Chapter Three – 20 August 2008

She was awake.

For the third night in a row, sleep had claimed her but only for a time.

Each night she had woken up in a cold sweat, using the faint light from the ensuite to scan her body. To make sure the curse hadn't spread like it had in her dreams like wildfire; dangerous, hungry, it had burned through her healthy blood and caused unbearable pain just before her body gave out. Not her voice, though. She'd just kept screaming and crying and begging for someone, anyone to help her, but there had been no one. She'd been alone in her final moments.

She listened to the reassuring sounds of her husband sleeping soundly next to her, his breathing deep and even.

Was he dreaming? What about? He was quite prone to nightmares but it seemed like this night his brain had decided to give him a reprieve.

She wished hers could be so kind.

It had been months since she'd told Draco, months since he'd been trying - without success - to find a cure. She could see the toll that it was taking on him already, and so she was glad that his subconscious wasn't giving him a bad time on top of that. The curse hadn't even spread from her damned ankle yet.

Yet. She hated that word. So anticipatory, but so final. Preordained. Fated.

She quietly got out of bed and walked to the adjoining room. Being only two, Scorpius was still in a crib, and she could see that he was sleeping soundly too. She rested her arms on the high walls surrounding the crib and just watched her son's chest and belly gently rise and fall. She envied the abandon with which his arms and legs were flung out from him as the ease with which sleep had claimed him. If only she had been so lucky.

What was he dreaming about? Khione tumbling over him as she had earlier on in the day, causing him to laugh with delight; or was it Merfolk and Grindelows swimming together in harmony? Maybe there wasn't even a dream to be had in that young mind of his tonight. She ghosted a hand over the fuzz of the hair that was going to resemble his father's, and Scorpius let out a huge sigh.

"Astoria?" Draco's voice, rough with the last vestiges of sleep, speared the calm silence of the room. Astoria spun around and had to use the rail for support, otherwise she would have fallen.

"Merlin, you scared me! Go back to sleep, Draco." She whispered, trying not to make too much noise. Instead of retreating, Draco joined her at the crib so they both looked at their son. Draco draped an arm across her lower back and brought her in close. Astoria sighed at the feel of his body, still warm from the bed, fitting beside hers, a comfort.

"You haven't been sleeping, have you?" Draco phrased it as a question, but he knew; he could always feel every shift of the bed, even in sleep, and her leaving their bed had awoken him, as it always did.

"I haven't, no."

"Bad dreams?"

"Yes. I don't want to talk about them now, though, alright? Scorpius looks so peaceful."

"Maybe keep a dream journal…" Draco mused.

"Pardon?"

"Write down your dreams. I wrote down how I felt after my therapy sessions. It felt silly, but it helped so much."

"It's always the same one; it won't matter if I write it down."

"Write it down once, then. Write down how it makes you feel. Maybe you'll feel better if you just… get it out there. You don't have to talk to me about it, there's no pressure, but you know I'm here for you." Draco pressed a kiss to the top of her head and Astoria wrapped both of her arms more firmly around him. Draco led her out of Scorpius' room and back into their own. They sat at the foot of the bed before Astoria said anything further.

"Thank you. I know. You've been amazing with this, Draco."

"You do know you need to tell your parents, right? It's been almost half a year since the curse has taken hold."

"I will. It's just… you and your mother have not made a big deal over it. I don't mean that you're not concerned, I know you are. But you aren't… you don't look ruffled and you're not acting dramatically. Watch, when I do tell my parents, father will storm into the study – loudly – and mother will just start weeping as if I've already died and she's practicing for my funeral. I don't want one, by the way."

"One what?"

"A funeral."

"How-why-what? Why not?"

"I decided when we were at the memorial back in June. It just felt so… contrived. A performance. There was genuine grief there, but it just all seemed to fake. I don't want that for me. Just our families, and you spreading my ashes at the Château in France. That's all I want. A grave marker if necessary. Draco?" She murmured, when Draco said nothing for a time.

"I can't believe you've thought about this." Draco murmured. He swiped under his eyes.

"I have to, Draco. Neither of us has any idea how quickly or slowly this thing will progress. We need to be prepared. So I wrote a will, which I will amend when and if necessary." Draco flopped back onto the bed, and covered his face with his hands.

"Can we just not talk about this, please. I-I can't, love." Astoria clued in right away that Draco was feeling emotional. Any time he covered his face like that, he was fighting tears or some emotion of some kind that he wanted to hide from her. She lay beside him on her side and rested her hand on his chest.

"I'm sorry. But you know how I am. It's the party planner in me. Need to be prepared for every eventuality." Astoria chuckled. Draco's arms fell away from his face and the look he sent her was dark.

"This is not another one of your parties, Astoria. I do not appreciate you making that comparison."

"Okay, okay. Lips are sealed." Astoria made the motions over her mouth. Draco grasped her hand afterwards and pulled her up higher onto the bed with him. He gathered her close and pulled the blanket over them both.

"Let's try and sleep, okay?"

"Okay."

"I love you, Astoria."

"I love you, Draco."

A/N: So I posted early. These chapters are just coming! I am halfway finished chapter 17 of GTKTG so it should be up soon!