Chapter 11: Confessions

After dancing with Draco at the ball, I just couldn't get to sleep. I couldn't stop thinking about Draco, and how much he meant to me. Despite the fact that Draco and I were still young – nineteen and twenty-one to be exact – I knew I was in love with him. Because of this, the night of the ball had been nearly perfect.

The following morning, I was awakened by a loud knocking outside my door. I hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, and as a result, I was a little cranky. Grumpily, I got out of bed and answered the door to find Draco and Daphne standing outside with very worried expressions on their faces. "What is it?" I sighed.

"Mother and Father want to betroth Draco and me." Daphne whispered sadly.

"What?" I cried, receiving a glare from my older sister for being too loud. "How do you know?"

"I saw Father in the kitchen with an engagement ring and over heard him talking to Mother." Daphne explained. "They want Draco and me to be married, and apparently they can't wait any longer. We need to stop them."

That was all it took for me to follow Daphne and Draco out into the corridor. "What are we going to do?" I whispered as we walked alone.

Daphne sighed. "Well, you and Draco are going to tell Mother and Father you're in love with each other, and I'll be there to back you up."

"That's it?" I asked suspiciously, doubtful it would actually work.

"That's it."

I sighed. This had better work, otherwise Draco and I were doomed.

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A short while later, Draco, Daphne, and I, along with Mother and Father were gathered around the dining room table.

"We've got something to tell you, Daphne and Draco." Father said, taking a small black velvet box from his pocket. "We brought Draco here to fall in love with and get engaged to Daphne, but we feel things are moving a bit slow. So, we have discussed it with the Malfoys, and we have agreed that the two of you are now betrothed."

"Isn't that great?" Mother asked in an over-enthusiastic voice. "I can hardly wait to start planning a wedding."

Draco was the first to speak up. "Well, that's great… but there's one slight problem."

"Oh?" My mother questioned.

"I'm not in love with Daphne." Draco sighed.

"Oh, well no matter." Father said indifferently. "Many people who are betrothed aren't in love with each other, but their marriages work out fine."

"I'm sorry, but I'm sure it will never work out between us, sir." Draco said politely.

"And why not?" My father snapped.

"Because," Draco sighed, "I am in love with Astoria, not Daphne."

"What?" Father bellowed, turning to face me. "Didn't we tell you to stay away from him?"

"Yes, but –" I began, but Father interrupted me.

"- Do you have any idea what you've done? Draco was meant for Daphne, and you have ruined it for her!"

"Mr. Greengrass, please excuse me, but this is my fault." Draco replied before I could speak. "I continued to seek out Astoria's company, and that led to us falling for each other. I ask that you please don't force Daphne and me into marriage. I will gratefully be willing to marry Astoria instead."

To be honest, I was shocked at Draco's words. To hear Draco say 'I love you' would be a big enough of a surprise, but the thought that he'd want to marry me at such a young age and only about a month after our first kiss was almost impossible to believe.

"Absolutely not!" Father shouted. "It's either Daphne or nothing."

"Father," Daphne said slowly, speaking for the first time. "May I say something?"

"What?" Father snapped in annoyance.

"I just think you should know that I'm also in love with someone, someone other than Draco. Stuart Leonard, who I might add is a pureblooded Slytherin, and I have been dating for about seven months know, and because of him and Astoria, neither Draco nor I want to marry each other."

"That's it!" Father yelled. "Daphne, you're marrying Draco and that's final!"

"No, Stephan, just listen for a moment." Mother protested. "All we wanted when we invited Draco here was for Daphne to get married and be happy. The Leonards are a respectable pureblooded family, so I don't see anything wrong with it. Perhaps Daphne will be happier with him than with Draco."

Father hesitated for a moment. "Fine then. But you," he snarled, glaring at Draco and I. "I don't want to see either of you in my home again. You have a half hour to pack. And Astoria, you are officially disowned. Now go. Daphne, stay here please."

With that, I quickly stood up and pushed in my chair, and Draco followed my lead. "Thank you, Father, Mother."

"Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Greengrass. We really appreciate this." Draco said, but my parents ignored him. Together, we went silently upstairs and to our rooms to pack, with no idea where we were going. I just knew that I was finally free.

To be totally honest, I had expected the Greengrasses to react a lot worse. But despite all of that, Astoria and I were free to be together for the rest of our lives if we wanted, which was extremely good news. Now, we only had my parents to get through, which should hopefully be easier.

After I was done packing, I went straight to Astoria's room. "You know, sometimes I wonder why you couldn't have just hated me, and why I couldn't have fallen in love with Daphne like I was supposed to."

Astoria hesitated. "Well, the constellation 'Draco' is a dragon, right?"

"Yes…" I said slowly, confused at what she was getting at.

"Then, maybe it's because a dragon's heart is impossible to tame, and you have the heart of dragon." Astoria explained.

Her theory was extremely cheesy, and both of us knew it, but neither of us cared. I leaned forward and kissed my girlfriend on the lips. Girlfriend. I could actually call her that now, couldn't I? It was a nice feeling.

"Are you almost done?" I asked once we broke away.

"Just about." Astoria replied. "Any idea where we're headed?"

"To Malfoy Manor." I said simply, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Are you sure your parents will… accept me?" Astoria asked nervously.

I nodded. "All my mother ever wanted for me was my happiness, so she'll be perfectly fine, and my father probably doesn't care who I marry, so long as you come from a respectable pureblooded family, which you do, so there's no need to worry about him either.

"Alright." Astoria sighed. "I'm ready."

I reached out my arm, and Astoria took it. With that, we disapparated from Greengrass Manor, never intending to return.

We landed right in the middle of the dark entryway of Malfoy Manor. "It's so… eerie in here." Astoria whispered, quivering a bit.

I merely shrugged. "It's Malfoy Manor, secret meeting place of the Dark Lord and his death-eaters. What did you expect? Did you think it would be bright and sunny with a big garden in the front and unicorns grazing out back?"

Before Astoria could reply, there came a gasp from the sitting room. "Draco?"

"Hello, Mother." I said, looking up to see her standing in the entryway.

"You're back. And… who's this?"

"Mother, this is Astoria Greengrass, and Astoria, this is my mother, Narcissa Malfoy." I said, introducing them to each other.

"Astoria, not Daphne?" my mother asked, clearly confused.

"Yes, it's a long story." I sighed.

My mother frowned slightly and sighed. "Well, I suppose your father should hear it too then. Take Astoria to the dining room and we'll meet you there." she said and disappeared from the room.

A few minutes later, my parents joined Astoria and I in the dining room.

"Well, Draco?" My father asked as he sat down.

Taking a deep breath, I explained everything that had happened, from not feeling anything for Daphne and falling in love with Astoria instead to Astoria being disowned by her parents. After I was finished, Father said, "Well as long as she's a respectable pure-blood, I approve your decision."

Mother nodded in agreement. "We only want you to be happy, Draco, and if being with Astoria is what makes you happy, then so be it. And Astoria you are free to stay with us for as long as you like."

I honestly couldn't have been happier. Astoria and I could now be together without hiding anything, and we were finally free.

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Author's note: No, this is not the end. I'm not sure how many more chapters are left. (Three? Four? I honestly don't know.) Sorry, this story's going to be a lot shorter than I originally thought. I don't know if I'll be able to be one hundred reviews like I did for "Trust Me" *sigh*. Also, things will be moving a lot quicker now. Sorry, it's either that or me having a major writers block and not updating as often as you'd like.

So, how did you like the Greengrasses' (and the Malfoys' for that matter) reactions? Let me know in a review and see if you can get me to one hundred reviews. :)

Also if you are a Scorpius/Rose fan and/or a fan of another one of my stories, Trust Me, please answer this question either through a review or the poll on my profile if you haven't already (but not both, please, I want a fair vote):

If Scorpius Malfoy and Rose Weasley got married and had children, what would they name their daughters?

Aquila (the eagle) and Columba (the dove), or

Cassiopeia (the queen of Ethiopia) and Andromeda (the princess of Ethiopia).

Thanks.