Part 1 of 3: The Execution
Thunder crashed loudly as Draco Malfoy stepped quietly through the darkened streets of London, headed toward his flat where he lived with his fiancée, Astoria Greengrass. The office had closed an hour early and Draco was on his way home to surprise her. The umbrella, existing as his only form of shelter, shielded him from the heavy rain. There was a strange echoing from each drop pounding just above his head. The dismal weather was emotionally exhausting and he was relieved to finally make it to the front door of his flat. Draco closed the umbrella and leaned it against the wall near the door.
Before Draco got the chance to remove his coat, an unusual sound captured his attention, forcing his feet further. As he neared the bedroom, the unidentified noises became painfully more recognizable. The bedroom door creaked slightly as Draco inched it open to peer inside, but the occupants of the room did not seem to notice. They were far too focused on their vigorous activity. Draco felt his stomach turn violently at the sight of the betrayal. As his head began to spin, he leaned against the door for support, causing it to open further. Unfortunately, the motion caused a louder creaking from the door. That time the sound did not go unnoticed. Stormy grey eyes locked momentarily with the chocolate brown ones before Draco slowly backed away from the room. He was desperate to escape before the shock wore away and the anger set in.
"Draco, wait!" Astoria's voice called as he stumbled back toward the front door. She rushed out of the bed, wrapping the bed sheet around her naked body, and followed her fiancé to the front door. She reached out and gripped his arm. "Draco! Baby, please, wait!"
"Don't!" Draco shouted, wheeling around to face her aggressively and yanking his arm away from her. The expression on his face displayed all of the tortured emotions he was feeling. "Don't even start with that 'baby' stuff with me right now!"
"Draco, please, try to understand!"
"Understand!? Understand what!? Why you would cheat on me!? I don't want to understand! I just want to get away from you!"
"Draco, can't we just t–"
"I'm going to sleep at my office tonight – don't follow me – and I'll have Blaise come by tomorrow to get all of my stuff." Draco took one last disgusted look at Astoria and exited the flat. He returned back out into the heavy rain, not even bothering to take the umbrella with him.
Astoria stood frozen, staring at the closed door. Suddenly the entire rest of the world disappeared and she was left with a deep pit in her stomach. The realization of what she had done and what it had cost her hit her harder than a Stunning Spell. She stormed back into the bedroom, viciously kicked out her guest, and began recklessly rummaging through all of the books that Draco had set up on his many shelves.
No, no, no, I can't let this happen, Astoria thought, there has to be a way to get him back!
Her hands were frantic as she flipped through the pages, desperate for any information that would be useful. The contemplated the idea of using a powerful memory charm on Draco, but the idea was quickly tossed away as she continued flipping through pages.
What about a Love Potion, Astoria wondered, skimming over the information.
"'A Love Potion causes the drinker to become infatuated or obsessed with the one who gave them the potion,'" she read out loud. "True love cannot be produced through artificial means. There is an antidote to counteract the effect of Love Potions, however, the effects will wear off on their own after time. Ingredients include Ashwinder eggs, rose thorns, peppermint, and Moonstone powder.'"
Astoria frowned at the text. "This won't do. By the time I can collect the ingredients and brew the bloody potion, Draco could be gone. Besides, I can't risk it wearing off or having someone slip him the antidote. There has to be another way."
Astoria desperately flipped from page to page, from one book to another. The more she read, the more desperate she became. Her sanity was slowly slipping away and each plan she came up with was increasingly irrational. The official plan was chosen after four long hours of searching. She slipped on her dark purple, silk nightie, her black heels, and the diamond heart necklace that Draco gave her for their first anniversary. She smiled at her reflection, knowing that the dark purple was Draco's favourite. She wondered for a short moment if she was going a little over the top, but shook away the thought quickly, pulled her coat over herself, and left.
The empty corridors filled with the echoing of clicking heels. Determination drove her past each office door until she came to the desired door that had her husband-to-be's name printed across it. The cold doorknob had never felt so difficult to turn or the door so heavy to push open as her heart raced. This was her last chance to change her mind. There were no sounds coming from inside the office, nor any light shining. She ignored the feeling gnawing at her that this was a bad idea and slipped into the room. Draco was lying on the small sofa against the side wall of his office, tucked underneath his coat for warmth, asleep. Astoria walked over and stroked the side of his face, willing him to wake up.
"Draco?" she whispered, smiling as he unconsciously turned his face toward her hand. He shifted toward her and his eyes fluttered open. He blinked rapidly at her, waiting for his eyes to adjust so that he could figure out who he was looking at. "Hi, baby."
His face contorted into an expression of disgusted anger. He sat up and leaned back away from her, shoving her hand away from his face. "Astoria? What the hell are you doing here?"
"I came here to fix everything."
"You can't fix this!" Draco growled, tossing his coat off himself. The blond stood up and made his way to the door, holding it open for her. "You need to leave. Now."
Astoria pulls her wand out of her coat and sets it on the desk. Her dark brown eyes burned into grey ones as she slowly unbuttoned her coat and let it fall from her shoulders. Draco's expression faltered for only a moment as he glanced over her outfit, but he refused to let it get to him. He wasn't going to allow her to seduce him into thinking everything was alright.
"I can't believe you thought that this was going to fix anything," he sighed, shaking his head at her. He turned to leave his own office.
"Actually, this wasn't exactly the whole plan," she called after him. He froze in the doorway, but didn't turn back to look at her, so he did not see her pick up her wand and point it at him.
"Oh, really? Than what master plan did you think was going to erase what you did?"
"Visdiligo Evinxi," she muttered the spell, staring at the pale blond hair that she was so in love with. Draco's entire body seemed to shudder as a pale, pink light wrapped itself in a spiral around him.
"Draco?" Astoria whispered. "Are you alright?"
Draco turned around and a smile broke across his face when he saw her. Then his eyes widened at the sight of what she was wearing, as if he had forgotten that he'd only just seen it a moment ago. The office echoed with the sound of the door slammed shutting and Astoria's yelp of surprise as Draco closed the distance between them and lifted her up in his arms.
"Where have you been? I missed you," Draco mewled, gripping at her waist and kissing fervently at her face and neck. She giggled happily as he dropped her onto the sofa and clambered on top of her. The two of them shifted, trying to make themselves comfortable, pulling at each other's clothes in the process. For a moment, Astoria felt guilty for what she had done, but the feeling was replaced by pure joy as he held her close and kissed her all over. It may not be right or honest, but she had to have him no matter what it took.
"I love you, Draco."