One Step at a Time


Author's Note: Thank you so much for the continued support! You all really are the very best! =D

I'm sorry I was so late getting this chapter out. University has been really hectic as of late, so I did my best to write. Anyways, I'm not completely thrilled with the entirety of this chapter, but I wanted to get another update out to all of you!


Astoria intertwined her fingers with Draco's as she smiled up at him, taking in the appearance of the castle. It looked as if the events of the war had never marred the grand old architecture of Hogwarts. "Even with the help of magic, I didn't know that the castle would ever look the same again..." She watched as Draco's grey eyes seemed to cloud over as he stared down at her before finally facing the castle, letting out a puff of air as he did so.

Draco stared at the castle in a sort of perplexed wander. He hadn't expected to return to a castle that looked unchanged from his first year. Instead, he had expected black marks, and patchy reconstruction, with some dodgy architecture that was off-balance...sort of like the tilted Weasley home... He cleared his throat as Astoria squeezed his hand, pulling him from his thoughts just in time. "Mmm...yes." His voice lacked his general confidence that he had began to regain this past summer.

"Oi! There you are Stori!" Odessa grinned like a cheshire cat as she practically skipped up to her friend, her eyes as wide as saucers. "And I see you've caught Malfoy here..." She smirked as she eyed the older boy apprciatively, causing Astoria's cheeks to take on the color of a candy apple.

Draco eyed the girl in front of him with a tinge of disdainful/snobbish contempt. He'd never been a fan of Odessa Grandfall, but since he'd never really hung around Astoria at school he'd never had to interact with her. And by the way she eyed him, he'd prefer not to know her... However, as he caught Astoria's mortified expression and cute pink cheeks he couldn't help but find himself slightly amused. He forgot how fun she was to tease in this manner. "Or perhaps I was the one that did the catching. Eh Grandfall?" He smirked as he pulled Astoria up the stairs and into the castle. "We're going to be late to the feast..." He spoke to Astoria as Odessa latched onto Astoria's other arm.

"Oh no you don't, Malfoy!" Odessa frowned, her voice coming out as a half-snarl - her true Slytherin-self shining through. She smirked as Draco looked at her in a sort of shocked contempt. "Astoria and I always sit together at meals. And just because you've now decided to take more than a fleeting fancy in her doesn't mean that's going to change. Go off and find Pansy or someone else." She made a "shoo-ing" motion with her hand, as Draco's fist clenched and his mouth narrowed into a strained thin line.

Draco couldn't believe the nerve of the stupid bint in front of him. He'd never been spoken to so poorly to by any of his contemporaries. And he sure wasn't going to allow some dim-witted gold-digging hussy boss him around. Astoria was his one-day wife; and he'd sit with her if he damn-well pleased. He felt anger course through him as he clenched his fists and moved towards the girl ready to give her a piece of his mind when Astoria's trickling voice cut-in.

"Oh, don't be so dramatic Odessa." Astoria smiled at her friend easily as she flipped her long curls over her shoulder. "We also always used to sit on the train together; and we didn't do that this year because of your boyfriend." She watched as Odessa's face took on an outraged expression; and Draco stepped back, a cocky smirk adorning his face. "Besides, I've two sides, don't I? You can just sit on either side of me." She smiled sweetly as both of their faces fell and she waltzed into the castle and Great Hall as they trailed closely behind. She smiled as her sister waved her over, taking the seat across from her.

"Where were you? I lost you on the train." Daphne's brow furrowed in concern as Draco took the seat to Astoria's right and Odessa elbowed a thrid year out of her way so that she could take the seat on Astoria's left. Odessa wore an expression of extreme irritation, causing Daphne's eyes to keep wandering back to her.

Astoria brushed invisible lint off of her cloak as she answered her siser. "Dodging people. Once I got on the train, finding a compartment was nearly impossible. I ended up sitting with Draco though." She smiled forward at her sister as Odessa turned to her in a huff, clearly mad that Draco had sat by Astoria on the train as well.

"Oh, that's good then." Daphne smiled as Theo and Draco stared across the table, not talking or flinching. Daphne twitched uncomfortably as Astoria nudged Draco in the shoulder causing him to glance over at her.

"So, I was thinking...you're good at potions, right?" Astoria smiled sweetly as Draco stared at her incredulously and Theo snorted as he stared off down the table in the opposite direction.

Draco couldn't believe the question that Astoria was currently asking him. Everyone knew that he was the best Potions student in school (except for that bogus year Potter had a cheat-code book). "Of course..." He stared at her, as he resolutely ignored Theo and Goyle who were sending him menacing glares every so often.

"Excellent! I could use some help with it, you see. I'm taking it at NEWT levels now; and I hear Felix Felicius and Amortentia are a bit tricky..." She smiled as Draco nodded along (clueless to those around them; and the students all around the hall staring at him); as Odessa snorted before drawing Daphne into conversation.

"Pansy!" Theo grinned as the dark-haired witch made her way down the Slytherin table in a fluid rush, taking the only available seat to Draco's right, to her clear delight. Theo smirked as Draco's eyes narrowed and sharpened as he glared at the boy across the table from him.

"Oh! There you are Pansy." Daphne smiled happily, clearly clueless to the tension that seemed to be thickening with each passing moment. "I was looking for you earlier, but I think I lost you round the carraiges..."

Pansy smiled flirtatiously at Draco, completely ignoring Daphne. A fact that didn't go unnoticed by Astoria and Odessa who were both glaring while Theo smirked contentedly beside Daphne. "Hello Drac-y. I've been looking for you everywhere." Pansy grinned as she scooted closer to Draco causing him to subconsciously lean back towards Astoria.

"I was catching up with Astoria." Draco's voice was definitive, clearly wanting to end the conversation as the sorting started. He could feel Pansy's breath tickling his neck, in a way that he knew she thought was alluring, as she rubbed a hand along his arm slowly.

Pansy smiled as most of the hall focussed it's attention on the sorting hat and the abundance of first years being sorted. "You know, you don't have to do that anymore..." Pansy let her lips linger precariously close to Draco's ear. "Every bonding was lifted under the new legislation...I'm free...you're free...we're free to be together..."

Astoria could feel blood filling her head and ears as a whooshing sound overcame her ears and her vision blurred with irrate irritation. She stubbornly continued to watch the sorting with pretend rapt attention as Draco wrapped an arm about her wait, in an attempt to pull her closer. However, she wasn't having any of it as she loosely shook him off and whispered to Odessa, who sent a scathing look over her shoulder at Draco.

Draco jerked his arm free of Pansy while simultaneously invading Theo's thoughts as he told him to fuck off in no uncertain terms, causing Theo to half-growl as Daphne shot him a concerned look and wrapped his arm back around her.

The entire dinner was spent in akward silence and tight conversation, as first years shot nervous glances down the table at the eighth year boys, clearly worried about all of the rumors they had heard. Those rumors that dealt with the Malfoy family in particular. A family full of death eaters that had been let off of the hook...a weasling, manipulative bunch...

Astoria ignored everyone but Odessa and Daphne the entire length of dinner. However, near the end of dinner, she'd had her fill of Daphne as well. She couldn't stand the way her sister pandered after Theo like he was some wounded prize-winning puppy. And the way Pansy fawned over Draco was twice as sickening. She felt like she was back in third year again, instead of the in-charge girl she had become over the years...

Draco sighed in frustration as Astoria once again ignored him. He felt as if the universe would forever be against him as he caught sight of the terror in the first and second years' eyes when he caught them glancing at him. And he felt his gut twist in irritation as Astoria ignored him because of Pansy of all people. As if he'd ever go there again...

"Listen Stori, I'm off to erm...an early study session with Kenton. Got to keep those grades up, yeah? I'll see you in the dorms!" Odessa grinned wickedly as she detached herself from the rest of the Slytherins that were making their way to the dungeons.

Astoria rolled her eyes in irritation as she watched Odessa make her way through the crowd with ease. She felt as if her timing with her best friend was going to consistently be off now that they were both...well sort of seeing boys...She wasn't quite sure what she and Draco were at the moment. "I'm sorry I was such a...well for how I behaved earlier." Astoria coughed as she felt Draco easily slip into pace beside her. She didn't bother to look over and check that it was him. She knew the way his footfalls sounded when mixed with her's; the way his body measured up beside her's, and she would recognise his scent anywhere...

Draco looked about the mainly deserted dungeon staircase as he purposely slowed their pace so that they were behind all of their classmates. "Well, if I hadn't done some of the things I did in the past, we wouldn't have had this issue." He cooly shook his head as she opened her mouth to protest or abate his guilt, something he didn't want to hear from her, from the one person that had always been honest with him. "No, it's true."

She could feel the cool stone walls of the castle against her back as the sound of people drifted away. She couldn't stop staring into his grey-eyes that somehow seemed different from the tired distant eyes of the war and the sparkling devious eyes of his youth... "So, we've both made mistakes. We're even." She pulled his hand softly pulling him closer against her. "After everything, I should just be happy that I still have you." She smiled as she stood on her tip-toes and leant in, her forehead against his.

Draco hadn't really ever been the type of boy to be nervous about a girl. He'd always been self-assured and confident bordering on cocky, but it was him. However, like most of his life, things had changed...and if with no other person, he felt anticipation build whenever he was around her. "I'm..." He felt his tongue twist uncomfortably as he prepared to say the type of sentiment he'd never said aloud. "I'm...lucky to have you." He cupped his hands against her small face as he pulled it forward into a slow sweet kiss.

Astoria felt herself throwing herself into the kiss without a second thought as she wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him flush against her, as she backed up against the stone wall for support. As she felt one of his hands drift down to grip her waist tightly, she let her hands wander through his hair, snogging until all of the breath had left her lungs - leaving her with a weightless feeling. She smiled as she buried her head against his neck...somehow she hadn't remembered that making out was this nice, but maybe that's because she and Draco never really had before... "We should head back to the common rooms..."

"Yes, we should..." Draco sighed softly as he held her body against his; his arms wrapped about her waist. He had been dreading the moment that he was left alone with his fellow Slytherins in the common room, the one place that they're cool antisocial exteriors slipped into something entirely different. Dinner had just proven how jaded and furious some of his classmates were with him. Theo had attempted to make problems for him while Goyle had steadfastly refused to look in his direction, instead talking to Milicent Bulstrode about puddings.

Astoria felt his back tense against her hands. She hated how upturned his world was...sure, when she was younger she would've thought he deserved it...but as she stood here with him now, she couldn't imagine anything that would ever affect him like this would and was. "Draco, everyone that matters...everyone that's got a shred of common sense and dececy, they'll see that you're not the boy you once were. Maybe not right away, but one day people will see what I see." Astoria smiled softly as she pulled back to look at him and the hope in his eyes betraying his true feelings.

"Off to the snake pit then?" Draco smiled weakly as Astoria grinned and squeezed his hand.

"Yes, I've been meaning to show you off to my other friends..." Astoria smirked teasingly as Draco rolled his eyes. "Maybe we can put a cage about you and leave you on display, yeah?" She giggled as Draco sneered at her, her joking mildly irritating him. "Oh, I'm only playing! No need to look so solemn Dear." Astoria grinned as she skipped into the common room, pulling him in behind her.


AN: I'd appreciate an insight to your thoughts... You know what to do! :)