Only One I'm Dreaming Of
Chapter Three—Only One I'm Dreaming Of
He was standing in the humongous back garden of Malfoy Manor. And it was clear to Draco straight away that he was in the middle of a wedding ceremony. The arch, the red-carpet aisle, the priest. Everything around him was evidence to that fact.
And judging by where he was standing, as well as what he was wearing, it was his wedding ceremony.
Music started playing; the familiar marriage march that meant the bride was approaching filled the air.
Draco stared down the aisle like everybody else. He knew who he wanted to walk down it but he expected it to be a pureblood witch—maybe Astoria Greengrass since she was one of the few he could tolerate and would actually agree to marry into the Malfoy family with their current soiled reputation.
But no. Much to Draco's shock and pleasure, it was Harry Potter who was walking down that aisle, beaming at Draco with a smile that could rival a thousand suns. And Draco could not focus on anything else.
This was happening. This was truly happening. He and his mate were getting married. They were going to seal their bond and live out their lives happily—together.
Draco stretched out his hand to receive Harry's from that of the Weasel—and wasn't that hilarious, the Weasley being the one to hand Harry to Draco, something Draco never thought could ever happen—and pulled him up the wedding stage to be next to him.
The pastor began the wedding speech, his words echoing in Draco's head, feeling his heart with happiness.
"—you may now kiss your spouse."
He leaned in for the kiss, the one that would seal their bond, their marriage, their love for each other—
Draco woke up, eyes fluttering open, shattering the beautiful dream. As cruel reality took over, Draco remembered that no, he and Harry weren't getting married. They were never getting married, never sealing their bond. Harry never loved him. Harry was marrying another man.
This was not the first time he had had this dream, where he and Harry got together. It would probably not be the last. However, waking up never ceased to crush Draco's heart.
Although, this time it was different from the others. The other dreams usual consisted of simple scenes of he and Harry doing normal, everyday things. Like snuggling on the couch, going out for a date, kissing each other before heading off for work. Mundane things. But since Harry was always there, it always warmed Draco's heart and made it feel almost complete.
But not this time. This time, they were actually having a marriage ceremony, were actually going to be wedded. Seeing something like that…it opened up yearning and envy like nothing else.
Not only that, it made it apparent to Draco that he would not be able to move on. Not currently at least. No many what he had told his parents earlier on about how it was okay, that he would be able to settle down, contented, with another person, it was painfully clear that it would not be anytime soon.
Because no matter what, the bond and the emotions were still there, strong as ever. Draco doubted it would fade with time and he could imagine himself years after Harry's marriage still pining helplessly.
It was a bleak future to behold but it was what Draco was sticking to. He did not need his parents to resolve this issue like they wanted to.
In the end, Harry's happiness would always be Draco's top priority—or maybe it was just the Veela speaking, though Draco and the Veela were so interconnected that it was a weak argument to debate with.
Draco would stand by the decision that would see Harry be happy. That was never going to change.
Harry was confused. Oscar was acting more possessive than usual; his gaze would always linger on Harry with a strong intensity, as if suspecting that Harry would just disappear.
Don't get him wrong. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing for his lover to be possessive or worried about him. That was just how Oscar was and Harry accepted it as a part of him.
However, it was weird, how Oscar had upped his level of possessiveness and protectiveness. Now, he couldn't even think of going out of the house, regardless of how nice he tried to be to Oscar to gain his approval. Oscar would say no before the words even left his mouth.
But Harry knew Oscar had a reason for doing so. He always did. And Harry trusted him to do what was right for both of them.
After all, what was a relationship without trust?
"You heard what our son said Lucius," Narcissa warned. "He doesn't want us interfering and no matter what you think, his decision should be respected."
Lucius sniffed, recalling Draco's discussion with them. He had finally opened up after the Incident (as Lucius liked to call it) and explained exactly why he had been acting depressed all those months. He had been right, had hit the nail straight on the head. Draco had been feeling desolate because his fated mate was with another person. He had a sudden magical explosion due to his finding out that his mate was actually getting married, that he would be losing his mate forever.
Lucius had been pleased to know that he concluded correctly on all this points. But what he hadn't been expecting was for Draco to reject any suggestion of help.
"Stay out of it. Please. I do not wish for you to interfere with this. This is my problem and my decision, not yours," Draco had said.
He couldn't believe such selfish words had escaped Draco's mouth! It wasn't their problem? Lucius had to see his only son deteriorate to such a mess because of his so-called 'decision' and it wasn't their problem?
No, Lucius didn't think so. Where was the son he had raised? The one who would fight for his own survival, who thought of only his and his family's well being? The one who would do anything to achieve his means?
Clearly, Draco wasn't in his right mind.
"You know Draco needs help, Narcissa," Lucius said. "That is a fact you cannot deny. And as his parents, we should be the one to deliver that help."
Narcissa had a look of uncertainty in her eyes. Lucius knew what she was thinking. On one hand, she truly wanted to respect her son's decision, as a good, supportive mother should. And on the other, she wanted her son to be happy, like any mother would. It was also clear that Draco would not be happy if he kept to his decision and didn't even try to be with his mate.
With two rivaling aspects of motherly instinct warring inside Narcissa, Lucius knew which would ultimately win out.
After a long period of silence, a sigh of resignation was heard. Lucius grinned in triumph.