Astoria only noticed it was Valentine's day soon because Natalie insisted in spending a weekend cooped up, making up red paper hearts for the mothers with nice messages, and a stapler that she used to staple small, round chocolates in white plastic packages into it for the kids.
"You could do that way easier with magic, " Astoria complained, as she always did during that time of the year, feeling awkward around the scissors. She prefered a Severing charm, honestly, but if that was the way Natalie did, Astoria wasn't no one to say anything.
"It's nicer this way,", Natalie hummed, cutting proficiently the red paper into hearts. "Besides, doesn't it make you feel useful?"
"The only thing I feel is pain,", Astoria muttered, frowning when she heard a knocking on her door. She thanked Merlin for the interruption and abandoned her half cut heart in the floor, avoiding the pile of chocolate bags (half for the hearts, half for the small candy pot she kept around all times) and going for the door.
She expected Luna, maybe Nott, and if it were Draco he'd simply Alohomora'd his way inside; what she didn't expect was a man dressed as a syereotypical wizard.
"Halloween is a few months away,", she told him, and whoever he was huffed.
"I'm taking this isn't Draco's apartment,", he stated, and Astoria rose an eyebrow. Draco was receiving someone who was dressed like some knock-off Merlin? Now that was a curious event.
"Third door on the right, can't miss it,", she replied. "And tell Draco to tell his good buddy Astoria all about this."
The man nodded, and as soon as he left, she closed the door and went back to Natalie's heart-cutting party, picking up a chocolate in her way, pretending not to hear Natalie's mock protests.
Natalie simply looked at her with half-lidded eyes when her protests fell on deaf ears, and smiled.
"So, you're now Draco Malfoy's good buddy, huh?", Natalie asked, ever so innocent, and her smile only grew when Astoria choked. "That's a lovely term. Really."
Astoria glared at her with the most dignity she could, and Natalie kept to her hearts and scissors.
"And here I thought you were a badger. Haven't you been walking around with too many snakes?", Astoria asked, in turn, and Natalie smirked.
"If you want me to move out, spit it out instead of using metaphors,", she replied, not even raising her eyes, but laughter playing in her voice. "No, but really, what was so interesting?"
Astoria told, and Natalie looked at her.
"Oh my. Unbelievable.", Natalie seemed truly shocked, and then, laughter bubbled out of her lips as she abandoned her paper hearts and scissors, doubling herself over. Astoria wondered what was so funny. "I can't believe Draco Malfoy, of all people, is playing a muggle game!"
Astoria blinked.
"A what now?", she asked, not sure if she'd heard right - and Natalie obliged, telling her about this odd game called Torture Chambers and Basilisks. She had probably heard wrong. Astoria couldn't fathom Draco Malfoy, of all people, playing something that sounded… Well, rather silly.
She put it out of her mind and went back to being absolutely useless with a scissor.
Astoria forgot about Oubliettes and Wyverns or whatever, and kept to her day-to-day. Valentine's days, as always, was a surreal experience - babies with chocolate-covered mouths and moms who just loved the fact they were in a consultory instead of making more babies or something; Astoria knew because they quite enjoyed to complain.
She came back alone - Nott had picked up Natalie from work, like some sort of hopeless romantic -, and was surprised to see a owl in Natalie's owl rest. It was a funny looking owl, actually, with a giant head and small face, feathers of a matted grey and the longest tail Astoria had ever seen in a owl.
"Aren't you a silly fellow,", Astoria cooed, approaching the owl, noticing it had a letter in its talons with fancy script on the front. Looked like Astoria was getting a fancy new client. She picked up the water and food pots and smiled to the owl. "Just give me a moment and I'll get you some water and treats, okay?"
Astoria went to the kitchen, Accio-ing the boxed treats after filing the water pot, and turning her nose at the obnoxious treat smell. She turned the box, and rolled her eyes at the supposedly "bacon smell and flavor" that was "perfect for all owls!". But, if Natalie's Cathy - a barn owl with the most stupid name Astoria had ever seen, and she had lived with Daphne's George Wells III. She hated that owl, and the owl hated her right back.
Astoria took back the now filled pots to the owl rest, and gave it to the mysterious owl with the big head and small face. The owl peered into it for a second, and abandoned the letter while going for the food. She grabbed the letter, and looked at who sent it, frowning when she recognized the name.
She didn't know Pansy Parkinson had a kid. Well, maybe it was for some niece or cousin or something like that. Astoria decided she needed some tea, and set herself to make some before she read Parkinson's letter.
Pansy Parkinson never had been Astoria's friend, but she was Daphne's. Daphne, Pansy and Tracey had been in countless sleepovers in each other's houses, and Astoria was told to keep out of sights and out of mind. Pansy always seemed kind of stuck up, so she didn't really feel like she was losing something. Tracey, meanwhile, was clearly in for the prestige of it.
Astoria blinked, hearing the whistle of the kettle, and hummed to herself quietly as she waved her wand, making the tea make itself, and sliding to the chair, opening the letter the proper way - with a slicing charm - and took a sip of her tea, picking up the letter.
My dearest, it started, in fancy penmanship, and Astoria rose one eyebrow. That was certainly a different way to begin a professional letter.
She kept reading, anyway.
My dearest, I'd like to wish you a happy Valentine's day. I have longed for you and your heart for long - since we first met, that fateful day in June, your birthday.
Astoria snorted. Her birthday wasn't in June, so this letter wasn't for her. The owl had got confused, and now Astoria had to read Parkinson's love letter to someone to find out who she should resend it.
Astoria just glided her eyes over the letter, a thousand love words directed at whoever the true recipient of this was, and spit her tea out when Draco's name appeared.
My dear Draco, I swear to you once again, I'll love you to the end of time, or the end of society, whichever comes first. With love, yours truly, Pansy.
Astoria blinked and Vanished the tea that had got on the parchment, rising up and closing the letter with a wand flick. Looked like she had delivery to do.
"You stay there,", she told Pansy's owl, and the owl seemed to nod for a second before hiding its head on its wings. Astoria got out of her own apartment, sticking her wand in her pocket, and walked the brief steps to Draco's empty flat. The door was closed, but she could hear the distant murmur of voices, and wondered if she was going to interrupt something.
"What's the chance,", she spoke to herself, knocking three times in quick succession. Something stopped and stirred inside the flat, and Astoria waited quietly - blinking quickly when she saw Draco. "Is… Is that dragon hide leather on your hood?"
It seemed like so, at least - he was wearing a Wizengamot robe, decorated in grey and green, with green dragon leather braided on the hood he was wearing. Draco looked over his shoulder and stepped outside, and Astoria was able to see a glimpse of a man dressed like one of the knight armor suits that Hogwarts had.
A snippet of the conversation she had with Natalie not even three days ago came back to her.
"Are you playing that game, er, Wyverns and…?", she probably should've paid attention, Astoria cursed. Draco paled.
"Please don't tell my parents,", he pleaded, and Astoria nodded. "So, uh, what brings you here?"
"Parkinson sent me a letter. I think it was for you,", Astoria admitted, handing him the letter - that Draco uncerimouniously stuck in his robe pockets.
"Thanks. She, ah, actually sent it to me first, but I had muggles over, so I couldn't exactly receive it. So I sent Johnnie to your apartment,", Draco explained, and Astoria nodded. Johnnie, too, was a stupid name. What else she had expected? A sensible name?
"It's okay, but I must admit I read it, and if I should be honest with you, maybe you shouldn't accept whatever food she offers you,", Astoria told, and Draco nodded. "I'll leave you to your dragons and dungeons."
Draco nods again, and they part ways until actual, factual Valentine's day, where Draco comes into her office with a pink cookie box that he slides to her. She eyes it for a moment and opens it, fully aware that she, once again, won't be spending her lunch alone, and decides that she can eat and maintain some sort of polite chat at the same time.
"Thanks for alerting me about Pansy. Her letter, otherwise, would've come as…", he trailed off, eyes wandering to the corner where she kept toys for the older kids.
"Creepy?", Astoria suggested, and Draco nodded. "Well, why don't you tell me about those fancy robes I saw you wearing? I have to admit my curiosity is picqued."
Draco sighs and adjusts himself better in his chair, while Astoria bites into the soft, still warm cookie.
"Remember the party I was invited to?"
"The one with no invite?"
"Exactly,", Draco nodded, and spun her a tale of how he accidentally had butted in a conversation about dragons, having forgotten himself and told the group a wizard would be able to defeat a dragon if he had other wizards with him. The two that were speaking, in turn, asked Draco if the party could be composed of a knight, a bard and an assassin, they'd be able to defeat said dragon, and Draco had answered that yes, as long as the bard kept quiet.
"So they checked the rules, and I was surprisingly correct. They invited me to be the wizard of their party, and since then I've been playing this odd roleplaying game with them. It's not much of an issue to me, since many of the game's rules actually match with the wizarding world. It's just a question of not bringing modern politics into it, but again, it's not an issue since it'd be set around the Founders' time."
Astoria blinked, genuinely surprised.
"Don't muggles have the most interesting stuff, huh?", she asked, more to herself than to Draco, and watched as he cast a Tempus spell. She scowled. "Seems like both of us have to return to our jobs, huh?"
"Seems like it,", Draco answered, rising up, and Astoria Vanished the crumbs. "I'll bring you tea next time."
Astoria smiled, feeling soft as Draco opened up the door, a middle-aged woman peering inside while playing idly with her five year old.
"I like chamomile tea,", she answered, and Draco turned to give her the barest of smiles.
"I know, you're always making it,", Draco replied, leaving, while Natalie let inside the peering woman with her child. Astoria smiled at her, accepting surreptitiously the file Natalie gave her, and looking into it for a split second before smiling to the woman.
"So, mrs. Allison, how's little Valerie? Has she recovered from her flu?", Astoria asked, falling into the mechanics of her professionalism, and letting it guide her through her job.
When it was over, Astoria asked if the woman had any other questions, letting Valerie pick up a lollipop for herself ("for being a good girl,", Astoria had said, offering the pot that Natalie kept well-stocked), and she waited patiently as the woman looked into Astoria's face.
"Do excuse me for being noisy, but was that your boyfriend before?", mrs. Allison asked, and Astoria choked on her own spit. It gave the woman the wrong impression, because she clapped her hands together. "I knew it! You two look lovely together."
Astoria gave the woman a tight smile.
"Sorry, mrs. Allison, we're not a couple. We went to the same boarding school, and now he's…", Astoria paused. A friend, probably. A pest, maybe. "A neighbour. He likes to see if I have eaten lunch, that's all."
Astoria didn't give any sort of satisfaction about who her friends were to her parents, but now here she was, having to try to explain to a muggle in vague terms how she knew Draco.
The woman at least had the decency to blush.
"Sorry, doctor Greengrass. You always seemed so lonely, and if you allow me some honesty, that boy is quite handsome,", mrs. Allison answered, grinning sheepishly, and Astoria smiled as professionally as she could. "Besides, it's Valentine's day, and the you both seemed so comfortable together, I just assumed. Do forgive me."
"Don't worry, mrs. Allison. Is that all?", Astoria decided that cutting this conversation by the root was the best action course, and joined her hands on the table.
The woman confirmed and rose up, with Valerie (face dyed blue, thanks to the lollipop) in tow, and she left. Astoria sighed as Natalie handed her the next file, and told the next woman to wait a bit, closing the door.
"Draco Malfoy dating me, huh?", Astoria mumbled to herself, waving her wand to clean the surface of her table, putting that conversation together with all others she deemed needless.