A/N: Written for the Freeverse Challenge (prompts: Draco/Astoria, tears, light, strength) and the Canon Pairings Challenge (pairing: Draco/Astoria).
He grew up in a world where to live was to hate,
but it was his to rule,
so he loved it like a fool
who couldn't see the cliff up ahead
until he was going, going, gone.
Over the edge, under the streams,
lost in a burrow of broken dreams.
He was thrown into a world where to live was to die,
his only hope to wait
for one boy to locate his fate,
so he clung to his family, his friends – no pride,
and he did what he had to so they would survive.
A cautious pauper from a myopic prince,
his sins seemed too dark to ever be rinsed.
He was taken to a world where to live was to cry
at haunting memories
of screaming enemies
and then to take a deep breath and try
to make amends, forgive, forget, and move on.
Abandoned by all but a few loyal peers,
he was left to rebuild himself amidst the tears.
He built himself a world where to live was to know
how each and every word
could sow peace or discord,
so he reflected and then,
from his values,
defected,
and pulled himself up, up, and out of the hole.
In this new land, he met a girl with eyes as fierce as fire
and a strength of heart that could, forsooth, any man inspire.
She showed him a world where to live is to love,
so he took a chance
on a new romance,
and they settled down in a quiet uptown
to discover who they were without the war.
Together, the two survivors created a world of their own
where light, love and peace were all that was known.
A/N: ...I couldn't resist the Hamilton reference, even though it isn't entirely grammatical. What's happening to me?!