you in the end. You have my heart, whether you are Juliet Weasley or Andromeda Black, and I surrender it to you entirely and happily. I give you my freedom, my soul, and my love, if you will do me with honour of accepting this gift.
"Will you marry me?"