A/N :This was written for the challenge/contest "The Challenge That Must Not Be Named" by Never-ending Nights with you and honeybeebeauty.
Round 1: Prompt: Pick any book, poem, or song of your choice to base a fic around.
Mine is inspired by Anna Gavalda's book Je l'aimais. The situations aren't similar to the book. I only used the father-in-law/daughter-in-law weird relationship. The characters belong to JK Rowling.
It's now Beta-read by Never-ending Nights with you. Thanks!!
Draco and Astoria were dating now for a year, and Lucius Malfoy had never addressed one word towards his son's fiancée. At this moment, they sat in the parlor, alone, while waiting for Draco.
The problem was not the girl, no. She was all that Lucius could have expected for his son: rich, pureblood, beautiful and smart. The only problem was her striking resemblance with Dona Greengrass, Astoria's mother. The two shared the same elegance, grace, and those bright green eyes and chocolate hair. And Lucius could not bear it: It reminded him his former love for the brunette beauty, and it was painful.
Dona had left him and ran away with Roger Greengrass. Lucius and Dona had been a one-sided couple, arranged by his parents: He loved her, she ignored him. He knew, deep inside, that she wasn't happy with him. That she loved someone else. But his egotism had refused to let her go and until the last moment, for he had believed he would change her mind. He had been ready to argue with her.
But he never did.
He never had a chance; she had left the night before the wedding, only leaving a one-line explanation note: you knew it, I'm sorry.
He had been furious, he had yelled that if he crossed her path again, he would make her regret her decision. He vociferated that she had hurt his pride and that he would never forgive her. When, in fact, he had only hoped for her to come back to him. He didn't even expect an apology from her.
But she never came back.
She never came back and he married Narcissa Black, who loved him with all her heart; she was a safe woman to love. Narcissa Black who had given him a son, who was now going to marry a Greengrass.
Lucius Malfoy scowled while looking at her.
"Do you think that Draco will come home soon?" asked Astoria politely.
"What? Maybe you're afraid he ran away two days after your engagement party?" replied Lucius with an angry tone.
Astoria was taken aback; she rarely talked with Draco's father, but this time he was being harsh.
"I think you have a problem with me, sir, and I'd appreciate if you could explain it to me instead of being so rude. I know that you probably believe I'm stealing your son from you, but I'm not. We are in love and we're going to be married. There is nothing bad about it," she explained.
Lucius snorted. She was too much like her mother: Calm and quiet, but strong and defiant. "You're too much like your mother," he murmured mostly for him, but she heard it.
"You... knew my mother?"
Dona Greengrass died when Astoria was eleven, she was surprised Lucius Malfoy actually knew her. Her father never mentioned that the two families were acquainted.
"I knew Dona at Hogwarts, yes."
On those words, he left her.
---
Twenty-one years later
Astoria had been called from work at eleven AM today; Draco had had an accident. He was badly injured, and had been transported to St Mungos. She arrived at the hospital as soon as possible. He was there, lying on the bed, paler than usual. She stayed by his side for a while before being replaced by Narcissa. One visitor at the time, they said.
She left the room and joined Lucius in the waiting room. Their relationship had always been weird, even after twenty-two years. He was cold and distant with her, and he never explained himself. It was not for lack of request from Draco's part. But he hadn't said a word of explanation about the cold treatment he inflicted to Astoria. He always ignored her, but not this time.
"Does Scorpius know?" he asked kindly to her.
It surprised Astoria.
"No, I don't think I'll let him know yet. He's in Hogwarts, I don't want him to worry. ..." Her voice was weak. "Draco will be okay, he has to be okay."
Tears escaped her green eyes, and to her astonishment, Lucius awkwardly patted her back.
"Yes, don't worry, he'll be fine soon."
It was a small gesture, but coming from Lucius Malfoy, it meant a lot to her. She smiled at him.
Seeing the girl so sad and worried made Lucius understand something: He was wrong when he had compared her to Dona. Sure, she looked exactly like her mother, but in reality she was exactly like Narcissa. She was a loving mother and wife, who would never injure them on purpose like Dona had done to him.
And it was what Lucius wanted for his son; he wanted for him to find his Narcissa. Because now, Astoria reminded him of Narcissa.