Chapter 11

"Bring me to life"

Wake me up inside

Call my name and save me from the dark

Bid my blood to run (I can't wake up)

before I come undone (Save me)

Save me from the nothing I've become

Astoria was lying in bed and tried to fall asleep when Draco entered their flat and crawled with his clothes into the bed right behind her.

"Hey", said Draco and kissed her neck.

"Hey", replied Astoria sleepy. "You okay?"

"Hm", groaned Draco. "Except...I'll have to leave tomorrow for about one month."

"What?", asked Astoria, suddenly wide awake and turned half around so that she was laying on her back.
Draco, who lay on his side and rested his head on one hand, shrugged. "His order."

Astoria looked desperately at him. She didn't want him to go... "I'll miss you", she said then and leaned forward to kiss him.

The passion with which she kissed him surprised him but he responded the kiss instantly.

"Me, too", whispered Draco with a husky voice and came on top of her, pushing her legs softly apart with his body.

A single tear fell down Astoria's cheek when she felt him so close on top of her while he kissed her neck.

"I left Scorpius at my parents'", said Draco, "just in case you want to spend the night in a way we'll certainly remember during the time I'm gone."

Astoria chuckled underneath him and kissed him with desire in response.

He sent chills down her spine when he undressed her, completely controlled in his actions and knowing exactly what he was doing but still rough and quick.

It didn't last long until she had managed to get the shirt off him and she was busy removing his belt and opening his trousers when he pulled on her underwear.

"Already wet for me?", grinned Draco when he reached between her legs to check whether she was ready to take him.

"Always", breathed Astoria.

He looked deep into her eyes when he guided himself towards her entrance and watched with satisfaction how she threw her head back and moaned when he entered into her with one forceful thrust.

He knew exactly how to touch her at the right spots and his position allowed him to enter deep inside of her and it didn't last long until he had her clutching her hands into the sheets and moaning his name while she climaxed; he followed quick after because he didn't have to hold back any longer.

"That was just the foreplay", grinned Draco when he fell into the sheets beside her.

xxx

"Draco?"

Astoria called his names out a few times when she woke up in the morning and recognized that she was alone.

Anger rushed through her when she didn't hear a response. Did he really leave without saying goodbye after they had spent the whole night with sex? After she had been on her hands and knees for him and had done all the things she knew he liked the most?

"Hey sleepy."

She sat up in a shock when he suddenly stood in the middle of their bedroom.

"Where do you come from?", she snapped a little bit too harsh.

"Bathroom", replied Draco and raised an eyebrow at her reaction. Fortunately, he wasn't in the mood for a fight.

"I thought you were gone", pouted Astoria and let herself fall back into the pillows.

He grinned. "I wouldn't go without saying goodbye, would I?"

Astoria didn't respond because he came towards her, leaned down and kissed her.

"When do you have to leave?", she asked then.

Draco looked at his watch. "Less than half an hour."

"Then we'll have to do it quick", chuckled Astoria and pulled him towards her by pulling at his tie.

He looked at her in disbelief but he didn't stop her from kissing him deep. "I just took a shower", he said then, took her face in his hands and looked at her like he was saying that he was sorry.

"I won't leave a mess", grinned Astoria and pushed the sheets which had been covering her aside.

Draco looked at her naked body and his decision was made. "You're an evil bitch", he groaned and came on top of her, placing his hands on her hips to hold her in place.

Astoria ignored his comment; he had called her far worse things last night and she didn't care – in fact, it turned her on.

He didn't care to undress himself – it had to be quick and it was enough to open his trousers to free his already hard cock.

They both enjoyed their last intimate contact for about one month and, Astoria thought, maybe forever – but she pushed that ugly thought away and focused on her husband moving on top of her. Her hips met his thrusts as they moved together, moans and heavy breaths filled the room and they came almost together.

Draco didn't pull out instantly; they both enjoyed the feeling of the aftermath of the orgasm and being close to each other. He knew that he'd break their intimacy as soon as he'd pull out, get up and zip his trousers.
Yet still, he did because he didn't have much time left.

When he kissed her one last time, Astoria whispered: "I love you."

Draco said it back because it would've been cruel not to; he wasn't sure whether he meant it. Probably he did.

xxx

After he had left, Astoria lay on the bed for a while, wrapped the messy sheets around her body and cried into the pillows. She was always so damn afraid when he was gone – when they said goodbye, she was always afraid that this could be the last time she ever saw him. And she knew that she wouldn't survive losing him...losing him at all and losing him to that damn unimportant thing he'd die for...some cruel mission which had come out of the mind of an insane monster.

But she pulled herself back together after a while, got up and took a shower. He had always come back, why shouldn't he this time?

Now that I know what I'm without you

you can't just leave me

xxx

At noon, Astoria decided that she should pick her son up from her parents in-law because her husband hadn't said anything about when she was supposed to pick him up.

She dressed into a simple black dress (she was about to visit the Malfoys, after all), wrapped herself in a black coat and Disapperated in front of the apartment.

She walked the short distance over the Malfoy Grounds over to the Manor because nobody was able to Apperate inside of the house. When she wanted to push the door open like she was used to, she was shocked that it didn't work out. What the hell?, thought Astoria because since she was married to Draco, she had been included in the spell which lay upon the Manor – she had always been able to enter without permission. Why would they change that? Because she didn't live there anymore? No, she was pretty sure that Draco could still walk in and out like he wanted to...

Because she didn't have any other option, she rang the doorbell. The huge wooden door was opened soon by a house elf.

"I need to speak to Mr & Mrs Malfoy", demanded Astoria, "I'm here to pick up Scorpius."

"The Master told me to tell you that you can pick him up at eight o'clock tonight", said the house elf in a high voice.

Astoria raised an eyebrow at him. "Why? Can you at least tell them that I'm here?"
"I'm sorry", whispered the elf and slammed the door shut.

Astoria was confused but she didn't care that much when she walked back down to the street – maybe they just wanted to spend time with their grandchild, the freaking Malfoy heir. It was okay with her – so she'd have some time to be on her own.

xxx

The time on her own became boring after two hours because she had cleaned up the kitchen, done the laundry (since they hadn't got an house elf anymore) and smoked some cigarettes. She thought about visiting Amelia but then she remembered that today was Amelia's mothers birthday and that her best friend was pretty sure at her parent's house right now where Astoria didn't want to go. She knew her best friend's parents very well because she had been there many times and they sucked as much as her own parents.

She sighted. She wasn't used to spending time alone since she was normally always busy watching their kid or fighting with Draco or spending some of her rare free-time with her best friend. She couldn't even remember the last time she had actually been alone...

Still six hours were left until she could go over to the Malfoy Manor again. Astoria sighted and decided to sleep because she hadn't got anything to do and because she hadn't slept that much last night.

xxx

At eight o'clock, she rang the doorbell of the Malfoy Manor and was surprised that Narcissa Malfoy herself opened the door.

"Good evening", said Astoria politely.

"Good evening, Astoria", responded Narcissa. "Come in. We've prepared dinner."

Astoria smiled and followed her mother-in-law to the dining room where she stopped in shock – among with Lucius Malfoy, whom she had expected, sat her parents.

Fuck, she thought. This couldn't be good.

"Good evening", she said after she had pulled herself together to keep her outer appearance (especially her facial expressions) as normal as possible. The last conversation she had had with her father hadn't been good, at all; he had practically abandoned her...

Everyone in the room greeted her icily back as she sat down at the large dinner table where the dinner was instantly served.

Astoria was the one to break the silence. "Where's Scorpius?"

"Upstairs. He's asleep", said Narcissa Malfoy with a soft smile.

Astoria nodded and continued eating the food. The atmosphere was very strange because nobody talked – they all just sat there and ate the delicious and obviously expensive dinner. She started to ask herself why the fuck her parents were here since they obviously didn't have anything to say to her...

After they've finished dinner, Astoria focused on drinking some of the expensive wine in front of her. Maybe she drank too much for her parents liking but she didn't know what else to do.
Then, suddenly, her father cleared his throat and started a lecture about the responsibilities and duties of a Pureblood wife. Astoria didn't listen and focused on not rolling her eyes because that would've been rude.

After Mr Greengrass had finished with the sentence "...and that's what we've raised our daughter to be", everyone except Astoria agreed.

Yeah, they had told her daily or at least weekly about her fucking duties as a Pureblood wife – basically some crap about that her future husband would kind of own her, that she was inferior to men and that it was her duty to do everything her superiors said and that she had to be an obedient wife and get her husband's babies and so on. She had never believed in that crap. Contrary to her sister, she didn't look up to her parent – she never had. Sure, she had followed her father's order to marry Draco but just because she had known exactly that Rallan Greengrass had got his methods of forcing her into it and she hadn't wanted to provoke him into proving that he had the power over her. And now, although she hated the fact that her father had done this, she thought that the marriage was one of the best things that had ever happened to her. Even though she and Draco fought a lot and even though he had changed a lot since the Dark Lord had become more powerful than ever, she loved him and they cared about each other.

Her mother pulled her out of her thoughts by nudging her with an elbow.

"What?", asked Astoria.

"I just said", said her father with a very cool and distant voice, "that I've heard that you and Draco had got some difficulties in the past months."

"Oh, that's what this is about", replied Astoria and finally let go and rolled her eyes.

"Astoria", hissed her father.

"Sorry, but this is ridiculous", said Astoria. "That's our business."

"We're just afraid", said Lucius Malfoy, "that it could affect Scorpius."

"It doesn't", said Astoria instantly. She felt that her heart beat went faster while she thought she knew what this was about, this whole family dinner thing – they wanted to keep Scorpius... "He's just fine", she added then.

"Yeah, I noticed that today", said Narcissa Malfoy with a smile.

Astoria turned her head to look at her – she would've never thought that Draco's Mum would kind of defend her...well, maybe because she understood the situation her daughter-in-law was currently in.

"Anyway", continues Mr Greengrass, "we'll check on him as long as Draco is gone."

Astoria knew that this was the only chance she would get this evening to bring her child home, even if it meant that one of those people would visit her daily. "Fine", she said, "but believe me, it's not necessary."

"We decide what's necessary and what not", hissed her father.
At that moment, Astoria was glad that they were at the Malfoy Manor because if Lucius and Narcissa hadn't been there she was pretty sure that her father would've punished her. But she didn't care that much about her father anymore – he was just a violent bastard who hadn't got that much power over her anymore...well, at least she wanted to think about him that way. In fact, she was beyond angry that he had never been a father to her. Although...which damn Pureblood man was that to his children.

When she came home in the evening, she took the sleeping Scorpius in her bed with him. After being afraid of losing him earlier, she was now glad to have him as close as possible. Although she had actually never wanted to give birth to a baby at the age of seventeen, she was now glad that she had got Scorpius because she loved him and because she wasn't lonely with him around.

xxx

Two weeks later, a few visits from her father or her mother lay past her. Every time her father had visited her, he hadn't said much – just made sure that the baby was okay.

But when her doorbell rang this evening, it wasn't one of her parents as she had expected: it was Lucius Malfoy.

"Oh, hello", she greeted him stunned. She wasn't prepared for his visit which was obvious because she was dressed in casual and comfortable clothes.

"Good evening", said Malfoy and walked into the flat and into Scorpius' room. After he had made sure that the heir was okay, he turned around to leave.

"Have you heard something from Draco?", asked Astoria. "Because I didn't. It's been two weeks and..."

"No", replied Lucius. "Good-bye."
"Bye", said Astoria and let herself slide down to the floor along of the wooden door frame against which she had been leaning. She took her head in her hands and closed her eyes for a moment, trying not to cry in front of her child.

xxx

Draco recognized that it had now been two weeks since he had left from home. He was sitting in a bar in a small town in the middle of nowhere. He didn't understand why he wasn't allowed to Apperate home on his free evenings but he just wasn't and so he spent the night in cheap bars with cheap liquid.

When a beautiful woman sat down beside him while he drowned his firewhisky, he was at first attracted to her because she was nice to look at, she had got big boobs and he hadn't fucked since two weeks plus she was obviously hitting on him.

But then, when he took a closer look at the girl next to him, Astoria suddenly flashed through his mind. He suddenly thought that the skin of the girl next to him wouldn't feel as good as Astoria's did, that the girl wouldn't wriggle underneath him and moan his name as his wife did and that the fuck he could have would not be as satisfying as he wished it would be. So he just left the girl sitting at the bar, payed for his drinks and left alone.

When he stood outside and inhaled the cool air, he wondered what had changed him. A few years – or even a few months – ago he would've happily accepted the fuck that girl had offered him. But he just couldn't stop thinking about Astoria...he suddenly noticed that he missed her. And when he went to bed that night, he couldn't stop thinking about her lying in their bed all alone, probably crying because she missed him...and probably wondering whether he was unfaithful. He wished he could take that worry away from her...

Wake me up inside

Call my name and save me from the dark