Aconite - Dramione/Blinny

Ch. 49

"I see your family is here as well," Aster said as they passed by the dance floor where most of the Weasley family had paired off and were dancing together.

"Oh yes, they were all very nervous to come, though," Ginny said, nearly instantly regretting the words as she spoke them.

Aster gave her a small smile and patted her hand. "I can understand their hesitation. But it appears that many of the fanatical purebloods are conveniently missing so I doubt that anyone would take issue with their presence."

Ginny gave her a surprised look as they stopped at the bar, and Aster gave an excited smile. "Oh, they've got a bottle of their rare Superior Red! We must share it."

"Superior Red?" Ginny asked, confused as she eyed the bottle.

"Yes," Aster nodded, gesturing for the bartender's attention. "It's one of the Malfoy family's pride and joy; the original wine from the former Malfoy Apothecary. Red wine matured for a thousand years."

Ginny's eyes went wide as she stuttered, "Oh, that's so...that's too much, I couldn't-"

Aster waved her off. "Nonsense; I insist!"

Ginny gaped as Aster let the bartender know of the wine she wanted, and even the bartender seemed surprised at the request of the entire bottle but nodded and went to retrieve it from another room.

"Are you sure they'll be alright with you purchasing an entire bottle?" Ginny asked, casting a nervous glance to Lucius and Narcissa. "If it's such a rare wine..."

"They'll be perfectly fine with it, don't worry," Aster said with a smile. "The Malfoys back then were very smart and made sure to make thousands of bottles each year of this wine, so there is plenty for them to enjoy for years to come. That and Narcissa still owes me for finishing one of my bottles of rare wine earlier this summer."

Ginny couldn't help but grin at this, watching as the bartender returned with the bottle of wine and two glasses. After opening and recorking the bottle, he smiled as he handed over two glasses that Aster happily took along with the bottle and turned back to Ginny.

"Shall we?" She asked, gesturing towards a nearby empty table.

"Do you need help carrying those?" Ginny asked, reaching a hand out for the glasses.

"I've had plenty of practice carrying multiple wine glasses," Aster smiled as she began walking towards the table. "Narcissa is not very good at holding her wine after a while."

Ginny laughed again as she followed to the table, pulling Aster's seat out for her since her hands were full.

"Ah, thank you, dear," Aster said gratefully as she sat down and began pouring the wine. "I must say, I was rather surprised when I discovered that Blaise had become romantically interested in you."

Ginny's smile faltered at this, and she avoided eye contact as Aster offered her a glass of the wine. "He mentioned that you were somewhat distraught about it."

With a heavy sigh, Aster gently swirled the wine around in her glass, her mouth forming a thin line as she contemplated what to say. After a few moments of silence, she began slowly, "I was rather... caught off guard at first. Blaise had never shown interest in anyone before, even though I tried to have him meet many eligible women. None of them caught his eye. It was starting to become rather distressing. He never spoke to me regarding his love life, which I don't necessarily blame him for; I wasn't exactly the best example of a woman with a stable relationship."

Ginny managed a smile at this as Aster sighed again and went on. "But then all of a sudden, he seemed happier in his letters. I could just tell the difference in his words and how he wrote them. I knew something had changed, and that he had found someone. He refused to tell me who it was at first though, and of course I was worried; my own son was hesitant to tell me who his significant other was. Was he worried I wouldn't approve?"

She took a sip from her wine, humming happily for a moment before gesturing to Ginny. "Try it, dear! You'll never have better wine!"

Ginny took a small sip, blinking in surprise and looking down at the glass. Aster was right; this was the best wine she had ever had. "You were not kidding about this..."

"I never kid when it comes to quality," Aster said proudly.

After taking another sip, Ginny asked, "So...you didn't know it was me until the Prophet broke the news of our relationship?"

Aster nodded sadly. "I was more distraught that I had to find out from the paper who my son was with. I will admit though, I was certainly unhappy at first that it was you."

She looked over at Ginny sadly as she said, "Unfortunately old habits die hard, and my first reaction was that you were not good enough for this family. But then I realized that my initial reaction was exactly why Blaise didn't tell me in the first place, and I felt immediately guilty for my thoughts on his chosen significant other. I never wanted to have my son afraid to tell me anything out of fear of rejection, but unfortunately that's exactly what happened."

She reached over then to take Ginny's hand, giving it a soft squeeze. "The only thing I've ever wanted was for my son to be happy. We spoke many times after the Prophet leaked your relationship and I came to realize that he was happier than I had ever seen him. It was almost as if he were a new person, and I couldn't help but love the person who made him as happy as he was."

Ginny smiled widely at this, glancing to Blaise as she said, "I can't even begin to tell you how happy your son makes me as well; I love him very much, and I was honestly scared that you wouldn't approve."

"My dear, regardless of how I thought of you and your family in the past, I can see now just how happy you make him and how much you love him," Aster said warmly. "And I couldn't ask for anything more. I see now that Blaise would never be as happy with anyone else as he is with you, and that in turn makes me happy that he has found a woman to share his love and happiness with."

Any nerves that Ginny had were now gone as she beamed, squeezing Aster's hand as well. The two shared a smile and Aster sighed happily. "Well! Hopefully now my son won't avoid me as much!"

Ginny laughed. "He was very happy to see you! He was just nervous."

"I could tell," Aster said with a smile. "He was always nervous when telling me new things. He keeps glancing over here as well."

"He just likes to spy on my conversations," Ginny said jokingly, rolling her eyes.

"He's always been a curious one," Aster shook her head. "Sometimes too curious for his own good."

Ginny  raised  an  eyebrow  while  grinning  and  Aster  laughed.  "Oh,  the  stories  I  could  tell  you,  dear..."

A/N: Love writing a good relationship between Ginny and Aster, I see them getting along very well! Love you all! <3