A/N: I do not own Harry Potter
Written for The Golden Snitch Forum and The Houses Competition Forum.
The Golden Snitch
School: Hogwarts
House: Hufflepuff
Challenge: Through the Universe
Prompt: Ablation — (setting) Malfoy Manor
The Houses Competition
House: Hufflepuff
Position: Prefect
Prompt: Written for 'Aya Diefair' Pairing Draco Malfoy and Astoria Greengrass.
We Found Love in a Hopeless Place
Draco stood outside Malfoy Manor, his home. He was about to walk in again for the first time since the war. There had been so much going on, trials and whatnot. He had been surprised that Harry Potter had defended his family, but that hadn't meant that they didn't have time in custody, and as such, they had been held in various prisons-thank Merlin it wasn't Azkaban-and now that the trial had finally ended, he was able to go home. He had to go home. Draco stood before the great gates of the manor. Everything seemed so dark and desolate now, whereas before he had always felt his home was grand and beautiful. His eyes pressed tightly together as he remembered the horrors of his time here-Hermione screaming as his now-dead aunt tortured her.
It was easier to focus on something else-anything else. A warm hand was holding his, squeezing gently. Almost nobody had visited him. All his friends were either dead, imprisoned, or too wary to be associated with the now-tainted Malfoys. Pansy-who had once adored him-wouldn't even continue that tenuous relationship for the Malfoy fortune. That said a lot. There was one person that came, even before the outcome of the trial, someone he had never expected: Astoria Greengrass. The same person who now held his hand and encouraged him to face his demons, just as she had before, Astoria, who he hoped to spend the rest of his life with.
The room that Draco sat in was devoid of anything other than a lavatory and a bed. The stone walls closed in around him as he sat there hour upon hour, day after day. There was nothing to break up the monotony of the shouting and screaming of 'his fellow Death Eaters.' It was on one day, a day just like all the others, that she first came to see him. He had been called from his cell and placed in another room, stone again, small and claustrophobic with one stool. Draco sat down and waited, the glass in front of him cleared and there she was, Astoria Greengrass.
He knew her from Hogwarts, the younger sister of Daphne, his housemate. She was beautiful, extraordinarily smart, and very outspoken. That was why he was so shocked to see her here visiting him. She had proudly spoken out against her family values, his values. She would tell others in the Slytherin Common Room that Muggle-borns and Muggles were just as good as us-it was positively Gryffindor! So, why was she here?
"It'll be okay, Draco," she said smiling.
Draco was brought back to the present and swallowed, stepping through the gates onto the grounds of Malfoy Manor. Everything that had once been lush and perfect was now looking a little rough around the edges. The lawns were no longer perfectly manicured, and a number of the statues were more than a little damaged. The raid on the Manor just after the war, when they had all been taken into custody had not been a quiet affair.
"You know they won't be happy, right?" Draco assured the girl beside him, nervously.
"I think I can handle your parents, Draco. It's time to go home; it's time to face the music!" she urged.
"Hello," she said, smiling sweetly. "Are you okay?"
"Why are you here?" Draco asked, ignoring her greeting, and her question.
"I heard what you did, and I wanted to see if you were okay. Are you? Okay, I mean?"
"What did I do?" he scoffed.
"You lied to keep Harry safe, back at the manor!" she smiled.
"I think it's a case of too little, too late," Draco whispered irritably.
"Harry Potter is petitioning for you and your parents' freedom! I thought you might want to know. I think it was courageous to do what you did. Harry wouldn't have stood a chance if you had turned him in."
"What about that I tried to kill Albus Dumbledore? Has he spoken about that yet?"
"It was clear you had no choice, Draco. You're a good person. You just made a few poor choices, and I imagine you were pushed into a few of them by your parents. I understand that."
"But you fought it. You were brave!"
Astoria smiled at him, reaching her hand through the bars she grasped his. "And so were you."
Remembering the first words she spoke to him, as he was trapped in that cell, gave him the courage he needed to walk purposefully up to the front doors and begin to push them open. Draco had been released some time ago, but coming here had been too hard. He had not seen his parents either, and as much as he loved his family, it was just too painful. So much of what happened was connected to them, particularly his father. And as such he had been hiding out and with Astoria no less. In the months they had been together, she had made him like himself again. Astoria had helped him become a person that he was proud of. As soon as the doors were opened his mother was there, embracing him.
"Draco!" Her arms were wrapped around him tighter still, as though he might slip away again at any moment. "Sweetheart, it's so good to have you home."
"Mum," Draco said as he forcibly removed himself from her embrace. "This is Astoria. She's really helped me."
"Greengrass," Lucius smiled. "One of the Sacred Twenty-Eight?"
"I beg your pardon, Mr Malfoy, but I do not put much stock in the Sacred Twenty-Eight, nor do I think I am any better due to my blood status," Astoria replied firmly.
There was a tense silence in the room. No one spoke for a moment as Astoria's words settled in the room. Draco reached over and squeezed her hand, smiling gently.
"I suppose we should get the arguments out of the way first," Draco said with a smirk.
"No, enough of all that unpleasantness!" Narcissa commanded. "We understand many families will be taking that line for some time until everything dies down." she smiled. "I've made a lovely afternoon tea for us all dear!"
With that, Narcissa led them through the halls of the home to the drawing room, a room he remembered all too keenly. It was the room where his Aunt Bellatrix had questioned Granger. Draco swallowed, knowing he would need to get used to it at some point, and settled down on a small loveseat, pulling Astoria into his side. It was not a romantic gesture, as his parents would have assumed. Astoria gave him strength and courage to face the onslaught of horrific memories, and this was something that he dearly needed. Tea was poured by Narcissa, and Lucius-with a stony face-sat beside her.
"Here you go, dear." Narcissa smiled sweetly, handing her a delicate cup and saucer.
Astoria took it with a smile, and then cleared her throat. "I think it is best if I clear something up. What I said before was not a 'party line.' I do not agree or believe in blood supremacy, and I never have. I care very deeply for your son, and if we were to marry," She paused, smiling at Draco.
Draco returned the smile and squeezed her hand. "If we were to marry, Father, it would not change! Astoria had spoken out against such views even during the war, and I agree with her." Draco breathed a sigh of relief having spoken the words he dreaded the most. "Marriage is not just around the corner-I don't think it's been quite long enough for that-but I will marry her one day."
"I'm so proud of you, Draco," she said with a smile and placed a gentle, affectionate kiss on his cheek. "He was dreading telling you this, and I can't imagine why. After all, Narcissa, you lied to Voldemort for Harry. Surely you'd support your son?"
"I lied for Draco, and only Draco!" she replied vehemently. "I lied to keep him alive, and no one else!"
"Mother! Does that not bother you that the only thing standing between you and genocide is whether or not your son is safe?" Draco asked, his expression furrowed as he took in the furious expressions on both his parents' faces.
"She may believe whatever she likes!" Lucius spat. "If she wishes to be a blood-traitor, then so be it, but our grandchildren will not be taught that they are equal to Mudbloods!"
"If we have children, they will be taught that, Father! And that is an 'if'. We may not have children; Astoria is more important than continuing the Malfoy name!" Draco replied, now standing up facing his father who stood up to meet him.
"This cannot be borne, Draco!" Narcissa said, pleading with her son.
"Well, it's the way that it is, and there's nothing you can say that will change it, Mother. I care for you both deeply, and I want to have you in our lives, but if this is going to be an issue, then you need not see me again."
Draco held out a hand to Astoria, which she took. They both walked towards the front doors yet again, knowing this may very well be the last time that he saw his family home. The thought was bittersweet; his childhood had mostly been a happy one, and he adored his family, but even now, in the drawing room, he remembered the corpses of those that had offended the Dark Lord. Once through the doors, the sunlight hit his face, and he relaxed; he felt free. They walked hand in hand down the path out of the gates and away from Malfoy Manor.
"I think that might have been the bravest thing I ever saw," she smiled.
A/N: Thanks for reading and please review