AN:This took a really long time to write because I've been incredibly busy and my old computer died and had to be replaced. However, the chapter is ready now and I hope you all enjoy this. I want to thank everyone who's following this story; both new readers and those who've been here since For Every Frozen Heart.

So about this chapter: We see Draco for the first time after the war and get to know how he feels about certain things. Also, Grace proves out to be a little different than Astoria thought. Also, for those of you who are curious, we find out what kind of a wand Astoria has.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling does.

Astoria opened her eyes and for a moment she had no idea where she was. She could see green and gradually she began to take in the details. She was in her dormitory. Grace slept peacefully on a bed not far from Astoria. Astoria glanced at the clock on her nightsand. Four in the morning it read. She closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep. But as usual, once she had woken up, there was no going back. She was going to stay awake.

With a sigh Astoria picked up her willow wand and soon she had the little light that she needed to find what she was looking for. It was a small picture with only two people in it. A smiling couple holding hands. The woman in the picture smiled and Astoria was instantly reminded of Daphne. Daphne and her mother looked so alike. Astoria on the other hand had inherited much of her father's looks. The darker hair, sky blue eyes and even the smile. Astoria's father was smiling in the picture too. Astoria could remember the last time her father had smiled. It was the day before she returned to Hogwarts, when he'd hugged her and told her that everything was alright, that Hogwarts was a safe place now. No battles to fear.

With that memory in mind Astoria pulled another picture from the envelope where she kept all her pictures. This picture had only two people in it as well. Two young girls, the other slightly older. Astoria could barely remember when the picture had been taken. She was perhaps eight years old in it. Astoria held the two pictures together. She didn't know when her habit of staring at the moving figures had started.

Suddenly someone moved behind Astoria and in the blink of an eye, Astoria had her wand pointed at the person.

"Merlin 'Tori. I'm just going to the bathroom!" Grace exclaimed. Astoria tried to smile but it failed as she hugged the pictures in n attempt to stop Grace from seeing them. She knew that Grace would be the last person to ever judge her, since Grace had lost her brother and could well undestand what family meant to Astoria. But Astoria was very possessive about her family. She didn' have a mother anymore. She only had Daphne and her father and that was it. There were no uncles or aunts to spend holidays with. Of course there was Theodore and Emma and Grace, but it wasn't the same. She didn't know if she could trust them. But family, she could trust her family.

As Grace continued to the bathroom, Astoria placed the pictures back in to their envelope and closed her eyes. She didn't fall asleep, knowing that there would be nightmares. Astoria knew how ridiculous it sounded. She hadn't even seen the battle of Hogwarts. She hadn't fought. And therefore she had no right to complain about her nightmares since there were people who had lived through the same nightmare she could only dream of. That didn't mean that if she had to make the choice again, she would stay to fight. No, Astoria liked being alive much better than risking her life and dying.

John was waiting for Astoria when she came out of the dormitories. He was smiling and he even offered her his hand. When Astoria took it, the guilt in her stomach made her sick. She was a Slytherin and a decent liar.

Draco stared at his tea in dismay. It was cold. He could have sworn that it had been hot when he'd started reading the Daily Prophet. But apparently not. He could hear an owl behind the kitchen window, tapping its beak against the glass, obviously distressed that it hadn't managed to drop off the letter that carried Draco's name written in cursive. Around five minutes ago, Draco had glanced at the owl and seen that it was not Astoria's owl Gwen, or Theodore's owl or even Blaise's but the owl of his beloved father, Lucius. And frankly the mere idea that his father had something to say, made Draco a little uncomfortable.

Some harsh words had been exchanged between the Malfoy men when Draco had left the manor. His father had called him a coward and said that Draco's "sense of humor was appaling" if he thought leaving in such a manner was appropriate. But Draco had not listened. Instead he had hugged his mother, nodded at his father and apparated away. It had taken some measures to buy the flat that he now owned without his parents noticing. But he was a Malfoy and if Malfoy's did something well, it was hiding.

Eventually, the bird started to get on Draco's nerves so he opened the window and let the miserable looking barn owl in. It seemed that during the last few minutes it had begun to rain and the owl and threfore the letter it was carrying had suffered a little. Draco turned the letter around in his hands a few times before opening it.

Your mother and I would be delighted if you joined us for dinner this weekend. We have called upon some of our old friends and most of them will be joining us. Your presence would be most appreciated. Your mother and I agree that you can bring someone with you if you wish.

Your father,

Lucius Malfoy

Draco frowned. Old friends and dinner? He hoped – oh how he hoped – that his father wasn't up to anything. But Draco was even more confused after reading the last sentence. Why were his parents under the impression that he would want to bring someone? Draco had done his best to keep his parents oblivious of Astoria's existance. Of course they knew that she existed, but they had no idea how meaningful Astoria was to Draco. They had no idea that their son was – if not in love – then deeply smitten with the blue eyed witch.

After a careful consideration, Draco composed a letter to his father.

Dear father,

I will come to this dinner of yours, you only need to tell me when and where. I am not bringing anyone with me.

DM.

He handed the note to the still waiting owl after writing his father's name on the other side. The owl flew away, seemingly happy in the rain and Draco hoped that his father could read the note even if the ink was ruined. With his quill still in his hand and a piece of parchament on his kitchen table, Draco closed his eyes. He knew he could be making a mistake. He had no idea what kind of people were going to be at this dinner. And he had no idea why he was invited.

Astoria was getting better at potions. Slughorn had repeatedly told her that her succes was rather extraordinary. After all, when he had begun to teach at Hogwarts again, Astoria had shown little talent and little interest towards his subject, but now she was doing very well. Very well indeed. So well in fact, that while Emma and Grace were still struggling with their homework, Astoria had the time to look around the library ad see how it had changed. Once she found that the library seemed to have been fairly unharmed in the war, she retourned to the table where Emma and Grace sat and stared at her quill.

"You can't just sit there, looking like you're not doing anything!" Emma said. Astoria merely looked amused. "If we suffer, you must suffer too. It's an unspoken rule!"

"A rule that I've never even heard of," Astoria argued. Grace looked up from her homework and stared at Astoria. Astoria could tell what Grace was about to say before she even opened her mouth.

"Write to him," Grace said. Astoria opened her mouth but closed it as she found that she had nothing to say. She had run out of excuses to give. She could no longer say that it had been too long since she and Draco had spoken, she couldn't say that she knew he hated her, she could say nothing. So instead, she did as Garce had suggested and she wrote.

Draco had finished reading another boring book about potions and he was just about to move on to the next when he heard something hard tapping against the glass of his kitchen window. He assumed that it was a reply from his father and in an attempt to save his father's owl from another miserable five minutes in the rain he got up and walked to the kitchen. But it wasn't his father's barn owl that was waiting for him. It was a small little owl that Draco recognized immediately. Gwen. Draco hurried to the window and pulled it open, allowing Gwen to fly in. He didn't even close the window before snatching the letter from the small owl.

Dear Draco,

How have you been? It's been a terrible few weeks here. It rains every day. All the time. I don't suppose there's been that much rain in London? Daphne never tells me about the weather. All she can talk about is her fiancée. He's nice, I suppose but I'm not willing to spend every Christmas and Easter with him. I suppose I'll have to find another place to stay. Have you heard of Theodore? He hasn't written to me. And what about your parents? I assume they are doing well. Have you spent much time with them? And how's the weather in London? Better, I suppose. Write to me when you can.

Astoria G.

Draco smiled at Astoria's small handwriting and the fact that she'd asked about the weather twice. He could imagine the way her brow furrowed as she attempted to sound smart and then noticing that she had stumbled with her words after all. He could also imagine he look on her face when she decided to give up and send the letter to him anyway, most likely becase she was too tired to wite it again. Now that Draco truly thought about it, there weren't many things about Astoria that weren't vividly in his memory. He could remember her smile, her eyes and sometimes even he sound of her voice.

Astoria, Draco began to write after running to his bedroom to find a quill,

The weather out here is quite horrible. I am well. How are you? And how is John? I don't believe that your sister's future husband can be so bad, but if you truly get tired of him, you're most welcome to spend your Christmas holidays as well as Easter here with me...

Astoria smiled while reading the letter, which earned a curious glance from Emma and John and a more knowing one from Grace. Astoria had a feeling that Grace was very pleased with herself. But she had every right to be. For months Grace had tried to get Astoria to write to Draco but she had failed. But now Astoria had finally done it. She'd written to Draco and she was (even though she'd never admit it to Grace) happy that she had.

"Who's the letter from?" John asked.

"Huh? Oh this? From Daphne. She's found a dress that she wants to wear the next time she has dinner with Graham. It's red. I'm not quite sure why she thinks I should or even would want to know about this," Astoria lied. John nodded. Soon after that John said something about quidditch strategies and left. The second he got up, Emma shot Astoria a glance and raised her eyebrows.

"So what kind of a dress will Malfoy be wearing?" she said. Grace nearly choked on her pumpkin juice and Astoria laughed at the picture that had quickly formed in her mind.

"I'll have to ask him that," she said once her laughter had died enough, so that she could speak.

"Oh you must. But make sure it's not some ridiculous colour. I simply do not believe something like red would suit Malfoy," Grace said while still coughing a little.

Astoria smiled at her friends before going back to the letter.

...My parents are alright and have invited me to dinner with them. Surprisingly it seems that I am not the only one invited. Do you still have nightmares? I have a considerable amount of free time in my hands and I think I may have found a solution, but I will explain it when you next visit London. Assuming that you wish to visit me when you do.

DM

"Can I have a look?" Grace asked. It was late, classes had ended hours ago and Astoria and Grace were in their dormitory. Astoria nodded and handed the letter to Grace. It had no sensitive information in it, so Astoria couldn't really think of a reason why Grace wouldn't be allowed to see it.

"Oh my. That's...wow," Grace said when she handed the letter back to Astoria, "That's quite serious isn't it?"

"What do you mean?"

"He wants to know how you are doing, and wants you to visit him. And if I didn't know better, I would say that your reply will be a yes," Grace said.

"We're friends. Nothing more."

"Do you snog all of your male friends?"

"No!" exclaimed Astoria. Grace looked thoughtful. The other girls in the dormitory were minding their own business, but Astoria was still a little concerned that they were listening.

"You know, if you really want to leave John," Grace said quietly after sitting down next to Astoria on her bed, "you have to do it so that he doesn't think you're leaving him for Malfoy. Even if you really are. John's ego will be ruined if he finds out you're leaving him for someone like Malfoy."

"Then what do you suggest I do? Hypothetically, that is."

"Well, make it seem as if it's his fault. Find out if he has secrets and if he does, tell him that you can't be with someone who hides things from you," Grace suggested.

"It looks like I've really underestimated you. But I don't think John has any secrets," Astoria said.

"Hmm, you're probably right. He looks like he worships the ground beneath your feet."

"But then again," Astoria said, "Everyone has something they don't want others to know."

"Yes, so that's what you would have to do if you were to hypothetically leave him," Grace said. The two Slytherin girls stared at each other for a while. Astoria was more than a little surprised by Grace's advice and Grace was merely trying to see if she had offended Astoria by assuming that whatever Astoria and John had wasn't that serious.

"But that can wait, can't it?" Astoria said, "It feels a little wrong to dig up your boyfriends secrets with no intention of using them against him." Grace let out a laugh.

"And would digging them up with the intention of ruining him be any less wrong?"

"Of course not. But – I mean – I'm not leaving him. I have no reason to leave him. Maybe...Maybe John's good for me," Astoria figured. Emma got up and sat on to her own bed before picking up her transfiguration book.

"He probably is. And if it's what you want then go with it. But you know, if you have to go through all this consideration just to figure out if you like him, then maybe slow things down a bit and don't get married or anything."

"You're my friend. Aren't you supposed to be the one who encourages me to marry the bloke who has more money?" Astoria asked jokingly. Grace smiled a little.

"Well, I'm your friend not your sister," she said, "and besides. The Malfoys have money too."

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