Because sometimes, it's the simplest of things that motivate one to keep moving forward. For them, it was her bracelet. Draco/Astoria.
Charms
By silver-nightstorm
Words: 670
XX
When his father passed away he didn't know where that left him.
It was 1999 and he had succumbed to a heart attack mere months after entering Azkaban, after the Malfoy money wasn't enough to bribe the newly instated Wizengamot. His life had been falling to pieces since the end of the war, but this had been it, that last straw, that nail in his coffin that doomed him to a miserable existence for whatever meager years he had left.
He was still in Hogwarts a year later. Most of his class had returned to redo their last year. Potter and Weasley were notoriously absent, choosing to jump right into Auror training. He attended because he had nowhere better to be.
He had taken to sitting at the border of the Forbidden Forest, a few feet away from the charred remains of Hagrid's hut. He never thought anyone would find him there and then one rainy day, as his eyes drifted closed under the drops of water sliding over his face, he suddenly felt the repetitive patter of the rain against his skin cease.
His eyes snapped open, alarmed as he was to be noticed, taking a few moments to register the yellow umbrella connected to the delicate charm-bracelet-adorned wrist of Astoria Greengrass.
His father had been gone for exactly a week when he first met, or rather re-met, her.
She had dyed her hair blonde after the war to match the shade that her sister had the day she had passed away. Her bracelet now sported a platinum snake charm with DG written in delicate script along the coiled scales. He supposed that she probably understood what he was feeling better than most. Unlike those who thought they had suffered in the war, she had actually truly lost someone close to her. So he didn't mind her company. He didn't let his arrogance bubble to the forefront as it typically did these days without warning of any sort. He simply let it be. And so did she.
It was another week of quiet companionship before she spoke. She had been staring off into the distance, and he had been staring at her, the one new thing among the familiar patches of burnt grass.
"We had a seaside house we used to visit at children," she said suddenly. "She's buried there because she loved the place. I never liked the shore, but I visit every weekend now. I… can't stand the idea of her being alone."
She was silent again. She wasn't waiting for him to respond. She was just… being.
"She gave me this bracelet when I was five." She held her slender wrist up, the sun glinting off of the many charms on the thin silver chain. "We had matching ones. Hers was gold, to match her hair. Mine is silver to match my eyes."
The wind blew around them, whipping her hair into her eyes. "They buried the bracelet with her, minus this charm." She tapped on the platinum snake. "I insisted on having it, to keep her close to me. I thought it would help me stay strong."
She turned to face him suddenly, her grey eyes meeting his, completely aware of his gaze. "How can I be brave when she's gone?" she said, so softly that he barely caught her words.
Before he could stop himself, he draped his arm around her slight form and pulled her close to him. "You're already being brave," he said, startling himself by the hoarse sound of his voice. "Seeing you continue to stand, even alone… it makes all my doubts about myself disappear too." They sat there, really together, for the first time in ages. The wind around them caused the charms to ring.
When he asked her out nearly a year later, he added a charm to her bracelet, a tiny green dragon. They continued to add charms to that bracelet for years because sometimes, it was the littlest things that motivated one to keep moving on.
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Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Competition – First Year Final Exam – Angst; Draco/Astoria; 1999; Forbidden Forest; Caught; Heart Attack by Demi Lovato; Heart beats fast Colors and promises How to be brave How can I love when I'm afraid To fall But watching you stand alone All of my doubt Suddenly goes away somehow" A thousand years, Christina Perri; Frightened The Hunger Games: Fanfic Style Challenge – Day 3 – seaside, arrogant, "I… can't", charms, umbrella All Sorts of Love Competition – Het