Hermione Granger has finally decided to pursue a blossoming dream after working far too long in a desk position at the Ministry. After picking up potions as a hobby on the advice of her therapist, the response to her domestic brews had been so overwhelming it almost didn't make sense for her not to open the shop. The Olive Branch Apothecary was born out of a hope for the future and the encouragement of her client base, and although it's been going quite well, everything gets thrown for a loop when her storefront / apartment is sold out from underneath her by her retiring landlord. When the dust settles, Hermione finds herself relying on an unexpected client. The world begins to spin around them both as old and new friends alike have to join forces to stop a dark bio-terrorist who's trying to instill fear in a wizarding world that's just started to hope again.
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Dramione fic. Draco just so happens to own an empty shopfront and a beautiful brownstone.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Passerbys: *glaring. hushed whispers* Oh look, it’s that Malfoy boy. Just a disgrace, should be locked up in Azkaban like his father was... Oh the whole family should be locked up, wands taken... Terrible wizards.
Ginny: Hey! Shut your mouths.
Draco: *smirking turns Ginny away* It’s alright Ginny, don’t mind them. But thanks darling, *winks*, didn’t realize you cared so much.
Ginny: *playfully nudges him*
Harry: Are you sure you’re alright? I mean, that’s pretty rough what they said.
Draco: *looks off and smiles* Yeah, I’m alright. Besides they don’t matter to me.
Hermione: *smiling, walks over hugging Draco*
Draco: *kisses her head* She is all that matters to me.
Summary: Draco attends a small private study for his 8th year and meets someone to ease his mind.
Draco was a creature of habit. Change made him feel so uneasy and out of control. The hardest part of being nice, for Draco, was breaking the habit of being mean. After the war he felt empty, terrified and most of all, filled with regret. He lay awake most nights thinking of ways he could have saved himself and his family, to do good. But every night his mind came up blank, but guilt still plagued his brain.
Hogwarts was in ruins, not all the magic in the world could make it go back to normal in a few short months. Small private studies opened their doors to Hogwarts students not yet ready to return. Magical primary schools adapted to provide for older children. Although the Golden trio returned to Hogwarts, Draco couldn’t bring himself to do so. So he selected a small magical school to finish his last year of schooling in. He figured it’s what his mother would have to preferred him to do. Both his parents were sent to askaban as war criminals. He felt as if he were an orphan now, although he never felt he had a father growing up anyways. Draco was put on a probation of sorts, escaping jail time under circumstances. His wand had to be checked biweekly and he was lightly monitored. He was of age but he had the trace of an underage wizard, making him unable to apparate.
It was the morning of ‘orientation’ for former hogwarts student at Draco’s new school. He was fully aware that he would be walking into this institute alone. No friends acting as shields, no father to threaten his peers with. He looked into the bathroom mirror and squirmed underneath his own gaze. He hated wearing suits, but his father made him wear one all the damn time. He shrugged off the suit jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his button down shirt. A compromise between his heart and mind. He walked out the front door and climbed into the backseat of the rented car.
After the orientation draco sat still in his seat as everyone else began to collect their things and leave. The orientation focused heavily about former Hogwarts students making a plan, deciding who they wanted to be. Draco didn’t know what he wanted to be, but he wanted to be good. He didn’t want to work in law enforcement, his family name had rotted and he couldn’t be around that sort anymore. He didn’t know what he wanted to do but he wanted to good, as some sort of constellation to the bad he had done over the years. He eventually rose and walked out the front doors before stopping. How was he going to get home? He was unable to apparate and he hadn’t thought to rent another car. He tried to think as he just looked out at the grounds. “Hey, Draco, you look...lost.” Draco winced slightly and looked to his left to see a girl. He recognized her as Donna Dowling,a slytherin at hogwarts in the year below him. A girl her friends had grown close to but he never was too personal with. “I, uh, I’m just trying to figure out how i’m going to get home thank you.” He deadpanned.
The girls features seemed to crease in worry. “I can give you a ride, I drive a muggle car. It won’t be much of a hassle.” Before Draco could object she had already started walking to a navy SUV. “It’s quite alright, I-“ He was cut off by the girl putting up her hand in protest and just opened the passenger side door in response. He slid into the seat, softly thanking her. He noticed an emerald key chain dangling from her key ring spelling out Donna. He remembered their mutual friends, their occasional small talk and her somewhat close friendship to Zambini.
Once she had began to back out of the parking space Draco started to snap at her but caught himself. “I really don’t need your help Dowling” The boy heard the harshness of his tone and heard the boy he was trying to leave in the past. He made a mental note to stop calling her by her last name. “I mean it is a relatively long drive you can just, uh, take me to a bus stop, or something.” The girl shook her head. “A bus isn’t going to get you to your house, and I really don’t mind.” She flipped on the radio and a R&B song softly started playing. “So, what are you thinking about doing after you graduate?” Donna quipped. There was several moments silence before Draco replied “I don’t have a clue, what profession are you interested in?” The girl smiled widely, “A healer. I’m fascinated by medicine and I want to help people. Do some good in this not so good world” Draco was taken aback, ‘doing some good huh’ he thought. He just nodded his head in response. After 5 or so more minutes Donna quietly started “Blaise told me about your parents, I’m really sorry. My parents knew them well.” He was again taken aback. She was being much more forward than he was used to. “It’s alright, really.” No longer feeling the need to put up a wall, or even take into account the fact he barely knew her he said “Father was an ass anyways” His shoulders loosened and his posture softened. “I was a bigot for years just to impress my father, a war criminal just for ‘daddies approval’ bullshit” He turned away from the girl and re-tensed his shoulders in shame. Draco was not one for outbursts of sharing feelings, especially to people they dont know well. Donna didn’t gasp in shock or scoff at him. She laughed. He turned to look at her once more, really looking at her this time. Her left leg was propped onto her seat and she couldn’t look less bothered in her sunglasses. There was something about her that just seemed at ease. As if the only thing to care about was how much longer the sun was in the sky. Her hair was slightly wavy, blonde, but not like his. It was a dark shade of honey. There was a light in her eyes. A light that was plentiful in nearly everyone 2 or so years ago, but had recently become scarce. “Draco it’s alright i really don’t mind, I don’t mind. Parents can be assholes, especially if they were literal criminals.” She lightly laughs at the end of her sentence. Her demeanor hardened and her tone became more serious. “It’s not you fault, you know. I know you had no other choice, you were just trying to protect your family.”
Draco’s throat tightened. No one had said that to him. He had never had the reassuring words that he so desperately needed. “Thank you.” He said just above a whisper, his voice threatening to break at the end. “You can be a good person, you can do good, Draco.” She added softly. More minutes of silence passed before Draco worked up the courage to ask. “Donna?” She mumbled an ‘mhm?’ “What happened to your parents? I know they fled after the first war. I don’t mean to intrude, and you don’t have to say anything I was just curious-“ Donna didn’t recognize this shy, sickly looking, emotionally unstable boy, stumbling over his words. The cocky, over the top boy was no where to be seen. The greusome sights of war had scared him away, leaving only this fragile blonde behind.
“They went into hiding underground when I was a year or so old. Don’t remenber them at all though. They left me with my aunt and uncle.” Draco instantly felt guilty that he asked. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.” Donna wasn’t phased by the question though. “No ! It’s quiet alright, my aunt and uncle cared for me as their own child. It had always been home, never knew anything different.” Draco felt at ease knowing that he hadn’t upset her. He finally felt a small bit of peace in her presence that he hadn’t found anywhere else.
The rest of the car ride was mainly comfortable silence, with occasional small talk. He thanked the girl as she dropped him off at the Malfoy Manor. He let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding when he closed his bedroom door. Someone finally believed he could be good.
by Anonymous (Apparently this is some kind of challenge event & the author’s name will be revealed later? idk but that’s what the author’s note said ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ - with any luck I’ll remember to check up on this later) :D
After putting his youngest on the Hogwarts Express, Harry feels a little lost and without direction in life. There’s someone on the platform who notices, though, who also knows how it feels to come back to an empty home. Can this someone help Harry find his way?
After years of contentment, acceptance, and ‘good enough’ — he never could have imagined that a whirlwind romance with his former childhood nemesis would become his something good after a lifetime of trials.
A story about love, happiness, and second chances.
Harry likes kids. That doesn't mean he's ready for a small boy to turn up on the doorstep of Grimmauld Place insisting that Harry is his father. That was weird enough, but the child identifying Draco Malfoy as his other parent was something Harry had no bloody idea how to handle.
Aaaaaaand.... here we are with another Drarry accidental child acquisition fluffy family fic.... still not sorry
Jaime wielded a sword well enough with his left hand, but a quill was a different beast altogether. Brienne found an ingenious solution, proposed in the form of a wager.
Or,
Jaime learned how to embroider to train the fine motor skills of his left hand.
THiS IS SOOOOOO GOOOD!!!! Fluffy post-canon adorable-ness. Just what the maester ordered for my tortured soul. I LOVE IT!
Summary: Draco attends a small private study for his 8th year and meets someone to ease his mind. Draco was a creature of habit. Change mad
Warning: Tobacco use mention
One whole week had passed at Eaden, the private institute of magical schooling. Draco had only seen 3 or 4 familiar faces besides Donna. He had never felt more out of control. In the past few months he had developed a neediness that he had never experienced before. In small ways he projected his neediness onto Donna, sitting next to her in ever class, just needing to be in a presence of something familiar.
She didn’t mind at all. In fact she also wanted to be in the presence of something familiar. The first night Draco locked himself away in his dorm room, but the lingering stares and whispers of his roomates pushed him into the common room. He sat on the same couch as Donna, on the opposite far end. Neither one of them spoke past a hushed greeting. From then on he would spend at least an hour a night just sitting across from her, working on homework, reading or simply just enjoying being near someone he could call a friend.
It was nearly 3 am and draco still lay awake. He rose from his bed and quietly stumbled down to the common room. He noticed one of the bay windows was opened. He neared closer and saw Donna perched on the roof, a lit cigar in her hand. Draco’s eyes widened at the sight. He had smoked cannabis shortly after the war to lighten the pressure in his mind, but never tobacco. “Donna” he called softly. The girl slowly turned her head and shifted on the roof making room for him. She held out her hand and he took it, stepping onto the roof. When he put her hand in hers a red hot tingle covered his fingers, even though her hands were cold. “I never pictured you as a smoker.” He said as he sat down next to her. She smiled softly and looked at him “I only do it once every few months, just clears the mind really nice.”
Donna looked over Draco. The moonlight lit his face perfectly, his hair had grown a little longer than she last remembered, and he stopped sweeping it to the side, but rather letting it fall on its own. He no longer wore the silk pyjama sets that he did at hogwarts, but rather just grey sweatpants and a t shirt. “Donna?” He snapped her out of her daze. “Oh sorry, I just to zoned out for a moment” He lightly laughed before telling her it was alright.
She held out the cigar for Draco. He barely thought twice before he put it in his mouth. She lit a match and held it to the cigar for several seconds before the fire crawled up the match close to her fingers. She blew out the match and dropped it in a cup of water. He took a puff of the cigar and starting coughing. Donna burst into laughter and Draco soon joined in. They tried to shush eachother between their giggles, as to not wake up anyone.
“You have to take really soft shallow hits, you can’t inhale that hard” She corrected. He nodded and tried it again, this time successfully inhaling and exhaling the smoke. “I see what you mean, it does take the edge off.” She smiled and nodded quickly “Yeah it doesn’t make you feel any different but it’s calming”
Draco passed back the cigar and looked at the sky “See those stars over there?” He pointed “That’s the Draco constellation” He grinned at her and it spread to her face. “Awh is that what you were named after?” He nodded in response to her question. “What were you named after?” he asked.
“My full name is Donatella, my aunt always called me Donna though. It was a character from her favorite musical Mamma Mia.” He nodded and they sat in a comfortable silence for another minute or so.
“Donna?” The boy softly quipped. She replied with a ‘mhm?’ “I never thought I’d tell you this” He starts softly laughing recounting a memory. “When it was my third year I believe, me and Blaise” He pauses not able to contain his giggles. “Me and Blaise got into this argument, for weeks. weeks! Because Blaise fancied you.” His giggles intensified and Donna tried to shush him, lightly laughing herself. “Why would the two of you fight over that?” She asked. “I might have fancied you a bit as well.” Donna snorted laughing. “That’s so stupid.”
Draco laughed even harder at her snort, and the two continued to try and silence their snickers, leaning on one another. After a minute or two their chuckles subsided and they stayed resting lightly on one another. “Why are there bloody rats printed on your pants?” Draco asked incredulously. “That’s mickey mouse! He’s a muggle children’s show character” The girl retorted. “Are your aunt and uncle muggles?” Donna shook her head.
“No, we just had a lot of muggle things around growing up. One of my cousins goes here, she’s in her 4th year. The other two graduated from Hogwarts a few years ago.” Draco nodded, “Tell me about them” Donna’s eyes lit up “May is 14 and she is the funniest, most outspoken girl you will ever meet, she always insisted I do her hair growing up. And there is Gaia, she’s 22. She has always been my rock, she is the sweetest most loyal person. We had dogs too, Polly and Olly. Vance is 19, and he is incredibly smart but he can be a little antisocial. They grew up knowing I wasn’t their sister but never really cared. They always treated me as such. And my aunt and uncle treated me as their daughter. My aunt is a nurse at st. mugos. My uncle is a curse breaker for a bank. I may have not had real parents but I had a family that wants the best for me and loves me. I wish I knew my parents, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.” She gushed
Draco just listened to her a smile on his face. Watching her talk about the people she loved made him feel warm. “What about you, tell me about your family.” Donna prompted. “Well I was an only child, I never really knew any other children until I was like, maybe 7? 8? Never had any cousins. My mother is a very selfless, very sweet witch. Smart too, but my father didn’t let her work. My Father is very formal, very focused on work. Very focused on you know who.”
Draco paused, his demeanor becoming somber. Donna leaned over and wrapped her arms round his waist. It took the boy by surprise, he couldn’t remember the last time a friend had comforted him in a hug. He slowly wrapped his arms around her shoulders, and pushed his face into the crook of her neck. They stayed like that for a few moments, Draco’s senses overpowered by everything Donna.
All he could smell was her coconut perfume and shampoo. All he could feel was the small arms around his waist and her hair tickling his neck. All he could think about was the image of her laughing. All he could feel was her pure happiness infecting him. She pulled away and offered him a smile. It wasn’t full of pity, but rather hope. “Draco, against all odds, you are a good person. You were modeled after your father and you are still a good person. You’re going to do good things.”
Draco’s smile grew wider, he didn’t know how to express his appreciation in his words, so instead he just clutched her hand, making both their hands tingle with electricity. With her other hand Donna dipped the end of the cigar in water and set it in a black box. Draco picked up two polaroid pictures in the black box. They were pictures of Donna and a blonde girl. In one a cigar hung out of Donnas mouth and the blonde girl was holding up a peace sign. In the other photo the blonde had the cigar between her lips and donna had her mouth open in laughter.
“Who’s this?” He asks. “That’s my best friend Jorian. She went back to hogwarts.” He nodded. “We really should get back to bed.” Draco stepped back into the common room nearly falling over. He extended a hand to help Donna off the roof, she grabbed his hand and the warm tingling over took both of their hands for the third time that night.
Once they were in their own beds drifting off to sleep, both of them had smiles lingering on their faces, having finally found peace for their restless minds.
A/N: I might turn this into a bit of a short series? Would anyone be interested in reading that once or twice a week? I’m getting a little attached donna and post war draco, I really want to develop these characters. Any suggestions for future parts?
Professor Malfoy's world is contained, controlled, and as solitary as he can make it, but when an act of petty revenge goes horribly awry, he and his trusty six-legged friend are thrown into Hogwarts life at the deep end and must learn to live, love and let go.
Professsssssor MALFOY...... is an amazing post-canon AU. I love it. Give me more!!! <3 <3
