Chapter 13
Draco did his best to fit into the Weasley’s lives while he wondered why the hell their father had dropped off the face of the planet.
That wasn’t true, their father stopped in every twelve hours to oversee the medicine. He’d sit with his girls for what they were calling morning and evening tea, and not once did Percy show his nerves in front of his daughters. They slipped out for Draco alone.
There was always a reason for Percy to fret.
Where would Draco sleep? They had no guest room, he wouldn’t fit in either girl’s bed, the girls couldn’t possibly return upstairs and stumble across their mother, and Draco couldn’t possibly join the sleepover in the drawing room. Draco told Percy to shut up and plopped himself down on Percy’s office floor.
How would they manage the girls? The girls had five lessons a day, normally orchestrated by their mother, with more recent instruction from Percy. Draco tried to convince them to skive off due to illness, but that effort went over poorly as both girls rejected Draco’s suggestions for play over and over until they stopped responding to him at all. So, Draco tackled the lesson plan. He talked them into swapping math for French, explaining that both were just learning and following a set of rules. He swapped embroidery for dressmaking, promising each a beautiful new outfit at the end. He did his best to remember grammar and to not make up any silly rules of etiquette. He collapsed on the couch at the end of the day for art lessons - a different topic assigned to each week day. On painting day he asked them to make pictures for their mother and father to cheer them up while they recovered from the illness. Percy fucking cried, the wanker, but only out in the hall after kissing both girls good night.
What would they eat? Draco didn’t blame Percy for having left the house and getting sick. Unlike the Tonks’, Percy’s townhouse didn’t have a cellar stocked with dried goods or farm land to grow fresh produce. There were no chickens laying eggs or cows to milk. This Weasley kitchen was picked thin. When Draco inquired, Percy gave him the most helpless of looks before retreating upstairs. Percy came down minutes later with a bundle of cash large enough to make Draco gawk. “Get whatever you need,” Percy said, with enough faith in Draco’s judgment to make Draco feel lightheaded. Draco didn’t know how much food normally cost, but the next day at the market was bleak and Draco didn’t know how to balance living up to the faith Percy put in him with securing food needed for Percy’s family. Draco shopped lean, and the same day sent an urgent telegram to the Tonks’ asking if they could please god send supplies.
How would they manage Percy? Mostly, Draco didn’t. Draco let Percy alone upstairs and trusted Percy would share if anything drastic happened. Only, it didn’t take long for Draco to realize that even with all Percy’s fretting, he didn’t actually share. He only fretted to Draco about things too apparent to hide. Percy told Draco the same update about his wife that he told the girls. She’s resting and working hard to get better. Meanwhile, the circles under Percy’s eyes got only darker and despite taking the medicine himself, he’d only gotten thinner and more pale.
The evening after the requested supplies came, with the girls tucked in on their respective sofas in the drawing room, Draco stood at the bottom of the stairs and second guessed what he was about to do. Percy had made his boundaries clear, in his own way, only Draco thought there was something exceptionally pig-headed about where the boundaries fell. Sure, the king's threatening statement still hung over Draco’s head driving him to action, but also his heart was werry watching Percy try to hold so much on his shoulders.
Draco trudged up the stairs.
He knocked gently before entering Percy and Audrey’s room.
The room was still dark, and late at night there was no sun at all to compensate. The only light came from the door Draco left open behind him, and the gas lamps on the street with the smallest amount of light shining through the window.
When Draco’s eyes finally adjusted to the dimness it was to see Percy sitting in the chair next to the bed. He hung his head low over his hands, which gripped the edge of the bedding but went no further.
“Please go away,” Percy said, barely more than a whisper.
Yeah, Draco hadn’t misread the boundaries. “Thought I’d check in while the girls were in bed, see how everything was going up here.” He glanced at Audrey - Ms. Weasley - fuck, he still hadn’t asked what to call her. Percy would want him to be formal, so Ms. Weasley it was. In any case, he could see the slightest shifting in her chest so she wasn’t dead.
“She’s resting, please don’t disturb her,” Percy said in a voice that was almost monotone, if it didn’t also sound defeated.
Draco licked his lips and shuffled. Leaving was the smart move, only… “You don’t seem to be getting any rest,” he said instead.
Percy’s sigh was louder than any of the words he’d spoken since Draco entered the room. “I appreciate everything you’re doing for my family, but I have this under control.”
Clearly that was more pigheaded nonsense. Draco glanced around the room until he spotted a second chair. He tiptoed over to it before carrying it over to Percy. So very gently, Draco sat the chair next to Percy’s and took his own seat.
Percy finally looked up if only to glare. Draco, setting his mind to out stubborning the other man, snuggled further into his chair.
“Why are you here?” Percy said with resignation.
Draco tilted his head to side eye Percy. He looked so exceptionally hopeless. Draco said, “You’re not alone, Percy. You don’t have to do it all yourself.”
What little light there was shinned off of Percy’s eyes. “I appreciate everything you’re doing for my daughters-”
“You know I love your daughters, Percy, but right now I’m talking about you,” Draco interrupted.
Percy was blinking, holding back water. “You love my daughters?”
Draco paused, not for the first time confused by the older man. “Yeah, they’re great.”
“You don’t find them difficult?” he nearly choked on the question.
Slowly, Draco shook his head. “No. I was difficult as a child. They’re great.”
A shudder ran through Percy and he dropped his head into his hands. Fuck, he was going to cry. Awkwardly, Draco patted him on the shoulder in an attempt to soothe him. Percy’s voice was strained when he said, “I wanted to take them to my parents’ house right away, they would have everything we need, but it’s always hard on them to adapt to our family’s schedule, and their cousins are so loud. I was worried…” he trailed off.
Draco still had his hand on Percy’s shoulder, but it didn’t feel as awkward now. “You know what’s best for your family, Percy. You did the right thing.”
Percy did start crying then. Stubborn, manly tears that he did his best to hide from Draco. “Audrey is dying,” he sputtered.
Draco rubbed his back in circles the way his mother did for him when he was little. He didn’t know if it helped, but Percy didn’t push him away. He gave Percy a minute to collect himself before he spoke. “She’ll make it through the night. I’ll stay here with her. Go downstairs and get a full night’s sleep so you can be here for her in the morning.”
Percy looked up with bloodshot eyes. “What if she dies while I’m gone?”
Draco smiled wryly. “I won’t let her die. The king would probably try me for treason or something if I let that happen.”
“What?” Percy asked, suddenly far too serious.
Draco huffed out a laugh. “I’m joking.” Mostly.
Definitely mostly joking. But, after Draco did talk Percy into going downstairs to sleep, Draco himself didn’t sleep a blink that night.
The next morning, Percy looked better than he had since Draco first arrived. He came with real tea for Draco, and the next serving of medicine for his wife. He sat next to Draco and promised the girls would be fine alone for the day. Draco was nearly finished with his tea when Percy offered a stilted, “Thank you.”
Draco shrugged, not making a big thing of it. “It’ll be nice for her that you’re back,” he said. “You clearly love her, that’s a strong medicine.”
Percy huffed. “That’s scientifically unsound,” he muttered. Despite Percy’s snobby tone, Draco simply laughed.
“Oh alright, but when she wakes up it will be reassuring to have someone she loves with her,” Draco amended.
Percy’s paleness suddenly returned and silence stretched between them. Draco was dead on his feet, but knew he needed to stay and give Percy however much time he needed to speak. It was a lot of time, but Percy did say, “It wasn’t a love match, between us. I was just a good prospect, and she was very kind to me.” He stared as his wife with such longing as he said it.
Draco wanted to promise him that love blossoms over time and his feelings were returned, but truly he knew nothing about Ms. Weasley. Instead he said, “Anyone would be lucky to have someone who cared as much as you.” Then he wished Percy a good morning and fumbled his way to sleep.
Days later, while Draco resented his past decision that required him to remember both French and English grammar, he had the most blessed interruption that made all his issues mute.
Percy and Audrey Weasley both walked into the drawing room.
The girls were on their feet and squealing in an instant. Blessedly, lessons were canceled for the day as the girls bombarded their mother with questions and updates, until all parties were overwhelmed and transitioned to sitting together quietly on the settee, Percy holding his wife closely the entire time. Draco left during the excitement, with a warm, relieved heart.
More days were spent rebuilding strength. This time the girls’ delivered their painting to their mother’s room, which was once again filled with light.
The weight of the world had been lifted off Percy’s shoulders, until the next week when letters arrived. Percy only opened one, clearly recognized on sight. Draco was in the kitchen with him as Percy read it, and saw the moment all the stress and agony came back. Everything changed after that.
“We can’t thank you enough, for everything,” Audrey - they had now been formally introduced - said to Draco the day the Weasley’s left together.
The girls gave Draco the tightest hugs goodbye, wishing him farewell in French with perfect French accents.
Percy rambled on apologies for suddenly leaving Draco all alone in their house without properly seeing him back home and whatever other rot Percy felt obligated over.
“I’ll miss you, too,” Draco cut him off.
Percy’s face twitched in annoyance, but then he smiled. “You’re a good friend, Draco Malfoy. I could not have done this without you.” He then reached out his hand for Draco’s and they shook hands as, well, Draco supposed Percy was right and maybe they were friends. “I can never repay you for this. Stay as long as you like and take whatever you want for your return home.”
Draco waived after them as their carriage pulled away.
Inside, the townhouse felt hollow without the family. Draco strolled down the long hallway, looking at the now tidy, empty rooms as he went. He found himself in the kitchen, habitually pulling out a kettle to heat up tea. He folded his arms and leaned against the counter as he waited. For once, his time was his own.
It was happenstance that Draco glanced over to the small table where Percy had sat to open the mail. Halfway through the pile was an envelope Draco had seen before. He pushed himself away from the counter and stepped to the table, nudging the other letters aside.
The envelope was addressed to Percy and Audrey Weasley. The top left corner had no name or address. Only a symbol that looked vaguely like a ram. The sign for aries. The sign for the spring equinox. Draco’s fingers twitched over the envelope.
Take whatever you want, Percy had said. So Draco took the letter.