Title: Conversation drabble #5

Author: Erik deSoir

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and its characters belong to J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros. and to various publishers including but not limited to Scholastic Books, Raincoat Books, and Bloomsbury Books. No copyright or trademark infringement is intended

Pairing: Mentions of H/D

Warning: Hints of a male/male relationship

Note: The first of these has the original thought in its note. Lily has visited at last! She and Draco are in the arbor. Harry has just stepped out for a moment. 324 words.

"Oh, Draco. This is all lovely."

(touching a flower and murmuring) "Yes. This was Mother's favourite place."

(putting a hand on Draco's shoulder) "She had put a great deal of time into these flowers, yes?"

"Yes. She said the scent made her feel like she was a young girl again."

(a pause while they look around the garden)

"She used to bring me out here when I was a child." (small laugh) "I would chase the bees and then scream crying when I got stung. She just smiled and healed me, telling me not to chase them. I could never remember that, though. I always had to follow their meandering flight."

(Lily smiles as Draco continues)

"I stopped coming out here so much after Father took me under his wing. I felt like it was too womanly. I was my father's son, and I would be a real man. God, the things I did to make him proud. You know that's where the animosity came from for Harry? Father said Potters were hardly better than muggles." (shakes head and touches another flower) "It was best he died when he did. I never would have strayed from that path otherwise."

"Good things can come from bad things, Draco."

(nods and smiles tightly) "After Father died, Mother came alive for me again. She moulded me into what I am today. She taught me that it was okay to be powerful and have a gentle hand simultaneously."

(another pause)

"She really was a great woman. After she passed on, I didn't know what to do. I'm glad I stumbled upon Harry in that corridor that night."

(Lily smiles)

(sighing) "I never did know what to do with this garden. I could not stand the thought of elves in here tampering with what Mother loved." (smiles) "I'm glad for Harry again. He will make this what it once was."

(Harry comes back in)

"So, what did I miss?"