Disclaimer: HP is definitely not mine. :) A/N: First of all, thank you for all those who read and reviewed my previous story, Being Mrs. Malfoy. I feel honored that you all enjoyed it. :) This story here is a kind of sequel to that one, although this could very well stand on its own. If you've read all my stories, you'll realize that most of the post-DH ones are really quite connected. So yeah, anyway, this story just tries to give light to the events of the previous one. It might not be as fresh or surprising as the other but I hope you still enjoy it. :)
Draco Malfoy knew the moment he stepped out of the fireplace that something was amiss. For one thing, his study was clean – impeccably so. He might have believed he was Merlin's gift to women but he knew he was not a neat man. On normal days, his books would be all over the desk and couch, pieces of ripped paper used as page markers. His quill would be lying around somewhere, a pool of ink at its tip. Never did he stack his papers properly or shut any of the desk's drawers fully. The Malfoy house elves could attempt to clean and organize his space all they wanted but he was aware they would never succeed.
Afraid of what he might – or might not find, Draco hesitantly pulled the bottom drawer of his desk open. The envelopes inside were stacked as neatly as the folders on his desk. It served to prove his suspicion that someone had been messing with his things. He could only hope it was Tibby the house elf and not his wife.
"Love, you're home early," came a sweet voice from beyond the study door.
"Ahh, yes. I missed you," he replied sheepishly as he slammed the drawer shut.
Astoria merely smiled at him and gave him a light kiss. "Do you like what I've done to your study? Nice, isn't it? You really should try to be less sloppy, dear."
"Perhaps I should. In fact, I have more papers here in my briefcase. Why don't I put them away while you put on something nice? I'm thinking of having dinner somewhere special tonight."
"Okay, love, whatever you say."
The moment his wife left, Draco rushed back to his desk. There, at the back of the bottom drawer, was a small green box. Grateful that his secret had not been found out, he grabbed it and dropped the ring case into his pocket.
Astoria must never find out.
***
Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy stepped out of the Italian restaurant hand in hand. Their meal had been delicious and Draco could not help but feel a rush of warmth in his heart. She was a good woman, his wife. He was lucky to have her.
"Let's take a walk. It's not everyday that we Malfoys can be out in public without a gang of reporters at our tail. We should make the best of it."
"Sure, love."
Upon reaching a small park, Draco led them to a bench and both settled down to chat.
"We're in Muggle London, you know."
"Are we now? How nice," she replied sweetly.
"They say Muggles do this a lot. Sit in parks, I mean." Draco's eyebrows furrowed and he added, "Couples apparently do it the most often."
The pair was quiet for a while and the former Slytherin prince allowed his thoughts to wander.
Marrying Astoria Greengrass was perhaps one of the best decisions he made in his life. From the moment they were formally introduced, she had been smitten with him and had given him undivided attention. She was sweet, charming and intelligent – the first two qualities most pureblood women did not possess. While she may not have been the best woman out there, she had done her best for him. In the end, it was all a husband could really ask for. Fully aware of what - or rather who - it was he couldn't have, he was lucky to have found her.
"So," his wife began. "Did you bring her here as well?"
All of a sudden, alarm bells started to ring in Draco's head. Ring. Ring. Ring! He had taken the ring – it was there in his pocket! She hadn't seen it, hadn't taken it. Astoria couldn't have known about it – or the woman to whom he had intended it for – could she?
"Love, I assure you, I have taken no – "
"Draco, I know."
"Wha – ?"
"That – that mudbloood," she replied with distaste.
"Muggleborn."
"Same thing."
Draco turned to Astoria and saw that her face was drawn and emotionless. It was the first time he had seen her put on her version of the Slytherin mask.
"Whatever you saw, love, it meant nothing."
"Oh really? Even if it were a ring – a very expensive one I might add – that you had intended to give to another woman?"
"It was a long time ago, love," he replied. Draco tried to take her hand but she pulled it away. "Love, please. It's been years and years."
He reached for her hand again. This time, she stood up and apparated away.
***
Twelve days and still Draco heard nothing from her. He knew it would be best to wait it out a little before he started looking. If he went for her too soon, she might still be angry and upset with him. He had no plans of getting into an argument, a fight that he already knew he wouldn't win.
"Draco."
He turned and all of a sudden she was there in the room with him. In three strides, he was in front of her. Tentatively, he placed his arms around her and breathed a sigh of relief when he felt her returning his hug.
"Draco. This – this is far from over. Yet I know you deserve the chance to explain. So tell me. I want to know, to hear the whole story."
All of a sudden he was aware of the daunting task before him. Hermione Granger - Weasley now, he had to keep telling himself - was and remained to be the love of his life. He had loved her for years, loved her for longer than he had been in this marriage. His feelings were something he did not fully understand and which he was sure Astoria would not even begin to comprehend either.
"Promise me, love."
"What?"
"Promise me that you will not lie to me. I will hear you out the best that I can but you will have to make sure that everything you say is true."
"Promise," he replied resignedly. Draco made his way to the couch and motioned for Astoria to join him. She did but decided to sit on the other end. It would be a long night.
***
"When?"
"It was after the War. I've already told you how difficult that time was for me. I was alive when I felt that I did not deserve to be. It became a habit of mine to go the graveyard. It was one of the few places where I felt at peace. Death complimented me. Death was what I deserved. In the beginning, a lot of people were there also. When slowly they began to pick up their lives' pieces, I found myself mostly alone – until she started visiting the place too. She'd been going there a few months before we spoke to each other. It wasn't anything much, not really. We would fight a bit like we used to do in school. Later on we started having these conversations about the war – life and death and why we were still there breathing."
"So you became friends."
"Yes, I suppose we were. I used to be at the graveyard everyday. She only visited once a week. Later she would come more often and that was when we really started talking I think. It was strange, the way we seemed to have our own world in that graveyard. We talked about a lot of things – our childhoods, Hogwarts , the war – but we never talked about our present lives, the ones we were living outside the iron gates. After about eleven months, she stopped coming. I began to wonder why but I supposed it was because she had finally gone and done what I always told her to do. She'd decided to really live and leave the graves."
"And that was it?"
Draco ignored her question, closed her eyes and continued, "She came back exactly one year after we first spoke to each other. I was surprised that she did. A few days earlier, I had read in the paper that she was marrying Weasley. While we never spoke of our feelings towards each other, I knew she cared for me. Loved me, even. When I read about their engagement, it hurt me. I knew things between us were impossible – forbidden in a way. But I was young and there were times when I fancied myself running away with her."
"Wait. Their engagement in the paper? I remember that. Something important happened then. It was – "
"It was the day I agreed to marry you, Astoria."
Tears were threatening to spill from his wife's eyes but she remained firm. She looked at Draco and asked him to continue.
"Like I said, we both knew that things between us would never work out. We were fine within the confines of that graveyard but the moment we stepped out of it, we had different lives, different duties. We couldn't impose ourselves on each other."
"I was a duty."
"Love, no. Please do not think of it that way. It was a long time ago."
"That day was perhaps the happiest of my entire life, Draco. I take it wasn't yours."
"How I felt that day is no longer consequential."
"Of course they are, you bloody git! They're important if up to now, they're still the way you feel!"
"My feelings have changed, I can assure you that. Granted I was not in love with you when we were engaged but I was not forced into it either. I chose you."
"You chose me because I was the only one you could have."
Draco had nothing to say to this and decided to just stand up and stare outside the window.
Things were not turning out the way he wanted them to. For the past fifteen years, he had done his best to forget her and to keep his feelings at bay. His efforts proved to be futile but then he'd already known that deep inside. He and Hermione had a certain connection that he was not able to have with anyone else, not even his wife.
He loved Astoria, truly he did. She had been there for him through the years, had shared so many memories and had given him a wonderful son. But unlike his love for his former classmate, his love for Astoria was limited. It did not overflow from his heart and drive him crazy. Nor was it enough to make him do spontaneous things like purchasing a charmed ring.
Draco bought that ring on a whim. That morning he'd woken up with so much love in his heart – enough to make him decide to take their relationship to a new level, one outside of the graveyards. He had felt sure she would be there that day. She wasn't. He'd waited for hours but Hermione never came.
The next time they met, both were already engaged.
"Did you ever see her after that?" Astoria asked when she realized he had no plans of responding to her last statement.
"Yes."
"When?"
"Another year went by. We only spoke for a while - mostly about our upcoming weddings. A couple of days after, she came back. She was marrying Weasley the next day. In a way, we were saying goodbye to each other. We knew that after we married, we'd have to give our meetings up. More than anything, we wanted to be loyal and faithful spouses."
"Then it was over?"
"Soon. A week before I was wed to you, she visited the graveyard again. I hadn't expected it though I had hoped to see her again. And, well - remember the day after Scorpius was born?"
"Yes. You left after our visitors arrived at St. Mungo's."
"She was there again. She'd heard of him."
"Of course."
"I stopped visiting the graveyard after her last visit."
"When was this?"
"Three years after you gave birth."
"Why?"
"She told me she was starting to love her husband."
***
Hermione Weasley had met Astoria Malfoy face to face only once in her life – King's Cross Station, Platform 9 ¾ some ten months ago. From that meeting, she could tell that Draco had done better for himself than she had expected. His wife was beautiful and though she had an air of pureblood grace, she also seamed to be quite pleasant and approachable. She'd heard from others that Astoria was also quite intelligent – not brilliant like Hermione herself but competent enough.
Needless to say, she had managed to avoid the Malfoy couple for the past fifteen years.
That was, of course, until today.
"Mrs. Weasley."
"Mrs. Malfoy."
"You were not expecting me, yes?"
"Uhmm…No, actually," Hermione replied nervously. "So what may I do for you?"
"I am here to talk," the blonde woman replied quietly. "I want to talk about my husband."
***
"I'm sure you have heard things about me."
"A little. You are a Malfoy after all. The spotlight adores you."
Astoria smirked and continued, "Yes, quite. But before we start our 'talk', I want to make some things clear. First, despite my reputation as a 'nice' woman, it would do well to remember that I am still a Slytherin. Deceit and cunningness are not below me. Second, I am here because I want to know certain things. You will not lie to me, Mrs. Weasley. I need to get these things out of my head so Draco and I can move forward. Lastly, I am and always will be Mrs. Draco Malfoy. Nothing will ever change that. Whatever you hear from me today, please do well to keep it to yourself. And pray do not allow them to give you any stupid or romantic notions."
"I am beyond having those notions, Mrs. Malfoy. Do not insult me."
"Good," Astoria replied. "We may begin."
***
"Everything he told you is true. Draco and I were young and raw. We found comfort in each other's friendship. Really, it was a long time ago, Mrs. Malfoy. We haven't spoken to each other in years."
"You were in love."
"Perhaps. But as I said, it was all in the past."
The younger woman fished a box out of her purse and placed it on Hermione's desk.
"I believe you still are."
In the box was an emerald and ruby encrusted ring that Draco Malfoy had purchased long ago for one Hermione Granger. Inscribed in the band were the words: Forever. DM and HG.
Before Hermione could ask her what it all meant, Astoria was already gone.
***
As she stepped into the comforts of her home, the last part of Mrs. Malfoy's conversation with her husband played over in her head.
"I'm sure you've discovered that that ring is charmed."
"It gives off a certain energy," she shrugged.
"The moment love dies, the band disintegrates."A/N: Thank you for reading. :) I think I will be writing one last story to end my my interpretation of the post-DH years. It will try to link this story to Wealth: Of Loving and Letting Go. Thank you again for your support. Please review if you have the time. :)