It was only a matter of weeks before Draco started viewing life a little more positively. The more time he spent with Astoria the more he realised that she was everything he needed. Her personality couldn't have been further away from his own. She was happy and bubbly; her laugh was infectious and Draco quickly learned that Astoria wore her heart on her sleeve. He didn't doubt for a second that he liked her. A lot. However, trust didn't come so naturally to Draco, so he remained quite placid, preferring to keep him emotions to himself.
After their first night together, Draco had coolly suggested that the pair of them meet again at some point in the near future.
"I want to get to know you though," he'd said in a serious tone. "I don't just want to get you drunk and take you to bed."
Astoria had been pleased. Although she knew snippets of Draco's past, she was certain that there was more to him than meets the eye.
They agreed to keep things to themselves. Little did they know that Daphne had already caught wind of their dash for the door the night before. Astoria arrived home to find her sister sat waiting for her in the lounge, painting her perfectly shaped nails.
"Where were you last night?" she shot at Astoria before she even had chance to put her bag down.
"With friends, not that it's any of your business." Astoria was almost twenty-two yet Daphne still treated her like a child.
"That's funny, because I heard you were sleeping with Draco Malfoy."
Daphne caught Astoria off guard; she opened her mouth to protest, to plead her innocence, but there was no chance Daphne would believe her. She must have seen them sneaking off together. Astoria sighed heavily.
"Daphne, don't do this. I'm allowed to have fun every once in a while. It's been ages since I've been with anyone - a witch has needs. Get over it."
"Why him?!" Daphne raised her voice. "Why head off to a party full of eligible, pureblood bachelors and climb into bed with the biggest asshole you could find?!"
Astoria rolled her eyes and made for the stairs. She was tired of everyone treating her like a delicate flower; everyone that knew about her illness anyway. She'd give anything to just be normal. Sure, there were days when she was glad Daphne was around to look out for her, but today clearly wasn't going to be one of those days.
Ignoring her sister's branding Draco 'the biggest asshole she could find', Astoria began meeting up with him regularly. There were so many things she liked about him: he was thoughtful, he was surprisingly gentle, and he made her laugh with his dry sense of humour and amazingly accurate impersonations of other people. They met up four times before they ended up sleeping together again, and Astoria realised that Draco wasn't just out for what he could get.
In no time at all, whatever there was between Draco and Astoria turned into something that they both considered a relationship.
Unfortunately, it hadn't taken Daphne long to tell her parents exactly where Astoria had been sneaking out to so frequently and, more importantly, who she was sneaking out to meet.
One night, Astoria returned home to be faced by a smug looking Daphne and two unhappy parents.
"Draco Malfoy?" were the first words to escape her mother's lips.
Astoria felt her anger burn up inside as her face flushed red. No-one ever questioned Daphne's personal life; why was Astoria the one to be affected by the ancient family curse and face being wrapped in cotton wool her whole life?
"What about him?" Astoria replied with attitude in her tone that made her feel like a sulky teenager again.
"Are you dating him?" her father asked sternly.
"Yes," Astoria replied without hesitation. "Yes, I am dating Draco Malfoy, that guy that everyone loves to hate. And guess what? He makes me happy. He looks me in the eye and he makes me laugh and he treats me like I'm normal, unlike anyone in this family!" Her voice had risen.
"He treats you like you're normal because he doesn't know any different, Astoria," Daphne retorted.
Astoria felt tears brimming in her eyes. Like she was ever expecting Daphne to understand…
"Well I like him," Astoria said defiantly. "I think he's a good person and maybe one day we'll be close enough for me to tell him everything."
Daphne snorted with laughter despite noticing her younger sister was on the verge of tears. "I'm sorry, Astoria, but you don't know Malfoy like I do. If you tell him everything he will run for the hills."
Astoria wiped at her eyes furiously with her sleeve. She didn't deserve any of this.
"Alright, Daphne, that's enough," her mother said with a reproachful glance at the older of the two sisters. "You can see she's getting upset - I don't think telling her that her… boyfriend would run for the hills if he knew about her illness is the right way to handle the situation."
Astoria's mum made her way over to her and attempted to hug her but Astoria resisted, turning her face away in an attempt to hide her tears.
Daphne seemed to feel some sense of remorse all of a sudden. "Astoria, I'm sorry," her voice was softer than it had been twenty seconds earlier. "I didn't mean to say that. I'm just worried for you. The thought of you with him… you're just too good for him."
Astoria looked at her sister with a heavy heart and sadness in her eyes. "I really like him, Daphne. I want to see where things lead with him, whether you like it or not."
"Fine," Daphne said, raising her eyebrows and shrugging. "On your head be it. Just be careful."
Over the two months that followed the argument, Astoria brought Draco back to her parents' house twice, despite his protests. Both occasions were brief but the atmosphere was icy to say the least - Astoria's family hadn't made any effort to make Draco feel at ease in their home, and he'd made no attempt to change their opinion of him whatsoever.
Although Astoria had felt disappointed by Draco's lack of ability to make pleasant conversation with her parents and her sister, she tried to see things from his perspective; it must be hard going through life knowing that people who don't even know you despise you.
As Draco awkwardly bade goodnight to Astoria's family on the second occasion he visited their home, he knew he wasn't doing himself - or Astoria - any favours. He knew he should have at least tried to make small talk, but the petulant child that still lurked within him had forbidden him from doing so. They were silently judging him for the entire sixteen minutes he'd been in their company (yes, he'd counted), and Draco was too tired to try and change their minds.
It wasn't until the afternoon of July 24th that Draco turned up at the Greengrass residence uninvited. He'd been due to meet Astoria for lunch in Diagon Alley and had grown concerned when she hadn't turned up, or even managed to get in contact with him.
Draco apparated with precision, arriving on their front doorstep, before rapping the brass knocker on the heavy wooden door four times. It was Daphne who answered the door, her dyed, dark red hair pulled up into a messy bun and casual clothing hugging at her curves. She seemed surprised to see him.
"Is Astoria home?" Draco asked, not even bothering to say hello.
Daphne considered him for a moment, shifting in case she needed to prevent him from entering the house. Astoria was upstairs in her room and in no fit state for visitors.
"We were meant to have lunch together," Draco pressed on. "She didn't show up. Is she home?"
"She is home," Daphne said, slowly. "But she doesn't want to see anyone today."
Draco stopped listening at 'she is home'. He pushed past Daphne, knocking his shoulder against hers as he crossed the threshold.
"Hey!" Daphne yelled, closing the front door and striding after Draco. "I told you she doesn't want to see anyone today!"
Draco turned to glare at Daphne before making his way upstairs in the direction of Astoria's bedroom. He wanted to see Astoria and Daphne certainly wasn't going to stop him. He knocked gently on Astoria's bedroom door, letting himself into the room before she had time to respond. The first thing he noticed was Astoria lying in bed. And then the array of different potions at her bedside. And then the heart rate monitor attached to her wrist.
"Draco!" Astoria gasped weakly. Holy Salazar, she hadn't wanted him to find out like this. And Merlin, she looked like shit. She eased herself up slowly, resting back on her mountain of pillows. She noticed the look of alarm in Draco's eyes.
"- here!" came Daphne's voice from the hallway. "You can't just barge in here like you own the place! How dare you shove me!" She appeared in the doorway, hovering behind Draco. "Astoria, I tried to stop him, I promise! He just pushed right past me, the rude little shit!"
Draco and Astoria didn't take their eyes off each other as Daphne ranted, both looking bewildered.
"Daph, it's fine," Astoria half whispered. "Can you just leave us alone for a minute?"
Daphne scowled at the back of Draco's head before flouncing off without arguing. Draco closed the door slowly behind himself, at a complete loss as to what was going on. He made his way uncertainly towards Astoria's bedside.
"You're sick?" he asked with uncertainty in his voice, even though he'd just stated the most obvious fact.
Astoria managed a small smile. She nodded at the chair beside her bed and Draco sat down obediently. "Draco, I - I didn't want you to find out like this…"
Draco's eyes flickered across Astoria's face. She could already see deep concern creeping into his facial features. "Find out what?"
Astoria hesitated, trying to find the right words. Her breathing quickened and she became uncomfortably aware of her chest rising and falling. She started to cough and Draco grabbed a glass from her bedside table, filling it with water without even needing to use his wand, or a verbal spell. He passed her the glass and she sipped it carefully. Once her coughing fit had died down, her breathing slowed to normal.
"Astoria, please. You're scaring me now." He stared at her intensely and, despite her feelings of guilt, she managed to maintain eye contact.
"Okay, I don't want you to freak out." Easier said than done, she thought. "A long time ago, someone put a... a curse on my family. It made some of my relatives incredibly sick and... well... I inherited it. The curse. The illness. And sometimes it makes me feel ridiculously tired and… well, it makes me feel like shit, to be honest" she said frankly.
Draco didn't speak. He was too busy trying to digest what Astoria was telling him.
"Most days I'm completely fine and I just get on with life like any other person. But some days I wake up feeling horrible," Astoria said matter of factly. "It'd been decades since the curse had affected anyone but I started showing symptoms when I was thirteen. My condition is under control. I know it doesn't seem like it right now but it is, Draco, I swear to you. Today just happened to be a bad day…"
Draco remained quiet for a moment, trying to get his head around what Astoria was telling him. He rubbed his temples with his thumbs and closed his eyes for a moment. He wasn't great at dealing with bad news; there were so many questions going around in his head already. Why had someone cursed her family? How bad was it, exactly? Was she playing it down so he wouldn't worry? How often were these so-called bad days? Was she going to die?
He tried not to panic because he knew it wouldn't make her feel any better.
The silence hung in the air as Astoria waited for him to say something. Eventually he spoke.
"Why am I only finding this out now?" His voice sounded colder than he'd meant it to.
Astoria felt her heart starting to beat harder against her ribcage. She hoped so hard that this conversation wasn't going to end the way Daphne had warned her it would.
"I - I was going to tell you, I promise. I was just scared of how you'd react." She could already feel herself fighting back tears. "Draco, the last five months I've spent with you have been amazing. They've been so great. Unfortunately, every once in a while I have to have a bad day. Before today, I hadn't had a bad day in almost a year. That's why I never mentioned anything to you. I guess I was stupid enough to think I could shake this off. But I can't."
Her voice cracked as she fought back the urge to cry. Draco leaned forward slowly and took her hand gently, his thumb drawing soft circles against her knuckles. His touch was soothing. Astoria felt as though Draco made all of her pain go away.
"Why didn't you just tell me?" Draco asked, a hint of desperation in his voice. "All those months we've spent together and you didn't think to mention that one day I might drop by and find you completely exhausted with enough potions at your bedside to knock out a Horntail?"
"I guess you're not the only one with trust issues..." Astoria ventured, looking away from him.
Draco's eyes narrowed. He knew that Astoria was referring to the fact that he still hadn't got around to revealing anything about his past. By now, she saw his scars almost daily and she'd had the decency to never ask. Draco suddenly realised that didn't necessarily mean that she didn't want to know. He sighed.
"I'm sorry, Astoria, but that's entirely different. Your illness doesn't make you a bad person."
"And your past doesn't make you a bad person," Astoria retorted without hesitation, turning back to face him.
Draco exhaled noisily. He wasn't going to go into this with her, not now. He stayed silent for a few minutes.
"Look, can we just concentrate on the matter in hand?" he said, seriously. Astoria nodded silently before he continued. "Can the curse be reversed? Can this illness be cured?"
Astoria shook her head slowly, not taking her eyes off of Draco's face. She needed to gage how he was really feeling about her news. She didn't want a glossed-over, 'I'm Draco Malfoy, I don't show emotions' kind of reaction. She wanted to understand him completely. She wanted all of him. Unfortunately, his face remained fairly expressionless. He rose from the chair suddenly and started pacing back and forth between her bedside and the window. After almost five minutes he sat back down at Astoria's side, perched on the edge of the chair, and took her hand in his.
"Astoria, we can sort this," he said sincerely, looking her right in the eye. "I have access to more money than you could even imagine. If there isn't a cure, I'll pay someone to find one. As much as it takes. Merlin, I'll even find one myself. I'll do research, we have a library full of books in the Manor. I can fix this."
Astoria shook her head sadly. He was in the denial phase - she'd been there herself. "Draco, money can't fix this. There's nothing they can do for me but keep my symptoms under control ninety per cent of the time."
"They're not me. You've only just come into my life and I already can't bear to see you in such pain," Draco said softly. He moved to sit on the edge of her bed, cupping the side of her face with his hand gently. He stared at her through his grey eyes and the connection she felt with him was overwhelming. He wasn't running away. He was staying. He cared. A single tear slid slowly down Astoria's cheek.
Draco brushed her tear away softly with his thumb and pushed some loose stands of hair away from her face. Her temperature was high. She needed to rest.
"You're so beautiful," Draco told her, and he'd never meant anything so much in his entire life. Astoria smiled and looked down shyly, brushing her lips lightly against his fingers.
"I look awful," she whispered. He shook his head in response. His hand found its way to the back of her neck and he pulled her towards him gently. She buried her face in his chest as he caressed the back of her neck soothingly. After several minutes they broke apart and Astoria lay back against her pillows.
"I'm going to go," Draco said. "I think you need some rest." He stood up and stretched before bending down and placing a kiss on top of Astoria's head. "If you need anything, just get hold of me, ok? And I still owe you that lunch date."
"I'm so sorry I left you waiting there," Astoria said quietly.
Draco could see that she was feeling weak; he waved his hand dismissively. "It really doesn't matter," he reassured her. "Another time. As soon as you're feeling better."
Astoria nodded and smiled.
"I would stay, you know," Draco said as he made his way over to the bedroom door. "But somehow I don't think your family would appreciate it, Daphne in particular. Oh, and if she says one thing about me running away from this, you tell her from me that she's wrong. This changes nothing." He turned back to face her as he opened the door. "Also, I was serious about the research. When you're feeling better I'm going to ask you some questions to help me get started and I'm not taking no for an answer."
"Thank you," Astoria whispered, despite knowing his research would be in vain. She was smiling nonetheless - the fact that he cared so deeply made her feel elated.
"Goodbye, Astoria," Draco said, making to leave. "Oh, and Astoria… I will tell you everything. When I think you're ready to hear it. I trust you."
July 24th 2004 was the first time Draco had ever told someone he trusted them. Although it was a big step, he knew he'd soon have to prove it to Astoria and to himself.