"Master Malfoy?" The little elf entered the room quietly, its big brown eyes wide.

"What?"

"There is a young lady here requesting to see you."

"I will be right down."

The house elf hurried away, long gone before its master exited the room.

"Pansy again, no doubt," the boy muttered as he made his way to the main entrance of his family's grand home. Upon entering the hallway, however, it became apparent that the 'young lady' here to visit him was not his 'girlfriend'.

"Astoria Greengrass," he whispered, more than a little surprised to see her.

"Draco!" The girl said warmly, a smile on her face as she whipped around from the portrait she had been admiring to walk toward him. To his immense surprise, she threw her arms around him and hugged him, as if it was normal for her to be standing in his house.

Draco paused for a moment, waiting until their awkward hug was over to speak. "Wha… What are you doing here?" Despite his efforts not to stare at her, he found himself soaking in every detail. She had changed so much since they had last met.

"What's wrong?" The seventeen year old smiled playfully, though her eyes were working hard to mask the concern she felt at his hesitance. "Can't a girl visit her best friend? If we even count as friends anymore. I mean, you've been avoiding me for ages."

"Uh.. Yeah," Draco looked pained as he awkwardly choked the words out, something similar to guilt clawing at his throat. "I can explain-"

Astoria quickly cut him off. "I'm only joking. It's fine. I'm sure you have your reasons," she said with a smile, a small gesture that immediately put Draco more at ease- though not by much. The tension in the room was only heightened by the fact that they were both ignoring it, and after a beat of silence, Draco nervously suggested that they head to his room so they could talk. Astoria complied, and they went on their not-so-merry way through the labyrinth of hallways and stairways. Finally, the two teens reached his over the top, Slytherin style bedroom. He noticed her looking around and couldn't keep a small smirk from climbing onto his face.

"You can sit," he offered, sitting on his bed and motioning for her to do the same. She did, still carefully studying his room, as if it would tell her about him. While she was busy analyzing the room, he was busy analyzing her. She had really changed, physically, since their last meeting. She had gotten taller by a few inches, though compared to him she was still quite short. He couldn't help but notice that she had really filled out, though he was slightly ashamed to be thinking such things about his childhood friend. His eyes moved to her face, and he drank in every detail, his attraction- scarily enough- only deepening. Her hair was the same dirty blonde color, but the frizzy mess of curls, which had always been such a source of amusement, had calmed down some, instead falling around her face in soft waves. She turned toward him suddenly, and their eye contact was electric, as were her eyes. They were still blue, a little too intense, and much too big for her face.

"I would say nice room, but it seems you already know that. I see you still have no other facial expression than that stupid little smirk, though I must say, you've grown into it more now," she said coolly, though the skill with which she was able to copy his smirk perfectly was shocking to him. It had been so long; had he really changed that little? Within seconds, though, her face reverted to a smile, showing that she hadn't really changed either. She had never been able to keep a straight face for long.

"So, what brings you here? Draco asked, raising and eyebrow in an attempt to hide how very curious he was.

Astoria's face was caught between a smile and a grimace, "Well, actually, my family is moving."

"To where?" Draco asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Here," she answered after a short pause.

"Oh." There was an awkward pause. "Well, that's…" He trailed off, unsure what to say. Was she happy about it, or was she sat to be abandoning America for her birth country.

"It's a good thing. I mean, it's mostly good," Astoria said, in a strangely soft voice. The tender tone was gone when she continued. "I mean, I'll miss my friends and stuff, but I knew it was coming."

Draco nodded, playing oblivious to the emotion in her voice. "Are you going to Hogwarts?"

"Yeah," Astoria said, her face lighting up in a grin. "I guess you'll have to deal with me."

Draco didn't respond, but instead found himself staring at her again, trying to process what he was feeling; something he had never been good at. "You know," he said suddenly after a moment. "It's really nice to see you."

"You too." Their eyes locked. "You stopped writing back."

Draco quickly looked away, embarrassment and shame (two emotions that Malfoys did not feel) rising up in him. "I know. I'm sorry."

"I'm sure you had your reasons," Astoria said quietly, a small, very forced smile on her face. She kept her tone light, not much wanting to ruin their first reunion. There would be time to get at each other later, but for right now she just wanted to enjoy seeing him, being with him again. They had been remarkably close as children, as their parents were very close. Despite Astoria attending Beauxbatons Academy of Magic rather than Hogwarts when the time came, they both gave their best efforts to visit with each other on breaks and holidays and they remained the best of friends. That is, until Voldemort made his infamous return during her third year of schooling. Her parents had been there that night, and about a month later they got called to the Dark Lord, and given a mission. Astoria never found out what it was, and she had a feeling she would never know, but she was forbidden from having any contact with the Malfoys or any family aligned or suspected of being aligned with the Dark Lord. It was too risky, her parent's had said, and we don't need to attract any more attention to ourselves. She and Draco, of course, paid no heed to the warning and continued to write in secret, keeping each other informed on the happenings of life. The last letter she ever received from Draco had caused her great worry; it informed her of his father's arrest. It was probably the most emotional letter either of them had ever sent, and she still had it saved, because before today she hardly knew if he was alive, if he was okay. She continued daily to write him letters of concern, letters of hope. Eventually, it became once a week, then once a month, and finally she just stopped bothering. It was over a year ago that they last talked, and now she was sitting in her room, desperately trying to make everything okay again. Whatever her parents had been ordered to do was done, and now her father was practically Voldemort's right hand man, so of course the Dark Lord wanted the Greengrass' to be close to him, in England. Though her parents were followers, Astoria did not particularly agree with them. It was expected that she would do as she told, and she was never one to let people down, but she knew her superiority was not only due to her blood status. She liked to think of herself as a good person, even if she sometimes took advantage of her financial situation and her family's social standing. If she wanted something, she got it. That was something she and Draco had in common, since they were very young.

"Are you staying for dinner?" Draco asked, breaking the silence that had fallen between the two.

"Yeah," Astoria said, stretching into a lying position on his bed, pulling one of the surprisingly fluffy pillows toward her. She noted happily that his bed was the most comfortable thing ever, and made him a note to ask him what charms he had on it to make it so comfortable. "Your parents invited us. I just wanted to stop by early to say hey, so that it wouldn't be a complete surprise."

"I'm glad you did," he said honestly, following her lead and stretching out on the bed. Astoria could tell that he was slightly uncomfortable, unable and unwilling to believe that she had forgiven him so easily. Smart boy.

"I thought a warning would be nice. Things are sure to be tense enough. School starts in like a week, right?"

Draco glanced over at her at the troubled sound in her voice. She was clearly thinking about something, and the intensity in her face had him laughing out loud. "Don't think too hard, Astoria. I can feel the Earth shaking, and what a shame it would be for your head to explode so soon after arriving."

Astoria's jaw dropped and she playfully hit him, pulling herself up into a sitting position. "I do not appreciate that comment, Mr. Malfoy! You may be able to speak to the slobs at Hogwarts that way, but I assure you that I will not tolerate being spoken to in such a manner." She turned away from him dramatically, "And to think I was going to ask you to come to Diagon Alley with me tomorrow."

"As dramatic as ever, I see," he noted with a grin. "I would love to accompany the Royal Highness to get her school supplies. But, I fear we will have to get through dinner first."

With a small giggle, Astoria turned back around to face him, her face lit up in a smile. "Good. And now that we have the royalty ranks established, I am going to go home and get ready for dinner." She stood up and half-hugged him, a difficult task as he was still sitting on the bed. "See you later."

Draco watched her disappear through the fireplace in his room, and when she was gone he couldn't keep a grin off of his face. Astoria was still so innocent, so energetic, and he felt something he hadn't experienced in a while. Happiness. He was happy that she was back, and the feeling was such an oddity. The past year had taken its toll on him, being ordered to kill Albus Dumbledore was very, very intimidating, and he hadn't planned on making it out alive. He had pushed everyone away from him, and he had pushed her away more than anyone. It had never occurred to him that they might reunite so soon after, and never in his wildest dreams did he think she would so willingly fall back into friendship with him. Draco had failed his mission; that was unchangeable. He had managed to steal some of the old man's memories while he and Snape were running away, and that had been his saving grave. The Dark Lord had spared him, and his father had managed to find some valuable information, which had greatly aided in the Malfoy's security. The Malfoys, though not the most secure in their safety, were once again safe from the wrath of Voldemort, and he had a feeling that with the added protection of the Greengrass', they would have a bit more breathing room. And now, he had Astoria back. Of course, he knew that he would have to explain to Astoria what had happened, why he didn't- couldn't talk to her. Couldn't let her know what he had done, what he had become. He rubbed his temples, sighing. Day by day. He would just have to take it day by day, and before he could do anything, he would have to get through dinner.