Day by day, Astoria's condition deteriorated further. Saying goodbye to her son as he'd headed back to Hogwarts after Christmas had been even more painful than ever because this time, she truly didn't know whether she'd see him again. Astoria knew that there was only so much longer she could carry on fighting.
As the weeks passed, Draco found himself having to do more and more for Astoria and the worse she became, the more numb he felt inside. He hadn't spoken to her parents since Christmas day, choosing to reach out to Daphne if he needed to pass a message along to Astoria's family. They still visited regularly, but he'd just make himself scarce so as to avoid their constant questions and telling him what was best for his wife.
Come March, Draco was often finding himself having to carry Astoria to the bathroom and place her in the bath, where he would scrub her back gently and help her wash her long, brown hair. On the worst of days, he would even have to help her eat.
Sometimes, he and Astoria would have conversations as normal; other times, they would look at each other for long moments, unable to find the words to express what they wanted to tell each other. Astoria could see the heartbreak in Draco's eyes and she hated it. She'd often fall asleep, and wake up hours later to find him sat by her bedside, watching over her. He'd do his best to smile, but she knew it was getting more difficult for him with every day that passed.
When Scorpius returned for the easter break, he'd returned to find his mother much worse than she had been the last time he'd seen her. It was then that he knew for sure that his mum wouldn't be there to welcome him home for much longer. It hurt so much but he didn't talk about it - not to Draco, not to Albus, not to anyone.
One day over the holidays, Scorpius was sat reading in his room when Draco knocked quietly on the door, pushing it half way open.
"Scorpius, your mum wants to talk to you."
Scorpius looked up from his book towards his father, who had his long hair loose. Scorpius couldn't recall ever seeing his father wear his hair down - it was always pulled back into a perfectly neat, braided ponytail.
"Is she ok?" Scorpius asked, instantly worrying.
"Yes, she's doing ok. But you should spend some more time with her while you're home." His words were meaningful. He wanted Scorpius and Astoria to spend every minute together that they could.
"Ok, dad," Scorpius said quietly, placing his book down and heading into his parents' room. His mother looked well - better than she had most recently, anyway.
"Hey, Scorpy," she said, smiling. "Come here." She patted the bed. "I want to give you something."
Scorpius crossed the room anxiously and perched himself on the edge of his father's side of the bed. Astoria reached into her bedside table and retrieved several vials.
"I want you to have these," she said, passing them carefully to Scorpius.
He held them up, intrigued by the silver substance inside. After a few moments, he realised what they were. "Memories," he whispered in surprise.. Astoria nodded. Scorpius looked at her, confused. "But, why?"
"Because I don't want your last memories of me to be like this," Astoria explained. "And because I want you to see for yourself that your father is a good man. There's three memories, ok? Remember when I told you about your dad standing up to your grandfather? That's one of them. Then there's one from our wedding day, and one from when you were a tiny baby."
Scorpius' mouth hung open. These were his mum's most precious memories and she was giving them to him. He didn't know what to say.
"You don't have to look at them any time soon," Astoria went on, not wanting Scorpius to feel under pressure. "You can look at them any time you like, really... but I feel happier knowing that you have them. I hope they will make you smile and I hope they will make things easier between you and your dad, because you can't go on the way you are, Scorpy. When I'm gone, you will need each other more than ever."
"I know," Scorpius whispered, his eyes starting to fill with tears. He blinked hard, willing them to disappear. He cradled the vials carefully in his hand as though terrified of breaking them. "Does dad know?"
"That I've given these to you? No. I haven't told him yet, and I'm not sure if I will. To be honest, I'm not sure what he would make of it. They're very personal memories. I'm giving them to you for the right reasons, but maybe it's best we keep it to ourselves. Unless you're uncomfortable with that, of course."
Scorpius shook his head. "We can keep it between the two of us, mum. Sort of like a secret."
"It's a good secret, right?" Astoria asked, as though trying to convince herself that it was ok to keep this one thing from her husband.
"It is," Scorpius reassured her with an awkward smile.
Come May, Astoria needed around-the-clock care; she didn't get out of bed by herself anymore and would spend, at best, three hours awake each day. She was now finding it difficult to carry out the simplest of tasks, and relied on Draco for absolutely everything. Through everything, she couldn't believe how strong he'd been. She would never have got through the last year without him and she was more grateful than she would ever be able to express.
One Thursday afternoon, Astoria's mother and father turned up for their regular visit. Astoria, however, was asleep and had been for the last sixteen hours. They sat by her bedside for a while, watching over their youngest daughter with sadness. It was almost five o clock when she stirred, and the first thing she did was ask for Draco. Mildly hurt that Astoria didn't want her help, Vivian made her way out into the hallway and called to Draco. He appeared silently moments later, not even bothering to speak to his mother-in-law.
"Astoria's asking for you," she informed him.
Draco pulled his office door closed and made his way hurriedly down the corridor.
"How long have I been asleep?" Astoria groaned when she saw him.
"Since late yesterday evening," Draco told her gently. "Not far off a whole day, now."
Vivian and Vaughn watched as Draco lifted Astoria from the bed and carried her out of the room. Astoria was petite, and had always been rather slim. With her appetite dwindling, she was losing weight rapidly. Draco carried her with ease, as though she were as light as a feather.
Several minutes later, he returned, placing her down on the bed before fetching her pain relief potions and helping her drink them.
"Ok?" he asked, placing down the empty beakers.
Astoria nodded. "Thank you."
"Stop thanking me, Astoria." He gave a small smile, which she returned. "I'll leave you to it. Your parents have been waiting here a while, I'm sure you have things to talk about."
The following week, Draco visited the Greengrass residence for the first time in a long while. Daphne had left a jacket at the Manor a couple of days previously, and he wanted to return it to her.
"I won't be staying," he announced as he made his way into the lounge. "I can't leave Astoria for too long in case she wakes up. Is Daphne here?"
"No, but she should be soon. She's having dinner with us tonight," Vaughn said.
"Right," Draco said. He couldn't have cared less where Daphne was having dinner. "Well, she left this at ours. Can you make sure she gets it?" He slung Daphne's jacket across the back of an armchair.
"Of course. And while you're here, Draco, there's something we'd like to say. Away from Astoria's ears. Could you sit down for a moment?"
"No, thank you. I'll stand. What's the problem now?" Draco's automatic reaction whenever his in-laws addressed him was to go on the defensive, these days. No one could blame him.
"Draco, you're not going to like this," Vivian began, trying to choose her words carefully. "But... well, we've seen recently just how much you're doing for Astoria. We can see that... well, we can see that she's much worse in recent weeks. And... it's not that we don't think you're doing a good job, but..." Vivian found herself too afraid to tell Draco hers and Vaughn's opinion. She looked towards her husband for help.
"We think, Draco, that it would be best for Astoria - and for you - if she goes into hospital for full-time care. And before you lose your - "
"What?!" Draco shouted. "Put her in hospital? With a bunch of strangers?! You know something, every time you talk to me you never cease to amaze me with your ignorance, both of you. If you appreciated what I was doing - and for the record, I couldn't give a damn whether you do or not - you would never suggest something so insulting. She is my wife! No one understands what she needs better than I do! How dare you suggest otherwise?!"
"Draco, just stop shouting for one moment and take a look at yourself!" Vaughn said. "You lose your temper at the drop of a hat! You can't tell me that's good for our daughter."
"I never lose my temper around Astoria!" He paused, lost for words. Whenever he thought his wife's parents couldn't be any more insulting, they always managed to pull something out the bag. "What is wrong with the pair of you? You've had it in for me since day one and it just - you know something, you might think you know what's best for Astoria more than I do, but you don't. It's me who's been with her since the beginning. Since we found out that this curse was going to kill her. And you? The stress you've brought her from not letting things lie has been unimaginable. In fact, it's probably made her worse. She has maybe months left to live and still, you can't just let us be!" Draco was shouting so loudly, it was starting to hurt his throat.
At that moment, Daphne appeared in the doorway. "What the hell is going on?" she asked, looking from a raging Draco to her parents.
Draco turned to look at her. "I'll tell you what's going on," Draco barked. "Your mother and father are telling me to give up on your sister and dump her in a hospital ward!"
"What?" Daphne breathed. "Is this true?" She looked towards her parents.
"Yes," Vaughn said. "Look at him." He waved his hand towards Draco. "The pressure is getting to him. Astoria needs professional care."
Draco's jaw clenched, his hand reaching inside his robes and grasping hold of his wand. He was far too close to pulling it on his father-in-law for comfort.
"I'm sorry," Daphne said loudly. "But you're wrong. If you think there's anyone who is better placed to take care of Ria, then you're both idiots. You know something: when Astoria got together with him, no one was more angry about it than I was. I didn't know Draco well, but I certainly knew him better than either of you, or even Astoria did. But he has proved me - and you - wrong, time and time again. To be quite honest, it amazes me, what he's done for her. And still, you continue to doubt him and, quite frankly, treat him like crap. He's done for your daughter what not even you two could have done. What do you do? Visit once, maybe twice a week? You wonder why he's stressed, why he's angry... it's you! You're making him that way! Taking care of Astoria is not making him stressed. I've seen him when he's around her and he copes just fine. The only time he ever gets like this - let go of your wand, by the way," she shot at Draco. "- is when you make him like this! This is not doing anyone any favours, least of all Astoria. So, for crying out loud, can we just let Draco get on with it? Because I for one certainly have no intention of seeing my sister put in care."
A silence fell across the room. Draco took a few deep breaths, trying to keep his anger under control. He looked at Daphne for a long while, unsure of whether to thank her or not.
"It seems there's nothing left to discuss, here," Draco said eventually, his tone stern. "So I'm going to get back to Astoria. Oh, and by the way," he said, turning back to Astoria's parents. "If you ever question my ability to take care of my wife again, you will not be setting foot in the Manor anymore."
"You can't do that!" Vivian cried, standing up to face Draco.
"Try me," Draco said coldly, turning to leave. "I'll see you soon, Daphne," he added, before disappearing, certain that the argument would continue despite him having left.
That night, Draco climbed into bed next to Astoria feeling drained. He was sick and tired of arguing with Astoria's parents about one thing or another. He had, however, been pleasantly surprised by Daphne's fierce support. They still weren't the best of friends, but there had certainly been a vast improvement over the last fourteen years.
For a long while, Draco lay awake trying to imagine what his life would be like without Astoria.
"Fucking hell, I'm scared," he whispered to himself into the darkness.
"I know you are," came Astoria's response. It was almost inaudible, but startled Draco nonetheless. He'd had no idea that she was awake.
"How long have you been awake?" he whispered.
"Not long," she whispered back. "But since I am, you might as well talk to me." Her voice was weak, as though she were slowly fading away.
"There's nothing to say," Draco assured her. "Go back to sleep."
"No," Astoria said. "You either tell me what's on your mind, or I'll lie here waiting for you to." Draco was stubborn, but Astoria could be so in equal measures sometimes.
Draco moaned in desperation. "I can't, Astoria. I can't tell you."
"Why not?"
"Because if I start talking, I'm not sure if I'll be able to stop."
A long pause. "Please, Draco, just - "
"Do you remember the way things were for me before I met you?" he relented fairly easily. "You just walked into my life and you made everything feel ok. Suddenly I could cope, I could deal with all the bullshit. I grew a backbone. I spend half of my time, these days, sitting and asking myself how I'm going to do this without you. How am I going to raise a teenage boy on my own? How am I going to be there for him when I know for a fact I'm going to be falling apart? I already am falling apart."
"Draco, you knew it could end like this," Astoria reminded him gently.
"Knowing it and seeing it happen are two entirely different things," he said. "I'm watching you get worse day after day and I know this is a horrible thing to say, but I feel like... I feel like I'm going with you. I was always myself around you, good and bad... I don't know if I'll ever be able to be myself again after you're gone because you're such an important part of me."
Tears slid silently down Astoria's cheeks as her husband finally explained everything he'd been thinking and feeling over the last few months.
"And I'm not just scared for myself. I'm scared for our son. I'm scared that I'm... not enough for him."
Astoria sniffed. "Draco, don't ever say that. You are the best father. The best. Don't you ever doubt yourself as a parent again because I don't have the energy to keep arguing with you about it."
Draco remained silent for a long while. "I'm sorry - all these things I'm saying... they're selfish. I shouldn't even... I should be concentrating on you. On making you happy."
"Draco, I took a risk getting together with you, didn't I?"
Draco frowned, confused. He thought for a moment. "I suppose you did."
"Well I'll tell you now, it was worth it. The arguments with my family... my friends saying they couldn't understand me... the rumours and the gossip... I. Wouldn't. Change. A thing. You made me so happy and you still do. If I didn't have you and Scorpy, I probably would have got this over with a long time ago. I am in constant pain, and you are the only thing that makes me want to keep going. And when I am gone, I don't want you to hold images of me lying in bed day after day. I want you to think of all the happy times we had together. Don't get me wrong, I know we've had some pretty bad times in the last fifteen years. But please, Draco, don't forget all the good ones. Don't forget the night we met... us laughing and dancing together... don't forget the day you asked me to be your wife... our wedding day... the day our baby boy was born... all those years we spent together, just the three of us. We found each other, Draco. We were lucky. Not everyone is lucky enough to find the person that was made for them. So when I'm gone and when you're missing me... just think of all the good times and how lucky we were to ever have them in the first place."
"I was lucky. I know that," Draco whispered fiercely.
"I don't want you to cry when you think about me, Draco. I want you to smile." Astoria took a long, shaky breath, fighting not to let the tears fall.
"Astoria... I... I will smile after a while but... now, I - "
"For now, I think we can cry," Astoria whispered, choking up.
Draco started to sob loudly, as though all he'd been doing all this time was waiting for someone's permission to let it all out. He started shaking violently. Months worth of emotion became unleashed. He just couldn't hold it any longer, not after everything Astoria had just said.
Astoria had never seen him so beside himself. She cried too; for herself, and for Draco. She knew how hard it was going to be for him.
For almost an hour, the two of them lay crying in each other's arms. It was gone one in the morning when the tears finally stopped. Astoria was completely exhausted and so was Draco, his head pounding. A short while later, they both drifted off into uneasy sleep.
Author's notes: That end scene was so easy, yet so difficult to write. It deeply upsets me, and I really wish that this wasn't the ending the writers of Cursed Child gave to Draco and Astoria - but it was. When I started writing this fic, I wanted to give everyone who loved this pairing a story that was true to CC, true to Draco and Astoria, and true to fans like myself. The purpose of this story was always to a) help me accept this awful storyline and b) hopefully help others do the same thing. If I receive any reviews, I'm expecting them to say how sad this chapter is. All I have to say is: I know! And I wish it could be any other way, but I have chosen to take CC as canon, no matter how much I despise it. Thank you for reading and reviewing, and more to come soon.