An Unfortunate Arrangement? Chapter 1
The story begins with Astoria Greengrass and her mother on visit to Malfoy Manor. She is 18 and has just left Hogwarts. After the Second Wizarding War, Pure-Blood families are desperate to continue their family's bloodlines and arranged marriages are happening left right and centre. The Malfoys and Greengrasses have reached an agreement that Draco and Astoria are to be married, problem is they haven't met. Astoria has come to meet her future husband, but will she want to marry him after this meeting?
Please read and review! This is my first fic and it probably has a few mistakes. Please tell me if you find any! :)
"Mother, for heavens sakes!" Astoria snapped. Her mother spun her around to face her, "I know you don't want this, but you knew it was going to happen sooner or later, so stop going on about it." Astoria sighed and crossed her arms as her mother rang the doorbell to Malfoy Manor. "Now, you won't be rude or disrespect them," her mother said firmly. A tall, long blonde haired man opened the door with a stern look on his face and gestured for them to enter. Astoria heard them talking, she knew exactly what about. "I'll see you in the morning. Behave." her mother said. "Morning? Wha-" she was interrupted. "He's just through there," said Lucius Malfoy.
Draco looked outside the window in front of him, his freedom seeming like a mere dream from the past. He didn't want this, not at all, but he didn't have a choice, and as he had lived his whole youth proud of the fact he was a pure-blood, he knew things could be so much worse. As he heard footsteps and the door opening, he waited for a while for Astoria to come inside before standing up and walking to the doorway, leaning slightly against the wall.
As Lucius opened the door Astoria felt her stomach tighten. Leaning against a stone wall, staring out the window was a very pale, very blond Draco Malfoy. Or so she assumed, as there was nobody else there. Lucius shut the door behind her and she made her way quietly towards Draco. She was sure she could hear her own heart beating as she let out a sheepish "Hello?"
As Astoria walked into the room, Draco stood up and looked at her expressionlessly, walking over to shake her hand. It's not something he'd do usually, but his father had reminded him of good manners expected of him, and on some level he felt a need to impress her. "Hey." was all he said, simply yet firmly, as he looked deeply into her eyes.
"I'm Astoria." she wasn't really sure what to say, his standing up so suddenly had shocked her. "I suppose you know more about this than I do. My mother didn't tell me much." He nodded and beckoned her over to a green chesterfield sofa in front of the roaring fire.
"I know who you are." Draco said simply, still looking into her eyes, yet in a way he avoided her looking back. "I don't know too much. Just enough.'' He replied and sat down next to her on the sofa. "What exactly do you know then, Astoria?''
"Only that the wedding is set for September, and afterwards we are to live in Greengrass Manor by which time my mother will have moved to her summer home." It was May. Suddenly everything seemed so...soon. She avoided his gaze as she waited for a reply.
"I think that's enough to know." Draco commented. His voice was blank and he wasn't ready to leave everything for this. Even when he knew he couldn't let his parents down again. But at least for once in his life, he hoped he could have someone that he had had a chance to say his opinion to.
"I suppose." she said dazedly. He was so cold; she wondered why he suddenly seemed so distant and angry. "If I might ask," she said "are we expected to ...reproduce?" Her cheeks immediately blazed as she asked the question that her interfering mother refused to answer.
As soon as Astoria had finished her question, Draco turned his eyes at her, and nearly gave her a glare, before he remembered that he'd have to stay calm. "I don't know anything about that. I suppose they'd want us to." He was rather pleased with himself that he managed to say it so well, after she had nearly given him a heart attack by asking it.
"Right..." She felt so stupid. Draco looked kind of upset by the notion of children. She almost got lost in a fantasy about what their children would look like, before she woke herself up and remembered who was there with her. "Um... my mother said some thing about seeing me in the morning. Am I supposed to be staying here the night or something?" Once again, she felt ridiculously embarrassed but she felt that the question needed asking.
As Draco got himself finally calmed down, he began to realize how this incredibly awkward conversation he was having, was with his soon to be wife, and he nearly freaked out again, but luckily he heard Astoria saying something, and it was just what he needed to stay concentrated. "I think so." He hoped his short responses wouldn't offend her, because he didn't have anything personal against her, but he hated the situation in general.
"I hope I'm not being rude, but won't you give me a proper answer? I hardly know you and we're getting married, for god's sakes! I mean,, do you want me to think of you as a cold-hearted man who can't string two words together?" she stood up, looking him in the eyes for the first time since she had entered the large dark room. She was angry. "Well?!"
At first Astoria's reaction got him slightly confused, but he was good at getting angry as well. "I don't care how you think about me! I'm not interested. I'm only getting married to you because it's arranged and I don't want to be a disgrace to my family." he said and stood up, looking at Astoria, who was much shorter than him. "Do you have anything else?"
Oh gods Astoria, you've really dropped yourself in it now. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I DO." She was trembling.." If I'm to get married to you I want to at least know you. I know you only want this for your family, Malfoy, but here's a news flash: your's isn't the only pure-blood family gripping anything to survive. Can't you grasp that in your tiny little head? My family hates me enough as it is, and I didn't want to get married either, but distancing yourself from me isn't going to make anything better."
"What if I don't want you to know me? I don't care who you are, and it doesn't really matter. And that's reason enough for me to be distant from you. You're a stranger, Astoria!" Draco said, sounding a bit frustrated. "Don't you get it? We're just getting married, and that's it. Nothing more and nothing less.''
The presence of a small, thin house elf with a round nose interrupted the argument, so before Astoria was able to retort, it was announced that dinner was served, and would Master Malfoy and Miss Greengrass please accompany the rest of the family at the dinner table? Malfoy gave her a look that said "we'll discuss this later" and he led her along a dark corridor and to the elegant, expensive-looking dining room.
In a way Draco was more than glad that they got interrupted, so that he'd have some time to process everything he had said and heard a while ago. He opened the door and let Astoria go first, and led the way to the dining room, as he offered her a seat, sitting beside her.
Astoria was sat opposite Narcissa Malfoy. She bit her lip and sat silently eating her dinner until Lucius striked up a conversation, much to her relief as she had been nervously going over what had come between her and Draco in the sitting room in her head. "So, Miss Greengrass, I am sure you and Draco are getting along quite...swimmingly?"
"Just fine" she replied and looked back to her plate of food, avoiding anyone's gaze.
Draco glanced sharply up at Astoria, but then looked back at his plate, finishing his dish. He didn't say anything, as he didn't see a reason to, but he couldn't get all that had happened away from his head. "Thank you." He mumbled quietly as he had eaten all of his food and he looked at his mother, knowing that she'd understand him.
Narcissa nodded at Draco, giving him permission to leave the room and then turned back to Astoria jerking her head softly as if to tell her to go after him. Astoria got up from her chair and made for the sitting room once again. As soon as she came out of the door, the paleness of a certain Draco Malfoy caught her attention. He was leaning on the wall in the corridor, just outside the dining room. She stood stock still, and she just heard him say "I'm sorry, Astoria." He looked up at her and offered her his arm. She took it and they walked slowly upstairs to yet another sitting room.