A Life Worth Choosing

Chapter 5: Midnight in the Alley

It was after midnight by the time the Weasley clan and friends left the manor, leaving its inhabitants free to turn in for the night. Draco said his goodnight to his newfound family and went off to his room on the far side of the mansion where his wife awaited after she put a temperamental Nate to bed.

Draco couldn't sleep. The excitement from the day was overwhelming and the time change wasn't helping much either. Addison lay awake as well, however both laid quietly pondering over the days events until Addison let out a snort breaking the epic silence.

"What's so funny?" Draco asked turning on his side to face his wife.

"You!" Addison said snorting again as a giggle fit overtook her.

"Why me?"

"Do ya remember the day I told ya 'bout Nate?"

"You mean a week before the wedding?" Draco recalled.

"Well ya were so not looking forward ter being a step father, remember?"

"Yes, I remember. What's so funny about that? I don't relate well to children."

"The funny thing is that ya been a father for fifteen years now and ya didn't even know about it."

"I'm still failing to see the humor in this?" Draco smirked.

"I'm sorry suga. I shouldn't be laughing at ya. I just never pictured ya the father type. Ya are more of a big brother or maybe an uncle to Nate, but never a father."

"Well he has his own father and I never had the greatest father figure either. My father always expected the best from me. I'd bring home an E and father would curse me for it not bring home an O."

"Is an E good?" She asked in confusion.

"Yes, it means Exceeds expectations, but an O is outstanding," Draco quickly explained.

"So you're afraid you will be like your father?" Addison asked.

"I was, but after spending the evening with Kaeda, I don't known anymore. I mean, just watching her fly and how well she did just made me- "

"Proud?"

"Exactly."

"What about the boy?"

"Junior?" Draco questioned. "I don't know. I only spent a few moments with him. He didn't say anything," Draco lied. "He spent the evening in his room. I don't think he fancies me much."

"Don't worry about him. All kids hate their parents. It's natural," Addison assured him. "Besides, tomorrow is Christmas. No one can be upset on Christmas."

"Christmas," Draco's smile quickly faded. "Oh no, tomorrow's Christmas!" Draco said jumping out of bed. He sat down at the desk and quickly scribbled a note before disappearing into the dressing closet.

"Draco, what are you doing? It's after midnight. Come to bed!" Addison called after him. Draco emerged from the closet, fully dressed in wizard robes. "What in the world are ya wearing?" Addison asked, never before seeing him dressed in this unusual way.

"Wizard robes," Draco smirked as he straightened them out in the mirror. "Can't expect me to go into Diagon Alley without them, do you?"

"What in the world is diagonally?" Addison asked.

"Not diagonally. Di-a-gon Alley," Draco said slowly. "I'll be back before morning," Draco said throwing on his traveling cloak before kissing his wife goodbye.

Draco stood in front a pair of large oak doors on the main landing. He stopped to take a deep breath before knocking on the door. The sound of shuffling feet made him aware that the occupant had heard his greeting and was approaching to the door.

"Draco?" Ginny asked sleepily as she stood in the doorway in her nightdress.

Draco stood for a moment starring at the witch before him. Ginny noticed his wondering eyes and reached for her night robe to cover herself.

"I-um- I need your help," Draco said finally pulling himself together.

"Is everything ok?" Ginny asked worried.

"We need to go to Diagon Alley!"

"Diagon Alley? Draco do you have any idea what time it is? Nothings opened. It's Christmas."

"How long have you lived in Malfoy Manor?" Draco asked with a smirk. "Come on, get dressed."

Draco waited out in hall for about ten minutes while Ginny dressed then they were off to Diagon Alley.

"Merlins, look at this place," Ginny said in amazement as they walked into Diagon Alley.

Though the streets were empty of shoppers, the stores were alive with Christmas cheer as if it were the middle of the day and not the middle of the night. All the major shopping stores were open and shopkeepers stood at their post waiting for their midnight customers.

"Now will you tell me what we are doing here?" Ginny asked.

"Tomorrow's Christmas," Draco said blankly. "Well actually technically today is," he said glancing at a nearby clock. "Anyway, there are two teenage children home sleeping at the moment, and this is my first Christmas with them. How do you expect me to spend my first Christmas with my children if I haven't any gifts for them?"

"Draco your home for Christmas. That's all the gifts they need."

"Well that's not good enough for me. I sent ahead an Owl and look how many wonderful people agreed to help us. We can't disappoint them by not shopping, can we?"

"I suppose not," Ginny finally gave in. "If you have everything planned out already, then why did you need me?"

"Well, I have a good idea of what to get Kaeda, but Junior-"

"You're completely lost," Ginny nodded in understanding.

"Exactly, and theirs a few others I should probably add to my list this year, and frankly, I don't even know where to begin."

"Ok, you said you had something in mind for Kaeda?"

"Yes, I was thinking a new broom. I see that's she's using my old Nimbus 2001. Obviously they must be way out of style by now. I wouldn't mind getting a new broom myself."

"Then we'll start in Quality Quidditch, shall we?" Ginny grinned.

Draco and Ginny walked down the empty street and wandering into Quality Quidditch Supplies where a stout bald shopkeeper stood at the door to greet them.

"Welcome Miss. Weasley. So nice to see you again," the keeper greeted.

"Thank you, sir."

"Sorry about the late hour," Draco said removing his hat and scarf. "It was an emergency."

"Anything for a Mal- Draco? You're the- Draco Malfoy?" the keeper stared at Draco in disbelief.

"And who else would sign the owl Draco Malfoy?" Draco smiled.

"Please forgive me for saying so, but we thought you to be dead."

"Sorry if I disappointed anyone, but I'm alive and well. Just been out of the country."

"No disappointment here. I was just expecting young Master Malfoy," the shop keeper expressed.

"Well, he is one of the reasons we have come shopping tonight. The other reason is why we've come to venture into Quality Quidditch."

"Ah, yes. Miss Kaeda I presume," the shopkeeper smiled. "What a gem and an excellent flyer I must say. I haven't seen such raw talent since Charlie Weasley. Master Junior is a fair flyer, as well I must add, though I've never seen him set foot inside my doors. Caught his eye a few times starring in through the glass though."

"He doesn't seem to fancy flying," Ginny explained.

"Ah, such a shame. He comes from a family of outstanding flyers. I must say your oldest nephew there is quite the flyer himself."

"Yes, Marcel made captain this year for Hufflepuff."

"Good for him. Must be quite a match against those Slytherins with Avery Potter as captain. Harry was just in here the other day telling me he was offered a spot on the Pride of Portree for the upcoming season."

"Yes, he's come a long way. It seems just yesterday that Harry was trying to teach him to fly. He couldn't stay on the broom to save his life."

"I was thinking of sponsoring a team myself. I've been thinking about it for years."

"What's stopping you?" Ginny asked.

"Well I have all the supplies, but I'm afraid my Gringott's vault doesn't have enough gold to start up a team. There's coaches to hire, then the team itself needs to be paid, and a pitch to play on. I'm afraid all the gold I had saved up went to rebuilding this place after the war."

"And a fine job you did," Ginny said looking around.

"Well Miss Weasley, Master Malfoy, what will it be?"

"I need to purchase a few of your best racing brooms. What's new these days?" Draco asked.

"Well, we have the new Firebolt 360s, the Asteroid 980, and the Lightning Bolt," the shopkeeper pointed out. He carefully studied Draco's face as Draco examined each broom, reading the descriptions marked below each display.

"I hear the Asteroids 980 is a great broom," Ginny suggested.

"Says here it's fast, but how is it with turns?" Draco asked.

"Well, if you want good turn, may I suggest the Lightening Bolt?" the shopkeeper offered. "It's not as fast as the Asteroid, but excellent for hair pin turns."

"Nah, that won't do either. I need something with excellent acceleration, easy to balance, something that turns with the slightest touch, unbreakable would be nice as well, and of course comfortable," Draco pondered aloud.

"I have just the thing. Arrived just yesterday, I was waiting until after the holidays to release it, but since it's a special occasion-" the shop keeper ran into the backroom.

"I didn't know you knew so much about brooms," Ginny whispered.

"I wasn't on the Slytherin team for nothing," Draco smirked back just as the shopkeeper was returning with a long thin box.

"It's called Nebula. Zero to 200 in ten seconds, which is the maximum speed the Ministry is allowing brooms to travel these days. Pinpoints 360-degree turns in less than three seconds. The handle is hand carved from drift wood making it as light as a feather, the tail twigs made of straw and delicately selected and placed to perfection. Equipped with burglar buzzer, an unbreakable charm, a comfort charm, as well as an identifier. Once the broom is in it the hands of its owner, it will fly for them and only them. It also comes in an assortment of colors including all four Hogwarts' house colors."

Draco took the broom from the box to examine it closely. "I'll take eleven. Eight in Slytherin colors. Three Gyffindor."

"Eleven? Draco why so many?" Ginny whispered.

"Well seven for the Slytherin team, and the remaining for Junior, Harry, yourself, and I."

"You are not buying the Slytherin team all new brooms," Ginny argued. "Do you want people to think the only reason she's on the team is because her father bought her way on?"

"Why would people think that? My father bought the Slytherin team all new brooms when I made the team."

"And the rest of us thought that you bought your way onto the team. Let's face it, you were good, but you weren't great."

"What do you mean? I'm an excellent flyer. I've been flying since I was three. And I was using toy brooms before that."

"He's right Miss. Weasley. I remember Lucius' odd request for a broom for a toddler, and I myself have had the privilege of seeing Draco in action. He is more than an acceptable flyer."

"Unfortunately, I was a much better chaser than I was seeker. It was father who made me take up that position."

"I never knew!"

"So eleven is it?" the shopkeeper asked.

"Just four will be fine," Ginny smiled.

"Four?" Draco questioned.

"Yes, Kaeda, Junior, Harry, and yourself. Two of each house please," Ginny requested with a smile.

"Fine, but add on one more Gryffindor for me, please. And I was just wondering," Draco said looking around. "Would you happen to have any brooms that could be used by Muggles?"

"Muggle brooms?" the shopkeeper questioned. "Well, we don't have any racing brooms or any flying brooms for that matter. You could try the toy brooms that just hover off the ground. I don't know about Muggles, but they were said to have worked with squibs."

"That would be satisfactory. Add one of those on as well."

"Yes, sir," the shopkeeper smiled before disappearing into the backroom.

"Now, where to next?" Ginny asked, as they waited for the shopkeeper to return with the packages.

"Something for your mother."

"My mother?" Ginny asked in awe.

"Yes. I need to thank her."

"For what?"

"Well, for not killing me tonight for starters. As well as taking excellent care of you three in my absence. Now what would she like?"

"Hmm- Mum first of all would prefer it if you don't fuss about her, but since I'm not awake enough to argue with you. Let me see. Something practical- hmm- what does she need? Besides a vacation of course," Ginny joked, but Draco did not see it that way.

"That's perfect. Where would she like to go?" Draco asked excitedly.

"Go? Draco I was just kidding. With all of us out of the house, everyday is like a vacation to my mother."

"Yes, but if I remember your mother correctly, she isn't the type who likes to take time for herself. She must be going crazy in that big empty house, all alone," Draco pondered for a moment.

"It might be big and empty, but it's still not big enough for our family," Ginny retorted. "What Mum would do if we could all visit at the same time and not have to worry about where everyone's going to stay. We used to have dinner there every Sunday, but soon the kitechen became too small, and the next we knew, even the garden seemed too small, so it just stopped."

"That's it then!"

"What's it?"

"A house. We'll buy her a new house!"

"Draco, that's our home. She isn't going to want to move. All of us have already offered to have her come stay with us and she's refused."

"Well, then. We'll just have to renovate the Burrow. Add on a few rooms. Expand the kitchen. Even maybe the garden. Do you think she would like that?"

"Gee, I don't know. I guess it wouldn't hurt to offer."

"Great, it's settled then," Draco took out an odd looking object Ginny had never seen before.

"What's that?" Ginny asked eyeing the object.

"It's a cell phone. It's a portable devise for Muggle communication," Draco whispered as he pressed the device to his ear.

Ginny laughed as she thought back to the time where she was teaching Draco how to use a television and how she would have never imaged Draco explaining a Muggle object to her.

"Addy, good you're still up. I need you to do me a favor- I need you to make some sketches for me for a new project. Just a kitchen, a sitting room, and maybe a garden for now- It's a special gift I was hoping to offer- great, can they be done tonight?- perfect, thanks love. I'll be back soon- bye," Draco hung of the phone and turn to Ginny. "That's all taken care of."

Draco noticed the questable look Ginny was giving him about the half conversation she had just heard.

"Addison, she's a Muggle interior designer. She's going to draw up a few sketches of her work for me to present to your mother. I figure with Addison's designs, and a group of Wizard carpenters, your mother can have what ever she wants done," Draco explained.

"Master Malfoy," the shop keeper announced his reappearance from the back room, levitating several long boxes in front of him.

He placed the boxes onto the counter before him. He opened the one of top and held up a gold and scarlet broom for Draco's approval. Draco turned to Ginny for her reaction. As she beamed at the broom, Draco nodded to the shop keeper and replaced the broom before pulling out a silver and green colored one. Draco smirked at the site of his old school colors before whispering 'wicked'. The shop keeper took this as his approval and repackaged the brooms before totaling the transaction.

"Please have these Flooed to the Manor as soon as possible," Draco instructed.

Draco handed over a sack of Galleons without bothering to count them.

"Master Malfoy, you gave me twice as much," the shop keeper said pushing a stack of Galleons back towards Draco.

"No I didn't," Draco smiled. "Happy Christmas."

Draco and Ginny continued down the streets of Diagon Alley stopping in every shop to make a purchase. As he experienced in Quality Quidditch, the many shop keepers had also made the mistake of assuming that the Draco Malfoy of the owl was Junior and that Draco was in fact dead. By the time they reached Gambol and Japes, however, the air had changed and the shop keepers were expecting Draco. News in the wizarding world spread quickly, and Draco could only imagine what would be printed the next morning in the Daily Prophet.

Their final stop was Ollivanders where Draco insisted on buying Junior a new wand after hearing that he was using one of Bill's old wands instead of one of his own.

As they walked out of Ollivanders at the closing of their trip, the Alley became silent and dark as the shops were locked up for the night and their lights extinguished as the owners returned to their homes for a good night sleep before the morning's festivities.

Draco and Ginny walked towards the apparation point located on the far side of the alley at the Leaky Caldron in silence.

"Thank you," Draco finally spoke as they strolled passed the marble stairs of Gringotts.

"For what?" Ginny asked.

"For everything. Helping me out tonight, and for- well- you know."

"Draco, they're my children too. I wasn't doing it for you."

"I know, but you didn't have to go about it they way you did."

"What do you mean?" Ginny stopped to look up at Draco.

"You didn't have to bring them up as Malfoys. You could have given them your name and just tossed the Malfoy side away, but you didn't. You taught them who they were, and allowed my mother-"

"Draco it's no big deal, really," Ginny blushed.

"It is though Gin. You brought our families together. Generations of rivalries and you ended it."

"We ended it, Draco," Ginny insisted. "You turned your back on your family's ideas remember. The children, they are the ones who brought this family together. Besides," Ginny smiled. "It would be impossible to hide the Malfoy part of them. Junior looks just like you, and Kaeda, you may not see it yet, but she has Malfoy written all over her. Just wait and see."

Draco smiled down at Ginny and he caught her deep brown chocolate eyes glancing back into his grey stare. All of sudden the sky opened up and a blanket of snow fluttered towards the Earth.

"Looks like a white Christmas," Ginny smiled.

"Believe it or not, I haven't seen snow since I left, I do recall it being a rather wild winter."

"You haven't seen snow in fifteen years?" Ginny asked wide eyed.

"Nope," Draco shook his head.

"Well then," Ginny smirked as she bent down to the ground, taking a clump of snow in her gloved hands. "You haven't done this for a while," she said releasing the snowball in midair, hitting Draco directly on the shoulder.

"You witch!" Draco called.

Ginny turned and started running back up the Alley. Draco followed closely behind her, with ammunition in his hand. Just as he caught up to her, Draco hit a patch of ice, causing him to fall to the ground at the foot of the witch.

"Well, one things for sure," Ginny said trying not to laugh. "You're a hell of a lot more clumsy than you use to be."

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