Chapter Fourteen
Her wand was poking her in the side. She moaned, and flopped around, trying to grab it, but it evaded her touch, and danced around, jabbing her in one of her hips. She yelped in pain. It was automated not to stop until she had gotten out of bed, and successfully grabbed it. It had been a clever charm she had invented herself, and while she had been proud at the time . . .
" Merlin's beard-" She groaned, and tried to snatch it again. She rolled out from underneath Draco's arm, and collapsed onto the floor. The automatic lights flicked on, and the wand poked her in head. She cursed.
" Astoria?" She heard Draco's bleary voice.
" Go back to bed!" She whispered loudly. " I'm leaving for work!"
He groaned, and sat up, spilling a stack of books onto the floor with a loud crash. " What the-"
" I said, go back to bed!" She whispered, in an angry tone.
He got out of bed, and walked over, helping her up, and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. " Where are you going?"
" Work. I've got to open today."
" Oh-" He looked befuddled, and so absolutely adorable, with his owl eyes and bed head, that Astoria reached up and pecked him quickly on the cheek.
" See you later, okay?"
" Right . . . right . . ." He scratched at his head, still sleepy. " Tonight. I'm coming back to the apartment, okay? Is that okay?"
" Fine." She stepped away from her, and opened the suitcase she was still living out of, to pick out that day's clothes. " Sounds like a plan. Now go back to sleep! Merlin knows you need it."
" Hm . . . sleep . . ." He hummed appreciatively, and then tumbled back onto her bed, fumbling briefly for the blanket.
" Circe, you're like a kid," She murmured, and smoothed his hair. She picked up the comforter, and laid it over him.
She went ahead and took Olivia's advice and made herself take the time to take a hot shower. The shock of the cold air when she stepped outside the apartment building nearly killed her, and drove all thoughts of the warm bed upstairs out of her head. As short as the night had been, it was dreamless, and was the longest she had slept in a while.
Apparating neatly, she unlocked the door to Wheezes with the specialized charm that George had made himself. She wasn't quite sure how in the world she had gotten in his good graces enough to be given the charm after only a month living there, but she was glad of it. She wouldn't have to wait for somebody else to open up now.
Singing underneath her breath, Astoria flicked on the lights and music, and set to work.
It was a surprisingly nice day. Less customers than usual, not as much work, Abi left her alone, with only a few baleful glances, and George complimented her on her job opening up the shop that morning.
" Couldn't have done it better myself!"
During her lunch break, Astoria went to go visit Olivia, determined to be on her best behavior, and to be the best friend anybody could possibly hope for.
The dress was nearly done, with only the accessories and final touches to add now. Just in the nick of time really, with the Harvest Ball in only two days.
" And tomorrow you'll come back here and I'll give you everything, and you'll collect your hairpiece, and your shoes . . . and then on Friday, you'll debut as the Red Queen! Bloody Astoria!"
" You sound like you're cursing."
Olivia was practically dancing now, admiring the full skirt of the dress. "Still haven't done the Lightening Charm yet, need to do that once you leave. The bodice . . . more sparkle. Definitely. Just a little pop, to bring out the red in your cheeks." She dashed around Astoria, brandishing her wand, and muttering incantations faster than Astoria could watch.
Thankfully however, no glittery appliques, or sequins appeared. Instead a slight shimmering arose in the air around Astoria, causing the crimson fabric of her dress to shine, appearing almost irridescent in the light of the fitting room.
" Gorgeous-" Olivia said. " Makes it look 3-D. Deep. Multi-dimensional. You know. Adds . . . pop." She popped her 'p'.
Astoria smiled a little. " It does look nice."
" Nice?" Olivia prompted, too happy to be properly offended.
" Amazing. Spectacular. The best thing I've ever worn."
" Better." Olivia smirked a little.
Astoria gave an experimental twirl, and the full skirt billowed out around her, heavy and dragging, yet absolutely breathtaking. " I don't even dance that well, but with this dress I'll dance the whole night!" Astoria exclaimed, in a moment of out of character sappiness.
Olivia grinned appreciatively. " That's what I was going for. Now you'll need to come around tomorrow and pick it up, because I'll be closing early on Friday." She smiled shyly. " I've got a date with Neil."
Astoria looked up sharply, as she was unbuttoning the back of her dress, twisting her neck quickly. " Neil? What have your parents said about that?"
Olivia groaned. " Absolutely nothing. I haven't exactly gone home yet. I spent the night here. Millie was absolutely furious yesterday, and I don't know if she's told them yet, because I haven't gotten any owls . . . so . . ."
" So you don't know if she's holding the information for blackmail purposes, or if she's already told them and they've disowned you?"
" Pretty much." Olivia picked up Astoria's discarded dress and folded it neatly into a plastic bag, hanging it on a thick metal pole running around the top of the ceiling. " But either way, you know I'm not going to break up with Neil, right?"
" Of course. And I'm with you, 100%, you know that right? You can always count on me to back you up. And I know you, Olivia Bulstrode. Even if your parents disown you, you've never really cared about money. You guys will survive on love alone." She smirked.
" And we won't have to either-" Olivia said quickly, as if she'd given this a lot of thought. " Because we can live up in the loft together, once we get married, and Healers get paid a lot too, so we'll be well off. Once we start having kids-"
Astoria laughed. " And knowing you, you'll have tons. Five million sounds about right for you. Mother hen."
Olivia grinned. " Well . . . Neil does want a lot . . . he's going to be a great father."
Astoria pulled on her robes which she had dropped on the ground. " Draco wants to have kids too." She stopped suddenly as she realized what she had just said, her cheeks turning red with heat, even in the chilled air of the fitting room.
" Hm . . ." Olivia said, her eyes twinkling. " Indeed . . . have you two been talking?"
" This was an old conversation." Astoria waved her away with her hand.
" But have you guys talked since yesterday?"
" He came by the loft yesterday. I was horrible to him. He was pretty bad too. We fought."
Olivia groaned.
" But then we slept together."
Olivia's eyes popped.
" In the same bed, stupid. Not in that sense. And he was too sleepy this morning to remember he was mad at me, so for today we're good. I just don't think I can fully trust him though, until he tells me what's going on with that girl he keeps seeing. Abi told me he saw here again this week!"
" I don't know, Astoria . . ." Olivia sounded hesitant. " I think you should trust him, but at the same time, maybe you should just confront him. I mean, if he's got nothing to hide, he'll want you to know, right?"
" Then why hasn't he told me himself?"
" I don't know. I'm not a relationships counselor." Olivia actually sounded very disheartened by this fact. Astoria smiled a little sadly.
" Well, thanks for the advice. Maybe I will confront him."
Pulling on her flats, she turned to leave. " Bye, Liv. See you tomorrow to pick up my fabulous dress."
" Of course. Good-bye! Good-night!" Olivia waved her off as Astoria rounded the corner and disapparated to the alley outside the apartment building.
The frigid wind and dimming sky made the weather conditions miserable, and she huddled into the building with a happy sigh.
" Good evening, Ms. Astoria." She heard Greensley call, and shot a polite reply back. Greensley had been ever so much more polite ever since he had realized that Astoria was soon-to-be member of the 'Salazar' family. She realized with a pang of discomfort that she was still in her robes. Ah, well. Rich muggles dressed in strange ways, anyway. Greensley would probably mistake her robes as the newest fashion in dresses.
" Draco?" She called as she entered the loft. He didn't appear to be home, the lights flicking on for the first time when she stepped in. " Are you here?"
No answer. He must still be at work.
She sighed. Despite the fact that every time they talked, they fought, it was dismal coming home to an empty apartment. Couldn't be helped though. Besides she needed to reorganize her clothes anyway.
Astoria had been keeping them in a suitcase, ever ready to leave at the first sign of new lodgings, or if Draco decided he didn't want a house guest anymore. She supposed she would be staying here for a while though.
Magically unlocking her suitcase, she began pulling clothes out, never touching the bottom because of the enlargement charm she had placed on the bag. Transfiguring an end table, actually, Draco's only end table, into a dresser was easy enough. Trying to fit all of her clothes into it without magically enlarging the dresser was harder.
" Merlin!" She exclaimed, into the silence. Too many enlargement charms were bad for the grain and quality of the wood, but right then she was severely tempted anyway.
When that was done, she plopped onto his couch and stared moodily out the window, waiting for him to come home. The lights of the city below were gorgeous, but Astoria was in a bad mood, and would not allow herself to leave it.
Did Draco normally come home at this time? Surely not. But she couldn't really remember.
Her stomach growled, and she looked at it in surprise. " That time already?" But she rose to her feet and resolutely plodded towards the kitchen.
Maybe she should make them dinner. That was an idea. She did love to cook, and if Draco insisted on being late . . . The problem was the Draco was not exactly a chef, and the equipment in his small kitchenette was seriously lacking.
Opening up the doors to the pantry, Astoria only saw several cartons of leftover take-out food put under Chilling Charms. Thankfully somebody, probably one of Narcissa's house elves had dropped off a basket of somewhat edible produce, meat, and a few baking necessities.
Setting a chop of meat to simmer on the stove top, Astoria chopped up some small vegetables and tossed them in a bowl, as she sang a few songs. Not very picky, Astoria could sing anything. Popular wizarding music, nursery rhymes, and even a few incantations set to songs. She had to be careful with that last one, when it lit the table on fire.
Kneading her rolls into perfect spheres, Astoria cooked them carefully with the tip of her wand, and then gingerly placed them on plates, hot and ready to be served. Vegetables. Slice the meat, plate it . . .
But where the heck was Draco?
She groaned and sat down on a hard chair, burying her face in her hands. She had gotten up early, and what time was it now? A little past nine. Really, he should be home by now. She was so, so tired.
She should just get some sleep until he got home. Her eyelids drifted closed, and even though she could faintly hear her brain telling her to go to bed, and not fall asleep on the table, she ignored it. Sleep pulled her down, down, down . . .
" Astoria?"
Astoria jumped as somebody touched her arm, and whirled around to face Draco, her hand flying to her wand. " Draco?"
" Why are you sleeping on the table?" Draco's eyes flew around the kitchen and saw the plates full of cold food, and the bowls and pans still dirty from Astoria's cooking. " You . . . made dinner?"
Astoria groaned, feeling some of her earlier bad mood return now that Draco was home. And he dared to look around the kitchen and ask her questions as if he weren't guilty! She felt the creases on her face from the table, gingerly with her hand. She might have a bruise there in the morning. She was stiff and uncomfortable, and how dare he look so blasted . . . innocent?!
" I made dinner over two hours ago-" She check the clock. She was correct. " And it was warm then. It's cold now. Ice-cold." Like your body's going to be when I murder you, her eyes told him silently.
" I'm . . . Merlin, Astoria, you didn't tell me you were making dinner."
" I didn't know you were going to be late. Maybe if you'd owled me-"
" You're the one who doesn't want to see me! How was I to know that you were making dinner, and would even care if I was late!" he slammed his hand down on the table, and she scowled darkly at him.
" I don't want to deal with this right now. I'm going to bed."
" Fine!" He sat down heavily, on the table, and watched her stumble, still sleepy, into the living room, where she collapsed on her bed.
Painstakingly removing her outer robes and her shoes which she still had on, she made her way to the bathroom.
Draco sighed. She had made him dinner. Dinner. He looked at it. Meat, rolls, vegetables. Better fare than he had most nights. She had been nice. Very nice. And he had been abysmal.
" Astoria," he said softly, following her into the bathroom. She was gripping both sides of the sink, and staring at her white face in the plain mirror. As he entered, he saw her fists whiten around the porcelain edge of the wash basin. " Thanks for making dinner."
" Why were you so late?" Her voice was curt and harsh.
" I had . . . things I needed to get done. You know. Stuff."
" Stuff." Her tone had him rooted to the spot, half-guilty, half-fearful. "That sounds . . . interesting. Did you already eat?"
" No! No, I didn't."
She took a moment to collect herself, visibly swallowing, before turning to him, her eyes a little red around the edges. " You may go eat." It may have been silly for her to have to give him permission, but his face softened a little, and he left the bathroom, leaving her to wash up.
Draco heated up the food with his wand, and carefully rearranged the plates, waiting for Astoria to come out of the bathroom. She did, ten minutes later, her hair carefully tied back in a braid, her eyes and nose suspiciously red. She sniffed a little.
" What are you doing?"
" Waiting for you. So we can eat."
" I already brushed my teeth."
" You can brush them again."
She hesitated. " For Merlin's sake, Astoria, just sit down and eat the food!" Draco said, his tone more pleading then forceful. She sat down.
The meal was silent and awkward, but Astoria's stomach felt better for having some food in it. She stood when she had finished, and went to the bathroom to brush her teeth again.
He had been late because he had stuff to do. Things. Things with a girl? Most probably. These were all the signs of an affair. She wasn't quite sure why she hadn't already confronted him. Surely if he were innocent he would want her to know he was. But what if he were guilty?
She didn't want to sleep alone tonight. She knew that much. But was it worth it- really worth having the nightmares gone- to be at peace, and to sleep with somebody that might be betraying her?
When she stepped out of the bathroom, she saw him lying on his bed, through his open bedroom door. He was idly twisting his Betrothal band around and around his finger. His robes and tie were off, and his shirt partly unbuttoned.
" Astoria-" She started and looked back at him.
" What?"
" Sorry for coming home late." He wasn't meeting her eye. She wondered how many times he'd ever apologized to somebody. Not many, because he wasn't very good at it.
" Sure." She tried to keep her tone indifferent.
" Can you come here?"
She narrowed her eyes, but stepped through the door. She'd only ever really been in here once. That night when he had brought her home from her grandfather's field. And she had been asleep then. It had been dark.
Hardwood floors, huge windows, a giant four-poster bed covered in a grey bedspread. Very sparse. Very spartan. But still posh. The furniture was made of dark wood, and well-made.
" What?" She asked again, when she had stepped into his room. " What do you want?" What on earth could he possibly want from her?
" I want you to come here."
" I'm still mad at you."
" Okay. That's fine."
She stepped closer to him, and met his gaze. He was looking at her with such intensity in his eyes that it stopped her in her tracks. Not lust. Not love, though she could see that in his eyes. Merely analyzing her. Breaking her down into small particles, and examining every inch of her.
" What?" She whispered now, softer than she had said it before. Not that her anger was dissipating.
" I don't want you to have nightmares tonight. Or any night." That wasn't what she had expected.
" Well, you're not the master of dreams, Draco. You can't decide whether or not I have them. You can't stop them from coming." Her voice broke, her body starting to shake, in fear of what the night would hold.
He grasped her hand lightly in his own, and she stared at it. It was cool and dry in hers, and her grip automatically tightened around his hand.
" I can try."
Gently he pulled her down so that she sat gingerly on the bed, staring at her feet. He was still sprawled across the covers, looking at her with interest.
" You want me to sleep here?"
" To be brief, yes."
" Just to help my nightmares? Are you sure this isn't all some well-thought up scheme to get into my knickers."
" You're not exactly the only one having nightmares, darling." He drawled, not meeting her gaze. " I thought . . . we could help each other. A deal. Of sorts."
" A deal." She hadn't had any nightmares the previous day. That was true.
" A deal."
She pondered this for a while. She really did need sleep. Unbroken, restful. " And you think your presence will help me to stop dreaming?"
His eyes gleamed wickedly, and he wiggled his eyebrows. " Well, not necessarily stop your dreaming . . ." He trailed off suggestively. " But yes, I'll scare away all the big bad nightmares for you."
" Fine," She said quickly, almost defiantly. " That sounds . . . good."
" Fine." He was smirking. " So . . . planning on coming to bed?"
" I've got to change." She left, leaving him smirking on his bed. Her resolve had weakened. She should have said no. Should have stood her ground, and told him no. If he wasn't going to trust her with information, she shouldn't trust him at all. But she did.
When she crawled under the covers, she felt his warm presence, staying respectfully on top of the blankets. Which she was glad of. But she could smell him. He didn't smell like another girl. Instead he smelled that wonderfully clean, man-smell that she had grown accustomed to.
" Good-night," She whispered, as she tried to fall asleep in a completely straight position.
" Good-night." His voice was already rough with sleep, and she rolled over, turning away from him.
AN: Super sorry for the late update, got a bit carried away with life. I have to try and remember that I have a responsibility in the nerd-world. : D
So, remember, tell me what you think about the chapter! I don't know if this one is a bit too drab, or boring, or depressing. Or cliché. Eugh. That's not good. And also, if you have reviewed, thank you so much. You guys have no idea how much I appreciate that!
Also, I'm having a bit of an argument with a friend about the correct way of pronouncing the word 'aunt'. So please, in your reviews, just for interest's sake, tell me how you guys pronounce it. Ant or Ont.