don't wait, just let your heart speak

When his son announced that he had run into the Lovegood girl right after the war had ended, he felt a swoop of guilt dash through him. He wondered how his son could even look that girl in the eye, let alone go on a shopping spree with her. But then, in the last months since the war had ended, there had been a significant change in him. A change that he never would have guessed.

And then he watched from afar when his son brought the girl into their new home for the first time. His wife had decided to keep the past in the past and had welcomed the girl with open arms, having already seen how much their boy cared for her.

He knew that his son wanted nothing more than to be happy. He had learned so much in the past year and knew that this way, the road that they had been put on for all that time, was no way to live. Draco knew it and so did he.

So was it wrong to be afraid?

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"Mr. Malfoy?"

The Lovegood girl's voice was so small that he almost missed it. He turned carefully on his heel and found himself looking into a pair of sea blue eyes, framed by the longest lashes he had ever seen. For some odd reason, he thought about Narcissa at this age. How her eyes were once like that...

"Why, Miss Lovegood. Are you lost?" It was his private study but somehow, this girl had found her way in.

She shakes her delicate head, her long light blonde braid swirling over to rest on her shoulder. "I wanted to talk to you, Mr. Malfoy. If you don't mind?"

He pointed his wand at the chair seated by the window. He had finally gotten his wand back after it had been studied for nearly two years by the Aurors. The chair scooted forward under it's own power.

"Have a seat, Miss Lovegood."

Luna shakes her head again, this time taking a tiny step forward. His eyes rake her form and he sees that she is wearing a golden sundress that is almost the exact same shade of her hair. An emerald rests against her chest, hanging by a thin chain. He remembers seeing his son show that necklace to his mother a few months before, an apparent gift for his new love.

"Mr. Malfoy, do you hate me?" she asks.

He is stunned, absolutely stunned. "Why would you ask that?" he finds himself stammering.

"Because you won't even look me in the eye," says Luna. "I do not hate you. I have forgiven you a very long time ago."

He takes a tentative step towards the young woman, raising a hand. He rests his other arm on his walking stick, feeling his knees start to tremble. "Let me get this straight, Miss Lovegood. You have forgiven me? After everything that I have done to you? After what my family has done?"

"If I haven't, I wouldn't be here," Luna says gently. "Sir, I love your son. I hope to spend the rest of my life with him. But I cannot continue on without knowing-"

"Without knowing what?"

"If you hate me or not. If you do, that's all right. Everyone is entitled to their own thoughts about other people. And if I know, I can move on."

"Miss Lovegood, I do not hate you," he interrupts. "You are an interesting little creature, I will give you that. But I-I could never hate you. It has been hard for me to hate ever since the war ended."

"Because you love your son and your wife. When the thought of losing them came into your mind, you made a choice to be loyal to them and to fight for them."

That's it. Right there, this girl has stated the truth in just a few simple words. She has been able to see right through him with those enormous owl eyes.

"Why do you love my son, Miss Lovegood?" he finds himself asking once he is able to get control of his words again. "After everything that has happened?"

"I love him because he makes me happy," Luna says with a tiny smile. "He was my friend first before it became anything more and he has a light in himself that he is still not aware of."

"So that's why you are here? To make him aware of his light?" he asks.

"No, he will figure that out in time for himself," Luna says. "I'm here because I want to be."

He watches her slight form for a moment before a dawning realization hits him.

He had lived like this for years. Ever since he had begun at Hogwarts, it had been pushed into his head of who he was and who he should relate too. It had been there when he met Narcissa but nothing could have stopped him from falling in love with her even if she wasn't a pure blood.

Being in love with Narcissa had produced a miraculous light that he had hidden from the world. A light that he buried with hatred, anger, and self loathing.

Looking at this young woman in front of him, so ready to give her life to his son and to spend the rest of that life with him. She wanted to be a part of their family because in her eyes, they were already a part of hers.

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He is there on a snowy Christmas eve when his son brings out a beautiful sapphire ring and asks the Lovegood girl to spend the rest of their lives together.

And of course, she says yes.

A real smile tugs the corner of his mouth up, and it's unlike anything he has ever felt before.

"Lucius..." Narcissa's voice lifts him out of his reverie. "You're smiling..."

His arms go around her then, pulling her against his chest. She doesn't even look surprised at this sudden display of affection, her eyebrows rising ever so slightly.

"I think I'll be smiling a lot more from now on," he whispers low enough for just her to hear.

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The wedding is in May. The temperature is a comfortable seventy degrees and is held outside in the late afternoon as the sun is dipping in the sky.

The bride wears gold once again, this time an even softer shade of yellow. Yellow roses adorn her hair and her favorite pair of radish earrings hang from her lobes. Her best friend Harry Potter escorts her down the aisle, gently placing her hand in his son's hand. But before he does that, he leans forward and whispers something to Draco and he can only guess what kind of threats he is saying.

But who can blame him?

He sits back, his arm around his wife's shoulders, as the clergyman begins the short ceremony. With Luna's heritage, the ceremony is eccentric and full of light. And it is summed up with a cloud of faeries circling the bride and groom, showering them with daisy petals.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife!"

And he finds himself on his feet, cheering for his boy and for that new addition to the family. Maybe everything can be okay...

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"What did Mr. Potter say to you at the wedding?"

He couldn't control himself. He instantly tried to retract the words but his son began to laugh quietly.

"He told me that if I hurt Luna in any way, I wouldn't want to know what he would do to me."

"I can only imagine..."

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He continues to wonder what exactly would draw his son in to that girl. And he wonders why this girl has had such an effect on him.

And then he gives himself a mental slap because he already knows. They all do.

Her amazing light.

"Welcome to the family, Miss Lovegood," he says, taking her hand in his.

She gives him that tiny, secretive smile. "Shouldn't you call me Luna?"

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He is there when they arrive home for dinner one night and Luna suddenly bursts out at dinner that she is pregnant.

He remains in his seat as his wife lets out a whoop of joy, so undignified but so like herself, and throws her arms around their daughter in law.

"Father?"

His head swirls around and he sees his son's silver eyes looking back at him. And then his own smile breaks through. He holds out one long fingered hand, clasping both of his son's hands in his own.

"Congratulations, my boy."

He could only hope that his child would be a much better father than he ever was.

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And he waits at the hospital, waiting with his boy, as the news finally arrives.

A daughter, Lyric Estrella Serpia Malfoy.

She is tiny, pink, and perfect.

A beacon of light and hope in this terrible, overwhelming darkness.

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"I remember when you were born, you were just so tiny." He lowers himself down beside his son on the very hard, very uncomfortable bench. He lets out a small grunt in pain, due to his protesting leg but ignores it. "And the Healer plopped you right in my arms, just like that. My arms were so big and clumsy and I was terrified that I would drop you."

His son lets a small smile form on his lips. "But you didn't."

"No, I didn't," he says with his own smile. "And you were just so quiet. You looked up at me with those wide silvery eyes of yours and you just..you looked at me. It was like you already knew how miserable I was going to make your life." That smile fades quite quickly.

"It wasn't all bad, Father," Draco replies softly. "We had some good times as a family. Like the first time that you taught me how to use a broomstick."

He chuckles with the memory. "Ah, yes. It was right before your grandfather had died. He had bought you this little toy broomstick that could only get about six inches off the ground. Scared the living daylights out of your mother, she would chase you around while you flew on that thing."

"And you told her to just relax, that everything would be all right," Draco whispers. "And it was for a while."

"Then you wound up crashing into our apple tree and killing a squirrel," he laughs. "I didn't think your mother would ever let you fly again."

"But she did," Draco says. "Up until the end of school, Quidditch was what I had to look forward too. I really enjoyed it and still do."

"I'm glad, my boy," he says, deciding to take a chance. He reaches out and catches Draco's fingers in his, giving them a gentle squeeze.

"I love you, Dad."

It's so quiet, so soft, that he almost misses it. His hand tightens around his son's.

"I love you too, son."

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But the hope nor the light lasts very long.

It is less than two years later when the Patronus touches down in their sitting room, speaking with their son's voice, and informing them that Luna had fallen ill the night before. He had taken her to St. Mungo's and it wasn't looking good.

It was a Muggle illness, so simple, and so incurable.

Cancer.

A six letter word that spelled death.

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He hears the crashing before he even arrives on that floor. With a tiny pop, he Apparates right into the room, finding his son throwing every object in the room, breaking them into bits.

"Draco! Draco, stop!"

"I don't care anymore!" his son screamed. "Luna is only twenty five years old. She's a mother and her daughter is going to grow up without her because of a stupid Muggle disease!"

"I know, son," he replies quietly. "I know."

"And I-!" Draco darts forward but comes to a halt, exhaustion finally overtaking him. "I can't live without her."

His knees tremble and threaten to give out until his father's hand catches his elbow, holding him upright. That simple, tactful pressure, brings him back to dry land.

"You'll get through this, Draco," he whispers. "You will make it through this."

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Luna Lovegood Malfoy peacefully passes away on an early rainy morning with her husband, father, and daughter by her side.

It's later that morning when he goes to the window, looking out into the gentle rain spilling from the sky. Out on the front yard, he sees his son and his yellow clad granddaughter.

And they are dancing.

It's that silent type of grief for their family. Even now, none of them ever show their tears in public, always waiting for that moment that they can hole themselves up somewhere and let them come out.

He loves his boy, that's all he knows. And his heart goes out to him for the pain that he is going through.

He remembers the pain that he felt when he thought that he was dead during the Great Battle. He remembers going to his knees and begging the Dark Lord for admission to Hogwarts castle, to search for him, to find his remains. That dark, searing, grief that plagued him. There was nothing, absolutely nothing that could come to that kind of pain. He had wanted to die then and that thought never stopped until he laid eyes on his boy, dirty, bloody, and bruised but alive.

Never again, would he let silly prejudices stand in the way of his family. Never again.

And when his boy brought that girl into their lives, he knew it was true. That light was possible to have once again.

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Her tiny fingers remain laced through his. The blonde man reaches down and scoops up the toddler, holding her against his chest in a tight embrace. Her short little arms loop around his neck and she plants a sticky kiss on his cheek.

"I love you, Daddy."

The small sob escapes him before he can stop it. "I love you too, baby girl."

He continues to carry her up the front walk back up to the house. They were both soaked to the bone from the warm spring rain but hey, nobody cared.

He sees his parents standing on the front stoop, awaiting their arrival. He meets his father's eyes and finds love there, understanding, and compassion. Things he had never seen before.

"Hey, Daddy! Look!" The little picture of her mother squirms in his arms, pointing her hand upward. He turns and looks to where the girl is pointing and sees it.

A rainbow, every color under the moon, jetting upward in the sky. The colors blend together with the utmost of beauty, so much love and so much joy in just that.

"Hi Mommy!" Lyric calls out, waving a tiny hand.

And for the first time since it all happened, tears finally make their appearance, burning behind his eyes.

"Hello, my lovely Luna..." he breathes, pressing a kiss to the crown of Lyric's head before setting her on her feet. The little girl dashes back off into the mud puddles, whirling around in a shock of golden hair and dazzling blue eyes.

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Wow. This idea came and I just had to get it out. They are so addicting, Draco and Luna.

I always wondered what Lucius would have thought if Draco did fall in love with Luna and after Deathly Hallows and those short glimpses that Harry got of the Malfoy family, I like to think that they would accept her after some time. At least Narcissa first. But, I don't know. That is all up to Jo Rowling.

Anyway, hope you liked. Reviews are much appreciated.