Draco got home late that night and left for work early. He hadn't seen his family at all. Rather, he worked as fast as he could through lunch and then went straight for the Leaky Cauldron.
The booth Daphne said that her sister enjoyed was vacant. But Draco knew there was a certain woman who would know.
"Excuse me?" Draco asked Hannah Longbottom as she washed a table.
It was clearly obvious that she didn't like Draco or liking him in her inn.
"Yes, Mr. Malfoy?"
"I was wondering… that booth over there, in the corner. Does a certain woman frequent it?"
"Yes, actually. Poor woman and I don't mean that in just figures. She sometimes rents a room with her children. Well, she rents one room and crams all three of them. I don't bug them about it."
"Will she be here today?"
Hannah shrugged and said, "Maybe. She often comes in the colder months to warm up. Order some tea and sit in her booth."
"Won't she leave if I'm there?" Draco asked.
"This place was once packed wall to wall. I couldn't serve people fast enough, every table filled. She sat down at her table with a small family already there. Needless to say, I didn't charge them for her meal."
Willing but reluctant, Draco did order a cup of tea and sat down at the booth. He looked at his watch.
The next time he saw his watch was five cups of tea later and two hours past. Draco was about to lose hope, when there she was. In she came, as shabby and ill-looking as both Daphne described and Draco remembered from their last meeting. And just as Hannah said, Astoria sat right down across from him.
"I'm not takin' the girls back," Astoria said.
"Let me buy you a cup of tea."
"I'd prefer all the nappies I needed when the girls were wee youngin's."
"Astoria, what happened with you? How did you raise our girls?"
"MY girls! MY girls!" Astoria shrieked.
"Can I get a cup of tea here?"
Hannah sneered as she went to make a cup of tea.
"Tell me Astoria, did you even care how you raised them?" Draco's tone went stone cold and serious.
"I raised MY girls to the best of my…situation. Lookit the girls! Octavia is smart and fine, and Milly is good."
Draco sighed and for a moment had in head in his hands.
"Astoria, something isn't right. Something. I want you to tell me: did you ever do anything to the girls?"
"Humph. I didn't do nothin' wrong. My girls are fine."
Hannah brought a tea cup over. Draco paid Hannah and insisted that Astoria drink it. She eventually did, slurping down each sip.
It wasn't in Draco's nature to buy tea for the local destitute, but he remembered a time that he really loved Astoria.
After she finished, she said she had nothing more to say and left, not even thanking him for the warm drink.
Draco, however, did not leave. Rather, he reminissed on his past.
Astoria was a year younger than Draco (Daphne was his year) and they never really had anything special until just before the Battle of Hogwarts. She got friendly and Draco found her a perfect pure blood. But of course; there was the task that Dark Lord assigned. So the next time they actually got to talk was when Draco returned to school.
Lucius and Narcissa weren't thrilled with Astoria, but with what just shook their entire world, they elder Malfoy's knew they were in no place to criticize people, especially if that criticism was based off blood.
Draco remembered that they played house for a bit. Astoria and Daphne's parents, also not exactly happy their child was with a Malfoy (especially at that time), bought a small house for them. Lucius, of course, managed to secure Draco a job at the Ministry.
Everything was going great… until the rips in their relationships began to grow deeper, and deeper and deeper.
While he hadn't finished his mental time travel, Draco snapped out of it when he heard the inn suddenly swell with activity. It was now getting much darker, and he figured it was best to return home.
"Where have you been?" sneered Lucius as he saw Draco return home.
"I was-"
"Daddy!"
Milly, already in her nightgown, came running over to Draco and hugged him.
"Hello, Milly," Draco said as he patted his girl on her blonde head.
"Well, Draco? Where have you been?" Lucius said, taking advantage of knowing Milly would also want to know.
"Yea, Daddy!"
"I went to see your Mother, actually."
Lucius cocked an eyebrow.
"Mummy! How is she? Does she miss me? Can I see her?" Milly asked, and asked and asked.
Draco crouched down to Milly's level and said, "How about… you go to your room, and I'll explain everything once I tell Grandfather."
"Okay!" Milly exclaimed and excitedly ran up to her room.
"What did you do, boy?" Lucius asked.
"I don't think she raised our girls correctly-"
"Oh do you think? Did you she how she behaved!? How she looked?? Did you she tell you anything?"
"No. She said she did her best. I think… my gut tells me something happened."|
Lucius sighed," Maybe your gut should write to Octavia."
Draco didn't know if his father was trying to give genuine advice or was being sarcastic, but it was a good idea. But before he could get quill to parchment, he had to explain to his daughter something.
So while Milly was playing with some dolls on her bed, Draco tried to explain as best as he could.
"Your mum isn't exactly… healthy… right now."
"Ill? Maybe I should make her some soup? Octavia does that for me when I'm sick."
"That's… very sweet of you, Milly. But… your mum needs to heal on her own."
"What does that mean?"
"Your mother loves both you and Octavia very much… but you need to understand that… well some things you may not understand until your older."
Milly crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.
"That's what Mum and Octavia tell me. C'mon! I'm not a baby!"
"I know your not. You're becoming a big girl. But some things you need to be a bigger girl to understand. Do you understand?"
Even with the tangle of words her father just threw at her, Milly reluctantly said she did understand. Draco kissed the top of her forehead and went to his own room to start his letter to Octavia.